HTC responds to Apple's patent lawsuit

HTC finally released a statement to Apple's patent lawsuit.

Seems like HTC has got some fight in them. They even got in a couple of shots in the press release by stating that they've been around since 1997 and that they released the first gesture-based smartphone in June 2007. They are of course referring to the original HTC Touch which was released right before Apple's 1st-gen iPhone.

Related blog post: My take on the Apple versus HTC lawsuit

My take on the Apple versus HTC lawsuit

Certainly, most people have heard of Apple's lawsuit against HTC. If not, see here for details.

I'm not going to give my opinion on who I think will win because I read through the patents that Apple claims HTC infringed on and I think the whole case is just ridiculous.

Here's a couple of thoughts that I take away from reading about this lawsuit:

1. Apple sees HTC as a threat. Congratulations are in order for HTC. A couple years ago, nobody has even heard of them even though they've been making handsets for a number of years. Their marketing strategy over the past few years has been to boost their name brand. This lawsuit plays right into HTC's hand. More people will now be aware of HTC because of this lawsuit.

2. Apple is expected to announce the 5th-gen iPhone this summer. I think after what Apple saw at the recent Mobile World Conference, they've realized that their 5th-gen iPhone is just not adequate enough for the competition. Therefore, we have this lawsuit as an act of desperation. Certainly, Apple has not thought this through. Going against HTC means going against Google and Microsoft. Not smart at all.

3. Something is seriously wrong with the US patenting system. Some of those approved patents are just mind-boggling.

Update: HTC responds...

Reasons I'm leaving Windows Mobile for Android

Interface
Everything is outdated (ie, dropdown boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, tabs, etc). I've owned a Compaq iPaq 3760 Pocket PC back in 2001. I haven't owned another Windows Mobile device until the HTC Touch Dual in 2007. Yet, everything feels strangely familiar. WinMo 6.5 helps a bit but not enough.

Resistive screen
The screen is quite nice on my Touch Pro2, but it's just time to switch everything over to capacitive. Because of the nature of resistive screens, it feels mushy and it's prone to scratches. Plus, capacitive multi-touch screens allow for full-speed typing with 2 thumbs on the soft keyboard.
(Sure, the HD2 and the HD Mini have capacitive screens. But since the WinMo 6.x platform development is dead, I doubt we're going to see any more such devices.)

Web browsing
IE Mobile is horrible so I won't even go into details. Opera Mobile is pretty good but pales in comparison to what you can do on Android. The Android browser renders faster and more accurately. Opera Mini is fast but doesn't render accurately.

Performance
The performance just doesn't scale very well with upgraded hardware and I think a lot of it has to do with the OS holding it back. The iPaq 3760 had a 206mhz CPU with 64MB RAM. You would think the Touch Dual with a 400mhz CPU and 128MB RAM would be twice as fast. But it's not. Even my Touch Pro2 with 528mhz CPU and 288MB RAM isn't that much faster than the 10 year old iPaq.

LG KM555E Review

A sleek looking feature phone that will fit under anybody’s budget

I’ll begin by saying the LG KM555E looks very sleek. It almost begs to be picked up. It’s very thin and light. At first glance, it would seem that the device’s build quality is surprisingly good for a budget device. But once you pick it up, you’ll realize that the chrome border is actually just chrome painted plastic. The back battery cover looks like its brushed metal but it’s really also just plastic. That being said, the build quality is not bad. It certainly looks and feels more expensive than it really is.

The 3” resistive touch screen dominates the front face of the device. There are 3 buttons along the bottom of the screen. They neither are physical buttons nor are they capacitive buttons. They appear to be an extension of the resistive touch screen, so they do require pressure to be applied. The buttons are for call, end, and one that brings up a task manager/favorites popup.
On the side there’s a volume rocker and a flap that covers the microUSB slot for charging.
On the other side, there’s a camera button and a button that takes you do the media player.
On the back is a 3MP fixed focus camera with no flash.
Nothing on the bottom other than the mic.
On top, there’s the power/standby button and a 3.5mm audio jack (a very welcomed addition).
LG includes a stylus, but there’s no way to store it in the device nor is there a way to dangle it externally. This is an odd decision. Does LG want you to carry it around in your pocket where it’s bound to get lost? Luckily, you won’t be needing the stylus much unless you use Asian text recognition.

The UI is simple and finger friendly. The home screen has 3 “sides”. One is for widgets such as a notification manager, clock, calendar, music player, etc. It’s possible to download more. One is for your favorite contacts which you can arrange as if they’re tiles. The last “side” is interesting but a bit gimmicky. At first it appears to be empty. But once you start making or receiving calls, this particular “side” gets populated by your recent call history entries. They are shown as cartoon animals or people (depending on the settings you specified). If you tap on them, you can choose to call or text them.

The programs menu is organized by categories. You swipe the rows to see more of each category. Alternatively, you can flip your device to landscape to view all of them at once.

The camera is unimpressive. But since it is fixed-focus, it takes very quick pictures.

Text entry is done via a T9 style soft-keypad. Alternatively, you can switch to landscape and type using a Qwerty style keyboard. It works well, but the resistive screen means you can’t type at full speed with 2 thumbs.

Conclusion: If you have a bit more to spend, the LG KM900 is a better device. It has a capacitive screen, 4GB internal memory, and auto-focus camera with flash. But if budget is tight and you are willing to overlook those 3 things, this is a decent choice.

Positives:
+3.5mm audio jack
+compact
+looks great
+inexpensive
+WiFi

Negatives:
-resistive touch screen
-occasional minor lags in the UI

Motorola MOTOROKR S605 Review

Small and stylish, yet functional

The Motorola ROCKR S605 is categorized as a Bluetooth headset but it’s not one of those you wear on one of your ears. It’s more of a Bluetooth receiver that you can plug headphones into. As such, it’s not recommended for driving unless you wear only 1 of your ear-buds. This device is designed to be used by music listeners.

The device is rectangular shaped. It’s small and light, about the size of a 2nd-gen iPod Shuffle.
-5 buttons on the front (ie, radio, call, play/pause, forward, and back)
-volume rocker on one side
-power/hold switch on the other side
-micro-USB port for charging on the bottom
-3.5mm audio jack and indicator light on top
-clip on the back

The front face and the back have a polished glossy finish and will attract grease and fingerprints. The sides have a matte finish to it. The buttons have a good tactile feedback to them and they’re very well thought out. The hold switch is particularly important because it’s quite easy to accidentally press the buttons when you’re adjusting the clip. I find the clip to be very well designed. It should be strong enough for most. For those who prefer to wear the device, there’s a hole for you to attach a neck-strap. There are also a couple of notches on the clip for wire management. Very nice touch. I should also point out that the Motorola and the ROKR logos are on the back. So you don’t have to worry about looking like a Moto spokesperson if you wear the device.

I’ve tested it with my HTC Touch Pro2. Calls were clear for both me and the other party. Music playback worked perfect. Audio quality was good. There was no noticeable hissing as I’ve experienced with other similar products. Range and battery life were acceptable in my testing.

Music controls were easy, thanks to the excellent button choice and placement by Motorola. Basic phone call controls were easy enough. Just press the phone button to answer calls and press it again to end the call. More advanced phone functions require reading the manual.

A display would have helped. But then you’ll be giving up size, battery life, and the cheap price tag.

Positives:
+excellent price
+standard micro-USB port for charging
+easy setup
+intuitive music controls
+aesthetically pleasing
+built-in wire management design
+good sound quality

Negatives:
-grease and finger-print magnet
-no display

HTC Touch Pro2 Review

Great communication device

This is my 3rd Windows Mobile device and it is indeed the best one yet. It works great right out of the box. I've had it for several months now and have yet to really have a need to run a custom ROM. I recently purchased a ExtUSB to 3.5mm adapter and my iPod Touch has since been made redundant.

We all know the pros and cons of Windows Mobile, so I tried to keep the following specific to the device rather than the OS.

The defining feature of this device is the slide-out 5-row qwerty hardware keyboard. It is simply the best of it's kind in the mobile world. The buttons are spaced out in an offset layout just like your PC keyboard. They have a good tactile feel to it. With very little effort, you'll be able to bang out entire essays without discomfort. The dedicated number row deserves mentioning as well.

Screen size and resolution is excellent (3.6" WVGA). Web browsing and displaying photos and videos is impressive. Touch screen sensitivity is improved but it is still resistive (so pressure is required).

The Zoombar is interesting. It's only utilized in several applications but it works. It is resistive. I bet most people would have preferred a directional pad.

Speakerphone quality is excellent. And being able to access it by simply turning the device over is smart and intuitive. Great job, HTC!

TouchFlo3D penetrates into Windows Mobile even more (which is always good). Speed is greatly improved compared to 1st-gen TF3D devices like the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.

One thing that HTC talked about when they announced the product was Push-Internet. Personally, I think it's an unnecessary feature. But I can't fault it since it works. I just wished there was more flexibility in terms of scheduling this feature.

Performance was good. Rarely lags and even when it does, it's not a deal breaker.

Pros:
-Best keyboard on a mobile device
-Large sensitive high resolution touch screen (plus it tilts)
-Proximity sensor works very well
-TouchFlo3D
-Zoombar is quite handy
-Good battery life
-Conference calling made easy
-Good speakerphone device
-Push Internet (not a truly innovative feature but works well)
-Improved Photo Album app (swiping left/right to get to next/previous photo is very smooth)
-Youtube app
-Autofocus camera works well in good light
-Great performance
-Good audio quality
-Excellent source of support at the XDA forums

Cons:
-no flash on camera means grainy photos under inadequate light
-no dedicated button for camera
-microSD and reset button are under battery cover (unlocked version)
-default video player software doesn't support many formats (you'll need a 3rd party player like Coreplayer)
-no 3.5mm headphone jack (unlocked version)
-large and heavy (but considering the screen size and keyboard, it's quite fair)
-round edges and chrome makes it look like the iPhone

Conclusion: An excellent device. It's easily the best Windows Mobile device (until the release of the HTC HD2). I can't praise the hardware keyboard enough. For those who want Windows Mobile, you can't go wrong with the Touch Pro2. If it's too large for your taste, the Diamond2 is worth a look; same device without the keyboard.

Sandisk Cruzer 2nd-gen Review

Excellent, highly recommended

I've purchased the 2nd-gen Cruzer to replace my lost 1st-gen Cruzer. It as the same great form factor design with the slideout USB plug so there's no need to worry about losing your cap. This is subjective, but the new look feels more sleek.

Those that are fans of Sandisk's U3 software will be happy to know that it's once again included on the device. For those who don't use it, they're be happy to know that Sandisk includes a method to easily remove it.

It's imperative that USB flash drives are durable since they'll be scratched by our keys, thrown on the table, dropped, and more or less just abused. Mine has been through a washing machine cycle and there's been no exterior damage and data was still intact.

I use it for both my Windows PC and my OSX Macbook. So, I can confirm it works just fine on both OS's.

As with most competing products, it lights up to indicate read/write activity.

Transfer speeds won't set any records but it's in no way slow.

On the corner of the device, there's a space for you to attach a keyring or a lanyard. It would have been nice if Sandisk included one or the other (or both!).