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HTC Desire 500 launched in Taiwan, packs Sense 5 but ditches BoomSound
Just when you thought HTC's going all the way with its BoomSound feature, the company stopped short with its Desire 500, a mid-range model that's just been announced for the younger Taiwanese audience (think: university students). As you can see above, the new device takes design cues from the One S for its front side (but with plastic instead of metal), and from the One SV on the back. Despite the lack of front stereo speakers, this phone still packs the same 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 SoC featured on the Desire 600 range. Similarly, you'll still find NFC, microSD expansion (on top of just 4GB of built-in storage) plus Sense 5 UI with BlinkFeed and Video Highlights here -- the latter works alongside the same pair of cameras: an 8-megapixel f/2.0 main camera, plus a 1.6-megapixel front imager. What's slightly disappointing, perhaps, is the low 800 x 480 resolution on the 4.3-inch display, and we're even more baffled by the relatively high suggested retail price of NT$11,900 or about US$400. Hopefully it's just a way to persuade more people to get the subsidized Desire 500 from Taiwan Mobile, HTC's exclusive local partner for this phone come August 1st. Stay tuned while our colleagues in Taiwan grab some hands-on photos. Update: Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese has just posted their hands-on. Enjoy!
Taiwan's mobile operators see 'unprecedented' demand for iPhone 4S
Taiwan is ready to break sales records when it launches the iPhone 4S later this month. According to a Focus Taiwan report, iPhone 4S pre-orders have already reached an astounding 380,000 units. With eight more days left until the December 16 release date, this number will likely get larger. A report at Want China Times claims the carriers were not prepared when pre-orders began earlier this month. Far Eastone's website crashed under the load of customers trying to reserve their handsets, and even Chunghwa Telecom, which upped its capacity during the pre-order frenzy, couldn't keep up with demand. Taiwan Mobile also went down, and its 2,500 free iPhone 4S cases sold out within hours. The top 4S seller is wireless carrier Chunghwa Telecom, which accepted 210,000 pre-orders, well over the 150,000 orders the carrier expected. Coming in second and third are Far Eastone with 90,000 pre-orders and Taiwan Mobile with 80,000. All three carriers say they did not expect this high demand for Apple's latest smartphone. The iPhone 4S will launch in Taiwan on December 16. An unlocked iPhone 4S will start around NT$25,400 (US$842). [via The Next Web]
Taiwan Mobile set to offer its own branded netbook
While most carriers seem content to simply offer netbooks from all the usual suspects, Taiwan Mobile is going one pretty big step further and offering its own branded netbook. The carrier doesn't look to be making any attempts to break the mold, however, with its 10-inch W101 netbook packing the standard issue Atom N270 processor, an 8GB SSD drive, and Windows XP for an OS, although it is on the lighter end of the scale at just two pounds even. As you might expect, while the netbook will run upwards of $400 on its own, Taiwan Mobile is apparently offering a number of bundles that should bring the price down considerably if you're willing to sign off on the next few years of your mobile life.[Via GadgetMix, thanks Kamal DS]
BlackBerry's Asian invasion continues, Taiwan next
BlackBerry launches seem to be all the rage in Asia these days. After Korean and Japanese announcements, Taiwan is next on RIM's hit list, partnering this time with Taiwan Mobile -- Taiwan's second-largest carrier -- to addict yet another nation's unsuspecting masses. Details are few and far between at this point, but look for the launch to happen sometime this summer. We're not sure which model will serve as RIM's weapon of choice here, but Taiwan Mobile is a GSM carrier, so the fresh GSM 7130 is a strong possibility.
