HTC's BlinkFeed can't be removed from your home screen

BlinkFeed must be one of the HTC One's home screens, but doesn't have to be the primary one

Ross Catanzariti (PC World) on 22 February, 2013 09:23

HTC has confirmed its new BlinkFeed home screen can't be completely removed from the flagship One Android smartphone.

Read our preview of the HTC One here

The company officially showed off the HTC One last night at a media event in Sydney. One of the key features demonstrated was the revamped, tile-based home screen called 'BlinkFeed'.

The BlinkFeed feature is part of the latest version of HTC's Sense 5 user interface and looks like a cross between Windows Phone 8 and the Flipboard media aggregation app. The home screen pulls in content from a variety of pre-selected sources including your social media accounts and delivers the content in image-heavy tiles.

While users can choose exactly what sources BlinkFeed gets its information from, the home screen can't be completely removed. A HTC representative demonstrating the One confirmed to PC World Australia that BlinkFeed must be one of your home screens but it does not have to be the primary one.

HTC's BlinkFeed home screen being demonstrated at the company's media event in Sydney last night.

In addition to BlinkFeed HTC also demonstrated other key features, headed by a new camera technology called 'UltraPixel'. The 4-megapixel sensor uses enlarged pixels that the company says can absorb up to three times more light than those inside "most leading 13-megapixel phone cameras."

HTC is promising that the use of UltraPixels make for an improvement in low-light performance. The camera also includes optical image stabilization (OIS) and an f2.0 aperture, the largest available on a smartphone camera. In addition, the 2.1-megapixel front facing camera of the One uses an ultra-wide angle lens.

Unfortunately, HTC did not announced any details around an official Australian release date or pricing details at the media event. The company has previously confirmed the One will be available through all major carriers in Australia including Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile.

Are you looking forward to HTC BlinkFeed? Would you prefer the option to remove it from your home screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!