Rumors that there may be some new Google Play Edition hardware on the horizon have turned out to be absolutely spot on, with Google announcing that not only are we going to be treated to a new, stock Android smartphone, but that the first Google Play Edition tablet is also here.
Android is a fantastic mobile operating system, and continues to become one of the biggest forces in mobile software out on the market. As is the nature of Android, everybody seems to want a slice. Whilst this means that we, as consumers, have a large product base to choose from, it also means we get lumbered with a huge amount of manufacturer bloatware. Without a doubt the worst feature of the Samsung Galaxy S4, in my opinion at least, happens to be the user experience that Samsung TouchWiz provides. HTC Sense 5 isn't any better either, and don't even get me started on Motorola's MOTOBLUR from some years back.
HTC’s latest flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One, has been making headlines around the blogosphere for quite some time, and rightly so, thanks to the device’s many enticing features. It’s the first phone to come with HTC’s proprietary Sense 5 UI skin, and boasts hardware enhancements such as the UltraPixel camera module and what not. Combine that with the device’s extraordinary build quality, and you have a winner through and through.
Download stock camera app, live wallpaper and boot animation from Google edition HTC One and Galaxy S4 right here.
One of the highlights of Google's I/O, particularly for those with an affinity to Samsung-made devices, was the news that a variant of the flagship Galaxy S4 would be arriving on stock Android, bypassing all the crap additional extras Samsung likes to bundle therein. Now, rumor has it that HTC could be planning a similar move with its flagship ‘One’ smartphone, which currently ships with an overlay of bloatware including Sense 5 and the divisive BlinkFeed. The report, if true, would certainly appease the purists who like a 'clean slate' of Android when they purchase a new device, and given how unconfirmed sales figures have placed the HTC One in a strong position against the Korean company's latest and greatest (selling one unit for every two Galaxy S4s), it's a move that would help the Taiwanese vendor keep tabs on its strongest rival.
