Sense
Latest
HTC ChaCha coming to Phones 4u in the UK, free on contract
Didn't think the HTC ChaCha's 2.6-inch screen and dedicated Facebook button were reasons enough to shell out £249.99 off contract? Well, UK friends, you might want to try this on for size. The lilliputian, Gingerbread-powered phone is landing on Phones 4u tomorrow, June 2nd, and will cost nothing -- so long as you sign a two-year agreement. If you'd rather pay as you go, the price will skyrocket to £299.95, at which point you might want to consider buying it through Amazon and saving yourself a precious £50. Given its middle-of-the-road 800MHz processor, we can see where you wouldn't want to pay a flagship-worthy price, though if you've been holding out for an Android 2.3 device and have a penchant for QWERTY keyboards and peeping other people's vacation photos, this could be a sweet deal.
HTC Sensation 4G available on T-Mobile June 15th for $200, hits Walmart 'as early as June 12th'
The foremost question in the hive mind of Android power users these days is typically whether to go with HTC's 1.2GHz, dual-core, 4.3-inch Sensation or the similarly specced Galaxy S II from Samsung. Of course, neither of those is actually out in the US yet, so if patience is not your favorite virtue, T-Mobile just made that decision for you. The carrier has announced it'll start selling the HTC Sensation 4G from June 12th at Walmart stores, after which it'll be "exclusively" available on June 15th from T-Mobile retail stores. Pricing is your typical $200 on a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. Samsung's superphone shouldn't be too far behind, but it does look like T-Mo subscribers will get a good few weeks to familiarize themselves with Sense 3.0 before having to hear any gloating about Super AMOLED Plus displays and 8.49mm slimness. PR after the break.
HTC Sensation review
A hotly anticipated smartphone with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a "Super" 4.3-inch screen, and a manufacturer-skinned version of Android 2.3 -- we must be talking about the Samsung Galaxy S II, right? Not on this occasion, squire. Today we're taking a gander at HTC's Sensation, a handset that's just begun shipping in Europe under a short-term Vodafone exclusive and which should be making its way to T-Mobile in the USA early next month. By beating its stablemate the EVO 3D and Moto's Droid X2 to the market, the Sensation becomes the world's first 4.3-inch smartphone with qHD resolution, while also serving as the debut phone for HTC's Watch movie streaming service and Sense 3.0 UI customizations. That leaves us with an abundance of newness to review, so what are we waiting for? %Gallery-124367%
HTC Merge makes an official landing at US Cellular May 31 for $250
If we could bet on phone launches the same way we put money down on horse races or slot machines, we'd lose our shirts on the HTC Merge. Like a ghost, this elusive Android smartphone has an innate ability to pop up from out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. Over the last few months we've seen this repeated multiple times on both Verizon's and US Cellular's ends -- until yesterday, that is, when the latter finally ended its part of the charade by announcing a launch date. Taking on Facebook, the regional carrier officially committed the Merge to a May 31st launch, selling for $250 with contract before $100 rebate. Oddly, the date won't matter much since store reps have the go-ahead to sell it as soon as it's in stock (according to the screenshot below), and the Facebook post reveals that shipments should begin arriving as early as today. If you've been wanting a Merge and are up to the task, we invite you -- nay, we challenge you -- to go to your local store this morning and see if your rep got the memo. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Sensation 4G with T-Mobile branding turns up, wins free blurrycam'd photo shoot
We've been told that wild phones -- like hearts -- can't be tamed, but we're definitely up for giving it our best shot. We knew it was just a matter of time, but pictures of the HTC Sensation 4G out in the open are creeping out of the woodwork. While everything appears to be legit, we always take these kinds of pictures with a grain of salt; after all, is there anything that Photoshop can't do? Nevertheless, there's a smorgasbord of shots to feast upon -- most of them receiving the blurrycam treatment -- at the link below.
HTC EVO 3D priced at $200 on contract, free pack-ins cost your dignity
You've been able to pre-order an HTC EVO 3D since last week, but it involved a bit of a leap of faith since both price and release date were unannounced. Well, we can now solve at least one of those mysteries -- the EVO 3D will run you the industry standard $200 with a 2-year contract, while the commitment averse can snatch one up for $500. You can save yourself an extra $100 by picking yours up at RadioShack and trading in your EVO 4G or Shift 4G. Obviously, you'll still have to plunk down for the monthly "premium data add-on" and exactly when you'll be able to start leaving fingerprints all over that glasses-free 3D screen is still anybody's guess but, hey, at least it comes with a free copy of The Green Hornet and the Black Eyed Peas' Phenomenon. You know, because while a high-end smartphone may cost $200 on contract, good taste is priceless. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Flyer Friday: Best Buy starts selling HTC's seven-inch slate today
We thought HTC's Flyer wasn't going on sale until May 22nd, but it appears a certain big box retailer has changed its plans. Our tipsters have told us that stores with the device in stock have started selling it today, May 20th, despite the somewhat confusing text you see in the picture above. So, if you're pining for a $500, seven-inch slab of silky smooth Sense 3.0, head on down to the local Best Buy and grab one yourself. [Thanks, Anonymous]
HTC Flyer lands at Best Buy on May 22nd for $500, Magic Pen sold separately
The 16GB-equipped, 7-inch Flyer from HTC is making its way west this week. Best Buy, which gets the honor of exclusively launching the WiFi-only Android tablet in the US, has revealed Sunday as the official first day of availability for the Flyer, at a price of $500. As you'll recall, the stylus that ships in the retail box just about everywhere else will be markedly missing from the Best Buy bundle, costing an extra $80 to those who simply must have it. You'll be able to purchase your Flyer online and at all brick-and-mortar Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, but if mobile connectivity is more important to you, we'd advise holding out a little while longer for the 3G- and 4G-capable Evo View variety on Sprint.
HTC Puccini touted as a 10-inch LTE tablet with 1.5GHz processor, Honeycomb flavor
Hey look, the Flyer just got itself a bigger brother. A 10-inch tablet codenamed the HTC Puccini has been revealed by our old buddy 911sniper (who has a habit of finding and leaking HTC ROMs), living up to a longstanding rumor that places two 10-inch Android slates on HTC's roadmap for this summer. It's said to pack LTE for Cingular (AT&T) in the US and to be built atop Android 3.0.1. A dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 offers plenty of processing power and screen resolution should match the 10-inch pack with 1280 x 800 pixels. Gazing at the above screenshot reveals a UI very similar to the Flyer's Sense 3.0 look, including the Notes app being in a prime position, which could very well mean Magic Pen compatibility will also be part of the Puccini's arsenal. You'll know more about this as soon as we do.
HTC Sensation 4G hitting mid-June for $200?
Oh, the sweet smells of summer: surf, sunscreen, barbecue, Gingerbread. We've known all along that HTC's Android 2.3-packing smartphone was set for release at the "beginning of the summer," and thanks to some loud-mouthed Google AdWords, we've seen June 8th floated as a possibility. Those who understandably doubt the word of search-based text advertisements, take heart: it's shaping up to be a big weekend for Sensation 4G leaks. First TmoNews got its hands on a Target placard pricing the snappy dual-core Snapdragon handset at $199.99, for what appears to be a June 12th release, and then the site snagged a shot of internal T-Mobile documentation that confirms the earlier June 8th date. Why the discrepancy? Well, it certainly wouldn't be unheard of for the carrier to give itself a head start, and surely Target wouldn't mind timing its own release up with its Sunday circulars. In both cases, it looks like the phone'll be spending a fair amount of time beneath beach umbrellas.
HTC Wildfire S earns top marks with FCC, supports AT&T compatible 3G
HTC's newly announced Wildfire S -- or model number PG76110 -- just finished pinballing its way through the FCC's labs, coming out the other side with 1900 / 850MHz dual-band HSPA. As a quick refresher, this phone was launched at MWC this year and features a 3.2-inch display, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, Bluetooth 3.0, and runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Considering how many handsets are still shipping with Froyo, we expect this combination of Google's newest OS, HTC's Sense UI V3.0, plus an affordable price point to make the Wildfire S a popular device when it finally hits these shores. Of course, before you get all giddy, we'd like to remind you that while the Wildfire S does support the right 3G bands for AT&T, there's no guarantee it'll end up there.
WiFi HTC Flyer visits the FCC, leaves behind a line-drawn calling card
That, dear readers, is where you'll be able to find the FCC label on your brand new HTC Flyer -- well, assuming you decide to get in on the company's 7-inch dose of Android, and also assuming that HTC ever decides to actually release the thing in the US. We assume it does, as the machine has just been given the blessing of the FCC. This looks to be a WiFi-only model, also tested for BlueTooth compliance, but lacking 3G. So, if you got your pre-order in last week know that there's at least nothing federal standing between you and your $499 aluminum slice of Gingerbread, which we're still hoping will ship before the spring is through.
HTC Merge launching on US Cellular on April 29th? (updated)
While we wait for the HTC Merge to maybe (or quite possibly) launch on Verizon, the phone's rolling out fast and furious on smaller carriers. Alltel's already selling it, Cellular South said it plans to, and now it seems US Cellular is gearing up to launch it on Friday. If you take a gander at that screen grab an anonymous tipster sent in, it's clear the carrier is putting the finishing touches on its plan to unveil the device in its retail stores. Just to refresh your memories, the Merge is a world phone with a slide-out keyboard, 3.8-inch touchscreen, and 5 megapixel autofocus camera running Android 2.2 with HTC's Sense UI layered on top. Still no word on whether US Cellular will match its competitors' sweet $125 price or bundle Amazon's App Store, but we're optimistic on both counts. Update: A US Cellular rep wrote in to clarify that the carrier will launch the Merge "later this spring," not this Friday. So there you have it!
HTC Sensation procures online real estate, launches sign-up page
The G2X may be getting all the attention as the current flagship for T-Mobile, but HTC is bound and determined to make sure it doesn't stay that way for long. Curious souls may be happy to learn that a sign-up page has been set up for the HTC Sensation to update fans on news and announcements. This is a good sign that nary a precious moment of time is being wasted; after all, we've got a full six weeks before the heavily-rumored June 8 launch, and there's an abundance of opportunities for the two companies to get the word out like crazy between now and then. Who can blame them for taking advantage of one of the summer's hottest devices? Interested folks should head to the source link below to sign up.
HTC Desire gets unsanctioned build of Android 2.3.3 courtesy of 911Sniper
When we last checked in with HTC's Desire, an upgrade from Android 2.2 to 2.3 had been announced for release in late May or June. While Gingerbread hasn't officially rolled out for this Nexus One kin, the crew at 911Sniper recently leaked the Desire's upcoming European / Asian ROM, complete with Android 2.3.3 and Sense 2.1. Many daring enthusiasts have already taken the plunge, reporting mixed results with flashing their device. it's worth noting, however, that when installed properly, user reports are quite positive. As always, please know what you're doing before you dive down this rabbit hole -- we hope to see you on the other side. [Thanks, Omar]
Desire HD tries on Sensation's Sense 3.0 suit, needs some tailoring for it to fit
So you got all excited after seeing HTC's latest UI on the Sensation, but were dismayed to discover your hoary handset wouldn't be getting the same Sense 3.0 love? As usual, the folks at xda-developers have just the tonic for what ails you... as long as you own a Desire HD. Yup, a clever fellow by the name of capychimp took the Sensation's ROM and ported it to yesteryear's HTC European flagship phone. The port isn't perfect -- those who dive in will lose camera support and the images need some resizing to properly fit on the HD's 800 x 480 display -- but brave souls who hit the source link for the download still get all those mellifluous movements that Sense 3.0 provides. See all the smooth scrolling in action after the break. Update: XDA-developers have also given the HTC HD2 a quick Sense 3.0 hug, along with Android 2.3.3 in a similarly incomplete custom ROM. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Flyer hits UK pre-order status at £600, comes with 3G and 32GB of storage
The one Android tablet that isn't riding NVIDIA's Tegra 2 dual-core chip and Google's Honeycomb iteration (but might still be worth buying) has this weekend become available to pre-order in the UK. The Carphone Warehouse is listing a £600 ($983) fee for owning the HTC Flyer, which is more or less a match for the €669 price Amazon.de is offering to German slate lovers. In exchange for a dozen rose-tinted notes with the Queen's face on them, you'll get a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 display, encased in an aluminum unibody case and powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip. HTC's Sense UI has undergone some tablet-friendly tweaks and there is of course that Scribe stylus to flex your artistic muscles with. 3G connectivity and 32GB of storage flesh out the Flyer's hardware offering, while the underlying Android Gingerbread OS is promised to get a Honeycomb-flavored update, most likely some time this summer.
HTC Desire S review
This time last year, HTC had two Android smartphones for the mainstream: the 3.7-inch Desire, outfitted with the latest and greatest, and the 3.2-inch Legend, which was humbler in specs but offered the novelty of an aluminum unibody construction. After seeing that strategy pay off handsomely, the company's come back in 2011 with a similar proposition. The 4-inch Incredible S is now the higher-end device, while the 3.7-inch Desire S is the smaller, aluminum-shelled handset. What's curious this time, however, is that the Desire S has exactly the same 1GHz Snapdragon inside it, the same graphics, same WVGA resolution, and the same 768MB of RAM as the Incredible S. Throw in the fact it comes with Gingerbread preloaded and a few new tweaks to the Sense UI and you've got to wonder if this might not be the more, um, desirable of HTC's new Android duo. Only one way to find out, right? Full review after the break. %Gallery-120779%%Gallery-120778%
HTC Incredible S hits Bell for $99
Dear Canada, today's your lucky day! The HTC Incredible S we just reviewed is now available from Bell for $100 on contract (that's for three years, folks) or $500 unsubsidized, complete with its magical and revolutionary auto-rotating buttons. Not only can you be proud to be Canadian, but you can be the first in North America to enjoy this, well... incredible GSM handset -- at least until Verizon's CDMA cousin, the Incredible 2, joins the party. As a reminder, the Incredible S packs a 4-inch WVGA Super LCD display, the latest 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 768MB RAM, 14.4Mbps HSPA+ support, a front-facing camera, and an 8 megapixel autofocus main camera with dual-LED flash and 720p video capture, all topped with a dash of Froyo. An 8GB microSD card is included, and the Gingerbread update is on its way. So go ahead and hit the source link if you dare. [Thanks, Spencer]
HTC confirms Flyer tablet will get Honeycomb... sometime
HTC hasn't said much on the subject of Honeycomb for its Flyer tablet since its big announcement back at Mobile World Congress, where it said it chose not to use the OS for the tablet because it didn't have enough time to customize it with its Sense UI. It's now finally chimed in on the matter again, however, and replied to a question on Twitter by saying that it "will be offering a Honeycomb upgrade when it's made available." Of course, that statement's noticeably lacking a specific date (or even a hint of one), and it may well be wise to not hold your breath for an upgrade anytime soon given Google's recent talk of a tighter grip on Honeycomb. Still, it looks like it's definitely still on the table as far as HTC is concerned. [Thanks, Lewis]
