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HTC's Lollipop update won't reach every One phone on time
HTC hasn't always had success upgrading One users to the latest version of Android within its promised 90-day window, and history is unfortunately repeating itself with Android 5.0 Lollipop on the way. The phone maker is now warning that "some carrier versions" of the One M8 and M7 won't get Lollipop by the expected February 1st deadline. Reportedly, Google's rush to fix Lollipop (which emerged, shall we say, less than polished) gave HTC little time to both finish its own update and put it through the usual provider testing routine.
Leak hints that HTC's next flagship phone comes in two sizes
You'd be forgiven for not knowing what to expect from HTC's next flagship smartphone. The images that have emerged are frequently dodgy, and there are even claims that the company is seeding decoys to throw people off the scent. However, you might finally be looking at the real thing... or rather, things. Well-known leaker Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) has posted a supposed product shot displaying a pair of differently-sized, previously unseen devices that he believes to be HTC's successors to the One M8. Both have edge-mounted front speakers, a large front camera (UltraPixel?) and the super-thin bezels that many have been asking for. The designs are feasible, although that Galaxy S5-style home button on the larger version gives us reason for pause -- either this is sketchy, or HTC's lawyers have decided that Samsung won't get angry. You'll likely know more at HTC's media event on March 1st.
OnePlus unveils its own Android build without Cyanogen
Following a temporary ban in India, OnePlus has released its own alpha Lollipop ROM for the One based on stock Android 5.0 -- with no Cyanogen influence. For now, the alpha software is only available as a download, and you'll need to wipe your phone in order to get it. It's also very basic and OnePlus said it includes "no extras beyond the stock features of AOSP Lollipop," though it promised to build on it over time. OnePlus started talking about its own Android fork shortly before Cyanogen inked an exclusive deal with Indian smartphone maker Micromax.
OnePlus gets the all-clear to sell phones in India, for now
OnePlus' plans for world conquest hit a roadblock when Micromax had the company's smartphones banned in India. It's reasoning was that they allegedly infringed on its exclusive right to use Cyanogen's custom Android software. However, it looks like the little phone maker that could is getting a reprieve -- Delhi's High Court has lifted the preliminary injunction that kicked OnePlus out of the country. The bench argues that this early ban wasn't necessary, since neither company really "eats into the the territory of the other." That makes sense: Micromax mostly caters to the low end of the market, while OnePlus is further up the ladder.
Cyanogen says it'll continue support for the OnePlus One in India
Well, it seems like India's OnePlus One users don't have anything to worry about after all. To clear up any misconceptions about the device and CyanogenMod's future in the region, the OS developer took to its blog. Cyanogen's Android ROM will continue to get firmware updates, world-wide, despite the outfit's exclusive partnership with Indian hardware-maker Micromax. As Android Central spotted, the post is pretty explicit about it too, saying: "To clarify misinformation out there, the OnePlus One will get OTA firmware updates for all global devices, including global devices for our users in India." So that's settled. Now, if only it were any easier to actually buy a One in the first place...
OnePlus and Cyanogen on brink of breakup after India fight
Poor OnePlus just can't take a break. Just as the company's busy taking care of its Black Friday promotion, its store opening in Beijing and its India launch with Amazon next week, a close partner decided to drop a hurtful bomb. Cyanogen Inc., the maker of OnePlus One's Android ROM, announced that it's now inked a deal with Micromax to exclusively support the latter's upcoming online brand Yu -- a direct competitor of Xiaomi -- in India. And by "exclusive" we do mean no love for OnePlus, who implies in its latest blog post that Cyanogen knew about its India plan all along, yet it was suddenly shunned to make way for a new partner over there. If true, this is a surprisingly childish move from an up-and-coming company that has no doubt benefitted much from its partnership with OnePlus thus far.
OnePlus is opening a retail store in China
Still haven't scored an invitation for a OnePlus One, and missed out on the rare public sales? You may want to book a flight to China. OnePlus has revealed its first-ever retail shop, which will officially open in Beijing on December 20th. As you might imagine, the product selection is fairly limited -- it'll offer the One smartphone, of course, but you'll mostly find accessories like cases and headphones. To make up for this, OnePlus is positioning this as an "experience" with a water bar as well as plans for both customer training and get-togethers. More stores are expected to roll out in China, although you shouldn't expect them abroad. OnePlus only just teamed with Amazon to launch Indian online sales, so the company has a long way to go before it can even consider a worldwide retail empire.
HTC's new charger gets your One back in action 40 percent faster
Current HTC phones like the One M8 have solid battery life, but that won't do you much good if you're already running low on energy and need a top-up as soon as possible. That's where the company's upcoming Rapid Charger 2.0 might just come in handy. The wall adapter leans on Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 to fill your power pack up to 40 percent faster -- not as useful as the Droid Turbo's 15-minute partial boost, but enough to get you through a long night out. There are a few catches, though. You'll have to wait a little while to get US pricing and availability, and the compatibility is limited to a handful of 2014 devices with Quick Charge 2.0 built-in. The One M8, One E8, One Remix and Desire Eye are your only options. If you're carrying an older One or a budget phone like Desire 610, you'll be stuck with slow charging for now.
OnePlus pulls sexist selfie contest (update: regrets 'misguided effort' to involve more women)
When you're looking to celebrate a milestone for your company's forums, what's the best way to do so? How about a sexist photo contest where the entrant that nabs the most likes gets a the chance to buy a phone? Sounds like a terrible idea. Well, that's just what OnePlus did to commemorate 200K registered message board users. In order to be eligible, ladies (no boys allowed) had to draw the outfit's logo on a piece of paper or on their body, take a picture of themselves and post it in the contest thread. The top 50 "most well-liked" women would earn a t-shirt, and if there were at least 500 entries, OnePlus promised an invite to purchase it's One smartphones to "our favorite photo." So yes, the winner still had to pay for the device they "won." As you might've guessed, folks around the internet expressed their rage almost immediately and links to the contest thread are dead several hours later. We've reached out to see if the promotion has officially been pulled and what OnePlus has to say about it, but it looks like the masses have prevailed. Update: OnePlus has provided a statement in response to our query, and is apologetic about a "misguided" effort to reach out to women. The company says it's "thrilled to have a small but growing number of women active in our online community," and deeply regrets any offense caused. You can read the statement in full after the break.
OnePlus One camera update helps you take sharper, noise-free photos
The 13-megapixel camera on the OnePlus One is fine for the money, but not spectacular; it frequently captures soft, noisy snapshots if the lighting conditions aren't ideal. Don't worry, though, as the fledgling phone maker has rolled out a camera update that can (sometimes) give you the photo quality you've been missing. Much like what you saw in the Oppo Find 7, the One's new Clear Image feature takes a burst of 10 photos and stitches them together into a cleaner, higher-resolution picture. You can see the results for yourself below -- a muddy, grainy photo of a wall clock (shown on the left) suddenly becomes clear. OnePlus is even promising reasonable file sizes, so you won't immediately regret buying the 16GB One instead of its 64GB counterpart.
HTC's next Windows Phone is coming to Verizon with an awkward name
More than a few eyebrows were raised when talk surfaced of an HTC One for Windows Phone. How close would it be to the Android original? Would it bring anything new to the table? And what's the name, for that matter? Thankfully, sources for Engadget are happy to answer a few questions. For a start, they tell us that the device (not shown here) is tentatively called the "One (M8) for Windows." Yeah, that's not exactly going to roll off the tongue -- the device's codename, W8, is considerably more elegant.
Fitbit's activity tracking app comes to Windows Phone
If you've wanted to use activity-tracking wearables that pair with your phone, you've typically had to use Android or iOS. Windows Phone has some third-party apps that can fill in, but they're imperfect at best. As of today, though, an official solution is at hand -- Fitbit has released its own Windows Phone 8.1 app. You can now sync trackers like the Flex, One and Zip to your Microsoft-powered device to get real-time step and sleep monitoring, complete with a step counter on your home screen if you set up the Live Tile. Other Fitbit fundamentals are also here, including food logging, leaderboards and messaging.
There can't be only one: Technology's singular obsession
Last week, Google announced the aptly named Android One, a plan to unite the myriad budget devices running its mobile operating system. But Sundar Pichai and crew aren't alone in banking on the singular power of one. No, Google's One is just one of many in the industry's recent past. It turns out, everyone wants to be the one. [Image: Getty]
HTC said the new One would help swing a profit, and it did
Though HTC lost money last quarter, it had just launched its One M8 flagship to great reviews, and promised the new handset would put a halt to the red ink. The (unaudited) numbers are now in and back up that boast. The company scored a NT$2.8 billion profit ($92 million) on NT$65 billion ($2.2 billion) in revenue, nearly matching sales from last year and turning around a streak of losses. That's a far cry from the Samsungs of the world, but still a shot of good news for the beleaguered company. To cash in on the new One's success, HTC recently launched a plastic-bodied version called the One M8 Ace and a cut-down One Mini. Whether those will help it keep up the momentum next quarter remains to be seen -- it often gets the post-flagship blues.
Google's Android One program will set minimum standards for bargain-basement smartphones
For every HTC and Samsung, there are tens of Android hardware makers who have to redesign their smartphones to hit a certain low price. This is especially true in the developing world, where keeping the cost down means a lot of effort is spent tweaking devices -- something that Google feels is a waste of time. That's why it's launching Android One, a program where Mountain View's engineers will design cost-conscious hardware, and other companies will simply manufacture it. There are plenty of fringe benefits, but the biggest one is that Google will be able to dictate a minimum set of standards for forthcoming Android handsets.
How would you change the HTC One (M7)?
Wouldn't it have been great if we'd covered last year's HTC One just before the replacement arrived? Clearly. Since the calendar didn't work out like that, however, let's instead take this moment to commence a post-mortem on one of the most critically acclaimed handsets of 2013. Garnering a 92 point Engadget store, a fantastic low-light camera and that amazing body, let's face it -- everyone was envious of this hardware. But has your experience been as flawless as that of our reviewer? Join the forums and share your feelings on the subject.
OnePlus One review: a $300 smartphone has never looked so good
Look at your phone. If you can honestly admit that you love every single thing about it, I have good news: You can stop reading this review, since it won't have an impact on your happiness. But if there's even one thing you wish your smartphone could do better, it means you had to make compromises when you bought it. Everybody wants a perfect phone, but such a thing simply doesn't exist. So, we settle on a phone that has only 95 percent of the features we want, and that... kinda sucks. OnePlus believes it doesn't have to be this way. Its motto, "Never Settle," represents the fledgling Chinese company's mission to build and sell the perfect smartphone. Its first attempt is the One, a premium-looking device that has customizable firmware and top-shelf specs. Oh, and it'll sell for $299 unlocked and free of contract, which is even less expensive than Google's Nexus 5. Seems a little over-ambitious for a small startup with no official track record, doesn't it? Let's find out if the One is too good to be true.
Here's what the new HTC One might have looked like
The new HTC One may seem like a logical evolution of the original design, but that wasn't guaranteed -- just the opposite, according to company Creative Director Daniel Hundt. He tells Stuff in an interview that the original guideline was to "start with a chunk of metal" and go from there. As proof, the designer has early design sketches of the many concepts CEO Peter Chou told us about earlier, showing everything from a near-flat One body to a super-curvy front and back. Hardware should look like it's the "natural result" of its material, Hundt says, and shouldn't be guided primarily by specs like the battery size.
HTC's flagship phone is getting audio help from Harman Kardon
Well, can't say we saw this one coming -- rather than dig into the complexities of an HD Voice rollout, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse confirmed that the carrier, HTC and the folks at Harman/Kardon have created a special Harman Kardon version of the HTC One M8. Why? Apparently because the way most other smartphones play music leaves much to be desired. No one has waved around one of these things yet, but that's OK. All of the magic happens in software anyway (although it has "champagne" trim and a darker back to let everyone know how much more premium it is). The star of the show is a software feature called Clari-fi -- while it's easy to look at it as the successor to Beats Audio, it sounds a lot more substantial than a glorified audio profile. To hear Harmon Kardon tell it, Clari-fi leans heavily on algorithms that analyze music and aim to restore the complexity of sound lost in the production process. The tweaked M8 can also play 24-bit, 192kHz lossless .FLAC files -- that probably won't mean much unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool audio buff, but it'll sound good enough to make you rethink the CD archive taking up space in the garage. At this point, it's anyone's guess as to how good the end result actually sounds, but you won't have to wait long to find out. The special edition M8 will hit Sprint stores (with a pair of Harman Kardon headphones in the box) for $229 with a contract on May 9.
Meet the One, OnePlus' $299 Nexus killer
Rarely do we see a tech startup spending five months actively hyping up an unborn product; and when we do, most of them end up being vaporware. Luckily, that's not the case with OnePlus. Today, the Shenzhen-based company has finally unveiled its first smartphone, the One (not to be confused with the HTC One). While the device's impressive specs have already been listed in detail beforehand, OnePlus had remained tight-lipped about the actual prices (unsubsidized) until today: $299/£229/€269 for the 16GB model, and $349/£269/€299 for the 64GB flavor; both due mid to late May. This aggressive pricing is obviously going right after the Nexus 5 ($349 for 16GB, $399 for 32GB), but is this too good to be true?
