14 DAY TRIAL // Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation is reportedly gearing up for the launch of a new flagship Android-based mobile phone, the HTC Sensation, which would bring to the market the recently announced HTC Sense 3.0 UI, packed with a nice load of new features and enhancements.
One of the features that HTC might have included with the new user interface would be a Swype-like soft keyboard, which should sport the name of HTC Trace, it seems.
Reportedly, the new keyboard would resemble Swype, and would offer similar functionality as the already available software. Users would be able to easily drag their fingers over the on-screen keyboard to write messages.
The keyboard is said to be fit for various finger sizes and for different manners of holding the mobile phone. It would also include options regarding the sensitivity of the keyboard, which should increase performance.
The software should come in HTC Sensation, though it won't be included as the default keyboard on the upcoming mobile phone.
The inclusion of this new HTC Trace feature with HTC Sense comes as a surprise for some, that's for sure.
However, the mobile phone maker has been packing various improvements with each and every new version of Sense UI, and the addition of its own keyboard makes sense from a certain point of view.
Some of the enhancements that the new version of the software would bring include a 3D-enabled home screen, along with new applications, such as the HTC Watch for movie downloads, as well as a new lock screen, which would be animated with info on shortcuts.
What remains to be seen is how well would the new keyboard perform when compared both to the stock keyboard in Android, as well as to the already popular Swype for Android. It would also be interesting to watch how Swype would react to the release of HTC Trace, so keep an eye on this space for more.