HTC Launches HD Phones and Updated Sense UI 165
cgriffin21 writes "HTC on Wednesday confirmed two new Android smartphones, the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z, that include what the vendor is calling an "enhanced version" of its HTC Sense user interface that includes everything from video editing software to a mapping tool. The HTC Sense's new features include the ability to record HD videos and edit images with various camera effects. HTC Locations, another new feature, provides on-demand mapping, and there's also an integrated e-reader and an e-book store powered by Kobo."
Not available in US until next year? (Score:3, Informative)
According to the article, both versions will be available in Europe and Asia in October. Only the "Z" version will hit the US this year though. Gotta say that's disappointing. My next upgrade becomes available December 15th, and the "Desire HD" looks to best every other Android handset out right now. I really, really hope that some version of that phone hits Verizon before or really soon after that date.
Re:Battery life? (Score:0, Informative)
Aftermarket batteries offer signifcant improvements.
However, performance is going to vary with different types of use.
Currently, I get around 3 to 4 days with my tp2
Re:Battery life? (Score:2, Informative)
> it seems tough to get a smartphone these days to last a day without charging.
It's easy - just use it as a phone. On stanby these things go for days. Because, you know, on standby all the flash, hi-def etc etc isn't going to make a blind bit of difference, because it's not being used.
Re:HTC and MS (Score:4, Informative)
Out of court settlements don't create precedent. I'm no lawyer, but I'm certain of that. It's the functional equivalent of giving the bully your lunch money instead of fighting with him.
Dual mode screens (Score:3, Informative)
If someone can do an LCD with high contrast e-paper style screen and normal LCD functionality then they will solve that problem. Perhaps have the LCD flip out of the way to expose the e-paper screen underneath?
As for the Desire HD, 4.3" screen makes the device too big for me, I did some estimates on paper of its size. Any bigger than 4.3" and you'll have a phone approaching the footprint of a 3.5" hard disk.
Re:Battery life? (Score:5, Informative)
I get 3-4 days of medium/heavy use out of my Moto Droid as of the Froyo update, before that 4 days would have really been pushing it. It depends a lot on where you are and what kind of reception you are getting. I get my best battery life over the weekends when I spend a lot of time at home, slightly less during the week when I'm at work where the coverage inside is spotty, and abysmal (less than 1 day) if I'm somewhere with little to no coverage.
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:1, Informative)
That's he said!
Re:Battery life? (Score:1, Informative)
Wow, you must have a different def of heavy/moderate use than me. I get one day absolute tops (Moto Droid with Froyo), and that's on wifi 90%+ of the time and almost no talking, just some web browsing and email (and I don't get much of that, maybe send 10 per day, and receive maybe 20 at most). I don't even play any games on it anymore. I think I might get 3 or 4 days without charging if I just left it alone and didn't read any email or browse a single website. That being said, I'd still not want to live without it, and charging it up from dead to 100% doesn't take that long (I don't even notice it as a problem).
Suffer in a BIG place - HTC Sense UI - (Score:1, Informative)
Pocket Answer+hangups.
AARRGGHH!!!!
HTC, Why oh why do you not put a fucking screen unlocker on one of the real hardware buttons of the phone instead of the touchscreen only?
I like to keep my HTC Desire in my shirt pocket. Whenever I get an incoming call, just simply reaching into the pocket to slide out the phone often touches the screen enough to answer and then hang up the call as I try to slide it out of my pocket.
The touchscreen unlock security pattern thingy also is PURE FAIL because of the "Emergency Call" hotbutton on the screen below the pattern. Sliding a ringing phone out of your shirt pocket with the touchscreen pattern soft-lock enabled will about half the time trigger the emergency call button instead and dial 911. Fuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:3, Informative)
Now if they can make a colored E Ink screen that is as comfortable to read as the gray-scale one, then I might consider it.
They prefer to be called "Polychromatic Microcapsule Displays" you insensitive clod.
Re:Updates for existing HTC phones? (Score:3, Informative)
Both models have pluses and minuses. If you want the "best" phone on the market (Defined by tech specs- CPU, camera, memory, etc) you almost certainly want an Android phone. The churn that the competing manufacturers create by their constant upgrade cycles means that Moto, or HTC, or Nokia (do they make Android?) probably currently has the most powerful thing available this week. On the other hand the Apple hardware updates often enough to stay reasonably current, if not cutting edge. So advantage Android, but not a huge advantage.
The Android OS is certainly more open, at least in theory. In practice it seems like the manufacturers and providers often lock shit down pretty hard. So, again, advantage Android, but how much of an advantage probably depends entirely on what model phone you have and who's network you're using it on.
The iPhone's advantages tend to harder to measure. The UI is well done, for sure. The design is very consistent. The "ecosystem" concept has a lot of advantages. I was really pleased when I upgraded my 1st gen iPhone to a 3GS a while back. The backup and restore function was such that I literally felt like I was using the same phone, but better. Like upgrading the CPU, RAM, and VC on a computer and keeping the OS as it is. Everything was faster and shinier (and GPSier), but otherwise identical. And of course my 3GS runs iOS 4 pretty well and that's like a whole new upgrade.
Meh, to each their own.
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:2, Informative)
Having read dozens of novels on my iPhone, I can tell you that the issue is not the size of the screen but the pixel density. A pre-4 iPhone with a 320x480 3.5" display has a pixel density (or pixels per inch -- ppi) of around 164. Compare that to a 6" Kindle at 600x800 == 167ppi vs. a 10.1" netbook at 1024x600 = 117ppi, or even worse a 15.4" laptop at the now-industry standard 1366x768 == 102ppi (for what it's worth, my 15.4" laptop at 1920x1080 has 143ppi and is only slightly less comfortable to read on than my iPhone). This is why e-ink readers and smartphones are easier to use as ebook readers than a laptop. Higher pixel density directly translates to more comfortable reading.
Also keep in mind that the pre-4 iPhone still has a relatively low ppi. The iPhone 4, with the same 3.5" screen size but 640x960 resolution == 330ppi, and a quality android phone like the HTC Incredible has a 3.8" screen at 480x800 resolution == 246ppi. This is also where Apple went wrong with the iPad. At 9.7" and 768x1024, its pixel density is only 132ppi, bordering on the edge of unreadable. To get an equivalent 330PPI to iPhone 4 at 9.7", the iPad would have to have a resolution of 1920x2560. That's not going to be a cheap LCD panel.
If you want a larger device for reading, stick with a Kindle or other e-ink reader. However for on-the-go reading, it's really hard to beat a smartphone.