HTC expands list of phones with unlocked bootloader option

HTC recently said that that work was continuing on expanding the list of older models that can have the bootloader unlocked. The Taiwan based manufacturer added six more phones to its list of handsets that now have support for an unlocked bootloader and tweeted the news to a grateful public. The phones added are the HTC Wildfire, HTC Wildfire S, HTC Salsa, HTC Merge, HTC Desire and the HTC Status. All HTC models produced after September, 2011 come with an unlocked bootloader and HTC continues to work on allowing the process to become supported on older phones.

For those unfamiliar with a bootloader, it is a program that controls which applications will run when you boot up your phone. To keep the process of powering on your device the same each time, and to keep out malicious software, the bootloader is usually locked by the manufacturer. But with the large number of Android users who want to add custom software on their phone, some manufacturers have decided to allow for an unlocked bootloader on newer models and are offering tools to unlock older handsets. Of course, we should let you know that if you turn your phone into a brick once the bootloader is unlocked, your warranty becomes useless.

If you have one of the HTC devices with a bootloader that can be unlocked, or you are unsure if your model is included, head over to htc.dev/bootloader. From that page, you will be able to view a list of all HTC models that can support the unlocking process and you can start the procedure. If your HTC phone is not on the list, you might want to try Xda's HTC Super Tool v3 which, as we recently reported, is theoretically able to unlock the bootloader on all HTC phones.

HTC Radar 4G quickly goes for half the cost at $49.99 on-contract thanks to Wirefly

Well people, today is finally the big day if you've been starving for a Windows Phone, since you can travel to your local T-Mobile retail store and purchase the very first “4G” enabled and Mango packed Windows Phone in the HTC Radar 4G. At $99.99 with a 2-year contract, the price is indeed fitting for its caliber, but if that’s not simply enough for your wallet, you might want to check out the offering that Wirefly has for the smartphone.

Whether you’re a new customer signing on for service or an existing loyal one with a qualified upgrade available, you can go to Wirefly’s web site and buy the Mango flavored smartphone for the easier to swallow price tag of $49.99. Sporting a price point that’s half the cost to what T-Mobile is asking for from its customers, it’s easily a no-brainer decision to snatch at the opportunity of picking up this handset right now – especially when it’s launch day.

However, if you’re basically in the market to buy it outright, just bear in mind that Wirefly is asking $439.99 for the handset. In any event, free standard shipping via FedEx is included with the purchase – making the cost for the device your sole priority.

HTC reports $625 million profit in Q3, rising smartphone demand

Despite legal spats with Apple and slowing world economy which allegedly forced it to reduce its orders for Q4, HTC reported steady final results from its fiscal third quarter. Handset shipments almost doubled compared to the same quarter in 2010, and shot up to 13.2 million units, 9% more than in Q2. Revenue reached $4.54 billion, 79% more than Q3 lat year.

HTC even managed to score a small increase in the average selling price of its smartphones, compared to last year's quarter, which went up to $344. The record sales and higher ASP brought on $625 million of profits - operating profit was almost 15% on 28% of gross. That number, however, was bested by Samsung for the first time, which became the second most profitable company from its mobile division after Apple in terms of margins in Q3.

Now for the less dry stuff. HTC claims that it is the mobile company that ships most 4G phones than anyone else, and mentioned that an LTE upgrade cycle is due in 2012, both in the US, and in other advanced LTE markets like South Korea and Japan. Thunderbolt S anyone? What caught our attention in the press release is also the fact that China exploded 9 times as far as shipped units goes, marked by the huge success of entry-level Android handsets with sharp design like the HTC Wildfire S.

The company is so certain in its future growth, despite the sagging economy, that it has completed its new factory in Taoyuan, which has the capacity to reach 40 million units per year. HTC is obviously betting on increasing smartphone demand, and when it materializes, the capacity will be there to meet it. For Q4 the company predicts a slightly smaller number of units sold and operating margins. Recently HTC became Taiwan's most valuable global brand.

HTC Rezound displayed on Verizon in-store ad

The HTC Rezound, formerly known as the HTC Vigor, has not yet been introduced by Verizon and HTC although we now expect the model to be introduced at a NYC event on November 3rd. And to show us that we are closing in on the unveiling of the device, Verizon has put up in some stores a display that includes the HTC Beats branded model along with a pair of other LTE enabled smartphones offered by the carrier.

This new poster, apparently back-lit and quite visible, shows off the LG Revolution, the Motorola DROID BIONIC and yes, the HTC Rezound. The picture of the device includes red soft keys, the Beats by Dre earphones that come in the box, and a picture of Joe Jonas on the phone's display. The last word we have on a potential launch date is November 10th based on the MAP list that leaked out a couple of weeks ago. On that date, speculation is that Verizon will also release the Motorola DROID RAZR and the Samsung GALAXY Nexus besides the HTC Rezound.

The HTC Rezound is expected to come to market with a 4.3 inch screen with 720p resolution and a dual-core 1.5GHz processor under the hood. 1GB of RAM should be on board and the phone is thought to have an 8MP camera on back and a front-facing 2MP shooter. The former captures 1080p HD video and Android 2.3.4 should be pre-installed. With Verizon pricing its other new LTE enabled phones at $299.99 with a signed 2-year contract, we would be surprised to see anything else on the phone's price tag, especially since it features the Beats audio technology and those cool earphones.

HTC’s New phone with Qwerty Keypad: ChaCha

Let's get one thing straight: the HTC ChaCha is not the Facebook phone. It's not manufactured by Facebook. But let's get another thing straight, too: the HTC ChaCha is the Facebook experience and it's even endorsed to a certain extent by the King of the network, Mark Zuckerberg, who gave a sermon about it at the phone's launch. So lets take a look at it,

The HTC ChaCha finds itself with the same Qualcomm MSM7227 processor clocked at 800MHz as we saw in the Salsa. You get 512MB ROM and RAM and these specs really set the phone out as a mid range handset

The resolution of the screen on the HTC ChaCha is 480 x 320 pixels. That gives you a pixel density of 221ppi, which is high, effectively cramming plenty of pixels nice and tight into the visible display. This makes it capable of rendering fine detail sharply.

There are front and rear cameras, the back offering 5-megapixel stills and up to 720 x 480 video capture.

In general terms everything on the HTC ChaCha runs very nicely. The HTC Sense side of things works well enough and the keyboard we’ve already detailed: it has some minor flaws, but on the whole it is a good experience. 

Rocking the latest Android iteration, Gingerbread 2.3.3 and fully capable of a dance-off with some other 3G-capable Android devices, it's due to hit stores any day now, with a sim-free price tag around £250, and a contract offering of around £20 per month.