Screenshots with Android Gingerbread on HTC Desire HD

February 29, 2012 12:52 am
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So I was leisurely flicking through the photo gallery on my phone today when I noticed a random screenshot of my desktop! As a feature I’ve been after for some time I was strongly under the impression that screen captures weren�t possible on Android Gingerbread without a) rooting the handset b) installing an app or c) both. It turns out not so … Following my discovery I had a quick Google around to see it it was indeed a new feature – my phone has been playing up a bit recently when the headphones are plugged in: launching random apps; calling random people – so it wouldn’t have altogether surprised me if it had managed to capture a screenshot without it being an explicit part of the OS feature list. Google returned the usual spiel about rooting the handset, installing specialist apps and the promise that screenshots would be a feature in forthcoming versions of Android (namely Ice Cream Sandwich). Without the motivation to delve any deeper into the search results due to my crappy 3G connection (thanks Vodafone) I just tried my luck with the technique used for capturing screens on the iPhone and it worked!
To take a screenshot / screen capture on the HTC Desire HD simply hold down the power button and home button at the same time
Obviously this may not work for everyone – if not then check your OS version, I’m running: Android: 2.3.5 HTC Sense: 3.0 I received an OTE update in early January (in Australia) which upgraded me to my current OS – presumably I’ve had the functionality to take screenshots since then, but it wasn’t until I accidentally stumbled across one in my gallery that I realised! If you don’t yet have the above spec you can manually check for a software update:
settings > about phone > software updates
If that doesn’t bring you any joy then you may be out of luck I’m afraid. Anyway to prove the point here’s a quick screenshot taken with my Desire HD of two things that I’m loving right now: Sofaspace and TuneIn radio.

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This post was written by WillyNilly

1 Comment

  • dan says:

    Thanks for this. This has been bugging me for ages as I keep taking pictures by accident. Now I know how to do it properly!

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