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A newly uncovered patent design from HTC indicates that the “quietly brilliant” hardware maker could be secretly working on a personal media player.
Initially discovered and detailed by Patent Bolt, the filing reveals that the company applied for the patent in 2011, and the device appears to have a design that falls in line with HTC’s recent smartphone offerings.
The front face of the unit has speakers across both the top and the bottom, leading me to expect stereo sound. The backside has yet another set of speakers, as well as a camera and the familiar HTC kickstand. Although there is no mention of them, you can clearly see Micro-USB and/or Micro-HDMI ports. Similarly, we should also anticipate a 3.5mm headphone jack for plugging into speakers or docks.
While this might look like an HTC smartphone at first blush, Paten Bolt points out that the patent makes no reference to GSM, 3G, or LTE. Given that it only suggests Wi-Fi connectivity, this has all the makings of something similar to the Samsung Galaxy Player.
Considering HTC’s investment in Beats by Dr. Dre technology, it was only a matter of time before we saw this type of device. Moving beyond headphones and an enhanced audio experience, this could help HTC dip its toes into other waters.
I like the idea of this HTC media player, especially in the wake of Google’s rebranding of the Android Market to Google Play. Assuming this has the full suite of Google titles, we would expect access to the growing library of apps and games. Along those same lines, HTC has been steadily building its own suite of content, most recently with the acquisition of Mog music streaming.
How do you guys feel about an HTC media player?
