Customers in UK cab get the new Google Nexus S at an unbelievable price of just £430 for the SIM free version. According to reports, both Best Buy UK and Carphone Warhouse Stores have put up the Google Nexus S on sale at a reportedly reduced price. The release date has been set up at December 22, which means the Brits are at ease to get the Google Nexus S by Christmas.

The price of this next gen superphone from Samsung in UK was initially slated to be around £550. Somehow, the price so stipulated seemed to be too high for customers and hence Google has decided to chop the price by a whopping £120 and the new reduced price of Google Nexus S stands at £ 429.95 with a top up of £10.

The contract price is narrowed down to a reasonable £30 per month on a deal covering two years. This sounds way more reasonable for most people. And this is definitely good news as the holiday time is around the corner and a brand new Google Nexus S could be the ideal hi-tech gift for yourself or your loved ones.

The question remains as to whether this new version of smart phone from Google will be available for customers independently over few mobile networks in UK or customers ought to purchase the Nexus S from Best Buy Stores and Carphone Warhouse Stores only.

The erstwhile price tag of £550 on Google Nexus S, according to TechRadar, was definitely going to hamper the marketing of the product. Perhaps this is something that has awakened the manufacturer and Google stepped in to right the path by revising the Nexus S price tag.

The reduced price is definitely going to attract buyers in volume. The new £30 per month is also going to get more folks interested in buying the new product. This mammoth £120 price slash is generating huge interest among customers in UK.

The first HTC Desire released in March is considered one of the most sought-after smartphones in the market and not a few has called its name quite apt. Now comes a couple of new Desire offsprings that extend the desirability of these handsets to a new level of sophistication.

One of them, the HTC Desire Z, brings full QWERTY functionality to the family. This is only the second full-QWERTY Android from the Taiwan-based leader in smartphones after the HTC Dream released in 2009.

High End Features

Designing derivatives of a successful product is often a give and take proposition. The HTC Desire Z should keep people wanting full QWERTY options on a smartphone happy. But they won’t get the 1GHz snapdragon on the first Desire since it only has a Qualcomm MSM7230 at 800 MHz. No matter, you now get the latest Android v2.2 Froyo on the Z.

It has the same radio connectivity options for a high end smartphone with quad band GSM and 3G with HSDPA/HSUPA data speeds even if you only get class 32 GPRS/EDGE speeds on 2G. You also have WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA where the first Desire only had the older WiFi iteration without DLNA or “n” for a wider coverage. Local data transfers get Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and microUSB v2.0. GPS is also supported.

Flagship Multimedia Features

Multimedia features start with 3.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen with WVGA (480 x 80) resolution, 16 million colors, accelerometer and proximity sensors as well as multitouch input technology.

The HTC Desire Z images with a 5-megapixel autofocus shooter with LED flash, face detection, geo tagging and video recording at 720p high definition. There’s a Stereo FM receiver with RDS and 3.5mm audio jack. All your multimedia files can be stored internally with its generous 1.5 GB user memory or in a 32GB microSD card which it supports a 1300 mAh Li-ion battery that yields up to 9.8 hours of talk time on 2G with 430 hours on standby.

Finally, after much lobbying, Orange users who have an HTC Hero can finally update their mobile operating system to version 2.1. This Google Android update has been long in the making and has inspired many customers to plead and complain about the delayed update on a certain Facebook group. The update is scheduled to be up and live by the end of this week.

The delay has certainly irked many consumers, basically because Orange has not been up front and transparent about the release date of the patch. News of Google Android version 2.2 also make their loyal subscribers think about how much delayed they are going to get the upgrade, if at all. The official press release of the two companies issued last Tuesday stated that the cause of the so called delay may be attributed to extensive testing all across Europe.

“We apologise for the delay in Orange Hero customers receiving their Eclair update. Testing the update across European markets took longer than anticipated. However, we hope to receive final approval by the end of the week and Orange handsets should start updating from next week.”

Of course, this makes plenty of sense, updates are hard to roll out, most especially if they have the potential of rendering key functions useless. After Orange and HTC’s guarantee that they did indeed conduct a thorough test and that the version 2.1 update is now ready, it should quell any doubts of the operating system’s efficiency after the update.

The first part of the update is already being distributed across channels for the Orange HTC users. The new press release at least confirms when the second part of the update will reach subscribers.

Sure, Orange and HTC have a way of not following through with update schedules for the HTC Hero, but in light of the first part of the update being released, the second element is surely not so far behind.

One of UK’s largest online retailers, eXpansys, has announced that they will be offering the Acer Stream smart phone this coming August 9. The device is expected to bring in a new era of Acer devices.

While the Liquid series of Android smart phones from Acer was quite interesting, no other device from the computer manufacturer is as compellingly engrossing as the Stream. And by engrossed, we mean it in both the hardware and the form factor. The handset itself simply looks good –a definite first for Acer. While the beTouch and Liquid devices were decent smart phones, the Stream is a solid notch above all the rest. The phone’s form factor, color and texture give it a balance in design that is hard to deny.

Specs wise, the Stream matches up nicely with the Google Nexus One and the HTC Desire. The phone also packs a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, a 5 mega pixel camera, plenty of internal storage, the Android operating system (according to reports, will come loaded with Android 2.1 Éclair. An update to 2.2 Froyo is expected to be made available soon), support for GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, microSD cards and more. Basically, it’s the whole smart phone package.

Acer is also going to feature the Acer Touch 3D user interface. With the handset’s 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, running the graphics and effects on the handset will be a breeze.

With several Android devices already available on the market, Acer’s latest offering is a testament to how influential the Google operating system has become. It is expected that several more Android smart phone will be released before the end of the year, making this year the most prolific in terms of the number of Android devices released within the period.

It seems that Apple is incapable of making a simple announcement without getting plenty of people riled up. After all, the only thing substantial that Steve Jobs had to say was that Apple would be giving out free cases for the iPhone 4 and that they would not be able to provide bumpers for everyone so users will be given a choice among a range of cases. Those who have already bought a Bumper will be given a refund.

If Apple left it at that, they would be criticized a little for taking so long to announce such a simple non-solution. But it would have ended with that. Instead, Apple is now taking heavy criticism for taking 22 days just to decide on that, and come up with a large overdrawn presentation on why they are not at fault and that the entire industry is suffering from the same problem.

Fortunately for the tech industry, other companies also have a voice. With the Samsung Omnia 2, BlackBerry Bold 9700 and HTC Droid Eris being directly mentioned in the presentation, it was not surprising that RIM was among the very first companies to speak out.

Canadian based Research in Motion announced that the BlackBerry Bold 9700, and all BB devices did not need to have a casing to run properly. Samsung’s spokesperson also stated that their devices have antennas located in positions where it would not come into contact with the user (which compromises performance).

Last to speak up was HTC, represented by their chief financial officer Hui-Meng Cheng. According to him, “The reception problems are certainly not common among smart phones, (Apple) apparently didn’t give operators enough time to test the phone.”

It will be a while before Apple recovers from this major public blunder, in the meanwhile, all three handsets mentioned above are actually pretty good smart phones to switch to if you plan to refund your iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the HTC Droid Eris isn’t available in the UK, but the HTC Desire or HTC Wildfire are equally good alternatives if you’re interested in trying out an HTC Android device.

Seriously, the Fring app for the Apple iPhone 4 is the best thing to happen to current users of the FaceTime feature. While the Apple iPhone 4 may actually have the FaceTime app to give users a chance to have fun with the front facing camera, the service is still quite limited and the time to have access to conversational opportunities need to be budgeted.

This is not a concern with the Fring app. Not only is Fring completely free, it also allows users to connect to 3G and WiFi.

For those not familiar with the iPhone 4’s FaceTime feature, the video calling app is restricted only to WiFi. This means it will not eat into your 3G data bandwidth, but at the same time, the App can only be used in areas that have WiFi hotspots. The biggest restriction of FaceTime is that users can only contact other iPhone 4 users (this is pretty much expected of the super xenophobic Apple brand).

Fring, on the other hand, provides more allowance for users. Not only can iPhone 4 users contact Android and Symbian handset owners, but they also have the freedom of choosing whether to use 3G or WiFi connections. This is particularly important for people on the go who would want to make the most out of the video chat feature. The Fring app is already available on the iTunes App Store and it not only provides video chat options, but also has some social networking features as well.

Speaking of the Apple iPhone 4, it seems that Apple is not going to make any further moves regarding the handset’s antenna issues. With the open letter already finalizing Apple’s stand on the matter, it seems that people will have to contend with possibility that calls can be dropped if the handset is held in a certain way.

Taiwan based phone manufacturer HTC is one of the most celebrated smart phone makers of today. The company has just announced a massive growth in profits (gaining a full 33% increase from their 2009 performance) and is currently busy working on a large portfolio of handsets (some of which have been released in a roadmap leak).

HTC has had a very long history with Microsoft. While the company may be known famously for the Android OS (they played a key role as a partner for Google – developing the Nexus One as well as prominent Android smartphones like the HTC Desire and the HTC Wildfire), they also go pretty way back with the giant of Silicon Valley. Microsoft and HTC started their ties back when HTC was still a small electronics manufacturer. Tasked with building the most innovative and groundbreaking pocket PCs, HTC stood at the threshold of the business industry –only to be pushed back by the emergence of smart phones.

Anyway, HTC’s Windows Mobile handsets are not only the most well made, but they are also the most sought after. The combination of the Windows Mobile OS with the Sense user interface is one of the best combinations for the struggling platform –struggling in the general market at least.

The reason for this is the HTC Sense UI –which makes using Windows Mobile so much easier. Now, HTC is confirmed to be working on a WP7 device as well. While it has yet to be revealed if the HTC Mondrian and Mozart handsets are actually real, HTC has already confirmed that they will not be adding in a new user interface to the WP7 OS. No HTC Sense UI, a proprietary OS that the phone maker loves to add to their devices.

The HTC Sense may not be used, but even HTC has acknowledged the impressive user interface that Windows Phone 7 uses. The customizable tiles, the interconnected features and iTunes apps are among the best elements about the new OS.

It seems that it is still a tad bit too early to predict what Google has in store for its latest Android project. Android 3.0, dubbed Gingerbread, is quite the rumor magnet at the moment.

A few of these speculations come from trusted sources around the web. One such convincing theories came from Eldar Murtazin of Mobile Review. He said that the little green robot was to have steep spec requirements and was only meant to be used on high end mobile devices.

The major points brought up in the ‘Droid theories involve needing a beefed up mobile phone meeting a minimum screen size requirement as well as a specific resolution. This means that most of the current generation Google smart phones would be left in the dust once this new platform gets released.

To dispel the rumors, Google’s own Dan Morrillhas had to step in and deliver word via Twitter:

“I love it when people just make stuff up and report it as news. In summary, please remember that rumors are not official announcements. .”

While this may mean that no such spec requirements would be implemented, it is also possible that Google is just trying to do some damage control so as not to dissuade people from Android shopping. The statement came in just in time too, considering the fact that some HTC and Samsung mobile devices (notably the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S) are still lagging behind in terms of their upgrade to Android 2.2.

Dan Morrillhas is the lead of Google Android’s Open Source and Compatibility Technology section, which makes him quite an authority on the subject. Also, Gingerbread still has a ways to go since it is still early in its development period.

At the very least, this will help prevent people from holding off buying a perfectly good current gen ‘Droid handset.

The HTC Desire was officially launched in March of this year. Since then, it has amassed a considerable amount of rave reviews which all send their praises towards this remarkable device. We must agree; the Desire is definitely one of the best. However, it isn’t perfect. Below are some aspects of the device that might need some fine-tuning before the Desire is deemed as THE Smartphone for 2010.

The Upside

Before anything else, we must give credit where it is due. There are more than a few things that we like about the HTC Desire. For starters, the 3.7” touch screen displays delivers vivid images of the highest quality (480 x 800 pixels). Then there’s the HTC Sense user interface on the device which makes the Android Eclair even better than it already is. Another notable feature is the web browser on the Desire which is pretty fast and also has Flash support. It’s also worth pointing out that the HTC Desire deals currently on offer are very impressive.

The Downside

As mentioned before, the HTC Desire is a pretty awesome device. However, this doesn’t mean that it does not have its own flaws. One of the biggest criticisms of the device is that although its AMOLED display delivers high resolution image outputs, it’s actually quite difficult to see when your outdoors and once the sun’s glare hits it. Also, some of the widgets on the device may need a few adjustments here and there. To some, the Android still appear to be a bit too geeky and the physical design of the device doesn’t quite match the appeal of the HTC Legend.

Final Judgement

The HTC Desire packs in all the features you’d expect from a Smartphone. This in itself should be enough to make it a contender as one of the best of the year. Its awesome interface backed up by a powerful processor guarantees an enhanced user experience. While it may lack the sexiness of the Legend or perhaps even the iPhone, the Desire is still worth a second look.

If there is one thing that has been the constant bane of all tech fans –it is the delays. With new updates, patches, products, releases and all things happening, it is already hard to keep track of what is new and what is not –having a company delay their update certainly makes things a lot harder to keep up with.

Take this case for instance. It was already stated that the Nexus One Froyo update was coming out last week and the HTC Desire would be getting updated this week. All well and good, but it seems that Google has decided to put in some strategic delays to the launch. Sure, we are getting a great final build of the Android 2.2 Froyo, but the OS has been sitting in Google’s developer shelves for quite some time now.

Even Adobe was pretty fast with the launch of the Flash Player for the Android 2.2 –the software came out days ahead of the Nexus One 2.2 update launch.

This leaves us with the HTC Desire, an impressive smart phone that some would even say rivals the Google Nexus One in terms of both specs and features. Not surprisingly too, HTC manufactured both devices, and HTC is considered to be playing a key role in the development of the Android OS.

The Desire’s main tech specs will certainly sound familiar to the owners of the Android Nexus One –the 5 mega pixel camera, a 3.7 inch AMOLED touch screen display, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU; these pretty much reads out like the Nexus’ own specs and the reason for this is that HTC made the two devices one after the other. Actually, it was the Desire (then known as the HTC Bravo) that was designed first.

With the launch date of the HTC Desire’s Android update pushed, this means that other smart phones will have to wait longer too.