D1 • 9 August 2010 • EVERY MONDAY
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HTC Wildfire
is scorching hot
By LEN AMADORA
fter the overwhelming
A
success of their playful
Tattoo, HTC this time
came up with a serious,
mature yet stylish and
sophisticated “budget”
phone; the HTC Wildfire. Stylish and
sophisticated as it is, Wildfire runs on
Android 2.1 and is definitely packed
with all the smartphone features you
can think of. With all these, is it totally
far from being a budget phone?
Wildfire resembles more like HTC
Desire only smaller, a bit wider and
this time without the distinct buttons
at the lower end of the device. The
only visible and tangible button is the
sensitive optical trackpad right in the
HTC Wildfire
Specifications
General 2G Network GSM 850 /
900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
Size Dimensions 106.8 x 60.4
x 12 mm
Weight 118 g
Display Type TFT capacitive
touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 3.2 inches
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI
auto-rotate
- Touch-sensitive controls
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-
off
- Optical trackpad
- HTC Sense UI
Memory Phonebook Practically
unlimited entries and fields,
Photocall
Internal 384 MB RAM; 512 MB
ROM
Card slot microSD up to 32GB
By NOEMI LARDIZABAL-DADO
lot of people are often
A
amazed as they motion
towards the Flip Video
Ultra I hold snugly in
my left hand as I pan
the activity in the room. I simply say,
"It’s The Flip".
My Flip was a head turner in 2009,
when few owned the Flip Video Ultra
in Manila. My Flip is black, but there
are other colors like pink, green and
white.
I first heard of the Flip Video Cam-
Technews
lower center where the body and that
trademark (though not too obvious)
chin of an HTC phone meets. The
usual visible buttons (menu, search,
home and back keys) now lie imme-
diately below the 3.2” multi-touch ca-
pacitive
LCD touchscreen just above the
optical trackpad; similar to that of the
Nexus One leaving a clean, smooth
and flawless slate making it look sleek
and more professional.
The back houses the loudspeaker,
the 5-megapixel camera and the LED
flash. You might be wondering where
the camera button is because the
only visible button remaining is the
volume rocker accompanied by the
micro-USB port on its left side. Sur-
prisingly, the optical trackpad acts as
the camera button as well.
Editor's note
The HTC Wildfire
should also be
nicknamed the "wild
child" of the short
list of budget phones
so rich in features.
This is one gadget we
did not hesitate on
getting. It doesn't burn
a hole in your pocket,
and is actually cool.
Word's out: There's a
wildfire out there.
era when my sister, Lorna, shot a
video of my daughter as she dressed
up for a Halloween party in Chicago
in 2008. I didn’t think much of it un-
til May 2009, when Lauren surprised
me with an advanced birthday gift,
The Flip. I know how to edit videos in
my Macbook using iMovie, but using
the Flip made my editing task much
easier and faster.
If my Flip could talk, it would tell
you the story of my first attempts at
Behind that serious look lies
a playful heart. Beginning the wild-
fire experience was easy. Thanks
to HTC’s Sense UI, in fact it was too
easy. First time users of HTC phones
won’t actually need a manual. The de-
vice will ease you through the whole
set-up process of adding/creating
your Google account, inputting your
Facebook or Twitter account and
e-mail settings.
In just a few seconds, you will be
surprised how integrated everything
is down from your Google account up
to your contacts and social network
sites. Contacts are integrated with so-
cial network sites namely Facebook
and Twitter and also with your Gmail
account and when I say integrated, it
truly is even up to its caller ID.
Customizing Wildfire’s 7 home-
screens are, as expected, fun and
easy. With all the widgets, icons and
applications available in the handset
and even more in the “Android Mar-
ket”, I’m pretty sure you would enjoy
every minute of it.
But if you are not the type, then
Wildfire has pre-loaded scenes that
My buddy, the Flip
Ultra HD camcorder
citizen journalism in early Au-
gust 2009, during the wake of
former President Cory Aquino.
My Flip helped me be a witness
to the outpouring of love from
all walks of life as I took videos
of the scene unfolding before
me while seated, feet drenched
inside my shoes, on top of a
moving truck for nine hours.
The people braved the rains,
the long queue, and the wait
just to see their beloved Presi-
dent Cory off to her final resting
place. My Flip served me well
as my constant buddy in all the
interviews as I took the new
role of editor in a voters' educa-
tion portal, BlogWatch.ph.
My Flip captured video foot-
age of presidential candidates
Manny Villar, Ed Villanueva, Nick
Perlas, JC de los Reyes, Gibo Te-
odoro, Dick Gordon, Noynoy Aquino,
and many senatorial and congressio-
nal candidates as they explained the
plans they had for our country.
Holding my Flip in my left hand
and typing on my netbook with the
right, I captured all their promises
on video. My Flip witnessed the
crowded precincts on election day,
the breakdowns of the PCOS ma-
chines, and the frustration of tired
voters waiting in line for hours.
The Flip served me quite well, un-
til it conked out shortly after election
day. Though I could easily use my
iPhone and Sony Ericsson cellphone
camera, it just wasn't the same as
my buddy.
are already loaded with widgets and
apps depending on your priority or
mood.
Scrolling smoothly or flipping
through each homescreen can be
amusing and entertaining, but for
some it may just be confusing or time
consuming that is why HTC has pro-
vided the Leap View (activated by
just a pinch to zoom movement on
the touchscreen) where you can see
all the homescreens appearing like
thumbnails. It gives you an overview
of all 7 homescreens and all you have
to do is just click on the homescreen
you were looking for.
“Friend Stream” is one wid-
get I particularly like for it gathers
all recent updates from Facebook
and Twitter without having to open
any application. “App Sharing” and
“Transfer Data” features are likewise
worth mentioning.
The first app lets you share your
downloaded Android apps to your
friends by just sending a link via text
message, e-mail, Twitter or Facebook
I didn’t want to spend on a new
Flip video camera because my Flip
holds sentimental value to me, and
I believed it still could be repaired.
Eager to document the Inaugural
and the State of the Nation Address,
I was hoping that my Flip would be
fixed just in time before those his-
torical dates.
The Flip Ultra HD
As luck would have it, a good
friend lent me his Flip Ultra HD
Camcorder while he had my camera
repaired in Singapore. Like my own
Flip, the Flip Ultra HD Camcorder
is a pocket-sized, easy-to-use digital
camcorder that records videos with
a single press of a button.
The Flip Ultra HD is slightly larg-
er than my Flip, but has the same
simple user interface that allows me
to start recording the moment I turn
the device on. With its convenient
flip-out USB plug, I can upload videos
directly to my Macbook and netbook
without untangling any cords. With
the pre-installed FlipShare, I can
easily edit the video clips and upload
them to my YouTube channel.
What makes the Flip Ultra HD dif-
ferent is that this device can capture
videos in HD820p (1280 x 720) at 30
frames per second (fps) progressive
scan, resulting in crisp, clear images
that look stunning on an HDTV. If I
was amazed at the clarity of the vid-
eos from my trusty old Flip, the video
quality of the Flip Ultra HD was even
more impressive.
It’s also equipped with AAC audio,
Section Editor: Art Samaniego, Jr.
while the “transfer data” app lets you
easily transfer everything from your
old phone to the Wildfire via blue-
tooth.
Even with its 528 MHz proces-
sor, when in use, Wildfire is rela-
tively quick. With all the navigating,
scrolling, flipping through web pages,
homescreens, numerous apps, etc,
I never experienced any lag or slug-
gishness. It was in fact smooth and
seamless. An avid HTC user may see
the difference in the screen.
That is because unlike the “more
expensive” units that boast of AMO-
LED screens, Wildfire opted for an
LCD (with 320 x 240 QVGA resolution)
touchscreen. Hence, images may not
be as sharp as one would expect. Nev-
ertheless, for a “budget phone”, even
with this little nip, Wildfire would still
be ahead of its contemporaries.
Wildfire may be a budget phone
but none of it screams cheap. From
its built, look, style and features, Wild-
fire gives you more than what you can
ask for; much more from what you
paid for.
which means that all speech on the
clips will sound clearer than before.
With the included HDMI output, en-
joying captured moments on HDTV
is as easy as uploading them to my
computer. Additionally, the Flip Ul-
tra HD comes with two rechargeable
(and replaceable) AA batteries that
charge up when I attach the device
to my computer.
(Continued on page D4...)
Editor's note
The Flip-side of the
story: This writer
was offered to take
the new Flip Ultra
HD Camcorder for
a spin, and she gave
it one heck of a ride.
She took the new Flip
Ultra HD to, among
other places, the
Presidential campaign
and the first state-of-
the-nation address of
the polls race. The unit
came back still in one
good piece, plus this
interesting story.