HTC Unveils Android “Sense UI” in Hero
The Android-based HTC Hero was unveiled in the UK touting a new Sense User Interface.
SHOWCASE: IntoMobile.com has reported on the unveiling of the HTC Hero in the UK here and it’s currently generating a lot of Android buzz.
The HTC Hero is the latest Android smartphone from HTC, but according to the site, the real star is the new customized Android OS user-interface called HTC “Sense UI”.
If you’re familiar with the TouchFLO 3D UI in Windows Mobile-based HTC smartphones, then this is what Sense UI is to the Android-based HTC Hero. There seems to be high expectations that the HTC Sense UI will be the key catalyst for making the HTC Hero the best Android phone to hit the market.
Oh did we also mention it supports multi-touch inputs (other than the Palm Pre’s WebOS and iPhone 3GS’s iPhone OS)?
Anyway, words aside, here’s a video showing you how the HTC Hero’s “Sense UI” works. Check it out (click the link after to check out two other videos related to HTC Hero and its Android Sense UI).
A video presentation of what the Sense UI is going to feel like on the Android-based HTC Hero.
Here’s a better angle for the video presentation highlighting some features of Sense UI.
Here’s a short video presentation of the HTC Hero itself.
Though we all wish the Hero had made its appearance during CommunicAsia (for selfish reasons, of course), watching the video above has certainly got me very interested in getting my hands on one. While the Dream and Magic have both landed in my hands, they both fell flat in terms of design and innovation. And whilst the Samsung i7500 sparked some interest in me with its suave looks, using the Android OS was just uninspiring.
Seeing as how HTC got people interested in Windows Mobile-based handhelds two years ago with the original HTC Touch, the Taiwanese manufacturer is going to get tongues wagging with their latest UI enhancement.
HTC has really set the gold standard here if other manufacturers like Samsung, Acer and LG want their Android devices to sell. It goes to show (yet again) that it’s not the hardware that matters but the software too.
And here is another reason why the Hero deserves a 2nd look — it’s the first Android device with Flash! That plainly means that you can view web pages as they were meant to be seen, just like how you have been viewing them on your PC.
Word on the grapevine is that Sense UI won’t be making its way to Windows Mobile handhelds so either you have to switch to Android OR wait for the folks over at XDA Developers to come up with a ROM.
On HTC’s strategy and why it’s working for them — while the likes of Nokia and Samsung are trying to capture the entire mobile phone market, this results in phones that cross over different market segments, like the basic phone, smartphones and multimedia phones segment.
As a result, they can’t give as much attention to developing their smartphone technology as they would have preferred. So, HTC (being one of the FEW manufacturers that solely produce smartphone handhelds) are given an advantage in developing cutting edge smartphone features like the Touch Flo 3D and Sense UI enhancements which are grabbing people’s attention faster than most of the other manufacturers in the market.
I believe, that with this Hero product, HTC is proving to be a significant player in igniting the growth of the entire smartphone sector.
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