By HTC Sync was updated a couple of days ago, and while we normally wouldn’t make much noise about that, one of our crafty users were able to pull images of new HTC devices from it. The Thunderbolt is already official, so nothing to make noise about there. Then there’s a picture of what’s clearly the Merge – hopefully confirmation that this device is still coming out. But there was a third phone that I can’t seem to identify.
It has no capacitive buttons if this image is anything to go by, and its frame isn’t similar to any other Verizon phone we’ve seen released or leaked. My initial thoughts due to the lack of capacitive buttons was that this was just a generic image for place holding or something, but it’s anyone’s guess at this point. What do you guys think? [Thanks, NCX!]
that’s not an htc phone, it’s the new hp webos slate phone with gesture area!
Gingerbread doesn’t require buttons anymore so it very well could be a Gingerphone.
HTC Screen, and part of the HTC Sync inventory, it would only make sense that it is HTC..
@Andy.
Gingerbread does require buttons.
Looks way too generic for it to be a real phone IMO.
@Andy and @G8D:
Perhaps Andy meant Honeycomb. Could be a HoneyPhone…
Gingerbread needs buttons, but honeycomb does not.
Well, even though Google was promoting Honeycomb as “Tablet Only”; during Engadget’s interview with Matias Duarte he did say two things:
1. There are no minimum requirements for Honeycomb
2. Google is encouraging manufacturers to be creative and use it’s new products (it was an interview *about* Honeycomb) in inovative ways.
Then we can say that Honeycomb definately has no need for buttons; and in the first sneak peak of the Motorola XOOM they did say that there would be “phone features” in Honeycomb.
Could this be a Honeycomb phone from HTC?
I think its a gesture area from the looks of it
@Dave
Of course he meant Honeycomb, but thus far we have only had hints that Honeycomb is currently tablet only and we will /eventually/ see similar UI elements on our phones. Whether that means Honeycomb for phones is not a question anyone can answer.
this totally makes sense as a honeycomb phone. But why leave all that space at the bottom? Regardless, any new HTC on Verizon makes me think about upgrading my Droid…
I could see this being a honey comb incredible 2 or HD based on screen size.
Yup.
Anyone wanna listen to some techno music(hardstyle-subgenre)? :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAYwPMelSss
Dj Thera vs Geck-o – Do The Happy Face
The Bionic is pretty good, but the 720p video recording is bugging me. I’d also prefer to have a 4.3″ screen. It would be nice to have another option. I’ll probably go ahead with the Bionic if HTC doesn’t announce something better soon.
Inc hd or the htc tab
o: An Anon…
Hello.
It’s just a place holder. Merely a generic filler pic.
@G8D:
Saw (another blog’s) interview of Matias Duarte who said that Honeycomb will not be tablet-only. He also said that it would support both hard-button devices and button-less devices. Google is leaving that up to the manufacturers.
I reckon screens <4/5" will not suit the lack of button style.
Personally I prefer to have Home/Menu/Back/Search and preferably Call/End as hard buttons anyway.
Looks like the HTC trophy with a Droid wallpaper
@G8D:
I do like the “hard” buttons on my Droid; but must admit that I get screwed up when I pick up my wife’s X (why’d they rearrange the buttons anyway?)
Duarte swears that button-less will scale. I guess we’ll see…
Hopefully with Tegra 2.
Ahhh… If it were only a Nexus phone on Verizon I would be so happy. Hey, a fanboy can dream right?
I’m sure some may disagree with me, but I absolutely DO NOT like phones with no buttons. Without buttons, you have to learn various gestures to do everything you need. I know the iPhone is going this way, and I can practically hear all the retail store sales people groaning at the though of having to give everyone who buys one a big training session to teach them how to do the most basic tasks, such as going to the home screen. Young people will have no problem with this, but the older and wiser crowd are not going to pick up that so easily. Simple and easy are not the same thing, and while no buttons makes for a more simple design, it does not necessarily make it easier to use. I don’t really care whether the buttons are physical or virtual (as in the capacitive buttons found on many Android phones nowadays), just so long as that they’re always there and visibly marked.
My only wish is that somebody would standardize the button order, because Samsung, HTC, and Motorola each seem to have their own order. Different phones from the same manufacturer aren’t even always the same (case in point: Samsung – the Galaxy S phones have a different button arrangement than the Nexus S, and I see no logical reason for the change).
@Dave
Droid has capacitive buttons not hard buttons…
I made the distinction deliberately.
Galaxy S form factor.
HTC sucks
No front facing camera…blah. I dont think it’s a real phone, just a placeholder.
Good to have more phones coming to Verizon!!! That just lets people have more options on what phone to get and make manufacturers have to up there game to make the best dam phone possible to get people to buy there product.
@G8D
Understood; your distinction was not lost on me. That’s why I said “hard” buttons on my Droid.
I was commenting more on the buttons/no buttons issue and that, supposedly, Honeycomb will support both.
@Anto
how is that froyo on your sammy phone????
HTC FTW!
Wouldn’t it be pretty crappy to have no cap.buttons on a phone that’s that small,
looks to animated to be a real phone
It’s a win7 phone, I’ve played with it
it’s the htc 7 trophy. First windows phone set to launch on vzw in Q1. Bam! Solved!
Pretty sure this lower area will have capacitive buttons which may simply be dimmed off.
HAH! I laugh at all you non believers that my find wasn’t real. Engadget just posted a story that it is, along with many other news blogs. Another Phandroid first! ;)