Meet the HTC WF5w, the thinnest smartphone from HTC yet

Generally, HTC smartphones are not made with thinness in mind. The company’s portfolio is filled with smartphones that measures more than 8.0mm thick. But with the One E9+, the thickness was reduced from above 8.0mm to 7.54mm, which gives the E9+ the title of the thinnest HTC smartphone yet. But not anymore, as HTC is prepping to unveil another smartphone that will take the title away from the One E9+.

The upcoming thin HTC smartphone is called ‘HTC WF5w’, and had already been approved by the China Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center (TENAA), which means that it won’t be long before it gets unveiled in the country. The HTC WF5w measures 7.49mm thick, and if you compare that to the 7.54mm thickness of the One E9+, the difference won’t easily be noticed, but it’s there.

The smartphone features a 5.5-inch 720p display, an octa-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 13MP cameras on the front and back and 16 GB of built-in storage that can be further expanded up to 128GB with a microSD card. It runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with the latest Sense UI on top.

HTC might introduce an international version of the smartphone after launching it first in China, so lets wait and see.

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HTC One E9sw, a mid-range version of the One E9+ gets certified by TENAA in China

An HTC smartphone believed to be a tuned-down version of the One E9+ has been certified by the China Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center (TENAA). The smartphone goes by the name One E9sw, and features less good specs compared to the One E9+.

While the One E9sw is considered as a mid-range version of the One E9+, its design appears to be inspired by the HTC One M9 and the Desire 826 phablet. On the front, it looks quite identical to the One M9, while at the back, there’re some color items just like the Desire 826 phablet.

Under the hood, the One E9sw packs some of the best mid-range specs like a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720pixel, an octa-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. There’s a 13-MP camera at the back and a 4-MP front camera for selfies. Keeping the lights on is a 2600mAh battery. The device measures 7.64mm thick and weighs 165g.

It's not know whether the HTC One E9sw will make it to other markets outside of China at this time. But we expect to get more information about it in the coming days or weeks.

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HTC may be reducing component orders for the One M9 by 30% due to lower than expected sales

When HTC launched its flagship handset, the One M9, everyone was disappointed with the company for its failure to make the device different from its predecessor, the One M8. Now, HTC is having a hard time selling the handset and may be reducing orders for parts and components for the handset by as much as 30%, according to sources at Taiwan’s handset supply chain.

However, It's not surprising because other vendors like Apple and Samsung have no problems selling there flagship handsets, and this is because their new flagships are not in any way similar to their predecessors. For example, when Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, everybody wanted one because both devices are different from previous iPhone models. Samsung, on the other hand, designed the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge with metal and glass and they are performing well in the market too. But HTC failed to do something creative with the One M9. Although the company has changed its market strategy by introducing the One M9+, it remains to be seen if the flagship models will complement each other.

Furthermore, HTC is also not doing well in the entry-level to mid-range segment because it is facing strong challenges from China-based vendors like Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. This makes it difficult for the company to increase sales of its entry-level to mid-range handsets.


Via: Digitimes

HTC One ME9's metal frame leaked

HTC is going to introduce another high-end Android handset dubbed HTC One ME9 (Hima_Ace) in July this year. The handset is going to be available only in the Asian market where the company is gradually gaining velocity. Today, we found a leaked render of the aforementioned handset's metal frame and decided to share it with you, even though your region might not get the handset after all.

Looking at the render, you'll instantly observe that the upcoming HTC's high-end handset, the One ME9, will sport a fingerprint sensor just like the One M9+. Although the One ME9 sports a metal frame, its back cover will be made from polycarbonate, which means that the handset might come with a removable back cover that could give users the option of a removable battery.

In terms of specs, the HTC One ME9 is expected to feature a 5.2-inch WQHD display, Octa-Core MediaTek MT6795 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB ROM. A 20-megapixel Toshiba T4KA7 camera sensor sits at the back, while a 4-megapixel UltraPixel/13-megapixel camera sensor will take care of selfies. Other specs of the handset includes HTC Boom Sound Stereo Speakers with Dolby Sound, Bluetooth 4.1, Fingerprint Scanner, MicroSD card slot (up to 128GB) and a 2900mAh Li-ion battery. The handset will be available in three colors: Classic Rose Gold, Gold Sepia, and Meteor Gray. It will be prices at the equivalent of $560.

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HTC has no plans for a One M9 Mini

If you want a Mini version of HTC's flagship smartphone, the One M9, you'll be disappointed to know that the company has no plans to manufacture a downsized version of the One M9. Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said that the company will no longer manufacture Mini smartphones because the industry is moving towards new smartphones with more than 5-inch display, and so the company wants to follow the industry's trend.

"Overall the industry is moving towards new phones with over 5-inch in size and our product roadmap is close to that of the industry," Tong. Keeping with that mindset, HTC quickly launched the One M9+, a more powerful and feature packed version of the One M9, which according to the company is doing well in the Asian market. The Taiwanese company also launched the One E9+, a more affordable version of the One M9 with a 5.5-inch display.

In the past, HTC launched the One Mini and the One Mini 2 as the mini versions of the One M7 and the One M8 respectively, but now, the company is done with Mini phones.

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HTC J Butterfly with high-end specs announced in Japan

HTC has announced its most feature packed smartphone, the J Butterfly, in Japan. The device combines the high-end specs of both the recently released One M9 and the One M9 Plus and adds dust and water resistance capabilities on top. HTC also made some design tweaks on the J Butterfly, not with metal, but with polycarbonate, that is, the device has a polycarbonate body.

The device features a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560p, Snapdragon 810, 3 GB of RAM, 20.2-megapixel primary camera with support for 4K video, 13-megapixel secondary camera, 32 GB of built-in storage, microSDXC support (up to 200GB), and a 2,700mAh battery. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with the latest HTC sense UI on top. The HTC J Butterfly will be available early June at KDDI and there are no word on when the it will be released for other countries.

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HTC to announce the One M9 Plus on April 8

HTC One M9 Plus

Where everyone is looking forward to the One M9, HTC is busy preparing to announce another variant of the devices, with dual camera, bizarre looking fingerprint sensor and a bigger QHD display on the 8th of April 2015. As can be seen from the image above, the One M9 Plus looks very much different from the original One M9. The back of the phone is identical to that of the One M8, while the front got treated to a fingerprint sensor.

The device features a Mediatek MT6795 64-bit octa-core processor, 3 GB of RAM, 5.5-inch QHD (2560x1440) display, 32 GB storage, fingerprint sensor, BoomSound speakers, and a dual camera setup that looks similar to that of the One M8. Although the device has a dual camera setup that resembles that of the One M8, it still features the same 20-megapixel sensor in the original One M9.

The device will be announced in china, as can be seen from the image below. There are no words on the international availability of the device at the time of writing.

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