“HTC Ocean” might have been outed with innovative “Sense Touch” feature
Danelle Vermeulen and his team were responsible for a great deal of conceptualization and product design for HTC over the years, but the company may have spilled the beans on a product that has yet to come to market.
His marketing page currently houses a video for one “HTC Ocean.” In it, the device is being paraded in a series of shots showing off a new feature called “Sense Touch.” In simple terms, Sense Touch allows you to control aspects of the phone and navigate its UI by swiping or tapping the outer edge of its metal frame.
The video shows that you could make a tap gesture while on the home screen to activate Google Now (or Google Assistant). In the music, sliding your finger up and down can adjust the volume. In the camera, a tap on the right side could be used for a shutter button, while a sliding motion on the left edge could adjust zoom or brightness. It looks really cool.
Vermeulen describes the video as “a great example of a typical project within HTC; a quick turnaround creating a sizzle reel as an answer to a call to pitch a conceptual idea for CEO buy-in. With a two day deadline, our small team came up with a new marketing concept and strategy, created 3D files, and animated this vignette of our concept. I was responsible for all UI/UX animation, and my teammate created all of the 3D device motion.”
So, what does that mean? We’re not sure. There’s no telling if this pitch is for the phone itself or for the feature on a phone yet to be revealed. Is it the “Ocean” with its slick design and dual-rear cameras we’re to look forward to? Or is this device merely a generic object for the purpose of visualizing a product reel? Those are the questions we’re now seeking answers to. But one thing seems clear: the video is all about showing off what this “Sense Touch” feature can do, and we hope it’s headed into HTC’s next big device.