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So just a quick thought on the HTC One X now that it has exited rumor stage and we know the truth. I was critical of the leaked images of the Edge (codename for the One X), as well as being critical of basically the last year of HTC devices. Now that we know more about the One X, I have warmed up a bit but there is still a bit of disappointment.

The Good

• The final hardware design is not that bad and has a nice simplicity to it
• Reports are that Sense has been pruned a bit
• The screen on the Rezound was great, this sounds like it will be a step up
• HTC is going in heavy on camera sensors
• 3 buttons instead of 4 brings a nice symmetry below the screen
• Inclusion of NFC
• HTC has decided it might be a good idea to trim some bulk off its devices
• Pogo pins included - these should be on every device

The Bad

• The One line is supposed to simplify things, but the way have different chipsets lined up with different names sounds unnecessarily convoluted
• 4.7” screen 
• The 3 buttons are capacitive

As you can see there is a lot to like here but there is some to hate. I want a manufacturer to put their foot down on screen size (even though I did get a Galaxy Nexus) and HTC is obviously not going to. As I said, the 3 buttons feels nicer but there are a few problems with HTC’s implementation. First there is no search button and they do not have the persistent search bar that is present in stock ICS. Second, in order to allow ICS to use the legacy menu button they are going to have it pop up and take up an area of the screen above the buttons that appears to be about the same size as the on screen buttons of the Galaxy Nexus. You just lost screen space for a menu button. Third using capacitive buttons keeps you from having the ability to expand video out to take advantage of more surface area.

Overall, the device looks and feels good, and HTC has put a good foot forward on trying to capture some of the magic they had and lost. However, this device does not make me really want to change devices as I am apt to do, and I have a sneaking suspicion that based on some of the rumored specs of the Galaxy S III (who’s timing on being leaked can’t be a coincidence) will make the memory of the One x short. Time will tell.

How is it that the company that had the nerve to do this,

thinks that this:

is how you release a flagship device?

I was without a doubt an HTC fan not too long ago, and would love to see them rebound but honestly, everything about their design in the last couple of generations of Android devices has been uninspired. I will admit to the Rezound having some good things about it. It felt good in the hand even though it was heavy and thick. The screen was gorgeous and the width was great (and even this will probably be gone because of their insistence on increasing screen size), but that is just not enough and neither is throwing an a pair of ear buds that are extremely overpriced. 

Maybe this next generation of devices is going to be good but just going by the visual aesthetic in the picture above, probably not. They might finally get some of the thickness shaved off, and they may improve battery life, but that picture does not evoke any emotion other than apathy. 

HTC, you lost me to Samsung. Why will you not fight for me as you did so valiantly in the past? The company that used to refer to themselves with the word innovation went to quietly brilliant. Perhaps their next marketing term should just drop brilliant.

Quietly.

Deadline.com is reporting that CBS has given the greenlight to a show called Elementary. Apparently it is a show that will be based on Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and is set in modern times. The article (which I linked below) went on to point out that this is CBS trying to capitalize on the popularity that Sherlock Holmes has been having as of late. We just got a 2nd Sherlock Holmes movie with major stars in it and the 2nd season of Sherlock on BBC ended and was renewed for a 3rd season. Also, let us not forget that one of the strongest shows on TV for the last decade has been House, basically Sherlock Holmes as a doctor.

I guess since I enjoy(ed) the first Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes film, the BBC show and House I will have to give this show a chance (I should probably actually read a Sherlock Holmes book as well), but there is no doubt that I will go in skeptical. To put it simply, I really like Sherlock (the TV show) and this show is going to have to be able to get close to as good as that and still feel like they are doing something different and/or original. Never mind the fact that it will also have to differentiate from the other things mentioned.

I think that there may be a chance that it can be successful if for no other reason than the bar is pretty low for network television success. In an era when every night has a CSI spinoff or knockoff, and none of them do anything original, it’s not hard to imagine a crappy network House/CSI mashup. I guess we will see how it ends up but color me jaded.

(Source: deadline.com)

So yesterday there was a rumor circulating all of the big tech sites about the possibility that Research In Motion (RIM), developer of the Blackberry was talking to several manufacturers about being taken over, and according to the rumor Samsung was their first choice. Samsung later released a statement saying that they weren’t and aren’t interested in purchasing RIM. Many people theorized that RIM might be trying to license their software and not really trying to get purchased.

I am not sure what to make of this. RIM is obviously in trouble and they need to do something quick. With the amount of ground they are losing/lost they have no hope of taking back 1 or 2 in marketshare for smart mobile devices and if they want to settle in at number 3, now is the time. I don’t know that Blackberry 10 is the savior that they need, but if it is it will be too late anyway as it will not be out until late this year. So who might want to buy RIM.

The obvious choices here are Android manufacturers that are big and would like to be able to differentiate themselves, as well as get access to that patent portfolio.

Samsung and HTC - These are the 2 premiere Android OEMs right now and may have the most to spend. They both were also rumored to be considering WebOS (although that was probably just made up by people talking on the web.) Of course Samsung has already said no, but the reason these 2 are considered likely fits is because of their size, the fact they already do multiple platforms, and the possibility that they feel threatened by Motorola being acquired by Google. HTC especially makes sense (if they can afford it) because they have started slide a bit financially as they have had a hard time getting attention in the US market (I may give my opinion on why another day.) If HTC were to acquire RIM they could instantly position themselves as the Android option best suited for business. HTC has been known to make decent devices with slide out qwerty keyboards and if they could move fast enough, it might actually really help them catch back up with Samsung. However, they really need to innovate on their handsets.

Sony - They might have the money and they might be interested enough in mobile but has Sony ever shown any interest in enterprise. I just do not see them as a good fit. They will continue to focus on PlayStation integration to try and drive their mobile brand, which is not a bad thing, but their real problem is that they just have to weak of a presence in the US for any meaningful success. It might help them move some units but I just don’t see them making this move.

LG - They are in a similar position to Sony, but have really just appeared to be phoning it in as of late (no pun intended.) It would be a move that could help them, but I just don’t think they care enough about the US market to make such a move, and that probably stands to reason for the rest of the world.

Motorola - Not in the game. Too poor and owned by Google.

Google - I just don’t see them making this purchase. It might make sense as they could protect their OEMs with the patents and could build in somethings into its ecosystem like BBM in phones and BIS into Gmail but it just does not feel right. 

Apple - Like Google this would be pretty hard to believe but there is not anyone sitting on a pile of cash like they are. It would be a horrible purchase and will never happen because Apple is too concerned with doing things the Apple way and would not be willing to have an injection of outside DNA. I do think this would make sense though. They could build in interoperability and keep things locked down to create a clear upgrade path for people moving from Blackberry to iPhone. It would allow them to guarantee more people would swap to iOS instead of Android from Blackberry and might help them to catch up in the market share war. It would give them moire patents so they could continue to be over litigious and it might even help them sell servers if they were to come with BES built in.

Overall, none of this is likely to happen because RIM simply wants too much money for the company. They already murdered the chance of them being purchased by Amazon, and the same rumors that said they were courting Samsung said they were asking for more than their market cap, which some experts believe is too high to begin with. They will probably end up licensing their service but I do not trust the management of the company enough to do that before its too little too late. I suspect they will end up Yahooing themselves and will end up similarly to how Palm did. Dead and irrelevant.

Yahoo announced today that Jerry Yang would be leaving the company. Jerry is the founder and has been CEO and on the Board. All Things D is reporting that 4 more board members are on the way out with him.

Yahoo just recently named their new CEO Scott Thompson, a former Paypal executive after firing Carol Bartz last year. The company has been in a tail spin for so long it is hard to imagine them pulling out of it but if they are going to, this is the first step.

I can’t claim to know anything about the inner workings or what was going on but is obvious to anyone watching that they have not been making good decision for a while, and sometimes, it is just time. 

Peace out Yang. Good luck ST.

(Source: allthingsd.com)

If you need something to watch on the television tonight, might I suggest Justified? Justified is essentially a western but set in modern day West Virginia. Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a US Marshall that has a tendency to shoot first and sort everything out later. 

Tonight is the premiere of the third season on FX. The previous 2 seasons were entertaining, especially for those who like westerns and have no modern outlet (you should have been watching Hell on Wheels.) I am sure you can pick it up without watching the previous 2 seasons, but you probably should watch them just because they are so good.