Image via Flickr The CBI

According to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, who released a big report on Microsoft this morning, Microsoft gets $5 for every HTC phone running Android

Microsoft is getting that money thanks to a patent settlement with HTC over intellectual property infringement.

Microsoft is suing other Android phone makers, and it's looking for $7.50 to $12.50 per device, says Pritchard.

We knew hardware companies were paying Microsoft, we just didn't know how much. (In October Steve Ballmer said, "Android has a patent fee. It's not like Android's free.")

Via Businessinsider

Google is supposedly trying to build video chat into Android 2.3 Gingerbread using the Google Talk. We can expect that it will be running official Android 2.3 Gingerbread with no TouchWiz UI. Other features and exact features are unknown. Gizmodo has provided a mockup with profile picture of the phone. We should wait for official announcement on November 8th

Until then more info at  unwired or gizmodo.

The first Acer Android phone gets a new facelift and new OS version as well. The hardware is the same as in the regular model, and this special edition phone with bluetooth headset and pouch in Ferrari colors is celebrating the 800th race of the Formula 1 Ferrari team. The software portion of the phone has minor changes as well, new user interface, cool desktop wall papers and music resembling the Ferrari engine.

Expect a review of the Android 2.1 powered Special Edition Liquid E soon… Check out the exclusive high resolution images in the following gallery and the full review of Liquid previously on our blog.

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Source: ACR Mobile

They’ve referred to these chipsets as the third generation of Qualcomm chipsets and will be targeted for manufacturers looking to make high-end smartphones.

Qualcomm also has a third chipset in their third generation of products – the QSD8672 – which has the ability to reach 1.5ghz in each core. That chipset was sampled in the second half of 2009 and we expect to see devices carrying the chipset sometime in  2010. Read ahead for the full press info.

Via Phandroid.com
 

OK, we did it again, for your complete overview of the new HTC HD Mini, check out a set of (almost) all the screenshots from this smartphone (55 in total).

General impressions are good, the screen is capacitive, back cover in gunmetal non-glossy surface. The successor to the Diamond 2 has less pixels (resolution is HVGA instead of WVGA), but it is fast. Combining 600MHz with 384MB of RAM, HD mini is very responsive and resembles HD2 in tearms of speed. Complete specs and overview can be seen here.

Above, HD Mini compared to Nexus One.

Be sure to check all the numbers in the screenshots (versions, etc…).

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Two weeks ago, HTC was hit with a lawsuit from Apple, claiming that HTC is infringing on 20 different patents related to the iPhone and mobile computing.  It’s no secret that HTC is one of Apple’s biggest threats to the iPhone market with its Windows Mobile and Android lineups.

Since news of the lawsuit broke, HTC has been pretty silent on the matter.  The most we have heard from them were short statements about how HTC is an innovative company and that they would stand behind that innovation.  Today, HTC has finally issued a formal response to Apple’s action and that “HTC disagrees with Apple’s decision and would like to reiterate their commitment to innovation.”

"HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible. From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA The O2 XDA by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the world in 2002. and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition The T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the United States in 2002., our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then."

-Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation

Via HTC Source

As we witnessed ourselves, Google has been giving away free Nexus One phones for all registered atendees at Android Developers Lab's technical conferences at Mobile World Congress. While we are entering this text Nexuses are being unboxed and a bunch of people are walking trough Barcelona with grey new phones and pink X signs on their hands.

Way to go, Google!

HTC has introduced the new HTC Sense, improved and ready to ship with these models as well as some older ones (confirmed for HTC Hero). As far the specifications go, you allready know everything, we had them first

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15:51 CET – Three fundamental principles: Accountability for user experience, New platform with deep integrated services, A strong ecosystem.

15:48 CET – A different kind of phone designed for Life in Motion.

15:47 CET – Windows Phone 7 movie shows. Wow, tells us that we are confused with number of apps and that we need to step over. Steve Balmer takes over.

15:45 CET – The demo will be available to see at Microsoft's boot at WMC. So the Windows Phone is usable already.

15:43 CET – The next is Games hub, featuring Xbox LIVE.

15:41 CET – Joe shows Zune desktop application. Content on the phone are accessible directly from the app.

15:39 CET – Music and Video part of the WM is next. Joe shows the music+video hub. Every WM phone will be a Zune, but go beyond.

15:38 CET – Office hub allows us to create notes in One Note, connect to SharePoint, and collaborate with people consisting with upcoming Office 2010.

15:36 CET – Pictures are present regardless of the way the got to the phone. Next is productivity.

15:34 CET – The next section is Pictures hub. UI is nice and clean, clear fonts, everything is in 2D, looks sleek.

15:31 CET – Joe shows the way WP will connect to People. People hub is the people-oriented UI section, integratiin all the available services (Outlook, Facebook, MSN). People hub is panoramic, can be panned to left and right. All the contacts are present trough People hub showing all the available info (Windows Live, Facebook status…)

15:29 CET – Outlook is great, e-mails available offline as well. Optimized for finger use. There are no scrollbars.

15:28 CET – Fonts are improved, 1/3 of the screen shows additional commands accessible via fingers. All the WP devices will have capacitive screens.

15:26 CET – The browser looks OK, Windows Phone 7 browser is based on desktop IE code, giving the compatibility. Crowd is confused, IE code ?

15:24 CET – The search button brings up Bing, showing the local relevant results (e.g. sushi bars are shown in Barcelona)

15:22 CET – Joe shows Bing maps, that changes the visualization, shows satellite photos when zoomed enough. Supports pinch-zoom. His demo device is not HD2!

15:20 CET – The calendar looks good, appbar showed as well. Users can access advanced commands trough appbar.

15:19 CET – The tiles are scrollable, and user customizable. Applications as well can be live tiles.

15:16 CET – All the devices will have 3 buttons, start, search and back. Joe shows live demo. Calls the icons – Live Tiles

15:14 CET – Joe – it is designed for Life in Motion with smart design and integrated experiences.

15:13 CET – Video is playing, UI looks great. Short but effective. Crowd cheers…

15:11 CET – Joe says all the phones started to look the same, Microsoft would like to focus to end user.

15:10 CET – Je Belfiore steps on the stage. The Vice President / Windwows Phone, starts to talk about the opportunity for change

15:09 CET – Steve Balmer steps on the stage, will talk about phones and next generation of Windows Phone series – 7.

15:07 CET – We just saw guys from Engadget, angle of the photos gave them away… Music is playing, nothing yet…

14:57 CET – The hotel lobby is leaking on our Sony Vaio P – just moved to another spot. Not good for start

As usual, here are specifications:

• Screen: 3.8” TFT-LCD resistive touchscreen, WVGA resolution (480×800), 262K colors support
• Processor: Qualcomm QSD (Snapdragon) 8250 1 GHz
• Memory: 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM, expandable via microSD cards (up to 32GB)
• Camera: 5MP, Auto Focus, LED flash
• GSM: Quad-band GSM support, triband 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
• OS: Windows Mobile 6.5
• Battery: 1350mAh Li-Ion, up to 5 hours of talk time, up to 400 hours of standby
• Other: GPS receiver, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor, FM radio with RDS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth + Enhanced Data Rate, miniUSB, 3.5mm stereo audio jack