HTC One A9 Revealed

Brooklyn, NY – Prior to today’s Tidal X: 2010 concert, which is sponsored by HTC, the Taiwanese company unveiled its latest smartphone in the HTC One A9.

The new HTC phone, which will be fitted with a 5-inch, edge to edge, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Full HD AMOLED screen, will be the first non-Nexus Android powered phone to come out of the box with Android Marshmallow and of course with the company’s own software suite, HTC Sense, which will again come with HTC Themes to allow customization of your HTC Phone. HTC mentioned during the reveal that there are currently 23 000 Themes available and if you can’t find one you like, you can always use their simple Theme Maker web tool to create your own.  With Android Marshmallow, right away users of the A9 can use Android Pay ad Google’s Now on Tap, which will give you contextual information on what’s on your screen in that very moment. What's more is that HTC is promising that whenever a new Android update gets released, it will make it's way to your phone within 15 days!

HTC is promising a strong battery life with its 2150 mAh battery that comes equipped with Quick Charge 2.0 support and will be compatible with Quick Charge 3.0 with a future software upgrade. HTC’s website is touting the battery life at 12 hours for HD video playback, 60 hours on Audio playback, Internet Usage on Wi-Fi at 9 hours, Talk time on 3G network at 16 hours and Standby time on 3G network at up to 18 days. Another impressive spec that should make lots of people happy, since it’s a feature quite a few flagships are opting to remove, is that the HTC One A9 will allow it’s standard 16GB/32GB storage to expand to up to 2TB on a micro SD Card. You read that correctly, 2TB.

Now while the BoomSound stereo speakers familiar to HTC fans have been removed in favor of a fingerprint scanner, HTC is still promising high quality sound. To do this, HTC has packed their phone with HTC BoomSound integrated into the headset combined with Dolby Audio surround sound technology, delivering immersive and vibrant sound that matches a live experience. The A9 will also have a built in Digital to Analog Converter, which upgrade the audio to 24bit, 192 KHz quality and a powerful high-output headphone amplifier, which provides more power and dynamic range to your music.

Last but not least, the Camera. The HTC One A9 has a 13MP rear camera that features Optical Image Stabilization, which automatically minimizes shakes and corrects vibrations to give you crystal clear pictures every time. Its front Camera will be the usual HTC Ultrapixel camera. The phone will also offer RAW capture, allowing users the freedom an unmatched level of detail to edit their images after they’ve taken them. They also have the one-button enhancement feature for those quick pics. Also showcased in the reveal, HTC now has a hyperlapse editing tool, allowing users to speed up their videos to 12 times faster for a dramatic time-lapse effect. There is also HTC Zoe which allows users to easily edit their best shots videos into one professional-looking highlight reel, for those who love making montages.

The HTC One A9 is slated to be released in Canada sometime in November and will be priced at $549.99 CAD and will be available in Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold. 

HTC ONE A9 Full Specs
As Provided By http://www.htc.com/ca

Size	145.75 x 70.8. x 7.26 mm
Sensors	Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Motion G sensor, Compass sensor, Gyro sensor, Magnetic sensor, Sensor Hub, Fingerprint sensor
Sound	Dolby Audio™* with Hi-Res Audio
Platform	Android™ 6.0 with HTC Sense™
Connectivity	NFC, Bluetooth® 4.1, Wi-Fi®: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) por
Weight	143g
CPU Speed	Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 617, Octa-core 64-bit, 4 x 1.5GHz + 4 x 1.2GHz Memory
Camera	Main camera: 13MP with sapphire cover lens, auto-focus, BSI sensor, OIS ƒ/2.0, 1080p video recording Front camera: HTC UltraPixel™, fixed focus, ƒ/2.0, 1080p video recording
SIM Card Type	nano SIM
Multimedia	Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma, .flac, ac3, ec3, eac3 Recording: .aac Video supported formats: Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv, .avi, .mkv   Recording: .mp4
Memory	32GB ROM / 3GB RAM; Extended memory: microSD™ up to 2TB   Extended memory limited to available microSD card size.
Network	2G/2.5G - GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; 3G UMTS: 850/AWS(1700)/1900/2100 MHz; 4G LTE: FDD 2,3,4,5,7,12,13,17,29
Battery	Capacity: 2150 mAh with Quick Charge 2.0 support (forward compatible with Quick Charge 3.0 with future software upgrade); HD video playback: up to 12 hours; Audio playback: up to 60 hours; Internet use on WiFi: up to 9 hours; Talk time on 3G network: up to 16 hours; Standby time on 3G network: up to 18 days

[MWC 2015] HTC unveils the HTC One M9

While the torrent leaks of photos, videos and specs kept the M9 as mobile tech's worse secret, HTC still proudly took the stage today at MWC to unveil their 2015 flagship device in the HTC One M9. While many are quick top point out the more than striking resemblance to the HTC One M8, the M9 takes many of the issues brought up with the M8 and addresses them in this year's iteration.

The three most noticeable hardware changes on the M9 include the shift from the 4MP UltraPixel camera (now relegated to the front facing duties) + Depth Sensor to a more conventional 20.7MP rear facing shooter, the placement of the power button on the side of the device rather than top and finally a "sharpening of the edges to improve grip on a pretty slippery phone.

Under the hood there are some significant improvements with HTC opting for the new Snapdragon 810 Octa Core 4 x 2.0 GHz + 4 x 1.5 GHz SoC, Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage expandable by micro SD, 1080p 5 inch Super LCD 3 display, a 2840 mAh battery and is running Android 5.0 Lollipop with Sense 7 on top.

The M9 will be available from Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, TELUS, and Videotron

We can't wait till we get our hands on the M9 to try out.

Check out the full press release after the break.

Canadian Motorola Moto G (2013), Moto X (2014), LG G3 and HTC One M7 recieving Android 5.0 Lollipop

Looks like it's Lollipop week as not one or two or three but four devices from three different manufacturers nonetheless have started receiving their upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop.

This morning we got word from our friends at LG that the G3 would start getting the upgrade starting today.

“Bringing the new Lollipop Android update to LG G3 users has been a top priority for us,” said Eunice Lee, Brand Manager of Mobile Communications, LG Canada. “LG is committed to providing our customers with the best mobile experience, and the Lollipop upgrade is a key part of that innovative experience. The new Android OS brings a refreshed interface to the LG G3 that complements its existing design and enhances the device’s functionality. We believe that our customers will find great value in the Lollipop upgrade.”

On the side of Motorola, the Moto G (first gen) from Virgin, TELUS, Koodo, Videotron, WIND and the unlocked retail version should all have started receiving the update as of yesterday. The LTE version from Rogers, Fido and Videotron however are not part of this initial rollout.

The Moto X second gen from WIND is also getting a second attempt at a Lollipop upgrade after the last attempt cause some devices to be bricked. No word yet on the original Moto X, as Motorola is stated to be needing more time due to the custom X8 Compute platform SoC used in the original Moto X.

Lastly, one of our readers has informed us (later confirmed by MobileSyrup) that the HTC One M7 has also started start getting it's rollout to Lollipop as well. (Thanks Alex!)

If you're one of the owners of these devices let us know how the update process goes!

Canadian HTC One M8 receiving Android 5.0.1 Lollipop

HTC had promised that it would keep its flagships updated within 90 of receiving code from Google for a new version of the Android OS. While it missed that mark by a few days, HTC has finally delivered the Lollipop Android 5 update to Canadian HTC One M8s. Last week, just before the weekend Bell, SaskTel and WIND M8s got the update first and today Rogers and TELUS versions followed suit.

This has been confirmed by users and by HTC America VP Mo Versi on Twitter.

HTC One M7 to get Sense 6 tomorrow ahead of schedule

We reported last month that the HTC One M7 was going to get an upgrade to Sense 6 or "Sixth Sense" at the end of this month. It looks like HTC is ahead of schedule as according to MobileSyrup, the One M7 is slated to get the upgrade this Monday May 12th. This is a great turnaround to see the year old M7 get some love. There nothing that will inspire buyer's confidence more than a company showing that they care for their current customers.

HTC One M7 to see upgrade to Sense 6 or "Sixth Sense" by end of May

To HTC One M7 owners who are a bit envious of the M8's new Sense 6 features, there is good news straight from HTC Americas boss Jason Mackenzie. According to his official Twitter feed, the HTC One M7 will be getting an upgrade to Sense 6 by the end of May.

This includes all the goodies that only M8 owner enjoyed to day. We do wonder if this extends to the One Mini as well as the One Max but considering how the last updates went we wouldn't be surprised if this was the case.

In any case, we are glad to see HTC continue their commitment to bringing updates to existing customers.

HTC One Mini now available from Fido

Our time with the HTC One mini showed us that being "mini" didn't mean budget or low performance. While it didn't have the specs that the bigger One M7 had, it certainly wasn't a slouch and in terms of software updates is treated in the same was as the former flagship HTC One.

Today the One Mini is now headed to Fido after being an exclusive to Rogers for the past few months. This makes sense since the One Mini is a nice offering at the mid-range level and at $0 on Fido smart plan or $150 on standard plans. Check out our full review of the One mini here.

HTC unveils the All new HTC One (M8)

The HTC One finally has a successor in the the new HTC One (M8). Like its predecessor the M8 is a continuation of HTC's incredible industrial design prowess. The new One is once again made entirely out of aluminum and is built to feel even better in the hand than last year's model.

Specs include a 2.3GHz Quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, 2GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded by microSD, Dual Camera Ultrapixel camera, 5MP front facing camera, 2600mAh battery and is powered by Android 4.4.2 with Sense 6 or "Sixth Sense".

Making its return is the Ultrapixel camera, but this time with a secondary camera for depth perception. Also making a return is HTC Boomsound, with an improved Stereospeaker system which HTC claims is louder and clearer than last years incarnation.

HTC did make a significant change when it comes to the display on the M8 as it is now a 5 inch 1080p display and has surprisingly went with on screen navigation buttons rather than the Capacitive buttons we've known HTC to favor.

Overall we can't wait till we get our hands on the M8 to try out.

All new HTC One will be available from Rogers, Bell, TELUS, WIND and SaskTel at launch

We're less than an hour away from the launch of the all new HTC One and still information is getting out. This time it's info from HTC's own website with the M8 buy now page being up ahead of today's launch. Rogers, Bell, TELUS, WIND and SaskTel look like the carriers that will be makign the One available and if the rumors are true they could be available starting today.

Just 30 minutes till the big announcement.

Rogers HTC One Mini now receiving update to Android 4.4 KitKat

Just as previously outlined as "late February" in the Rogers OS Upgrade page, the HTC One Mini is apparently now receiving Android 4.4.2 KitKat. According to the Rogers OS Upgrade page and HTC's own Software update page, the certification process for One Mini's upgrade to Android 4.4.2 is complete.

One Mini users can expect similar improvements that the flagship HTC One owners have enjoyed for the last month. If you have a Rogers HTC One Mini check Settings -> About Phone -> Software update for your update and let us know how it goes down.

We suspect that this means our AT&T friends in the US should be getting the update pretty shortly. This also completes the rollout of Android 4.4 to all of HTC's major 2013 smartphone releases in Canada on every carrier which in its self a great thing to see and a nice feat. Now to see how the update process goes for the Desire 601.

[MWC 2014] HTC One named best smartphone at MWC 2014

With MWC in full swing, what would a conference be without some prizes being handed out. One winner caught our attention in the category of Best Smartphone and it was one of our favorite phones of the year in the HTC One. Despite being almost a year old at this point the One impressed the judges enough to still stand out compared to 680 other entries including newer phones released in 2013.

The HTC One remained one of the most advanced smartphones throughout 2013. Its great design and excellent user interface continue to provide a differentiated user experience, standing out from the competition - Judges’comments

Given that the One was just about universally praised by most of the mobile tech media, including AndroidBugle, we are not surprised by the choice. All of this only makes us more excited for March 25th when we hope to see the follow-up to the 2014 MWC Best Smartphone.

Check out the full press release after the break

HTC One Mini Android 4.4 KitKat update in Certification phase, rollout in the coming days

While the HTC One update to Android 4.4 was rolled out in a  pretty speedy fashion, the One Mini has taken a bit longer to get its 4.4 update without mentioning that it skipped 4.3 altogether. One Mini owners can be relieved to hear that the One Mini's Android 4.4. KitKat update is now in the certification phase meaning it is most likely in Rogers' testing labs.

This is corroborated by Roger's OS Upgrade page which states that the One Mini should be getting Android 4.4 KitKat by the end of this month.

With HTC's renewed commitment to bringing updates to the One line, we wouldn't be surprised to see the update sooner than later.

HTC One now receiving Android 4.4 KitKat update

HTC gave itself 90 Days to get the carrier branded HTC One updated to Android 4.4 and it looks like it has kept that promise. Despite indications from HTC Americas boss Jason Mackenzie that the Android 4.4. update was going to be delayed to the coming weeks, it looks like Canadian HTC Ones have started to receive the coveted update to Android's latest version.

If you have an Canadian HTC One on Rogers, TELUS, Bell, Virgin, SaskTel or WIND look for your update under Settings -> About Phone -> Software update.

Canadian HTC One and Rogers One Mini Android 4.4 update now in certification phase, possible roll out in coming days

The HTC One (and one Mini) represents a significant change for HTC, as they are working on the most criticized and scrutinized aspect of their operations, post purchase updates. While the One X might not see the light of another update, the 2013 flagship HTC One is looking at it's third update in Android 4.4 KitKat while the One Mini will be going straight from Android 4.2.2 to Android 4.4 its first major update.

It looks like we are inching closer to meeting that self imposed 90 day deadline to get KitKat rolled out to users after Android 4.4 was announced. According to HTC's website the Android 4.4 update is now in the Certification process which means that it is now down to the carriers as the last major hurdle to pushing out an Over-the-Air update.

Hopefully they can keep their promise made just 83 days ago.

Rogers HTC One mini Review

The 2013 flagship HTC One was just about universally praised by critics and reviews across the globe. From its stunning design and build quality, to its gambles on BlinkFeed, UltraPixels and Boomsound Speakers, the One brought a lot to the table. So what happens when you take the One but shrink it down to a "mini" size? You get the HTC One mini. Today, we see check out the "miniature" addition to the One family in our review of the HTC One mini.

HTC posts detailed infographics on Android update process

Updates have always been a sticking point among Android enthusiast dealing with carrier subsidized devices. This has lead many to exclusively pledge their hard earned money to Nexus devices. While there has been middle ground devices like the Google Play Edition devices put out to appease the hardcore Android fans, carrier devices are at the whims of conditions outside the controls of OEMs like HTC.

So with that, HTC put out an infographic that details the update process for their phones. They've also launched a page detailing the status of the updates on various carriers. For now it's limited to US carriers but @moversi from HTC has confirmed that Canadian carrier will be added to the listing for full transparency in North America.

Great to see an OEM be more transparent as to how the update is coming along for their flagship on different carriers. The process is quite long for updates to happen but we have seen an appreciable increase in speed with which updates have been pushed out on most OEMs. Check out the infographic after the break.

HTC reaffirms commitment to Android 4.4 KitKat on HTC One by January

While the rollout of Android 4.4 KitKat to the Google Play Edition HTC One isn't happening at the remarkably fast pace it did with Android 4.3 and missed their promise of an update within the first 15 days it seems like HTC still believes they can make their self imposed deadline of 90 days for the Sense skinned HTC One to get 4.4 by January.

Taking to the official HTC USA twitter page HTC America has reiterated that the North American HTC Ones will get updated to Android 4.4 by January. We certainly hope this is the case as it will be another solid showing in HTC's commitment to keeping their handsets up to date.

HTC promises Android 4.4 for HTC One within the next 3 months and upgrade to 4.4 for older HTC devices being explored

HTC has taken strides to try to become the fastest OEM to update their non-Nexus devices to the latest versions of Android and have been pretty successful at it. So far the HTC One has been kept up to date as it got Android 4.3 in a pretty timely fashion and this is not to mention the HTC One Google Play Edition (sadly not available in Canada) getting 4.3 only days after being launched with the new Nexus 7.

Now they looks to up the bar even further by committing to have the HTC One upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat withing 90 days as well as the One Mini and One Max (not in Canada) soon after. These statements were given in an interview with Jason Mackenzie President of HTC America, who also has insight on HTC Canada, so we are happy to hear these commitments.

We also reached out to Jason about the fact that Android 4.4 lowered hardware specification for the OS and if it could open the door to upgrades for older HTC devices. Jason replied that the options were being explored.

This isn't a guarantee that older devices like the HTC One X would get Android 4.4 but it certain makes the possibility seem much more probable.

Rogers to launch the HTC One Mini and HTC Desire 601 on November 4th

Looks like the HTC One Mini is headed to Canada after all. After stating that there we no plans to release the diminutive version of their flagship phone it looks like Rogers and HTC have brokered a deal to bring the One Mini exclusively to Canada.

The One Mini comes with a 1.4GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 4.3-inch 720p HD Display, 4MP "UltraPixel" Camera, 1800mAh battery, Boom Sound Speakers, LTE capability and is running Android 4.2 with Sense 5.

In the same tweet Rogers has also announced that they will also be launching the HTC Desire 601. Somewhat of a successor to the HTC Desire C, the Desire 601 is similarly equipped to the One Mini except has a 4.5-inch qHD display, 8GB of internal storage (but has a microSD expansion slot) and a 2100mAh battery.

HTC One max officially announced

After months of speculations and leaks the HTC One max is finally official. HTC's first foray into the tablet market takes heavy influence from the already released HTC One and HTC One mini. With an aluminum build with polycarbonate accents, the One max makes it clear that this is part of the HTC "One" family.

The One max is equipped very similarly to the flagship HTC One with a 1080p 5.9" Super LCD 3 display, a very generous 3300 mAh battery, 1.7GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 600 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage with microSD card expandability to 64GB, NFC, LTE 4G, 4 "Ultra pixel" rear camera (without optical image stabilization) and the latest tech trend to make a comeback, a finger print scanner. It also comes with Android 4.3 and their newest version of Sense 5.5.

No word on Canadian availability, but with the popularity of "phablets" in Canada we wouldn't bet against it making its way to the Great White North.

Check out the first look video and official press release after the break.