HTC: older phones will miss some of Sense 3.0
updated 01:35 pm EDT, Thu April 14, 2011
HTC warns only newest phones get full Sense 3.0
HTC in a pair of updates on Twitter said that only some of its new Sense 3.0 interface would work on older phones. Only its newest and fastest devices, like the Evo 3D, Evo View 4G, Flyer, and Sensation, will get the fully customized home and lock screens. HTC was planning on including those features in the new version of Sense that would work on the older devices.
The split wasn't fully detailed but could leave some phones, even ones released this year, shut out of new features like app launching from the home screen or the 3D home screen carousel. These could include the Thunderbolt and possibly the Desire S, Incredible S, and Wildfire S since they all use equal or slower processors. The Evo View 4G and Flyer use a much faster 1.5GHz single-core Snapdragon while the Evo 3D and Sensation use a dual-core 1.2GHz version.
The limited rollout doesn't preclude any of the older devices from getting Android 2.3 or later but will keep them from using HTC's full feature set. Many of the phones are expected to get their 2.3 updates as soon as the spring or early summer.
