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."
E-Readers in a phone (Score:5, Interesting)
This is a pretty intriguing idea. It's interesting to see how mobile phones are not only starting to encroach on netbooks/laptops, but also now on e-readers. How long until they encroach on home PCs?
I would actually really like it if my phone was my computer, and when I went home it just linked to my keyboard, mouse and monitors and used them. And when I left, it's back to its normal interface.
HTC Sense vs Stock Android (Score:3, Interesting)
I have found that stock Android is pretty nice. HTC Sense is a good *looking* UI, but it suffers in some places. The stock mail client for stock 2.1 is much nicer than the sense variant, for example, and there are a number of other places where it looks like HTC tried to "reinvent the wheel" (with shiny chrome) for what appears to be little or no reason. Perhaps they're trying a little too hard to offer a differentiator on the software side...
I've been much happier with the stock android versions of 2.1 and 2.2 (thanks to CyanogenMod) on my HTC CDMA Hero, since switching from the stock firmware. (Doesn't exactly help that HTC orphaned OS support for that model before 2.2...)
Re:Battery life? (Score:5, Interesting)
you sure about that? [batteryboss.org]
Re:HTC and MS (Score:4, Interesting)
Some have speculated that depending on the agreements, it could be just as expensive for HTC to ship a phone with Android as it would be for them to ship one with Windows Phone 7. If Android doesn't have a price advantage it may put the two operating systems on more even ground, at least from HTC's perspective.
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:3, Interesting)
I'll take the opposing position :)
I like reading in the dark. Maybe sitting out on my deck before I call it a day, maybe lying in bed before I go to sleep, but I just don't want to turn on a separate light, therefore, a backlit screen is an absolute must-have. I also tend to read whenever I have a spare second, making my phone the ideal gizmo since it's always with me. Up until now, my phone just was never up to the task (battery life/small screen), so I went through a variety of devices to deliver my precious ebooks (Casio Casiopia, Compaq iPaq, HP iPaq, iPod). Now I have an HTC Evo, which is the biggest screen I've had for an ereader, and I love it.
I'm lucky when it comes to the eyestrain thing, it just doesn't seem to bother me much. Wouldn't a bedside lamp, or booklight or whatever you're using cause the same problems with circadian rhythms? If not, what makes it different? (Again, that's not something I've ever really thought of, I'm lucky enough to sleep like a log whenever I close my eyes).
Anyway, I'm certainly not arguing about your choice, different solutions for different people. I imagine if I had the same requirements as you, I'd probably really like the Kindle or Nook.
Re:Battery life? (Score:2, Interesting)
At what point are they going to push for better battery technology and longer life?
Phone manufacturers have to weight the options between releasing better features that tax the battery or investing heavily in battery technology that very well may benefit competitors. Improvements to battery life based on engineering behind the battery itself need to come from the industry as a whole and not one manufacturer.
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:3, Interesting)
White light coming off a screen is a cooler light, with more of the blues that fire off your body's "it's daytime" responses. An incandescent bulb (and even a 'warm light' CFL) have more reds and yellows which have less effect on your body. For a lot (probably the vast majority) of people it probably doesn't matter much but I have trouble falling asleep before 3AM as it is, even being careful about all the things that people who have sleep issues should be careful about. I imagine that it would be possible to create a utility to make your phone's screen warmer at night and cooler during the day, I have similar software installed on my computers at home, but I haven't seen anything for phones that does so.
pay as you go (Score:3, Interesting)
Where are Android phones that work with the pay-as-you-go, or at least low-cost plans? Virgin Mobile has LG smartphones with $25/month plans, but if you want Android, nobody offers anything at less than $60/month.
Re:Battery life? (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you often go that long without charging, or are you saying you can go that long without charging? If you do, who don't you charge it at night?
(I'm not asking to set up an argument. I was just curious if there was a reason like "it's better for the battery" or something.)
Re:E-Readers in a phone (Score:3, Interesting)
I've read thousands and thousands of pages on very normal LCD screens. I started using a Nokia N-Gage [wikipedia.org] which served me very well until its screen met an untimely end. It was replaced by a HTC Prophet [wikipedia.org] which I'm using to the current day. Both phones fit in my hand, making it possible to read anywhere and anytime. At night I use grey characters on a black background - backlight does have its advantages here - while during the day this scheme is reversed. As both phones have transflective screens it is possible to use them in full daylight, you just have to find the right angle to read the screen.
LCD might not be as *cool* as electronic paper but to dismiss it as unusable for electronic readers is silly. It works for me after all...