The summer is ending and the autumn handset season is gearing up. Microsoft and Apple are set to reveal their newest smartphones in the weeks ahead. Not to be left out, Android market leader HTC is hard at work, readying new handsets for the fall. New images and specs of two upcoming HTC devices–the ‘Ruby’ and ‘Holiday’–have leaked. They reveal some interesting trends. It appears that HTC plans to continue aggressively pushing the boundaries of screen size and processing power in its fall lineup.
HTC Ruby
TmoNews has learned that the HTC Ruby (tentative title) will be a T-Mobile handset. While we don’t know if it will be exclusive, from the HTC logo above, we gather that it won’t be a myTouch or T-Mobile branded device. An ‘insider’ says that the device will have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch qHD (960×540) touchscreen, a dedicated camera button, a dedicated video button, an 8MP rear camera, a 2MP front camera, 1GB of RAM, and Bluetooth 3.0. We’re a little scared/skeptical about the separate camera and video buttons, as most devices are shunning camera buttons all together as of late. The Ruby should hit shelves sometime in September.
HTC Holiday
If you liked the size of the Samsung Infuse, the massive 4.5-inch HTC Holiday may be up your alley. SlashGear has dug up a screenshot of the device from the XDA developer forums. This prototype has a big “California” sticker on its backend and may not represent the final design of the handset, but in its current form, the Holiday looks to be a change from the rounded designs HTC has been preferring as of late. From what we hear, the phone will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.5-inch qHD (960×540) display, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera, a 1.3MP front camera, and could be released on AT&T. Oddly, the back of the unit appears to have a conductive charging port as well, though it’s in an odd place. Could HTC be planning to bundle it with a phone charging mat of some kind? If so, we hope the phone still comes with a standard MicroUSB port as well.
Samsung Celox
Finally, those on Verizon may have reason to get excited. A few days ago, images and specs of the Samsung Celox hit the web, and it looks like the phone will be 4G LTE capable. PocketNow reports that the phone will have near identical stats to the Droid Bionic. It will have a 4.5-inch WVGA display (why no AMOLED, Samsung?), a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, and 1GB of RAM. The device was spotted in South Korea and may hit SK Telecom there and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, but no information about a U.S. Verizon release has been released. Hopefully a deal can be struck. We’d love to see more dual-core LTE phones and, as of now, the Samsung Droid Charge is our favorite 4G LTE device.
We’ll have more leaks and handset news as it rolls in.
