Handset manufacturer HTC officially announced its newest Android device, the HTC Hero, at a press event in London Thursday, along with its innovative user interface, HTC Sense. But Sense will not be available as an upgrade for Google-branded Android phones, and its availability for even non-branded Androids is still being worked out. 

Earlier this week, HTC had confirmed both products even before the official release, and Sense in particular has been making headlines for its user-centric approach to content -- including customizable widgets and profiles, all-in-one views of any communication from one person, and other features. 

Some observers had described the Sense interface as a fulfillment of Android's promise of innovation. On Thursday, HTC told news media that some of its future Android handsets would use Sense, but only phones that are not Google-branded. 

No Sense on 'Google Experience' Phones

HTC said its licensing agreement prevents it from using Sense on "Google experience" phones, such as the first Android device, T-Mobile's G1, or the newer T-Mobile myTouch 3G, both made by HTC. 

The manufacturer also said it is working to get Sense on other HTC-made Android devices that are not Google-branded, such as the Magic that Rogers Communications is selling in Canada. 

Sense, according to HTC, was designed around three basic principles: Make It Mine, Stay Close, and Discover the Unexpected. 

The first principle encourages personalization, such as "glance view widgets" that push favorite content to the top level. The Stay Close approach emphasizes people in one's life, so that all communications relating to an individual can be integrated into one view, with a friend's Facebook status updates, Flickr photos, call history, and e-mails all grouped under that person's name. 

'A Better Experience'

Under Discover the Unexpected, HTC includes the ability to turn the phone over to silence its ringtone, making calls quicker with a smart dialer, and other ways to view content. 

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, pointed out that there will be three types of Android phones -- those branded as Google, such as the G1 and myTouch; those that modify Google but add other components and possibly a new interface, such as the Hero; and those that strip everything out and start over -- of which there are no examples yet. 

"The way it's being played out," he said, "is that Google is offering models where it controls the user experience, and partners can offer their own models to control the user interface." He added that T-Mobile USA has opted for the Google experience, but not what he described as "a better experience" -- HTC's Sense. 

Greengart said he fully expects Sense to show up on other HTC, non-Google-branded, models, since this is the key differentiation being offered.

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