Gorgeous, mysterious, EVO-ish HTC device headed for Verizon
Remember that Verizon Wireless roadmap we leaked? Well, it's all coming together pretty nicely. We have just got our hands on images of one of the upcoming HTC devices we wrote about. Our source describes the phone …
Context & Ripple Effects
Boy Genius Report has run this playbook before: its March 2009 pictures of the HTC Touch Diamond gave readers an early look at a Verizon handset months ahead of launch, and this week's image drop follows the same pattern. The difference is that this leak plugs into something bigger — a Verizon Wireless roadmap BGR published earlier that already named upcoming HTC devices, which the new photos are being presented as corroborating.
The timing matters because Verizon's Android slate is taking shape amid competitive noise: Sprint's EVO 4G set the large-screen benchmark the source explicitly invokes ('EVO-ish'), and iOS 4 code reported two weeks ago hinted at a Verizon-compatible iPhone in field testing — a rumor, not a confirmed fact, but one that raises the stakes for every Android exclusive Verizon fields.
First-order effects
- Verizon gets a flagship-grade HTC candidate for its fall lineup, strengthening an Android portfolio that currently has no confirmed answer to the iPhone-on-Verizon rumor circulating since mid-August.
Second-order effects
- Sprint's EVO 4G becomes the explicit design yardstick for rivals' hardware — if the leaked device ships close to that template, Verizon is answering Sprint's Android flagship rather than defining its own category.
Third-order effects
- Leak-driven launches harden into the industry norm: carriers and OEMs effectively market devices through rumor channels weeks before any announcement, compressing the window where controlled reveals carry surprise value.
The trend: Android hardware competition in 2010 is consolidating around carrier-exclusive flagships whose launch cycles begin with leaks, not announcements.