VIEWPOINT: There are some of you who did not purchase the May 2011 digital edition of HWM Singapore and missed out on our monthly video. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

The HTC EVO 4G will first be made available in the US via Sprint.

SHOWCASE: HTC unveiled the world’s first 3G/4G smartphone yesterday called the HTC EVO 4G and it will be first made available on US telecom operator Sprint’s network.

Featuring Google Android 2.1 operating system, a 4.3-inch wide touchscreen pinch-and-zoom display, 8.0-megapixel camera, HDMI output and HTC Sense, the HTC EVO 4G has set tongues wagging since the announcement.

With the Sprint 4G network, expect wireless throughput speeds to be 10 times that of current 3G networks.

It is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, features a 1.3-megapixel front-facing vid conference camera, but more importantly, comes with its popular Mobile HotSpot feature that allows up to 8 Wi-Fi-enabled devices to wirelessly tether to the EVO and share the 4G experience.

Meanwhile check out some of the shots of the HTC EVO 4G here.

The Motorola Zhishang XT800 is an Android-based smartphone that allows Chinese users to access SHOP4APPS.

CORP TALK: Motorola unveiled SHOP4APPS (or Zhi-Jian-Yuan in Mandarin, which means “Place for Apps Wisdom”), a store for Android applications in China.

The online store is designed to host apps customized for Android-based Motorola phones in China.

Motorola has also announced a new feature on their Android handsets enabling users to customize their Android devices by selecting their own search provider.

Users will be able to select their search experience from a number of providers including Baidu, with whom Motorola has signed strategic agreements.

SHOP4APPS will also give developers a platform to promote their apps through MOTODEV, Motorola’s global developer program, and via other Android development ecosystems.

To begin submitting their Android apps immediately for hosting on the SHOP4APPS store in China, developers need to only look here.

The Nexus One has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.

CORP TALK: The internet is abuzz with the much hyped Nexus One Android-based phone from Internet search giant Google. Word from the Telegraph is that the launch will be in California later today.

TechTree India even has a list of specifications. Of course, Engadget has a video review and photos of the Nexus One already. The phone itself is built by HTC and runs on Google’s Android 2.1 operating system.

It has a 1GHz SnapDragon processor, a 3.7-inch 480 x 800 display and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Here’s a list of the hardware features of the Nexus One:

The Google Nexus One smartphone has a 3.7

Display: 3.7″ AMOLED 480×800 WVGA display
Thinness: 11.5mm
Weight: 130g
Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz

Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
Trackball: Tri-color notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive

Here’s a video of the phone after launch just earlier today:

UPDATE 06/01/10: Apparently, the Google Nexus One smartphone will indeed be available to users in Hong Kong and Singapore at US$577.31 and this includes Google shipping the phone unlocked (with power adapter) to you via DHL. Here’s a screenshot of the shipping terms once you reach the checkout page.

Paolo Manzano, Managing Editor, HWM Philippines

Paolo (HWM Philippines): Despite all the hype that the Nexus One is indeed the Google Phone, it will remain as one handset amongst many other handsets in the crowd.

This means that it will still need to compete with the rest, finding its relevance amongst a user group that will embrace it just like the iPhone was whole-heartedly embraced.

Of course, it has several advantages: one, it is conceptualized by Google, with all the sweets they have to offer, including seamless integration of Google Apps, the best support for Android Market, and perhaps extensive compatibility with future Android updates.

Another point to watch here is the fact that Google is now treading on its partners’ territory by producing their very own branded handsets, something that Microsoft has avoided at all costs in order to keep their WinMo partners happy.

Perhaps the market will go for the Droid or Hero or some other handset, but for any partner, is competition from Google on this front something that they want?

Probably not. It will be interesting to see how it turns out in the next few years and how it will shape the business of Android partners such as Motorola and HTC, and most especially Google.

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: Being Google, everything that comes out from the Google factories will be hot cakes.

Coupled with HTC’s manufacturing wits, the combination is lethal. Good hardware with global-reach software, what else would you ask? Well, lower pricing may be.

Since the HTC Dream’s launch, when I had expected Android-based phones to boom in two years, I now think it will probably be faster, pending internet infrastructure to be more established in certain countries (e.g. Indonesia).

The product is certainly worth the hype.

Smartphone communities welcome this change from the unreliability we’ve so far seen in other more established platforms.

The Android-based HTC Hero was unveiled in the UK touting a new Sense User Interface.

SHOWCASE: IntoMobile.com has reported on the unveiling of the HTC Hero in the UK here and it’s currently generating a lot of Android buzz.

The HTC Hero is the latest Android smartphone from HTC, but according to the site, the real star is the new customized Android OS user-interface called HTC “Sense UI”.

If you’re familiar with the TouchFLO 3D UI in Windows Mobile-based HTC smartphones, then this is what Sense UI is to the Android-based HTC Hero. There seems to be high expectations that the HTC Sense UI will be the key catalyst for making the HTC Hero the best Android phone to hit the market.

Oh did we also mention it supports multi-touch inputs (other than the Palm Pre’s WebOS and iPhone 3GS’s iPhone OS)?

Anyway, words aside, here’s a video showing you how the HTC Hero’s “Sense UI” works. Check it out (click the link after to check out two other videos related to HTC Hero and its Android Sense UI).

A video presentation of what the Sense UI is going to feel like on the Android-based HTC Hero.

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