Gadget Venue

AT&T launched the HTC Pure on Sunday which makes the launch a couple of days earlier than the official release of October 6 tomorrow. This makes the Pure the first device to be made publicly available that runs the new Windows Phone operating system.

With that in mind, Microsoft now actually have the latest Marketplace ready and waiting to go which allows you to download applications just as you do on Android, iPhone, Nokia and WebOS smartphones. Marketplace’s or app stores depending on what OS you are using are fantastic as they allow you to browse through a catalogue of games and applications that can be downloaded and easily installed over the air. [Read more…]

Adobe have unveiled Flash 10.1 and the great news is that all content by Adobe will work on Smartphones (except for the iPhone). This means that if you have a Windows Phone, Android, Symbian, WebOS or Blackberry then sometime in 2010 you’ll be able to access flash content on your phone.

Flash 10.1 will also be compatible with smartbooks, netbooks, PC’s and other internet-connected devices. If you have an iPhone then you wont be in luck due to limitations in the OS that prevent it from working correctly still. However, PCWorld point out that the iPhone is already hugely popular with users and already has some great multimedia and gaming content available. Apple should work more to allow Flash 10.1 to be compatible though as this new version does push the boundaries a little by adding multitouch as well as being able to detect screen orientation. Gesture based controls are also built in to the new system. [Read more…]

PhoneArena managed to get hold of a pre-production BlackBerry Storm 2, also known as the 9550 and take it for a quick test to see how it compares to the original. The first BlackBerry Storm was described as a bit of a failure although it still shifted a few million devices. The second version was designed to get around the faults and failings of the first version. Lets see if it succeeded.

The screen has had a big upgrade which now houses 4 sensors instead of 1 like the predecessor. This does improve the touchscreen and specifically while typing, a lot fewer errors were found. However, the buttons running just below the screen only seemed to work 1/3 of the time which is quite bad. Remember that this is a pre-production model that was being tested though. [Read more…]

Yesterday we reported that the HTC HD2 (formerly known as the HTC Leo) is to ship from O2 thanks to a photo captured of an O2 magazine which gives a page overview of the phone. We now hear from another source that T-Mobile will also be selling the HTC HD2 when it launches.

The information came earlier today from what seems to be someone working at T-Mobile who mentioned that the phone was starting to show up on their systems. Two reports came in and now confirmation has also come through to support this. [Read more…]

Yesterday we wrote about the Motorola Tao and the pictures that had leaked. Unfortunately the pictures leaked only showed applications running on the device and not the actual phone it’s self. The same user has now uploaded a wider angle shot showing a bit more of the hardware.

The image is a little on the blurry side, but it does give you a good impression of what the smartphone will look like. I have to say it does look quite nice as I was expecting it to be a little clunkier being a Motorola.

BGR last month showed a picture of a prototype of the then called Schules showing the QWERTY keyboard layout. No pictures of the Tao opened up have been uploaded yet (to my knowledge) but after the jump we do have a picture showing you what the prototype looks like and we assume not much will have changed. [Read more…]

The latest Android OS is about to roll out. The new version is Android 1.6 also known as Donut. T-Mobile are planning to roll it out today in various stages with stage 1 ready for select G1 handsets starting today. After 24 hours has passed, sometime tomorrow, the next phase will start with the MyTouch3G.

Assuming all goes to plan and there are no bricked phones by the end of the first and second stages then the update will be rolled out to remaining users who have compatible handsets. [Read more…]

Verizon have just announced that the HTC Imagio will be launching at the same time as Windows Mobile 6.5.

The HTC Imagio has a 3.6 inch screen that is capable of a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. Inside it has a 528MHz processor, WiFi at 802.11b/g speeds as well as Quadband GSM at 850/900/1800/1900 + 2100 HSPA along with 3G compatibility also.

The camera has a 5 megapixel sensor and also has autofocus. The phone will use TouchFLO 3D installed on top of Windows Phone. [Read more…]