Quad-core phones at MWC – The Verge

Nvidia’s Tegra 3 sits on the sidelines in the big LTE game

2012-02-29T06:30:13-05:00

Gallery Photo: HTC One X hands-on

The biggest splash of MWC 2012 was made by HTC's One X, a 4.7-inch Android 4.0 phone whose skyscraping spec sheet is built around the quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Unless you live in the United States, that is. In the world's most important smartphone market, HTC will be shipping the One X with a dual-core chip. Wherefore, you ask? Simple: AT&T is the network carrying the phone and, much like its nearest and dearest rival Verizon, it now demands LTE in all of its high-end smartphones.

You can't have a hero device on either of the two big US carriers without an LTE modem in it. And the trouble for Nvidia is that there are no current Tegra 3 L …

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K-Touch Treasure V8: hands-on with the fifth Tegra 3 phone

2012-02-28T12:48:21-05:00

Gallery Photo: K-Touch Treasure V8 pictures

Last night, Nvidia announced the first batch of phones that will run its new Tegra 3 processor. There was the HTC One X, the ZTE Era, the Fujistu "superphone," the LG Optimus 4X HD… and the K-Touch Treasure V8. The mysterious Treasure V8 had yet to be announced, and it still hasn't made its official debut, but we got to check out the brand-new handset here at MWC.

The version we saw was a pre-production model and unfortunately wouldn't even turn on, but we pieced together some crucial details: it has a 4.3-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera, and it will run Android 4.0 - Nvidia reps told us all Tegra 3 phones will run Ice Cream Sandwich …

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HTC’s dark materials: hands-on photos with the gray One S, black One X

2012-02-28T11:20:20-05:00

Gallery Photo: HTC One S in gray and One X in black hands on photos

HTC is touting the design quality of the One X and One S heavily and one major focus isn't the shape of the phones, but the materials that they're made of. The One X has a polycarbonate body that we like almost as much as the Lumia 800, but it's materials on the One S that really stand out. The One S has an aluminum shell with one of two finishes: a straightforward, gray aluminum body with a "gradient anodized" finish that has a very subtle light-to-dark shade. Android Central first spotted the gray version and so we swung by Google's booth to check it out for ourselves. It has a slightly cleaner, simpler feel compared to the complex feel of …

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ZTE Era and PF112 HD: two Android 4.0 smartphones that should be just one (hands-on photos and video)

2012-02-27T14:02:52-05:00

Gallery Photo: ZTE PF112 hands-on pictures

ZTE announced a very, very large number of phones today at Mobile World Congress, but the two that are actually notable are the Era and the PF112 HD. The Era is ZTE's flagship, sporting both a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and a brand name that ZTE is not afraid to use in a pun on its new Android push. The Era has a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display and is 7.8mm thick, with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. It's designed for HSPA+ networks, but is not going to have LTE.

Despite being the so-called flagship, the Era managed to get shown up by the PF112 HD in at least one category: the screen. Of all of ZTE's phones today, the PF112 stands out the most wit …

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Fujitsu quad-core Tegra 3 prototype Android phone hands-on

2012-02-27T07:24:55-05:00

Gallery Photo: Fujitsu quad-core Tegra 3 prototype Android phone hands-on photos

The Tegra 3 Android handset that Fujitsu had showed behind glass at CES is now out and ready for demonstration here at Mobile World Congress this week. It doesn't have a name yet - the company is simply calling it a "quad-core prototype" - but it's an early look at what it expects to launch across North America, Europe, and China sometime around Q4 of this year, part of a global expansion in mobile beyond its traditional Japanese roots.

The hardware felt somewhat loosely put together, but it's hard to fault the device for that - it's still the better part of a year away from production, and Fujitsu was clear to us that we're not looking at …

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ZTE Era announced with Tegra 3, 4.3-inch screen, and Android 4.0

2012-02-27T04:51:42-05:00

zte era

ZTE has announced the Era, a quad-core Android 4.0 smartphone with a Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC, 4.3-inch 960 x 540 qHD Screen, and a body that's only 7.8mm thin. The Tegra 3 processor's a quad-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz, which ZTE has backed with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage.

In terms of connectivity, the handset offers a quad-band cell radio with HSPA+ support, along with Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, and UMA support for Wi-Fi calling. There's also a MHL port for hooking up your handset to the TV, HD Voice capability, Dolby-engineered sound, and DLNA for streaming your media to other capable devices. Judging by the images, ZTE's Mifavor skin doesn't look lik …

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HTC One X for AT&T pictures, video, and hands-on preview

2012-02-26T15:51:46-05:00

Gallery Photo: HTC One X hands-on

HTC's new flagship is here: the HTC One X is in the vanguard of not just the new "One" lineup, but of HTC's mini-revival for 2012. Based on our brief time with it, we think the phone will manage to pull off both of those heavy tasks, though whether it will be enough to fend off Samsung's rumored Galaxy S III is sadly going to be an open question until later this year. For now, the HTC One X impresses on its own terms and specs, and what great specs they are.

The first and most important thing about the One X is its screen: a 4.7-inch 720p "Super LCD 2" panel that is simply better than anything we've seen on the market. It's bright and crisp …

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HTC One X announced for April release with quad-core Tegra 3, 4.7-inch HD display, and Android 4.0

2012-02-26T15:20:25-05:00

HTC One X

Shockingly, the rumors were all true. HTC has today confirmed the existence of a 4.7-inch, quad-core superphone, which it is dubbing the One X and using as the hero device of its new One smartphone family. The Tegra 3-powered One X will feature Android 4.0 right out of the box, alongside a streamlined new version of Sense, fittingly called Sense 4.0. Equipped with NFC, 32GB of built-in storage, and a 1280 x 720 Super LCD display, this is what HTC describes as its "all-in device." The camera comes with an f/2.0 lens and an 8-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor.

Camera performance has been a real priority for HTC with the One series and all t …

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Huawei Ascend D quad: hands-on with the fastest smartphone in the world

2012-02-26T10:39:31-05:00

Huawei Ascend D quad

Huawei's latest flagship device, the Ascend D quad, is supposedly "the world's fastest smartphone." So, naturally, as soon as the company's MWC press conference was over, we had to go take a look for ourselves. The D quad is definitely a sight to behold, particularly the 4.5-inch 720p display - the screen's very bright, and the viewing angles are excellent. It's not the thinnest phone we've seen, but its 8.8mm body definitely cuts a slim figure, and actually feels smaller in the hand than most 4.5-inch phones.

Of course, most of the appeal of the D quad is its internal processing power, and that's hard to grasp fully from only a couple of m …

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Huawei debuts Ascend D quad, ‘the world’s fastest smartphone’

2012-02-26T09:40:22-05:00

Ascend D quad

MWC is just getting under way, and Huawei's kicking off the show with a new flagship smartphone: the Ascend D quad. Part of the company's new "Diamond" series of handsets, the D quad is powered by a quad-core processor, and Huawei says it's "the world's fastest smartphone." It's running Android 4.0, with three capacitive buttons below the 4.5-inch, 720p display. The handset runs on Huawei's new K3V2 quad-core processor, clocked as high as 1.5GHz, and is just 8.9mm thick and weighs 4.6 ounces - it's not LTE compatible yet, but Huawei said it will be this year. There's an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter - the …

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