Vodafone, Three to offer hyped-up HTC handset
'Multimedia superphone', apparently
HTC's latest Android phone, the modestly named Sensation, will be coming to Vodafone first, but that didn't stop Three chipping in to say it will be offering the video-centric handset too.
The Sensation is described by HTC as a "multimedia superphone" - clearly, the handset maker's self-deprecation knows no bounds. Perhaps HTC stands for 'Hyped-up Talker Corporation' these days...
It features a 4.3in screen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a camera capable of shooting 1080p video.
Your home movies can be relayed to a telly using the Sensation's HDMI output.
Neither Vodafone nor Three said when they will sell the Sensation, or what it'll cost when they do. We'll let you know as soon as we hear. ®
COMMENTS
The good thing is
With your aging Nokia battery lasting a week, you have even longer to not use all the features it doesn't have.
Close, but no cigar
The bootloader thing would be annoying, true. However, my biggest issue was that I was hoping they'd announce the UK version of the Evo 3D - if I'm going to have to settle for 96000 pixels fewer than an iPhone (and I'm ignoring all the WVGA phones on the market for this reason) in order to have the OS I want, I may as well at least have *some* display feature to go with it. Besides, the Evo 3D has more RAM.
Also... Sensation? After the Desire, I'm deeply suspicious that HTC's European branding team are all gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but "Evo" casts less doubt on my sexuality. I'm surprised the case isn't purple. If the refreshed version is the "super sensation" then I'm definitely calling it as targeted at a demographic.
Glad they put the rim around the screen, though - it doesn't matter quite so much for a capacative display, but my Touch Pro 2 is forever answering itself in its case.
The rumour I heard was that Vodafone would have it in May - it leaked on their web site before the HTC event - and have a couple of weeks' exclusivity. I'm not sure whether the video streaming is network dependent, but since it seems that the files might be *big* I suspect you can't just make it part of a data plan.
Very pretty
But if it has a locked/encrypted bootloader so I can't get a cooked ROM for it (as is rumoured), I'm not interested. And I suspect other more techie users are similarly wary.
Re: very pretty
Indeed, especially as 3 have a habit of putting on their own firmware release with a few free games and stopping generic firmware installation. My other half's DHD is still running Android 2.1 thanks to 3.
I'm sure vodafone are no better.
This is one thing I do like about Apple, they put the networks firmly in their place as dumb pipes and said "No, you can't modify it, no, you can't control when updates occur".
If the HTC handsets start being difficult/impossible to update at home then that will weigh heavily against them when I go shopping again.
Re: Bootloader
Yes, but the breaking relies on exploring a flaw in an older bootloader. To do a Desire Z or HD today you'd first have to downgrade the firmware to one with the bug, then exploit it and get S-OFF.
If the new phones don't have the flaw, there isn't an older version of firmware for them with the flaw to roll back to, it's going to make things a little tricky!
