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HTC Desire HD ROM ported to Droid Incredible, Desire (update: EVO 4G too)
You've already seen it ported to the HTC HD2, and it looks like the recently-leaked HTC Desire HD ROM has now also made its way to two more likely candidates for a port: the Droid Incredible and original Desire. As you might expect, there are a few issues that you'll likely want to consider before diving right in -- there's no camera support yet on either phone, for instance -- but it does look like it otherwise reasonably stable for a beta, and it does bring some of the boot speed improvements seen on the Desire HD itself. Head on past the break for a quick video, and hit up the source links below for all the necessary details. Update: We're getting word that even the HTC EVO 4G's in on the speedy-booting game now, with a Desire HD ROM as well as an original Desire build from MIUI. They're apparently still half-baked like the other two, missing camera support, WiFi and 4G as well, but if you've been looking for an opportunity to tweak, hit up link number three below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Desire HD detailed in appropriately HD video
Feeling like you're insufficiently saturated with Desire HD info? HTC's got your back, as usual, with one of its expansive video overviews, setting the specs and features you already know about to a background of soothing music and cutesy visuals. Nothing wrong with that, we say, and it makes for a great sales pitch if you're trying to convince your significant other of the life-changing benefits of purchasing said handset. Skip past the break, set your eyeballs to 720p mode, and enjoy the show.
HTC Desire HD ROM spawns screenshots aplenty
We've already gotten a brief look at the recently-leaked HTC Desire HD ROM -- and the device itself, of course -- but those still looking for more may want to pay a visit to Android Spin, which has dissected the ROM and provided a fairly thorough look at what's in store for the next version of Sense. That includes some greater customization options, a new HTC Likes app that provides app recommendations, a brand new HTC eReader application and, of course, a number of new features tied to HTC's new HTCSense.com service. Hit up the source link below for the complete tour.
HTC Desire family portrait (video)
So you own a Desire and want to know whether its new brandmates -- the Desire HD and Desire Z -- will represent an ergonomically appealing upgrade? We've got you covered with both a gallery of shots below and a neat video after the break encapsulating the size differences between the three models populating Desireland. Okay, we couldn't resist, we threw in an iPhone 4 for comparison's sake as well.
Spot the difference: HTC Desire's SLCD versus AMOLED
(function() { var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0]; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js'; s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); Digg If you'll recall, a little while back HTC waved its white flag amid AMOLED shortages and made the jump to the readily-available SLCD for its Desire and Nexus One handsets. As a quick recap, here's what CEO Peter Chou said about the swap: "The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC's current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance." So, just how "comparable" is the SLCD? To find out, we picked up both flavors of the Desire to perform some comparison tests. Let's start off with the picture quality: what caught our attention straight away was how much sharper SLCD is, but alas, AMOLED is still in the lead for vibrancy and brightness. We dug a little deeper and learned that this has to do with the different pixel arrangements on the two types of panels -- unlike traditional TFT LCD panels, AMOLED's PenTile RGBG (red, green, blue, green, etc.) filter matrix utilizes just two subpixels per pixel instead of three in the same amount of space, thus allowing greater transmittance due to the larger red and blue subpixels. But obviously, the downside is that the pictures aren't as sharp as the denser-packed SLCD. Read on for more! %Gallery-101997%
White HTC Desire and silver Wildfire make a special appearance in London
Man, just look at these puppies -- a silver Wildfire nestling against a snow-white Desire. If this cute image is making you smile, you can thank our friends over at Android Community for stumbling upon these special edition HTC phones, which are headed to The Carphone Warehouse's exclusive club in good old Blighty (sorry, US readers). There's no date confirmed just yet, but given that these Android phones will be slapped with the regular price tags, you'd best be ready to dash to your nearest store before it's too late. Head over to the source link for more eye candy while you camp out.
O2's HTC Desire gets official Froyo update -- for a moment, anyhow
O2 UK has been a little late to the Desire's Android 2.2 party, but of course, it's a "better late than never" sort of situation -- or is it? After getting a "small number" of reports that the just-released update for O2-branded units was causing problems, the carrier has put the software on ice for the moment; there appear to be several failure modes ranging from freezing to having Sense get stuck in a crash loop, but the net result is that there's definitely some wonkiness with the binary O2's put out so far. Though we imagine you can probably find an update.zip floating around, we're not sure attempting an install is a hot idea -- we might wait for this situation to get sorted first. In the meantime, here's O2's full statement in its official forums: "Hi all As some of you will have noticed the Android 2.2 Froyo update for HTC Desire on O2 went live this morning. While we're pleased that so many of you have been able to download it successfully and are enjoying the benefits of 2.2, we have seen that a small number of people are having problems installing the update. While we check out these issues we're putting the 2.2 update on hold. We'll update you as soon as possible and would like to thank our HTC Desire customers for their patience. Thanks JP" [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Desire (US Cellular) review
HTC's Desire is undoubtedly one of the headline Android devices of 2010 so far -- and heck, when you're using the already-great Nexus One as a starting point and re-upping it with an optical pad, physical buttons, and Sense, it's hard to argue otherwise. US Cellular has now become the first carrier to bring the device to the States (nearly five grueling months since its first spats of international availability, we'd like to note), and because USCC's a CDMA carrier, this is naturally a slightly different device than you're getting elsewhere. Don't get us wrong, most of the thoughts in our first review of the Desire still apply -- but needless to say, this launch is notable enough to warrant a second look. Read on! %Gallery-100792%
HTC Desire hits US Cellular today for $200
Right on time, US Cellular's CDMA-flavored version of the HTC Desire is now available for a nickel under $200, making it the undisputed big dog in the regional carrier's lineup (its first Android device, the Samsung Acclaim, launched a few weeks back). What you get for your hard-earned money here is a surprisingly accurate recreation of the GSM Desire the rest of the world has been enjoying for much of this year, with the same optical pad, 3.7-inch display, 5 megapixel cam, Sense, 1GHz Snapdragon core, and identical industrial design (which, considering how good the original looks, is just fine with us). With the Droid Incredible on tap, Verizon doesn't really need this thing -- but it'd be kinda nice if Sprint picked it up to slot under the EVO, wouldn't it? Follow the break for the full press release.
British retailer outs HTC Desire Z, confirms Desire HD again
mobiles.co.uk -- which is a subsidiary of European phone giant Carphone Warehouse -- seems to be talking in some very matter-of-fact terms about a couple new Android models from HTC, presumably devices that we'll see at this upcoming September 15 event. First up is the well-leaked Desire HD, which these guys list as a Froyo device equipped with a 4.3-inch display, 1GHz core, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video capture, and 4GB of internal storage (in other words, precisely what we were expecting). More interesting to some, though, will be the Desire Z, which is described as an Android 2.1 device (yes, 2.1, not 2.2) with a full sliding keyboard -- quite likely the Vision, if we had to guess. Gonna be hard to wait for the next month to find out, isn't it? [Thanks, Richard and Pete S.]
HTC Desire launching on US Cellular August 27, ups 2010 Android total to five devices
Like many carriers these days, US Cellular is looking to go all-in on Android -- but it's just getting started, having launched only the Samsung Acclaim so far. We already knew we'd be getting the Desire in August, and now we've got a date: August 27, to be exact. Pricing has yet to be announced -- and unfortunately, they specifically call out Android 2.1 in the press release, so it apparently won't have Froyo at launch -- but from an Android perspective, USCC's still at a point where they'll take what they can get. Things are looking up, though; in June, the company had promised a total of four Android models in 2010, but in this latest announcement they've upped the total to five with the Samsung Galaxy S launching in October and two models from LG "following closely behind." Follow the break for the full release.
Official: HTC rolling out Android 2.2, 720p video, iTunes sync to unlocked Euro Desires this weekend
We've just heard directly from HTC regarding that hotly anticipated upgrade to Android 2.2: it's happening this weekend for lucky Euroland owners of the Desire. Provided your Sense-laden 3.7-incher is not carrier-locked, you should be receiving your serving of Froyo by the end of the week, together with a new 720p video mode and iTunes sync for your music. HTC is also throwing in its App Share widget that it first introduced with the Wildfire, along with its smart Caller ID feature. Very nice, though it's quite a shame that operator-specific versions of the update are still stuck in testing and are expected "in several weeks' time." Ah well, guess that'll teach us to buy our gear unlocked. Update: Owners of unlocked Desires around Europe (and for that matter, the world) have informed us that OTA Froyo is being dished out in earnest. Enjoy!
HTC will ship all Android phones in China with Froyo on board, fuels fire for immediate update closer to home
A wordy headline, to be sure, but a pleasing one nonetheless. We came across HTC's Chinese web portal listing the Desire as coming with Android 2.2 (with Sense!) and simply had to ping the official source for confirmation. It turns out the info up there is no mistake: all HTC Android handsets shipping to China -- which includes the Wildfire and Tianyi -- will do so with Froyo preloaded, cutting down on your upgrade angst at least until the Gingerbread man comes a'knocking. HTC has also reiterated that a 2.2 update for its phones already on the market will be delivered "very soon," so if all goes well, we should be looking at a Froyo-dominated August in the land of High Tech Computers. [Thanks, Christian]
HTC beginning Froyo rollout tomorrow? Maybe, maybe not
HTC Europe director Mark Moons caused quite a stir this morning when he tweeted that the company would begin rolling out Android Froyo updates to devices tomorrow, starting with the Desire, but we wouldn't get too excited yet -- HTC tells us that it's possible a rollout will begin tomorrow, but nothing's finalized yet pending some final testing. We've certainly got our fingers crossed -- and we're sure Desire owners the world over will be hitting that System Updates button nonstop for the next few days.
HTC starts selling phones in China under its own name
It's long been the case that if you wanted a HTC handset over in the world's most populous nation, you'd have had to look for its rebadged variant under the Dopod brand. But, as of today, that is no more. The prolific Taiwanese phone maker has decided that its name is now recognizable and valuable enough in China to be put on its own hardware and is kicking off a campaign with four own-branded phones. The Wildfire and Desire we're all familiar with already, while the Tianxi looks like a mildly tweaked HD2 and the Tianyi is a mix-and-match of design elements from the rest of HTC's portfolio. The company's also announcing a partnership with China Mobile to bring these puppies to market, so it's looking like smooth sailing ahead. Full PR after the break.
HTC makes Super LCD screens for Desire and Nexus One official
Welcome back to our "worst kept secrets" hour, where HTC has seen fit to release a PR blast informing the world of what it already knew: the Desire and Nexus One are getting Super (duper) LCD displays to fill demand that Samsung's AMOLED division cannot. Interestingly, HTC's statement says nothing of the Droid Incredible, a close sibling to these 3.7-inch devices, but the global Nexus One and Desire are getting hooked up "later this summer." CEO Peter Chou has also helpfully explained that the visual experience on the new SLCD screens is "comparable" to AMOLED, but offers better battery performance. Color us curious to see and hear more.
SLCD-equipped HTC Desire 'coming soon' to Telus
We'd already seen an HTC Desire with North American 3G hit the FCC, and it looks like we now know exactly where it's headed -- Telus has just announced that the phone is "coming soon" to its network. What's more, the carrier has also confirmed that the phone will be equipped with a 3.7-inch Sony Super LCD screen instead of the regular AMOLED display that's in short supply. Otherwise, the phone is the same Android 2.1-powered, Snapdragon-based, Sense-skinned device we've seen all along, which is hardly a bad thing -- unless you're waiting for a Desire HD, that is.
Rumored HTC Desire HD specs surface: 4.3-inch screen, 8-megapixel camera
We didn't have a ton of details on the so-called HTC Ace when it turned up in a leaked roadmap last week, but a fresh set of rumors are now suggesting that the Ace is actually the Desire HD, which will reportedly pack a number of HD-esque upgrades over the standard Desire. That includes a larger 4.3-inch WVGA screen -- no word if it's AMOLED or SLCD -- and an 8-megapixel camera with 720p video recording. Other rumored details include Android 2.2, 4GB of internal storage, the same 1GHz Snapdragon as the current Desire and, perhaps most interestingly, talk of a "unibody aluminum design." Unfortunately, the rumors still don't include any actual images of the device, but there's still plenty of time for those to leak out before the supposed October release.
Android 2.2 ported to HTC Desire, working quite well
No patience to wait until Q3 for an official Froyo build? Fret not, dear Desire owners, as udK_dev has managed to push out a near-perfect Android 2.2 port that's working spectacularly well so far. As you'd expect, HTC's Sense overlay is indeed baked in, and while there are still a few quirks here and there, users seem to be generally pleased with how it's going. Better still, the camera has been upgraded to handle 720p video recording, so there's that. Hit the source link for the how-to, but make sure you set aside a few hours first. Or maybe just one. [Thanks, seaders]
HTC Desire with North American 3G graces FCC with its presence
Rumors of a June 8 launch of Telus' HTC Triumph -- a rebranded version of the Desire, seemingly -- came and went without a trace, but now, we've got another reason to think that the model's launch might be just around the corner. Basically, an HTC device with model code PB99220 just got FCC approval with = WCDMA on bands I, II, and V, which would make it fit for use on Bell, Telus, Rogers, and AT&T (plus some European support thrown in for good measure). The original Desire was numbered PB99200 (the Nexus One was in the PB991x0 range), and HTC's shtick is to recycle these codes for different variants of a particular model by changing only the second-to-last digit. We don't have any current intel to suggest this is going anywhere but Telus, but hey -- with AT&T opening up its doors to higher-end Android gear with the Captivate, it could happen, right?
