HTC roadmap leaks, 5 Android handsets coming your way in 2010
The last time an HTC roadmap leaked prematurely it went on to materialize completely so it might be a good idea to pay attention to this one. What we are presenting you is the first half of the 2010 HTC roadmap, containing the devices that the Taiwanese company will release in the next 6 months. It contains no less than five Android and three WinMo handsets so we are witnessing an interesting change of heart here. Strangely enough there is no mention of the HTC Espresso, on which we reported yesterday.
HTC Legend (Android)
In the Design/LifeStyle category HTC will offer HTC Legend (of course, all the names are just internal codenames that will be changed before release), which is an Android handset with a 3.2" capacitive touchscreen of HVGA resolution. The key features of HTC Legend include a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G with HSPA connectivity.
There's also FM radio, USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack onboard. The only 11.4mm-thick HTC Legend will run on a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU and will have 256MB of RAM.
HTC Legend will arrive in March 2010. We are interested to see what will its position be within the company portfolio. Apart from being slightly thinner and having a tad faster CPU it looks pretty similar to the HTC Hero specs-wise.
HTC Salsa (Android)
The more affordable HTC Salsa will come with a 2.6" landscape QVGA touchscreen and a 3 megapixel shooter. It will sport a full QWERTY keyboard and 3G (with HSPA) connectivity. There's also Wi-Fi and GPS on board as well as FM radio, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot.
HTC Salsa will feature a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 CPU and 256 MB of RAM.
You will be able to get your HTC Salsa starting from June 2010.
HTC Bravo (Android)
Next come the Performance category and its only representative, the HTC Bravo. Equipped with a huge 3.7" AMOLED display and capable of recording HD 720p video, it will be the multimedia flagship of the company for the next year. DivX support out-of-the-box adds to the value of the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU-powered HTC Bravo.
The 3.7" WVGA display of the Bravo will use the capacitive technology. Other noteworthy features of the device include Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB port and FM radio. The operating system is again Android and the built-in RAM is 256MB.
Just as it was to be expected the HTC Bravo sports quad-band GSM connectivity making it capable of worldwide roaming and 3G with HSPA to grant you the extra speed. The still camera has 5 megapixel resolution.
HTC Bravo will hit the shelves in April next year.
HTC Tide (Android)
The Social part of the HTC portfolio starts with HTC Tide - an Android handset with heavy social network integration. It has a 3 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity and a 3.5mm audio jack.
HTC Tide also features 3G with HSPA (2Mbps HSUPA and 7.2Mbps HSDPA) and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support. It has a 2.68 QVGA touchscreen, 256MB of RAM and runs on a 528 MHz Qualcomm CPU.
The first HTC Tide units should make their way to the market in April next year.
HTC Buzz (Android)
The final Android handset that HTC are preparing to release during next year's first half is the HTC Buzz. It will come with some kind of customizable rear panel, much like the currently available HTC Tattoo. The capacitive touchscreen display on HTC Buzz will measure 3.2" in diagonal and will sport QVGA resolution.
Wi-Fi, GPS and FM radio are all among the HTC Buzz features as well as Bluetooth, USB and a microSD card slot. Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support and dual-band 3G with HSPA (2 Mbps uplink and 7.2 Mbps downlink) complete the tally.
A 528 MHz CPU will do the math inside the HTC Buzz and the RAM memory will be 256MB.
You will have to wait until May 2010 to get yourselves a brand new HTC Buzz.
HTC Trophy (Windows Mobile 6.5)
The WinMo group of devices in the Productivity category is led by the HTC Trophy flagship - WinMo 6.5 full QWERTY handset with a 3" capacitive touchscreen VGA screen. It packs a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack and FM radio. USB and Bluetooth complete the list of local connectivity options.
Network data transfers are also well taken care of with the HTC Trophy with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support and dual-band 3G with HSPA (2 Mbps DL and 7.2 Mbps UL) on the specs sheet. The Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU clocks at 600 MHz and the RAM memory is 256 MB.
May 2010 will be your earliest chance of purchasing an HTC Trophy from your local shop.
HTC Photon (Windows Mobile 6.5)
The HTC Photon has functionality virtually identical to the HTC Trophy, save for the different screen. The Photon comes with a larger 3.2" capacitive touchscreen display but it has lower HVGA resolution.
HTC Photon will start shipping in April 2010.
HTC Tera (Windows Mobile 6.5)
Finally we come to the HTC Tera full QWERTY side-slider. Again coming with WinMo 6.5 OS the Tera is a downsized and downgraded version of the HTC Touch Pro2. It sports a 3" WQVGA resistive touchscreen and a 3 megapixel camera.
Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and USB are all aboard and there is also a 3.5mm standard audio jack. There is a 600 MHz CPU ticking inside the HTC Tera and the handset also shares the 256 MB of RAM of the other leaked products.
The HTC Tera planned availability is April next year.
As of now there is no information about the pricing or the regional availability of any of the handsets but that should be fixed before they hit the shelves in the first half of next year.
A few things become evident from this roadmap. First off, HTC are obviously starting to use heavily a new Qualcomm platform - the MSM7227. It comes with a 600 MHz CPU and 256MB of RAM and will be making its way to three of the new devices.
Another trend is that we'll be seeing some sort of a video recording megapixel war going on in 2010. The HTC Bravo is HTC's take on the matter but we're also expecting the Sony Ericsson HD-recoding Kurara to debut then as well as the European version of the Samsung W880. With so many 720p capable handsets on the market probably quite a lot of people will start taking video recording on mobile phones more seriously.