[HTC Wildfire S] vctrdnl:
Yep, we all get the feeling that HTC (and now XDA too) are trying to exterminate our phone and pretend that such thing as Wildfire S has never existed. I'm really concerned that the Taiwanese may send some ex-military-special corps-mercenaries to invade our homes and shoot our beloved devices right in the screen. lol :D:D:D

Now to be serious...

I see there is "a new hope" but I'll believe it when I finally see the bootloader unlocked. I reckon HTC is stalling and making fake promises just to shut our voices. And then, after half a year or so, they will state that Wildfire S has become a "legacy" device and that we should consider buying one of their brand new and shiny and really expensive quad core devices... Maybe a worst case scenario but at this point I really wouldn't be surprised if they act like this. If by some chance they prove me wrong, I will apologise here personally.

There is a little discussion ongoing about Wildfire S vs. Explorer. I stumbled across the following video regarding this matter (the video is in Greek but you will get the point):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3yGf6hUgi8

Maybe that's the reason we don't get the Sense 3.5... But to be honest, I like "our" Sense interface more than the Explorer's.

Here is a head-to-head comparison between Wildfire S and Explorer:

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4102&idPhone2=3777

So, identical hardware (except of the camera) but very different performance. Maybe that's why HTC made the Explorer instead of nurturing the Wildfire S. And I talk with maybe-s here. They are reluctant to spread a firmware upgrade that switches too many system files upon the masses, due to various update issues that could possibly arise. They prefer to flash all these system tweaks and optimizations by themselves so that there are no disappointed customers. That's why they make a fresh start with the Explorer while almost everything we get is the lock screen with the ring. I get a little over 1500 points in Antutu with Android 2.3.5 which is a good improvement over the original score and yet nowhere near the result of the favoured Explorer. (If the kernel is the sole reason for that then hopefully we get a port of it...)

Now, this theory may be completely wrong cause I have zero knowledge of Linux-based systems and software but I know one thing for sure: increasing the sales and improving the net profits is a damn good reason to make some copy of the Wildfire S. A Wildfire S wannabe with a boosted performance, to be exact. Better financial statements mean better reputation, better positioning towards the competition and more confidence from the owners, investors, partners, etc. At least for now. It is a great short-term solution to make some extra cash around the holidays, prior to the next financial trimester in 2012 when a bunch of new dual and quad core beasts are going to hit the market. Still, HTC acknowledged on their own that this policy of making more and more of the same is a long-term no go. They don't want to commit the same suicide Nokia did. Which of course is a great thing. But I just get the strong feeling that we, the Wildfire S owners, are going to be sacrifised in the process of HTC's redemption.