HTC talks design, upcoming products
HTC has spoken to Forbes about their design ambitions.
One & Co, HTC’s newly acquired design company is focused on keeping HTC’s phones looking high-end. “People who want a certain value can buy an LG or Samsung phone,” says Claude Zellweger, partner at the San Francisco design firm. “We have to make sure our design is strong enough to justify [a higher] price tag.” “We’re carving out a strong design language that’s becoming recognizable,” he says. “Companies will want to show the HTC logo [on their phones].”
This ambition extends to the software which is set to become even more “people-centric,” says Zellweger.
“We’re trying to strike a more fun note in software and hardware. These phones are less business-oriented and that should be reflected in their materials, forms and colours.”
Part of being people-centric is being easy to use. Zellweger says One & Co is pushing HTC to make its designs and user software more consistent. “HTC had more of a shotgun approach before,” he says. Once things are streamlined, loyal HTC users should have a “sense of coming home again” when they upgrade to new HTC phones, he adds.
HTC’s Windows Mobile devices come in dark, glossy finishes to appeal to a professional audience, while its Android phones often sport a playful “chin” or angled base. Those characteristics will stay separate, says Zellweger, meaning no chins for HTC Windows Mobile phones.
HTC plans to launch some new gadgets in early October, accompanied by HTC’s first national consumer campaign. Spokesman Keith Nowak says rumours of a netbook are off base,but of course we have already seen some interesting upcoming devices, such as the HTC Leo with its large capacitive touch screen. Consumers can expect “new, exciting form factors” soon, Zellweger says. “We’re not scared to go places people haven’t gone yet.”
Read the full article at Forbes here.
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“People who want a certain value can buy an LG or Samsung phone"…
what a bold statement. I think the new LG BL40 and the current omnia2/8910HD are certainly an exception to that statement. Design-wise, yes, HTC does have a slight edge over their competitors and I hope that they will continue to push the envelope and go slimmer without sacrificing functionality (ie, tri-band HSDPA rather than dual band), but if they want to win on all fronts, I'd really want them to tackle Toshiba and come out a device in the 9mm-10mm width range.
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I’m further convinced to stay away from HTC devices. The entire PR sounds like it came from GM (status symbol), rather than reality and usability.
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NuShrike Reply:
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Glossy phones isn’t design. It’s anti-design because it all it does is gather fingerprints and cruft. Thanks for the crap that was the Touch Pro, One & Co.
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HTC rules the software game on WM, but they're falling behind on the hardware side. I bought an Omnia II for the AMOLED screen, fast CPU and storage options. From a hardware perspective, it blows away my old Fuze (if you don't absolutely need a hardware keyboard) and it blows away the Touch Pro 2 in the same measures except the TP2's conference calling abilities. Anyone who has spent quality time with the Omnia II or the Zune HD knows how gorgeous large OLED screens are, even compared to the iPhone. (Yes, there's an issue in direct sunlight, but clever tricks like turning into your shadow work wonders.) The only things that made me pause and reconsider the TP2 were TouchFlo3D and cooked ROMs from XDA Developers. I'm using PointUI and I really like it. Others use SPB Mobile Shell. I guess I really only miss cooked ROMs and easy-to-use flashing software that works under Vista/Win7 64bit.. That will come. Ultimately, the thing that pushed me over the edge was that the Omnia II is available with AT&T band 3G last month and the TP2 is not. Yet.
Sorry, One & Co, design wasn't a huge factor in the decision. All your competitors are nice-looking too.
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@Yuri A.
Good points. Hardware/specs definitely matter.
I should just stop waiting and order that Omnia II already and get it over with….
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Yeah this firm that HTC uses is a joke. They probably think design is everything. Idiots. First flaw was to remove the dpad on WinMo 6.1-6.5 based devices just becaue they didn’t like the way it looked. Well maybe don’t think a steering wheel makes the interior of a car looks the greatest. Am I going to remove it?!!!
Just give us specs, ergonomics and usability. Quit redesigning all the time. Heck I wouldn’t care if every device looked like the Touch HD or Original Touch for that matter. Just upgrade the software and guts as time goes on.
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I can’t wait for the Windows mobile Standard phone to come out without a d-pad.
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design is NOTHING if you dont have the power/performance (using 1G cpu instead of 528mzh cpu) to back it up!
would you buy a sport car with only 90HP? haha (people just going to laught at you!)
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Design can be cool, but HTC has just yielded generic designs so far. They don't utilize texture, color, patterns, etc. Neither do they feature innovative, one-of-a-kind technology. Maybe this is what they WANT to do, but we ain't seen it yet.
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I think HTC has the best implementation of skinning Windows mobile when compared to Sony Ericsson, Samsung (love Samesung, hate TouchWiz), Toshiba, and LG. Sure, the phone designs look pretty comparable to most other touchscreens but how many different ways can you improve on that type of design?
That being said, I think it really comes down to the software on the device and that is where HTC shines. They have that magic combination of usability and eye candy…just look at the Sense UI for Android.
The only thing that really bothers me is the stupid USB headset implementation and their insistence on using out-dated Qualcomm chips.
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