HTC Had to Cut the Fat on Their Gingerbread ROM for the Desire
We can’t say we’re surprised to hear this, folks. HTC initially had plans to let the HTC Desire die without a hint of bread. Gingerbread, to be exact. It would drift off into the wind, carrying caseloads of Froyo to give away to anyone who craved some. This displeased everyone, of course, and HTC responded. They’ve been getting good at that customer satisfaction thing lately.
Less than 24 hours after that decision, HTC elected to recant and they joyed everyone by telling them that they’ll be bringing Gingerbread to the Desire after all. They had to sacrifice something, though – apps. HTC originally stated memory issues as the reason they couldn’t fit a Gingerbread ROM on the phone. Users called this “BS” as there’s an entire community of Desire users on Gingerbread Sense ROMs.
Those ROMs are usually devoid of bloatware. HTC probably saw that and said “ya’ know, maybe we can do the same to deliver an official update to our users.” And I suppose that’s exactly what happened as they’ve confirmed all of this on their Facebook page. Here’s their full quote on the matter:
To resolve Desire’s memory issue and enable the upgrade to Gingerbread, we will cut select apps from the release. Look for status updates starting next week. We apologize for any confusion.
HTC goes on to state that the applications they decide to remove from the ROM will be available for download in the Android market, a smart move to make sure they aren’t stepping on the toes of users who actually use them. In fact, why can’t we just get this option for all ROMs from OEMs? I’m sure the folks who don’t know a lick about rooting and ROM’ing still want a say on what is and isn’t on their phone.
Unfortunately, that’s just wishful thinking at this point – we have a feeling the Desire is the only phone, from HTC or otherwise, receiving this treatment. Anyway, the point is that Gingerbread’s coming. Expect this to be the end of the line, folks, because we have a feeling Ice Cream Sandwich will just be too much dessert for the Desire. [Twitter, Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]