T-Mobile has started selling the HTC Radar 4G for $99.99 after rebates when you sign up to a new two year contract. Powered by the Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS, the smartphone features a 3.8-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, a 1GHz processor, a 512MB of RAM, an 8GB of storage space and a front-facing VGA camera for video calls. The HTC Radar 4G also offers a 5-megapixel digital camera with a LED flash and a BSI sensor. Other specs include 3G, GPRS, EDGE, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1520mAh battery.
[CP]

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Are you an HTC Android smartphone user on Sprint’s network? If yes, you are in for luck, as the mobile carrier is now rolling a certain software update to HTC Android smartphones on its list, in order to fix some nasty privacy issues for users.

Users of the smartphone on Sprint’s network often complained about a security issue that enabled malicious third-party apps to access all types of sensitive data and other user information. Now, Sprint is in the process of rectifying this issue. The update, which started rolling out since Tuesday, will automatically update itself on all HTC Android smartphones, but those of you who just cannot wait that long can manually install the same onto your smartphones.

HTC smartphones including the Wildfire, EVO 4G, EVO 3D, EVO Shift 4G, EVO View 4G and EVO Design 4G are already receiving over-the-air updates.

More Info on the Vulnerability

It was found that certain Web apps and ads could actually manage to access data such as phone numbers, user accounts, SMS data, location history and even a list of other user accounts. Other more sensitive data included network info, IP address of the user, list of installed apps, list of installed apps along with user ids and versions of the app and much more.

HTC stated that the software itself would not do much harm to consumer data, but that it was a vulnerability that could probably be exploited by malicious third-party apps. HTC also said that its other carriers have also started rolling out the same update ever since the last week.

To find out if the fix is installed on your device, you need to go to the Settings menu and tap About Phone> System Update> HTC Software Update.

Has your HTC phone gotten the update already? What is your experience of the same?
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Earlier this summer HTC scooped up a slice of Beats by Dr. Dre stock, and we’re finally seeing the much-anticipated Beats Audio popping up in phones. We also know that HTC is throwing developers some neat API tools, so it’s no stretch to imagine that the two projects might one day play nice together.
Sure enough, a developer API is on its way — good news for music loving app makers eager to hook into the tune-enhancing functionality.

HTC told us the tools will “allow third-party developers to harness the potential of Beats Audio and bring that top-notch audio experience to their own apps,” although with no release date, it’s still out of ear-shot for the time being. That said, the timing might be perfect given that Google’s download store just went official. While we’re looking forward to hearing how those clever coders will make use of the tools, and exactly what goodies HTC is offering, we’re hoping at least some ideas won’t be given the Beats factor.
[SP]

So today Android’s latest build, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, was launched today and you can check out our coverage here. Now we’re sure that this is a build of Android that many Android users out there can’t wait to get their hands on, but as to when you can expect to receive the update remains unknown at this point since a lot of factors come into play, such as manufacturers optimizing and tweaking ICS for their phones and carrier support to help push the updates out to their subscribers.

The good news is that if you’re a HTC user, the Taiwanese company has stepped forward and addressed the update, which while did not actually reveal any dates, at least put HTC users at ease knowing that the company is looking at the new operating system and are working on bringing it over to their devices.

“We are excited about the latest update for Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, and are currently reviewing its features and functionality to determine our upgrade plans. Our goal for Android updates is to give every customer an improved user experience, which means balancing each phone’s unique hardware, HTC Sense experience and the Android kernel. While our goal is to upgrade as many of our recent devices as possible, we are committed to maintaining every phone’s performance and usability first. Please stay tuned for more updates on specific device upgrade plans.”

Based on their statement, what we can take away from this is that HTC’s more recent releases will be given priority in receiving the update, although we expect that older HTC devices running on Gingebread 2.3 should be also eligible to receive the update, but perhaps that will be some time further down the line.
[UG]

Announced yesterday evening, the brand new HTC Sensation XL (previously known as HTC Runnymede and HTC Bass) may be launched sooner than we’d hoped.

While HTC said the new Android Gingerbread smartphone would be released in early November, Clove now has unveiled that it’s expecting the first stock to arrive in the UK on October 24. The retailer is currently asking £486 (about €562 or $755) for the Sensation XL.

Like the HTC Titan (which runs Windows Phone Mango), the HTC Sensation XL features a 4.7 inch WVGA display, 1.5GHz single core processor, HSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, GPS, 8MP rear camera with 720p video recording, 1.3MP front-facing camera, and 16GB of internal memory. The Sensation XL also comes with Beats audio technology (a feature that’s missing from the Titan).
[UWV]

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Other than the flagship TITAN, HTC also brings the Radar, a more affordable Windows Phone 7.5 Mango smartphone. It sports a smaller 3.7-inch 480×800 touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera with F2.2 lens, LED flash, BSI sensor and 720p HD video recording, a VGA front camera, Bluetooth, GPS capability and WiFi connectivity. It has an aluminum unibody.

The Radar is powered by a 1GHz CPU and 512MB of memory. It comes with 8GB internal storage. Like the TITAN, it packs SRS enhancement and 5.1 surround sound for video. There are G-sensor, proxmity sensor and ambient light sensor. The HTC Radar supports quad-band GSM/EDGE and dual-band HSPA/WCDMA networks.
[IN]

HTC promised that the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for the DROID Incredible would be coming in September, and it looks like some users are seeing the update show up on their phones already. The update bumps the Incredible up to Android 2.3.4, and includes a number of bug fixes with the new software. Anxious users can head to the About Phone section of the Software Update option in the Settings app to check if the update is ready for them.

Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. signed a deal with China UnionPay Co. on Tuesday to launch a smartphone in China that would allow mobile payments through the country’s only credit card network. The “HTC Stunning,” a 4-inch smartphone powered by Google’s Android operating system, will allow users to apply for mobile banking services such as remote bill payments and contactless payments, according to an HTC statement.

The world’s No. 5 smartphone maker will also work with Shanghai F-road Commerce Service Co. to introduce the services in China. F-road Commerce is a Chinese mobile application developer that tailors apps for financial institutions to offer mobile financial services on smartphones.

In January this year, HTC invested US$5.5 million (NT$159.6 million) in Shanghai F-road through its subsidiary HTC HK Ltd. “HTC believes that mobile payments will become an indispensable function for smartphones, and we expect to jointly establish a complete industry chain of mobile payments based on such a strategic alliances,” Fred Liu, president of HTC engineering and operations, said in the statement.

Currently, UnionPay cardholders can only make payments at about 40,000 contracted stores and can access 17,000 of the country’s automated teller machines (ATMs).

China UnionPay has 2.6 billion credit and debit cards in circulation in different countries worldwide. According to technology research company Gartner Inc., the number of mobile payment users worldwide will surpass 141.1 million this year, a 38.2 percent increase from 102.1 million in 2010. Meanwhile, worldwide mobile payment volume is forecast to total US$86.1 billion this year, up 97.5 % from US$48.9 billion dollar last year. [focustaiwan]

The newest item of HTC’s vast collection originally announced back at Mobile World Congress 2011 is the HTC Wildfire S, a teeny tiny device that’s available at T-Mobile today! This smallest of HTC devices is available for $79.99 after a single $50 mail-in rebate and tied to a 2-year agreement with T-Mobile. This device is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box, has Sense 2.1, and is in general one cute little number. We just happen to have a full hands-on and unboxing post for you to look at from earlier today, with a full review of the device coming at you VERY soon. This device is available in a nice white finish from T-Mobile in-store with a special black color finish available through Walmart, Sam’s Club, and from T-Mobile’s online store.

This morning Vodafone has just announced that they will dump the HTC EVO 3D from their line-ups. Mainly because they are scare the device will be delay in GSM’s version and caused damaged in rivalry with other devices. This might be a bad news for some people.

Here what Vodefone spokeperson have to say, “We’ve decided that due to delays to the launch of the device, we no longer plan to include the EVO 3D in our smartphone range. We will be contacting customers who have registered for updates about the device to make them aware of this decision shortly”, he also added, “We realise this will come as a disappointment to some people but we already offer some fantastic phones, like the HTC Sensation and Galaxy S2, with some really exciting handsets in the pipeline.”