US wireless carrier Sprint Nextel and Taiwan’s HTC Corp (宏達電) announced plans on Thursday to release a touch-screen mobile phone next month powered by Google’s Android software.
The HTC Hero will be the second mobile phone to use the open-source operating system developed by the Internet giant, which has been trying to secure a foothold in the highly competitive smartphone market.
Google and US wireless carrier T-Mobile released the first so-called “Google Phone,” the T-Mobile G1, which is also manufactured by HTC, in October of last year.
Sprint said the HTC Hero would be available in stores from Oct. 11 and cost US$180 with a two-year service agreement.
Sprint already offers the much-hyped Palm Pre, released earlier this year, and the HTC Hero will be competing in a crowded US market against devices such as Apple’s iPhone and the Blackberry from Canada’s Research in Motion.
Microsoft this week also announced that its handset partners around the world will offer new smartphones next month featuring an upgraded version of its Windows Mobile operating system.
The HTC Hero includes built-in Google mobile services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube and access to thousands of applications built on the Android platform.
The HTC Hero also features a 5.0-megapixel camera and camcorder, Wi-Fi capability and GPS.
“Android provides to consumers the same Internet services they have become accustomed to on their desktop PC,” said Andy Rubin, vice president of mobile platforms at Google.
“[This] is an important milestone for our customers and the US wireless industry,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development for Sprint.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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