HTC Keynote At Uplinq 2011: NFC, Cloud Data, 4G

The event on the 2nd of June, 2011 began with the CEO of HTC Peter Chou taking the stage and speaking about no less than "Digital Mobile Lifestyle." This of course builds on the extended Qualcomm keynote yesterday that included much talk about the Digital 6th Sense. They note that in 1999 HTC developed their first smartphone enabling qulcomm to partner with HTC, and that in 2010 25m smartphone shipped with over 100% growth. That number is blasted again by 9.7 million being shipped in Q1 of 2011, Tripling sales. They then launch into Sense (HTC Sense, that is, of course.)

"For many people smartphone is the most personal device they'll ever use," they note, this being a holistic experience dedicated to how people use their mobile devices with extra effort put into HTC sense allowing technology to work for "you" not the other way around. It's noted that "HTC Sense is everything we do to make technology work for you." It appears that HTC is taking their user interface for Android to the next level. This is evidenced first and formats by the new lockscreen demoed onstage.

We've got Vince (aka Vincent Nguyen) in the field right now noting the following on the lockscreen:

"I've personally used the new HTC Sense and yes the lock screen is pretty nifty, quick and efficient and not to mention customizable. With HTC Sense you can go from turning on the phone to making a call in two steps."

There's a mode for "your mood" depending on the day in this set of upgrades for Sense, Peter Chou notes that smartphones will be the main control center of the internet, and the crowd goes wild.

[NOTE: Photos from this event coming soon!]

One size doesn't fit all so HTC's brand momentum is rising quickly, it's said. Chou notes that HTC is now inside the top 5 smartphone brand in the world – but what's going to drive growth in years ahead? Chou notes that while there are still a lot of people using feature phones, by end of this year smartphone sales will exceed feature phones.

"Your handset is equivalent of a swiss army knife right in your pocket" – Peter Chou

You'll be working with your Digital Wallet (NFC) – this is punctuated by a projected 500 million NFC enabled phones by 2015. Chou goes on to note that you'll be using a Digital ID, that Biometric is the next big megatrend, and that Education is also a big priority for HTC. Education is punctuated by Chou with talk of the ability to carry an infinite number of books without chopping down a single tree – HTC isn't saving the world but it's definitely heading into the right direction (with the rest of the groups championing eBooks, that is.)

The keynote moved on that that point to 4G – it's noted that 4G will revolutionize how we use mobile in the future and consumers are excited for this technology to hit mainstream. Data will be moving 100X faster than your home network – what will we do with such speeds? How about a "cloud-powered entertainment center" – could this be tied to HTC Play? – Chou went on to note that we'll no longer require downloading or synching. Whatever you want will simply be a tap away. Chou punctuates this note by mentioning that HTC is leading the charge for this technology today on the Thunderbolt, EVO 3D, Sensation and Flyer.

Stick with SlashGear for the rest of the HTC coverage of Uplinq 2011!