HTC will be more consumer-oriented than ever in 2010 and aims to knock out Samsung and RIM phones one by one.
Every year, HTC makes sure that we all get to see a large part of their unlocked smartphone roadmap for the coming year. Through an XDA-Developers user, HTC now reveals several upcoming goodies, including both Android and Windows Mobile smartphones:
Windows Phones on a budget
Back in February 2009, Qualcomm announced its new 600 MHz MSM7227 chipset, designed to offer high performance at a low price point. According to the leaked roadmap, HTC plans to take advantage of the new chipset with the introduction of three WinMo 6.5 phones on a budget:
HTC Tera
3-inch WQVGA resistive touch screen, QWERTY keypad, 1300 mAh battery, Wi-Fi and Euro 3G.
HTC Trophy
3-inch VGA capacitive touch screen, 5MP camera, 1400 mAh battery, Wi-Fi and Euro 3G.
HTC Photon
3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touch screen, 5MP camera, 1330 mAh battery, Wi-Fi and Euro 3G.
It's worth noting that these phones will likely not be subsidized by U.S. carriers. The HTC Photon and HTC Trophy will hit European store shelves in April and May 2010, respectively. There's currently no specific release date for the HTC Tera.
HTC uses Android to attack Samsung and RIM
HTC has said that the company will expand its smartphone lineup beyond the current prosumer and business offerings, and the first significant signs of this new approach to the smartphone market become evident in this leaked roadmap:
HTC Bravo
3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED capacitive touch screen, 5MP camera w/ 720p recording, 16GB microSD, 1400 mAh battery, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi Euro 3G, 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, DivX, Dolby, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Microsoft Exchange and Google Mobile services.
HTC Legend
3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED capacitive touch screen, 5MP camera, 1300 mAh battery, Wi-Fi, Euro 3G, 3.5mm audio jack, Microsoft Exchange, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Friendstream, Google Mobile services and 600 MHz MSM7227 processor.
HTC Buzz
3.2-inch QVGA capacitive touch screen, 5MP camera w/ face tagging, Wi-Fi, Euro 3G, Snap-on covers, 1200 mAh battery, 3.5mm audio jack, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Google Mobile services and Microsoft Exchange.
HTC Tide
2.7-inch QVGA touch screen, Numeric 12-keypad, 1130 mAh battery, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi, Euro 3G, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Microsoft Exchange, Google Mobile services, HTC Widgets, Footprints V1.5 and Friendstream.
HTC Salsa
2.6-inch QVGA touch screen, 3.2MP camera, QWERTY keypad, 1100 mAh battery, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi, Euro 3G, Microsoft Exchange, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Friendstream and Google Mobile services.
When comparing these upcoming Android phones to HTC's current lineup, it's obvious that the HTC Legend is the successor to the HTC Hero. It'll be powered by the low-cost MSM7227 processor by Qualcomm and pretty much reveals that HTC is planning to turn its current high-end offering into quite a mass market device in 2010. The HTC Legend will arrive in Europe in March 2010.
The HTC Bravo will arrive in the same timeframe, more specifically in April 2010, and will immediately take the position as HTC's new consumer-oriented multimedia flagship. The HTC Bravo is without a doubt inspired by Samsung's Omnia HD powered by Symbian, and it'll be interesting to see whether Samsung will launch its own Android counterpart in 2010 as well.
The HTC Buzz is a new all-touch phone targeting teens, which is obviously also inspired by Samsung. We suspect that Samsung's real selling point for their mass market all-touch phones is the key to the success though: No data plan requirement. If the HTC Buzz will require a data plan, it'll simply have no chance at competing with Samsung's armada, and subsequently fail to live up to its codename.
The HTC Salsa will aim to attract average messaging users in a stylish package, not unlike what Research In Motion is currently doing with its popular Curve lineup. If you're a BlackBerry Curve user that considers Android, it might be worth waiting until the HTC Salsa arrives in June 2010.
The last Android phone of the bunch is the HTC Tide, which represents an entirely new approach to taking advantage of Android's capabilities. It's a traditional candybar phone with a touchscreen, and again, this phone is also clearly inspired by Samsung. But like the HTC Buzz, the HTC Tide will need to skip the data plan requirement to become a serious Samsung UltraTouch competitor.
Check out key specifications, release dates and photos of HTC's upcoming unlocked smartphones here.
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