vB Easy Archive - next HTC phone?

Quote:

@mib - nobody but you has said "rebranded" - that's just your spin. Engadget made a big deal of their claim that HTC made the X1, but then that should have come as a surprise to nobody - reports of a manufacturing order from SE to HTC were rife months ago.

Let me just point something out about the X1. On paper, it's pretty much the sort of spec you would expect to see from a leading WM phone in the latter half of this year, and in that sense yes, this could just be the Tytn 3. The spec list is utterly solid, and is exactly what many Tytn 2 owners will be looking for; so far, so HTC.

But do you know what's really exceptional about the X1? It's not so much the screen, it's not the RAM, it's certainly not the GPS - as much as it might excite people here, it's all old news in the WM community. No, the really amazing thing is the design. Not just the looks of it, but the size.

Now HTC are the leaders in the WM field, they've been knocking out these things for years, and they're very good at knocking out polished, competent WM smartphones, but they've never managed to pull off something like the X1 before - something that's class leading in both specification and size. Show me another WM qwerty slider (Pro, not Standard) that's even close to the size of the X1 - there isn't one.

Could HTC pull this off on their own? Well take a look at their back catalogue. The Tytn 2 is a big phone, barely different to the Tytn 1, and - at a mighty 190g - actually heavier than its predecessor. In fact many of HTC's lines have actually been getting bigger, bulkier, as they keep adding features year on year. And now here comes the X1 - what you'd have us believe is just the Tytn 3 with an SE sticker on it - and suddenly its no bigger than the average candy bar phone, and around 45g lighter, despite the fact it's got an all metal finish and a bigger battery. Now I ask you - is that all HTC's doing?

I would say not. I would say this phone is the result of a partnership - HTC's technical knowledge in the field of WM platforms, coupled with SE's fanatical flair for miniaturisation, not to mention batteries - and of course with SE's design all over the exterior. I say again, look at any previous HTC phone and then look at the X1, and tell me HTC did all that while they were waiting for a branding partner...

And another thing - don't forget that the apparently "secret" relationship with HTC may not be all about the X1 - HTC have gone on record as wanting to merge with SE in the past. Who knows what other talks may have been going on before, during, and after the X1's development?