HtcSalsa
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Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
HTC Salsa ditches its Facebook button for Weibo in China
When is a "Facebook phone" not a Facebook phone? When it's in China. While this handset may look like an HTC Salsa at first glace, if you look a little closer you'll notice that the familiar little blue button has been replaced with one for Sina's Weibo social networking service. Lest you think this is just another KIRF, however, you can rest assured this is indeed the real deal, and a fairly big deal for HTC, considering that Weibo has around 150 million total users, and 50 million active monthly users. As for the phone itself, it's remained mostly unchanged otherwise, with it packing an 800MHz processor and a 3.4-inch 480 x 320 display, along with Android 2.3.3 with Sense 2.1 on top. Head on past the break for a video, and hit the source link below for a closer look.
Android deals just got weird: free phones for pants, free flights for phones
Next time you're trying on a pair of (non musical) jeans, why not snag a free Android phone to help fill their roomy pockets? And while you're shopping for that big trip you've got planned, you can let "HTC Airlines" book that flight for you. Honest, it's no trouble at all. Well, it's a little trouble. Wet Seal's "try on some pants and get a free phone" deal comes attached to a two-year contract, and those flights? Still free, but only if you happen to be picking up your HTC Status or Salsa in Germany. You didn't expect them to offer a free ride to just anybody, anywhere, did you?
HTC's Facebook phones, ChaCha and Salsa, get Amazon pre-order with June 26th delivery
Feeling the need for a phone with a dedicated Facebook button? HTC's got two to offer you, and now Amazon's UK bureau is ready to take pre-orders for the new Salsa and ChaCha handsets for a June 26th delivery. The ChaCha's equipped with a portrait QWERTY keyboard and a 2.6-inch touchscreen, while the Salsa stretches out to 3.4 inches and eschews the physical keys. Both feature 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processors and 512MB of RAM, which are used to run Android with Sense laid over the top. The unsubsidized prices are set at £250 ($409) for the ChaCha and £320 ($524) for the Salsa, though we're sure you'll be able to get them without any upfront payments if you're happy to sign your life away to a carrier for the next couple of years.
Engadget Podcast 233 - 02.21.2011
Our program today is XXXXXL heavy in a lot of different ways, and most of those ways lie under a big robotic green umbrella. Get it? It was a weather-related Android allusion; please forgive us. It's the Engadget Podcast, wedged firmly between the past and the future, unsure of what to feel about either one, but trying to exist really completely in the now.Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent WolbeMusic: Love Will Tear Us Apart00:05:30 - Samsung Galaxy S II official: dual-core 1GHz CPU, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus, coming this month (hands-on with video)00:05:50 - HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on00:06:00 - Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview (video)00:16:22 - Qualcomm promises Netflix streaming support on 'future Android devices' with Snapdragon00:16:43 - Android-powered LG Revolution caught streaming Netflix at MWC (video)00:23:02 - Next version of Android will combine Gingerbread and Honeycomb, arrive on a six-month cycle00:23:58 - The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!)00:24:25 - Sony Ericsson touts Xperia Play multiplayer gaming, promises 50 titles at launch00:24:40 - Sony Ericsson Xperia Play available in March, on Verizon in 'early spring'00:35:26 - LG Optimus 3D hands-on00:44:48 - HTC's Facebook-worshipping phones headed to AT&T later this year00:46:20 - HTC Salsa and Chacha bring the dedicated Facebook button to Android (update: eyes-on)00:51:30 - Motorola Xoom vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. LG G-Slate -- battle of the Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablets00:52:08 - Motorola Xoom price official: $799 unsubsidized on Verizon, $600 for WiFi-only00:53:00 - Motorola's Sanjay Jha on Xoom: 'Our ability to deliver 4G justifies the $799 price point'00:59:10 - HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Android 2.4 Flyer into the tablet wars (update: hands-on video!)00:59:48 - HTC Flyer tablet hits Amazon.de for 669 euros00:59:55 - The stylus isn't dead: more pen-based tablets and apps coming this year01:05:01 - Exclusive: Sony 'S1' PlayStation tablet (updated)01:06:02 - Nokia: 'Our first priority is beating Android'01:06:20 - Eric Schmidt: 'We certainly tried' to get Nokia to use Android01:06:40 - HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: 'it'll make the ecosystem stronger'01:07:00 - The Engadget Interview: Microsoft's Aaron Woodman talks Windows Phone 7 and Nokia01:07:30 - Windows Phone 7's multitasking uses zoomed-out cards to check on your apps01:08:50 - Microsoft Rally Ball demo shows Windows Phone 7, Kinect, Xbox Live living in perfect harmony (video)01:09:10 - Microsoft shows off WP7's future with multitasking, Twitter integration, and IE9, all coming this year01:12:40 - Nokia's marginalization of MeeGo came as a surprise to Intel01:13:58 - Intel's Otellini insists company is committed to MeeGo, says he 'understood' why Nokia moved to Microsoft01:14:25 - Editorial: Intel keeps pushing MeeGo, but why?01:14:50 - Intel shows off more of its MeeGo Tablet UI, still needs lots of work01:27:50 - Motorola Atrix 4G reviewHear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @engadget @reckless
HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on
Okay, by now you've likely seen most if not all of HTC's monstrous MWC 2011 launch (HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S), but we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't complete the video tours. Sadly the HTC Salsa and ChaCha weren't ready to play just yet -- the software isn't quite ready for primetime -- so they had to remain behind a safe layer of glass. We did, however, get a quick overview of each of the S devices mentioned above and have some pretty galleries of them, too. So enjoy the show. %Gallery-116704% %Gallery-116698% %Gallery-116703%
HTC Salsa and Chacha bring the dedicated Facebook button to Android (update: eyes-on)
Yes folks, the leaks were for real, HTC really is bringing out a pair of new handsets adorned with a dedicated, delicately illustrated Facebook key front and (almost) center. HTC is very careful not to call its Salsa -- a 3.4-inch, 480 x 320 touchscreen device -- and portrait QWERTY-sporting ChaCha "Facebook phones," however Mark Z's highly successful social network is indeed the focus around which both are built. The OS is Android 2.4 underneath, however the Sense customizations have taken on an extra few tweaks and functions to accommodate a Facebook-centric lifestyle. That royal blue button is context-aware, with a pulsating light surrounding it any time there's an opportunity to share whatever you're doing with the phone through Facebook. A good example of that is you can long-press the F key to automatically check in with the social mothership. In terms of specs, you're looking at a lot of common components between these two. There's a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 -- which didn't seem to struggle unduly with basic functions during our quick play around with the Salsa -- 512MB of both RAM and ROM, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and a VGA front-facing cam. The resolution on the ChaCha is 480 x 320 as well, which should provide decent pixel density on that 2.6-inch screen. Both are expected to launch globally before the end of Q2 2011, at pricing points above the newly announced Wildfire S, but below the similarly fresh Desire S and Incredible S handsets. Hands-on photography by Sean Cooper. %Gallery-116715% %Gallery-116718%
