First this
The ROM I'm using as my base for this is a port of a leak from the new One V. It's surprisingly stable and smooth. One major thing not working right now is the camera. I wanted to get a feel for Sense 4.0, though, so I was willing to do without that for now.
Here's the About Phone page:
Sense 4.0 on top of ICS 4.0.3. Prior to this I was running AOSPX, which is an AOSP build of ICS. The differences are noticeable in quite a few areas.
Sorry I don't have screenshots from AOSPX. If enough of you want them I can restore it and add them at a later date.
The Lock Screen
Pretty much exactly like Sense 3.X. Drag the ring up to the app you want to open. Not working like it's supposed to in this ROM, but if you've seen it on Sense 3.X you know what you're getting here. For comparison the stock lockscreen slides to either the left to open the camera or the right to unlock the phone. I'm not sure if it's phone specific, but Face unlock is not available as an option. The Inspire lacks a FFC, so this isn't really a surprise. I'm not sure that means it's won't be in the new phones that have a FFC or not, just wanted to mention it.
The Sense Clock Widget, Dock, and Homescreens
It's there. it's nice looking. Ok, really nice looking IMHO. Definitely looks a little more minimalist in design. HTC "themed" the stock ICS dock. You can put any app you want there now, which is a definite improvement over Sense 3.X.
The App Drawer
Just like in stock ICS it scrolls from left to right. One thing missing is the ability to scroll and see the widgets in the app drawer. I can't decide if I like that or not, but it hasn't bothered me yet. One nice touch are the tabs at the bottom for frequently used and downloaded apps. It's a quick and easy way to get to the apps you use the most. Folders are done like in stock ICS, just drag one app on top of another.
Adding widgets are done the old fashioned way. Long press on an empty part any homescreen.
Taking a page from Samsung and the way they do it in Touchwiz 4.0, you get a list of your widgets with thumbnails of your homescreens above. Press and drag the widget you want to the homescreen you want and there it is. You can set up as many widgets at a time that you want. This is a nice feature. Much better than adding one widget at a time.
The People App
It feels like Sense, but with a new ICS style design. Tabs along the bottom give you quick access to groups and call history, and a drop down menu at the top lets you view your contacts by account (twitter, facebook, google, etc). Yes, you can sync Facebook contacts into the People app.
Those are my quick thoughts on Sense 4.0. My first Android phone was an Evo 4G. I didn't hate Sense then, and I don't hate it now. I think HTC has done a lot right, and if you've been a Sense hater give this new version a try first.
[NOTE]Running a port of a leak from a different phone.[/NOTE]
The ROM I'm using as my base for this is a port of a leak from the new One V. It's surprisingly stable and smooth. One major thing not working right now is the camera. I wanted to get a feel for Sense 4.0, though, so I was willing to do without that for now.
Here's the About Phone page:
Sense 4.0 on top of ICS 4.0.3. Prior to this I was running AOSPX, which is an AOSP build of ICS. The differences are noticeable in quite a few areas.
Sorry I don't have screenshots from AOSPX. If enough of you want them I can restore it and add them at a later date.
The Lock Screen
Pretty much exactly like Sense 3.X. Drag the ring up to the app you want to open. Not working like it's supposed to in this ROM, but if you've seen it on Sense 3.X you know what you're getting here. For comparison the stock lockscreen slides to either the left to open the camera or the right to unlock the phone. I'm not sure if it's phone specific, but Face unlock is not available as an option. The Inspire lacks a FFC, so this isn't really a surprise. I'm not sure that means it's won't be in the new phones that have a FFC or not, just wanted to mention it.
The Sense Clock Widget, Dock, and Homescreens
It's there. it's nice looking. Ok, really nice looking IMHO. Definitely looks a little more minimalist in design. HTC "themed" the stock ICS dock. You can put any app you want there now, which is a definite improvement over Sense 3.X.
The App Drawer
Just like in stock ICS it scrolls from left to right. One thing missing is the ability to scroll and see the widgets in the app drawer. I can't decide if I like that or not, but it hasn't bothered me yet. One nice touch are the tabs at the bottom for frequently used and downloaded apps. It's a quick and easy way to get to the apps you use the most. Folders are done like in stock ICS, just drag one app on top of another.
Adding widgets are done the old fashioned way. Long press on an empty part any homescreen.
Taking a page from Samsung and the way they do it in Touchwiz 4.0, you get a list of your widgets with thumbnails of your homescreens above. Press and drag the widget you want to the homescreen you want and there it is. You can set up as many widgets at a time that you want. This is a nice feature. Much better than adding one widget at a time.
The People App
It feels like Sense, but with a new ICS style design. Tabs along the bottom give you quick access to groups and call history, and a drop down menu at the top lets you view your contacts by account (twitter, facebook, google, etc). Yes, you can sync Facebook contacts into the People app.
Those are my quick thoughts on Sense 4.0. My first Android phone was an Evo 4G. I didn't hate Sense then, and I don't hate it now. I think HTC has done a lot right, and if you've been a Sense hater give this new version a try first.
[NOTE]The version of Sense that the Desire HD/Inspire 4G is getting is supposedly not 4.0, but a mish mash of features from 3.X and 4.0. Some of this won't apply to the official version we get.[/NOTE]
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