T-Mobile has taken to Twitter to announce that its pair of HTC 4G smartphones will be upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The first device to get the update will be the Sensation 4G, which gets an over-the-air update starting today. Amaze 4G users can expect to get their taste of ICS starting from May 21.
When T-Mobile releases the Android 4.0 update for the HTC Sensation 4G tomorrow, it will bring with it a mandatory $15 per month charge for the wireless hotspot feature. According to PCMag, some users have thus far got the feature for free. Some other handsets due to get the latest OS soon at the carrier do not carry such a provision, however, including the Amaze 4G.
An upgrade roadmap has given out tentative upgrade timing for Android 4.0 as well as T-Mobile's next myTouch smartphones. Although details are still in flux, TmoNews heard that the custom, upsized version of the Samsung Galaxy S II for the network would get its update on or near May 14. Those with the two most recent HTC phones for the carrier, the Amaze 4G and Sensation 4G, would get theirs over a month later, on June 16.
T-Mobile has announced that its entire range of phones, and a number of tablets, will be offered for free during a one-day promotion on Saturday, February 11. The "Valentine's Day Sale" applies to smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, BlackBerry Bold 9900, HTC Amaze 4G and Nokia Lumia 710, along with the SpringBoard tablet and the Sonic 4G hotspot.
T-Mobile will soon phase out a number of Android smartphones, with a couple of fairly new ones among them. The list comes from an inventory screen capture shared by TMoNews. The handsets reaching their end-of-life status include the HTC Sensation 4G, HTC Amaze 4G, LG DoublePlay, LG myTouch Q and LG myTouch.
A leaked strategy document from T-Mobile has shown TMoNews that the carrier is actively trying to discourage the large number of unlocked iPhones on its network. Incorrectly referring to the devices at the "iPhone 4G" and "4G S," the staff memo insists that T-Mobile users are getting a "poor" experience by being on the carrier's EDGE (2G) network. Moving to one of its '4G' phones like the HTC Amaze 4G or Radar 4G will be free them from being "stuck in the 2G slow lane" with Apple's device.
Carrier T-Mobile will hold a New Year, New Phone Sale this weekend. The available devices include the Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, T-Mobile G-Slate, T-Mobile Springboard and Sonic 4G mobile hotspot, all for between free or up to $50, albeit after a mail-in rebate. Each phone requires a new two-year contract with a T-Mobile Unlimited Value plan.
Owners of the HTC Amaze 4G can now perform a manual software update that most significantly brings with it a Wi-Fi calling feature. There are still no reports of whether the update is actually allowing calling over Wi-Fi, however. Whether the nearly-identical Galaxy S II will soon get the same functionality remains to be seen.
HTC saw its October revenue take a rare sequential decline believed to be owed to the iPhone 4S. Although up just over 36 percent year-over-year, the $1.46 billion in revenue was down 2.8 percent versus September. Apple's quick launch in 29 countries helped, Taiwan's Commercial Times said.
HTC in an update Friday gave an early sign of its plans to upgrade phones to Android 4.0. While vague, it set out to upgrade "as many HTC devices as possible". More details would come in the weeks ahead, the company wrote.
T-Mobile swung into action with its own phone launches Monday by taking pre-orders for its first two 42Mbps-capable phones. The headliner Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the most unique in the world as, along with the much faster Internet access, it drops the usual 1.2GHz Exynos chip in favor of a 1.5GHz Snapdragon. A larger 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen is also unique on the larger model, although it still has the familiar eight-megapixel back camera and a slightly lower resolution 1.3-megapixel front camera.
T-Mobile used the start of the Mobilize conference to show off two new Android flagships while simultaneously talking down the prospect of an iPhone 5. The HTC Amaze 4G, also known as the Ruby, is one of its first phones to support 42Mbps HSPA+ and gets closer to actual 4G speeds at 8Mbps on average and 20Mbps at peak. The 4.3-inch phone is a close cousin of the Sensation 4G but gets a faster 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 as well as T-Mobile-specific Sense customizations borrowed from the myTouch 4G Slide, such as the extra-fast, multi-shot, and sweep panorama camera modes.
HTC's upcoming Amaze 4G has been validated after press imagery surfaced on Sunday. The device seen by Cell Phone Signal has T-Mobile's branding. Also on view is that it might carry HTC's more conventional Sense UI with little sign of T-Mobile having customized the software itself, as on the myTouch 4G Slide.
The HTC Amaze 4G, also referred to as the HTC Ruby has leaked again, this time in clearer shots and in black. Previous leaks have shown a white model, strongly suggesting that it will be available in at least two hues when it eventually goes on sale. The distinctive grille at the top of this version also seems to indicate that it an almost certain starter for the T-Mobile network.
HTC has allegedly chosen the name Amaze 4G to represent the handset that so far has been referred to as the Ruby. Amaze is only one of many terms that have appeared in HTC's trademark applications, separately in the US and Europe, however unnamed sources have told Pocketnow the label will be tied to the Ruby smartphone rather than another unannounced handset.
