Switched On: Halting Total Customization

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Throughout the histories of Windows Mobile and Android, many handset developers have talked the talk of supporting these mobile operating systems, dribbling out a couple of handsets per year as they focused on other priorities. But not HTC. The company has created more Windows Mobile and Android handsets than companies many times its size, and in fact developed the very first Android handset. Microsoft cited HTC at Mobile World Congress 2009 for being an exceptional partner, while Google’s Nexus One is an HTC-built handset sold exclusively by the search giant.

HTC has done more than simply create a lot of phones for these operating systems. It has attracted attention for its designs that include some of the largest displays and best QWERTY keyboards, as well as clever touches like the Touch Pro2′s speakerphone, which activates simply by placing the handset face down on a table during a call. But most distinctively, HTC has invested heavily in developing engaging user interfaces on top of both mobile OS foundations, with development teams focused on delivering skins like TouchFLO and Sense to both Windows Mobile and Android. But now that Microsoft is radically changing Windows Phone 7 Series, HTC will have to change course, and in the process lose the distinction of having its custom user experiences live across both Windows Mobile and Android.

Continue reading Switched On: Halting Total Customization

Switched On: Halting Total Customization originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

This post is tagged: android, column, columns, company, congress, consumer, consumer technology, couple, distinction, fact, foundations, google, Halting, handset, Hd2, histories, htc, Microsoft, mobile, Mobile Operating Systems, mobile os, mobile-world, nbsp, nexus, operating, partner, priorities, qwerty keyboards, ross, ross rubin, sense, sense ui, SenseUi, size, Skins, speakerphone, Switched, switched on, SwitchedOn, talk, Technology, total, total customization, touch flo, touchflo, user, user interfaces, week, Windows, windows mobile, Windows phone, windows phone 7 series, WindowsMobile, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7Series, world, world congress, year