HTC announced that at least seven of its smartphones will receive upgrades to Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”). They're the internationally available Evo 3D Sensation, Sensation XL, and Sensation XE, as well as the U.S.-only Rezound, Design 4G, and Amaze 4G, according to the company — whose CEO also told Reuters it will release one or more additional tablets next year.

Google's Android 4.0 was announced Oct. 19, and will for the first time be optimized for both smartphones and tablets. It is notable for its revamped, Honeycomb-influenced user interface, according to Google: "The lock screen, widgets, notifications, multi-tasking and everything in between has been rethought and refined to make Android simple, beautiful, and beyond smart."

Android 4.0
(Click on either screen to enlarge)

Android 4.0 (above) was first promised for the simultaneously announced Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, which will include a 4.65-inch screen, 1.2GHz processor, and NFC (near field communication) capabilities. On Oct. 21, we reported that Motorola and Sony Ericsson had already specified various handsets that would receive Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades, but HTC meanwhile only offered a "please stay tuned" statement.

Via a Nov. 7 Facebook posting, however, HTC has now announced the "first wave of HTC phones that will receive upgrades "through close integration with our carrier partners." Set to get Ice Cream Sandwich in "early 2012," they're as follows:

• HTC Sensation
• HTC Sensation XL
• HTC Sensation XE
• HTC Rezound
• HTC Evo 3D
• HTC Evo Design 4G
• HTC Amaze 4G

No further specifics of HTC's Android 4.0 implementation were provided. HTC generally overlays Android with its own "Sense" user interface layer, which is generally well-regarded but — some have feared — could delay the company's ability to serve up Ice Cream Sandwich.

Meanwhile, HTC has also released several Android tablets, including the recent, 10.1-inch Jetstream (below). More, presumably running Android 4.0, will follow next year, according to a Nov. 7 story by Reuters. CEO Peter Chou is quoted as saying, "Tablet is a market we would like to try and test, to see whether we can make ourselves stand out and prevent a me-too product."

HTC's Jetstream

As author Clare Jim points out, HTC has risen in just a few years from being just a contract manufacturer for others, and is now regarded as a premium brand. It will not sacrifice this image by pumping out cheap phones for emerging markets, Chou is said to have added.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at [email protected] and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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