Mini versions of larger and more expensive handsets/smartphones is becoming one of the trends in this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Earlier today, HTC released 3 new mobile devices at MWC 2010. First one is the HTC HD Mini which specs-wise is a mini version of the HTC HD 2. The other 2 handsets are the HTC Legend, a sexy aluminum-cased phone and the HTC Desire which has a very striking resemblance to the Google Nexus One.

The HTC HD Mini is a small version of the HD2 running on Windows Mobile 6.5.3, a 600MHz MSM7227 processor, has a 3.2″ HVGA multi-touch capacitive display, a 5 megapixel camera and 512MB ROM / 384MB RAM. It will be available in Europe and Asia in the 2nd quarter of this year.

Product Photos

HTC HD Mini product page

Next is the HTC Legend, a beautiful and sexy mobile device running on Android 2.1, a 600MHz MSM7227 processor, sporting a 3.2″ HVGA AMOLED display and the Sense UI, a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB ROM / 384 RAM and an optical joystick. The HTC Legend will start shipping in Europe next month and will be available in Asia in the 2nd quarter of this year.

Product Photos

HTC Legend product page

Last, but not least is the HTC Desire which is actually the most impressive one in this new batch of HTC phones. The HTC Desire is an Android 2.1-powered device running on 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB ROM / 576 RAM, with a 3.7″ WVGA AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel camera, an optical joystick and full Microsoft Exchange support. This phonen will be available both in Europe and Asia starting in the 2nd quarter of this year.

Product Photos

HTC Desire product page

Inspite of being 3 totally different mobile devices, the HTC HD Mini, HTC Legend and HTC Desire have these things in common: GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, G-sensors, 3.5mm headphone jacks, dual-band (900/2100MHz) 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity and a new social media app called “Friend Stream”. There’s no word yet when or whether the HTC HD Mini, HTC Legend and HTC Desire would be made available here in the US or in North America or how much each handset costs.

Among these 3 new handsets released by HTC, which one do you like the most? The HTC HD Mini, HTC Legend or the HTC Desire?

Goodbye, Windows Mobile! Hello, Windows Phone 7 Series! Microsoft revealed earlier today their newest mobile operating system – the Windows Phone 7 Series at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Windows Phone 7 Series is not only a rebranding and a redesign of Windows Mobile but a completely new and fresh mobile operating system. This new mobile operating system looks like it was built from scratch because there are no traces of the old Windows Mobile – everything is brand new.

The biggest change and the most noticeable feature in Windows Phone 7 Series is the user interface. It is totally different and instead of the conventional grid of icons, it features big flat squares that are dubbed “live tiles“. These “live tiles” show different content ranging from frequent contacts to local information, pictures, music and videos, office apps, games and social networks or any custom app that can update automatically with information via the phone or the Internet.

Windows Phone 7 Series will be available late this year across all major wireless carriers in the US – AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint & T-Mobile USA; some big-name wireless carries in Europe – Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra & Vodafone; and in devices manufactured by hardware partners like Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm. Initial reviews for the Windows Phone 7 Series are positive and tech blogs or users who’ve had hands-on experience are all excited and raving about it.

Below is a short video featuring the user interface of the Windows Phone 7 Series.

Screenshots:

Windows Phone 7 Series was demonstrated using an unidentified prototype phone/mobile device that looked like a Zune, sparking discussions whether this device is the much awaited Zune Phone. It could be, but some sources are saying that it is not and that the device used at the Mobile World Congress was just Windows Mobile running a Zune client.

Just by seeing the hands-on photos from different blogs and websites and watching the video above, I can say that Windows Phone 7 Series is a cool mobile operating system.

For a more in-depth and hands-on review, check out Gizmodo’s article – Windows Phone 7 Series: Everything Is Different Now

Check out the official Windows Phone 7 Series website.

What do you guys think about Windows Phone 7 Series? Will it be a game changer in the smartphone/mobile world? Will it revolutionize mobile operating systems? Would you get the Windows mobile device with Windows Phone 7 Series when it comes out later this year? Please share your thoughts.

When I got my Nokia E52 a couple weeks ago, the first few things I did with it was to configure the settings and customize it to my preference (theme, ringtones, etc), transfer contact numbers & details and of course, install applications/programs.

One of my favorite and one of the most useful/handy tools for any blogger/writer is Evernote, an online service/application that lets users store, collect and organize notes and information and retrieve it from any computer or device. Evernote is available as a web clipper for most web browsers, a Mac OS X/Windows desktop client and an app for iPod Touch/iPhone, Palm Pre, Windows Mobile, Android and BlackBerry devices. I was disappointed when I found out that Evernote was not available for Symbian devices*.

I tried searching the web for an alternative but couldn’t find any app that I could install on my Nokia E52 that could replace Evernote. As I continued my search, I was glad to find out that even if there was no native Evernote app for Symbian devices, there was a workaround using Twitter. Below is a YouTube video that shows you how you can use Evernote on any Symbian-powered device with the help of Twitter. Btw, you’ll need Gravity, Dabr, Twibble or any Twitter client installed on your Symbian device.

If the video was too fast or didn’t work for you, here’s a step-by-step process on how to do it.

Step 1. Follow @myEN

Step 2: You will receive a direct message from myEN containing a link. Click the link.

Step 3: Sign into Evernote and link your Evernote and Twitter accounts. If you don’t have an Evernote account, sign up. It’s free.

That’s it. You’re now set and good to go. It only takes 3 easy steps and a few minutes to do it. Now, everytime you want to add a new note on Evernote via your Symbian device, all you have to do is add “@myEN” to any public tweet or you can also send a DM (direct message) to @myEN and that new note will be saved on your Evernote account. The only downside to this is that you’re limited to 140 characters. But then again, its better than nothing at all.

I hope this post will be useful/helpful to those of you who would like to use Evernote on their Symbian devices. If you know of any alternative app/program for Evernote or know of a better workaround to use Evernote on Symbian devices, please do share it with us.

*Symbian devices are those that run on Symbian OS (operating system), mostly which are Nokia mobile devices.

Microsoft launched Windows Mobile 6.5 today and with that, they released several mobile phones running their new mobile OS. The list includes the Toshiba TG01, HTC Pure, HTC Tilt 2, HTC Imagio and the HTC HD2.

The most anticipated device among these mobile phones is the HTC HD2 which is more popularly known by its codename “Leo”. The HTC HD is the first Windows Mobile powered phone that features HTC’s Sense UI. It features a 4.3″ WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, a 1GHz Snapdragon procoessor, a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB ROM/448MB RAM, 7.2Mbps UMTS/HSPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and G-Sensor.

Here’s a hands-on video of the HTC HD2 from SlashGear.

Product Photos:

I loved the HTC HD and I definitely love the HTC HD2 more! Not only does it have a bigger screen, it also has a faster processor and a more beautiful user interface, thanks to the HTC Sense UI.

Good news for HTC fans here in the US. Unlike its predecessor the HTC HD, the HTC HD2 will be brought here in North America and will be available early next year, 2010. No word yet though on how much will this mobile phone cost but I’m hoping it wouldn’t be too expensive.

Yesterday, HTC introduced their latest QWERTY smartphone called the HTC Snap at the CTIA convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. When I first saw it, what immediately came to my mind was that it had the resemblance of a Blackberry Bold and a Nokia E71 with its trackball and QWERTY keyboard in full public display.

The HTC Snap was designed for business people, executives and other users whose main purpose is using a handset for communications – sending emails, text messages and other documents. The HTC Snap smartphone is also the first HTC handset to use an email prioritization system called “Inner Circle” that allows the user to specify an exclusive group of people as high priority contacts or the users “Inner Circle”. With a touch of a button, all emails from people who belong to your “Inner Circle” will be sorted and pushed on top of the list/inbox for quick and easy access.

Specifications:

• Qualcomm MSM 7225 processor, 528 MHz
• Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard OS
• QWERTY keypad with dedicated messaging, email and Inner Circle hotkeys
• 256MB ROM, 192MB RAM
• microSDHC support
• Dimensions: 4.59″ x 2.42″ x .47″ (LxWxT)
• Weight: 4.23 ounces (with battery)
• Display: 2.4″ (diagonal) QVGA (320×240)
• 1500 mAh battery
• HSDPA/WCDMA 900/2100 MHz or HSDPA/WCDMA 850/1900 MHz (HTC S522)
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• Wi-Fi (b/g)
• GPS/aGPS

Additional Photos:

Here’s HTC’s Press Release for the HTC Snap smartphone:

HTC Snap™ makes staying in touch with more people less complicated

LAS VEGAS – April 1, 2009 – HTC Corporation today debuted its newest QWERTY smartphone, the HTC Snap™. Designed with a set of features selected to deliver everything customers need without overwhelming them with things they don’t, the HTC Snap makes it easier than ever to stay in contact with life’s most important people.

A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by HTC* found that 44% of US adults are often overwhelmed by the amount of email they receive, and over half (55%) of US adults prioritize five or fewer people with whom they communicate via email. In response to these issues, HTC’s innovative Inner Circle feature allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a preselected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

“Recognizing that people are being overwhelmed by an avalanche of email, the HTC Snap introduces Inner Circle, an HTC innovation that makes it easy for people to prioritize messages from the most important people in their lives at the press of a button,” said John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer, HTC Corporation. “The HTC Snap represents the latest step in HTC’s mission to create a range of innovative smartphones, each with specific benefits designed to both surprise and delight our customers.”

With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap measures less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. High-speed 3G HSPA connectivity makes it quick and easy to send pictures to friends, access favorite social networking sites, or download large files while on the go.

The HTC Snap is powerful enough for experienced business users looking for an affordable, straightforward choice for remotely synchronizing email, calendar and contacts with their Microsoft Exchange server. However, the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard platform allows the HTC Snap to also be simple enough for first-time smartphone users wanting to keep their family life organized.

The HTC Snap is expected to be available in select channels during the second quarter of 2009, rolling out in markets around the world throughout the second half of the year. Additionally, an unlocked version supporting HSDPA at 850/1900MHz for the US market will be made available under the name HTC S522 during the summer.

If you haven’t noticed, I’m a HTC fanboy. Ever since I got my AT&T Tilt aka HTC TyTN II, I’ve fell in love with HTC and their handsets/mobile devices. Although I prefer handsets with bigger screens, I still like the design and look of the HTC Snap. It’s slim, sexy and looks very classy and elegant.