HTC have confirmed to us that they’ll be offering an update to Android 2.0 for the HTC Hero. The update means that HTC will be skipping Android 1.6 – as on the HTC Tattoo, for instance – to concentrate on fettling HTC Sense to play nicely with the newest version of Android. However, the company have not given a definitive timescale for the release, asking only that owners “be patient”. Full statement after the cut.
It’s taken them over 500 pages of hacking, but earnest tweakers over at xda-developers have managed to get Android 1.6 Donut running on the hitherto Windows Mobile 6.1 HTC Diamond. The first-gen Diamond has a compact 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen running at VGA resolution, and the hacked Android ROM is reportedly responsive together with offering support for both WiFi and GPS.
Video demo after the cut
Remember the Droid Eris, Verizon’s second Android handset and their first from HTC? It seems that Verizon staff are already being trained on the technical details of the smartphone, thanks to a leaked screenshot over at AndroidGuys. Meanwhile BGR are reporting on the specs of the Eris, which may come as something of a disappointment.
We’re still waiting for our HTC HD2 review unit to drop, but somewhere in the world there must be a secret supply of the promising Windows Phone as SoloPalmari have managed to acquire one for a swift unboxing. Your home experience won’t quite be the same as this – they admit this isn’t the final packaging, in fact – but considering we’ll gobble up just about any live HD2 footage we can find, you won’t hear us arguing.
Video unboxing after the cut
Back in August HTC confirmed that certain models in their Android line-up would eventually get an upgrade to HTC Sense, the UI debuted on the well-received HTC Hero. Now HTC Asia has pushed out Sense for the Magic; however it appears to be only for unlocked versions of the Magic (and potentially only Asian-language models) rather than carrier-branded versions such as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G.
Remember the mysterious HTC smartphone that showed up this time last week, and that we all assumed was the upcoming Snapdragon-based HTC Dragon? Well, the source of those images, TheUnlockr, has decided it’s the Dragon too, or to be more exact Verizon’s version of the handset, the HTC Passion. He’s claiming 90-percent certainty on the ID, and if so you could be seeing this Android smartphone on shelves by the end of the year.
The Passion (aka the CDMA Dragon) is expected to be the Android version of the HTC HD2, which basically adds up to a huge capacitive touchscreen – the HD2 uses a 4.3-inch panel – together with all the wireless connectivity you could hope for an a 1GHz processor. The touch-sensitive buttons beneath the touchscreen on the Passion certainly look like those on Verizon’s other upcoming Android handsets, such as the Motorola Droid, and the white notification bar is similar too.
The tipped O2 UK release date for the HTC HD2 of October 19th has come and gone, with no sign of the Windows Mobile 6.5 uber-phone on shelves. However, there is at least one mention of the HD2 on O2’s site: the Windows Phone is an option in the carrier’s accessory pages, though so far there’s no sign of any actual accessories.
When HTC aren’t commissioning new ad campaigns they’re making smartphones, and while we would hate to put words in their collective mouth it seems highly likely that the HTC Dragon will end up packing Android 2.0. While Motorola may have beaten HTC to the jump with announcing the first Android 2.0 smartphone, albeit briefly, Gearlog have confirmed that the company is indeed already playing with the next-gen version of Google’s open-source platform.
The HTC “YOU” campaign we spotted earlier this month has now gone global, and brings with it a new “Quietly Brilliant” tagline and “You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you” slogan. Twenty countries will get the new adverts, including TV spots examples of which you can see after the cut, which all focus on the individuality of HTC’s range and the flexibility of things like HTC Sense.
Unlike, say, “there’s an app for that”, the HTC commercials don’t so much focus on the precise functionality of their handsets but the way we use them. They’re also platform-agnostic; there’s no mention of either Android or Windows Mobile.
By now we know that the Verizon Droid not only looks good, but has plenty of technical promise too, and BGR have followed up their preliminary hands-on with a more comprehensive preview of the Android smartphone. The Motorola Droid gets praised for its “sharp, vibrant, bright and really, really responsive” 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, while the keyboard may lack travel and feature closely-packed buttons but it’s good enough for “efficient” typing and is better than the T-Mobile G1. Meanwhile the charging dock/multimedia station (which you can see in a video demo after the cut) automatically turns the Droid into a weather station.
Droid feedback, plus news on AT&T’s Droid and a whole Droid army after the cut
Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary
Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”
Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?
Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
SlashGear Japan
