htc
HTC Buffy name leaked, could Facebook’s new phone
So HTC has made a Facebook phone called the HTC Status (pictured above), but it seems that Facebook wants a phone of its own. It seems that its code name of some of its details have already been leaked, giving us our first glimpse of the upcoming HTC Buffy, a phone that is reportedly named after Joss Whedon’s TV series.
It will be made by HTC and it will run on a heavily customized version of Android. It will be a “deeply social” phone although we’re not sure what that might imply. It will also rely on HTML5 for apps, allowing games from Zynga to be run on the phone as though it were a native app. This would be a pretty risky move by Facebook as no doubt it would upset a lot of people who have begun integrating Facebook into their platforms and phones.
One of these companies would be Apple, with whom Facebook has recently released an iPad Facebook app for. Another could be Microsoft who could be seeing this Facebook phone as a challenge to their Windows Phone platform, and would most probably demand some sort of royalty from Facebook for creating an Android phone.
If you’re looking forward to seeing the HTC Buffy, according to various sources, you should probably not be holding your breath as it may not ship for the next 1.5 years. That seems like a long time and who knows what could happen during that time, but either way we’ll definitely keep an eye out for this.
What is the world’s best kept secret? I suppose that would be a subjective question, with a myriad of answers for your picking if you were to take into consideration the different industries and niches, but where smartphones are concerned, especially with the HTC banner involved, then it would be the HTC One X9 being the next handset from the company. A set of photos of the alleged device has surfaced, and in these photos, it has more or less confirmed the overall design of the device – including its SIM card slot, power and volume button locations.
Other rumored hardware specifications include a 5.5” Full HD display, a MediaTek MT6795 SoC, either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, a 3,000mAh battery, a 13MP shooter at the back with OIS, and an UltraPixel front camera. All that we have to do now is to sit tight and wait for an official announcement concerning the hardware, and it is good to go.
Now here is a new handset (in a sense) that hails from the folks over at HTC, although it does not really pay homage to HTC’s motto of “Here’s To Change”. Apparently, the HTC One E9s Dual SIM arrived on the HTC India website with nary an official announcement, and do not be fooled by its name since it is far less an improvement over the HTC One E9 as opposed to the HTC Desire 820, taking into consideration this device is thicker, heavier, has a slower chipset, a smaller battery, and a lower resolution 720p display as opposed to the Full HD display on the HTC One E9.
Other hardware specifications of the HTC One E9s Dual SIM include 16GB of internal memory, a 13MP shooter at the back, a 4MP camera in front, 2GB RAM, LTE connectivity and as mentioned earlier, Dual SIM capability. Oh yes, throw in stereo speakers and Dolby audio, and you’ve got a “new” model.
We do know that the HTC One A9 is well on its way, but as to exactly when will it roll out to the masses? We do not really know, but what we do know is this – there will be an October 20th event that will be held by HTC, and chances are pretty high that will be the date on which HTC rolls out their new HTC One handset. Right here, right now, we will just have to make do with a bunch of leaked HTC One A9 photos, where this smartphone does seem to resemble an iPhone 6 where its design and form factor are concerned.
Of course, there is also a quick look at HTC’s very own Sense UI that will run on top of the Android operating system, in addition to rounded sides of an aluminum unibody and a microUSB 2.0 port – I guess that rules out the Type-C port that other handset manufacturers are starting to incorporate. Other than that, it looks like a loudspeaker resides on the bottom, with a lack of stereo speakers on the front. Check out the photo gallery after the jump.