Paul O'Brien

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Stories By Paul O'Brien

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    Reviews
    Reviews By Paul O'Brien

    T-Mobile Pulse review

    From humble beginnings with the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1, Android is starting to gain traction in the marketplace. A steady growth in the number of devices from HTC together with more and more manufacturers coming on board means Google's entry into the mobile space is really making inroads. The next year is going to be exciting for Android fans, with Motorola launching the CLIQ / DEXT and the Sholes, Samsung following up their i7500 with the i5700 and Behold 2, Acer shifting focus from Windows Mobile to Android not to mention LG and Sony Ericsson shipping their first Android devices. In amongst the larger players aiming for the higher end of the market comes Huawei, best known for its mobile broadband dongles, with the Pulse for T-Mobile Europe - a rebrand of the U8220 handset. What makes the Pulse particularly interesting is it's price point. As well as being available free of charge on virtually any contract (as is frequently the case in Europe), the Pulse costs only £176 ($280) on a pre-pay plan. This represents a significant move downmarket for Android with the only other low-end handset being the forthcoming HTC Tattoo, which is expected to ship SIM free for £299 ($475). Interestingly our review unit was even SIM unlocked, although it remains to be seen whether this will remain the case as handsets hit retail. We've spent some time with a production specification T-Mobile Pulse to see whether Huawei's first attempt at Android stands up to scrutiny. Read on to find out!

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    Smartphones
    Smartphones By Paul O'Brien

    HTC Hero firmware rescue mission arrives, plucks device from murky depths

    Maybe you were already an Android fan and had a G1 or a Magic. Maybe you were new to Android and you were wowed by the Hero launch. Maybe you got the device unlocked, or maybe you took advantage of the many carrier deals (particularly in the UK) to snap up your handset. Or perhaps you read the reviews -- such as our very own -- and held off picking up a Hero after all. Regardless of your story, chances are that despite the huge excitement surrounding the device (particularly the Sense UI), you're somewhat disappointed. It's shiny, it's clever and it's very nicely done, but it's rather slow and laggy. As we said in our review, the company appears to have bitten off more than its last-generation hardware can chew. If this build of Android were to be loaded atop the guts of a 3GS or Pre, the performance would likely be astounding, but fused with the two-year old architecture of previous devices, it's mostly disappointing. Ouch! Thankfully, it turns out HTC has been listening all along and the oft-rumored "major update" for the Hero has finally surfaced. Already available as an unofficial but due to hit the HTC support site any day now, the update (which is in a familiar RUU format for Windows machines and does wipe the device) wears the tag "2.73.405.5 WWE" -- and we've had a chance to play with it. So does it rescue the device? Follow the break to find out!

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