New and exciting HTC Sense 4.0: What you should know

HTC sense is a new graphical user interface (GUI) for mobile devices which run Windows Mobile, Brew and Android. It is an updated and upgraded version of the TouchFlo 3D on which it has been based. The HTC EVO 3D and the HTC Sensation are some of the smartphones that will feature the HTC Sense 4.0 which has major functional and visual changes compared to previous versions. The leaked information states that the unlock screen now displays lots more info from lists, provides a quick access to contacts and opens the notification bar directly. New widgets that allow access to websites previously visited as they are already stored in the browser. The email client is so awesome that the interface is being dubbed as the best application to date.

HTC Sense 4.0

Design and User interface

Interesting modifications have been made in the interface that makes it more friendly to use. For starters, HTC has reduced the visual clutter by vastly improving the typography. Bringing landscape support to the homescreen, Sense 4.0 will also ensure optimum utilization of this orientation by getting tabs to the right instead of the bottom when in it. A new task-switcher which provides a 3D view of open tasks in a card format has made its appearance and all the buttons in the slider have the button name on them. The sliders are gray with square buttons instead of the rounded ones of the previous versions. The lockscreen allows for the accumulation of notifications, a task bar display and a list of the favorite contacts.

DropBox storage

Historically, Dropbox, which is a cloud-servers based data syncing and storage service, has offered selected Android-based handset makers with 5GB of free storage. In what can be seen as a clear move to boost popularity and indirectly boost the device sales, Dropbox has promised to provide 50GB of free storage on a permanent basis. This comes only with the Sense 4.0 and any device that upgrades to it will benefit from the offer. And so, customers would have to obtain the device and sign up for the offer before it ends!

Exquisite homescreen

A common-sensical and intelligent addition has been the landscape orientation to the homescreen. Why nobody thought of doing so before is the big question. With the new orientation that can be obtained without any tweaking or hacking, modders and developers would have reduced workloads in making tweaks. Obtrusive icons on the homescreen have been suitably changed or augmented while in some areas they have been replaced with text too. There is also an elegant task switcher which is very similar to the one found on stock Ice Cream Sandwich - only that the Sense has a 3D look.

Improved browsing

The browsing experience is bound to experience a giant leap in terms of comfort and reading friendliness. Similar to the iOS 5, the new Reader feature that has been introduced tears away all ads without affecting all images. There are also functions that allows the user to either read or watch something later which is done by marking the content with a corresponding widget on the homescreen. Web browsing too has got this feature to read or watch later which ensures that you can still have the benefits of the material and content even when offline due to lack of connectivity in some areas. The email client is often boasted as the best one created till date for the Android. Push email has been improved with intelligence features that decide the mail update timings to save battery life.

Guest mode

All PCs and Macs arrive with a guest mode wherein the admin can decide the extent of access. HTC Sense 4.0 too offers this guest mode so that the owner can choose and specify what can be accessed when someone else is using the phone. Even apps can be restricted in the guest mode. Being able to block data access in this elegant way would definitely save the user many embarrassing or difficult situations. Guest mode is entered by switching scenes.

Support for Beats Audio

Beats Audio is a line of audio products ( especially headphones) which are endorsed by avid rapper Dr. Dre. HTS Sense 4.0 has been made compatible with Beats Audio and this is sure to enhance the audio quality of a large number of third party, music apps like Pandora which are Android based. This is a major change because previously Beats was only compatible with the default music application.