They make really nice devices but they need to come with unlocked boot loader so you can take off sense and keep your phone up to date. Nobody wants their OS to be a year behind the current version.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What happens to HTC if GS4 continues the trend?
- Thread starter sentinelsx
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I read somewhere that HTC have cut back on their advertisement fund while Samsung have upped theirs. I don't think that I have ever seen an ad for a HTC phone, and IMHO, therein lies the problem. Not enough people know about them.
They are going to make it easy to unlock the bootloader on http://www.htcdev.com once it is available.
The fact they are releasing a specific unlocked developer edition shows that they are doing so. The fact they have already made the SDK for blinkfeed \ Sense 5 available so developers can add their own applications to HTC's new hub etc.. shows they are trying to do that too.
From personal experience with watching what happen with the HTC Thunderbolt I would not trust them to with their build quality.
I had clients who would purchase anywhere from 10-1000(yes 1000 thunderbolts), that went and returned them with all the issues they had.
After dealing with all this, I rather avoid them.
I had clients who would purchase anywhere from 10-1000(yes 1000 thunderbolts), that went and returned them with all the issues they had.
After dealing with all this, I rather avoid them.
HTC are far too stubborn.
For me to ever purchase another HTC device it will need a removable battery, memory card slot and a CHOICE of an office AOSP ROM or sense.
Turn the phone on "would you like to use our custom skin which gives you many benefits over stock android" select yes or no. - downloading and installing your selection...
Boom, done.. How hard is that?
OK know you can use custom ROMs but I don't want to mess about with boot loaders etc.
For me to ever purchase another HTC device it will need a removable battery, memory card slot and a CHOICE of an office AOSP ROM or sense.
Turn the phone on "would you like to use our custom skin which gives you many benefits over stock android" select yes or no. - downloading and installing your selection...
Boom, done.. How hard is that?
OK know you can use custom ROMs but I don't want to mess about with boot loaders etc.
that would be awesome, does any manufacturer actually give you that option though? i wouldnt mind if htc, samsung etc got rid of their bloated skins and deliver vanilla android, one wouldnt be limited to nexus devices or custom roms.
In addition to my post above, do you know how "top" lists are ordered?
Monopoly is no. 11 with these stats:
2,710 ratings - 3*
Poweramp is no. 12 with these stats:
52,967 ratings - 4.5*
And you see why google play is a mess. There are quality apps around but they are all hidden for some reason because a top search company doesn't have its appstore sorted out in terms of quality yet.
Good thing there is word of mouth for those unfortunate developers who actually do push the boundaries on android as well. The quality apps on my nexus really made me go "wow, why can't we have more of that listed on front pages?".
I've never come across it before, I may have just thought it up but I don't want to claim the idea ,mine because I may have read or seen it before
Realistically there isn't much preventing it - if sense is TOO intergrated to their OS then could have two separate ROMs (I have 3 currently) on the built in memory and when you first turn the phone on you chose which one you want and can delete the other (giving you the option to re download in the future)
I think Google should have this as a rule for all partners.
If I do get the One, there's no question, I will load Nova or Apex launcher on it almost right away.
I don't want BlinkFeed forcibly on one of my home screens. The Verge said it best in their review, with very little effort, you can just use Flipboard, and that doesn't take up an entire home page. The more I think about it, the more silly BlindFeed is to me.
Also, dislike that the app drawer scrolls downward instead of side to side. Paginated is just easier to find things because after time you know certain apps are on certain pages. Again, Sense... stahp!
I don't want BlinkFeed forcibly on one of my home screens. The Verge said it best in their review, with very little effort, you can just use Flipboard, and that doesn't take up an entire home page. The more I think about it, the more silly BlindFeed is to me.
Also, dislike that the app drawer scrolls downward instead of side to side. Paginated is just easier to find things because after time you know certain apps are on certain pages. Again, Sense... stahp!
Blinkfeed will if HTC get developer support offer far more than Flipboard. Imagine your amazon orders, your plane or cinema tickets, reminders for your tasks and shopping, The latest scores of your footbal team or soccer team you follow etc... A total personal feed/hub populating that front screen not just RSS news.
Blinkfeed could have the potential to become a game changer if it gets the developer support.
Whether in its initial incarnation it appeals to you or not, I'm glad HTC are thinking outside of the box and by making Sense 5 & Blinkfeed available on their 2012 phones alongside further smaller handsets to be released this year - I hope they will then get the developer support for it.
Blinkfeed for me is as much a positive deciding factor to my purchase decision as the incredible aesthetics of the device.
Yeah, I get all that, but just like Google Now, why not let us choose whether to opt out or not? That's the issue I take up. There is, as far as I know, no way to disable it from your home screen. So even if you don't use-it-use-it, it'll be a blank BlindFeed as one of your last home pages.
They're kind of damned if they do and damned if the don't. If they make it user-disabled , then they couldn't say to developers look folks ALL our phones shipping and being updated have this. Please use our API SDK and integrate your app.
If they don't make it user-disabled then some consumers might not like that.
So damned if they do damned if they don't really.
But even if you don't use it for RSS - you can still use it as a screen for weather and calendar events/appointments etc... so it won't be entirely redundant, and HTC have always done weather and time widgets the best.
But like you say you can always install Nova and have near stock AOSP as you can get without loading up a rom.
They're kind of damned if they do and damned if the don't. If they make it user-disabled , then they couldn't say to developers look folks ALL our phones shipping and being updated have this. Please use our API SDK and integrate your app.
If they don't make it user-disabled then some consumers might not like that.
So damned if they do damned if they don't really.
But even if you don't use it for RSS - you can still use it as a screen for weather and calendar events/appointments etc... so it won't be entirely redundant, and HTC have always done weather and time widgets the best.
But like you say you can always install Nova and have near stock AOSP as you can get without loading up a rom.
Do you know if the developers edition will support Tmobile bands? Will I, like the Nexus 4, get HSPA+?
Well its listed as
Multiple frequency compatibility:
HSPA/WCDMA: 850/1900/2100 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
LTE: 700/850/AWS/1900 MHz (US)
TMobile's HSPA+ is 1900 so I assume it should support no trouble...
http://blog.htc.com/2013/03/htc-one-developer-edition/
And for those wondering
.
They might be meaningless, but most consumers don't know that. Most everyone who is smartphone shopping will see 4MP vs. the Galaxy S4's 13MP, and pass on the One. I might consider picking up the One, if I didn't think there'd be a One+ later on down the line.
HTC have stated categorically there will be only 1 flagship Android phone from the company at that will be the One, this year - much like Samsung & Apple.
They have said they have listened to their customers, retailers and competitors and so far they seem to be putting those things into action.
Unlockable bootloader, well specced Developer editions, refined sense that by all accounts is blazingly fast and lag free.
If they deliver timely software updates too, they may indeed appease their audience and make up for sins of the past.
Let's hope this is true. I'll have to use both of them in store to see which I prefer.
This. S-On is a pain in the butt. It kills a lot of development for high end HTC phones.
One of my primary considerations while selecting a phone is 3rd party ( official Cyanogenmod) support. I consider this to be my insurance against carrier / manufacturers withholding updates.
HTC has a history of not being devfriendly. Samsung, on the other hand, is dev friendly.
Unless I see HTC making visible effort to be dev friendly, I am unlikely to recommend any HTC phone.