HTC's 2010 roadmap goes on display?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted December 6th 2009 7:23PM
posted December 6th 2009 7:23PM
Design / Lifestyle
- Legend: This looks to be the successor to the Magic (and possibly the Hero, too), featuring an 11.4mm metallic frame that we're already dying to hold along with a clickable optical pad, 5 megapixel AF cam, and 3.2-inch AMOLED display. T-Mobile is mentioned by name, though we're not sure which markets will get it; retail in March.
- Salsa: We bet you've never seen a released Android handset quite like this one -- it's portrait QWERTY, not unlike Google's early Android prototype. 3.2 megapixels and an FM radio paired up with a Qualcomm MSM7225 at 528MHz. This one's coming in June.
Social
- Tide: Here's another Android form factor we haven't seen before -- full touch with a numeric keypad below the display. 3.2 megapixels and a 528MHz MSM7225 mean it should be pretty reasonable on a contract. April is the target release.
- Buzz: This is a funky one in the same vein as the Tattoo with changeable backplates available in a variety of interesting designs; it's got full HSPA and a 5 megapixel AF cam with flash to boot. Like many of the others here, it has T-Mobile's name attached to it, which leads us to wonder whether this whole thing wasn't done as a presentation for T-Mobile -- we'd be shocked if the carrier's various markets around the world actually ended up getting all of them.
Performance
- Bravo: Now this is what we're talking about -- HTC finally marries Android with Snapdragon to make the device we suspect that many of us are going to be lusting for in 2010. It's got DivX support, 720p video capture through a 5 megapixel AF cam with flash, a mighty 3.7-inch AMOLED display, and that Qualcomm Snapdragon humming along at 1GHz. If all goes well, we should start to see this (hopefully everywhere) in April.
Productivity
- Photon: If WinMo 6.5 is more your thing, the Photon looks like it could be a winner. 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive display, 5 megapixel cam, and a 600MHz MSM7227 all suggest that this is a likely successor to the Touch Diamond2; it should swing by around April.
- Trophy: This could very well be the coolest portrait QWERTY phone ever released -- at least, the coolest running Windows Mobile 6.5 -- thanks to a 3-inch VGA capacitive display atop the keyboard. Like the Photon, it's rocking a 600MHz MSM7227, but it's scheduled to hit a month later in May.
- Tera: If the Touch Pro2 needed a little brother, the Tera could be it; it preserves the form factor but moves down to a 3-inch WQVGA resistive display. It's expected in April.
Perhaps the most telling thing about this roadmap -- assuming it's even remotely accurate -- is that HTC is very explicitly rounding up its WinMo devices under the buttoned-up "Productivity" umbrella and letting Android shine through the rest of the market segments. It's gonna be an exciting year to watch these guys -- and even though most of these handsets are quoting Euro 3G in the spec sheets, we certainly hope American carriers have every intention of commissioning versions that'll work on this side of the pond.
Great. Maybe this will put an end to the useless "this phone needs to have Android posts." No doubt the allure of Android will wear off once it's on a bunch of devices and the novelty is gone.
@dwboston1 I think it has more to do with the desire to have more options, for example with the HD2 - A beautiful job was done with it, but there are places where Windows Mobile 6.5 comes up a little lacking. There seem to be many who believe Android would be a lovely alternative until WinMo 7 becomes an option (and perhaps even once it does).
I'm not one to deny that some of Android's allure is the fact that it's a smartphone buzzword right now, but I think much of its draw is well earned.
@dwboston1
I guess the HD2 is still the king throughout 2010. None of those other device even compare, Bravo inches near but not close. Don't care for Android anyway, I agree, it's a fad ... Like iPhone was ... Like BB's were... etc...
@Almo
Had Almo lived in the past...
"I'm keeping my leaves and palm. Toilet paper's a fad"
@Almo How are BlackBerrys a fad? They've been around over 10 years now...
@dwboston1
I was one of the people shouting for the HD2 to get Android, because I liked the styling of the phone, the hardware, but didn't feel like I WM would suit my needs and Android would. Now with the Bravo the hardware has been improved with the AMOLED screen (which is also smaller and therefore maybe not so excessive), styling is a little down on the HD2 (less aggressive). The 720p video capture should stellar. This maybe the phone I've been waiting for.
Bravo on Sprint? *fingers crossed*
@built2spill
I'm having the same dream as you my friend.
@LeiTxo
As am I. I like my Pre, but I'm ready to get an Android device. I don't like the Moment or Hero though. Hopefully Sprint will have a nice one soon.
@built2spill
+1 with WiMax to boot!
@PaulH
Now I just need Clear rolled out in Tempe, AZ! Oh, to dream :)
@built2spill
Ill go where it goes. Holy crap that thing is PERFECT.
@built2spill
I'm in the Uk, so my shout is for
Bravo on O2!
@built2spill
It would be interesting to have WiMax in the valley so soon, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I'm guessing we'll get WiMax in Tempe around the same time as LTE. Either way, none of the phones in this roadmap listed WiMax in the specs, so just keep dreaming.
@built2spill : Braavo, Braavo, Braavo... all the way :)
@built2spill
+1 for thinking the same thing that I did. I'll probably never leave Sprint if they give us the Bravo.
@built2spill I'm with you on that.
I'm a little sad to see no Android + Snapdragon + Qwerty option though - something to go head-to-head with the Droid.
This doesn't look like a complete 2010 roadmap though, not nearly enough devices for HTC. This might just be a single carrier.
@built2spill
Don't the pictures of the phones all say T-Mobile?
@Barron: They sure do, but who knows if this was thrown together by HTC to highlight their offerings and as a sales pitch to TMob? This is the first we're seeing of them and I'm hoping maybe Sprint will get some of the offering. Regardless, those are the specs I've been pipe-dreaming about ever since I heard "snapdragon". I don't care if it's the Bravo specifically, but gimme something comparable :) 1Ghz in a phone? Cripes, I thought my Pentium II was fast back in the day in a monster tower. I absolutely love that all the Phillip K. Dick fantasy tech is becoming a reality in our lifetime...hence my (our collective, i feel i can posit) engadget obsession.
Can't wait to see the Bravo up and running - does this mean we won't be seeing anything Android from HTC before April?
edit: March
Maybe the mythical 4.3in Dragon/Passion before that?
Like the BB style Qwerty devices. +1 to HTC
@Jeff +80% market share after this lot come out, and i'll throw a couple of thousand points in there to, just for good measure, :)
@Jeff
I don't know why BB has not implemented a touch screen equipped qwerty style phone yet. I have always loved the form factor of a BB device with a nice big touch screen (although I probably couldn't justify getting it when the full touch Bravo is available). Anyways, this lineup has to be one of the best I have seen from any company (apple's single phone release just looks silly and narrow compared to all these options).
@New Reformation
Yea I'd have to agree with you, but Apple seems to be all about simplicity, even in choice. You have one phone that does it all. So if they brought out a second phone that is a different form factor, that would cast doubt on "doing it all", like what can phone A do that phone B can't? You see people are stupid, especially iPhone users. They don't understand things such as GSM vs CDMA or processor speed. Apple makes it simple: this one does it all, you don't have any alternative/you dont need an alternative to this phone. Mind share is what rules the tech industry. Not knowledge.
So it looks like the WM phones are yet another round of crap. Still using shitty qualcomm processors, the display resolutions are all over the place, and half of them are using resistive still with no WM7 in sight. I do hope this isnt all there is.
@Ioncloud9
HD2. Arguably the best hardware and looks out there. Even if you lurv WM hardcore, you have absolutely no reason to care about new handsets for a good long while.
@Akhen Thats what I dont get.. these all look inferior to today's lineup, or only a half-generation step. These cant be the marquee WM devices they are pushing for 2010. I would guess midrange at best.
@Ioncloud9
WM7 won't likely be seen in a device until late in 2010. And this list is only HTC's devices for the first half of 2010.
@Akhen The HD2 might be at the top of the stack right now, but it's still powered by Qualcomm, and is still suffering from poor video drivers like all the HTC/Qual devices before it http://is.gd/5eug8
I was really hoping I'd see some Tegra action here, as I've had enough of Qualcomm
@Ioncloud9 "shitty"???? I thought snapdragon was head and heals above anything else???
@Thermalzeal Until a Snapdragon Android device comes out, or a Cortex A8 WinMo device, we wont really know, though I'd be willing to be the A8 could hold its own. Personally, Snapdragon doesn't seem to be much more than a beefed up version of its predecessor. They're just giving it more speed, while others are moving to things like multiple cores
@Ioncloud9 Why all the Qualcomm hate? I would like to see more Tegra devices too, just for more variety, but Qualcomm chips seem to work fine from what I've seen.
If you're disappointed with this lineup, I think you need to look at the big picture. HTC just recently announced the HD2 and all the phones in this roadmap are supposed to be released within about 6-7 months. Flagship phones are usually 1 or 2 per year per manufacturer. I'm sure there will be something better in the pipeline. These 3 WinMo phones seem to be aimed at the mid-low range with the HD2 and maybe even Touch Pro 2 at the top, for now. Look for a new flagship phone in Q3 2010 or whenever WinMo 7 is released.
HTC Bravo.. need I say more?
@LeiTxo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo HTC Bravo .....you could have said it 7 times. That name sounds beautiful right now.
@trevinlovett
They could have called it the "HTC Crappy-shit-shit turd pro" and i'd still be planning to drop my iphone when this puppys available..
@LeiTxo
A physical keyboard could have said it so much more... :(
I get the feeling I will buy one of these, and then try and kick myself in the teeth when WM7 is released [which is strangely absent from this?].
I will take the Bravo please, or then again the Buzz has something about it that also makes it good.
Besides the camera(flash and facial detection) what is the difference between the Buzz and the Legend?
NVM it seems like the Buzz has the better camera, while ethe Legend has a better AMOLED screen, and resolution.
All this does... is ruin my Christmas. I was almost sure I was going to get a Droid or Eris/Hero in the next week or two. I really want an HTC with Sense, and with these great looking devices on their way I am gonna have to hold onto my aging flip-phone just a little longer. At least I have something to look forward to come the first quarter of 2010!
@chaunceyd Don't bother waiting for the next thing because something else will ALWAYS be around the corner. I've been eligible for an upgrade from my dumbphone since March and i looked at TONS of phones and have just finally decided on a Droid Eris; If the Passion comes out anytime soon ill exchange it for that, if not then so be it because the Eris is an awesome phone, one which i could easily live with for the next 18 months.
@jivephish
Yeah, I see what you mean. I just think that the Eris/Hero, in terms of hardware, is beginning to get a little long in the tooth. And that the next gen of HTC phones have features I am looking for - namely HTC Sense UI/Android 2.0 (possible with the Eris/Hero if Verizon/Sprint allow), cameras w/ flashes, and stronger processors. I am not a very patient person, and if the price comes down any further on these phones I'll probably bite and just upgrade up once the next best things comes out.
@chaunceyd
Verizon said that the Droid Eris will be getting the android 2.0 upgrade.
I submitted this and another story (about how AT&T came last in consumer reports huge poll) to engadget but they refuse to post my stories for some reason.
I bet alot of people would like to know that the Droid Eris will be getting the android 2.0 upgrade.
And when it does, these phones wont be very different from it. So why wait?
The phones are alright, but give me gigs of internal memory or give me death!
....or the Sholes Tablet without MotoBlur >.>
Would it be asking too much for you to transcribe the text? I'm getting a headache...
YAY! Now we won't see most of those HTC rumors we just have slides with all specs.. Next phone maybe bravo?
T-Mobile USA or UK?
@Maj i believe its tmo usa the frequency specs says 900/2100 MHz which is the same freq tmo uses i think.