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Google’s Android operating system will dominate HTC’s smartphone lineup for 2010, if documents posted to a developer forum – reportedly a leaked HTC presentation from an October meeting in Vienna – is to be believed.
The presentation categorizes the phones into four groups: Design/Lifestyle; Social; Performance; and Productivity. While the three phones designated for “Productivity” run the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, the handsets in all the other categories – five phones in total – run the Android OS.
Under the Design/Lifestyle umbrella are the Legend and the Salsa. The former is thin and metallic and lovely, with a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, a “clickable optical mouse,” a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS, and a supposed March sales date on the T-Mobile network. The Salsa is also a slim candybar-style phone, with a dedicated qwerty and portrait-oriented keypad under the screen. It’s said to feature a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor, and include a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen and an FM radio.
While the Legend is just 0.44 inches thin, the Salsa is a still-thinner 0.33 inches.
Under “Social” comes the Tide and the Buzz. The Tide is said to include a 528MHz MSM7225 processor, and a brand-new form factor – a full-touch numeric keypad below a 2.68-inch QVGA touchscreen. Pegged for an April debut with T-Mobile, the presentation plays up the Tide’s social-networking capabilities and a user’s ability to “touch or type.” GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and functionality on WCDMA/HSPA and GSM/EDGE networks are all said to be included.
The Buzz boasts a 3.2-inch screen with a 5-megapixel camera, a back cover that can be swapped out for customizing and a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor. There’s also GPS and AGPS, Wi-Fi connectivity and pre-loaded software for Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other social-networking sites, as well as Microsoft Exchange e-mail support. It’s said to be slated for a May arrival with T-Mobile.
The Bravo, under the “Performance” category, may elicit a round of applause. It pairs an HD-ready 3.7-inch AMOLED display with Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor. There’s also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS and AGPS, 512MB of Flash memory and 256MB of RAM with a 16GB MicroSD card and a 5-megapixel camera with high-definition video capture. It’s reportedly slated for April.
The “Productivity” devices running Windows 6.5 are described as the Photon, Trophy and Tera.
The Photon, scheduled for April, features a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive display, a 600MHz MSM7227 processor, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, plus GPS, AGPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi connectivity. Special features are listed as a “Motion G-sensor, FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, MicroUSB, Straight Talk Lite, People, TouchFLO 3D, Business Card Scanner, Facebook, Twitter.”
A month later the Trophy is said to be arriving, with a 3-inch VGA capacitive touchscreen and a dedicated qwerty keypad below it, as well as a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor. All the connectivity options and special features are here as well, inside a 0.43-inch-thin candy-bar-style form factor.
Last but not least comes the Tera, which has HTC TouchPro2-ish good looks: a 3-inch WQVGA resistive touchscreen that slides over and up at a angle to reveal a four-row qwerty keypad. (The TouchPro 2 has five rows of keys.) Said to be arriving in April, it features the 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, GPS and AGPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera and more.
An HTC spokesperson said he could neither confirm nor deny whether the devices are official.
Research firm IDC reports that while many people are still unfamiliar with the Google OS, Android’s market share is growing, having risen from 4.2 percent in the second quarter to 5.4 percent in the third quarter. IDC expects additional Android-running phones to be introduced to the market soon from handset makers including LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.
HTC has been a prolific provider of Android handsets, including the T-Mobile G1, the first Android handset to arrive on the U.S. market.