HTC Sensation to include Swype-like 'HTC Trace' keyboard

During our recent hands-on time with the HTC Sensation at the HTC Roadshow in Manchester, we had a chance to see an as-yet unrevealed feature in HTC Sense 3.0 -- HTC Trace. This is a new addition to the HTC keyboard which introduces Swype-like functionality, allowing you to type words by tracing a line through each of its letters.

A very early version of HTC Trace was present on the pre-production HTC Sensation that we played around with at the roadshow. Trace is disabled by default, but can be activated on the keyboard settings screen, where there are also various options to improve the accuracy of your tracing. For example, one option lets you customize the thickness of the tracing line, allowing Trace to take into account the stubbiness of your fingers when working out what you're typing.

HTC Trace will ship on the Sensation when it launches next month, and we'd expect it to be on the EVO 3D, too, as well as any future Sense 3.0 devices. No word on whether it'll ever make it to Sense 2.x phones, though we're guessing it'll eventually be hacked to run on other phones regardless.

For more HTC Sensation goodness, check out our hands-on video.

Alex Dobie
Executive Editor

Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.