HTC just can’t keep a lid on its new workhorse model, code-named the HTC Ville. The phone leaked in render form months ago, then in a surreptitious spy video showed the slinky phone running Ice Cream Sandwich. The Ville has once again popped up before its debut, this time in a series of blurrycam photos from Japanese site Ameblo. They don’t show anything we haven’t seen before, but the photos confirm the design, including its impressive thinness, a first among HTC’s usually chunky smartphones.
The Ville is expected to be HTC’s mid-range entry for 2012, matching the relative market location of the Sensation in 2012. Leaked specs include a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, and a 4.3-inch QHD screen with an AMOLED panel. Details on other phone specifications are scarce, but the device is said to be a mere 8.9mm thin – a record for HTC, and admirable even in today’s crowded market. Naturally the phone runs Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC’s Sense 4.0, though you’d be hard pressed to spot the differences from these photos alone.
The smaller size and lower power of the Ville contrast with the HTC Edge, expected to have a 4.7-inch screen, Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and a 720p screen. The Ville’s relatively mid-market status gives credence to the idea that we’ll see it first on T-Mobile in the US, probably replacing the Amaze 4G. While there’s certainly something going on at HTC’s pre-MWC event on February 26th, there’s no telling what it might be – though the quick removal of a previous version of the Ville video indicate that the company would prefer you don’t know about this phone just yet. See you in Barcelona.
[via Android-Life]
looks good we will see as 2012 takes shape as tp exactly what htc has to offer for this year. Meanwhile my galaxy nexus is doing just fine…
A few months ago, I decided to switch from my original iPhone to an Android phone, and all I can say is, thank GOD I got the Galaxy Nexus. Not only is Android 4.0 amazing, but I can’t see myself EVER using a phone that isn’t STOCK Android. I have zero desire to ever use a skinned phone like this.
Sense is way better then stock android, i have desire hd and sense 3.5 and it rocks 🙂
I was really impressed with Sense back when I was looking at the original EVO 4G, but, of course, that was pre-ICS, and Gingerbread did nothing for me.
To each his own, though. I will say, I do love HTC’s hardware. I look forward to checking out the Ville and Edge in the next few months.
I love HTC Hardware and the Sensation was my favorite for a long time, but Sense is just not my thing. I went to CM7 ASAP..
This is bullshit. It’s a rebranded Sensation with a slightly faster processor and the new OS. Fuck you, HTC.
I really wish they would step up their quality like they did with phones like the Evo, Inspire/Desire HD, Arrive, etc. The new peel-off-the-whole-body-of-the-phone thing interrupts signal, looks ridiculous, and wreaks of cheapness. This is hardly an upgrade to the Amaze, and the Amaze was hardly an upgrade to the Sensation. Everyone is cutting corners in different areas; Samsung is at least consistent and totally transparent in their compromise of making stuff out of cheap plastic. But HTC makes the same shortcuts as the rest, while masquerading as the “high class” smartphone manufacturer and charging more for their phones because the Evo got all kids and black people going “YEAH I WANT A HTC!” Total crap IMO. They should live up to their image and legacy and keep building the best of the best, which they are PERFECTLY capable of doing.