mobile phone

HTC is set to release another Android-based smartphone called the HTC Hero in London on the 24th of June and could become the third phone build around Google’s mobile platform on the market.

According to Digitimes, the HTC Hero will be available in two versions; one with a QWERTY keyboard – Memphis and another without – Lancaster. It is also understood that AT&T will get a 6-month exclusivity period for the HTC Lancaster in the US.

Like most recent HTC smartphones, the Hero will feature HTC’s own proprietary 3D user interface, the TouchFLO. Google has already said that it expects up to around 20 Android handsets to be released by the end of the year – that’s just under 7 months from now.

There are already 10 handset manufacturers which have enrolled in the Open Handset Alliance with Acer being the latest. But only a few of them have said that they will be releasing Android devices fairly soon.

HTC is already building up the momentum after it issued invitations to a mysterious HTC press event to be hold – yes on the 24th of June – coupled with a few leaked videos.

Sony Ericsson did more than just announce its new “GreenHeart” strategy Thursday, the company also unveiled two new Earth-friendly cell phones. According to Sony Ericsson, the Naite and the C901 Cyber-shot will help it reach its goal of a 20 percent carbon footprint reduction by 2015. The handsets offer such features as recycled plastic, low-power chargers, and waterborne paints. Also, by including electronic, rather than paper user manuals, Sony Ericsson said it can reduce packaging size. The company promises that the overall carbon footprint of each phone will be reduced by 15 percent.
Both the Naite and the C901 have standard candy bar designs with trim profiles. The 262,144-color displays looked sharp during my brief hands-on, and I didn’t notice any immediate problems with their navigation controls and keypad buttons. That’s a good sign considering Sony Ericsson doesn’t have the best track record when designing user controls. On the downside, while the recent Sony Ericsson W995a has a 3.5mm headset jack, the Naite and C901 have proprietary jacks.

The C901’s sliding lens cover.
The C901 and Naite are quad-band GSM world phones, but the C901 only supports 3G networks outside of North America. The Naite, which comes in red and silver designs, should be out by the third quarter of 2009. The C901, which will be available only in white, should go on sale during the second quarter of this year.
Features on both phones are mid-range, but are more plentiful than Motorola’s Renew W233 recycled phone. As a Cyber-shot phone, the C901 centers on its camera. The 5-megapixel shooter captures still photos and video and it includes such options as auto-focus, photo geo-tagging, and a Xenon flash with red-eye reduction. The camera lens on the phone’s rear side has a sliding cover.

Sony Ericsson Naite
The C901 also promises a music player, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, messaging and POP3 e-mail, instant messaging, USB mass storage, motion gaming, PC syncing, an FM radio, a wireless Web browser, and a personal organizer. And back on the green front, you can use the C901’s navigation toggle to adjust the display’s brightness level and save battery life. Having those controls on the toggle saves you from digging through a menu.
The Naite has a 2-megapixel camera and camcorder, a music player, a wireless Web browser, a speakerphone, messaging and POP3 e-mail, instant messaging, an FM radio, stereo Bluetooth, Google Maps, USB Mass storage, PC syncing, and a personal organizer. Like the C901 the Naite has a special Walkmate pedometer, which also tells you how much carbon emissions your steps are saving.