What is HTC Sense? – Explained
Screenshot of HTCSense
What is HTC Sense?
HTC are popular for creating high quality Smartphones. HTC Sense is a mixture of Applications (apps) add ons and services to the Android operating system on HTC devices.
Just to drive that message home HTC Sense are customised additions and services to the Android operating system.
(HTC also create Smartphones for Windows devices (WP7) but these do not have HTC Sense)
Different Forms of HTC Sense
HTC Sense comes in many different flavours and is constantly changing and evolving. Depending on which device you have will dectate which form of HTC sense you have and how many “new” additions and services you HTC Android device may have. Basically the older your device the less HTC applications and services you will have available. The current Sense is up to 3.0 and includes new features such as Media Link (see video below)
What does HTC Sense do?
The HTC Sense and Additions come in many forms.
The HTC Sense “Flip your Phone”
“Flip your Phone” doesn’t mean throw it!! A few friends have HTC Smartphones but not one was aware of the HTC Flip Function.
When your HTC Smartphone rings but you don’t want to answer it, just turn it over and it will stop ringing. – Pretty Cool! (The device isn’t called a smartphone for no reason).
Smart Ringer
When the phone is rings you don’t really want ringing in your ear. If you’re in a library you don’t want loud ringing drawing unwanted attention. So when you pick up the device the volume of the ringer decrease. Again Pretty Cool!! It doesn’t stop there!
HTC – ‘Snore’
Loud Ringer
If your Smartphone is in your pocket or in a handbag the sensors pick up on this and the device rings louder.
Nice!!! The phone goes quite when you want it to or louder when you need it too.
Your own free HTC Wifi Hub
This is one of my personal favourites as I moved home lately and British Telecom disconnected my broadband a month early and wouldn’t reinstall it without a fee (I’m still angry can you tell!!).
Your device can become a wifi hub for other users around you. Other users on computers or other wifi ready devices can use your smartphone to connect to the internet. Make sure you have unlimited internet access on your device or you will get a large bill from your phone operator (I have unlimited internet access on my device and it’s fast). This is also password protected and uses wpa2 which is helpful.
Weather App
In the UK the weather changes quickly, the weather app is soooo helpful and gives you an update for the next 4 days. YOu can also choose and set destinations around the world and can check on the weather in most major cities in seconds. The time and weather also update straight away if you are travelling in another country – Pretty cool once again.
Friend Stream
This is awesome addictive, very lazy and very easy. This service combines Facebook Updates and Tweets (from Twitter) and Flickr photos on the same screen and it’s part of the home screen set up. You slide your screen from the home screen and you can view all the updates your friends/contacts have just uploaded, Awesome!
This saves opening your Facebook, Twitter or Flickr app if all you want is a quick update.
Latest Status Updates
When your phone rings it’s possible to have that contact’s picture on your screen. Great lots of phones do that! But below the Image is the latest Facebook or Twitter social status update. This update gives you a little background of what someone has been talking about recently, is thinking or what they are up to!
For example I received a call yesterday from a friend whose status update was talking about the latest football transfers for Liverpool FC. The conversation sarted with us talking about this topic. Pretty Cool!
Homescreen Customisation
The amount of things you can create, close, open, and add to the homescreen is pretty clever:
- You can add multiple shortcuts to music, apps, the weather in various locations and 4 days in advance, a search facilty for the web and your phone, your camera just like a computer desktop.
- Flick left and right through multiple screens from the homescreen which allow you immediate access to write messages, see your friends/contacts latest social updates on friend stream.
- Add more feature on 2 additional blank screens waiting for your customisation
- Minimize all 7 screens to one screen allowing you to choose which feature you require
- Access your most used contacts immediately
This may sound complicated but it’s very easy to update and implement. I also forgot to add the customised clock feature you can add and the smart dynamic moving wallpapers you can choose which are all free.
Mulitasking Toolbar
Tap the top of the screen and pull down the multi-task bar. The bar at the top allows you to keep an eye on:
- what applications are on at that time
- whether you have a missed call
- whether a download has completed
- tap it for the date and time
- the battery life
- 3G connection, wifi it’s all display here
- Settings, updates, it’s all here!!
Automatic Text Size and Reflow
Need to read some text? Pinch your fingers together on the screen or pull them apart to resize the screen. HTC Sense does the rest, the screen resizes the text so it fits and is easy to read and scroll through. Lovely!
Easy Email Account Installation – Gmail, Exchange, Webmail
Import your e-mail accounts not just one but multiple using Gmail, Webmail and Exchange. I currently have my work email, personal and a couple of random accounts all on my HTC smartphone. It makes life easy to manage but they are just as easy to remove if you think you don’t need them anymore
Phrase or Word Look up
Whilst reading some text if you are interested in a word or phrase you can:
- search through Wikipedia, Google, YouTube, Google dictionary or translate it using Google Translate
- share the text through any communication option you have on your device e.g. E-mail, Text, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, (all social accounts through friend stream). Or you could be old fashioned and use your phone to call and tell someone
- tap and hold down your finger over the word or phrase, you will then have the option to copy the text to the clipboard.
HTC Footprints
Footprints allows you to create your very own diary/journal which includes photo’s and images, location tags sounds and of course basic notes
Smart Dial and All inclusive Search
Use a name or a number when calling your friends. Also when using the search on your smartphone one search combs through all your contacts, apps, your content and of course the web.
Very Customisable Screens
Create and change between your perfect phone for work, home or holiday.
Content Organised around your Contacts
All your calls, messages and updates are organised and allocated to the contact related to the content not to applications.
Don’t Take my word for it – Below is a video by Peter Chou and John Wang from HTC explaining the fundamentals of HTC Sense
Also check out some additional HTC Sense videos below:
Additional HTC Sense Resources
HTC – ‘Lost’ – HTC Maps video
HTC – ‘Doghouse’ - HTCSense.com Lost Phone Function
olu said on 10/07/2011
Very helpful and detailed.
Geralynn said on 23/07/2011
Not bad at all fellas and glaals. Thanks.
Lafayette said on 18/09/2011
Awesome facts & details, considering an HTC phone in the future.
mike said on 14/10/2011
are all these features for smart phones or other phones like widfire s
brian Cee said on 20/10/2011
Hi mike
HTC Sense adds more features depending on the device you have, the newer htc smartphones have a more advanced version of HTC Sense than slightly older phones such as wildfire s. The latest version is HTC Sense 4.0
vanessa said on 28/10/2011
I can’t sign in to my HTC sense. I have forgotten username and password . Do you no how I can retrieve it??
brian Cee said on 31/10/2011
Hi Vanessa/Pearl
Try this link – https://www.htcsense.com/en_US/#account/forgotpassword
Greg said on 31/12/2011
Hi
I am trying to use the lost phone feature.
It cant connect to my phone I am on the vodafone network in Australia and using a htc salsa. i have logged in & it is turned on in the phone settings.
Can anyone help.