HTC Confirm Sense UI For Unlocked Magic, Not For T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Since the HTC Hero debuted, owners of the company's existing Android smartphones have been wondering whether they'd see HTC Sense – the company's custom UI – released for their phones.  Hopes were raised and then dashed back in June, when HTC confirmed that Sense would be available on certain devices, only those not "Google" branded; they've reiterated that at a Taiwan press conference, revealing that the unlocked HTC Magic will seen an update but the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and Vodafone HTC Magic will not.

The issue remains one of licensing and branding, with official "with Google" devices such as the myTouch 3G being ineligible for the extent of customization Sense brings thanks to Google's T&Cs.  However it seems that the Magic on sale in Taiwan is not a "with Google" device, and hence HTC can release their updated UI.

Sense will be available at an unspecified point in the future, just not for the Vodafone or T-Mobile devices, which also have less RAM than the unlocked version of the smartphone and thus might have struggled to run the UI anyway.  Expect homebrew merchants to have a field day, however, and we've a feeling that if you still want Sense on your phone and you don't mind rooting it and doing a little elementary modding, you'll be able to have the UI unofficially at some point in the near future.

[via Gizmodo]