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Hardware Round-up: HTC goes small, Nokia goes big, and EE speeds up

Keeping you informed on another week in mobile

Hardware Round-up: HTC goes small, Nokia goes big, and EE speeds up
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Welcome to another round-up of the latest news in the mobile industry.

Reading this article is the best way to keep up to speed on the latest handset-related rumours, special network deals, and Apple speculation.

This week, there's some exciting news for Windows Phone fans and another ray of hope for HTC.

Plus, there's news that EE is rolling out the next generation of 4G in the UK before any other network has launched its own 4G service.


HTC's new blower leaked

If an HTC One is a bit too in-yer-face, then keep an eye out for this leaked smaller version of it.

Presumably, HTC is trying to keep up with the Joneses, a.k.a. Samsung and Sony, in the smartphone 'mini' stakes.

HTC's unnamed phone will reportedly sport a 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, HTC Sense UI, and Beats Audio.

HTC's new Ultrapixel camera should make a reappearance on this incoming blower, too.


Nokia ups the ante in the cameraphone stakes with the Lumia EOS

Plenty of people wished Nokia's PureView 808 phone had been shipped with Android rather than an end-of-line OS like Symbian. But that was never going to happen.

What was more likely was that Nokia would squeeze that huge camera into a new Lumia device. Which is exactly what these spy shots seem to confirm.

Codenamed "EOS", Nokia's new phone will apparently have a bulkier frame, though it's almost certain to be the best cameraphone on the market upon launch.

With a performance more akin to a DSLR, coupled with a digital zoom that doesn't compromise image quality, the EOS should help Nokia extend its lead in the Windows Phone market.


EE taking 4G to a new level

Still waiting to experience the incredible speed of 4G?

Well, while you wait for your operator to launch its 4G service in your region, 4G as it stands today is about to look slow.

You see, UK telco EE will soon be offering its double-speed 4G service at no extra cost. People in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield will soon be able to enjoy headline speeds of up to 80Mbps.

Now, that IS quick.



At the same time, EE has transformed Glastonbury into a bona fide 4G zone.

So, along with releasing its own app to help mud - sorry, music - fans find their way around the venue and stream live performances from every stage, EE has turned Glasto into a haven for Twitter addicts.


Sony Xperia Z to get the vanilla Android experience?

Along with HTC and Samsung, Sony might soon be manufacturing a "Google Edition" of one of its flagship phones.

In Sony's case, that'll be the Xperia Z smartphone.

So, those rumours that did the rounds last year about Google looking to spread the Nexus 'love' around were partly true, then.

Google is seemingly encouraging Android vendors to produce phones with the 'droid vanilla experience, though it isn't publicly naming the OEMs. Of course.

The brand name "Nexus" will presumably remain exclusive to Google's in-house blowers, however.

All of these Google Editions will still be sold side-by-side and SIM-free on the Google Play Store, mind. Well, in the US, at least. Fingers crossed, eh, fellow UK citizens.

Jonathan Morris
Jonathan Morris
From starting out as a games tester for Mastertronic, Virgin and Sega in the late 1980s, it may seem odd to then ditch everything to write about mobile phones that, at the time, lasted 20 minutes between charges. He always had a hunch mobiles would become quite popular, but possibly didn't realise how powerful (and, ironically, returning to 20 minutes between charges). Jonathan's job is to continue advising on the best hardware to buy, in order to enjoy games that have advanced considerably since those long days and nights testing Double Dragon on the C64.