We think there might be a miscommunication or a disagreement in semantics here, because HTC CEO Peter Chou has mentioned in an interview with FierceWireless that its ubiquitous Sense UX won’t “initially” appear on its first crop of Windows Phone 7 devices, but that “over time [they] will innovate on top of that to provide some HTC experience.” That seems like odd phrasing considering that we’ve already seen HTC devices in the wild running bits and pieces of Sense on WP7, so we tend to believe Chou might have a more thorough, comprehensive experience in mind — something that Microsoft is pushing back on (for now, anyway) by demanding that UI innovation be sandboxed in some pretty significant ways.

In the same conversation, Chou mentioned that they’ll be releasing an LTE phone in 2011, though he didn’t give any details on design, platform, or carrier. MetroPCS, AT&T, and Verizon will all have fragments of their 4G networks live in 2011, and at least two of those three seem likely candidates to take delivery of some early LTE hardware from the big boys like HTC. For what it’s worth, HTC already delivered the first WiMAX phone in the States — the EVO 4G, of course — so it comes as little surprise that they’d be looking to make a splash with LTE as well.

HTC CEO: ‘initially, we don’t have time’ to put Sense on Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s summer. It’s hot. Naturally, everyone wants to lick some frozen dessert in one form or another. Shortly after the Nexus One got its absolutely official Android 2.2 update, HTC has once again leaped out to tell us of its own Froyo offering. The Taiwanese mobile giant has informed Recombu that it’s expecting “several of our 2010 models including Desire, Legend and Wildfire” to join Google’s latest green bot party “beginning in Q3.” We went to the trouble of confirming this with HTC ourselves, and while this isn’t really much of an update from the company’s previous statement in terms of time frame, here’s hoping that at least some of its customers will get the delivery before the summer fiesta ends.

HTC: expect Desire, Legend and Wildfire to get Froyo ‘beginning in Q3′ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just took delivery of AT&T’s brand new Aria from HTC, and we have to say, we’re kind of tickled — with the hardware, anyway. It’s hard not to smile at the HD Mini-esque design elements, including the faux screws on back, the wild yellow interior, and… well, just the overall mini-ness of it. Seriously, this is a tiny phone; that means that eschewing WVGA in favor of HVGA isn’t an issue, but it also means that effectively using the on-screen keyboard could be. On that note, the jury’s still out on whether this phone is any good for day-to-day use — and whether it has any chops as a legit Android device — but stay tuned for our review coming up!

HTC Aria for AT&T hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, wherein lies the culprit? For Google’s part, Android framework engineer “Romain Guy” responded to one thread reasserting the platform team’s “target was, is and will be 60fps.” We can’t imagine it’s related to the hardware given the EVO’s impressive specs. Some fingers, ergo, are being pointed towards firmware. This wouldn’t be the first time HTC’s handsets have come under scrutiny for troubling graphical performance — 2008 was not the company’s finest year in that department. Whatever the reason is, we just want a quick resolve — after all, it’s just not fair when our Hero-carrying buddies are scoring better benchmarks.

HTC EVO 4G’s graphics capped at 30FPS? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready to customize your custom Windows Mobile skin? HTC’s already thoroughly tricked out Sense UI has received the modding treatment courtesy of Co0kieMonster and his team over at xda-developers, and user feedback has been exultant about the results. What you’re getting with the Home Tab Mod, and particularly in this latest version 1.7, is a litany of custom arrangement options to suit all tastes. Whether you want your weather and expandable appointment list front and center or you prefer extra quick links to your favorite applications and notifications of new calls, messages or emails, you’ll find a layout to suit you. There are even options for loading up the lock screen with Sense elements, if that’s more to your liking, and we’ve grabbed a video walkthrough of the new UI after the break. To get on board, you’ll need a HTC device with Sense 2.5 and the clicking power to hit up the source for the download and full instructions.

[Thanks, ran]

Continue reading Home Tab Mod 1.7 for Sense 2.5 breathes new life into Windows Mobile (video)

Home Tab Mod 1.7 for Sense 2.5 breathes new life into Windows Mobile (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can’t buy an Incredible from Verizon just yet, but we’re getting awfully close — and in the meantime, you’ve got some exciting new reading material to pore over. It looks like the full, unabridged, seemingly final version of the phone’s user’s manual has just leaked over on Android Forums, and while there aren’t any blockbuster revelations in here as far as we can tell, it confirms what we’ve long suspected: this is basically a CDMA Desire with an 8 megapixel camera. You’ve got the full Sense UI experience atop Android 2.1, a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 1GHz Snapdragon, and an optical joystick — a new trend out of HTC that looks destined to completely supplant the trackball, much as it has already done for RIM. Around back, we’ve got some confirmation that the Incredible is going to feature a positively bizarre contoured battery cover; it might not be your first choice, but honestly, you’re not going to let that stop you from buying, now, are you?

[Thanks, eipee73]

Verizon’s HTC Incredible gets a user’s manual originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but Android Central seems to have obtained a screen shot from a deep, dark, top-secret Verizon system that indicated that the upcoming CDMA version of the Nexus One will be “available only through www.Google.com/Phones.” That, of course, matches T-Mobile’s strategy of quietly letting Google do its thing — and Verizon’s strategy of keeping its network “open” — so you’ll just have to remember to not line up at your local store at 8PM the night before the launch, otherwise you’re going to come away very, very disappointed. What’s a whole lot stranger, though, is a mention that it runs HTC’s Sense UI, which means one of a few things: Google’s allowing carriers and manufacturers to have their way with the Android builds sold directly through its own store, the Verizon-branded Nexus One is the Incredible, or the document is just sorely confused. The way we see it, there’d simply not be enough differentiation between the Nexus One and the Incredible for them to come to market as separate products if they were both running Sense — and besides, isn’t variety the spice of life?

Update: That was quick — it seems Verizon has already updated its specs to remove the reference to Sense and change the URL from google.com/phones to google.com/phone — no plural. Thanks, ninjalex76!

Verizon’s Nexus One to be sold only through Google, have Sense UI (or not) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Legend already trickling into customers’ waiting hands? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you work for Motorola, cover your ears and say “Blur Blur Blur Blur” at the top of your lungs over and over again for the duration of this post, because what we’re about to present is an unholy marriage the likes of which neither Sanjay Jha nor Peter Chou ever intended. It’s not the first time we’ve heard of a version of Sense finding its way onto Motorola hardware, but developer “thegeektern” over on AllDroid has posted a bunch of video and stills claiming to have ported an HTC Desire’s (n

Look familiar? Yep, this is precisely what we expected HTC’s rumored Legend to look like based on the renders we’d seen so far. We don’t have any information here other than the pictures themselves, but from what we can gather, it seems to carry over Sense as we know it today without a trace of that freshened look we’ve caught in recent months (not unlike its Incredible cousin). Maybe more importantly, the Legend looks like it might be kicking off a new styling direction for the company with a big, bold, chromed company logo around back and an aluminum shell that we suspect feels awesome in the hand — particularly if it’s pre-production aluminum. More on this one as we get it; in the meantime, check out a shot of the back after the break.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Continue reading HTC Legend spotted just hanging out, playing it cool

HTC Legend spotted just hanging out, playing it cool originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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