HTC backtracks, promises Android 2.3 on Desire
updated 09:25 am EDT, Wed June 15, 2011
HTC vows Android 2.3 on Desire after all
HTC in a Facebook update backpedaled on its earlier statement that it wouldn't upgrade the Desire to Android 2.3. The company said no more beyond that it was "going to bring Gingerbread" (Android 2.3) to the year-and-a-half-old smartphone. It didn't say how it planned to accomplish the feat or whether there would be any sacrifices.
Initially, the company had insisted that memory limits on the Desire meant it couldn't upgrade to the modern OS while still keeping its custom Sense interface on top. The statements underscored the problems with Android's splintered platform. The Nexus One, virtually identical to the Desire inside, got Android 2.3 much earlier as it wasn't burdened by the memory limits and support delays triggered by a non-stock UI.
HTC has been increasingly aware of the issue and just recently joined Google's anti-fragmentation consortium promising quick and sustained updates. The terms only require that it support phones for up to 18 months and as long as the hardware allows.
