HTC

Many of us rely on our phone's calendar to remember important personal and work appointments, dinners with friends, or any other thing that may slip our minds. So it was more than annoying for my co-worker when she realized that her Facebook app on her Droid Incredible was not only synching her friends' profile pictures (this is good) and phone numbers (not always so good), but also every birthday on her friend list. While it's nice to keep your close friends' and family's birthdays mindful, whenever she looked at her calendar it looked like she was perpetually busy, since the feature doesn't distinguish between synched birthdays and appointments. Add to this the fact that since she shares this same Google calendar with her boyfriend, his phone is also filled with superfluous appointments. Luckily, unsynching Facebook birthdays from your HTC phone is often just a quick setting change. To learn how to do this, just read more

Apple's impromptu press conference held on Friday at its Cupertino headquarters did more than just offer up a solution to the antenna problems of the iPhone 4 — it also called out the competition. During the presentation, Steve Jobs showed a video of other handsets — like the BlackBerry 9700, HTC Eris, Samsung Omnia — that appear to have the same reception problems as the iPhone 4, and even mentioned Nokia for having stickers on its phones that say "don't touch here."

Not surprisingly, all of these companies issued statements or reactions after the press conference, addressing their presence at the Apple event. Take a look at how Jobs compared all of these phones to the iPhone 4 and how each company responded below.

Nokia

• Steve says: You can go on the web and look at pictures of Nokia phones that ship with stickers on the back that say "don’t touch here."
• Nokia says: As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict. In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand.

See what Jobs had to say about RIM and HTC (and their reactions) after the break.

HTC has a good thing going already in the Incredible, EVO, and HD2, and will be adding on to that impressive lineup next week when the HTC Aria hits AT&T on June 20. Portable at just 4.2-inches high, the Aria balances work and play with Android 2.1's operating system, and keeps you on top of Twitter, Facebook, and all your friends' status updates with HTC Sense's Friend Feed.

Stocked with a crisp 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen display, 2GB of on-board memory (expandable up to 32GB microSD), 5MP camera with LED flash, and six hours of talk time, the Aria could take the place of your other, heftier smartphone that's weighing down your bag now.

But there's another really fun feature worth hearing about. Find out what it is, along with pricing details after the break.

Initial buzz behind Verizon's HTC Droid Incredible has been so positive, it's being cited as one of the reasons behind Verizon's decision not to carry the Nexus One and perhaps a partial reason behind Google closing its online Nexus One store.

According to Verizon's website, Droid Incredible phones ordered today will ship by June 4. And according to Verizon's CEO, 100,000 Droid Incredible phones were sold in the first two days it was available.

The Droid Incredible runs Android 2.1 and features a 3.7-inch touchscreen and 8-megapixel camera, making it one of the most advanced phones in the Verizon lineup.

Android devices are growing in popularity, and the announcement of the HTC EVO 4G is just another reason to consider making the switch from your iPhone or BlackBerry. Why? Well, the latest Android device to hit the market will also be the first 4G wireless phone in the US, so if you're looking for lightning fast connection speeds, this is your phone. The EVO isn't just a speedy device though, it's got some serious goodies under the hood as well. Running Android 2.1, the HTC EVO comes stocked with two cameras (an 8MP HD auto-focus camera in the back, and a 1.3MP camera in the front), a crisp 4.3 inch display, simultaneous voice and data capabilities (which opens the door to video chatting), built-in Google Goggles, Flash, and the ability to tether up to eight different devices to your WiFi connection — this phone is essentially a mobile hotspot.

Arriving at Radio Shack, Walmart, Best Buy, and Sprint stores on June 4, you can pick up your own HTC EVO 4G for $200, and snag a $100 mail-in rebate if you sign a two-year contract with Sprint.

Another Android phone is coming to Verizon. The HTC Droid Incredible will officially land in stores on April 29, with preorders starting Monday. The phone is retailing for $200 with a two-year contract. Phandroid leaked details of the Droid Incredible earlier this week, but now the release has been confirmed. HTC's latest device will run Android 2.1 with HTC's Sense user interface. And unlike Verizon's similarly-named phones (the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris), the Droid Incredible has a slim design that makes it look more like HTC's Nexus One.

Other features include a 3.7-inch touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera, and an optical mouse in place of a trackball.

Looks like the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi weren't enough to keep the wireless company afloat — according to Bloomberg news, Palm is up for sale. PC Mag covers other potential buyers including pros and cons of each, and Reuters suggests that the sale could total more than $1 billion.

So far, HTC seems to be the main contender, with both Engadget and Gizmodo expressing their support for the purchase. Why HTC? According to Gizmodo, acquiring Palm will put HTC in a good position to compete with Apple, mainly because of patents owned by Palm. Engadget echoes the support based on patents and suggests a few more perks: HTC needs a platform of its own and Palm needs good hardware; they already have a history of working together; HTC has a good relationship with cellular carriers. And with all of the HTC speculation, Palm's stock has already risen today, a sign that investors are happy with the potential takeover.

Apple has thrown down the gauntlet to HTC today, filing a lawsuit claiming that the company is infringing on 20 of its patents, including the iPhone's user interface, hardware, and pretty much anything pertaining to its multitouch technology. It wasn't too long ago that Apple itself was involved in a legal battle regarding multitouch — only that time, another company claimed Apple was the one doing the infringing. However, Steve Jobs isn't letting HTC slide on this case. He says:

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

If Apple does win this case, it could mean that Google's new Nexus One (along with other Android handsets) would be pulled from the shelves, and the only new innovations in multitouch technology would be coming from Apple's camp in Cupertino.

I think it may have been an understatement to say that HTC was working overtime last year. Not only did the company assist in the launch of Google's Nexus One and is rumored to be whipping up a tablet, but yesterday at the Microsoft CES press conference, CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the HTC HD2, which will be released exclusively on T-Mobile. The super thin HD2 comes with a high-res 4.3-inch touch display featuring pinch and zoom functionality (which is great for resizing web pages and notes), and runs on Windows Mobile via a 1GHz Snapdragon processor (the same processor stocked on the Nexus One).

The smartphone comes standard with GPS and a 5MP camera with a dual LED flash to add extra light when you need it. The HD2 is slated to be released sometime in the Spring on T-Mobile, and you can sign up to be alerted when it drops.