Although HTC has yet to confirm the existence of a new big screen smartphone being referred to as the Endeavor, software leaked this week hints at the specifications which this beast might pack into its shell.
The gap between smartphones and tablets has been narrowing significantly in recent months. Last year the HTC Flyer with its seven inch screen and Android 2.3 operating system brought tablet-sized displays to a smartphone platform. Since then the Samsung Galaxy Note has blurred distinctions further thanks to its large Super AMOLED display and stylus-friendly interface.
HTC Endeavor
The HTC Endeavor is rumored to be closer to the Galaxy Note than the HTC Flyer in terms of physical size. It will reportedly pack in a 4.7 inch display with a high-definition native resolution of 1280×720, equivalent to the upper end of the tablet market where 10.1 inch screens are common.
This extra pixel density will make the Endeavor`s interface look crisp and detailed, while the rumoured quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor should give it the number crunching grunt necessary to run the Android 4.0 operating system smoothly.
The other specifications rumoured to be onboard the HTC Endeavor include an eight megapixel camera as well as a secondary snapper for video calling, 1GB of RAM and near filed communication (NFC) capabilities for contactless payments and other short-range wireless interactions.
Since HTC bought Beats Audio last year it has been intent on cramming high-end speakers and accompanying headphones into its new devices, so it seems that the Endeavor will be no different in this respect.
The early leaked images of the HTC Endeavor`s software suggest that the new Sense 4.0 user interface which sits on top of Android 4.0 will be taking major cues from the tablet market.
Multitasking through tiled homescreens, as seen on tablets like the BlackBerry Playbook, seems to be the order of the day based on pictures posted via Android Central.
Of course whether the Endeavor will do enough to coax people away from larger tablets remains to be seen, because in most cases smartphones and tablets are seen as being complementary gadgets rather than mutually exclusive of one another.
MEEP Tablet
At the other end of the market comes the news that developers at Oregon Scientific in the US have come up with a new Android-based tablet which is designed for kids rather than tech-loving adults.
The seven inch MEEP tablet features all the usual features you would expect, from a touch screen display to Wi-Fi connectivity and even an accelerometer to detect the orientation in which it is being held.
However, the hard-wearing chassis has been created in order to take a lot more punishment than traditional Android tablets so that it can survive the rough and tumble world of childhood use.
Quite what features the MEEP Android tablet will offer remains to be seen, but presumably some educational and creative applications will come pre-installed, along with locked-down web browsing and peripheral connectivity. If you do not want your kids playing with your expensive Samsung mobiles and would prefer them to have a tablet all of their own then this could be the answer.
Leave a Reply