31 October, 2011

TechPinas

TechPinas


HTC Explorer Price Philippines, Specs, Release Date

Posted: 31 Oct 2011 09:06 AM PDT

TechPinas Exclusive!

I've just received word from a very reliable source that the mega-cute HTC Explorer is already set to hit store shelves in the Philippines by Holiday Season this year or even earlier!


It comes with lots of color options! My favorites are Metallic Navy and Metallic Purple!

I believe HTC will be releasing the ultra-afforable HTC Explorer to give entry-level users a chance to experience how the Taiwanese company does an Android phone -- and that is with stunning hardware and with smart HTC Sense user interface that will have you asking, "Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?!" as soon as you experience it.


Ain't that cute?!

Given its technical specifications (shown below) and its target market, I'm inclined to believe that this phone will have a price tag far less than Php 10,000. My guesstimate is around Php 6,000 to 7,000 -- and at that amount, it could very well go head to head with Samsung Galaxy Y once it lands.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name HTC Explorer
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category Entry Level
Dimensions102.8 x 57.2 x 12.9 mm
Weight 108 grams
Available Colors Active Black, Metallic Navy, Active Navy, Metallic Black, Metallic Orange, Metallic Purple, White
Operating System Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Display 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixels, TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors
Processor 600MHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 200 GPU, Qulacomm MSM7227 chipset
Camera 3.15 MegaPixels, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus
Video Capture Yes, QVGA 15 frames per second (to be confirmed, definitely non-HD)
Audio and Video Playback MP3/eAAC+/WAV/WMA player, XviD/MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
Ports microUSB 2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
Memory 90 MB storage, 512 MB ROM, 512 MB RAM, supports up to 32GB
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity
Battery 1230 mAh
Uptime Standby of up to 485 hours on 2G Standby of up to 445 hours on 3G Talk time of up to 7 hours 40 minutes on 2G Talk time of up to 7 hours 33 minutes on 3G
Value-Added FeaturesHTC Sense UI v3.5, SRS surround sound enhancement, Google Services Suite, Low price tag
Announcement Q4 2011
Availability Q4 2011
Price Official-TBA, TP Guesstimate: Php 6,000 - 7,000


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HTC Sensation vs. HTC Sensation XE : Specs Comparison Battle! Which Dual-Core Android HTC Phone to Get?

Posted: 31 Oct 2011 08:16 AM PDT

Considering that the two HTC supersmartphones almost look identical (with XE having red color accents here and there), I guess it's but natural for people to ask "How exactly is HTC Sensation XE different from HTC Sensation?"

Well, in answering this question, it's imperative that we stick to facts (that's how we do it here in TP), so the first thing we have to do is to check out this specs comparison table:

TP Specs Comparison Table: HTC Sensation vs. HTC Sensation XE
Detail/Feature HTC Sensation HTC Sensations XE
Photo

Availability and Price in Philippines

Now out in the Philippines
Current Price in Malls - Php 24,500

Now out in the Philippines
Current Price in Malls - Php 26,600

Dimensions/
Weight

115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
148 g

115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
151 g

Screen/
Features

4.3-inch (~256 ppi pixel density)
540 x 960 pixels
S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
- HTC Sense v3.0 UI
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Gyro sensor
- Multi-touch input method
- Touch-Sensitive Controls

4.3-inch (~256 ppi pixel density)
540 x 960 pixels
S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
- HTC Sense v3.0 UI
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Gyro sensor
- Multi-touch input method
- Touch-Sensitive Controls
Operating System
Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)

Android OS, v2.3.4 (Gingerbread)

CPU

1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM 8260 Snapdragon

1.5 GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM 8260 Snapdragon
Internal storage
1 GB user available, 768 MB RAM

1 GB user available, 768 MB RAM

Wifi

Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot

Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot

3G

Yes, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps

Yes, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps

MicroSD

Yes, Supports up to 32GB

Yes, Supports up to 32GB

Camera

8 MegaPixels, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash,
Geo-tagging, touch-focus, image stabilization, face detection, instant capture
Video capture: Yes, Full HD 1080p@30fps, LED video light
Secondary camera: Yes, VGA, for video calling

8 MegaPixels, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash,
Geo-tagging, touch-focus, image stabilization, face detection, instant capture
Video capture: Yes, Full HD 1080p@30fps, LED video light
Secondary camera: Yes, VGA, for video calling

Accelerometer

Yes

Yes

3-axis Gyroscope

Yes

Yes

Digital Compass

Yes

Yes

EDGE

Yes

Yes

GPRS

Yes

Yes

Bluetooth

Yes, v3.0 with A2DP

Yes, v3.0 with A2DP

Built-in MicroUSB Port

Yes, (MHL) v2.0

Yes, (MHL) v2.0

Audio Jack

Yes, 3.5mm

Yes, 3.5mm

HDMI Port

No

No

Stereo FM Radio

Yes

Yes

Games and Apps

Yes, via Android Market

Yes, via Android Market

Java

Yes, via Java MIDP emulator

Yes, via Java MIDP emulator

Browser - Flash support

Yes

Yes

Battery Type

Li-Ion 1520 mAh

Li-Ion 1730 mAh

I'd say HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE are different in two ways:
1. They have slightly different specifications.
2. They have totally different music playback capabilities.

And in both departments, HTC Sensation XE is better.

Looking at the table above, it's clear that although the phones share largely the same powerhouse technical specifications, HTC Sensation XE nonetheless has a faster processor for smoother performance and a larger battery, delivering longer uptime. Having specs that could beat even HTC Sensation's innards means that HTC Sensation XE could very well be the most powerful dual core Android smartphone out in the market today -- giving even Samsung Galaxy S2 a run for its money.

What's not shown in the table, however, is HTC Sensation XE's music playing prowess. HTC Sensation XE is perhaps the first product of HTC's $300 Million investment into Beats by Dr. Dre, giving the Taiwanese company a majority control of the music device manufacturer's software and hardware releases. As such, HTC Sensation XE comes replete with with Beats audio software improvement and Beats Headset accessory -- making it a terrifying mobile music device.

So which HTC supersmartphone to get? If you're not fond of carrying your music every where you go and you're not really power-user, then get HTC Sensation and save a few thousand bucks. But if you want to get the latest and greatest and music playback is important to you (and you're a big fan of Beats by Dr. Dre), by all means, get HTC Sensation XE. Anyway, both are great phones.

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