Oh, the infamous chin of many HTC Android phones – how controversial it is. At least, it’s about as controversial as things get in the geeky little world of the phone-obsessed. Done one way (as with the G1), it finds itself on the wrong end of an endless train of mockery. Done almost identically on another, generally more appealing handset, and people like it so much that more than half of them get upset when it’s taken away.
Either way, one things now for sure: while not all Android handsets will carry a big chin, any HTC-made handset with a chin will carry Android.
From a Forbes interview with HTC’s design firm, One & Co:
Its Windows Mobile devices come in dark, glossy finishes to appeal to a professional audience, while its Android phones often sport a playful “chin” or angled base. Those characteristics will stay separate, says Zellweger, meaning no chins for HTC Windows Mobile phones. (HTC’s newer Android phones like Sprint’s version of the Hero and the Tattoo have shed the chin as well, but Zellweger says the distinctive feature may return in future devices.)
There you have it, folks – love it or hate it, HTC (or, at least the design studio which HTC owns and calls upon for all of their handset designs – so yeah, HTC) seems fully intent on keepin’ the chin around. These are also the guys responsible for the oh-so-sexy shine thats been on every HTC-made WinMo handset as of late, along with things like the Teflon coating on some versions of the Hero. In other words, these guys make really, really awesome decisions. Keep up the good work, One & Co.