HTC One goes official with 4.7" 1080p screen, quad-core CPU

Just as we expected, the HTC events turned out to be about the company's new flagship - the HTC One.
HTC One features a 4.7-inch Super LCD 3 display of 1080p resolution (that's 469ppi). It should be able to match the image quality of the Butterfly's unit.



The One is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset (the same ticking inside the LG Optimus G Pro) utilizing a quad-core 1.7GHz Krait 300 processor, Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM.
The camera of the HTC One sports a 4MP sensor and 1080p@30fps video recording (with HDR). The sensor has what HTC calls Ultrapixels, which are much larger than the regular smartphone pixels and promise vastly improved per-pixel quality and low-light performance. The smartphone also offers gyroscope-based Optical image stabilization which should come in handy for video recording.


HTC One

The HTC One will have 32GB or 64 GB of non-expandable storage and rich connectivity settings including LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4 and GPS with GLONASS.
HTC One will launch running on Android 4.1.2 but the 4.2.2 update is already in the works.
The new flagship is made out of aluminum and is about 9.3 mm thick. It has stereo speakers at the front with impressive 93db loudness and a 2300 mAh non-removable battery. Also, its Power/Lock key on top is transparent and doubles as an IR port to control home equipment.
HTC One will be available in black, red and silver colors and will launch in March this year. HTC has already made deals with 185 carriers worldwide including USA's AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint; all major UK carriers and many more. There is still no info on its retail price, though.
You should check out this article for live photos of the HTC One, garnished with our first hand impressions of the device.

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Google Opening Stores in Major Metropolitan Areas, Preparing to Sell Nexus Devices, More

Microsoft may have its own cool stores, but that didn’t quite trigger an invasion of Surface Pro purchases. It’s hard to imitate the Apple Store success without also giving the public appealing products. Google will apparently try its hand with a bunch of retail stores, according to some inside info.

The search engine giant has already experimented with selling Nexus devices for itself and now it wants to open its own locations. There are already a bunch of Chrome stores integrated into other big commercial shopping areas in UK and USA. Best Buy holds such area, for example and so do PCWorld/Dixon locations. However, this time the new stores will be focused on Google and the Nexus devices especially. It would be a good idea to have such a space, since we could actually get to play with devices before we buy them.
Just look at the Nexus 4 and how hard it was to find an unit to purchase or play with, because of the low stocks. The Nexus 10 also had similar problems, so a Google Store is in order. There are Android stores in China, but they’re not quite official, as far as I know. The decision to open the stores is apparently associated with the Google Glasses, that certainly need an in store specialist to do the demo, since you are spending a lot of cash for them after all and you need to know what you’re buying.

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HTC M7 to hit shelves in France on March 8, priced at €650

At the rate these HTC M7 leaks and teasers go, we are afraid HTC will have little to announce at its February 19 event. Today we got to learn the pricing and release date of the smartphone (or at least in France), courtesy of a listing from a local retailer.
According to the leak, the HTC M7 will be launched on March 8, and it will be using that exact name. This refutes earlier rumors that M7 was merely a codename, which won't be used any more once the smartphone gets official.


The SIM-free HTC M7 will be priced at a whopping €649.99(about $879) and is expected to be available in different colors.
The listing also confirms the specifications of HTC M7 to sport a 4.7" Full HD display, 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor along with 2GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory with microSD support, 4G, NFC, Android Jelly Bean and 2,300mAh battery
Furthermore, HTC M7 will be using a 13-megapixel camera with stacked sensor and ultrapixels for the first time and it will be interesting to see how the camera performs. M7 is also confirmed to feature the latest HTC 5.0 sense and Double HP techno Beats Audio.

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HTC to hold pre-MWC 2013 press conferences on February 19

HTC is holding a press conference on February 19, a whole week prior to the MWC 2013's kick off. The event will take place in London and will start at 10:00AM local time.

Unlike Nokia, which has already confirmed its pre-MWC press event for February 25. HTC's press conference will take place outside the MWC host city Barcelona, as HTC tries to have more of the spotlight for itself.

And it will most likely succeed, considering the strong possibility that the Taiwanese will announce its M7 future Android flagship there. The smartphone will boast the smallest 1080p screen on the market. As such the 4.7" display will have the mind-blowing pixel a pixel density of 468 ppi.

Parts of the the smartphone have already posed for the camera, so the M7 is all but officially confirmed at this point. It's highly likely the M7 to run HTC's latest Sense UI 5.0 on top of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Update: In addition to the London press conference, HTC has also confirmed there will be a parallel event in New York on February 19.

Whatever the case may be, we'll be your eyes and ears for the event once February 19 comes.

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Pantech Vega No 6 goes official in South Korea

Pantech has unveiled yet another excitingly sounding smartphone from the Vega lineup. Unfortunately, just like most of its siblings the Vega No 6 as the new device is called will remain exclusive to South Korea. It packs a 5.9-inch 1080p display and is powered by a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait processor.
The Pantech Vega No 6 also offers 2GB or RAM and generous 32GB internal storage, which can be expanded further through the microSD card slot. A 13MP primary camera and a 2MP front-facing snapper take care of your photography and video-chat needs.


The connectivity department of the Vega No 6 has everything - from Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and USB for local transfers to LTE for high-speed internet access on the go.
Pantech Vega No 6 runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Pantech's own Flux UX. It will launch on all three South Korean carriers in February. It will cost KRW849,000 (about €580/$780) SIM-free, but if you are willing to sign a long-term contract you might get a sweeter deal.

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