The HTC One: A Remarkable Device, Anand’s mini Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 21, 2013 4:49 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
Final Words and the Galaxy S 4 Comparison
The One is without a doubt the best Android smartphone I’ve ever used. HTC’s build quality and materials choices have been steadily improving over the past couple of years and I honestly don’t know a more fitting name for its latest flagship other than the One - it’s the one to get. Even iPhone users looking for something different might be tempted by the One.
For me it’s the camera performance and the highlights reel that really seal the deal. The fact that the One is an excellent looking device built out of top notch materials is just icing on the cake.
The rest of the spec list is equally fitting. I’m glad to see 802.11ac make the list. The great speakers and display are both useful and impressive.
Sense took a real step towards subtlety with 5.0, and it’s finally at a point where I don’t really mind the customizations. My preference is still for vanilla Android, but the latest iteration of Sense is far closer than it has ever been. The real trick is ensuring timely updates with major Android releases. If you’re an infrequent smartphone upgrader, the Nexus line is still the best option there.
Despite how well the One does in the build quality, looks and camera departments, HTC has an uphill battle ahead of itself. Samsung is clearly the dominating incumbent in the Android space, and it has the luxury of an order of magnitude higher quarterly revenues to support its smartphone business. If there ever was a David v Goliath race in the smartphone space, it would be between HTC and Samsung.
Zoe and the highlights reel are great features that need marketing to demonstrate and spread their word. The litany of new camera and interaction features that accompany the Galaxy S 4 will likely translate very well to cleverly crafted TV ads. I’d argue that HTC’s camera features (great low light performance, highlights reel) are more useful to me personally, but Samsung’s features (touchless scrolling, dual camera, smart pause) are easier sells to the mainstream smartphone market. Similarly, design and materials choices are obvious advantages for the One, but it’s easier to market a thinner and lighter phone.
Ultimately, HTC appears to have built a great phone for enthusiasts and one that can be marketed, with some effort, to the mainstream. Samsung, by comparison, seems to have its targets set squarely at the mainstream and it has the features and the marketing budget to really capture the attention of that audience. You can argue about the merits of features like the ability to automatically pause video based on whether or not you’re looking at it - personally I’d take better camera performance - but that’s a much easier feature to explain in a TV commercial than why larger pixels matter.
The One is expected to be widely available beginning next month.
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CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
I'm not you, a stupid idiot who opens the piehole and loses.I have more than one very lucrative gravy job, gravy for my massive intellect, certainly difficult for someone like you, with propensity to completely ignore reality often, and spew untruths.
jayseeks - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Stop lying, your only job is to troll for Samsung. And if you have any other job, it most certainly does not require a firm grasp of the English language. Loser.othercents - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Thanks Anand, I really like the HTC One specifically for the camera, however the S4 has some features that I like also along with increased performance. However I do feel that when someone goes to the store and looks at the two devices, unless they just love the looks of the HTC One then they will get the S4 due to the fact that the replaceable battery and SD are easy sell points along with the larger screen and increased performance.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No they won't. Most people don't care and never use either.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
This is true. I don't understand the over emphasis of removable battery and microSD as a "deal breaker." If the mainstream wanted microSD and removable battery half as much as certain people seem to suggest, the iPhone wouldn't have nearly the amount of success it has had.I've also never met anyone who actually cared enough about removable battery or SD storage that it was the deciding factor in choosing a smartphone. Most people not in the IT profession are not willing to shell out the extra $50 for another battery anyway. As for the SD storage, it's only real advantage is being cheaper. Again, who, besides IT professionals carries multiple microSD cards with them so that it might actually be useful?
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The 1st SD card is useful, for appletards that pay well over $50 more like $300 or $400 for the memory space a simple SD card slot provides for $50, only being INSANE explains it.Thanks for being so deliriously appletarded bang for the buck is like TOTALLY GONE from your brain.
I mean is it even possible to lie to oneself at the level you have and be on a tech site ?
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You are a paid shill, stop with your weak arguments. I don't care for Apple more than any other company. Except for Samsung which I have great disdain for because of their low brow, pathetic guerrilla marketing efforts which involved hiring sad people like you to troll these sites.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
LMAO - you lost again dummy. You don't like me because I point out how stupid you are, after you spew out your stupid lies and lines.Who cares what you the retard says, or how appleface you are, or what you personally buy, THE POINT IS THE SD CARD RAM SLOT MAKES MORE FOR LESS 100% ACCURATE PERIOD.
Only tard tard tardy tards like you, being as stupid as you are, think the general public doesn't do the SD card.
Like I said, they are bonkers about it. Crazy in love with it. They feel they have power and control over the phone then. They can remove their pictures and set them aside - fill up one card and get the next. This is what PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO YOU STUPID SACK OF CRAPOLA.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
and -BTW - people freaking LOVE sd cards.They love to buy them and fill them up - then keep them and use them for their picture frames and home PC's desktop screensavers - you must live in a Jobs cave.
People go nutso over mem cards - they LOVE em.
Everyone I know can replace a battery, which they do in hundreds of devices nowadays - only the appletard think it takes a TECH to replace a battery in a portable sound/mobile device.
LOL - you people are crazy.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
"They love to buy them and fill them up - then keep them and use them for their picture frames and home PC's desktop screensavers"No genius, there are USB drives for that.
As for crazy, just read your comments.