HTC unveiled an updated version of its popular Sense user interface today at Mobile World Congress with new social networking features and ways to navigate the dizzying array of home screens.
For the past year, HTC has layered its Sense technology on to almost every Windows Mobile and Android device it has built. It has been core to its three-month old multi-million dollar ad campaign about how HTC knows “You.” And, this morning when HTC CEO Peter Chou announced three new phones running Sense at its press conference, he explained that it was all about differentiating the product for “You.”
Given all of that, it’s hard to see how Microsoft’s news yesterday about Windows 7 phone wasn’t threatening to HTC, one of its biggest handset partners. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) unveiled its vision for Windows 7 phones and in doing so said that it would no longer allow partners to differentiate its products as much as they had in the past. For HTC, that leaves a big question for how it will implement its Sense strategy. Still, it has some big goals. Chou said it is currently a top five handset maker, but by 2013 when the smartphones comprise 50 percent of the market, it wants to be a top three supplier.
Following HTC’s press conference, spokespeople and Chou himself dismissed the concerns, largely because it’s too soon to tell what Microsoft’s statements will mean for the company. A spokesperson said that HTC believes that it can provide a Sense-like experience on Windows 7 and that while the user interface will likely not be customizable, it won’t prohibit HTC from adding software or applications on top of the experience. “That’s why we feel that you’ll still look at it and say it’s an HTC.”
Despite these unknowns, HTC has committed to bringing a “portfolio of Microsoft” devices to to market later this year. But what a difference a year makes. At last year’s MWC, we learned that the Taiwanese handset maker was responsible for 80 percent of Windows Mobile phone sales. The number was even more astonishing when you consider that at the time Microsoft had 50 handset partners.
Following HTC’s press conference, spokespeople and Chou himself dismissed the concerns, largely because it’s too soon to tell what Microsoft’s statements will mean for the company. A spokesperson said that HTC believes that it can provide a Sense-like experience on Windows 7 and that while the user interface will likely not be customizable, it won’t prohibit HTC from adding software or applications on top of the experience. “That’s why we feel that you’ll still look at it and say it’s an HTC.”
Despite these unknowns, HTC has committed to bringing a “portfolio of Microsoft” devices to to market later this year. But what a difference a year makes. At last year’s MWC, we learned that the Taiwanese handset maker was responsible for 80 percent of Windows Mobile phone sales. The number was even more astonishing when you consider that at the time Microsoft had 50 handset partners. Now half of HTC’s portfolio roughly consists of Android.
At today’s press conference, it unveiled three new phones for the European and Asian markets. Two are Android and one is Windows Mobile. The first two devices to use the new HTC Sense updates will be the HTC Legend and HTC Desire. The Legend’s claim to fame is that it’s molded out of one continuous aluminum body. The HTC Desire is very similar to the Nexus One launched by Google (NSDQ: GOOG), except that it comes loaded with HTC Sense. It will come ready for Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) Flash 10.1. Both devices are for the European and Asian markets, and won’t come to the U.S. The HD Mini was the third device, which is a smaller version of the HD2, just announced by T-Mobile USA today. The Windows Mobile 6.5 device will come with the ability to turn a 3G signal into a wi-fi hotspot.
Finally, the upgrades to the HTC Sense UI were minimal, but shows HTC’s commitment to the UI. A new social media feature called HTC Friend Stream aggregates updates from Facebook, Flickr and Twitter into one spot. Friend Stream will also allow the user to group contacts into categories, such as friends, relatives and co-workers. The highlight among the new features, however, is something called “leap,” which allows you to view the seven page home screens at once by simply “pinching” the homescreen.