So, you may have heard that there was that next-generation iPhone leak this week but there was also some really cool stuff from Dell (of all companies!), Research In Motion, and HTC. Hop over past the jump for a thorough breakdown of this week in mobile technology.
The next iPhone
So, the story goes that an Apple engineer walked into a bar with a prototype of the upcoming iPhone, got smashed, left the handset at the bar and some dude sold it to Gizmodo. This may be sleazy or possibly illegal but it gave us a great look at what we can expect from Apple this summer.
The major difference between the iPhone HD (I’m calling it that) and previous versions is that the industrial design is changing to have a flatter design. There also appears to be a front-facing camera for the much-vaunted video calling, and a screen that should have a boosted display. There’s aluminum around the casing and the volume, power and mute buttons are now metallic. There’s also supposed to be a bigger battery, it will be like the iPad and use micro-SIMs, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the camera hit 5-megapixels.
This was a major scoop and, while I expect Apple to add some additional features before the launch, this will likely be what’s available this summer. The reaction has been relatively divided on IntoMobile, as some of us think the new design is stylish and others think it looks chunky. How say you, readers?
The clamshell BlackBerry
The clamshell BlackBerry 9760 peaked its head out this week and it will be rocking BlackBerry OS 6.0. This CDMA device (I’d bet it will hit Verizon) will have a large external display, a 360 x 480 internal screen, trackpad, WiFi, Bluetooth, a full QWERTY keyboard, a microSD slot, a microUSB port and it will be the first BlackBerry with a 5-megapixel shooter. It’s an interesting design but I wonder how it will feel in my hands. Luckily, I’m going to Research In Motion’s WES conference next week, so we should have a ton of hands-on photos and videos of this new BlackBerry.
Dell makes it hot
Dell’s Aero smartphone looks less than stellar, so it was pretty surprising when its upcoming lineup was leaked and these handsets looked hot.
The Dell Thunder, pictured above, will rock a 4.1-inch WVGA OLED screen and it is supposed to have an integrated Hulu application for TV watching on the go. It’s due in the fourth quarter, so it’s a safe bet to say it will rock Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Dell will be throwing on its own custom user interface layer, known as “Stage.” The internals aren’t known for sure, but it’s reasonable to assume it will have a 1 GHz processor, WiFi, GPS, AT&T 3G support, Bluetooth and an 8-megapixel camera.
The Lightning also caught my eye because the portrait slider will be rocking Windows Phone 7. This handset will have a 1 GHz Snapdragon process, 4.1-inch WVGA OLED screen, 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, GPS, accelerometer, FM radio and probably WiFi. It should hit with versions for AT&T and T-Mobile, and be on the lookout for it in the fourth quarter.
The Flash has a 3.5 inch display, TV-out, 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, a micro SD card slot that’s expandable to 64GB, handwriting recognition for text input (along with virtual keyboard), 512MB of both ROM and RAM, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi and Android 2.2. The device will also rock Qualcomm’s MSM 7230 processor with a clock speed of 800MHz.
I’m also intrigued by the Dell Smoke because the portrait slider is supposed to come in at a very affordable price. The Froyo-powered device will have a full QWERTY keyboard, 2.8-inch QVGA display, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, 14.4 Mbps HSPA, WiFi, microSD slot, a 5-megapixel camera and the next-generation MSM7230 processor. Look for this one to hit in the second quarter of 2011.
How, uh, incredible is the Droid Incredible?
Before all the leaks, the HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon Wireless was going to be the story of the week. It’s a shame it got overshadowed because the Android-powered handset is a beauty. In our thorough review, Will Park broke down the pros and cons of this touch-screen smartphone. He had mostly kind things to say.
The Incredible is, well, pretty damn Incredible. The Incredible’s feature-set is one of the most impressive of any smartphone currently available today. You get high-end hardware packed into a slim and sexy package – and the hardware works well, without lag or any major snafus. The styling of the handset (the battery cover comes to mind) may not appeal to everyone, but we’d guess that most people will find it attractive enough to compete with the iPhone and the Nexus One.
Jump over to the review for in-depth details about HTC’s latest handset.
Quick hitters
Our Android head Blake took a look at the Motorola BackFlip for AT&T and he wasn’t very impressed.
With it’s odd styling, too much of a kid-like experience from Motorola, AT&T’s tight grip on what goes on the device, with it’s additon of Yahoo! Search, and lack of outside of Android Market Application installs, there are enough reasons to continue your search for another Android phone. All that coupled with last-generation hardware are enough overlook the Backflip no problem.
Palm is having another bad week despite what its CEO is blathering about. HTC reportedly passed on buying the struggling handset maker, which leaves Lenovo as the leading candidate. Now, we’re also hearing rumblings that the company could be headed for a major shakeup with CEO Jon Rubinstein heading to the curb. I don’t think he was that horrible with his vision for a comeback but the results speak for itself.
Well, friends, it’s a gorgeous day outside and I have my eye on the weekend. The IntoMobile team doesn’t ever rest though, so look for updates throughout the weekend. Don’t forget to follow IntoMobile on Twitter and Facebook, and feel free to shoot me any questions or comments @marinperez.