HTC to include high-res video support in handsets HTC has promised to include video acceleration hardware in its future video-centric handsets, which some users may see as a move by the manufacturer to calm a pressure group seeking blood over performance issues with its handsets. Earlier this month, the organisers behind the HTCClassAction website warned that they would file …
HTC are skating around the real issue; the hardware support required is already in handsets such as the TyTN II, but the issue isn't acceleration of video playback, or rather not just around that. Absence of proper drivers for the graphics hardware in the current handsets affects anything using graphics; the camera, screen redraws, shifts from landscape to portrait mode, the list goes on. HTC need to release a proper firmware with a full set of drivers to cure the problem.
I know this was touched on in the last paragraph of the article, but HTC and the press have primarily picked up on the video playback issue. However there are many other issues, including a generally sluggish GUI, poor graphics performance - e.g. TomTom refresh rate and the almost unusable camera. More details at http://htcclassaction.org/misunderstandings.php
Addressing the issue on future devices is not the issue, current users want HTC to supply drivers to fully utilise the graphic acceleration hardware already present in the current devices.
HTC appear to be generating a huge amount of bad will amongst their user base, in addition to adverse publicity in the press, seemingly as a result of cutting corners in their driver development. I'm afraid this will haunt them going forward if they do not act quickly, decisively and positively.
This is an extremely poor response from HTC, seemingly designed to break the spirit of those protesting - who also happen, of course, to be previously loyal customers in many cases. It deliberately misunderstands the real issue (which as others have pointed out relates to ALL display rendering, not just video let alone "high resolution" video), and then seems to suggest the only cure is to buy their next product. There are now a great many people who will be making a point of not doing that.
Someone at HTC has badly misread this situation, IMO. This was the time for them to say "hey, we're listening, we'll try and do what we can..." when in fact what they've said is "hey, tough shit! Come back soon!"
That Class Action claim really is a load of poppycock. If you bought a phone that doesn’t correspond to your expectations for its intended usage, bring it back and get your money back!! Your consumer rights give you that option.
If it is a software issue then it’s most likely nothing to do with HTC as the chip supplier, Qualcomm, would be responsible for supply of the low level software that enables the drivers to work. Either way, while it’s bad karma for HTC to sell an underperforming handset, the tech fans need to become a little less enthusiastic when it comes to swallowing marketing drivel. Running off to the chip supplier’s web site to read specs and then extrapolate system performance is always going to lead to surprises as making a handset is never that simple.
I had wondered why the screen refresh on my HTC Athena was poor compared to the Wizard and universal that preceded it. I hope drivers are forthcoming, but I don't hold out much hope.
RE: Oh dear
If you read the website the article links to you would see that this might not be the case. My guess would be that this would be because a dedicated GPU would be much more efficient at graphics processing than doing the same with the CPU and software.
You might want to do your own bit of research before posting - if you had, you'd see that the supposed class action was never really about a legal argument, but simply a means of putting pressure on HTC to confront the issue, mostly by drumming up coverage like this. It worked too, even if the response wasn't as hoped.
As for the rest of your comment about Quallcom rather than HTC being responsible, well again, a little research would have helped. Quallcom have the drivers, Quallcom are quite open about the fact that they could supply HTC the drivers, but it is HTC to (a) have to license them, and (b) integrate them into their handsets.
I've been using a windoze mobile phone for years, and this is just the characteristic of a crappy os. Nothing changed in wm6, still the same microsoft bloat. I'm afraid I doubt (as htc apparently does) that adding accelerated video rendering will help it at all, as the os just simply isn't built to be high-performance - it's a phone for christ's sake, and it's microsoft. They're more worried about DRM and their failing vista product these days.
I'm still waiting for hacked linux drivers for cdma modems in my xv6700 and other HTC products, maybe then we'll see what these phones can really do. Until then, quit bitching and live with a mediocre os as you have since windows 3.1.
Yes, it's "windoze" if you like, but there are still older HTC devices that run WM6 better than the Tytn II does. Compared to the original Tytn (which is ROM upgradeable to the latest version of Windows Mobile), the Tytn II has more ram and a "better" processor, and yet it's noticeably more laggy in all kinds of apps, and offers poorer multimedia than its predeccessor, even when running exactly the same OS.
Just for once, this isn't Microsoft at fault here - it's HTC. They've cut corners somewhere, either on the hardware or the software, and produced a whole range of new devices that simply don't perform as well as their old gear. Now sure, they can tell everyone to just swallow that if they like, but it's not going to help their future sales. It also doesn't do much for Windows Mobile's unshiny reputation, and gives plenty ammunition to the Mikus's of this world, and I don't suppose MS are too enamoured of that.
Don't forget, these problems aren't just restricted to the Tytn II, they're common to a whole line of HTC products, including some that aren't even in general release yet.
Its a driver issue. Its not like apple where their OS is on only a few platforms. Since there are countless devices WM can be on MS relies on the makers to develop drivers for their individual products.
Nope, its HTCs fault. Hopefully if HTC does release a driver with some new hardware someone reverse engineers it for the people with the older hardware.
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