Connectivity includes 3G, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, while there’s a microUSB port and a microSD card slot to augment the minimal 483MB ROM. The 1,230 mAh battery is hidden behind a soft-touch, rubberized rear cover, initially available in black or blue though HTC tells us they’ll have alternative colors soon.

The camera is a mere 3-megapixel unit, further example of what HTC told us was a “focus on device expectations, not specifications” but what’s really more likely to be the result of building to a strict budget. Pre-pay users and cash-short students are the expected audience, with HTC adding a “data monitor” app which can keep track of how much data, SMS and calls you’ve used. Unfortunately – for the user, at least, not the carrier – the app won’t actually pop up and warn you when a limit is about to run out, you’re expected to check it manually, and there’s no homescreen widget at this stage.

Otherwise the only app of note in the updated Sense 3.5 is “Best Deals”, HTC’s interpretation of the local deals market. Unfortunately we weren’t able to test that in our pre-briefing with the Explorer.

The HTC Explorer is expected to go on sale in Europe and Asia from October 2011. Pricing will depend on market.

Update: Vodafone UK tells us they’ll be offering the Explorer, though still no word on how much.

Looking for an affordable smartphone capable of Verizon’s incredibly fast 4G speeds? The Pantech Breakout was officially announced on Verizon Wireless for $100 with a two year service contract. Though this device may not give you the same speed and functionality available on their recently released DROID Bionic, it is indeed much cheaper. The HTC Rhyme is also scheduled to debut on Verizon soon; Chris Burns went hands-on with the phone Tuesday. As the name suggests, one would expect the Rhyme to ship with Beats integration, yet this was not the case within our hands-on coverage. The Rhyme will run HTC’s Sense 3.5 UI, which is now said to incorporate a free 5GB of free Dropbox storage.

Google Wallet went live this Monday and is now available for all Nexus S 4G devices. Currently, only Citi and Mastercard users can link to the service. However, Visa, American Express, and Discover will all support Google Wallet in due time. It will surely be supported by the next generation Nexus device, so Google Wallet’s potential may rise from spread popularity. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now rumored to arrive before the DROID Prime on Verizon’s network with a launch date of November 3rd. Verizon normally launches devices on Thursdays – so this very well may be accurate.

If the tablets released as of late have been slightly too small for your taste, then maybe the Android MegaPad 23″ life-sized tablet may be of interest to you. Within the video demonstration, it’s easy to see how adapting Android to such a large tablet is such a good idea. Two other awesome gadgets previewed this week were the Sphero robotic ball and the TankBot micro-vehicle. Both of these are remotely controlled by your Android device! Who wouldn’t want to control a tiny ball around their house with Android or iOS device?

Even though Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t even hit devices yet, Notion Ink has confirmed it will be running on their Adam slate this October. This may very well fall through, as Notion Ink previous history hasn’t complemented their ability to follow through with their customers. Finally, Amazon has just recently started sending out invitations to their press event in NYC come September 28! Could this be the introduction to a long awaited (and affordable) Android tablet? The majority of us hope so!

If you’re out of LTE coverage, then the Raider 4G is also good for up to 21Mbps 3G downloads or 5.76Mbps uploads. There’s also WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, and all the usual sensors you’d expect, along with an 8-megapixel rear f/2.2 camera with dual-LED flash and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. Full HD video recording is supported. OS is Android Gingerbread with HTC Sense on top.

HTC will also offer the Raider 4G with an optional DMB dongle, allowing owners to tune into digital TV broadcasts when in South Korea. The whole thing measures 128.8mm x 67mm x 11.27mm and weighs 163.8g with its 1620 mAh battery. No word on pricing or availability internationally at this stage, though AT&T is tipped to get the Raider 4G at some point.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

So here’s the long and short of it: the HTC Runnymede is the shorter of the more stout of the two devices and will be called the HTC Bass. The HTC Bliss, aka the one with the metal strip in the middle, will be called the HTC Rhyme. With the names both having to do with music and the HTC Bass literally having the beatsaudio logo on the center bottom back, we can very safely assume that these will be amongst HTC’s newest recruits for the Beats-laden future of HTC handsets. With the event happening next week, we can also assume we’ll be seeing both of these devices.

What’s more is that in addition to the notion that the Sensation XE, a new edition of the HTC Sensation, would be the first on the block to get beatsaudio audio fidelity. This was recently trumped on the hack side by some developers who’ve craftily installed beatsaudio on the Desire HD pre-software launch. The same goes for the brand new look at HTC Sense, version 3.5 that is, which has been floating around the block for a couple weeks now.

Will the combination of the two plus this lovely new hardware be enough to entice you to join the HTC Android pack – or if you’re already running with the pack, will these devices keep you a wolf?

[via SlashGear]

The largest change you’re going to find here is the complete disappearance of the long standing three-button Sense launcher bar normally sitting at the bottom of your display. Instead you’ll have a completely separate app drawer and phone keys. There’s a brand new ability to add and remove homescreens now, and Widgets have been tweaked as well. Smells nice, doesn’t it?

What we’re seeing here is an upgrade to what yours truly considers one of the better out of the box user interfaces delivered by a manufacturer since Android began. Sense 3.0 has treated this team quite well, this upgrade to 3.5 is set to be the buffed-up and much more magical version of a winner. Expect to see this user interface on the HTC Holiday (aka HTC Raider), the HTC Vigor, the HTC Bliss, and maybe even the HTC EVO Design 4G. Be there!

[via TechCrunch]

What you’re actually looking at above and below is the app installed on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – this is done because the tablet has instant screenshot capabilities which made taking such photos quite easy, but also to demonstrate how capable this app is of working on any Android platform. Agile lock is available on the market [as a free download on the Android Market] or you can get the paid version as well. What you’ll get with the paid version is a trade of one dollar and fifty cents for all the options under the sun.

There’s even a bug fix for those using CyanogenMod 7 – that means these developers are in the know, if you know what I mean. This lockscreen allows for four app shortcuts to be set above the unlock ring, each of them dragged into the ring resulting in them instantly launching. This is the same as the HTC version – where it differs is in the multiple options you’ve got for the screen above the shortcuts. You can add widgets galore – widgets that can be placed anywhere WITHOUT a grid restriction like the rest of Honeycomb, mind you.

You’ve gotta go grab this app right now. It works right out of the box to replace whatever lockscreen you’ve got, or you can easily shut it off, and it works on every Android version under the sun from what we can see at the moment: [Agile Lock on the Android Market] – go forth and unlock!

This location will also be the place where developers will be able to access all HTC SDKs as well as features available through HTC in the future. This is also the place where you’re going to be able to grab the HTC S3D SDK, allowing you to create applications made specifically for the HTC EVO 3D environment. Another site-specific feature download here is the HTC Pen SDK which will allow you to make further customized apps with HTC Scribe technology (as seen on the HTC Flyer and HTC EVO View 4G.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to pick up kernel source codes for all HTC products AND this will be the home for all of your sweet bootloader unlocking instructions. More than likely you’ll want to bookmark this site as it’ll be the place you’re going to want to go to get every and all things HTC developer – they’ve even got an HTCpro section that’ll show you how to turn your business into a mobile experience, creating your own apps for your own situations. There’s a knowledge base, resources up the wazoo, and it’s all designed very, very nicely.

We’ll of course be providing you with all links inroad to this portal when they release any new info too, so stick around Android Community as well!

This isn’t really all that surprising as HTC is the king of custom user interfaces with the highly popular HTC Sense UI. I personally love stock vanilla Android on both Gingerbread and Honeycomb myself. We can expect to see some sort of HTC Sense on the Puccini that is for sure, but we are also seeing loads of AT&T bloatware. As long as they don’t pre-load this thing with Bing I’ll be okay.

We do have the split keyboard layout we have been seeing as of late and I like the look. The new Wifi icon and menu button on screen in the image above are a little odd though.

We wont show you all of the bloatware but you can see plenty of AT&T branded apps pre-installed above. I counted like 5 straight off the back and then gave up on looking for more. Pre-installed apps are to be expected so we just have to deal with the bloatware. The HTC custom UI should bring plenty of improvements and fancy designs but we wont know until we see more but here is a small preview of the settings pane.

HTC has been known for their colorful icons in settings menus etc on most Android handsets and we have no reason to believe differently for a tablet. Clearly we can see the similar UI idea’s in the above image.

We don’t know a lot about these screenshots or how close they are to being a final build, we will probably see more eventually that might shed more light on HTC’s upcoming tablet and Honeycomb UI. Interesting shots and I can’t wait to see more.

[via PocketNow]

Before we continue, let’s have a look at our hands-on video so you know how incredibly handheld this device is, how the UI is looking, and what’s under the boot. This video shows yours truly taking the device out of the box for the first time as well as starting it up and exploring the contents:

Hardware

This being the smallest HTC device on the block, one might think that it’s squished, tinier than it aught to be, too small for Android. While this may be true of the competition whose devices are essentially the same size with basically have the pixel resolution in the display, here the HTC crew have provided a start screen for such a small device on a TFT display that looks rather bright and nice. The only complaint I’ve got about interactivity is the small area in which now the four Android menu buttons and the buttons at the bottom of the display (for apps, phonecalls, whatever you might put there.) This area has many different things now in very close proximity, a situation where a person with above-average sized fingers might find tapping to be rather inaccurate.

On the other hand, the rest of the display is just the right size for tiny computing. As this device is rolling out with a 600Mhz processor on a single-core chip, we won’t be using it for too many high-quality apps. On the other hand, its size and its ability to use music apps like Spotify and DoubleTwist (a shortcut for DoubleTwist is included on the device out of the box), this handset is perfect for day-to-day media interaction. The speaker is loud, the construction is creak-free, and the plastic making up most of the casing is not quite as nice as HTC usually comes out with, but isn’t the worst we’ve seen as far as quality goes either. Having the ability to get a different color combination in this device is a plus as well.

Software and Performance

In your apps drawer, you’ll find your usual set of Google-set items including the Android Market, FM radio, Camera and Camcorder, and easy to use apps such as Gallery, Calculator,Music, Phone, and Peep for your Twitter activity. You’ve also got Slacker radio built in for some streaming music action, HTC’s Weather app for some excellent and totally simple GPS-location-based weather reports, and “My Device” which will give you, the new-to-smartphones user a full guide on how to get acquainted with your new device.

You’ll find that you’re able to run the simplest apps plus a few slightly-higher-functioning apps like Angry Birds without a hitch. Unfortunately the internal storage on this device is relatively low, and it’s not immediately apparent to brand NEW to Android users how to push their content over to their external memory, that being the 2GB microSD card that comes with the device. Once they DO figure out such a thing, then do the smart thing and upgrade to a much larger 32GB card, they’ll be doing just fine from that point forward.

As far as performance goes, you’ll not find the Wildfire S winning any contests, but the results are certainly OK for a 600Mhz single-core, that’s for sure.

Camera and Battery

The camera quality is OK, certainly no competition for the higher-range 8 megapixel cameras we’ve seen come out over the past few months. A 5-megapixel camera on the back of the device takes decent photos and 640×480 video at 24fps. Made for sharing, looks pretty good for day to day activities, not made for professional capture, if you know what I mean. Have look here:

Wrap-Up

This is THE perfect phone for a new Android user. Not only will they be treated to an easy to use interface with the fun extra bits HTC offers (such as the world-renowned weather widget, of course,) they’ll have a tiny screen with bright colors and relatively sharp picture to do it with. This device will both impress a new-to-smartphone user and make them wanting more Android in the future. Not only that, they’ll want to stick with HTC because of the ease in using that one single big time draw: the weather widget again! Customization is tuned directly to new users, and with such a compact device that’s not much bigger (and in some cases smaller) than feature phones on the market today, they’ll want to continue sizing up.

In addition, those who’ve used Android in the past and want to down-size for one reason or another would be wise to take a peek at the Wildfire S. Because I’ve got more than one Android device sitting around here for testing, i plan on using this little beast for short trips and those that I don’t plan on being out of the house for more than a couple hours. Email, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, photos, video, and all the rest of my basic communications work on here just fine, leaving only big-screen interactions like video chat (this device doesn’t have a front-facing camera) and video viewing for the bigger guns. Well done, HTC, what a cutie!

As you may already know, this device was announced with the rest of the HTC devices in one giant swoop earlier this year at Mobile World Congress (that being February 15, 2011.) It’s the smallest of the bunch, of course, and is made to compete directly with such devices as the LG Optimus U and V plus the Samsung Exhibit 4G, Gravity Smart, and the Dart – and don’t forget the Pantech Crossover, of course. But what none of these competitors have is something only HTC can offer: Sense. HTC Sense is what amounts to one of the hottest user interfaces on the Android market, and by the looks of it, HTC knows it.

With the Wildfire S you’re going to get a mid-range device with a top-range display and interface. While the plastic used to make the back casing of the handset isn’t as soft or as nice to hold as devices like, say, the HTC Sensation, it’s still well molded and in that it comes off all in one piece to reveal a simple spot for battery, SIM card, and microSD (2GB out of the box upgradable to 32GB), this device seems like a quick winner. We’re going to put this device through some hoops then get back to you on what the final verdict is.

Meanwhile here’s a question for you: what questions about the device would you like answered? Anything in particular you’d like to know?

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Wildfire S

Manufactuer : HTC

Carrier : T-Mobile Vodafone

Announced Date : February 15, 2011

Release Date : April 27, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 3.20 Inch
• Resolution : 320x480
• Screen Type : TFT

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 3.99 Inch
• Width : 2.34 Inch
• Depth : 0.49 Inch
• Weight : 105 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1230 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 360 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• 3GP
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : S1

CPU Clock Speed : 600 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : .512 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 5 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

For Q2 2011 the company shipped 11 million smartphones total. That 11 million figure is more than twice the number it sold in the same quarter of last year. The strong demand in the US and Asia offset the reduced demand in Europe for the smartphone. Asia in particular is expected to drive a higher growth rate throughout the year with solid gains in the US expected as well.

I wonder though how much of the sales of HTC smartphones with Sense are more to do with them only coming with the UI installed. If you have the same phone at the same carrier for the same price and could get it with or without Sense installed, which would you buy? I bet the purists that like to mod and hack their phone would certainly want the Sense free version.

[via Infosyncworld]

OS is Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.0, and there have been a few tweaks made to suit the 3D capabilities. We met up with HTC last week to discuss the EVO 3D, and the company told us that, while it could have made the whole UI 3D, after tests it decided to keep things predominantly 2D as the third dimension was unnecessarily distracting. HTC Watch will offer 3D video content to buy (some territories will get a preloaded copy of The Green Lantern in 3D), though there won’t be any 3D games at launch; HTC tells us that they’re in the pipeline. 3D photos can be easily sent to users with non-3D devices as 2D versions, meaning backward compatibility.

Otherwise, the HTC EVO 3D has dualband HSPA/WCDMA supporting up to 14.4Mbps downloads and up to 5.7Mbps uploads (network depending), a microUSB port that supports MHL HDMI (with 3D output if your screen can handle it) and both WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. There’s 1GB of user-accessible ROM and 1GB of RAM, along with a microSD card slot, and the whole thing weighs in at 170g and measures 126 x 65 x 12.05 mm, though the blunt edges make it feel a significantly bigger, heavier device than the curved Sensation. We do like the dedicated camera button and physical switch for toggling between 2D and 3D modes.

As for the bootloader, since the EVO 3D was in development while the decision to open up future HTC devices to third-party ROMs was made, it’s not clear what will happen. HTC told us that’s still being discussed internally, and that it’s “not as simple” as throwing a switch on production units. Pricing is also to be decided, though it’ll likely come in alongside the Sensation.

For more on the HTC EVO 3D, check out our full review of the US version, which – radios aside – is functionally identical.

Like the Sensation, there’s a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of internal storage and an 8-megapixel main camera with autofocus and a dual-LED flash, capable of recording 1080p HD video. Up front is a 1.3-megapixel camera, and there’s MHL HDMI support for the USB 2.0 connection. HTC also throws in GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot.

Connectivity includes both HSPA/WCDMA and WiMAX (WiBro) support, along with quadband GSM/EDGE. There’s HTC’s Sense UI on top of Android, complete with HTC Watch for renting or purchasing video content, DLNA wireless streaming, stereo speakers and more. No word on when it will launch in Korea, nor indeed when it might make it to North America.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

This device has a 540 x 960 pixel resolution 4.3 inch 3D S-LCD display set in a 126 x 65 x 12.1 mm chassis with a weight of 170 g total. If you’ll recall, we’ve had our hands on this device before, even going so far as to literally compare the size of it to the HTC ThunderBolt! Now we’ve got another HTC device in the house, that being the dual-core HTC Sensation 4G with it’s ultra-fancy chassis and Sense 3.0 with excellent new widgets and lockscreen in tow. Turns out the HTC EVO 3D has all that and more! Let’s dive in and see if it adds up.

First Impressions

What we’re dealing with is a hot 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8660 chipset. We’ll see soon enough. This device also comes packed with what’s basically the greatest 3D enabled game on the market today: Spider-Man! But wait, it’s not the full version, you’ll have to buy the full version via Gameloft – but you’ll be able to pay on your phone bill! That’s practically free! Look for a demo inside the hands-on below – it’s fabulous! Go Gameloft!

On the back of this device you’re going to find the dual-camera magic. That’s right, a 5-megapixel 2560х1920 pixel resolution, autofocus, dual-LED flash having camera that’ll be able to take stereoscopic photos (2 MP only) & videos with geo-tagging. Can you believe it?! There’s also a 1-megapixel camera on the front. Use it!

Now let’s have a look at some benchmarks. As you can see, this device does indeed hold its own directly out of the box. Want to compare these marks to the HTC Sensation which also JUST came out? Have a look at our full review! I think you’ll find the results to be tantalizing.

Now this device does have 1 GB storage and 1 GB RAM, but it also has a microSD port under the battery cover. While the HTC EVO 3D comes with a relatively small 8GB card out of the box, you’ll be able to upgrade that to a 32GB card if you wish in the future, per the standard for high-end phones these days. There’s a microSD port, a headphone jack, volume up and down, power button / lock, and that’s it – oh wait! There’s a couple additions that you RAREly see on HTC devices. First, a dedicated camera button. Not only does this button exist, it’s gigantic compared to buttons of old. Nice and big and metal and round, this makes the device seem as though it was made to take photos and video. Fancy that! Then there’s a 2D/3D switch which thus far appears to only function inside your camera mode. Games you’ll be switching on your own the old fashioned way.

Also of note – that microUSB port is also MHL enabled, this meaning that all you’ll need is an official converter and you’ll be outputting to HDMI in no time. That combined with the fact that this device has basically everything that the Sensation has and, again, more, should have your mouth watering in all sorts of ways.

On the other hand, the casing on the Sensation is going to be a doozy to beat, it’s ever so lovely.

Stay tuned with us here on Android Community as we continue to take a look at this device in more ways than one, crowning our looks off with a review or two VERY soon!

“To resolve Desire’s memory issue and enable the upgrade to Gingerbread, we will cut select apps from the release” HTC has revealed on its Facebook page. The exact nature of the apps that will be missing is unknown, as is whether they’ll be from HTC’s own Sense line-up or software Google normally distributes with Gingerbread itself. “Look for status updates starting next week” HTC promises,  ”we apologize for any confusion.”

HTC announced earlier this week that it had deleted the Desire’s Gingerbread update from the roadmap, after software engineers discovered they were unable to fit both the OS and Sense into a ROM that offered “the HTC Sense experience you’ve come to expect.” The news met with an unsurprising amount of vitriol from owners, with threats that they would boycott HTC’s future devices and accusations that it was a marketing move rather than an engineering one.

We’re checking with HTC now to see if they can tell us either which apps are on the firing line or at least whether they’re from Sense or core Android. Update: HTC UK tells us that it has no word on which apps will be kept and which will go at this stage.

[via SlashGear]

Previously, carriers had told Desire owners they could likely expect the Gingerbread update at the end of April or early May. Unfortunately, it seems HTC couldn’t get both Android 2.3 and Sense to play nicely together in what memory the Desire had to offer:

“Our engineering teams have been working hard for the past few months to find a way to bring Gingerbread to the HTC Desire without compromising the HTC Sense experience you’ve come to expect from our phones. However, we’re sorry to announce that we’ve been forced to accept there isn’t enough memory to allow us both to bring Gingerbread and keep the HTC Sense experience on the HTC Desire. We’re sincerely sorry for the disappointment that this news may bring to some of you.” HTC

Unsurprisingly, the news isn’t going down well among Desire owners, many of whom are still inside their original agreement from when they first bought the handset. Of course, they could head over to xda-developers where there are several unofficial ROMs to be had, bringing the smartphone up to speed with Gingerbread.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Hardware

The HTC Sensation 4G is a device that’s made for comfort. Not shedding a single tear for weight or thickness, HTC’s opted for a 4.96 x 2.57 x 0.44 inches and 5.22oz handset that’s heavy on the good looks. Soft-touch and hard plastic hardware surround the device with what we’d almost classify as an elegance not oft seen in smartphones at this time in history. What we’ve got here is a solid bit of mighty handset, one that’s not afraid to show off some curves in opposition to the much thinner and lighter competition.

The entirety of the back pops off at once to reveal the battery, SIM card and microSD departments, this offering a rather pleasing change compared to the terrible double-door openings on the HTC Inspire 4G. HTC had been moving towards this with the HTC ThunderBolt (which received some major press due to its replacement battery door that looked and still looks like a massive monster from heck), but now we’ve reached a new level of well-thought-out industrial design with the entire back coming off at once.

The display up front is a 4.3-inch qHD 960 x 540 resolution LCD above four touch-sensitive Android buttons below some fantastic curved Gorilla Glass. The curve occurs near the edges of the glass and the casing reaches beyond the glass so that, if you’d take a try, placing the device face-down results in no glass touching the table. This is great for catching ants or making sure your pet amoeba stay in check – also important because on the Sensation, as with all HTC Android devices, turning the device on its face will silence an incoming call – fun fact!

The display is clear, crisp, and unless you’ve got a Super AMOLED Plus device sitting right next to it, as bright as you’ll ever need to get. As with the T-Mobile G2x, the curved glass front ads a level of quality and uniqueness that cannot be calculated in processor power. Your thumb will thank you all day long, every day from now on.

Inside you’ll find the big guns, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon MSM8660 processor. This is a dual-core 1.2GHz chipset rocking with asynchronous cores that are able to run at different frequencies and voltages and give you the hottest blast of power you’ve seen yet in a dual core device. Let’s have a battle in the street! In addition to being wicked cool, this functionality has HTC claiming reduced power consumption on account of this processor’s ability to scale itself to however much power you need at any given time. Of course this chipset also contains Adreno 220 GPU, a hot system tag-teaming all the way to victory in a phone that now adds up to HTC’s most powerful to date.

Connectivity you’ll find happening along GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, UMTS 900, 1700/2100, 2100, UMTS, and HSPA (HSDPA 14.4 Mbit/s and HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s). There’s some Wifi in there too incase you’re sitting around the coffee shop just kicking it. Bluetooth 3.0 is part of this party, microUSB, 1080p HDMI output through the same port if you’ve got the correct MHL adapter (not included, sadly,) GPS, gyroscope, G-sensor, digital compass, proximity and ambient light sensors, and two cameras: 8-megapixels on the back with the ability to record in 1080p and with a dual-LED flash, front-facing camera is a fixed-focus VGA resolution camera for video calls only – seriously, don’t use it for anything else.

FM radio, SRS Virtual surround sound, and the ability (like with all newer Android devices) to work with Googles still-beta cloud-based Music app make this a place to listen to news radio and Radio Gaga from as well. And did I mention how comfortable this device is to hold? It’s severely comfortable. The curved glass on the front is only the start. That soft-touch plastic on the back mixed with the metal swoop – goodness! What’s not such goodness is the fact that this device has only 1GB of ROM inside, with a microSD slot with a generous but not top-tier offering of an 8GB card out of the box. We got a 32GB card out of the box with the HTC ThunderBolt, here’s hoping that that particular trend comes back next time.

Hands-On with the HTC Sensation 4G

Software and Performance

What we’re dealing with here is the newest version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense, also the newest version with Sense 3.0. This newest version can also be found on the HTC Flyer, reviewed by us back here.. You’ll find yourself working with a brand new lockscreen that allows you shortcuts to whichever apps you’ve pre-set via a magical ring, a seven-pane homescreen that works on a carousel, and various tiny tweaks over the entirety of the stock Android HTC stated with to make it their own.

The differences between the Flyer version of Sense 3.0 and the Sensation version of Sense 3.0 are in the size of the screen, basically – this version not working in landscape mode being the most obvious of these. The lockscreen is a very welcome new addition, allowing you to both see and address missed calls, emails, or whatever else you’d like it to do on the fly easily. You’ll be able to customize this lockscreen with any of multiple skins offered up by HTC out of the box, plus you’ll be able to purchase more through the HTC Hub store if that’s your fancy. The store isn’t massively vast, but it does have some goodies.

You’ll be served a fully immersive media purchasing and rending experience in this newest HTC Sense environment if you want it, “Watch” starting off this bag of fun with purchased or rented movies and TV shows, free access to streaming movie trailers, and if you’ve got another HTC device running this same app, all of your purchased content from there here again for free. Thus far the only other device running such a function is, again, the HTC Flyer.

HTC Reader is an eBook platform that connects to Kobo’s bookstore, so you’ve got that option out of the box for books, then there’s a rogues collection of HTC-placed apps that you’ll be better to know about right this moment: Dock Mode, a helpful ability you’ll be using should you purchase a dock in the future or like to rest your device up against a wall in order to make use of Dock Mode specifically. It’s got the ability to show recent Facebook updates via HTC’s FriendStream, Weather, a clock for if you’d like to se yourself an alarm, and the ability to launch your Mobile Hotspot on the go. Additional apps include Flashlight, which uses the LED camera flash as a lamp, Locations for mapping, HTC Watch, Mirror, and everyone’s favorite metal ball game Teeter just incase you NEED to play a game out of the box. Qik is included out of the box for video chat, and other than the occasional report of an upside-down video from whoever else is on the other side of the line’s end, all is well.

After that, it’s all speedy execution across the board. There’s no lag in any crook or cranny in this device, and it’s essentially only the benchmark numbers we’ve got to rely on in telling this phone apart from the rest of the dual-core monsters out there today. Before we begin, let me set you up with some results from the Galaxy S II:

Quadrant Advanced: 3504 Overall, I/O Scores at 3823 and 4472 respectively
SmartBench 2011: 3878
Linpack Pro: 46.939 MFLOPS

What you see below all belong to the HTC Sensation:

For a good look at what the HTC Sensation vs the Samsung Galaxy S II looks like from over the pond, check out this video from our pal Chris Davies who has both devices on hand:

Camera

HTC’s ThunderBolt has been my primary device for filling up the archives of my personal Android – to – web family project A Tiny City – that’s about to change now that we see the quality the Sensation brings. While the difference between an 8 megapixel camera on one HTC device and an 8 megapixel camera on another HTC device isn’t large, it is ever so slightly noticeable, and since we’ve got the choice, heck, let’s go for the newer, slightly better version!

The video camera on the back of this device also records in full HD 1080p, dual mic holes on the back of the device near the flash of the camera offering stereo audio recording. Wind blowing against the device does not stand up very well, but your average everyday video of a baby certainly does. You’ve also got integrated video trimming featured in this version of Sense and you’ve got the option to stream over DNLA or roll out with full 1080p HDMI output – through your miniUSB port, but lo, the converter is not yet available to purchase or view.

The front-facing camera is no better than any front-facing camera we’ve seen thus far save for the Samsung Galaxy S, which does seem to fare bit better in video chat – for the perfect vision of the difference, check out this photo taken by our good friend and partner Chris Davies from all the way over the pond in England.

Phone and Battery

We experienced no problem to or from the device on telephone calls to multiple areas around the United States. When it came to speakerphone, a surprising amount of clarity was heard and not a crackle could be found. As far as the speakers to be used for example Pandora on a picnic, you’re in luck again because, like the HTC ThunderBolt your humble narrator loves so well, the speaker system is adequate and even nice sounding for close quarters.

Battery testing is always an ongoing process with devices such as this one, but initial tests have yielded at the very least a full day’s usage on your average amount of daily requirements being run through the phone. Google Maps, some YouTube videos, a couple of high-requirement games from the Tegra Zone, some Pandora on a picnic, and by nightfall we’re still not completely drained. Keep this in mind and be happy because the last time we tried such stuff using the lightening bolt of HTC phones, the results weren’t nearly so nice. HTC’s certainly made some improvements here OR indeed it IS the LTE that’s making the battery drain so fast on the ThunderBolt. Either way, the Sensation is good to go for at least a day at a time.

Value and Pricing

This device will be available on June 15th through T-Mobile for $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That is, tied to a 2-year contract and with a required data plan of course. This is a radically good deal considering the fact that this will be your daily electronic companion and portal to the web and the cloud on the web every day for the next two years. $200 should be nothing for you if you’re the type of person that carries around a smartphone, and I assume you are one if you’re reading this sentence, especially when you consider how advanced this device is compared to the rest of the Android lineup out there right this very moment. T-Mobile sells fantastically powerful phones for cheap, now all you’ve got to consider is the fact that you’ll be working on T-Mobile’s 4G network which, by all accounts, certainly isn’t the same network as the other iterations of “4G” out there.

Wrap-Up

Welcome to the second big phase of Android handsets. The first was the very first wave, this second wave is certainly a refined edition of that. We’re in a very awesome place right now in tech history, a place where Mobile is just being born, and here with phones like the HTC Sensation, we’re moving through history on finely-tuned spacecraft made of smooth metals and soft plastic sculpted the exactly the right preparations. The week this review was published, HTC spoke at Uplinq 2011 about the future of Android, that being HTC Dev, their collaboration with OnLive, HTC Watch, and HTC Pro. Now that their newest flagship is here in the Sensation, HTC’s set to continue to be, as Peter Chou, CEO of HTC put it, the number one Android brand and supplier “everywhere in the world.”

Of course no good wrap-up of a device of this caliber is complete without a comparison to a competing device. In this case, that competing device, quite obviously, is the Samsung Galaxy S II. This device is the successor to the most popular series of Android phones ever, has the brightest screen in the world, and based on the benchmarks we’ve seen thus far, is at least slightly more powerful at the outset than the Sensation. But in practice, which device wins out? The more square of the two, or the one that feels like aliens collected the palms of 1,000 humans and decided a swoop was best for the back of a handset? Samsung’s newest form factor, or HTC’s next step in a longstanding evolution of form factors? HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz? Truly this is a question for the ages.

But if I had to decide right now, I’d say that the HTC Sensation is going to be more of a hit for the greater amount of people who purchase it, and might very well appeal to a larger audience than the stark and flat Galaxy S II. While it may be awesome that the Samsung device is the thinnest Android device on the market, it’s certainly not got the smallest amount of pocket size taken up in the 4.3-inch display having category. Galaxy S II has more RAM and internal storage, but the Sensation is certainly going to pack enough punch to satisfy the masses. And if it’s a battle between TouchWiz and Sense? Sense is my choice right this moment.

The HTC Sensation will be a consumer’s choice phone, certainly and for sure. Look for few to no returns of this device to carrier locations around the USA, while other phones are switched out for the newer model day after day in droves. The HTC Sensation is not just a stepping stone toward future models like so many models are these days, even high-cost models, instead it’s the destination for HTC. Where do they go now? The guts can always get better. The form factor I wish them the best of luck on, because this is about as close to perfect a device in my hand has ever fit.

BONUS check out Chris Davies hands-on with the Euro version of the HTC and check out our reaction and understanding coverage of his full review – then we’ve also got another example of 1080p video capture courtesy of Vincent Nguyen – lookin great at Weezer!

As for the OpenSense SDK, that will deliver the APIs for integration with HTC Sense 3.0. As well as the pen-input APIs, as used on the Flyer, there’ll be 3D systems for HTC’s upcoming 3D handsets, like the EVO 3D.

HTCdev continues the work HTC began last year with HTCpro. Last month, the company announced that, moving forward, it would be unlocking bootloaders on its Android devices so as to make third-party modifications more straightforward.

Press Release:

HTC Announces Mobile Developer Support Program and SDK Toolkit

HTC launches HTCdev and announces HTC OpenSense SDK to support developers’ innovation in mobile apps and experiences across HTC portfolio of devices

SAN DIEGO, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today launched HTCdev, a program designed to support mobile developers through tools, resources and community. HTC also announced the HTC OpenSense SDK, which will allow developers to harness software and hardware innovations on HTC phones to develop more richly integrated mobile applications and experiences. In launching HTCdev, together with the HTCpro program launched last year, HTC is creating a network of resources to help developers and businesses meet challenges and opportunities across the mobile space.

“HTC is a company of engineers excited about the possibilities of the mobile space with the goal of fostering choice through innovation,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. “We believe in openness and the power of imagination to create that innovation and are excited that HTCdev will extend new tools to mobile developers, helping them create the next wave of mobile experiences.”

The HTCdev program will support developers across the industry and around the world, from individuals to large enterprises. The new program website, www.HTCdev.com, is scheduled to launch in summer 2011 and will feature an extensive resource library of tutorials, best practices, documentation and support. The site will also offer a user feedback channel to HTC for ongoing investments and improvement to the developer toolset and program resources.

The core offering of the program will be the HTC OpenSense SDK, which will enable Android developers to more deeply integrate into the HTC Sense 3.0 experience. The framework will also provide APIs and sample code for 3-D display and the Tablet pen. The HTC OpenSense SDK will be released in parallel with the launch of the new HTCdev.com site, and will have regular updates and expansions based on inputs from the developer community. Users can visit www.HTCdev.com today to sign up for a release alert for availability of the HTC OpenSense SDK.

About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones and tablets that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

HTC and the HTC logo are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

From the leaked photos it appears to be running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. That is the absolute latest version from Google and if that is correct it will natively run Google Talk and have those video and front facing camera features. It also appears to have the latest HTC Sense UI v3.0 onboard as well, even though the original MyTouch 4G had a custom skin with parts of Sense included.

It should feature a similar dual-core Qualcomm chip as the Sensation 4G, and it has the same 8MP camera on the rear as well as the front. The leaker suggests the screen is nothing to write home about so it must not have a qHD screen sadly. He also suggests the keyboard is soft and squishy and seems very similar to the HTC G2. Hopefully we see more on this in the coming weeks.

[via BGR]

The Evo 3D (see our hands on from CTIA here) is set to be the first major Android smartphone to feature the stereoscopic, glasses-less 3D. Being the first of its kind, one would think it would be a bit lonely in the content department, but Sprint is seeing to it that doesn’t happen. To give you something to do right away, Sprint’s going to be including The Green Hornet in 3D on the pre-packaged SD card with all phones, at least for its initial release. You’ll also get a demo of a 3D Spiderman game, courtesy of Gameloft.

Once you get bored with the pre-loaded content, You’ll be able to bring your money to HTC’s Watch movie store as well as a Blockbuster On-Demand app which will rent, and sell you 2D and 3D movies. Should you be more of a gamer, Sprint has you covered. Gameloft will also be bundling a store app. Gameloft Storefront, as it will be called, will offer several promising sounding 3D games including an Assassins’ Creed title. If you can stand the wait, it sounds like Sprint has every intention of making sure the Evo 3D is a worth successor to the giant it follows.

Exciting Content Coming for this Summer’s Highly Anticipated Smartphone, HTC EVO 3D Exclusively from Sprint
New 2D and 3D content, including games, movies and apps, available for HTC EVO 3D at launch; Gameloft, HTC and Blockbuster latest content providers offering exciting new content designed to take advantage of Wi-Fi and the Sprint 4G Network along with HTC EVO 3D’s powerful features

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), May 31, 2011 – Missed seeing “The Green Hornet 3DTM” and other 3D films at the movie theater? Maybe you are a gamer looking for more action with your favorite game? Today, Sprint (NYSE: S) is offering a sneak peek into some of the exciting content, including movies and games, that will be available on HTC EVOTM 3D, when it launches this summer.

Announced at International CTIA Wireless 2011 and recipient of the coveted ‘Best in Show’ honor from Laptop Magazine, HTC EVO 3D is America’s first 4G phone with a 4.3-inch qHD 3D display for a glasses-free 3D viewing experience.

Available this summer exclusively from Sprint, HTC EVO 3D is built on AndroidTM 2.3 (Gingerbread), and powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® dual core processor. It also features dual, rear-facing 5-megapixel cameras, which can be used to capture both high-quality conventional and stunning 3D images and videos, opening up new frontiers for user-generated content, social networking and streaming video. The device also offers video chat capabilities through a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera.

“When HTC EVO 3D launches this summer, it will introduce our customers to exciting new capabilities that will appeal to consumers,” said Steve Elfman, president-Network Operations, Product and Wholesale, Sprint. “When combined with Wi-Fi and the Sprint 4G Network, HTC EVO 3D offers an innovative user experience that will give our customers the ability to play games, watch movies, take pictures and video chat in 3D right in the palm of their hand.”

3D Movies On Demand

For a limited time, Sprint will be offering customers who purchase the HTC EVO 3D the blockbuster movie “The Green Hornet 3DTM.” The movie will be pre-loaded on the device’s microSD card out of the box.

HTC EVO 3D will be pre-loaded with the HTC WatchTM movie application. With HTC Watch, consumers will have access to 2D and 3D movies and television programming on demand. Customers can buy or rent and download movies that will be optimized for viewing on HTC EVO 3D. Additionally, up to five movies can be stored in the HTC cloud, and programming purchased through the HTC Watch application can be viewed on other HTC devices. Rentals range in price from $2.99 to $3.99, and purchases start at $8.99.

HTC EVO 3D will be the first 3D handset pre-loaded with the Blockbuster On Demand® mobile app offering access to one of the largest catalogs of movies, including 3D titles. This movie store in your pocket offers video optimized for viewing on HTC EVO 3D’s 4.3-inch screen and offers the hottest new releases on the same day they become available on Blu-ray and DVD. Customers can buy or rent titles digitally and download directly to their smartphone, including select 3D movies. Drive Angry, starring Nicolas Cage, will be one of the first action-packed 3D titles available to customers.

Rentals range from $2.99 to $3.99 each, and purchases are $4.99 and up. If a video isn’t available digitally, Blockbuster also gives customers access to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows, as well as games, through its by Blockbuster® by Mail service and Blockbuster stores nationwide. With the HTC EVO 3D, customers can manage and update their mail queues from their phone, while on-the-go.

Gameloft Provides Hottest 3D Gaming

With 3D animation from HTC EVO 3D, gamers will feel like they are part of the action. A free Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem 3D demo version of the game will be pre-loaded on HTC EVO 3D. Gamers will enjoy the sleek graphic style with bold colors and impressive animations, including slow motion that brings the ultimate Spider-Man universe alive right in their hands.

The device will come pre-loaded with the Gameloft Storefront, giving customers access to a variety of 2D and 3D games. Exciting 3D games that will be available at launch include Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles and GT Racing Motor Academy. The 3D and 2D games are available for purchase in the Gameloft Storefront for $4.99.

Additional 3D Applications

With its 3D HD (720p) video capture, 4G speeds where available and the latest version of the acclaimed HTC Sense experience, HTC EVO 3D makes it possible to become part of the action and then easily and seamlessly post and view high-quality 3D video to YouTubeTM or Facebook®, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik. The 3D content will automatically convert to 2D if the viewer does not have a 3D capable device.

Its integrated DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) capability also makes it fast and easy to share stored music, pictures and user-generated HD video wirelessly with other DLNA-certified home electronics, including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras and printers. Using an HDMI cable (sold separately) makes it possible to also share user-created 3D video content via a 3D TV.

Learn more about the HTC EVO 3D by visiting www.sprint.com/evo3d.

A Sprint developer guide for HTC EVO 3D will be available on the Sprint Developer website at launch. The developer guide will provide details and information on how to take advantage of the unique hardware and software capabilities, including 3D, HDMI output and DLNA on the Sprint Network.

As the first U.S. national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Sprint currently offers 4G service in 71 markets in 28 states. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.