How about this for some continuity – when Google unveiled the Samsung-developed Nexus S, everyone called it a tweak of the Galaxy S. Now a rumour coming out of a Korean newspaper suggests that we will see the Samsung Galaxy S2 launched at the Mobile World Congress in February, with it being a tweak of the Google Nexus S. Confused much? Yep, that’s it.

Dual-core

Korean newspaper Chosunilbo (sub required) reported the news, saying that the tech will be an almost exact replica of the current Google Nexus S. That means a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, Android 2.3, gyorscope, NFC technology, dual video cameras, and 16GB of internal memory. Where it will differ, apparently, is in having a dual-core processor, as the defining characteristic of the handset.

This could make the Samsung Galaxy S2 one of the most powerful handsets in the world, considering its predecessor is already up there with the rest of them in terms of raw speed and power.

Umm, well Nexus One became the Desire

This transition from a Google-branded phone to a Samsung-branded phone is similar to the transition HTC went through when they launched the HTC Desire, since the Desire was a tweak of the Nexus One. This is a positive omen, since the HTC Desire is still considered by many – these parts included – to be one of the best smartphones on the market. Period. Given that the original Galaxy S is categorized in the same league, one can only imagine how good the S2 turns out.

Smartphone overload

Unless you write about technology, it’s becoming extremely difficult to keep up with the many smartphones released these days. The Google Nexus S, for example, was launched literally the other day in the UK.

Christmas! Or, more importantly, family! The year has finally come to an end, and hopefully 2010 was decent for you. It’s likely you have to trek long distances to go see loved ones and given how harsh winter conditions are around the world – stay away from Heathrow – you’re probably not envying it.  We empathise. We do, however, never travel without our favourite gadgets, though we never pack heavy either, so it’s a game of compromises. Below are the gadgets that are coming along on the road trip this year.

HTC Desire

The smartphone revelation of 2010, the HTC Desire is a game-changer of a handset and was, for many people, the first to really show the promise of Google Android realised. Now, over 6 months after release, and in a post iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S world, it’s remarkable this handset has stayed relevant in the fast changing world of mobile phones. But that’s what great build quality, dazzling speed, and a very impressive camera does for one – give it longevity. This travel gadget was, unsurprisingly, the first checked into the itinerary.

The iPad

Photo: lacomj / Flickr

We’re bullish on tablet PCs. Not only do we think they’re going to be a massive market – all signs are pointing to that – we’re excited about the prospects of the tons of as yet unreleased and yet to be conceived brilliant applications that wouldn’t be possible on any other platform. And in 2010, regardless who says what, their really was only one tablet in the market, both commercially and critically. The iPad.

That’s it!

That’s it. These holidays I’m half experimenting with the whole ‘tablet as a productivity tool’ thing. We’ll use the HTC Desire’s wireless hotspot function to connect the tablet PC to the web for online tasks. Though work will comprise mostly of writing, this will give a good gauge as to how proficient the iPad is in doing what most people use their laptops for anyway – word processing and browsing the web.

That’s how travel gadget load for 2010.  We’re curious to know what you’re packing in for your long journeys. Happy holidays

2010 has been an unprecedented year in smartphone technology. It saw Apple solidify its smartphone stronghold, Google go from strength to strength, HTC ride the Google Android wave, Microsoft give its mobile OS platform ambitions a reboot, and older stalwarts like Nokia struggle to keep up. As the year winds down, however, we take a peak into the top three smartphones of the year so far. Why ‘so far’? Though we doubt anything will sneak in at the last minute, one can never be too safe, right?

iPhone 4

Antennagate aside, and glass gate aside, Apple showed its iPhone dominance reporting an unprecedented 14.1 million iPhones sold in the last quarter. Furthermore, though it doesn’t have the unit numbers comparable to other mobile phone manufacturers, it sure does horde the industry wide profit. With its retina display, gyroscope in lieu of the older accelerometer, a notable speed boost, and FaceTime, Apple reminded us why people love their iPhones so. What’s more, it’s really difficult to ignore 300,000 apps, especially when the mobile OS platform, iOS, is what powers the best selling tablet computer in the world, too.

HTC Desire

Photo: HTC

For our money, the HTC Desire was the first big deal smartphone to be released in 2010, and as testament to how high a bar the handset set, few mobile phones have come even close to it. This Android smartphone packed an impressive 5mp camera, with more power under the hood then mobile phones should be allowed to have. While we loved the HTC Magic and the HTC Hero before it, the HTC Desire showed that the Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer really does have the desire to be the best in the world at this. Read our HTC Desire review to see why this is a no brainer in any 2010 best smartphones list.

Samsung Galaxy S

Photo: Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy S is the most recently released ‘let’s collectively gush at how awesome this phone is’ handset this year. While Samsung’s TouchWiz interface continues to be highly divisive, the overall build quality of this Android smartphone is, in many areas, peerless. Samsung borrowed many ideas from Apple in making their smartphone, but so what? Copy what works, and do your own thing as you attempt to make it better. And, one look at our Samsung Galaxy S review will confirm why we think it’s also a shoe-in on any 2010 best smartphones list.

The trend

For those keeping score, two of the three smartphones on this list are Google Android devices. If there were space for additional handsets, the brilliant Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini would likely waltz onto this list, making it three Google Android phones in our top four. It’s no wonder Android is growing like a weed. We are keeping a keen eye on the decidedly brilliant Windows Phone 7 mobile OS platform, though.

Do you agree with our 2010 best smartphones list, and if not, what would you remove and what would you substitute that with?

This title will court controversy. That’s fine. These types of posts always do. But as someone who swears by the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S both, and has had extensive hands-on time with other mobile platforms, this isn’t a praise iOS devices post, but more a thought piece on how others go about their business such that they’re always compared to Apple.

Reason 1: They copy the iPhone archetype

Perhaps this first reason is more indicative of Apple setting a standard of expectations, as opposed to the competition mimicking Apple’s archetype, but the way smartphones are rolled out and monetised is an exact framework copy of what Apple has done. Rollout a device, support it with frequent updates, maintain a robust app store and punt every launch like it’s the second coming. These are all things all mobile OS platforms need to do to survive, but the iPhone platform did it first – or at least did it well first – and so it always seems like everybody else is copying Apple’s framework.

Reason 2: The phones themselves plays on the iPhone

The iPhone was the first full-screen, virtually button-free touchscreen phone that worked really well. Every full screen touchscreen mobile phone released since 2007 is a play on that and, unfortunately, the originator still garners the attention. Whether it’s capacitive touchscreens, or the retina display, or the punting of FaceTime like video calling as ‘new technology’, through good design and brilliant marketing Apple ‘makes’ everyone else look a step behind the hardware roadmap of smartphones, even if they are not.

Reason 3: They have inferior apps

Not only does the iOS platform have more apps than everybody else, it also has superior apps to what everybody else is bringing to the table. This can be argued till the cows come home. People can lament Apple for its strict control over what gets in and out of the app store, while Android and the like are completely open and so on. All of this is fine, but it does not change the fact that the collection of applications and quality thereof on iOS devices are superior.

And, truthfully, in the age of the modern smartpone, applications are almost everything.

Digital cameras brought photography to the people. Mobile phones brought photography to the masses, but only recently did the quality of a mobile phones camera become comparable to that on a dedicated digital camera. On the eve of Apple’s next major product reveal, we explore what the future of the consumer digital camera is.

The stand-alone digital camera will not die… completely

The first thing to note is that the stand-alone digital camera is not completely done for. Far from it, in fact, particularly with DSLR cameras steadily decreasing in price. But entry-level point and shoot digital cameras will either go the way of the dodo or become dirt, dirt, dirt cheap. This is a very good thing for consumers, but concerning for manufacturers.

The smartphone – tomorrow’s everything device

The mobile phone disrupted the fixed line telecommunications business. The smartphone is damaging the business of virtually every pocket-size consumer electronic gadget in the world. Handheld console? Check. GPS device? Check? Timepiece? Uhm, Check. The digital camera. Without a doubt, check. Since the phenomenal HTC Desire shipped with its 5 megapixel camera, and with the iPhone following suit, the gap between a basic point-and-shoot digital camera and what you can get on your smartphone has diminished rapidly. Now, with its 12 megapixel Nokia N8, the Finnish mobile giant wants to, well, finish the job.

The perennial disruptor: the iPod?

Photo: woolennium / Flickr

At Apple’s special music event tonight many expect Steve Jobs to unveil an updated iPod Touch with a front-facing and rear-facing camera, much like the iPod 4 has. Though Apple’s intention for the device is to forward its own personal FaceTime agenda, it could have huge ramifications for point-and-shoot digital cameras, and other consumer devices like Cisco’s Flip Cam.

The iPod is no stranger to disrupting markets, being significantly responsible for upending the music business, but does it have one more swansong in it by gutting the camera business and Cisco’ brilliant Flip Cam range, too?

All in all, with the advancements in mobile computing touching every corner of consumer electronics, the point-and-shoot digital camera cannot escape unscathed. How bad the market erosion will be is yet to be seen, though.

We know, we know. We’re just courting trouble with this post. No area in electronics is more competitive than smartphones right now and to do a top three list will, for many people, be heresy, particularly if their device is left off the list. Nonetheless, some people still want snapshots, and this is what this is: a snapshot of the best mobile phones released in 2010.

iPhone 4

You knew the iPhone 4 would be here. And you either celebrated this, or lamented it. The truth is, as the software catalogue for iOS gets better, the better the devices inherently becomes. Outside of that, though, the much-debated retina display, improved form factor with glass at the front and back, a 5MP camera capable of 720p HD recording, as well as the inclusion of the new mobile OS makes this iPhone 4 a shoe-in on anybody’s list. Sure the antenna problems are a shocking oversight, but 1.7 million people in three days just can’t be wrong (or they’re all swimming in the Kool-aid, not just sipping it).

HTC Desire

Photo: HTC

If you have been reading this site for any continuous period, you would know we think highly of HTC as a mobile phones manufacturer. Their 2010 got off to an unbelievable start with the one-two punch combo of the HTC Desire and HTC Legend and though the US-only HTC EVO 4G hasn’t amounted to its promise, anyone’s allowed a misstep. It’s surprising, then, that this second of our top three mobile phones of 2010 was released at the tail-end of Q1, but the HTC Desire is still tops. You can read our full review here to see why we love it so.

Sony Xperia X10 mini

Photo: Sony Ericsson

We were caught in a bit of a quandary as to whether to award this position to the Sony Xperia X10 mini or to the surprisingly good Samsung Galaxy S. The Sony Xperia X10 Mini harkens back to the days of the Motorola Razr where small phones were all the rage, but the clever design, implemented with intelligent UI usage of Android gives this phone that little bit more than just aesthetics for size. And let’s be fair, Sony Ericsson need a major victory. It’s also pretty affordable, to boot, which helps a ton.

So which is it for you? The iPhone 4, HTC Desire, or the Sony Xperia X10 Mini? Or, if not these, which other phone would you have on this list instead?

Pretty much everybody gets great tech long after the US does. Look what happened with the iPad and most every major smartphone in the world. So on the rare occasions we ‘international users’ (they even clump us under one title) get something remarkable before the US does, allow us a second to feel better about ourselves. This is the case, with the HTC Desire finally getting released in the US in August, with a catch.

Regional Carriers

The catch is the Google Android powered HTC Desire will not be released on major carriers nationwide, with HTC opting to give the phone to ‘select regional operators’ to carry. That means no AT&T, no Sprint and no T-Mobile, either. A veritable easter egg hunt may need to ensue if US-based customers want the HTC Desire so as to find out what we keep cooing about.

You’ll love it, promise

We’ve had the HTC Desire for some time already and, in case it wasn’t clear when we wrote our review, we loved it. We still do, in fact. This Google Android powered phone is easily one of HTC’s best devices and is still on the shortlist for handset of the year, even with the hugely impressive iPhone 4 and HTC’s very own powerful (but disappointing) HTC EVO 4G due to both be on market soon.

Oh, wait, fancy footwork

Photo: HTC

Our fellow tech lovers who stay in the US do have the escape route of saying the HTC Desire is merely a tweaked Google Nexus One, which the US got a long while before the rest of the world did. Though this debate is old, it’s hardly true with the phones different enough that we at least consider them two completely separate devices. Glass half empty or half full, right? And even then, can us ‘international’ users get a moment in the sun? Just a brief one.

So, US readers, does the news of one of the standout Google Android handsets excite you or not? And to those of us who are ‘international’ users, how has your experience with this HTC handset been so far?

HTC must have the most hyperactive R&D department in the smartphone world, planning several more smartphones this calendar year, still, with the rumoured HTC Vision being dubbed the HTC Desire with a Qwerty keyboard added for good measure.

Desire + keyboard = more desirable?

The simple question is: should you care? The simple answer is: it depends. It depends on whether you care for keyboard or not, because as a standalone device, the HTC Desire is one of the best mobile phones available on the market, period. So, if HTC somehow manages to keep all the HTC Desire functionality and attractive form factor, and somehow sneak a keyboard into the device for those who want tactile feedback, it’s almost impossible to not recommend purchasing it.

Expansion vs. convergence

As an aside, HTC, who have released a ton of phones this year, are showing no signs of slowing down. This strategy of releasing phones without pause is both fascinating, considering the constant stream of high quality devices, yet concerning in that it could dilute the product value in the long run. HTC, effectively, is to smartphones what Nokia was to feature phones a decade ago, in terms of release volume, at least.

The problem is this – when compared to the competition, which releases one phone per year every year meaning that handset gets all the focus put on that company’s mobiles, HTC may inadvertently lower the sales of its own individual phones.
If the Vision is released this year, that would bring HTC’s 2010 tally to nearly 10 devices, with the HTC Legend, HTC Incredible, HTC Wildfire, HTC Incredible, the aforementioned HTC Desire and the powerful HTC Evo 4G, to name but a few, and we’re not even in June yet.

Someone at HTC had the smart idea of letting you, Joe and Jane Public, name the company’s next phone by crowdsourcing on Facebook.

Options

In a note posted on Facebook, HTC says they are ‘looking for a name that is playful and full of youth’, before asking you to choose from one of four options. The options available are the HTC Zeal, HTC Wildfire, HTC Festi and the HTC Jovi.

What should it be?

If you’ve ever taken note of how HTC names their phones, only one should stand out. Between the Magic, Dream, Hero, Incredible, Desire, and Legend, surely it would be overzealous to overlook the HTC Zeal. It’s typical HTC grandiose fair, and who doesn’t like that?

The road previously traveled

Photo: HTC

Crowdsourcing – the act of engaging your audience as sources of product information and creation – has come of age recently, particularly with the Internet making it so simple. Mobile handsets giant Nokia recently went a step further than HTC, by crowdsourcing the design of a handset the company is working.

When HTC is not being lazy

In the last 12 months, HTC has released the well-reviewed HTC Legend and the amazing HTC Desire. In the months to come, its 4G HTC EVO is on the horizon, and early specs and impressions indicate it may be the most powerful phone in the world.

In addition, HTC is rumoured to be considering acquiring the ailing PDA giant, Palm, who were recently reported as having put themselves on the chopping block after months of bad results. The theory is the Palm acquisition would give HTC a powerful distribution and retail channel in North America where they’re waging war with Apple iPhone platform.

Now head on over to the Facebook page, and in your zeal, do what’s right. It would sit quite nicely next to HTC Legend.

We write about HTC handsets quite often here, and not because of any bias to the company, but because HTC’s products for the last 12 months have been as good as any other smartphone maker has ever released – yes, even Apple and its iPhone. And the company’s newly released quarterly results confirm what we’ve long suspected, and what the company is due – HTC smartphones are being hugely successful, particularly due to the company’s partnership with Google Android.

The numbers game

HTC’s Q1 revenue was $1.19 billion (£770 million), a 19.3 per cent increase over 2009’s Q1 results. Profit amounted to $158 million (£102 million), up $4 million from the year prior, making HTC the fourth largest smartphone maker, behind Nokia, Apple and Research in Motion (Blackberry), with a market share of about six per cent.

The handsets

Photo: HTC

Two things drive these sales. The first of which is the quality of the HTC smartphones, with HTC releasing the HTC Desire, HTC Legend, HTC Hero and HTC HD2 in the last 12 months, with what we believe to be the world’s most powerful phone (on specs, at least), the HTC EVO 4, scheduled for release soon.

The Google Android factor

Photo: HTC

The second sales driver is Google Android. Much of HTC’s growth, particularly in the US, has been on the back of Google Android. While HTC handsets have been amazing for years, their previous operating system of choice, Windows Mobile, was letting the company down considerably in terms of user interface and capabilities. Considering HTC has been running Google Android for a little over two years, the fact that seven of their top 15 phones are powered by that operating system is remarkable.

And, not to give too much credit to Google for HTC’s success, it’s arguable that Android would not be what it is without HTC handsets and the company’s support, with reports that HTC smartphones account for 61 per cent of the Android market. So, in saying it’s all Google would be unfair to HTC smartphones and their unbelievable quality. It’s no wonder Apple is suing HTC to get at Google since they’re clearly turning up the heat.