Today I have what turned out to be a rather large review of a case for a phone. When you think of cases for phones, you think of simple things and usually reviews for them are small. Somehow this review got really big with forty plus pictures in it, I’m not sure what happened but I guess I just had a lot to show you about this case. I think everyone by now knows that if you want one of the best cases for you phone then you buy an Otterbox case and that’s what I have for review today, the Defender Series for the new HTC One Android phone. The Otterbox Defender Series is the top of the line case you can get if you want the most protection for your phone. This case offers multiple layers of protection from bumps, drops, scrapes, scratches and more and it even comes with a built-in screen protector and a belt clip so your phone will always be handy. So if you’re looking for the ultimate in protection for your new HTC One, then read on…

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I got a new phone! I got a new phone!! Yep I got the HTC One last week and I’m absolutely loving it, even though I really haven’t played with it all that much… Seriously though it’s a great phone so far, call quality is excellent, and it’s seriously fast and the screen is just gorgeous. I still find it amazing that the HTC One with a 4.7” screen is running the same resolution as my 47” HDTV, but oh well, it’s a beautiful screen plain and simple. One of the first things I do when I get a new phone is get a case and a screen protector, in fact I ordered one of each a week before I knew the phone was arriving! So the case I got was from Amazon, but I got an official HTC case from our friends at Mobile Fun for review which is much better than the cheap one from Amazon. The case I have for review today is the HTC HC C840, or the Double Dip Hard Shell case and it’s a great case overall, well made and it offer a lot of protection for the phone. So read on to learn more….

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HTC had forecasted that their 2013 flagship Android device would arrive on US carriers towards the end of April. Well they have certainly seemed to hit that target with today’s announcement from the carriers. You can pick up the 32GB option for $199 on both carriers. The 64GB option is exclusive at launch to AT&T and can be purchased for $299. That price seems to suggest that not only will the HTC One beat the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the market but it will be considerably cheaper. I’ve actually giving a lot of thought to picking this phone up. I’ve held and played with the iPhone 5 and the BlackBerry Z10 and this looks to make the Z10 feel cheap and dull by comparison. Anyone else picking this phone up?

Don’t forget that HTC is offering a $100 Cash Back offer if you pre-register for the device. You can get even more if your trade-in value of your old phone is greater than $100. Stay tuned as I will be updating this post as T-Mobile and Verizon finalize and announce their launch plans.

HTC is now dropping their semi famous and much beloved “Quietly Brilliant” tag line. The important people in suits over at HTC finally came to the realization that the small company was not loud enough, so they’ll be getting a bit more aggressive in the very near future. How aggressive? Brilliant ideas like crashing the Samsung Galaxy S4 release party and capturing it on video, or even tweeting just how “meh” they thought the SG4 was upon its announcement.

Bold, authentic and playful is the new tag they’ll be going for, lets see how this will reshape the image of the company! Good luck HTC!

HTC carrying on with their new found aggressive behavior, they crashed the Samsung Galaxy S4 event. Here is a video of them showing off their new flagship, the HTC One, to people in the street. Needless to say, the folks all seem impressed! Mush on HTC… mush on!

We already know that launch dates for the HTC One has been pushed back due to a struggle to secure vital components for their flagship. In particular the focus has been on the difficulty securing camera parts that their UltraPixel technology relies on. The Wall Street Journal reports that in addition to the camera parts the metal casing is also proving to be a pain to get adequate stock of.

The surprising thing that came out of the WSJ report is that suppliers have dropped HTC from their Tier 1 category of customers and so other orders are getting priority over HTC’s orders. Apparently the cutting of orders throughout 2012 when the One X and other smartphones released by HTC didn’t meet sales expectations have made the suppliers skeptical of prioritizing HTC’s large orders for fear of a repeat.

Unfortunately HTC is suffering from an inadequate supply-chain like many others in the mobile industry. I hope the situation gets resolved sooner than later because the HTC One is a valiant attempt at righting the good ship HTC.

Source: The Verge via Wall Street Journal

Well, well, well, look who decided to show up to the slumber party! HTC took to the twitter with some rather crafty remakes towards the freshly announced Samsung Galaxy S4. “so…how off-Broadway is that production?” Then they hash tag, “#thenextbigflop, NICE! HTC’s president Jason Mackenzie was even quoted saying “I went from laughing to actually feeling embarrassed at some of the acting.” Those are fighting words for sure.

From an outside perspective, both sides have a leg to stand on, I’ll get into that in a much more detailed piece, there is a lot going on here for sure! But I just wanted to give a special shout out to HTC for playing with the big boys!

The Facebook phone rumor refuses to go quietly into the night, this has been circling for a year and some change. This time around, the rumored spec are:

• Processor: 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960
• Operating system: Google Android 4.1.2
• Cellular connectivity: LTE / HSPA
• Other connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
• Display: 4.3-inch HD (1280×720 / 320PPI)
• Memory: 1GB RAM
• Storage: 16GB onboard
• Rear-facing camera: 5MP
• Front-facing camera: 1.6MP

It is said to be a HTC produced phone with a heavy AT&T presence. Is anyone buying this? Does Facebook still have that strong of a grip on social networking to make users devote an enter device to the brand? To tell the truth, I am on both sides of the fence, it would be interesting to see how it actually sells if it is real.

Despite what people think Microsoft really has a wealth of resources developers can tap into if they want to produce apps for the platform. Here is a suggestion on how Microsoft can go a step further to help spur the continued adoption of major apps for the Windows Phone 8 platform. Its rather simple really and is two-fold. Software and Hardware is the way to do this.

Software

Offer code modules for specific type of apps. More than just guidelines but actual sections of code that makes it incredibly inexpensive to develop for the platform. Done properly this would significantly cut down on the hours a company would have to devote to developing for the platform. Develop an online series tutorial using a fictitious banking institution as an example and show exactly how you would using best practices and the category specific coding modules. Show companies how specific APIs exist to accomplish tasks and how to easily implement the code. Hire whoever created the best banking apps on the platform as an outside consultant or bring them on board to handle the tasks. The move will pay for itself when users adopt the platform and begin making purchases in the Windows Phone Store and additional revenue from licensing fees from OEMs who want to jump on board. Also of note is continue to lower the cost for developers to join the developer program. Keep it under $100 and stop putting barriers and divisions in the program.

Hardware

Pay Nokia & HTC for an amount of phones that you can distribute to every major financial institution, big brand corporation and star indie developer. 1,000 devices, give or take, should be able to accomplish this. That’s a drop in the bucket for Microsoft. Heck, they probably make that every day from their Android licensing revenue. I just read that USAA has decided to drop support for the Windows Phone platform. My sister, a recent Army retiree, uses USAA for all of her banking. It is an indispensable part of her mobile life. Without the USAA app on Windows Phone I’d never be able to get her to switch from Android.

I included star indie developers in the mix because indie developers who provide real and clear value to the platform are essential. Apple didn’t make any of the hot apps that draw users to the platform. Indie developers have made Apple hundreds of billions of dollars. The same can and should happen on Windows Phone. You do this by rewarding those who have demonstrated their value. Purchase the 1,000 devices and distribute them to the big brands and star indie developers ASAP. This would eliminate a major reason a developer or institution could raise as why the platform isn’t being supported.

The chicken and egg argument has always had a clear answer. The platform became the chicken the moment it was released for retail consumption. Now Microsoft must provide it what it needs to grow up strong and compete in this survival of the fittest world. Steve Ballmer wasn’t wrong to emphasize developers, developers, developers. He and all of Microsoft just has to be willing to go the extra mile it takes to take down a champion. Make no mistake Android and iOS are the co-champs in the smartphone market. Windows Phone can take heart that even the fearsome Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali were beaten at some point. It starts with work you do when nobody is looking.

HTC decided to reward their current customer base by upgrading certain devices to the new Sense 5 user interface found on the company’s flagship device, the HTC One. Devices announced to get the upgrade were the HTC One x, One X+, One S and the Butterfly. Do you understand why I said calling the new flagship “HTC One” was a bad idea? Humph.

Thanks HTC, on the behalf of your dying market, but you still don’t get it. You want to make the people happy, how about removing sense all together and allow the awesome that is Jelly Bean to do its job.