HTC: Android Ice Cream Sandwich coming to 16 phones

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles

March 14, 2012 12 AM PT

HTC Corp. on Wednesday offered a few more details about which of its phones will receive an update to the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, expanding the list to 16 from 12.

HTC said in February that its Sensation line of smartphones would move to Ice Cream Sandwich in March, but things are still a bit vague now, with the company saying in a statement that “as for timing, we’re in the early stages of rolling out Android 4.0 for the HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE and upgrades will be more widely available in the next few weeks.”

As for when other HTC handsets will move over to the latest version of Goggle Inc.’s Android OS, the Taiwanese gadget-maker said it is still “working closely with our carrier partners to nail down update schedules” and that it would “have more to share very soon.”

Google launched Ice Cream Sandwich in December on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

So you might be wondering: What’s the holdup in getting software launched in December into phones that were released last year?

Part of the delay is that HTC isn’t just testing and then loading the new Android OS into the phones as is. The company is modifying the software with its HTC Sense user interface, and each carrier in various nations has specific functions and apps demanded as well.

Here’s the list of the 16 HTC smartphones set to get Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense this year: