This new update will have customers able to take their smartphone to more than 220 countries and will be receiving data in more than 205 countries. You won’t be able to simply head out of the country expecting your phone to work like this, of course, but the process for activating your global abilities is relatively simple. Just head on over to VerizonWireless.com/Global to get all the information you need on hot to flip the “on” switch.

The devices that will be included in this update will be the following four smartphones:
• HTC Rezound
• DROID RAZR by Motorola
• DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola
• DROID 4 by Motorola

Have a peek at our reviews of each of these devices by clicking their name in the list above, and keep a keen eye on your update screen to see when you’ll be able to go global as fast as you can fly. Having used the HTC Incredible 2 this past season in Spain when we attended Mobile World Congress 2012, I can certainly say that Verizon and their global partners have this situation on lock – expect great things!

If you want to be able to take advantage of the increased resolution, you’ll need an Android phone running 2.2 and up, and your hardware will need to support the stream – that limits the number of phones that can get in on the action, though.

It’s not entirely clear whether you need a 720p display to get this update, or just hardware capable of decoding the stream. We can only suggest heading over to the Market and seeing if there’s an update waiting for you. If the former is true, then that severely limits the number of devices that can take advantage of the new feature. Hopefully you have an HTC Rezound or Samsung Galaxy Nexus to hand.

If the latter is true, you can expect mid to high end devices to see the update, but budget devices that don’t have the horsepower will be left out in the cold. There isn’t a list available stating which devices are supported either, so we can only suggest that you head over to the Market and see if there’s an update waiting for you.

[via Android Central]

Hardware

HTC’s unibody design language is getting, dare we say it, and a little old now, and though the Rezound is arguably the best implementation of it we’ve seen in some time. The combination of textures and almost cartographic layers, along with the splash of red around the main camera lens, the earpiece and backlighting the touch-sensitive fascia buttons pick up on themes from the Sensation XE, Incredible 2 and other recent HTC handsets, and while this isn’t a small phone (measuring 129 x 65.5 x 13.7 mm), it’s one that feels sturdy in the hand.

Up front there’s a 4.3-inch S-LCD display running at 1280 x 720 resolution, like the Galaxy Nexus but even more pixel-dense. It’s a brilliant screen, bright and colorful, and best of all there’s no squint-worthy text or graphics in Android 2.3.5 and Sense 3.5 to spoil things. Viewing angles are broad and the panel as a whole is a joy for browsing, video viewing and snapping shots with the 8-megapixel camera (that’s 1080p HD capable, and paired with a dual-LED flash). Up-front a 2-megapixel camera serves for video calls.

Inside there’s Qualcomm‘s 1.5GHz MSM8660 dual-core, paired with Adreno 220 GPU, 1GB of memory and 16GB of storage; a microSD card slot – helpfully pre-loaded by Verizon with a 16GB card – extends that. Connectivity includes LTE, obviously, along with EVDO Rev.A to fall back on when you’re outside of 4G coverage. However there’s no UMTS/WCDMA support, since the Rezound isn’t a World Phone: go abroad and you’re stuck with WiFi a/b/g/n to get online and use VoIP. Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, an accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope and light/proximity sensors round out the main features, though you also get an FM radio with RDS. Pair the Rezound’s microUSB port with an MHL HDMI adapter – sadly not bundled in the box – and you can hook it up to your HDTV.

Although LTE and the 720p display are headline grabbing enough, HTC has also made the Rezound the first of its devices for the US market to offer Beats Audio, the music-centric spoils of its partnership with Monster. As in Europe, where we’ve already seen the HTC Sensation XE launch, the Rezound uses a combination of hardware and software for its Beats implementation: in the box you get a pair of special “beats” in-ear headphones, complete with matching red cords and a carry pouch, while a custom tuning profile automatically loads when they’re plugged in.

Beats Audio is known for its love of bass, and unsurprisingly the preset EQ profile is keen to emphasize the low-end. Since you can toggle it on and off easily, using a control that appears in the notifications menu, it’s straightforward to audition your favorite tracks to see if they benefit from the audio crunching. Expect increased loudness and a broader soundstage, but don’t forget that music benefits anyway from the higher-quality headphones versus the usual dire offerings bundled with most phones. We’re not entirely convinced that the Beats Audio processing is the be-all and end-all of music quality, but offering more capable headphones as standard is definitely welcome.

Software

While the target audience for the Rezound and the HTC Rhyme may be relatively different, HTC Sense 3.5 makes an appearance on both devices. It’s still the most cohesive and consistent of the Android smartphone UI modifications, straightforward for entry-level users to get to grips with but – with apps like the media-streaming HTC Watch – not leaving behind those who are familiar with smartphones and want to make the most of that excellent display.

Otherwise it’s Android as we know it, which means the usual suite of Google apps – Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, etc. – along with access to the Android Market. Verizon does its usual job of preloading a range of apps, both free and premium – including Polaris Office, Slacker radio, NFL Mobile, VZ Navigator, V Cast Music and V Cast Video, among others – and we’ll have to wait until unofficial ROMs to get rid of them since there’s no uninstall option.

Performance is silky-smooth and everything you’d hope for from a fast dual-core chip. Apps open with no lag, multitasking is smooth and webpages render, pinch-zoom and pan with no jitter to be seen. HTC’s custom UI can sometimes stutter, especially if you pan between homescreens too quickly, but the Rezound shows no such issues.

Camera

Eight megapixels is – with a few notable exceptions – become the baseline for top-tier smartphones of the moment, and the Rezound doesn’t disappoint on paper. We’ve criticized HTC’s optical abilities on previous devices as falling short of what rival phones from Samsung and others can deliver, but the Rezound borrows the f2.2 backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor of the well-received MyTouch 4G Slide and generally holds its own.

Daylight shots are unsurprisingly best, with strong colors and great contrast. There’s little graininess, though once you step into low-light conditions we did find the usual degradation. The BSI tech does mean you don’t have to reach for the dual-LED flash quite so quickly as with other cameraphones – which generally results in over-exposure – and darker areas of the picture aren’t as crunchy as other recent HTCs have delivered.

Full 1080p HD video recording, meanwhile, prefers slow-moving or stationary objects, with some blur introduced in fast-changing scenes or over-enthusiastic pans. Still, it’s definitely good enough for some impromptu sharing on YouTube or via the MHL output.

Phone and Battery

Verizon’s voice network didn’t let us down, with the Rezound putting in a solid – if not outstanding – performance during our testing. We experienced no dropped calls or problems connecting, though in-call audio quality wasn’t the strongest we’ve heard. Mono and stereo Bluetooth support is present.

LTE has generally meant dire battery life, so we were wary of the Rezound’s 1,620 mAh Li-Ion pack and exactly how long it would keep us mobile for. Still, we couldn’t resist the lure of 4G, given just how fast Verizon’s data speeds are: we’ve seen download highs of 15-23Mbps and uploads from 4-5.5Mbps in our testing. The Rezound allows you to share the 3G/4G connection via its Mobile Hotspot app to up to 10 WiFi-tethered devices, though Verizon will add an extra $20 fee onto your data plan for the privilege.

Battery life, with LTE turned on and regular use of push-email, browsing, navigation, IM and some media playback came to 8hrs. Turning LTE off and only enabling it when needed pushed that out to the normal nightly-recharge cycle most smartphones can achieve. We’re still yet to see an LTE phone that can deliver both runtimes and data speeds without demanding a car battery scale power-pack, but the HTC Rezound does better than others we’ve seen.

Wrap-Up

There’s a risk in trying to attempt too much with a smartphone: you can end up delivering a number of mediocre experiences rather than standing out in any one place. HTC skirts that challenge with the Rezound, and while battery life with LTE enabled and in action still isn’t up to scratch for the everyday user, it’s definitely getting there. The phone may not be as skinny as the DROID RAZR but the screen is better and the unibody chassis feels solid and comfortable in the hand.

Beats Audio is one of HTC’s big promotional drives with the Rezound, though to our mind the superlative dual-core performance and immersive 720p display are better selling points. With 3G it would be a great Android smartphone: LTE demands you make use of the manual power toggle if you want to go from dawn to dusk on a single charge, but Verizon’s 4G performance leaves us glad to have the speedy option.

The Rezound isn’t exactly a small phone, unsurprisingly, but its bulk is at least partly disguised by the tapering edges. Still, at 13.65mm thick it’s a noticeable addition to your pocket – just as Verizon’s $299.99 sticker price will significantly lighten your pocketbook – though the soft-touch battery cover is a nice change from glossy plastic.

720p HD resolution on 4.3-inches of HD Super LCD display makes for higher pixel density than the iPhone 4S, and the Rezound certainly has a brilliant screen. Icons and text are crisp, colors bright and saturated, and viewing angles are broad. Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus will certainly challenge it with its similarly polished Super AMOLED HD panel, though we imagine owners of each will have plenty to brag about.

The Galaxy Nexus has Ice Cream Sandwich from the start, however, whereas the HTC Rezound will have to wait until early next year to step up from Gingerbread. Still, it’s fast and neither Sense nor third-party apps show lag. We’ll be putting it through its paces properly in time for the full SlashGear review, but so far there’s a lot to like.

Neither cheap nor small, then, but the Rezound is looking very competitive if you’re capable of looking past ICS’ temporary absence. Until our full review, enjoy the hands-on video and gallery!

This device, for those of you that don’t know, has a 4.3-inch display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor under the hood. This device also has Verizon’s 4G LTE connectivity active and is the first smartphone in the USA to feature hardware and software enhancements from Beats by Dre. Also the capacitive buttons on the front are red instead of white! How very exciting! Have a peek at the first look at this device inside an everyday average citizen’s hands here:

This video and some other lucky participants in this early shipping situation appeared today on Phandroid’s forums where they let everyone know that their ship date was the 11th of this month, not the 14th as was the official word on the drop. What’s more, again, some of these folks are getting the device delivered to them as early as today. What’s significant about the 11th of this month, mind you, is that this is the launch date for the DROID RAZR, another dual-core LTE device being released on Verizon, and as these two devices are set to do battle with one another, we sense a conflict of sorts.

Have a peek at videos of both devices here, see our massive HTC Rezound hands-on roundup, our DROID RAZR review, and note that we’ll be getting the HTC Rezound in SOON to give it a proper review as well as a comparison rundown with the DROID RAZR as well – be there!

[via Android Community]

Brian Heater of Engadget spoke on how the Beats were flowing through the device, noting that the actual earbuds that will come with the device didn’t seem to be on hand to test out, but that the much more expensive over-the-ear headphones sounded heavy:

Unfortunately, the company wasn’t showing off those custom Beats earbuds for our demo, and we had to settle for an over-ear pair — naturally, we rocked a little Dre on the thing. As you’d expect, the sound is extremely bass-heavy. You can thank Beats for that, no doubt. The music continues to play, even as you launch other apps, which can be bit a distracting when you’re trying to stream a video using the phone’s LTE radio. For the record, that video loaded quite quickly.

Chris Ziegler of The Verge has a bit to say about the actual feel of the device, taking special care to assure you that the device isn’t your everyday wafer:

Let’s just cut to the chase: this is a beefyphone. As they did on the Sensation, HTC employs a trick in which it rounds the edges of the device to give the appearance (and feel) that it’s a little less thick than it actually is, but the trick works with less dramatic effect here — there’s just no lying about a shell this deep (13.65mm, according to the official fact sheet). The rear cover has a pretty pronounced non-stick effect; I wouldn’t call it straight-up rubber, but needless to say, it’s not going to slip out of your hands.

Jordan Crook of TechCrunch spoke on beats and compared the audio quality to the iPhone:

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical over whether or not Beats would make a big difference, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Rezound and its audio quality. I was really able to hear those low notes in a way that’s lacking on my iPhone and other phones I’ve tested, and anyone who’s all about the tunes will surely appreciate Beats integration.

Mark Spoonauer of LaptopMag speaks on how much of an improvement the display is over the DROID BIONIC, another dual-core LTE device on Verizon:

Having a 720p screen might sound like overkill for a phone, but we appreciated the enhanced detail when loading Laptopmag.com next to the Droid Bionic. We saw more lines of text on the Rezound, and the panel is fairly bright. However, the viewing angles on this LCD aren’t as wide as what you’ll find on the HTC Droid RAZR or Galaxy Nexus, both of which have Super AMOLED screens.

NOTE several of the images below are from the publishers above as well as HTC USA on Facebook, HTC USA also providing the hero image for this post.

BONUS: here’s the official first promo video for the device:

The crowds of highly excited fans of HTC devices had their appetite filled at the event that revealed the device to indeed be the 1.5 GHz dual-core chip toting HTC smartphone they’d been waiting for, and more than that, a hyped-up introduction by no less than the CEO of Beats, mister Jimmy Iovine. What else we got to hear included information on the official Beats earbuds complete with red wire and on-wire controls as well as bits about the camera. The camera, mind you, has been updated for items such as live effects and slow motion. Wild!

For all the HTC Rezound action you can handle, head to our new [HTC Rezound portal] and stay tuned to SlashGear for a review of the device sooner than later! Also don’t forget our device directory which of course already has the Rezound listed amongst its extensive ranks. Beats Audio, Ice Cream Sandwich read, Sense 3.5, what more could you ask for?!

Inside the device you’ll find Beats software that’ll work with your brand new Beats earbuds that come with the device. There’s a big fat “B” on the back of the device that lets you know you’re working with nothing less than the official Beats software and hardware, and there are some lovely red capacitive buttons on the front of the device to drive the point home. There’s also a red speaker grille, a red camera ring, and two cameras: one 2 megapixel camera on the front for video chat, and another 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of 1080p video.

“It’s a phone that brings you closer and brings best combined the sights and sound and experience of any smartphone on the market.” -Peter Chou, HTC

Inside you’ll find Sense 3.5, a 1620mAh battery, and the bulk of the back of the device is made of soft plastic with a ribbed center for optimal grip and comfort. What we’ve got to think about how is if the dual-core and the Beats are enough to get those ThunderBolt users to switch up to a higher-grade device. Given that the display is MUCH higher class and the power under the hood should blow the ThunderBolt away easily, our thoughts are yes, it’s top to trade up.

Of course then there’s also the DROID RAZR to consider as well. Will the kevlar and the metal body be enough to bring HTC users over to the Motorola side?

We’ll of course let you know once we review the device in full soon! ALSO be sure to check the device out in our device directory at device.ac for a full listing of its specs.

UPDATE: This device is set to get an update to Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, and pricing is set to be $299 with a 2-year contract attached.

There’s also tipped to be a 1.5GHz dual-core processor running Android, while dual cameras of unknown resolution are also onboard. Going by European Beats Audio devices, like the HTC Sensation XE and Sensation XL, we’re expecting a decent set of Beats-branded headphones in the box; we could even see some custom headphones, as certain Sensation XL markets will get, making it into the mix.

Meanwhile, according to a leaked Verizon product list, there won’t be long to wait before the HTC Rezound hits shelves. The smartphone is tipped to go on sale November 10, priced at $299.99 with a new, two-year agreement. We’ll know for sure in just a few hours, so stick with SlashGear for all the details!

[via Android Community]