Spy Shots: What New HTC Android Phone is This? (HTC Dragon?)
October 16, 2009 in Featured, Wireless News
Ok so a ninja brought us some very interesting photos. They show us an HTC phone (you can see the HTC logo at the top) with a larger screen and high resolution (you can tell by the size of the Android in the center) running Android on it…
Could this be the HTC Dragon we have heard about? The Dragon I believe will be the Android equivalent of the Touch HD2 (same hardware mostly and just Android instead of Windows Mobile). You can also see the trackball at the bottom of the phone which could be easily added by HTC to the HD2 to give the Dragon a better way to scroll.
EDIT: By the way, I blacked out the photo. Where it says Welcome to …. It doesn’t say the name of the phone it has a number that I’m told is used to determine who this phone was loaned to so for obvious reasons that got blocked, not too mention wouldn’t help us figure out the phone. And then I blocked out the time, just to be extra safe our ninja can’t be traced back to.
So what do you guys think? What phone is this?
EDIT: I forgot to point it out, but Scott is right. It’s definitely a GSM phone judging by the “3G” mark in the title bar.
Ok, so apparently the 3G is now a symbol used by some Verizon phones too, so scratch that that indicates GSM.
THANKS TWIGZ!
Operative5639 said on October 16, 2009
o_O hmmm……., -.- of course ……….. I have no idea. lol but my guess is dragon. Damn black censor bar lol. i wanna know cuz i want it. looks sexy
iScott78 said on October 16, 2009
I hope it isn’t the Dragon. I don’t really like the looks of it, from what we can see. I personally like the looks of the HTC HD2. Just my opinion though….
methodz said on October 16, 2009
iScott i completely agree with you. The body of the hd2 is pure SEX!!! android in that shell would be enough for me to think twice about the x3
Acid said on October 16, 2009
its the htc dragon fo sho!!!!!!!
jon stanley said on October 17, 2009
why did the ninja black out the time and the other part? haha not a very good ninja -_-
TheUnlockr said on October 17, 2009
Hello Jon,
No the Ninja was great. I blacked out the time and name. The name actually doesnt say the name of the phone model it is a number used to identify who the phone was lent to and I blacked out the time as a precaution so they couldn’t trace it back to when he/she had the phone in their possession (call it paranoid, but better safe than sorry).
iScott78 said on October 17, 2009
Even though I don’t like the design, I do think that it is the HD2 for T-Mobile. One reason I think it is because it says 3G, not 1XEV like CDMA phones do. With T-Mobile having that Project Dark promo coming up, they are supposed to have a new cell plan and it looks like some new phones. I think that is what it is for. Just my opinion though…..
bobby joe joe said on October 17, 2009
it looks crappy enough to be a verizon…
PeDe said on October 17, 2009
well if it has the same specs as touch hd2, 5mp cam with flash, 1ghz snapdragon, 4.3in lcd screen, trackball, search button, plenty of internal memory and it’s a gsm fone, im hoping this comes 1q 2010 for tmobile cuz i just found my dream android fone with eclair please =]
kicleun said on October 17, 2009
Am I the only one that sees the resemblance of the buttons on this HTC to the MotoDROID?
Y314K said on October 17, 2009
TheUnlockr: Did the good Samaritan Ninja give u the name of the phone + other info but you can’t share it????
Kicleum: Saw it too… Wonder if it’s a requirement from google for Eclair 2.0 phones to have that chin???
This definitely looks like a beta HTC Dragon phone… I will post my thoughts about it shortly…
TheUnlockr said on October 18, 2009
Hello Y314k,
Nope, he/she doesn’t know what it is and doesn’t have the device anymore so we can’t have him/her go take a look in the bootloader
I’m willing to bet its an HTC Dragon though just based on timing, screen size, HTC logo, etc.
Y314K said on October 17, 2009
Let me start by saying that my next phone will have Android + HTC w/Rosie(Sense) + SnapDragon & I would prefer it on T-Mobile w/ ProjectDark (waiting to find the right phone before kicking ATT to the curb)…
This seems to be a beta of my next phone… The size of the screen screams HTC Dragon or HTC HD-Android… Still trying to figure out if the screen size is the same as the HD2… The HD2 seems much more squareish… Although cause of the trackball chin requirement, it just looks to be a HD2 screen stuck on top of the trackball chin panel… And unless that trackball chin panel has a physical keyboard… It seems to be a waste of a panel… From the back pic… I don’t think it has a physical keyboard… I really hope they refine it cause it looks out of place… Wish they would put the trackball on the screen panel it self unless it does have a keyboard…
The HTC hero had the trackball and chin just right as part of the phone… I don’t understand both the Moto’s Droid & this phones purpose of the extra panel under the screen basically uglying the phone… At least with the Moto Droid it has a keyboard… If this one doesn’t have a keyboard, it will suck, although I will still have to get the phone, but it will be a step back on HTC’s great designs…
For those of you that don’t like it as shown… Just wait till the final design… Remember, back when HTC Hero leak pics came out… it was hideous…
http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/g3_htc_hero_1.png
http://www.unwiredview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/htc-hero-g3-31.jpg
But the end product was one of the best award winning designs of ’09…
http://dustbowl.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/htc-hero-2.jpg
So I really hope HTC repeats that feat… Seems to be wasting a lot of space on that panel the way the trackball is just sitting alone on the chin… Can anybody see the possibility of a keyboard from the back pic… If it does have one… It would be crazy thin…
TheUnlockr: Please check with Ninja if this device include a physical keyboard please… Thanks for the great info…
TheUnlockr said on October 18, 2009
Hello Y314K,
It definitely does not have a physical keyboard (another reason why we think it is the Dragon).
xStevenBradleyx said on October 18, 2009
Not to sure about these photos. The phone had the Moto sholes/Droid button yet is branded by HTC, the back cover is on the table with the camera lens?
TheUnlockr said on October 18, 2009
Hello xStevenBradleyx,
Definitely not the Moto Droid, but where do you see the back cover?
John said on October 18, 2009
@TheUnlockr I think Jon Stanley is talking about the band on the back cover. There is a set of symbols under the Android.
TheUnlockr said on October 18, 2009
Hello John,
Oh, ok. I’m pretty sure those symbols say “Google” and that Android on the back indicates a Developer phone usually (like the Developer Dream a while back, same Android).
Y314K said on October 18, 2009
John: When u zoom into the 2nd pic… It just says Google, maybe on a different odd font but you can easily make out Google…
xStevenBradleyx: The back picture is from a higher angle since Ninja didn’t have to focus on the screen… It is the full phone laying on it’s back… The screen is smaller then the back so it looks odd… But it’s the full phone, camera and all… Not just the back shell…
The_Duckies said on October 18, 2009
Well, it’s not Dragon unless this is a VERY alpha build of the handset and they don’t want to load even 1.6 on it. The notification bar being white is the giveaway, since the only white notification bar build is 1.5 (see the MyTouch 3G and the G1) and all subsequent builds (1.6 and on) use a black notification bar with white text.
Whatever this is, it’s not Dragon. It is, however, intriguing, and I can only hope comes with a full QWERTY keyboard. Typing anything significant on a touchscreen is a serious pain in the ass.
Noel said on October 18, 2009
Oooh baby…here come the fire spitting HTC DRAGON. Tmo just make sure u bring this baby to us…but first do a lil cosmetic work to sex it up. That may or may not be too late..either way the specs and power will sell the phone..just make sure it comes with a very powerful battery. I want this baby to knock the socks off that much hyped, overrated phone…u know who u are. And one more thing Tmo…when are we gonna have Tv service on our phones?? Also give us an all u can eat plan for less..say $60 bucks or less….about time
cb2000a said on October 18, 2009
Le Dragon…..
John Doe said on October 18, 2009
Dear HTC. You are loosing sales because you tards refuse to release an Android phone with decent hardware and a keyboard. The G1 is stupidly under powered to handle multitasking. And all these touch phones. Yah I use my phone for social purposes. I don’t want to sit there for 5 minutes correcting my typing again and again because the screen on the damn phone is so small its virtually impossible to type. Give us a real keyboard damn it!
Till said on October 18, 2009
Well, it’s not Dragon unless this is a VERY alpha build of the handset and they don’t want to load even 1.6 on it.
But why would *any* new handset be released with 1.5? It would be quite strange for HTC to announce a new phone with 1.5 when 1.6 is already out, SDK and all. I’ll go with “alpha software” or simply HTC customization of 1.6/2.0.
_illmatic_ said on October 18, 2009
Like The_Duckies says it is not the Dragon based on the setup screen notification bar being white, not black like all Sense UI HTC phones. Dragon without sense UI what would be the point?
yf said on October 18, 2009
Looking very promising, any possibility that this phone is running on the Tegra chip?
A C said on October 18, 2009
No longer can you assume a phone is GSM because it says “3G” on it. Verizon is starting to release phones that say “3G” on them instead of EVDO because the public is more aware of what 3G means vs EVDO.
The recently released Nokia Twist has a 3G icon on it instead of EVDO, all the shots of the VZW Storm 2 have the 3G icon, and VZW’s HTC Imagio also has 3G instead of EVDO.
I guess Verizon figures if you can’t fight em.. Join em.
phoenix said on October 18, 2009
@the_duckies, i think only sense has the black notification bar. 1.6 still has the white status bar, at least on my phone.
Y314K said on October 18, 2009
After this spy shots exploded out of here to DroidDog & out to just about every phone site I go to….
After reading all the posts… It’s help me come to the conclusion that this is the HTC Desire going to Verizon…
The 3G band on it is already part of Verizon…
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/gallery/handsets/motorola-droid/?pid=3579#picture_nav
So that doesn’t tell us what carrier it will end up on…
Also the screen size, although at first look, looked huge… It’s under the HD2 4.3″ that we might expect or hope on the HTC Dragon… This screen size is definitely bigger then the 3.2″ HTC has been using for their Android phones but it doesn’t seem sqarish enough to be over 4″ in size…
My best guess right now would be that it’s the HTC Desire for Verizon that suppose to come out in Nov. or Dec. + This will be Verizon non=qwerty phone…
Just guessing… But it’s what is making sense to me at this time…
koyce said on October 19, 2009
am sure this will have a chin
Zaggs said on October 19, 2009
Interesting to note about the 3G icon. That same icon appears on the Boy Genius report website in its Motorola Droid gallery. Being that phone is for Verizon wouldn’t it be CDMA? Hence the 3G icon may not automatically mean GSM.
Neo said on October 19, 2009
Woo-hoo, Unlockr.com gets featured on the Apple fan site Gizmodo.com!! Yeah!!
Justin said on October 19, 2009
Only one carrier I know of uses “welcome to” in their branding. And it’s related to their 4G network.
http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=mobile+phones%2C+plans%2C+%22welcome+to%22
Tifoso1 said on October 19, 2009
I was shown this phone this morning at a Verizon store. The rep told me it came in the morning delivery. It was charging and they reps in the store were upset that it would not show a screen until it was activated. The reps were told to take it to a meeting this afternoon where the fall line up will be shown to them. The phone is to be activated there. All they knew it that it was an Android OS. The phone is GREAT looking in real life. It’s thin, has a good sized screen and it coated in soft touch paint.
williambraski said on October 19, 2009
your theory that this is GSM simply because of the 3g logo has been debunked
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/gallery/handsets/motorola-droid/?pid=3586#picture_nav
TheUnlockr said on October 19, 2009
Hello WilliamBraski,
Ya I edited that in the post already, news to me lol
I’m working on trying to get more info on this phone for you guys, will let you know what I find as I find it.