Sense - 3/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

HTC ThunderBolt Review: When 'Tried And True' Meets 'New And Blazing Fast'

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

Well, it's finally here - after almost as many rumored (and subsequently unmet) release dates as the Notion Ink Adam, the HTC ThunderBolt has finally gone on sale. But with a sky-high $250 price tag and essentially the same hardware as the rapidly aging Desire HD, can it still impress?

That's not an easy question to answer - while the ThunderBolt is a great all-around device on an incredibly zippy network, it doesn't exactly have the most future-proof hardware in the business, and it comes armed to the teeth with bloatware. But after putting it through its paces, I must say that I walked away much more impressed than I was going in.

Mar

All Signs Pointing To HTC Launching A 10" Honeycomb Tablet In June?

Posted by Will Shanklin in HTC, News, Rumors

After HTC's upcoming Flyer tablet was announced and previewed, many were bewildered that their debut offering in the tablet game was a 7" single-core slate that runs Gingerbread and totes a stylus. If recent leaks from retailers hold any water, then the Taiwanese manufacturer may have something else (much better?) in store. Two leaked internal document show a 10" Honeycomb tablet from HTC launching in June.

Two leaks from separate outlets show different versions of the same list. Droid Life cites the document coming from Staples, while Pre Central describes their similar document as originating from "a major retailer." The majority of the slates listed are nothing new (including the XOOM and the Galaxy Tab), but HTC's June release of a Honeycomb tablet with a "TBD" price certainly jumps out as new.

Feb

Add Some Sense To Your CyanogenMod 7 With The NTSense Theme

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, News

As I've said before, CyanogenMod (CM) custom theme support is just plain awesome, and today's example is no different. It's called NTSense, and as you can probably guess, it's a Sense-inspired theme created by nhnt11. It's currently in beta and only supports LDPI and HDPI devices at the moment, but things look pretty good so far.

As it's still early in development, there are a few notable caveats. First, HDPI support isn't quite finished - there are still a few missing features (app icons don't change because he hasn't made them yet), and there are probably a few bugs lurking about.

Jan

AT&T Gets A 4.3″ 4G Phone To Call Its Own – Introducing The HTC Inspire 4G

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, HTC, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), News

Last Updated: January 27th, 2011

Eyeing the HTC Thunderbolt or EVO 4G with envy but stuck on AT&T? Fortunately, the carrier, which has a long reputation of not embracing Android (none of their Android phones can officially sideload apps) has just announced its next "superphone." The HTC Inspire 4G looks to be just about the same as the Thunderbolt, with a 4.3" screen and 4G connectivity, although it will support AT&T's HSPA+ network instead of their upcoming LTE network. Also worth noting is that this device will launch with the latest Sense UI, the same as we've seen on the Desire HD and Desire Z abroad, which will allow access to HTCSense.com as well as extra features such as offline maps and fastboot.

Nov

T-Mobile myTouch 4G Review Roundup: T-Mobile's Best

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, myTouch 4G (Glacier), News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, T-Mobile

Last Updated: August 1st, 2012

It seems like only a few days ago the nation's fourth largest carrier launched its highly anticipated and well received first HSPA+ device - the G2. Those of us who aren't keyboard fans, however, didn't have to wait long, as yesterday T-Mobile introduced a second Android device to join HSPA+ ranks: the myTouch 4G. According to some of these early reviews, it's not only better than the G2, it may even be the best phone T-Mobile has to offer. Let's count 'em down.

PC Magazine

In the first paragraph of his review, Sascha Segan of PC Magazine stated that although some of the myTouch 4G's features are still a bit rough around the edges, the fact that those features exist earn the phone an Editor's Choice award.

Oct

HTC Aria Gets Leaked Froyo ROM

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Development, Froyo 2.2, HTC

Thought the miniscule HTC Aria wouldn't be getting a bite-sized scoop of Froyo to call its own? Wrong! ls377 over at the Android Central Forums has packaged the leaked Froyo Sense RUU for the Aria into a flashable .zip file. There isn't really much else to say other than that you can flash it just like any other ROM (through Recovery Mode or through an app like ROM Manager) and that some users seem to be having issues with the Android Market. Still, if I were rocking an Aria, I wouldn't hesitate to leave Eclair - after all, who doesn't love themselves some nice, cool frozen yogurt?

Oct

Fancy Widget For Android Finally Returns After Cease & Desist From HTC And Months Of Disappearance

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, HTC, News

If there is one unique thing the HTC Sense UI brings to the table, it's definitely the clock/date/calendar widget. You know the one I'm talking about:

HTC most certainly brought the sexy, and those of us running alternate launchers (Launcher Pro, ADW, etc) or using phones without Sense, were getting kind of jealous. The solution came in the form of an app called Fancy Widget which mimicked the Sense widget almost to a tee, while adding a host of handy options:

Unsuprisingly, Fancy Widget got very popular, and HTC ended up sending Android Does, the widget's developer, a cease and desist order.

Oct

HTC Desire HD Photographed In Fabulous Detail, First Impressions Posted

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Desire HD (Ace), Devices By Manufacturer, HTC, News

One lucky Dutch guy (xda member Clock1932) has swept aside any considerations of failed Google "Type Approval" testing and has gotten his paws on what many are calling "the EVO for Europe." Not so fast: while it may lack a kickstand, a 4G radio, and a front facing camera, its new Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8255 CPU appears to be quite a step up when it comes to benchmarks. Preliminary tests show a result of about 1900, compared to about 1200 on an EVO 4G running Froyo.

Speaking of snappiness, HTCSense.com is reportedly working nicely, with the "Call My Device" feature making the phone ring almost immediately.

Oct

The Direction Android Smartphones Are Headed, Why It Might Be Bad, And How Google Can Stop It

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials

We constantly hear about how smartphones are the evolutionary next-step in personal computing. Laptops sat atop this pedestal in the late 1990's, and tablets may soon come to share this title with their smartphone cousins.

But there's a glaring issue with smartphones: the players in the smartphone industry are to smartphones what Taco Bell is to choice of meat in your burrito. There's not a whole lot of wiggle room, and it's an increasingly take it or leave it sort of affair. HTC's new boot restore on the G2 and Desire Z, Motorola's eFuse bootloader protection, and Apple's extensive efforts to thwart jailbreaking on every iPhone software update are all evidence a trend that is decidedly against the spirit of personal computing.

Oct

HTCSense.com Goes Live

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications, Desire HD (Ace), Desire Z (Vision), News

Last night, @IncredibleDoes threw a shout out on Twitter to let the world know that HTCSense.com was now live.

While the selection of users and phones that can utilize the service right now is very (more like extremely) limited, it is still exciting to see this coming to fruition. There are devices both upcoming and already out that are slated to receive the new Sense, and it is nothing short of mind-blowing how much functionality they've added.

If you want to go and check it out, go for it. If you don't have a Desire Z or Desire HD, you won't get very far because even after you register, the site prompts you to sign in from your phone.