Daily News Courier

HTC announces Desire U, 4-inch mid-range device for Taiwan

HTC has just quietly rolled out a spec page for a new device, the mid-range Desire U, targeted at the Taiwan market. Falling in line design-wise with the rest of the recent "One" and "Desire" devices, the Desire U has a smooth plastic body and rounded edges with a classy looking circle design that accents the back plate. On the inside, this device is clearly lower end, with a 1GHz processor, 4GB of (expandable) storage, 512MB of RAM and a 480×800 (WVGA) display. The U has a 1650mAh battery, which should give a good bit of life for a device with these specs.

The device is a Taiwanese listing, so the frequencies on this device are set up for that market – 900 and 2100MHz HSPA along with 900, 1800 and 1900MHz GPRS/EDGE. No one is likely to import this, but with a striking design and acceptable specs, this low-ranger may do well in specific markets. We're finding unlocked pricing of about $275, which is quite competitive.

Source: HTC (translated)

Google has no plans to sell the Nexus 4 in Taiwan

According to a statement given to Digitimes, LG Taiwan has said that there are no plans to release the Nexus 4 in Taiwan. The handset will be available in multiple countries in the Americas and Europe at launch, and more countries worldwide will be coming in the future, but it sounds like Taiwan won't be one of them.

LG did state that they plan to release several new flagships featuring their own brand in Taiwan sometime during the beginning of 2013, and this should increase brand awareness. Luckily, there should be several wholesalers who will gladly ship to Taiwan if users need to get their Nexus on.

Source: Digitimes

HTC One X (international) Jelly Bean roll out begins

Jelly Bean for the international versions of the HTC One X has begun pushing out, but the situation is a bit complicated. Rather than being pushed to all phones in a particular region, HTC pushes out updates to certain devices based on their CID (Customer ID) in each region. For example, phones with a CID of htc__612 are sold to carriers in Taiwan, and they started receiving their OTA last night. Alternatively, my unlocked phone with a CID of htc__044 hasn't received it yet, even though it's also sold in Taiwan (among other locales). I told you it was complicated.

What we know now is that the mentioned phones with htc__612 CIDs are receiving the OTA update as we speak, and HTC has informed me that the Jelly Bean update for all phones in Asia and Europe is "rolling out now". An insider told me that my particular model (htc__044) should start seeing the OTA tomorrow (Sunday). Finally, I've yet to hear from anyone in Europe who has received the OTA. I told you it was complicated.

If you've hacked your Tegra3 One X, you understand all of this and know where to look for information about rolling back and getting the OTA. If you haven't hacked your phone, just know that the Jelly Bean OTA is in process. Hopefully we'll all see it soon, as a few early reports say it's extremely fast and makes a great phone even better.

Thanks, Jeff and Ray420!

Patient confesses to hospital fire

A 67-year-old cancer patient was arrested Wednesday in connection with a fire that ripped through a hospital in Taiwan killing at least 12 people and injuring 60 others.

Have iPad 4 Parts Leaked Already?

BGR has posted exclusive pictures of what it has been told is a Lightning dock connector from the iPad 4. That?s not the iPad mini, you understand, or even the refreshed iPad 3, which is due to appear soon, but the next iPad after that. BGR says that the photos compare the iPad 4?s dock connector with that of the iPad mini, which is due to be launched by Apple at a press event tomorrow, with the comparison revealing that the iPad 4?s dock connector design is quite different to that of the iPad mini. This in turn signifies that Apple is already well on the way with its redesign of the next iPad after the iPad mini and the expected refresh of the iPad 3. BGR promises to have more details soon, and cites Apple.pro and Apple Museum Taiwan as sources for the story. Just for the record, this is the first iPad 4 part, or supposed part, to surface! Incidentally, BGR, which is always a great source for Apple news, has had a snazzy redesign! Worth a look.

Source: Apple iPad 4 parts leak ahead of iPad mini release | BGR

Pegatron ? to assemble 50-60% of iPad mini production

In anticipation of the iPad mini release, two security firms based in Taiwan have leaked information according to which the device has started production. But surprise, surprise the main supplier isn?t Foxconn as expected, but Pegatron who has managed to snatch 50-60% of the order coming from the tech giant.

That doesn?t mean that Foxconn won?t have a piece of the mini tablet pie, far from it. The rest of the order will still go their way, not to mention that Foxconn is in charge of assembling Apple?s most iconic device in history ? the iPhone.

EDN also states that Foxlink, AU Optronics and TPK will be part suppliers and that Foxconn and Pegatron are going to handle the assembly of about 5 million mini tablets a month. This is actually the first time in the history of the iPad that somebody else has taken charge of the production of the tablet, although Pegatron has been known to be involved in iPhone assembly process.

The report also mentioned that from now on Pegatron is also going to become a bigger part of iPhone manufacturing, as the demand for the smartphone will increase up to 53 million units.

Of course since the iPad mini hasn?t even been officially announced, none of the companies made any comment. The iPad mini should surface next month and rumors claim that it will come with a $349 price tag making it more accessible to wider segments of the population.

By Radu

Source: Pegatron reportedly nabs 50 to 60 percent of iPad mini orders, breaks up Foxconn’s monopoly — Engadget

Back-to-back typhoons hit China

Two tropical cyclones have made landfall in eastern China, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas as the Philippines and Taiwan assess the damage that one of the storms left in its wake.

Back-to-back typhoons hit China

Two tropical cyclones have made landfall in eastern China, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas as the Philippines and Taiwan assess the damage that one of the storms left in its wake.

Back-to-back typhoons hit China

Two tropical cyclones have made landfall in eastern China, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas as the Philippines and Taiwan assess the damage that one of the storms left in its wake.

Flipboard for Android now available to the masses!

After running a short beta and having Samsung Galaxy S III exclusivity, the developers of Flipboard have gone ahead and opened the doors to the masses. The beta testing phase allowed for testing on numerous devices so you'll now be able to download Flipboard for Android not only from the Google Play Store but the Amazon App Store, Nook Store and right from within Samsung Apps.

We've given the "Magazine-style" reader a run through already but the official release does bring some new additions such as 14 localized editions—for Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, U.S. and U.K. Plus, it also now includes the freshly announced Google+ integration as well as YouTube integration allowing you to view any of your subscribed videos right within the app.

If you're looking for the download, the Google Play Store is the best bet right now as some of the options are still populating.

Download: Flipboard for Android