By At a press event in Johannesburg, South Africa for the HTC Desire, Smart, and Legend, PhoneReport caught up with HTC rep Quinton Leigh and learned some very interesting information regarding their future plans. Leigh confirmed that HTC has plans to enter into the tablet market with an Android-based device, but also added it may not be an actual “tablet.” Also revealed was HTC’s intention to have 1080p video recording capabilities on its handsets by mid-2011, as well as 5.1 surround sound output.
HTC has been pretty solid so far in terms of staying with the rapid advancements in mobile technology, and their upcoming HTC EVO 4G looks to be one of the most powerful smartphones to soon enter the market. There is no doubt that HTC wants to get in on the huge tablet market that was just blown open by the release of the iPad, as that seems to be where many companies are looking for their next big gadget. Hopefully they can do a slightly better job than their UMPC series of Windows XP-based mini PCs.
Put Android on that thing with a nice touchscreen, 1080p video recording, and 5.1 surround sound I think we’re already talking a major improvement. What sort of things would you like to see in an Android tablet by HTC? How about in their upcoming phones?
[via PhoneReport]
Sounds like HTC cant leave the tablet market alone. Soon everyone will have a tablet on the market.
Some sort of slide out keyboard that turns it from tablet to netbook type form factor (something similar to the touch pro 2 only with a 10 inch screen and android). That would make it killer.
sense ui on a tablet sounds amazing. now i’ll have something to obsess over after i get my evo 4g.
I hate to be “that guy”, but a 1080p touchscreen? That would translate into a resolution of 1920×1080 on a portable device. I think I know what you are getting at, but a bit of research would help to increase the credibility of Phandroid as a premier source for Android news. You guys have the leaks down (go AndroidForums!), but I feel like the articles can sometimes stumble at the end over little errors like this one. No big deal, and sorry if I come off as rude. Love the site!
@TSellers
I think the implication is recording of 1080p video. Then again, they may also mean 1080p HDMI output (the EVO 4G will do 720p).
@TSellers
My mistake, didn’t see the last paragraph. Well, on a tablet, what would be wrong with that resolution anyway?
look great if an output on the phones to plug in 1080P
mini hmdi ?
need an industrail; non plastic version of this ! can play flash ok and browse web ?
@T.Sellers: Well, not quite.
The HTC Desire is 3,7″ and has a resolution of 800 x 480 (~240ppi). This technology was already in use in 2005 (!) as a simple Google search tells you. An iPad has 132ppi pixel density – less than the iPhone (and using LCD).
There was a 2300ppi (yes, that is ten times the density) display in the works already in 2007: http://dx.doi.org/10.1889/1.2785569 . Of course there may be considerations for maximum size, but at that density you can easily have 1080p video on an Ipod nano or even your watch…
Simple maths from here: if you have a screen a bit over 2,5x of the Desire (we are talking about area here), around ~9,5″ (still smaller than the iPad), then you’ll end up with a resolution over 1080p (depending on the screen ratio).
1080p video recording, not 1080p screen, evo shoots 720p video, does it have 1080×720 screen?
I want the HD2 with Android and a led flash. That’s all :)
I remember an article on an htc device with a 1.5 GHz processor, perhaps this tablet could be that.
How about some dedicated gaming buttons ala the newest PSP?… I’m still waiting for a android device with EVO like specs and PSP slide out controls (and possibly some media controls preferably above the dpad) with a fully functioning keyboard sandwhiched inbetween the dpad and game buttons. If there’s one thing that the iPhone, iPod touch, and now iPad have taught us is that people really like to game on there all in one portables and that relying on purely a touch screen really limits your options! Also, if the Moto Droid has taught us anything, it’s that a good portion of the population aren’t ready to give up there keyboards yet (irregardless of what Apple insists)! The first manufacturer to give me this can expect to get up to $400 (SUBSIDIZED and no questions asked) from me! That’s really what I want, a midsized (between smartphone and tablet in size) device that also is a fully functioning phone preferably made by HTC. Think EVO 4G or Dell Mini 5 meets PSP with a slide out keyboard. A dedicated tablet isn’t for me…
Good phone!
I think you’re in minority about keyboard, dude. This isn’t 2005. Get with the times.
POE (power over ethernet) would be nice. And a good cradle/wallmount with POE.
Sorry i admit defeat, i was incorrect, i’m sorry
Sorry gary I must agree with Mike. You must not have played an emulator with touch screen buttons. It is inaccurate and your fingers tend to drift because there is no tactile sense. Besides fingers get in the way of the game or causes the screen to be smaller to fit in that application.
Keyboard. Keyboard. Keyboard.
I use my G1 with CyanogenMod as an SSH terminal, as a programming device, as a tool to write code and technical email – the keyboard is the only thing that matters. For me (and so many other computer professionals) any smartphone without a keyboard is just a consumer-oriented toy – On-screen keyboard just won’t cut it. Swype is cute, but my fingers are large, and not transparent (for me, Swype would work well with a stylus – I miss Palm’s super-accurate resistive touchscreens.) I won’t buy any phone which doesn’t have a full keyboard at least as good as the one on my G1 – that leaves out the Droid. The Samsung Moment is _almost_ there, but the lack of a 2.x build for it leaves me cold right now. Sadly, there are almost no options for those of us who need and use a keyboard smartphone – I’d pay full developer price tomorrow for a “Nexus 2” with a five-row slide-out keyboard.
keyboard keyboard keyboard – a 5-inch HTC pro with android 2.2 / 3