Following a teaser about it earlier this year, HTC has officially released its new Exodus 1s, a smartphone it claims can run a full Bitcoin node. The device is billed as a 'cryptophone,' one targeted at cryptocurrency enthusiasts who want to merge their favorite obsession with their handset. The model also features a hardware wallet that's isolated from the operating system for storing crypto coins.
It may have been the first to come out with an Android phone but HTC not barely makes a mark in charts and market analyses. The smartphone maker, now also XR company, has long been in trouble and has equally been predicted to soon fold its mobile business completely. Last month, however, brought a change of head with former Orange executive Yves Maitres taking over the predominantly Taiwanese company. And almost mirroring his predecessor's dramatic 2015 apology, Maitres is admitting to the company's error, along with a commitment to the brand's return to making high-end phones.
Despite and in spite of its struggles in the smartphone market, HTC has found some light at the end of its dark tunnel thanks to its Vive VR reality platform. It rivals Oculus in the tight VR market and is now trying to gain a lead with the new Cosmos system. Instead of aiming for a standalone headset like the previous Vive Focus, HTC is now envisioning a future-proof platform thanks to a modular system that HTC promises will grow with the user.
The game goes by the name "Acron: Attack of the Squirrels!" and it ties together VR gameplay (for one player) with smartphone gameplay (for 2+ other players). The game puts the VR player in the role of the evil tree, while the 2-or-more other players are squirrels. The tree attacks the squirrels.
It used to be that having a close relationship with Google had perks when it comes to getting dibs on Android releases. That obviously isn't the case anymore if HTC is any indication. The company hasn't been keeping up with its commitments to software updates despite not having that many phones to support these days. Its latest, and so far, last flagship phone, the HTC U12+, is only now getting its long-overdue Android 9 Pie update. Hopefully without a hiccup, too.
HTC's mobile business has long been in predicted to be on its way out but, year after year, the company seems to survive, even if barely. The company still hasn't launched a noteworthy smartphone this year but it seems to be taking a different strategy to make up for nearly absent smartphone sales. The HTC Wildfire X was just launched in India but while it may bear the name and some looks of the Taiwanese company, that may be the only thing HTC about it.
HTC's smartphones are already having problems selling on their own, the last thing the company needs is have them pulled from a major market. It's not the US, admittedly, but having all HTC phones suddenly become unavailable in the UK is now small matter. Especially if the Taiwanese company has been discovered to have disregarded a supposed change that would work around a patent it may have infringed.
The folks at Valve released new Valve Index VR headset kits today for immediate shipping in the USA. The Valve Index VR system was actually first released in late June, but "initial quantities were outpaced by demand." As Valve tells us today, "users were asked to reserve their hardware as new kits were in production." Today's the day when new kits begin to ship.
HTC might soon be doing a BlackBerry though the exact details of how that will happen are still unknown. In Russia, at least, the phone maker will reportedly be re-launching its old Wildfire series of phones via a local company. But it won't just be the HTC Wildfire E either. It turns out, there might be four new Wildfire phones, with as many as 10 in total coming soon.
HTC is one of the embattled smartphone companies that just refuses to say "Uncle!". Year after year, it puts out smartphones that fail to reach sales targets. Despite rumors that it's winding down its mobile business or focusing on niche markets with its Exodus blockchain phone, the company keeps putting on a strong face. It might have found another way to get its phones around by partnering with local companies to produce or market HTC-branded phones like a never before heard Wildfire E in Russia.
This week the folks at HTC revealed more details on the release model for HTC Vive Cosmos, their newest VR headset. This machine has a "flip-up halo design" so users can pop in and out of VR without removing the entire unit. It's also got a new vented front design that "keeps air flowing so users can stay in VR for longer without fatigue and stay cooler."
In January of this year we got a look at the then-newly-revealed HTC Cosmos VR (for PC) headset. Fast forward to now, June of this same year, and we're getting another look at the headset, and it looks ever-so-slightly different. Now the device has two additional cameras, both attached to a faceplate that'll come standard with the headset when it's released, presumably soon.