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HTC Dream Gets Unconfirmed Specs (Decent CPU Power, Meager RAM)
Posted by Jason Chen at 4:52 AM on August 27, 2008
Android Guys has an as-of-yet unconfirmed spec sheet on the HTC Dream (which they say is called the T1 on T-Mobile), supposedly one of the first Android phones to hit the market later this year. The most notable specs are the 528MHz Qualcomm 7201 CPU, which is a fairly decent processor as long as it's powering an OS that's not too bloated, 64MB RAM (kinda dinky), 1GB microSD card, 3.1-megapixel camera with no flash, decent audio and video codec support 3G, Quad-Band GSM, 802.11b/g, a 3.17-inch screen with 480x320 resolution and AIM/MSN/Yahoo/GTalk.
It also weighs 159 grams, but it's also syncable with Google Calendar and has Google StreetView with a built-in compass, so we can forgive its beefiness. We weren't super excited about the Dream before, but these details are getting us halfway there. Head over to Android Guys to get the full specs. We also darkened the lines on the image a bit to make it easier to see. [Android Guys]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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TKWarrior
Posted 5:33 AM 27/8/08
I'm more interested if either the Diamond or TouchPro will be able to support Android in the future. Both seem to be better in certain specs.
The way the Dream is spec-ed out, they seem to want to hit a lower price point and be more in direct competition with sub $250 phones.
TKWarrior
thnkwhatyouthnk
Posted 5:28 AM 27/8/08
64MB of RAM is not "kinda dinky," it's inexcusable. The AT&T Tilt (also made by HTC) has twice as much RAM and costs less than the "Dream" is currently speculated at. If they aren't going to make a phone with better specs than something 2 years old, what's the point?
thnkwhatyouthnk
AdaAtropos
Posted 5:21 AM 27/8/08
64 MB RAM??? Is that a joke or what?!
AdaAtropos
hagrun
Posted 5:20 AM 27/8/08
Come on Jason it's not the size of the RAM it's how you use it.
hagrun
jspeed04
Posted 5:19 AM 27/8/08
@scuba_steve_1:
Thanks for catching that man. I was just at the Androidguys website and saw that it does support BT. I was on my way back to Giz to amend my post.
jspeed04
TheSonOfKrypton
Posted 5:17 AM 27/8/08
@newgalactic: "I'd be very interested to see if Android gets ported over to the 3G iPhone."
Hahahah, I know, right? I've been thinking the same thing dude....Trust me, it'll happen....Far too many people are too passionate with the iPhone to NOT figure out a way to load Android unto it...
TheSonOfKrypton
MMcNasby
Posted 5:15 AM 27/8/08
@eblingmis: Seriously! I think I would protest buying this phone and/or any other HTC phone until they stop being lazy and begin to innovate. These are the same kind of specs their phones had two years ago! JasJar anyone? How freaking hard is it to develop a phone with more RAM and an improved processor and some built in storage?! With flash memory at rock bottom prices and personal computer processors being updated into oblivion what the hell is going on with the development of these cell phones? It's the hardware that's really holding down development, not the software. People are ready to jump on these platforms at a moment's notice. Step it up HTC.
MMcNasby
newgalactic
Posted 5:11 AM 27/8/08
I'd be very interested to see if Android gets ported over to the 3G iPhone.
newgalactic
eblingmis
Posted 5:10 AM 27/8/08
Why not put in some built in storage and make it a more full-assed competitor to the iphone? The only thing that really intrigues me is the keyboard.
eblingmis
scuba_steve_1
Posted 5:09 AM 27/8/08
@jspeed04:
It does support Bluetooth, but they have had issues with a merge of a couple of software branches and have decided to release 1.0 with a reduced set of support. It's not clear what Bluetooth capabilities will be in 1.0, but I think that they would be crazy if it didn't at least support headsets and hands-free devices. Besides, the very nature of this phone ensures that you will be able to upgrade and patch the OS.
scuba_steve_1
scuba_steve_1
Posted 5:06 AM 27/8/08
@jspeed04:
I understand (from another source) that the 1GB size refers to what they are including.
scuba_steve_1
scuba_steve_1
Posted 5:06 AM 27/8/08
I may be one of the few who is really pumped for this phone. Frankly, I am pumped for anything that runs Android - a (mostly) open phone stack that runs on Linux and lets you develop in java (interpreted into their VM's byte code...not Sun's). I have already been coding apps for this phone for months.
Can't wait to see these things hit the streets...but I would really like to know if the consistent lack of GPS on the quoted specs is a simple omission or if they really aren't including a GPS chipset in the Dream. That would be insane for this type of phone (and target market)...especially since many (if not most) of the 50 Google-funded Android developers are writing location-aware apps.
scuba_steve_1
Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish
Posted 5:05 AM 27/8/08
I guess "Dream" refers to what it runs on.
Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish
jspeed04
Posted 5:02 AM 27/8/08
Wait, wait, wait. This thing only supports 1 GB SD cards? Please tell me that it is included IN THE BOX, not the highest it can support. If that's the case, coupled with the fact that Android doesn't yet support Bluetooth, I'm out. 3G or not.
jspeed04
ustna
Posted 4:59 AM 27/8/08
Meh...next
ustna
TurboFool
Posted 6:07 AM 27/8/08
Loving the people freaking out over the small amount of RAM. This is a new OS, people, that may not make very heavy use of it. Heck, I've run it on my Mogul which had only 10MB of free RAM at the time. I bet 64MB is roomy for it.
TurboFool
sdf632
Posted 5:45 AM 27/8/08
Meh. It's just speculation at this point and they probably got some of it wrong. That said, as long as it has a 3.5 m headphone jack and is NOT the iPhone, I'm largely satisfied with it.
Besides, Android is almost certainly going to be more efficient than WinMo and can probably run fine with 64 mb. Anyone tried Linux here people?
Wait, of course not, this is effectively an Apple fanboy site...
sdf632
DustyButt
Posted 6:20 AM 27/8/08
Ok, I see they want to keep the price low in order to compete with the iPhone. These are all speculative numbers aside from processor speed. I hope that 64MB Ram is not true. 8GB micro SD cards go for $20 on eBay, so no worries there.
So, to keep up with the iPhone can we expect Google to develop an mp3/music app that will rival iTunes? Or, will Android simply work with iTunes?
What if Google got into the digital business? Could this be considered "doing Evil"?
DustyButt
SneakerFiend
Posted 6:45 AM 27/8/08
I see they're throwing in a sidekick type keyboard. And they're doing the same thing they did with the t-mo wing that gave it a bad name. They need more ram on the phone. Looks kinda good though. Looks like a half naked sidekick though. Because it has somewhere to put your right hand but nothing on the left.
I vote for more ram, and if possible a better processor.
SneakerFiend
scott_m
Posted 6:38 AM 27/8/08
G1, not T1.
scott_m
DustyButt
Posted 7:07 AM 27/8/08
@DustyButt: Sorry, I meant... "digital music business".
DustyButt
.endejas.
Posted 7:41 AM 27/8/08
The RAM really bums me out, but I think I'm going to go ahead and stay on the track of grabbing this phone.
Especially with that rumored T-Mo reservation.
.endejas.
pcgecko85
Posted 8:58 AM 27/8/08
good thing this is speculation
pcgecko85
ZzFDKzZ
Posted 10:37 AM 27/8/08
Weird that they decided to only put 64mb of ram.
ZzFDKzZ
mrHiDefinition
Posted 1:40 PM 27/8/08
Not enough RAM, no flash, and no support for Google Talk are the flaws. Other than that, this device looks pretty good. The included 1GB card definitely helps... I think I'll get my brother to buy this if he doesn't get the Bold.
mrHiDefinition
john_drake
Posted 4:34 AM 28/8/08
I think I found a video with the device.
Isn't this it?
[www.markpascua.com]
john_drake
john_drake
Posted 4:33 AM 28/8/08
I think I found a video with the device.
Isn't this it?
[www.markpascua.com]
john_drake
chiablo
Posted 11:02 AM 28/8/08
Unless you are running several applications at once, or are interested in running database applications, 64mb will be more than enough. The PSP only has 32mb of ram and it's never been the bottleneck for developers.
Even the portable super-computer Pandora (handheld Linux PC) only has 128mb and developers have said that it's more than enough for anything they could throw at it.
Sounds to me like it's complaining for the sake of complaining.
chiablo