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HTC Preparing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense 3.5


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Posted

Have you been wondering what HTC plan to do with Ice Cream Sandwich on their devices?

Well, wonder no more as one of our internal sources at HTC has managed to lay his hands on their very first internally distributed test build of Google's latest and greatest. Built on Android 4.0.1 (the build is a month old, and it will become 4.0.3 by the time it hits public release), the first test releases are intended for the HTC Sensation / Sensation XE and sport the 3.0x version tag. The usual HTC customisations are present including HTC Sense 3.5, so don't expect any massive visual changes for Ice Cream Sandwich. As you would expect, ICS has been slightly sliced and dice to give the HTC experience - Facelock is present but the new keyboard is replaced by an updated HTC IME etc.

We hope to have some ICS on Sensation screenshots very soon... watch this space! :)

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Guest Electronic Punk
Posted

I really hope they don't cut too much out :(

Guest Simon O
Posted

This will look exactly like Sense on Gingerbread, which looked like Sense on Froyo which looked like Sense on Eclair.. etc.

If you ever read user feedback regarding the HTC Gingerbread updates for various devices and most of the complaints from users are regarding the system looking nothing like Gingerbread. Users are going to complain again about the ICS updates looking nothing like ICS.

My personal opinion is that it's an absolute shame that Google spends so much time and effort producing a gorgeous looking update such as Android 4.0 ICS for HTC etc to undo all that work and plaster their own dated looking skin all over the place. Sense looked OK 3 years ago but it's horribly dated by todays standards.

Guest tsutton
Posted

I agree with flibblesan - HTC just spoils the hard work done by Google. Keep it as stock as possible to allow the users to have the best experience of what Android is all about.

I think HTC is still "stuck" on the thought of Android v1.0 where the interface was fugly, they need to break out of it!

Posted

+1 for keeping ICS on HTC devices as stock as possible. The first hour of owning my first HTC device, I flashed over an AOSP based ROM because I couldn't stand Sense. Some are going to say that I bought the wrong device then, but nowadays you really don't have much choice ... almost all of the manufacturers pull their own UI over the phone and almost all are fugly.

Guest vorBeth
Posted

The good thing with this is AOSP build will get the correct drivers for ICS, should not be long for a build to arrive if/when it is leaked.

Guest cenwesi
Posted

yep, i hate sense and only bought this phone because S-off and Cm7.

Posted

What is the chance of this test release being 'released' to the hardworking developers here on Modaco?

I hope that proper, native drivers will help the creators of third-party kernels and ROMs, allowing them to base their work on native ICS / Android 4 code. Is that a possibility? It could really help HTC to have the Sensation as an early ICS phone with decent hardare and a decent-size user base.

Guest Atomix86
Posted

Sense is my favourite UI for Android bar none, glad they aren't changing too much! :lol:

Guest dialmformostyn
Posted

Admittedly, I would have liked Sense to have seen a bigger leap than it seemingly has, but I can see how it, and other manufacturer UIs appeal to Average Joe Consumer (who, let us not forget, is likely under-represented on a specialist mobile tech website comments section).

It's the HTC experience after all - if we're talking of heading down the stock ICS route, that seems to lead to iPhone territory - one homescreen to rule them all? I'd hate to see that.

The more adventurous of us have an abundance of alternative launchers; from Go and ADW to Big and Full Screen, to plaster over Sense or our AOSP ROMs.

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