HTC has finally given the green signal to the Android 2.1 update for the chinned Hero. The OTA update v3.31.751.1 will bump the current Android 1.5 to Android 2.1 making it at par with the current fleet of HTC Android devices.

This update is limited to Taiwan for now but releasing it in one market is a clear indication that HTC is ready to roll out in other markets as well.

HTC Hero Update

[Via Androidcommunity]

Taxi travelers in Taiwan will have something interesting to do the next time they’re stuck in a traffic. MTaxi, one of leading taxi operators in Taipei and Vmax Telecom have signed a deal to fit in WiMAX-enabled MIDs in 1,000 taxis. The in-taxi Mobile WiMAX service is known as Mobile Internet Cafe and will be offered for free in a bid to lure more customers.

The MID will be provided by Tecom Inc., which will feature a 7-inch touchscreen and come pre-installed with variety of audio and video codecs to provide entertainment-on-the-go. Additionally, the MID will also have a GPS built-in.

[Via Yahoo|Img]

Asus today unveiled two USB 3.0 equipped N-Series notebooks in an event in Taiwan. The notebooks – 16-inch N61 and 14-inch N82 features Core i5/i7 to handle the processing duties while choice of ATI or Nvidia GPU will fill up the graphics department.

Now coming onto the important feature, both the notebooks feature one USB 3.0 port and as per Engadget China – who were at hand for the live demonstration – say the new USB was three times faster than the ubiquitous USB 2.0. They also point out that gadgets plugged in the newer port could charge faster due to the extra current the port provides.

There’s no word on pricing but site says expected around Lunar New Year, which means it should be around Feb 14.

More pictures here.

We told you about Garmin-Asus’ M10 yesterday and now it’s got the official acknowledgement by way of a pre-order page. The pre-order link has gone live in Asus’ home market where consumers will be able to pick it up from February 6 for 13,900 TWD ($435). In addition to running the latest build of Windows Mobile OS, the M10 will sport a 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen display, 5MP camera, microSD card slot and a 1500mAh battery. The phone will obviously pack GPS and will be powered by Qualcomm’s 600MHz and 512MB RAM/ROM.

Pre-order page

[Via GSMArena]

The only customized UI for Android by HTC will soon be seen gracing in phones other than Hero. HTC have announced a free upgrade for Magic users, which they’ll be able to download from October 31. This update will work with Magic sold on Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan or any other Magic not bearing the Google branding. To be precise, T-Mobile USA users using myTouch 3G and Vodafone UK users will have to be disappointed.

Press Release

[Via Mobileburn]

Looks like Samsung is late to the party as Taiwan based Altek has done the honors of launching a camera phone with optical zoom. The T8680 is a GSM phone and is referred to as a professional cameraphone because of its pro-photography features.

The phone captures images at a decent 12MP resolution with a 3x optical zoom and has a dedicated imaging processor. There are other features too, like the inclusion of Xenon flash, sensitivity ranging from ISO 80 to 3200, touch focus and varied scene and shooting modes. It is also able to record videos at VGA resolution.

The phone centric features include tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM with EDGE connectivity, 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, USB, TV-out, Bluetooth, FM Radio, MP3 player and a 1020mAh battery capable of delivering up to 350 hours of standby time and 4 hours of talk time.

It will be available in the coming weeks in China for about 3000 yuan ($440).

Altek T8680

[Via GSMArena]

If you’re in the market for an AIO, the most you will have to settle is for an Atom based one. Atom powered AIOs are cheap, power efficient but not powerful. But Taiwan’s Cybernet Inc. is stepping up in the AIO game to offer users wanting that extra juice in the same compact form factor.

The iOne-GX31 comes with 17 and 19-inches screen and the highest configuration brings in 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad processor, up to 4GB RAM / 750GB HDD, DVD writer, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HDMI-out, different I/O ports and Windows Vista. However, the dampener in the deal is the GPU. There is no option to go for a discrete one and you’ll have to go for Intel’s GMA 3100 integrated graphics. It will set you back for around $2000.

There’s also a base model available with Core 2 Duo proc, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD and no OS. The price of this AIO comes to $1200.

Cybernet iOne-GX31
Product Page

In a bid to promote the Gateway brand in its homeland, Acer has announced ZX2300 all-in-one PC bearing the Gateway sticker. The PCs will take a dig at Eee Tops but with a larger screen sans the touchscreen interface. ZX2300 will sport an 18.5-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 1366X768 pixels. The AIO will be powered by an AMD Athlon 2650e processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, onboard ATI X1200 graphics, USB ports, card reader, Wi-Fi, webcam and a 16X Lightscribe DVD burner.

Taiwanese users will be able to buy this for NT$17900 or roughly US$530.

Full Specifications:

Display: 18.5-inch 16:9 LCD screen (1366 x 768)
Operating System: Windows XP Home
Processor: AMD Athlon 2650e (1.6GHz, FSB800, L2 = 512K) – 15W low power 64-bit chip set: AMD RS690 + SB600
Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
HDD: 160 GB / 7200RPM
Optical Drive: 16X Lightscribe DVD writer
Graphics: onboard ATI X1200 graphics
Card Reader: 10-in-1
VGA webcam
Mic: Hidden microphone cable
LAN: 10/100 network ports
WLAN: IEEE 802.11b/g
Audio: HD Audio audio / built 2.2-channel stereo (two treble + 2 bass)
Side port: 1 USB 2.0 connector, headphone and microphone jack, MP3 audio input hole, volume control buttons behind the ports: 4 USB 2.0 connectors, 2 PS/2 ports, audio output hole, RJ45, Kensington security Accessories: PS2 Mouse, PS2 KB
Weight: 8kg
Power Supply: 90W
Size: 350 (H) x 480 (W) x 210 (deep) mm
Software: Microsoft Works, Norton 360 antivirus software 60 days of signature updates, NTI Media Maker, Power DVD, Adobe Reader

Product Page

Fujitsu in collaboration with NTT DOCOMO will soon sell their FOMA F905i model in Taiwan. It is the same phone which is currently being sold in Japan but will be localized to view and input traditional Chinese characters. The phone will be sold by Far EasTone Telecommunications which will also DOCOMO’s i-mode mobile internet service.

F905i is a clamshell phone with a beautiful 3.2-inch VGA resolution screen which can also slide horizontally. It will feature a 3.2 megapixel camera and Fujitsu’s clear sound and voice reproduction technology.

Press Release

MSI revealed three Wind Netones in Taiwan. The M16, M19 and M22 boast screen sizes of 15.6-inch 18.5-inch and 22-inch respectively. Going by the machine translation, all the nettops will be powered by an Intel Atom processor with OS option of Windows XP or Windows Vista. MSI has made the displays touchscreen enabled with HD content playback support on M22.

M19 is expected to launch in January 2009, followed by M16 in February and M22 in March. Prices will be in the range of $400 – $800.

[Via Engadget Chinese]