HTC One X+ KitKat update unofficial, Android updates are over

According to the UK office of HTC, the more powerful of the two USA-based HTC One X devices will no longer be receiving Android updates of any kind. This is the HTC One X+, a device which works with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, one available from AT&T, one which will not be seeing KitKat. This comes after a short rumor period in which it was affirmed that HTC’s One X+ would be getting this update - now HTC confirms that this is not true.

According to HTC UK, the HTC One X+ “will not receive further Android updates”, and furthermore, it “will remain on the current version of Android” for the foreseeable future. This means that if you do plan on updating to a new version of Android in the future on this device, you’re going to need to hack.

While this wasn’t the most popular phone in its category - by a long shot - the HTC One X+ does still have a dedicated set of developers working in the wild that’ll help you make with the change-up at your leisure. Of course that sort of modification of your smartphone will result in a break in your warrantee.

The HTC One X+ update cut was also confirmed by the HTC office in the Netherlands, all the way back on the 8th of January. We had a review of this device back in December of 2012 where, regardless of the original having been released in April of that year, we still found the X+ to be an impressive handset to behold. Will this device remain a worthy competitor with the rest of the mid-tier now that its software has been halted? If its price remains shockingly low, yes.

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HTC Q413 brings Beats-based gain, smaller operating loss

This week we're having a peek at a bit of mixed news from HTC, with their final quarter of 2013 being wrapped up with both a gain and a loss. Speaking from an operating loss perspective, the group lost NT$1.56 billion - that's $52 million in USD. This is a relatively healthy cutback, so to speak, from the operating loss in Q3 2013 when HTC spoke up about a drop of NT$2.97 billion - that's $101 million USD.

On a more positive note, HTC reported that the selling of their remaining shares of Beats this season allowed them a cool net profit of NT$310 million - aka $10.3 million USD gained this quarter. The company also saw a quarter in which they've released the HTC One Max, the significantly larger relative of their hero phone for the year, the original HTC One.

This marks the end of a rather exciting year for the company after they'd moved in a rather pointed way toward a real hero smartphone strategy. Calling the device "One", to be extra clear about it, HTC made it clear that they were going to put the most massive bit of their efforts into a single handset that'd aim to rule them all. Given social networking feedback in customer satisfaction and the ample amount of positive reviews the handset received, they'd done all but make sales of the device.

While this quarter's reported earnings certainly aren't the major turnaround the company was hoping for, things do appear to be looking up for the company. If this trend continues, HTC will be shooting for a positive set of wins through 2014 with the release of their next wave of handsets. Have a peek at the latest rumor mill gush on this code-named "HTC One 2" right this minute!





VIA: HTC

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HTC loses to Nokia in Germany, must stop selling Android devices

Nokia has won an injunction to halt the sale of all HTC Android devices in Germany. The issue surrounds a Nokia-held patent which relates to peer-to-peer sharing via NFC or Bluetooth. The two companies have been tussling for some time, with HTC obtaining stays to allow the sales of their devices to continue elsewhere, but there will be no help this time around.

While we don’t know the specifics of the patent, Google has stepped in to try and have the patent invalidated. Whether or not that can be accomplished remains to be seen, but any success Google might have wouldn’t be helpful at this time. There is no quick reprieve that could come before the sales ban takes effect.

The patent is also believed to affect other Android OEMs, and perhaps even the Android platform itself. Nokia has apparently decided to go after OEMs rather than take the fight straight to Google in this matter, and it seems to be a race against time. As Nokia gains traction, and Google tries to have the patent invalidated (probably on the grounds that it’s commonly used tech), device manufacturers like HTC are the losers.

HTC is notably on a downward trend, also. As their business slumps and executives leave, HTC simply can’t afford (maybe literally) to lose sales. HTC is — of course — expected to appeal the decision, but they may have to end up removing or disabling features in their handsets to continue selling them in Germany, and perhaps elsewhere.




SOURCE: Android Community

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HTC One Max goes gold: 'Amber Gold'

Welcome to the next black-bordered HTC One and HTC One Max, working with what HTC describes as the “Amber Gold” edition of the devices. Here we’ve got a general color-change along the same lines as the last several done over the year, released in a limited edition in the East. These devices seem, for now, to be coming with the same innards as their originals as well.

The HTC One Amber Gold edition and the HTC One Max Amber Gold Edition will not likely be appearing in the United States. In fact it’s more likely that we’d see the HTC One 2, or whatever HTC plans on calling the next generation, before we see gold.

The interesting bit in this color scheme is the fact that it’s got a black border. While the original HTC One, Max, and Mini worked with white borders, each new edition of the machines has worked with black. This includes the black front/back, blue (both Vivid Blue and Electric Blue), and Glamour Red.

There’s also a David Koma special edition unit out there with a couple of odd black-on-silver pushes you can see here. This version works with the white plastic border once again.

A couple of new golds join this bit, one of them being delivered in the “Gold HTC One x MOBO” edition earlier this year. This piece of equipment worked with the 18th anniversary of the MOBO awards and made with 18-carat gold. These machines were given to winders of the “Best Newcomer Award” for the MOBO Awards and were given away as such.

Finally there’s the HTC One Brilliant Gold unit - that’s the one you’re seeing at the head of this article as well. This gold isn’t 18-carat, but it’s certainly gold over the original silver.

If you had the opportunity to get one of these colors in the carrier of your choice, which one would you roll with?




VIA: CTech

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HTC One, DROID DNA Android 4.3 update planned for next month

Google announced and rolled out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean last month, and carriers and manufacturers alike are working hard to bring the new version to their latest devices. HTC is one company trying to get the update on their new handsets as quick as they can, and are trying to get Android 4.3 on the HTC One and DROID DNA by next month.

The announcement comes from HTC President Jason MacKenzie on Twitter, where he says that (in text message language) the company is “working hard” to deliver Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to the One and DNA by the end of September. This also marks the first time we’ve been provided an announcement on Android 4.3 availability other than Google’s own devices.

Of course, that still brings up the issue of carrier testing. MacKenzie doesn’t mention if that timeline includes carrier testing, but if it doesn’t, users may be waiting a lot longer than September to get Android 4.3 on their brand new One devices and the older DNA.

The HTC One is HTC’s latest flagship, and while the handset is still relatively new, it’s already seen the release of a smaller brother known as the HTC One mini, which sports a slightly smaller shell and a bit of a downgrade with the internals in order to make it more price-friendly for consumers.

The HTC One has two versions; one version includes HTC’s signature Sense UI and the other is rocking a completely stock version of Jelly Bean for those who like Google’s take on the mobile OS. We’re not sure if there will be a date difference with the 4.3 update with either version, but we’re guessing that it’ll be up to the carriers.

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