htc

Earlier in the week Bloomberg stated that HTC had scrapped plans for a 5” or higher Windows Phone due to the inability of the OS to scale up to 1080P. Sure, the device could pass muster with 720P or 768P but for a major device like that to hit now or in early 2013 would behind the competition.

Now it’s being reported that Microsoft’s Ballmer met directly with the CEO of HTC, Peter Chou, when he passed through Taiwan recently. In of itself this is not news as the two mega CEOs reportedly exchange emails and meet several times a year. But in this case, the limiting resolution of the Windows Phone 8 and presumably other areas of contention were brought up.

One step forward and two steps back. Sometimes that old saying can be applied to Microsoft, who despite doing their best to stay ahead is often slightly behind.

Such is the case with Windows Phone 8 and the ability to now have 720P and 763x1280 resolutions. On screens that are 4.7” or smaller, it’s simply stunning and a nice treat to have but its apparent limits may now be its undoing as HTC has reportedly cancelled a new Windows Phone because of it.

The phone, possibly the rumored HTC Zenith, has allegedly been abandoned due to the fact that Windows Phone 8 cannot do 1080P resolution, which would scale nicely on post 4.8” devices. The boundary, something for which Android has no problem with, is said to have been the deciding factor for HTC as anything less than 1080P would not be as competitive.

Virgin Mobile Canada has completely sold out of HTC 8S stock, according to an alert on its website. It's displayed when attempting to add the Windows Phone to the basket for checkout. This is a refreshing look on Windows Phone popularity with HTC hardware continuing to sell as well as Nokia handsets.

Jeff Blagon over at The Verge recently spoke with Kouji Kodera, Chief Product Officer at HTC, and picked his brain about design differences and similarities between them and Nokia. It’s an interesting short read and we’ve pulled some of the more relevant parts about Windows Phone for you.

Windows Phone Camera Faceoff: HTC 8X, Nokia Lumia 920 and Olympus OM-D

The other day we shared a night photo comparison between the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone and a Canon 1D-X DSLR. While the Canon 1D-X and Lumia 920 cameras are worlds apart, the Lumia 920 didn't do a bad job of capturing night photos. All of which made us wonder how the recent crop of Windows Phones would measure up against your run of the mill stand alone digital camera.

We recently took the HTC 8X, Nokia Lumia 920 and Olympus OM-D EM-5 camera out for a comparative test drive and the Windows Phone cameras didn't do to shabby of a job. The Olympus is a mirrorless camera that is similar is design to a "point and shoot" digital camera. It has a 4/3rds sensor shares the same 4:3 aspect ratio as the two Windows Phones and the camera has in-body stabilization which is loosely similar to the Lumia 920's.

HTC has rolled out an update for both its Photo Enhancer and Hearing Aids apps. The former has been with us since the platform launched back in 2010, enabling HTC Windows Phone owners to easily edit (or enhance) photos saved on the device with minimal user input. It's a handy tool that's utilised by those who take regular shots and enjoy 'correcting' them before uploading to social networks.

Hold your breath everybody, we're publishing positive news about HTC and the company's finances. After a number of reports released by the manufacturer have each displayed signs of continued negativity, the November unaudited financial documentation is a different story. 

According to company numbers, there are possible signs of improvements with revenues of NT$21.2 billion ($729 million), up from NT$17.2 billion ($529) million reported in October. This boost can be attributed to the release of new hardware on the Android and Windows Phone platforms.

A few days ago we ran a story about Verizon HTC 8X being able to work on both AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Now another test carried out recently has showed the Chinese version of 8X shares the same feature.

The test was performed on a HTC 8X customized for China Telecom (CDMA carrier). The handset worked like a charm when switched to China Unicom (WCDMA carrier) using a different SIM card, on HSPA mode instead of the slow GPRS, as shown in the picture below...