Taiwanese gadget maker HTC Corp. (2498) has enjoyed a rise that is nothing short of meteoric. Thanks to positioning itself as perhaps the most prolific maker of high-end Android handsets, HTC recently soared past the world's largest cell phone maker, Nokia Oyj. (NOK), in terms of market cap. Just a couple years ago that would have been considered a laughable proposition. HTC looks to continue its winning ways with the HTC Sensation "4G" press release, a new Android smartphone which will be available on T-Mobile in the U.S. (DTE).
Whereas the hot selling HTC Thunderbolt 4G on Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ) was essentially a rebranded HTC EVO 4G (Sprint), the HTC Sensation 4G like the upcoming HTC EVO 3D brings substantial aesthetic and hardware changes to the table. Starting out, it is HTC's second upcoming phone to pack a dual core CPU. Like the upcoming EVO 3D (the successor to the EVO 4G) it carries one of Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) latest Snapdragon CPUs.
Its dual cores are clocked at 1.2 GHz. The phone has a bit in common with Motorola's Atrix 4G, a smartphone deployed on what may soon become T-Mobile's parent network AT&T Inc. (T). The Atrix 4G packs a dual core Tegra 2 from NVIDIA Corp (NVDA). It should be interesting to see how the Tegra 2 stacks up against Qualcomm's similarly clocked dual-core offerings in processing might and power efficiency. Like the Atrix 4G, the Sensation 4G will pack an HSPA+ modem.
While not true "4G" T-Mobile and AT&T's marketing departments have opted to rebrand this "3.5G" tech as "4G" due to their inability to roll out a "true" "4G" network like Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) (WIMAX) or Verizon (LTE). A common defense of this practice is that current "4G" networks from Sprint and Verizon don't live up to the speeds promised in their spec. This is very accurate, but it ignores the fact that T-Mobile and AT&T's HSPA+ speeds also fall short of the standard's spec.
At the end of the day you will probably receive faster speeds than 3G phones with T-Mobile and AT&T's "4G" (in applicable regions), but it won't be quite as fast as Verizon or Sprint’s true 4G (again, in applicable regions). This is still somewhat of a win for customers, in that it represents a slight improvement, even if the branding somewhat misleads in disguising the fact that T-Mobile and AT&T are using an older/lesser standard.
Android fans will be pleased that Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest version of the operating system will be preinstalled on the phone. HTC, like other Android phone makers has had a bit of an issue with selling handsets with outdated versions of the OS for example the Thunderbolt comes with Android "Froyo" 2.2. Hopefully the Sensation 4G is a sign of things to come in this regard. Fans may be less pleased to discover that HTC has packed in its latest version of its user interface skin Sense 3.0 into the Sensation 4G.
Many users complained that past versions of sense felt clunky and slowed the phone. Hopefully HTC's latest effort shapes things up slightly. Like the EVO 3D, the phone packs a 4.3-inch (540 x 960) Super LCD screen. While lacking the EVO 3D's dual rear sensors for 3D imaging, its single rear sensor are a beefier 8 megapixels. It also adds a second LED flash, for better pictures in dim conditions and speeds of the maximum video framerate to 30 fps at 1080p.
The Sensation 4G was formerly codenamed the HTC "Pyramid", so you may have heard of it under that name. It won't land in the U.S. until this summer, but the Sensation 4G will be available as a Vodafone exclusive for "a couple of weeks", starting in mid-May. It should be available in Germany, the UK, and other "key" markets. After the initial couple of weeks, other European carriers should be able to pick it up. HTC didn't hint at whether the handset might come to other carriers besides T-Mobile in the U.S.
Whereas the hot selling HTC Thunderbolt 4G on Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ) was essentially a rebranded HTC EVO 4G (Sprint), the HTC Sensation 4G like the upcoming HTC EVO 3D brings substantial aesthetic and hardware changes to the table. Starting out, it is HTC's second upcoming phone to pack a dual core CPU. Like the upcoming EVO 3D (the successor to the EVO 4G) it carries one of Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) latest Snapdragon CPUs.
Its dual cores are clocked at 1.2 GHz. The phone has a bit in common with Motorola's Atrix 4G, a smartphone deployed on what may soon become T-Mobile's parent network AT&T Inc. (T). The Atrix 4G packs a dual core Tegra 2 from NVIDIA Corp (NVDA). It should be interesting to see how the Tegra 2 stacks up against Qualcomm's similarly clocked dual-core offerings in processing might and power efficiency. Like the Atrix 4G, the Sensation 4G will pack an HSPA+ modem.
While not true "4G" T-Mobile and AT&T's marketing departments have opted to rebrand this "3.5G" tech as "4G" due to their inability to roll out a "true" "4G" network like Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) (WIMAX) or Verizon (LTE). A common defense of this practice is that current "4G" networks from Sprint and Verizon don't live up to the speeds promised in their spec. This is very accurate, but it ignores the fact that T-Mobile and AT&T's HSPA+ speeds also fall short of the standard's spec.
At the end of the day you will probably receive faster speeds than 3G phones with T-Mobile and AT&T's "4G" (in applicable regions), but it won't be quite as fast as Verizon or Sprint’s true 4G (again, in applicable regions). This is still somewhat of a win for customers, in that it represents a slight improvement, even if the branding somewhat misleads in disguising the fact that T-Mobile and AT&T are using an older/lesser standard.
Android fans will be pleased that Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest version of the operating system will be preinstalled on the phone. HTC, like other Android phone makers has had a bit of an issue with selling handsets with outdated versions of the OS for example the Thunderbolt comes with Android "Froyo" 2.2. Hopefully the Sensation 4G is a sign of things to come in this regard. Fans may be less pleased to discover that HTC has packed in its latest version of its user interface skin Sense 3.0 into the Sensation 4G.
Many users complained that past versions of sense felt clunky and slowed the phone. Hopefully HTC's latest effort shapes things up slightly. Like the EVO 3D, the phone packs a 4.3-inch (540 x 960) Super LCD screen. While lacking the EVO 3D's dual rear sensors for 3D imaging, its single rear sensor are a beefier 8 megapixels. It also adds a second LED flash, for better pictures in dim conditions and speeds of the maximum video framerate to 30 fps at 1080p.
The Sensation 4G was formerly codenamed the HTC "Pyramid", so you may have heard of it under that name. It won't land in the U.S. until this summer, but the Sensation 4G will be available as a Vodafone exclusive for "a couple of weeks", starting in mid-May. It should be available in Germany, the UK, and other "key" markets. After the initial couple of weeks, other European carriers should be able to pick it up. HTC didn't hint at whether the handset might come to other carriers besides T-Mobile in the U.S.
