Rumors Say HTC Releasing the Knight on January 6 2011: HTC Knight Preview
Introducing the HTC Knight
The HTC Knight, now apparently code-named “Speedy,” is rumored to be coming to Sprint this coming January 6th 2011, according to an
exclusive XDA-Developers.com leak. While not much is known about this smartphone, what is for sure is that it will be one of a long line of great HTC smartphones. While this might be just another “exciting preview” that ends up being much less than one would have hoped to see, that is only because all information is based from one quick leak. Only bits and pieces of the specifications are known about the HTC Knight, but it already has two things going for it…
First, it is an HTC, which means that the smartphone already has a leg up on the competition. HTC is a company has rapidly become one of the major players in the smartphone market since it reared its head in 2007 when it began manufacturing smartphones under its own name, instead of doing so behind the scenes. For years, HTC manufactured the smartphones but then licensed them to other players such as T-Mobile. Since they started marketing their own devices, HTC already has several highly rated smartphones under its belt such as the EVO 4G, the HTC Incredible and others.
Design: HTC Knight Looks Like EVO 4G (4 out of 5)
Looking at the leaked photo available, the HTC Knight looks just like the HTC EVO 4G smartphone recently released. While no one knows yet if the smartphone will be as large as the EVO is, considering the warm welcome EVO received, the Knight will certainly not be rejected by users if it is the same size. It is said that the Knight will offer a 3.7-inch display, which is the same size as the Nexus One’s display. It is also rumored that it will be a WCGA display, which grabs another point on display design.
Sliding Body: Keyboard or Screen? (4 out of 5)
The leaked information consisted of a front-facing image of the rumored HTC Knight as well as an excerpt from what could possibly be an instruction manual. It is not what the excerpt says, but how it says it that is the interesting part.
3. Make sure to activate your device before you operate the handset by setting up the Google account on the device. 4. To view the contacts on the device, select “Contacts” and push “Menu” button, select “Display group > All contacts > OK”. 5. Do not slide screen in/out during the operation."
That, ladies and gentleman is what one would call a play on words. This statement has most industry insiders agreeing that it is most likely referring to a sliding keyboard. However, if that is so, then why does the passage read differently from the usual statements concerning sliding keyboards?
Some say that the passage could be referring to sliding speakers, but that does not fit the statement either. HTC has already released two sliding-keyboard Android smartphones, the T-Mobile G2 and HTC Merge, so why would HTC be secretive about releasing another smartphone with the same sliding keyboard?
Pure Speculation: Dual Screen Smartphone?
The excerpt states specifically “Do not slide SCREEN in/out during the operation,” so one would have to assume that the screen is the
slider and very different from anything anyone has seen to date because the screen on a typical sliding-keyboard smartphone does not slide, the keyboard does. Why release that specific passage and no others? While all of this is mere speculation, I believe that the “Sliding” portion refers to a screen that sides out to reveal a physical keyboard underneath. On the other hand, it could also be that the sliding-keyboard is a virtual one that would be displayed on a second, sliding screen.
A company in Russia, Russian Technologies, has announced the existence of a dual-screen smartphone prototype. Little detailed information is available but the unit is due to hit the market in May of 2011. It is reasonable to assume that if other markets are already working on the dual-screen technology, that someone has to be thinking of it and working on the same things in the US, right? TC is due for a real blockbuster and if the HTC Knight turns out to be the first Dual-Screen smartphone from a major carrier running Android, it would make more than a huge splash.
More Speculation: UI & Features
The only other solid available details include the HTC Knight’s pending release on the Sprint network. Additionally, the leak stated the Knight would come pre-loaded with Android as the EVO does, but there is no word yet on which version it will use. Maybe it will be the first release of Gingerbread, the Android 3.0 that has threatened a release for months now. Otherwise, Froyo sounds like a good fit. One thing that I believe is safe to assume is that it will most certainly come loaded with HTC’s widely successful Sense UI, which over Android makes any HTC smartphone fast as lightning and easier to customize.
Overall, almost any smartphone released by HTC is an instant hit and the Knight, code-named “Speedy” is sure to follow in the footsteps of a long line of great HTC smartphones. With the recent success of the EVO, Incredible and others like them, I would be honestly surprised if the Knight didn’t. Stay tuned for follow-up information as it becomes available, as it surely will.
