HTC Debuts it's "hero" and Flash browsing on Android Platform.

HTC, Up to now, have been the great adopters of Windows Mobile on its main devices, As I'm already well aware. I've heard word that it is Not likely at all that we'll see Winmo devices that will have solid capcitive touchscreens anytime soon. Balmer & co wishing to keep its graphically dated mobile platform for the spongy, resistive/non-responsive screens.

However there has been a lot of press around the gadget blogs that HTC were gearing up for a special event/launch on June 24th. Yesterday Connect UTB were speculating a great deal about what it was gonna reveal. I would have liked to see info on the lancaster, That would make it (to my knowledge) only the 3rd capacitive Qwerty device to be put on the market, that is after the G1 and the Pre.

Well as I type this, June 24th is today's date and the event has now passed, I had hoped that Engadget would have had someone live updating from the event Like they had for Apple's WWDC. but they still got some coverage though.

One site I was interested in seeing was Phandroid.com and their live coverage of the event. However for reasons that are not impossible to figure out, I've had diffuculty accessing this page until shortly before beginning writing this post.

What the event was in Aid of Judging by looking My Snackr RSS reader going crazy with them, was to reveal the HTC Hero, as well as it's custom android "skin" known as "sense" (formerly rosie)...


Now I don't consider myself to be the highest authority on tech blogging, but this immediately looks to me like They're doing For Android what touchflo has done for Windows Mobile (lipstick on a pig anyone? :P ). Ie putting its own interface on the native OS.

OK, so far, so re-skinned HTC magic in terms of both hardware and software. However there are a couple of extra things worth noting... one thing I'm a fan of is it possesses a 3.5mm Jack, not seen on HTC made devices since the Experia X1. And (via engadget) Also, outside of the Nokia N97, this is the first device to support flash (10) in a mobile browser. As far as I'm aware, I dunno if this is gonna be possible through software updates to the magic and the G1 though =/ (sorry Jana ;P )

Another thing that I got wind of through what they had to say - and show - over at T3, was that it also supports multitouch gestures as well. Overall, software wise, I'm greatly impressed :D

However not even this matches up to what I'm looking for in a device :( . At the time of writing that post I was Keenly anticipating the release of the N97. It has since been released and Engadget's review of the N97 has left me with the impression that Despite it being a solid, well designed and manufactured device , It's processor and (symbian S60) software makes using it seems somewhat underpowered and unintuitive...


Manufacturers, please please please take heed, since you now have creative control over your devices, Please Create this, or if you can't read all that blurb, See the N97? Look at it, Keep everything the same EXCEPT...

1) Give it a capacitive touchscreen

2) Give it a beefier Processor

3) Give it the same software/OS as this android build for the hero, or Give it Palm's WebOS by whatever means.

And you WILL stand a good chance of kicking apple in the cobblers in this market.

Also considering that Android is an Open source platform, logic dictates to me that HTC don't have to pay any money to Google for it. Long term, this could leave Microsoft severely w(ou/i)nded in the mobile market, they have yet to release Winmo 6.5 remember. And that STILL has the underpinnings of Windows CE. HTC have - thus far - have always had to pay for a Windows mobile "license" to be used on each of their handsets (how much that is, I don't know). I see this launch as HTC giving the finger to microsoft, as using their software has - for the most part - restricted HTC's innovation on the hardware front. Good work HTC, Keep it up, and please read the paragraph and list!!


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