Why was that? Well, one main reason was that manufacturers had not yet delivered an affordable handset that convincingly taps into the possibilities of the mobile internet, particularly at the entry-level.

With the HTC Smart however, the fast rising Taiwanese manufacturer looks to solve the conundrum by attempted a dizzy hat-trick: deliver a smartphone experience with uncompromised functionality that is easy to use, yet affordable.

Strictly speaking, the HTC Smart isn’t a smart-phone, despite it’s name. however, it’s balance between, form, function, UI and O/S set it at the highest heights of the feature-phone market.

Central to the balance achieved in the HTC Smart is the extremely lightweight yet capable mobile operating system – Brew MP, created by Snapdragon wizards Qualcomm.  We first saw Brew performing nimbly in the INQ 3g handset, which delivered nicely optimised access to a range of social networking services including Facebook and Skype.

Combined with HTC’s  Sense UI, the HTC Smart is set to deliver one of the simplest and most intuitive gateways to using the mobile internet yet.

Add to that, HTC’s friend-feed, which thread messages from across SMS, email and instant messanger and it’s hard to see how the new addition to the HTC family is going to fail in it’s mission.

Anyone keen to start enjoying the mobile internet, but who recoil at the hefty expense of iPhone deals should definitely consider.

HTC Smart deals are available in the UK from April, exclusively on O2.

Nowhere on the planet is safe from the onslaught of Open Source Android, as NTT DoCoMo announces their new HT-03A handset, soon to launch in Japan.

Unfamiliar with the name? Then the looks of the above handset should jog your memory! Yes, it’s another renaming for the HTC Magic/MyTouch3G, as the HT-03A becomes the first Android phone to launch  in Japan.

It will be interesting to see how the interface is tailored to the Japanese, if at all, as they seem not to be awfully fond of touchscreen phones…

Source: Unwired View

I’m sorry to dash your cupcake update dreams but a T-Mobile USA spokesman, a one, Erica Gordon, is on the record as saying that there is no plans for a Cupcake update, “as far as (she) knows”

But there may be good news for the American market as both Androinica and BoyGeniusReport are both confident that T-Mobile will unveil the G2 at next month’s CITA. (The HTC Magic for us Europeans).

Andoinica speculates the sudden drop in price for G1 handsets, suggest that T-Mobile is ‘trying to drum up sales before releasing their next Android phone”. While Boy Genius which is banking on an April Cupcake update (sorry guys, read the above) think it would make sense for T-Mobile to release their new handset at the same time.

The most compelling argument for an April release however is the CITA Wireless conference that takes place in April. What better place to unveil a phone than one of the ‘most important global technology event(s) of the year’ according to the site? After all LG announced the GD910 at CES in January.

Andoinica

Boy Genius Report

Anyone that bought an unblocked G1 phone is no longer able to download apps from the app store, since  Google changed the set up last week. Any user with an unblocked G1  phone can’t access copy prohibited applications, including those that cost to download.

Google made the changes in an attempt to close a loophole that reportedly allows users to unlock the phone and download apps for free. Google allows returns within 24 hours of downloading. The Android market allows anyone to return an application within 24 hours; in contrast to the iPhone app store which has none of the freedoms of the Android system.

So how it works is this – protected applications are automatically downloaded into a private Android folder. Most phone users can’t access the files but users of the developer phone can. In that way a specific developer phone user could buy an application, copy it from a private folder, return the application for a refund and then re-download the application to the phone. The developer version of the G1 was designed to give developers “flexibility” by letting them have full permission to use the software.

But I know that if I’d paid $400 for a phone and then found out that I couldn’t access any of the applications, I’d be mightily pissed off. If it was applications (that I’d designed myself) and I couldn’t get access to on my phone; I’d be even more pissed off.

One developer is proposing a “developer revolt” and encouraging all developers to pull their applications from the store.

“It would be the only way to show Google that this is not acceptable, and that devs are not second (third?) class citizens on the Market”.

“I am beyond angry that I can not even see my own paid app on the market with my 400 dollar dev phone!”

Looks like Google have got some making up to do.