HTC’s latest 4G Android smartphone is the HTC Rezound, which includes special multimedia features like Beats Audio Technology that offers enhanced bass, clarity and midrange audio that you can enjoy through the included pair of Beats headphones.
The 4.3-inch true HD 720p super LCD display will allow you to enjoy movies using the HTC Watch app which uses progressive download technology to watch videos without waiting for them to finish downloading.
The HTC Rezound will be available beginning Nov. 14 at Verizon Wireless and at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. Full press release after the jump.
HTC AND VERIZON WIRELESS UNVEIL HTC REZOUND™, FIRST SMARTPHONE IN THE U.S. TO FEATURE BEATS AUDIO™
HTC Rezound breaks new ground with introduction of advanced audio and high-definition visual experience
New York City – November 3, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, and Verizon Wireless today announced the HTC Rezound™, the only phone in the United States with Beats Audio™ integration. A result of the recent partnership between HTC and Beats, the HTC Rezound delivers a powerful entertainment experience with unparalleled audio and multimedia capabilities highlighted by a 4.3-inch true HD 720p display. The HTC Rezound, a premium designed smartphone that includes the latest HTC Sense experience and access to Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, will be available exclusively from Verizon Wireless on Nov. 14.
“HTC is dedicated to delivering the latest in sight and sound innovation and we’re excited to be introducing the first U.S. smartphone featuring Beats Audio technology,” said Peter Chou, CEO, HTC Corporation. “Paired with Verizon Wireless’ blazing-fast 4G LTE network and a robust multimedia experience, the HTC Rezound enables customers to enjoy their favorite music and entertainment on-the-go like never before.”
The HTC Rezound enables customers to hear music the way the artist intended with unique audio tuning by Beats that delivers thundering bass, soaring midrange and crisp highs. Unique to HTC, the HTC Rezound also includes new lightweight Beats headphones, created exclusively to integrate with the Beats’ audio profile on the device. Hands-free calling is easy with the built-in microphone and the on-cable remote to pause, advance or rewind and answer a call mid-track.
“HTC fully recognizes the destruction to audio caused by the digital revolution. They embrace our vision to repair this ecosystem and bring the feeling from the recording studio to the smartphone,“ said Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Beats By Dr. Dre. “This is only the beginning of our plan to fix how music is delivered.”
Lightning-fast mobile entertainment
The HTC Rezound is the first HTC smartphone to feature a true HD 720p display and is perfect for enjoying high-quality entertainment on the 4.3-inch super LCD screen. HTC Watch puts an entire library of the latest premium movies and TV shows right at your fingertips. Using a wireless connection, HTC Watch uses progressive download technology on the HTC Rezound which makes it possible to watch videos without waiting for them to finish downloading. Customers can rent or purchase videos through HTC Watch and enjoy content on up to five different HTC devices. The HTC Rezound features Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) connectivity, so customers can watch content from the device on an HDTV, including 5.1 surround sound and SRS WOW™ HD surround to take advantage of a home theater setup. Equipped with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, the HTC Rezound offers a speedy mobile experience even for the most demanding media enthusiast.
“HTC Rezound combines sleek design, innovative entertainment features and the power of Verizon Wireless’ network to create a multi-media phone that consumers have been waiting for,” said Jeff Dietel, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless. “4G LTE speeds take mobile entertainment to a new level, providing customers with advanced functionality in a phone they can count on for everyday use.”
Advanced multimedia features
The HTC Rezound boasts an 8-megapixel camera featuring autofocus, dual LED flash, a f/2.2 and 28mm wide-angle lens with BSI sensor to fit more of the scene into every shot and for better low-light performance. The enhanced camera features available through HTC Sense offer new scenes and effects such as panoramic mode for capturing life on a grand scale or action burst scene for the perfect action shot.
For self-portraits or video conversations, the HTC Rezound also features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. With a 1080p camcorder, the HTC Rezound enables customers to record a perfect moment with stunning clarity and incredible stereo sound, perfect for sharing on YouTube or Facebook. Customers can also wirelessly send their media to a compatible TV for looking at videos or pictures with friends and family using Digital Living Network Alliance® (DLNA).
HTC Sense
Featuring the latest version of HTC Sense, the HTC Rezound enables people to create a unique and intuitive user experience that matches their personal preference and lifestyle. A customizable active lockscreen experience transforms the lockscreen into a real-time window to the most important information and content, such as social updates, photos, weather or stock updates that are viewed by simply turning on the display. In addition, the new active lockscreen becomes a customizable gateway that lets people quickly jump to the most used features, like making a phone call, sending an email, taking a picture or anything else with the same quick gesture usually used to unlock the phone.
HTC Sense also delivers a new group messaging experience simplifying group and multimedia messaging so people can stay up-to-date on the latest conversations quickly and easily. People can view recent status updates from popular social networks in one place using FriendStream™, as well as sync their contact list with all email accounts and social networks for smooth integration.
“HTC and Beats have been important partners to Best Buy over the years and we are thrilled to help them bring the HTC Rezound on the Verizon Wireless network to consumers,” said Scott Anderson, head of merchandising for Best Buy Mobile. “This is going to be a big holiday for smartphones and people will be looking for new and different features. The HTC Rezound, with HTC’s mobile expertise and audio excellence from Beats, will be a great option for our customers.”
Additional features
- Mobile Hotspot capability: share 4G connection with up to ten Wi-Fi-enabled devices
- Operating System: Android 2.3™ (Gingerbread) with latest HTC Sense – An upgrade to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will available in early 2012
- Internal Memory: 16 GB on-board memory, 1 GB DDR2 RAM
- Memory Card: 16 GB MicroSD™ pre-installed
- Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth®: 3.0 – support for headset, hands-free, stereo, phonebook access and object push for vCard and vCalendar
- GPS: GPS/AGPS
- Battery: 1,620 mAh
- Special Features: HDMI (through MHL), G-sensor, Light sensor, Compass, Proximity sensor, MicroUSB, USIM/CSIM/ISIM, audio jack and Wireless Charging capable
- Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM8660 1.5GHz, Qualcomm® MDM9600
- Dimensions: 129 x 65.5 x 13.65 mm
Availability
The HTC Rezound will be available beginning Nov. 14 at Verizon Wireless and at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers who purchase the HTC Rezound will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data. Customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
About Beats Electronics LLC
Established in 2006, Beats Electronics is the brainchild of legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine, who set out to develop a new type of headphone with the capability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound that musical artists and producers hear in professional recording studios. For more information, please visit http://beatsbydre.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 107.7 million total wireless connections, including 90.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with nearly 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/
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So…it’s big draw card is a graphics equalizer…revolutionary. I’d expect this of the iphone, but come on HTC, you’re better than this.
I can’t wait for the Rezound. I am in love with htc phones.
The constant negative comments to this phone because of the gimmicky Beats are completely overlooking what this phone has to offer; it’s a current hardware utopia!
Look at the specs: Dual 1.5Ghz processor, Adreno 220 GPU, 1G RAM, Storage 16G/16G = 32G off the shelf, 4.3” screen, True HD 720×1280, 8Meg f/2.2 rear camera
Now look at the other two major phones hitting the Verizon Market:
Dual 1.2GHz, TI OMAP 4430, 1G RAM, Storage 16G = 16G off the shelf, 4.3” screen, 540×960, 8Meg rear camera
and
Dual 1.2GHz, TI OMAP 4460, 1G RAM, Storage 32G = 32G off the shelf, 4.65” screen, True HD 720×1280, 5Meg rear camera
The Rezound more than holds its own with the hardware specs and the processor is approx 20% faster!
My wife and I are up for new phones right now and anything will be a leap up over our HTC Eris phones, but these three phones are going to make it a tough decision. I have had two HTC phones now and loved them both (though the Eris is showing its age it has been a great phone). I have had a Samsung phone and TV, both were cheap and had to be replaced well before I felt I got my money out of them, but plain android and Super AMOLED are nice features. I have never owned a Motorola because there slide out keyboards always felt so cheap, but the slim size and weight are nice.
The choice will be hard, but what a great time to be looking!!!
I can’t wait to compare the HTC Rezound, Moto Droid Razr and Samsung Galaxy Nexus Prime all side by side to figure out which one is the best. Exciting times in smart phones.
Hey guys, I have two questions about this phone:
1 – Is it safe to assume I can get a 32GB microSD card and replace the 16 GB one that comes with the phone?
2 – Can anyone explain what the “wireless charging back cover” is, how it works, how much it is expected to be? I know like October 30th it went back to the FCC for that update, but I did not fully understand what it meant.
Thanks in advance guys, I have been looking forward to getting this phone since it was announced!
I bought an unlocked HTC Sensation XE with Beats, replacing an HTC Desire HD. The processor speed is significantly faster. The curved gorilla glass has an excellent feel and very accurate touch. This is the first time I’ve gone without a screen protector. The feel and form factor of HTC phones is solid and hard to beat by any other brand. While I didn’t buy it for the sound, the Dr. Dre Beats is pretty fantastic, too, and paired with TuneSync is awesome and easy. There are some minor quirks with Android 2.3.4, however. For example, the text dictionary will not recognize ‘but’ and will not allow it to be added as a word. Also, the Contacts will truncate all Notes to just one line. Syncing with my previous phone lost a ton of Contact information. This is very annoying, but an acceptable work-around is using Google Contacts and syncing with the phone. The Rezound specs look nearly the same. IMO, the only phone that might come close is the Motorola RAZR Droid. The Samsung Galaxy, Nexus, etc., are inferior because of only a 5MP camera.
@ Brad Wheeler
1.) From what I’ve read yes, the 16 GB can be taken out and swapped with a 32GB one, since it lists support for SD cards up to 32GB.
2.) Wireless charging is probably induction charging like the Palm Pre. You have a pad and sit the phone on the pad and it charges “wirelessly” through induction. If it’s an optional addition, there’d also be a plug option to charge it, probably the micro USB port.