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
It's turned to it because spewing mindless trolling IDIOTS claim no one cares.That's why - the RETARD jerks won't concede the point, and new points keeps emerging shoving them further into the dated bin.
PAY for the data load to cloud, RETARD - new point by tomy123.
Now you want to BAIL on the topic because you got seriously spanked into a puddle of doggy doo doo.
ADMIT DEFEAT so we can move on.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Because there is no reason to dwell on those points as the ONE obviously excels in those, I am pretty sure in the Samsung S4 article, there's all this discussion about the camera and build quality of the HTC ONE, which just begs the question why HTC is so stupid not to think to design these features in to put everyone's mind to ease to start with.DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
You're kidding right, you don't want to carry tiny micro SD cards, but carry USB OTG cable with USB SD card readers just so you can buy a phone without a micro SD slot? I love the One's design, and curse HTC for having no brain in designing in a replaceable battery and SD slot, but the blindsightedness on One's clear short coming and the extent to compensate for it is laughable, almost as laughable as buying bluetooth keyboards for tablets.evonitzer - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Worth noting that the lowest storage level on the One is 32 gigs. We're far better off than the 8 gig Nexus 4, which is definitely too small. I think 32 would be quite usable without needing expansion.Also, wait for a disassembly guide. Lots of phones aren't that difficult to pry apart and add a new battery into. Perhaps the One will be as easy to disassemble as a Surface Pro, but we can hope not!
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Except now 32 is not that much, and more is better. It's only going down to smaller as each day passes.Next, LOL - first the retards of the world don't want or use an SD storage, now they can just download the disassembly tech guide and "pry apart!" their phone it's "probably easy"....
R O F L YOU HAVE FLOWN THE COOP.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Why should anyone need to PRY APART their phone to replace a battery, isn't that why cars don't their their wheels welded to the axles even when doing so gives a better resistance against misalignment of the wheels?AndroidDoes - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
That may be why HTC is offering 32 GB standard which I think is a great idea and an ideal size. There's always going to be people who need extra or bigger batteries or want to carry a lot of offline storage, but they are simply not the majority and the iPhone is an obvious example. Plus there's some work arounds like the battery bar (I think gives 3 charges) and usb sticks.As for replacing the battery, it should be fairly easy to do although the One has the battery behind the screen and with the unibody you will probably have to remove the screen from the front. HTC should design in a way that dosent mess up the lcd3, digitizer, glue, etc.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
So ideal isn't 64 with 64 expansion ?It's now 32 because you think so.
It's not 16 + a very cheap 64 for 80 in ideal and convenient.
It's not a buttload of 2,4,8, and 16 you have lying around extra from camera use over the years ?
Yes, suddenly, the sea of stability is 32.... 3.2 inches is also perfect she said looking down at you
're phone.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
In the US the HTC One developer edition will be $649 for 64 gigs, so it shouldn't be Apple-level expensive.Barnassey - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
That IS apple level expensive