HTC Passion runs Android on 3.5-inch OLED and Snapdragon in Verizon's early 2010?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted December 7th 2009 2:15AM
posted December 7th 2009 2:15AM
Ever since the WinMo-powered HTC HD2 started to drip, drip onto our pages in the form of leaked images and details, we've been asking ourselves one question: where's the Android version? And while we've heard whispers of a supposed Snapdragon-based Dragon device running Android ever since early October, we're left to rely on Motorola's Droid / Milestone to fulfill our Android 2.0 dreams this holiday season. And if DigiTimes is correct, that picture likely won't change until early 2010. Taiwanese DigiTimes' sources have its Taiwan-based neighbor launching its Passion handset running Android 2.0 (or even 2.1 by then) on a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset with 3.5-inch multitouch OLED display sometime in early 2010 (not 2009 as previously tipped) as HTC continues to tweak the device's software. And if previous rumors are true then this CDMA variant of Dragon will be making its debut on Verizon at that time. DigiTimes' sources also claim that HTC will announce a QWERTY-toting Android device, possibly named Espresso, at the huge Mobile World Congress event in February. Of course, all this is rumor for now so hold tight as HTC's roadmap unfolds.
True, but all version of the Hero have the same screen size and screen. But, here we are seeing rumors of different screen size and screen(ie AMOLED on the Bravo and OLED on the Passion).
Am I the only one that thinks that resolutions higher than 480x320 are kind of overkill at the moment? Give me a snapdragon Android device anyday, but skip the HD2 screen, it just makes the interface lag and drains the battery.
@kopmis
480x320 is still quite small when going on websites.
@Hydraulics That is true, but the only way higher resolutions are gonna help is to make you able to see even tinier text. Any text that is so small that 480x320 on a 3,5 inch screen can't display it isn't readable anyways. You can do exactly the same stuff with a 480x320 phone as anything with higher resolution, only the higher res phone is gonna give you a slight wow-factor in exchange for a more sluggish interface and worse battery time.
@kopmis
You've never seen a Motorola Droid in person, have you? Resolution makes websites much clearer to read at any zoom level.
@kopmis As Jeff Kibuule says, it makes a very big difference when you're reading; I have an HTC Touch Diamond, which has a 640 x 480 touchscreen, which is 2.8" diagonally, and which works out to slightly better than the 267 DPI of this HTC Nexus/Passion phone (the Touch Diamond's DPI is about 278 or so).
Comparing it to my wife's iPhone, I can read more content at once, even though her iPhone's screen is larger (3.5" I think?). Above about 250 DPI, these screens are almost as sharp as the first generation of laser printers; besides the "wow" factor, reading RSS feeds, web-pages, and even emails is easier on the eyes, as fonts are scaled so that they're smoother, and you can't see individual pixels.
After being spoiled by the Touch Diamond's screen, I've delayed getting any Android device until the HD screens came out (and now I'm waiting for this HTC Nexus, to see how it compares to Moto's Droid, since they both have hi-res screens and Cortex A8 CPU cores)
Sprint...please.
i love that, w/ all the growing passion that android has with new smartphone users(not me yet, still a winmo lover, android still has a ways to go for business use) at&t is still sticking w/ the same old adage. "oh if you want an smartphone, surely you want an iphone". get a clue u idiots, not everyone is down the fruit. the only carrier that seriously refuses to carry a top notch android device.
OK the OLED screen makes me drool but Android isn't a deciding factor. After having the Droid since it's release I have to say that I'm as perfectly happy with Windows Mobile. At least I don't have to root a Windows Mobile phone to do anything interesting with it.
Seriously why cant they put all this shit together in one phone. THere is so much dam variations. 3.5 in oled with snapdragon....3.7 in lcd with cortex 8....4.3 in lcd with snapdragon...3.7 oled resistive. HTC, Motorola or who ever wants to create a badass phone listen up. 3.7 and up screen size. OLED 850x480 Capacitive screen with a Snapdragon processesor and 512 of ram with a form factor with no bezel or a small one. I also hear that the the Cortex A8 can out do somethings on the Snapdragon. Well fix that also, Last but not least 32 gig min
@(Unverified)
You simply just don't get it do you? To use all those would cost a lot money, and buying all those parts can be very expensive for every single phone. And if this thing would be a fluke, then they wasted all that money for nothing and they would have less money for other products. Why else don't you see other phones with such specs?
I think you want the Bravo is has a 3.7in AMOLED screen, Snapdragon and the resolution you want.
@(Unverified)
And... I'm pretty sure your battery would last about an hour with that setup.
@tumbledry
Remember OLED and the snapdragon is pretty good on the battery. The HD2 only has a 1100 mhz battery thats why it doesn't last very long.
@(Unverified) Well, keep in mind that Qualcomm's Snapdragon CPU *is* a Cortex A8 processor. ARM designs the basic core (such as the Cortex A8), then licenses it to other companies that add on GPUs, or other logic, and manufacture it. Samsung's Cortex A8 is the Hummingbird, Texas Instrument's is the TI OMAP3430. TI's chip is in the Palm PRE and Moto Droid, while this HTC Passion/Google Nexus uses Qualcomm's version (aka Snapdragon). They're effectively the *same* chip.
The screens in the Droid and Nexus One are also very very similar in size (854x480 vs alleged 800 x 480 on the Passion, if that turns out to be true).
Acer's Liquid phone also has a Snapdragon CPU (based on Cortex A8), and an 800 x 480 screen.
I personally think it's great that there's a few options to differentiate, like OLED/AMOLED vs. backlit TFT; AMOLEDs seem to be harder to read in direct sunlight, but are brighter and use less battery power indoors. The Droid has a full slide-out qwerty keyboard, while the Liquid, and this phone, are both "iPhone slim" touchscreen only.
You're going to see a lot more Android sets in the next six months...
I have put the new 3.5" screen spec to the test by comparing a pic of the DROID's 3.7" screen to a perspective corrected unlockr pic of the Passion. I then drew a line across the DROID's screen diagonal and then copied that same line and overlaid it on the Passion image and it turns out the line slightly overshoots the Passion's screen. My conclusion is that it is very plausible that the Passion's screen is in fact smaller; keeping in mind that 3.5" is in fact only 5% smaller than 3.7".
comparison pic: http://bit.ly/6EznM3
This comparison assumes that the two devices are of the same physical height, as smartphones like these tend to be. If the Passion is in fact a taller phone then all this comparison is showing is that the Passion's screen takes up a smaller portion of the device than the DROID's and my 999 hours in photoshop may have gone to waste.
@wonderbread I have drawn a line from the upper right corner of the empire state building i found in a picture on google to the lower left corner, and by comparing it to the dragon discovered that the dragons screen is in fact 381 meters on the diagonal, which should satisfy all the pocket tablet lovers out there. Without a reference the size is indeterminate...
@wonderbread You need to scale up the "Passion" a bit. Compare the size of the hardwareish buttons, in your pic-- they are much smaller on the Passion. Make them equal size then measure again.
@wonderbread
While I appreciate your 'passion' in taking the time out to figure out the phone's screen dimensions, I really think you just wasted 15 minutes of your day;)
3.5" sounds a bit too small, especially after yesterday's 3.7" leak and compared to the iPhone's 3.59" screen.
@TareG This design is fugly no doubt but I doubt it if .09 of an inch is really an advantage size wise for the iPhone:)
Ok, more image spam: This one comparing Bravo to Passion. They really appear to be the same dimension. The Droid is scaled so that its screen has the same width as the Passion and Bravo. Looks pretty right, Bravo/Passion 3.5" DROID perhaps 3.7" due to FWVGA vs WVGA.
3 phones: http://bit.ly/717VyW
that's a gorgeous phone.
Dammit, T-Mobile, how could you let yourselves become so outclassed in Android phone selection so quickly? I don't want to switch to Verizon, but I do need a powerful Android phone some time in the next year.
Droid killer!! XD
@yoko1324 Nokia N900 killer!! XD
Yeah!
This is exciting news...as I am stuck with a dumb-phone right now until my new every 2 comes around next April because for some reason only a primary line is eligable for early anual upgrade...even though the shit was purchased on the same day...after setting up my boss's Droid Eris and setting up a Motorola Droid for a family member... I absolutely have to have an android phone from HTC....Sense UI is superior to the stock android builds IMHO...
Please excuse my rampant typo's.
Meh..I just switched to Verizon and I got the Omnia 2 -- I would have got this though if it were available. This is WAY better than the droid, by FAR. Crap man..I hope this comes out before January 5th so I can do the exchange...Wishful thinking though.
This phone is still vaporware until further notice. I could careless what rumors say, unless this thing is approved by the FCC and HTC up straight, then its just a buncha pixels. And how many times has the specs change? First it was 4.3 inches, then 4, then 3.7, then 4.3 again, and now 3.5? And now it sports OLED? What's the next rumor? That its going to come out for at&t?
@(Unverified)
Good point. That's the problem when there's no official announcement, this crap that some people call "news" (aka LIES) is all you have to go on. So what should you do..Wait forever for this thing to come out? Fuck it.
Jebus, what has happened in one short year? It seems like just a year ago, a lot of us were making plans to jump ship on Verizon, due to its complete and total lack of any phones that could remotely be considered good. The smartest phone they had was an old winmo vx6900. Now its like they're some sort of mecca for amazing devices. I don't know what happened, but I hope it continues...
a lot of people just used up a lot of tissues
Perhaps this will have a micro-USB connection versus the funky HTC power connector thingy.
Dang, now I'm confused again. Do I pick up my Droid today, or wait a few months for more information on this guy?
Fact: the very high resolution on my droid both is awesome and is the deciding factor between 6 hours of usage and 18.
Fact: this phone makes my droid look like it was designed in 1987. Which maybe something to do with motorola in general.
This looks kinda like the sprint hero or is that just me
If this rumor is correct than I wish HTC would burn in hell! Lame small screen device, almost an inch less than HD2, 2x less RAM - only 256mb and same shitty 5mp camera. This is all for device,which is going to be 6 months newer than HD2 and running much better OS!
I hope this poor business decision costs HTC few hunders of millions of dollars, to teach their decision makers a lesson in the future not to release intentionally crippled hardware for highly anticipated phones. These specs are a huge disappointment for millions of ready-to-buy consumers all over the world.
Be careful, though. Remember those leaked code-names in the 2.1 ROM? There was the Dragon, PassionC and Passion.
Sounds like there may be some truth to those T-Mobile rumors.
when it gets an ION graphics processor, i'll buy!
oh, sorry... wrong thread.
signed,
one of those geeks on at&t feelin' really dumb cause he got his wife the iPhone he promised her and now all the carriers have android love but mine