By Digitimes is reporting the HTC Passion is likely going to be delayed until early 2010. Those of you lookin’ to have one hiding in your stocking this year may just have to wait.
Of course, with HTC’s 2010 lineup leaked with said leaker saying the Passion/Dragon is actually called Bravo – that would put it in line to be out around April. I’m not sure if that qualifies as “early 2010” or not.
With the recent list of names leaked one can see Bravo, Passion, PassionC, and Dragon listed s0 – who knows what to believe at this point. But hey – that’s part of the fun, right!
We promise to try to get this sorted for ya but in the meantime let us know what you think about this mess. If you can help put 2 and 2 together with any of the details floating around (or soon to be floating around) – post or tip it!
Side note: They also mention Espresso in the digitimes article and the possibility of it being announced in Barcelona come February.
[ Gizmodo via digitimes | engadget ]
I didn’t think the HTC Passion was coming as soon after the Droid as early rumors indicated. And the screen is smaller that earlier rumors as well.
All in all, I’m glad I sprung for the Droid right after release instead of waiting around for vaporware.
So into Passion, hope it could come out as soon as possible. My current contract will be expired at next Feb, so, plz, Santa, make passion/dragon happening, Bravo….
Might be more or less because they could be putting the phone in the biddings for the Google Phone title.
The leaker saying that there is no Passion/Dragon is wrong and basically admitted as much. He is going off of HTC models for tmobile ONLY. Hence Passion/Dragon still very much in play for Verizon.
Hope it’s not the Bravo…though I would be seriously tempted to wait for the Bravo if it’s spec’d lower… Love the AMOLED on the bravo…
That said, the most recent rumor about the passion hitting t-mobile in the first couple of weeks of january is just about right for me. I really don’t want to be stuck on an iphone 2g with edge for the next 4-5 months.
Anyone seen the photos that just leaked for 4 HTC android phones in early 2010? Most are ugly as sin with HTC trying to make two look like blackberries but one called the Buzz looking just like this phone slated for April.
If the delay is true…by the time the Passion does come out there will be other(better) options. Samsung could beat HTC to the punch with an Android version of the Omnia II.
There are two types of consumers in this world. 1. People that buy what they think is the next best thing(Droid) 2. People that actually buy the next best thing(passion/dragon)Here is the obvious. The Passion is a huge step up over the Droid. It’s faster, it has Android 2.0 with Sense(AMAZING)It isn’t made by a “on its way out” company. Verizon, Google and HTC are keeping its mouth shut about this phone because it is a better device than the Droid and will not be around by Christmas. They want people to grab there current phones over this one to get those HUGE holiday numbers.
I agree with 2two. No way Verizon brings this out for Christmas. They are trying to clear inventory on current selections. This would KILL sales of existing inventory without of course lowering their prices to next to nothing. This will be by far Verizon’s best offering in terms of a smartphone. People should just suck it up and wait one more month. They have waited this long. Thirty more days will not hurt. They may “sneak” it out right after Christmas….LOL
Passion doesn’t have a physical keyboard so it’s a step down from the Droid. Someone finally realized there are lots of people who want a modern cpu/screen *and* a keyboard. HTC is just trying to out-iPhone the iPhone on style and that isn’t such a good strategy.
Guess Passion less possibly comes out during this year, since Droid still hot lately, so, early of Jan or Feb is fine to me
I guess the only logical thing after predicting mid-december is delaying the prediction date to later. It is all making sense now.
By springing for the droid right after release when the ETF was still a low $175 less $5/month of contract completed, I figure I am in the catbird seat. Even tho I am very very happy with the droid and with the upgraded 3G network (going from T-Mo to VZ), if the HTC Passion does come out and, is on VZ, and is just too too much hotter than the droid for me to resist, I can still bust droid contract, pay the ETF, sell the droid on ebay, buy the passion, and still come out great. I’m in a win win situation, and I didn’t have to suffer along with my lagging G1 and thin 3G T-Mo network any longer, waiting and waiting.
Anyone who is claiming the Passion is sooooo much better than the Droid needs to crawl back into their hole. There is no way to claim this if no one has actually handled a device yet. You guys are the people that spurn rumors that lead to overhype. Please use a lil more common sense when making assumptions
those phones on the Leaked HTC Roadmap?…well apparently none of them have US 3G bandwidth in their specs. so Bravo may = Passion, but for Europe. The Passion/PassionC for the US is still very much in play, and from what i’ve been reading will be heading out to TMo in January, the PassionC likely heading to Verizon based on the rumormill. Whether the last bit is true i don’t know, but the hard cold fact of specs indicated the roadmap ain’t for us US customers.
I got a Hero because it was the best phone on the market I previously had the BB Tour but it was not customizable enough for my business. I am hoping to keep my Hero until Google comes out with the GPhone in the next year or so until then there is no need to chase model after model. Tip: get the best model for that year and it will be good for at least 2yrs.
I got the Droid on Nov 9, after waiting years for the perfect phone – wvga, linux, decent proc, KB. after 3 weeks and many typos, I could no longer stand the kb. If only the letters were raised. Phone went back, I’ll wait for htc Passion. Verizon will put my account in limbo for 30 days, then I lose the number I’ve kept for 5 years if I don’t get a new phone. I was hoping for the htc passion. After 4 days without a phone though, I’m kinda liking it……
my vz contract is up on mar 10 so i have no problem waiting for the passion/dragon. been playing with the eris and droid in the vz stores and i think the htc is a much better unit. the droid is too thick.
I was hoping it may be out soon. It seems like they are trying to get rid of the HTC droid eris with the buy one get one free deal they have right now. I was hoping that was to make room for the new HTC passion/dragon.
“Samsung could beat HTC to the punch with an Android version of the Omnia II.”
Did you read the reviews of the Omnia II? Did you see TouchWiz on the Behold II? Combine them into one single phone and you have… one hot mess (with a nice AMOLED screen to clearly see the disaster)
JayMonster: “Did you read the reviews of the Omnia II? Did you see TouchWiz on the Behold II? Combine them into one single phone and you have… one hot mess (with a nice AMOLED screen to clearly see the disaster)”
If it’s Android you can skin it anyway you like…no need for TouchWiz if you don’t like it. Still hopeful the Passion is sooner rather than later.
Eris is now $0 after a BOGO and Droid gets a firmware update…mmmmmm sounds like Verizon might be getting ready for another major release.
I got the HTC Eris in early November, and just returned it at the end of the 30 day trial. Didn’t want to be stuck with it on a 2 yr contract. Too small for virtual keyboard and a bit slow. Moto Droid is a brick. Hoping the Passion is the trick.
there is no way this launches to verizon only day one. the MOST that could possibly happen is a simultaneous launch of both a phone on tmobile and verizon compatibility but i doubt it. my guess is for a while it will be an unlocked phone compatible with tmobiles network (i.e. sim card)
Note to self and others……If there is a fully capable phone that you originally wanted (Droid) then get it because it exists!!! Don’t sit and wait for rumors to pan out becase most don’t and you will be dissapointed like myself.
I could have had the Droid in November but opted to wait for the Passion/Dragon/Whatever device because of all the hyped rumors. I mean how could posts say its coming to Verizon first on Black Friday then Mid-December then early January to finally not at all.
I could be wrong and will own up to it, but it doesn’t look good for those that are waiting for the Passion/Dragon device on Verizon. First, the Nexus One has the same specs as those aforementioned devices and is GSM not CDMA as Verizon rejected it. Second, the Droid is the flagship phone right now and is selling just fine. Third, another report shows three more smartphones are being release in early ‘10 with none being the Passion/Dragon.
If it does come or some other Snapdragon processor phone to Verizon, it looks like its down the road in ‘10 and I’m tired of waiting. So it looks like Droid does for me!!! Thanks for reading this long post of pent-up phone frustration.
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