You may remember, back when we brought you the details of the officially announced HTC Desire HD and Desire Z, that we also detailed a brand new online support service which would join the two new handsets; HTCSense.com. Well, this service is now live, albeit a little prematurely considering the two handsets are still only available on Pre-order.

What will HTCSense.com allow you to do? Well, here’s a full breakdown:

- Find My Phone – Does exactly what it says on the tin. If you’ve misplaced your phone, you can get it to play a loud ringer, even if it’s set to silent, in order to help you find it. It will also allow you to pin point the location of your phone on a map using GPS, lock your phone, forward calls/texts, send a retrieval message and to erase the contents of your phone should the worst come to worst.

- SMS Storage – Again, quite self explanatory, but HTCSense.com will allow you to back-up all of your text messages, re-load them onto another device and also to send/recive text messages from your desktop.

- Contact Manager – Which will back-up and synchronise your contacts, as well as editing information and adding photos. An essential piece of functionality for anyone considering switching phones.

- Navigation and Footprints – allows your computer to acces your phones GPS functionality to find saved locations on Google Maps.

- App Store – HTC will provide a a list of tested and reviewed applications, making your decisions easier and will also let you share these with friends.

So far, if you haven’t already got your order in for a Desire HD or Desire Z, be sure to head on over and do it now, to avoid dissappointment when these handsets finally land!

When HTC unveiled the Desire Z and the Desire HD at last month’s London event, they also showed off the most recent improvements to HTC Sense, including the creation of HTCsense.com, an online hub offering various services to HTC phone owners.

At the time, HTCsense.com wasn’t quite ready for registrations, but this has now changed and users can head over to the site and sign-up.  But before you go rushing off to do so, you need to be aware of one thing: it’s not going to work unless you’re using a Desire HD or Desire Z.

Given that neither of these phones are shipping in the UK yet, we doubt the site will see that many sign-ups today, except if you’ve been naughty and installed one of the leaked Desire HD ROMS on a different HTC phone, that is!

It’s a little odd though, as the site’s blurb seems to suggest that non-HD or Z owners can still join, but won’t be able to use the remote access, sharing of Footprints or the direct download tools, however the drop down box only provides the two new models.  Perhaps this is something that will come later.

If you need a reminder of what HTCsense.com contains, take a look at our recent post on the subject.  If you’re keen to get your hands on the Desire HD or Desire Z, head over to our Coming Soon page to register your interest!

HTC have just revealed their 2010 Q3 profits, and we knew that we’d be expecting to see a rather large number given their recent domination of the Smartphone market. We didn’t quite however, expect as bigger a number as $360 million or around £225 million to put it in real money, that’s proft remember; revenue came in at an astonishing $2.45 billion (over £1.5 billion.)

To give some perspective on HTC’s achiecvement so far in 2010, in Q3 2009, profits were $184 million dollars; meaning that profits have almost doubled compared with last year. The even better news for HTC, is that the momentum created in the Android Smartphone market by the awesome HTC Desire here in the UK, appears to be continuing to grow thanks to the up and coming HTC Desire HD, which might just give the original Desire a run for its money if early interest is anything to go by. This, coupled with the imminent launch of Windows Phone 7, which HTC are rumoured to be quite heavily involved in and the fast approaching Christmas period, is sure to see HTC’s Q4 profits rise again. Want to jump on the HTC bandwagon? Well, click here to take a look at the best HTC deals around. (Source: Reuters via Engadget)

A video surfaced online yesterday revealing the HTC Mozart and it’s supposed specs, which we’re inclined to believe. The Mozart is said to be gracing us with a 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 CPU, 576 MB RAM, a 3.7 inch WVGA S-LCD screen and an 8 megapixel camera on the back. Which, with the exception of the latter, pretty much means what we’re looking at here is a upgraded Windows Phone 7 touting HTC Desire. We’re also told that the Mozart will have an 8GB internal storage, HSDPA, SRS and Dolby Mobile technology.

The Mozart joins a whole host of leaked Windows Phone 7 handsets, joining the likes of the rumoured Samsung i8700, HTC HD7 and HTC Trophy to name but a few of the handsets we’ve seen in recent weeks. It still remains to be seen though, whether Windows Phone 7 has moved far away enough from its days as Windows Mobile, (the OS that everybody loved to hate) to actually be a viable alternative to Android. Take a look at the Video below and let us know what you think.

Now, this could all be an elaborate video prank, but we seriously doubt it, watch the video below yourself. There’s a lot of work gone in to it, so much so that we’re going to say right now that this is almost certainly the real deal. It’s not a full User Interface skin in the same way as that found on Android though, Microsoft has said from the start that UI modification is prohibited, which could be considered both good and bad; if we were to take the example of Android HTC devices, HTC Sense is by far and away the best ’skin’ that has been applied to Android but, the whole point of Android is customisation, something which HTC Sense restricts to a degree in comparison with stock Android. With that said, HTC Sense brings with it a bundle of applications and functionality that would be sorely missed.

It seems then, that the HTC Sense on Windows Phone 7 is the best of both worlds then, it’s far less intrusive than the Android version but still seems to have all of the functionality, something which hopefully become an option on future Android builds. The video walks us through a very familiar Windows Phone 7 homescreen, with little tell tale signs of Sense, the most noticeable of which being the weather widget displaying the latest weather updates and temperature. We’re then treated to a demonstration of the ‘Notes’ application, a virtual notice board that allows you to pin up various post-it style notes, we’re then taken for a flight through the clouds into the weather app which gives a five day forecast and te current weather for your location.

The video also treats us to a look at a ‘Stocks’ app and a rather novelty application that sees you pulling the petals off of a flower in a ‘loves me/loves me not’ style game which we fail to see the appeal of for anyone that isn’t 8 years old. We can also spy what appears to be a torch application which we’re guessing will use the LED camera flash as a torch on supported devices.

It’s certainly an improvement to the rather bland looks of the stock ‘blue blocks’ Windows Phone 7 interface, but for us at least, it’s still not enough to consider it a ‘good looking’ interface. Perhaps your opinion will differ, take a look at the video below and let us know what you think in the comments below.

If the new HTC Desire HD and Desire Z shot straight to the top of your must-have gadget list, then you’ll want to know all about the latest version of HTC Sense which will be available on these two mobile phones first.  The popular user interface, as that’s what it is no matter what HTC say, is already excellent and easily the best of its kind, so how has it been improved this time?

Here is a breakdown of all that is new:

• The biggest announcement was that of htcsense.com, a website specifically for Sense users where they’ll be able to locate a lost device, remote wipe it if it has been stolen, enable call forwarding, view SMS and call logs, send navigation data and backup everything on the device.
• The second major new feature is pre-cached maps.  This means that you don’t always need a data connection to use the mapping services.  Maps can be downloaded for free, however there will be a charge if you want to use navigation offline.  Points-of-interest and sharing are also enabled, it supports the digital compass and you can select driving or walking directions.
• HTC maps will also now use the digital compass and pre-caching online too.
• The start-up time has been reduced to 10 seconds.
• DLNA support has been added.  If you don’t have a DLNA certified TV, then HTC will sell you a Wi-Fi dongle that plugs into the HDMI port to receive the signal.
• The incoming call notification has been altered to not take up the entire screen when the map application is in use.
• The virtual keyboard has had cursor keys added, a very welcome addition, plus there is a zoom option for positioning the cursor too.

These are all great new features, but users of older Sense enabled HTC phones should know that this new version will only be available on the Desire HD and Z, with no indication whether an update will add them to older devices in the future.  For now though, it’s another reason to upgrade!

As of right now, you can sign up to our pre registration list for the Desire HD and Desire Z and in return we’ll keep you updated with the latest news about both of these handsets and of course you’ll also be the first to know when they’ll be available for pre order; ensuring that you’re the first to get your hands on either of these awesome Android touting smartphones. Sign up now to avoid disappointment:

To sign up for the Desire HD all you have to do is submit your name and email address in the form below:

Or for the Desire Z using the form below:

HTC have today confirmed two Android touting handsets which have both already been in the spotlight a number of times in the past few months, so much so, that the official unveiling from HTC was little more than a technicality in the scheme of things. But, without further ado, here are the long awaited Desire HD and Desire Z.

We’ll kick things off with the Desire HD, a lot of this we already knew, but the specs of the new flagship device are as follows, the display is a 4.3 inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, with multi-touch support, a built in accelerometer for screen rotation and the capability of displaying 16 million colours; essentially a larger version of the incredible screen found in the current Desire.

The camera is an upgraded 8 megapixel unit (up from 5MP in the current Desire) with autofocus, a dual-LED flash and of course, as the name suggests, HD Video Recording at 720p. The latter of which is only available on current Desires lucky enough to have installed the Android 2.2 Froyo update. The majority of the remaining specs appear to be similar to the current Desire; a 1GHz SnapDragon Processor with 768 MB RAM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a-GPS, microSD support and microUSB connectivity. The only other glaring difference between the Desire HD and its sibling, 1.5GB of internal memory. This is probably the only gripe we have with the original Desire and are happy to see that it has been resolved with this latest iteration.

Moving onto the Desire Z, which as rumoured is essentially a European version of what has been dubbed the T-Mobile G2 in the United States. The specs look incredibly similar to the current Desire, in that, the display is a 3.7 inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, there’s an ‘optimised’ 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor on board with 768MB of RAM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a-GPS, microUSB, MicroSD support and a 5 megapixel camera on board. But, aside from the obvious QWERTY keyboard, where the Desire Z differentiates from the current Desire, is internal memory which is up to 1.5GB, similar to the Desire HD and of course, the Desire Z will ship with Android 2.2 Froyo meaning that HD video recording is supported straight out of the box.

We will be ranging both the Desire HD and the Desire Z here at Mobiles, with the HD expected around mid-october and the Desire Z towards the end of October. To guarantee that you’re the first to take delivery of either of these handsets, make sure you sign up to the registered interest list for the handset of your choice (to do this click here for the Desire HD or click here for the Desire Z)  and we’ll be contacting you very soon, with details about pre-ordering your very own Desire HD or Desire Z. The wait is nearly over, keep an eye on the blog for more information.

**Update** – Pre-registration now open, get your name down to ensure thet you’re the first to get your hands on the Desire HD and Desire Z!

Along with the two new handsets that are expected to get an official unveiling imminently at the HTC Event, the Desire HD and the Desire Z, HTC have also announced that they will be launching HTC Sense 2.0 which brings with it a wealth of new features:

• Quick Start – a phone version of your PC’s hibernate function
• Improved FriendStream – FaceBook and Twitter – filtering whose updates you see
• Helicopter View in the browser
• Flash 10.1 in the browser
• Maps cache more information so users can pre-load maps for use abroad/offline

These are just some of the key features we know about Sense 2.0. That said, we also know that Sense 2.0 will be launching alongside an online portal HTCSense.com which brings with it various security enhancements:

• Use it to call your phone and it will ring even if on silent to locate if lost/misplaced
• Remote wipe/lock for lost or stolen phones
• Posting a message on your phone if lost i.e. ‘if found please return to…’
• Forwarding of calls and texts to another number

Keep an eye on the blog for more as the event unfolds.

The HTC Trophy, is a codename we haven’t heard since way back in December when we reported on a leaked 2010 road map which outed quite a number of devices which have since been officially released, albeit with a different moniker to the ones listed on the road map. To name but a few, there have been the Legend, Photon, Buzz and Bravo; which are now better known as the Legend, HD Mini, Wildfire and the Desire.

So, with that in mind, the HTC Trophy has now reportedly been spotted on a Vodafone Inventory system by a German website known as BestBoyz.de, albeit four months after the Trophy was initially speculated to launch. There is said to be a very good reason behind that though and one we believe to be completely plausible, that being, the Trophy will launch touting Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 as oppose to the WinMo 6.5 initially rumoured. A move which will greatly increase the Trophy’s odds for success, given that Windows Phone 7 looks to be infinitely better than the monstrosity that was WinMo 6.5.

We still don’t know anymore than was originally rumoured with regard to specs but, it would seem that if the Trophy is indeed real, it will launch with the non-slide QWERTY keyboard, 3 inch touchscreen and specs which seem to mirror the current HD Mini. Keep an eye on the blog for more information as it becomes available. (Source: ElectricPig)