This phone will certainly be popping up during Mobile World Congress 2011, which we’ll be at live to tell you how it feels in our claws. Besides the fact that the back looks less than appealing, we don’t know that much about this phone. Have you got any more info? Let us know asap!

[Via Mobile01]

The update brings the latest edition of the Android 2.2 software to the handset. However, considering Android 2.3 is just around the corner, there’s probably a few Legend owners out there biting at the bit to find out when, or even if, their handset will be getting the update to the newest version.

However, Android 2.2 should be a pleasant update for the majority of owners. So, you Legend owners out there, have you updated your handset yet? If you have, let us know what you think of it. Was it worth the wait?

[via @HTC]

A message was sent including the following text to fans of HTC on Facebook, info which includes news of the impending update:

We know that a number of you have been very vocal about wanting an update for your Legend. First and foremost, we would like to apologize for not responding to your ongoing pleas about the update. But we have been listening. We have been working hard to find the most accurate information about how the update is progressing, and when it will be ready for all of you – thankfully, you won’t have to wait much longer!

The update has been progressing quite well, and in the coming weeks those with unbranded Legends should be receiving the update.

For those of you with carrier-branded versions of Legend there will be a slightly longer wait,” warns HTC. “Once we finalize the update within HTC, the software must then go through the appropriate approval process at each carrier that supports Legend on their network. This is the same process for all of our handsets, and Legend is no different.

Once our update has been approved by your specific carrier, you should then receive your software update. How long this process takes can vary, but our team is close to finishing the update and will then work with individual carriers for approval.”

[Via Pocket Lint]

The Legend is a really solid phone as is, with impressive initial reviews earlier this year, it’s still a great Android phone. The Phantom Black Legend will be on sale in October and only available in Europe joining the HTC Desire in white.

[via SlashGear]

Both handsets are functionality identical to the previous versions, so you get Android 2.2 and HTC Sense on both, while the Legend has a 3.2-inch display and the Desire a 3.7-inch display.  Both will be available across Europe this month.

Press Release:

HTC LAUNCHES PHANTOM BLACK HTC LEGEND AND BRILLIANT WHITE HTC DESIRE FOR EUROPEAN MARKETS

HTC offers premium mobile experience with new finishes for HTC’s popular Android smartphones

LONDON, UK – 04 October, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today unveiled a new colour and finish for two of its most popular Android-based smartphones, HTC Legend and Desire.

The uniquely-designed and iconic HTC Legend will be available with a phantom black finish. The style and form factor for which the HTC Legend has become known remains the same, with its smooth, continuous surface, machined from a single aluminum block creating a seamless compact frame.

HTC Desire is also now available in brilliant white for the first time, providing a stunning new look for the phone which has become popular for the richness and quality of its visual and multimedia experience.

“We are always looking for ways to broaden the customer’s mobile experience ,” said Florian Seiche, President of HTC Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We understand that our customers love to express themselves, whether it is through their music, fashion or their mobile phone. We work hard to provide a strong portfolio of mobile phones, to give our customers the variety and choice in terms of experience, look and feel, that they crave.

“There has been a real passion for these phones since they launched. The phantom black HTC Legend and brilliant white Desire cap a quality mobile experience with an exclusive and premium finish.”

Availability
The phantom black version of the HTC Legend and brilliant white edition of the HTC Desire will be available through mobile operators and retailers across major European markets from October 2010.

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 smartphones 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.

“We are working hard with our partners to update the HTC Sense experience on Froyo and distribute it to our customers as fast as possible. We expect to release updates for several of our 2010 models including Desire, Legend and Wildfire beginning in Q3″ HTC

Devices in line for an update include the Desire and Legend, together with the newer Wildfire which we reviewed over the weekend.  Froyo brings with it WiFi tethering together with performance increases; however we’ll have to wait and see how HTC’s carrier partners handle the roll-out, since they can often be another point of delay in the process as a whole.

For a small fee of $79.99 and 3 years out your life this gorgeous device can be yours. If your like me and don’t like to be tied down, you can purchase it for $349.99 outright and contract free. This is Virgin Mobile’s first Android handset. It’s the follow up to the original Hero, it features Sense 2.1, 600MHZ processor and an innovative chassis made form one piece of aluminum with rubber accents. If you pick up this handset you will not be disappointed in its design or performance.

[via mobilesyrup]

At this stage, Tweakers aren’t conclusive on whether the issue lies with the AMOLED display itself, or its white balance settings.  However, the effect – in varying degrees – was observed in two Legend handsets they tested.  Meanwhile brightness was also down, with the Legend mustering 253 cd/m2 while its Hero predecessor – which uses an LCD display – managed 310 cd/m2.  Unfortunately an HTC Desire wasn’t available for Tweakers to similarly examine.

If contracts aren’t your thing you can buy it outright for 599 AUD. The Legend has a 3.2 HVGA AMOLED display, Android 2.1, Sense UI, 3.5mm headset jack, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera and this device should be in line for Android 2.2. This device also features a very sleek all aluminum chassis with rubber ascents. The full press release is here.

[via unwiredview]

This phone features a 3.1 inch touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, MotoBlur, and Android 1.5. Although this is a very late release, it may be just in time for MotoBlur 2.1 which should hit real soon. It also has Wi-Fi, GPS, a 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth and a 5 MP camera. The camera does take pretty good picture if I do say so myself.

This phone can be yours for $79.99 for a new 3 year contract or $399 of contract. There is no option for a 1 or 2 year contract on this handset. The HTC Legend has been rumored to land on Bell soon. So if your into social networking (MotoBlur is known for this) head over to Bell and pick one up.

[via intomobile]

The FCC filing is for a phone that operates on the 850 and 1900MHz WCDMA bands. This band is shared with AT&T, Rogers, Bell, and Telus. So this device could land on either one of these carriers or it could potentially hit them all. It would be great to see the successor to the original Hero land in the US even if it does end up being stuck on AT&T.

[via engadget]

Pricing for the two handsets is yet to be officially confirmed, though we’re guessing Vodafone will end up offering them free on at least a few high-end plans.  The Legend has a 3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED touchscreen while the larger Desire has a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen; both run Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI enhancements.

If you’re looking for more on the HTC Legend, check out our full review over at SlashGear.  We’re still waiting for HTC Desire review units to come through, but you know we’ll be all over the Snapdragon-based Sense-toting smartphone when they do.

HTC Legend hands-on:

Press Release:

HTC Legend and HTC Desire Coming Soon to Vodafone UK

Android options grow for customers on the UK’s best network

NEWBURY, England, March 15 — Vodafone UK customers can now register for the HTC Desire and HTC Legend, two of the most eagerly anticipated smartphones of the year. The new handsets, both powered by the Android operating system, are set to launch in April and customers can sign up for all of the latest information here.

HTC Legend

The HTC Legend will be available exclusively to Vodafone UK customers at launch and will come pre-loaded with a range of Vodafone 360 services, including Vodafone Music and MyWeb, sitting on top of the HTC Sense user interface in addition to full access to the Android Marketplace for apps.

The Legend has a stunning 3.2 inch, AMOLED HVGA display allowing you to view the very best shots taken with the impressive 5 megapixel camera, as well as browsing the web and videos. In addition, the new optical joystick functionality makes the device quick and easy to use.

HTC Desire

HTC Desire will offer one of the richest mobile phone experiences. The large 3.7 inch screen AMOLED WVGA display enhances visual content, whether viewing photos, videos, browsing the web or catching up with mates with the Facebook, Twitter and Flickr integration of HTC’s Friend Stream functionality.

The HTC Desire is powered by a powerful one GHz Snapdragon processor, enabling multi tasks from app-to-app, and also comes with full Google application / app store integration.

And the Vodafone UK, Android goodness doesn’t end there: More devices will be available soon, including Google Nexus One and the Sony Ericsson X10, giving Vodafone UK customers plenty of options when it comes to choosing their favourite Android-based smartphone.

You certainly can’t argue with the build quality, which is a step above the Hero’s plastic casing.  The unibody aluminum shell manages to feel both sturdy and tactile, while the AMOLED display – although not quite as eye-catching as the Nexus One’s expansive screen – is certainly bright and color-saturated.

For the full gallery, unboxing and demo videos, plus some first impressions, head over to SlashGear!

A post on MobileTechWorld says :

I had the chance to talk to HTC a couple of hours ago during their local HTC Legend/Desire/HD Mini presentation. There was obviously nothing new to learn (especially since I already got some hands-on action last week at the MWC). The only new piece of info I got was about the rumored DivX playback and 720P encoding capabilities of the HTC Desire (aka HTC Bravo). The answer I got was that DivX support will be added in a future update (they didn’t say much about 720P support but from the way it sounded it should be coming in the same update) because they didn’t have time to finalise the feature before launching the handset.

This feature will surely make its way to other HTC Android devices, whether it be official or by our awesome modding community.

[via mobiletechworld]

The Legend will pack a 600MHz processor, with a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen to play with. There’s also a LED-flash enabled 5-megapixel camera and an optical trackpad instead of a trackball for control. Lastly, it should ship out with the Android 2.1 on board.  Kudos for the last point.

Besides rumored European pricing, nothing else in the way of availability is known.  Check out the SlashGear hands-on from MWC 2010 here.

The Legend, which has a 3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED touchscreen, milled aluminum body and 5-megapixel camera, is priced at £399.99 ($627), while the HTC Desire, which has a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen and is basically HTC’s own-brand version of the Google Nexus One, is priced at £449.99 ($706).

Both are sold unlocked and SIM-free; HTC told us at the launch event that just about all of the carriers in the target markets for the two devices were interested in offering both smartphones, so if you’re willing to sign up to a contract you can likely get one far cheaper upfront.

HTC Legend hands-on:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd3qY5k_mfw[/youtube]

HTC Desire hands-on:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cisk6qhd-bk[/youtube]

This video really shows the curves of this beauty and a few quick hits of the Sense UI. Hard-core Android fans will really love this device as it carries on the chin that is seen in the original Android devices.I know your anxiously waiting to see the video so here it is, the official HTC legend promo.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14MEt8VoU3s&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Like we found on the Nexus One, Android looks fantastic on an AMOLED panel, even when it’s a smaller 3.2-inch HVGA display. The capacitive touchscreen is responsive and slick, and HTC’s Sense widgets have also received a speed boost. The lag many users complained about experiencing on the Hero wasn’t evident on the demo Legend handset (which was connected via 3G rather than WiFi) and the pinch-zoom “helicopter view” snapped in and out without delay.

Similarly the Android 2.1 menus were responsive, to the point where we wondered if HTC had underplayed the 600MHz MSM7227 processor. We’ll have to wait until our demo handset drops to see if that’s the case with a well-used device, but so far we’re impressed by the optimizations. Until then, check out the hands-on gallery and video demo below!

HTC Legend hands-on video demo:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd3qY5k_mfw[/youtube]

The Hero’s trackball has been junked in favor of an optical joystick, and an Exposé-style “helicopter view” which – with a pinch-zoom motion – shows all seven homescreen panes at once.  There’s also a new app, Friend Stream; where before Sense’s Contacts app pulled in Facebook, Twitter and Flickr updates to be viewed on a per-contact basis, Friend Stream puts them all into one single feed.

More details over at SlashGear, and we’ll have hands-on video and photos with the new smartphones after the press conference ends.