Gadget Venue

Engadget over the weekend, managed to get some pictures of a HTC smartphone running Windows Phone 7. The device has a 3.7 inch SLCD screen along with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8 megapixel camera.

The three buttons that can be seen under the screen are touch sensitive just like the Nexus One and are function as a back, windows and search button which falls in line with the three buttons Microsoft [MSFT] require on Windows Phone 7 smartphones.

The device is apparently ready in terms of the hardware although the software appears to be not finished in that there is no skinning with just the basic information showing. [Read more…]

Several weeks ago, Microsoft [MSFT] announced that there would be no third party UI enhancements to Windows Phone 7 which in turn, would give every Windows Phone 7 user the same experience in terms of the UI regardless of what smartphone they are using.

We heard today though that HTC still plans on making some UI enhancements that will see a version of HTC Sense used on Windows Phone 7. In an interview, Drew Bamford of HTC said…

‘Microsoft has taken firmer control of the core experience, meaning that the Sense UI couldn’t be fully integrated into Windows Phone 7 devices, but that they would ‘augment the OS with extra functionality, which he remained tight-lipped about.

[Read more…]

Nokia is launching the N8 soon. Vodafone already has a coming soon page up for the N8 from about 2 months ago and yet, it still hasn’t arrived on their network.

T-Mobile has now also put up a coming soon page for the N8 and just as the Vodafone page, it mentions no specific release date.

Previously we heard that the release date of the Nokia N8 was August 25 which is about a month away still. Nokia need to get this phone out sooner rather than later though as it seems it was leaked far too early which isn’t always a good thing for a new smartphone. [Read more…]

The BBC has launched a new iPad and iPhone app for BBC News that brings current news to the devices.

With the app being created by/for the BBC, it has no ads and is free to download. The application it’s self works well. On the iPhone version you get a list of the current news stories by category on a side scrolling carousel. The categories can be moved around as well as deleted from the top of the page if not required. When clicking a story, it opens up to display the text as found on the BBC News site. An additional feature includes the ability to play video through the application. When visiting the BBC News site in Safari, you lose the flash elements. [Read more…]

HP confirmed recently that it will not be making a smartphone that runs Windows Phone 7. The company also confirmed the same for Android based phones. Instead, the company will be focusing on webOS and pushing out that platform that they feel has a lot to offer.

The information comes from an interview on CNBC…

‘As we continue to be Microsoft’s largest customer, and as we continue to believe that we will drive innovation with Microsoft, at the same time, I think it’s clear to say that we’re very focused on the customer and giving the customer the experience that’s important to them. We will not do a Linux (Linux)/Android (Android) phone. We won’t do a Microsoft phone.

[Read more…]

Since the release of iOS 4, a number of complaints about Bluetooth have appeared on the Apple [AAPL] support forums. It seems like those who decided to upgrade from iOS 3.X to iOS 4 have been getting the problems with patch connections and bad audio quality.

The problems are not all related to those who have upgraded though as some who run the iPhone 4 which is supplied with iOS 4 are also reporting the issue. The problem with playing audio wirelessly is also being reported. [Read more…]

Conflipper recently announced his retirement from creating custom ROM’s and providing them over at his site shipped roms. We’ll let you read his post linked back there to find out why he is leaving the scene.

When departing this area of his life, he decided to post a few updates on Twitter that shows a number of Windows Phone 7 device codenames that are being worked on.

The list (as seen in the larger image below), includes the HTC Salsa, HTC Swing and HTC Tango. [Read more…]

Samsung has announced the Samsung Haven clamshell phone for Verizon users. The new phone is aimed at those who want more basic features on a phone such as using it as a phone and sending text messages with not much else mixed in there.

The Haven has a 2.2 inch screen with a simple to read display and an adjustable font size. Other features include a dedicated button for the loadspeaker (handsfree) to be activated and the ability to store three contact numbers for emergency situations. [Read more…]