If you’re reading this it’s more than likely that you like to keep informed about smartphones and the latest mobile technology. You may even be one of the eagle-eyed few that have noticed that the clock widget on HTC devices in advertising images is always set to 10:08 and we now have some of the story behind the mystery.

We have to be honest enough to hold our hands up and say that we’d never noticed this before despite adding copious amounts of HTC device photos to our articles. However once it was pointed out it seemed pretty obvious and it was difficult to imagine that we’d never noticed it. You too may be wondering just why it is that HTC always uses this 10:08 time and some details have now come to light about this.

If you’re wondering if it’s an HTC founder’s birthday or the time of birth of a leading light in the mobile industry that’s quite imaginative but not correct. In fact the real reason behind it is much more practical as explained by Android Community, sourced from the HTC Blog. The time of 10:08 is apparently the time that the most amount of cells on a digital 12-hour clock face are lit up. In fact the maximum amounts of cells are lit at 88:88 but of course it would be nonsensical not to show a real time.

The thing is though that this doesn’t apply to modern touchscreens on smartphones so why has HTC stuck with this time? Although HTC doesn’t clarify this, Android Community has speculated on why 10:08 has remained the magic time and think it may go right back to the original HTC Touch that arrived in 2007 running Windows Mobile 6. This used a TouchFLO interface that eventually evolved into the current HTC Sense UI.

Another theory gleaned from Wikipedia says that 10:08 or near to it has long been a position used for the marketing of analog clocks and watches. If you think about it the hands at this position are roughly symmetrical and do not block out the brand logo that is usually shown below the 12 or above the 6. Also the hands would not be in the way of the date or week view if present. Another interesting idea is that at the 10:08 position the hands of a watch almost represent a tick or check mark, associated with positivity while others note the hands here resemble a smiling face, another sign of positivity, although a rather more obscure point.

Interesting stuff then but sadly not as exciting as some of the previous theories that people have come up with. Had you ever noticed HTC mobile device times were always set to 10:08? Maybe you had some of your own ideas for why this precise time was used? Let us know with your comments.