16 replies to this topic

[Alex (nedge2k)]

[teaser]

This, supposedly, is the HTC Leo (codenamed Firestone), due to be the successor to awesome Touch HD (Blackstone). The eagle eyed among you may notice the inclusion of a Windows key, which as of MWC09, is now a requirement on all new "Windows Phones" and mahoosive speakers (front and back) for audio playback. Specs for this one are pretty droolworthy:

• MSM 8250 1Ghz CPU (Snapdragon!)
  
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity
  
• Dual-band HSDPA connectivity (900/2100 MHz)
  
• 4.3 inch WVGA (480 x 800) capacitive touch screen display
  
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
  
• GPS, A-GPS
  
• Accelerometer
  
• Light & proximity sensors
  
• 3.5mm headset jack
  
• 5MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash
  
• 512MB flash memory, 320MB RAM
  
• MicroSD card support
  
• 1230 mAh battery
  
• 121 x 67 x 11 millimetres

Jeebus, where do I start! Well, for one, I know a fair few of you out there have been dying for WM to get multi-touch and capacitive screens. Looks like the Leo could make those dreams a reality, especially as Synaptics (maker of laptop trackpads and HTC's Android device screens) have just announced a new capacitive screen that can track up to 10 fingers! Of course, a new, unannounced high-end HTC device would not be complete without Qualcomm's all singing all dancing Snapdragon platform, which is why the Leo's packing it. Dual-LED flash for the camera sounds like a step in the right direction but, well, how many LED flashes have you seen that are actually any good? I'd be very interested to see how the "proximity sensor" is implemented. I fear it's more for knowing if the phone is against your face than for knowing when your hand comes into range...but either way, should be interesting! 3.5mm headset jack, well, supposedly this is quickly going to become the norm for a large majority of future HTC devices, so no real surprise there. The only other thing to mention is size. Smaller than the Toshiba TG01 but larger than the already quite sizeable HTC Touch HD, the Leo is set to carry a whopping 4.3" display which, when coupled with Snapdragon, should make an awesome device for watching native 720p content. Obviously, even though Snapdragon can handle resolutions up to 1280x720, it's highly unlikey we'll see anything like that on the Leo but as Snapdragon can decode 720p content in the hardware, providing HTC don't cock about with the drivers, even downscaled 720p should look amazing and play as smooth as silk. Couple all that with the massive speakers and the Leo is shaping up to be quite the personal media player!

Don't know about the rest of you but this is definitely going on my DO WANT list

Hit the jump to see a sizeasy comparison...[/teaser]

Specs/Pic via [WMPowerUser]

[Vtecbros]

This phone is badass!

[lutharigno]

+1 this may be my next phone! if i dont splurge on the omnia2 first.

[D8LOM]

Looks good but I'm not too sure about the size, mmmm abit bigger then the Touch HD. Does anyone know if it's larger then an iPhone?

[mj_blue]

Any News on whether this will support GLES2? if any attempt is being made to rival iphone then this is needed ( I speak as a games developer)

[gianton]

Wow amazing features, this will be on my wish list for sure. Thanks for the read m8.

[rameses]

Looks nice apart from what I assume is the mic grille in the corner.

[deadphill]

I think I'll wait for you to get one nedge, then you can show me if the camera is any good. Ill take it from there then.

Would be a wicked work phone for me!

Cheers

Phill

[Exodia]

D8LOM, on Jul 23 2009, 00:50, said:

Looks good but I'm not too sure about the size, mmmm abit bigger then the Touch HD. Does anyone know if it's larger then an iPhone?

The Touch HD and Iphone are nearly identical in size/dimensions, so yes, its larger than an Iphone.

[l3v5y]

Since when does capacitive = multi touch? Also, as far as I know, there's nothing against WM having capacitive screens, it just can't handle multi touch.

[Alex (nedge2k)]

er....easy tiger. i didn't say capacitive = multi touch. what i said was that the company that supply HTC with capacitive multi-touch screens for their Android devices has come out with a new one which can track ten fingers. it stands to reason they if they currently supply HTC with capacitive screens, this new screen could find it's way into upcoming devices. the engadget article states they expects devices with that screen to appear around the same time the Leo should hit the shelves so.....

[Monolithix]

l3v5y, on Jul 23 2009, 12:05, said:

Since when does capacitive = multi touch? Also, as far as I know, there's nothing against WM having capacitive screens, it just can't handle multi touch.

Incidentally I thought it was the other way round?

[Alex (nedge2k)]

Yeah mono, tis only WM6.5+ that can handle capacitive

[penguin]

looks like a very tempting device indeed, but rather too bulky for me i'm afraid, guess i'll have to wait for someone to cram that tech into something alot smaller. (My Xperia is just about the right size for me.)

[tym11600]

Hope HTC comes up with something similar for Android soon.

[Swampie]

Alex (nedge2k), on Jul 23 2009, 12:42, said:

Yeah mono, tis only WM6.5+ that can handle capacitive

As I understand it, there's no technical reason why WM devices cannot already be used with capacitive screens (as opposed to multi-touch).  It's up to the OEM to write drivers for it which work.  After all, the OS is really only interested in "tap occurred at X,Y" or "drag started at X1,Y2 and ended at X2,Y2".  The issue with them is that they lack the accuracy that a resistive screen gives.  So they're better for fat fingers (i.e. iPhone) but not as good when you want precise taps (i.e. typical Windows Mobile UI).  Additionally it's not uncommon in certain markets for WM users to use a stylus for handwriting detection and input, which whilst people have come up with capacitive styli (normal styli won't work with capacitive screens, nor to gloved fingers, pencils, or most other inert pointy objects people may often use) I believe it still doesn't get around the issue that capacitive screens are inaccurate for small controls + handwriting input.

As a result of all this, the currently (pre 6.5) WM interface relies on small controls and accurate inputs (hence the 'calibrate the screen' steps on factory resets) and therefore is unlikely to work adequately with capacitive screens.  WM 6.5 is more 'finger friendly' and therefore is more likely to be compatible with the lower accuracy capacitive screens.

That's how I understand it...

[Alex (nedge2k)]

bah, you know what i meant.