HTC Desire Z, with a never to be seen again physical keyboard.

Touchscreen keyboards are where it’s at, as far as HTC is concerned.

The Taiwanese manufacturer has said it will move away from producing handsets that use a traditional hardware QWERTY keyboard in favour of virtual on-screen input devices.

Speaking at a media event in Seattle, HTC creative director Claude Zellweger mused to gathered reporters that his company would not be developing new handsets that feature hardware QWERTY keyboards. He said he was of the opinion that time spent on designing new hardware QWERTY keyboard-based phones would be time better spent improving on-screen alternatives.

This is despite the fact that a number of phone owners still find phones with a traditional QWERTY keyboard, especially business users. HTC phones are some of the only modern smartphones to still feature physical keyboards.

Zellweger also spoke about plans for HTC to focus on design concepts that will allow it to make ever-thinner smartphones. He said the firm would not make phones with room for larger batteries in order to respect design concepts. Bjorn Kilburn, vice president of phone strategy for HTC, said power consumption and battery life was not on the top of most consumers’ priority list when they walk into a shop to buy a new smartphone handset in any case.

Attendees of the Frequencies media summit were also treated to a walk-through of how an HTC handset makes it from the drawing board to the phone shop shelves. The process can apparently take anywhere from four months to a year.

Journalists were shown mock-ups of the HTC One X at different points in the development process, according to Engadget.com. New handsets begin life as an ABS block while engineers and designers work to figure out which components would best serve to achieve the ideal weight and size. Discussions are conducted with big mobile network carriers, mostly in the US, to determine what they want from new HTC handsets.

HTC also admitted to carrying out smartphone deprivation studies. These involved a test group being deprived of their devices for two weeks in an effort to try to understand what phone users value the most about their handsets. At the end of the trial period, participants were asked what they missed the most while separated from their phones. It was also noted what other activities the test group managed to fill their time with when they would otherwise have been fiddling with their handsets.

                          

LG Optimus Vu

A smartphone or a tablet? LG follows Samsung with the Optimus Vu that seems too large to just be a phone, but too small to be a tablet. While some people are wondering who will need such a device, it should be remembered that the similar Galaxy Note has just topped 2 million sales globally.

The LG Optimus Vu has a 5 inch display. This might be 0.3 inches smaller than Samsung’s Galaxy Note but it’s still large. Those of us with small hands might find it difficult to make a call using the huge device but for those that can the Vu is an impressive looking handset. It’s wide – 90.4 mm wide – which is the first thing that makes it look so big and something that’s going to make it difficult to fit into pockets.

The device is 139.6 in height, but despite is large height and width the Vu is exceptionally slim at only 8.5mm (thinner than the iPhone 4S). The 4:3 aspect ratio makes it easier to read e-books and online content. The display is 1024 x 768 pixel resolution meaning that anything that appears on the screen will be sharp, crisp and clear.

Under the bonnet the Vu is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. On the back is an 8 megapixel camera and a 1.3 megapixel camera is found on the front for video calls. There is 32GB of on-board storage which is plenty of room for a large amount of ebooks, movies and videos. When it launches the Vu will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread but will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich within the first three months.

Reviewers say the device runs smoothly from apps to interface. This will be useful for using on the move and bodes well for the update to ICS. So far it seems that the Optimus Vu lacks the performance problems that were experienced with the Optimus 2X, which was the first dual core phone to be released.

It is the size that will both attract people to the Optimus Vu and put them off. The size means it will be difficult to hold in one hand and reach the opposite side of the screen with the same hand. The device has a QWERTY keyboard and it will need both hands to type out a message.

A pen is included with the handset, which is more like an actual pen than the usual stylus you would expect to see included with touchscreen devices. On the top of the device is a Quick Clip Hotkey. Press this and the pen can be used to handwrite on the screen. Circle important points, take notes in a meeting, draw directions on a map; it is quite flexible. Your notes are then saved and can be shared via messaging or social media, like Twitter or Facebook.

Either way, the Optimus Vu looks as though it will not see release outside of South Korea. While it’s bad news for non-Korean consumers, it’s good news for Samsung as it means the major potential competitor for the Galaxy Note is out of the game for another 12 months.

                          

4G LTE is all the rage at the moment; for anyone who’s been hiding under a rock for the past 12 months, it’s basically the next step up from 3G, and it’s the technology that’s going to make data downloads even easier and even faster. Unfortunately, the UK is once again a little behind when it comes to 4G. While a slew of handsets in the US are being released with 4G, such as the Motorola Atrix, Galaxy S2 and the upcoming Razr Maxx, most phones will get stripped of 4G before seeing a UK release – because the service isn’t currently available over here. It is likely that phones such as the soon-to-be-announced Galaxy S3 and perhaps even the “new iPhone” will also feature 4G quite prominently. So when exactly will we be catching up to the rest of the world?

Earlier in the year, Ofcom stated that next-gen 4G services would not be rolled-out in the UK until 2013/14; given that the ‘new’ iPad has already been released touting 4G as its main USP, it’s hard to comprehend this thinking. However, more recently Ofcom has claimed that the first mainstream 4G data service might just be launching later this year – so keep your eyes peeled. Then again, as a country, we’re notoriously bad at sticking to deadlines like this. Remember when we thought Near Field Communication was going to be everywhere in time for the Olympics? Chortle.

Let’s put this into perspective; 4G has been a long time coming. The current mobile data service that we all use is 3G, and that was released nine years ago in 2003. In terms of mobile technology, nine years is a long time – the original iPhone was only released in 2007, and we’ve come pretty far since then. So why hasn’t data kept pace with the rapid evolution of mobile handsets? Well, it seems it has – just not with us. All of the US’s major network operators support 4G LTE – that’s AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all aboard the 4G bandwagon.

So, to recap: the UK is literally years behind the US and Japan in terms of data connectivity. Recently, India also joined the list of countries with 4G support. What’s the problem? Ofcom spoke to technology website TechRadar about the problem, outlining the number of technical issues that need to be resolved before the country goes 4G: “This is a complex area, involving a large number of technical and competition issues that we need to consider and resolve before finalising proposals. For example, a very high proportion of households in the UK rely on Digital Terrestrial TV – Freeview – which needs to be relocated before 4G can be rolled out.”

Well, that’s fair enough – but this has been a long time coming. Why is it taking Ofcom so long to relocate Freeview? If that’s what needs doing, they should get along and do it. If the UK wants to remain at the cutting edge of industry and technology, it really doesn’t do to have the decade’s most important advancement in data technology arrive years after everyone else. So, when will the UK be seeing 4G LTE? Well, Ofcom might hope for 2012, but at this rate it’s looking like it’ll be 2013 at the earliest. Until then, you can play with your shiny new 4G-enabled device, but don’t expect to actually benefit from its lightning-fast data connection speeds.  To do that, you’ll need to wait at least another 12 months – that or take a trip across the Atlantic.

                          

However, it is interesting to discuss what the new iPad might mean for Android tablets. As we have seen at CES 2012, the upcoming Android tablet hardware is not really that exciting, with no real short-term competitors for the iPad announced that for instance have a high resolution display. The resolutions of upcoming Android tablets have mostly been stuck at the 1280 x 800 px mark. So that is already a major differentiator for Apple with their supposed retina display resolution (2048 x 1536 px) in the iPad 3. While the look of the iPad 3 will propably remain mostly the same as the iPad 2, Apple still has to convince people to switch to the new iPad, which is propably not much of an effort because they have a strong ‘fan base’ that will basically buy anything new from Apple.

I am curious to see whether Apple will introduce some new iPad specific software changes for iOS, especially in taking more advantage of the large screen estate in their home-screens. As you know, iOS does not support widgets or any other screen elements on their home-screens besides app icons and folders. I feel that if Apple makes this change by offering users more functionality from the large screen real estate, people will look even quicker towards an iPad instead of an Android tablet. However, I doubt that Apple will make this plunge as they are well-known for sticking rigorously to their ideals and they have always said that widgets don’t present added value.

But for now, lets just wait and see what Apple has in store for tonight and then continue the discussion…

                          

Finally we have found the best office suite for Android tablets and it’s called Quick Office Pro HD. Quite a mouthful but the app works perfectly. First of all, the interface is really slick and especially optimized for tablet use, it shows a nice overview of your files and you can quickly access any files in the cloud.

Second, it plays well with all the MS Offcie formats, even with MS Office 2010 documents. It gives you a host of options to edit documents, like different fonts, highlighting text, text color, even a set of paragraph styles. Lets just say, that for editing documents on the go or making notes during class, Quick Office Pro HD will not leave you wanting.

Even working with images is quite nice in this app, as it even gives you extended options for resizing or placement of the picture. You can even send pictures to the foreground or background. However, the best aspect of Quick Office Pro HD is that is works flawlessly with Dropbox. You can access your entire file list from within the app, and any changes to the document are instantly saved and synced with Dropbox so you can continue to work on the document from a PC. Almost no force-closes or loss of work, which was a constant fear when using Polaris. The only thing that might keep people from using this app is a hefty price of$19,99. However, if you are planning on seriously using your Android tablet for on the go document editing, it is a price well worth paying. Quick Office Pro HD offers a great user experience, reliability and a wealth op options that won’t leave you wanting.

The thing I did not mention yet, is that the app also offers great support for spreadsheets and presentations, however as I don’t use these features I can’t really comment on them, but i did include them in the screenshots below.

                          

Now Samsung has come up with its new Galaxy Note 10.1. This is a 10.1 inch tablet supplied with a stylus and like the HTC Flyer, it offers stylus support throughout the system. In regards of specs, this device does not rock my world as it basically has the same specs as the original Galaxy Tab 10.1. However, the full on integration of the stylus throughout the system amazes me. You are not limited to just use it within special apps designed for the stylus, like a note-taking app, but the stylus can also be used to navigate the interface. This is made easier because the Note 10.1 does not have hardware navigation buttons like the original Note (phone) does.

From what I have read so far, the stylus software works very well and allows you to take notes over any screen you want by taking a screenshot and using it as a base for notes. It also offers comprehensive options for choosing brush styles, which is very useful when doing some quick sketching. Just like with the well-known Wacom digital sketching pens, when you turn the stylus over, it instantly activates the eraser brush. This keeps being a very useful feature because it exactly mimics the interaction with a regular pencil.

So this Samsung Note 10.1 is actually the first real tablet to be used as digital design tool. You need a stylus for this because sketching, taking quick notes or circling things on a webpage or designs just works better with a stylus. Now that the multitouch screen revolution has blown over, people and manufacturers start remembering that a stylus still is useful in certain use scenarios. Together with Adobe’s recently released graphics packages for Android tablets, this tablet might well be the best digital designer tool available. Now we have to wait for the pricing announcement, which is undoubtedly the deciding factor for people to buy this device over for instance the upcoming iPad3.

                          

Some minor tweaks that come from ICS on your phone have now also made it to your Android tablet, like the lockscreen. It now also has a swipe left/right screen unlock feature where by swiping left you open the camera app and swiping right unlock the device to the homescreen. You can now also swipe away open applications from the multitask list. Asus also added some custom made stuff like a task manager widget. Overall I must say Asus has done a great job in updating this quite old tablet for a new round of usefulness and I certainly recommend everyone to grab the update if you own an OG Transformer!

                          

Peace on earth or more kick-ass smartphones?

This year, Barcelona will be the mecca to which all smartphone-lovers will flock for the 2012 Mobile World Congress. The city of Gaudi, popularised by Dali, will play host to artists of a different kind when this gorgeous metropolis is overrun by tech bloggers and gadget worshippers. From 27^th February – 1st March, expect to see the #MWC hashtag trending amongst the tech-minded Twitterati.

This year’s ‘Redefining Mobile’ theme is based around the idea that the word ‘mobile’ is no longer limited to communications, but instead has come to mean a lot more. Mobile has become a philosophy, a way of life for those of us who love finding clever new ways to live life ‘on the move’.

What can we expect from the Mobile World Congress? Well, we already know what not to expect, given that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will be announced at a separate and exclusive event later in the year (March 15^th). But have no fear, for with excellent keynote speakers and a dizzying array of innovative exhibitors, the MWC promises a good time for all worshippers at the altar of mobile.

It’s hard to decide who will be the head honcho at the conference; a quick glance at the list of keynote speakers shows some of the most eminent Kahunas from the mobile world plan to attend. Ever wondered what the CEO of eBay thinks about the changing face of technology and the internet? You can ask him at this congress. Or the CTO of Facebook, what’s his deal? Yup, his flight is booked. Alcatel? Ericsson? IPG? Nokia? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Some of the most enticing seminars include Mobile Health: Building Trust, Creating Demand; Mobile Cloud: Contending for Content; How Apps Can Change Your Life; and The Future of Voice Messaging. With over 1,400 exhibitors, the event promises an unlimited supply of networking opportunities and free badges. So who’s been invited to the party? Accenture, Opera, AT&T, Cisco, Endstream Communications, Cloudmark Inc., and countless others are set to showcase the newest and best in mobile technologies.

With talks and discussion groups scheduled on a range of topics, this year’s Mobile World Congress promises to thoroughly dissect the latest smartphone technologies. A forum on Augmented Reality is certain to set tongues wagging in the tech blogosphere and mainstream press.

A number of seminars will also be offered to attendees, with topics to include disaster management and the problem of mobile spam. At AppPlanet, the Centre of the App Universe, there will be a Nokia Developer Day running on the 27th.

All this, and we’ve not even mentioned the Global Awards being passed out, the announcement of various new and exciting products in the course of four exciting days, and  the general buzz and excitement that only an event of this scale can create.  One thing’s for sure – this year’s Mobile World Congress promises to be the best one yet.

                          

It seems that manufactures try to bridge the gap between 4 inch phones and 7+ inch tablets by introducing these ‘tablet-phones’. Samsung clearly does not even know how to define the Note when you see their ads: ‘Is it a phone? Is it a tablet?’ so how would the user know what to do with it? As a user trying to decide if I should consider buying a tablet phone, it is important to consider how I would carry one of these things with me. In the case of a Galaxy Note I can’t fit it in my pants where I normally keep my phone so that would mean I had to carry it in my jacket or something, which is not really a practical concept for me.

Because it is a phone, I am inclined to agree that having a tablet phone would replace my ‘small’ mobile phone, but how does it rank when comparing to a tablet? The 5 inch screen is not really big enough to compare to a tablet so the nicest thing about tablets (having a huge amount of screen real estate) does not really go for a tablet phone as well. Thus, browsing and watching movies still work better on a tablet. So a tablet phone can replace your phone but not your tablet, which now means you have to carry a full tablet and a mini tablet with you. Since tablets still can’t replace laptops, you would have to carry one of those as well.

For me this means that the tablet phone is not really something useful. I guess it would be nice to have if you are already used to carrying your phone in your bag or your coat. I am curious to see if consumer will still buy into the tablet phone phenomena and maybe from extended periods of use some new advantages will come out in the open. But until then, I am keeping with a phone that has a 4.3 inch screen maximum.