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
For the past week and a half our own Brian Klug has been hard at work on his review of HTC’s new flagship smartphone, the One. These things take time and Brian’s review, at least what I’ve seen of it, is nothing short of the reference piece we’ve come to expect from him.
In the same period of time I’ve been playing around with a retail HTC One and felt compelled to share my thoughts on the device. It’s rare that I’m so moved by a device to chime in outside of the official review, but the One is a definite exception. By no means is this a full review, and I defer to Brian for the complete story on the One - something we should be getting here in the not too distant future.
I’m not a financial analyst, but HTC hasn’t been doing all that well over the past few quarters. There’s a general feeling that the aptly named One is HTC’s last chance at survival. Good product doesn’t always translate into market dominance, but it’s a necessary component when you’re an underdog. Luckily for HTC, the One is great.
Design
Over the past two years HTC has really come into its own as far as design is concerned. The difference between the HTC One X and the plethora of flagships that came before it was remarkable. Moving to the One, the difference is just as striking.
I don’t seem to mind plastic phones as much as everyone else, but the One is in an appreciably different league compared to its peers. It’s the type of device that you just want to look at and touch. Given how much you do end up looking at and touching your smartphone, HTC’s efforts here seem well placed.
The One looks and feels great. The proportions are a little awkward in my hands, but I fully concede that’s going to vary from person to person. Despite the heavy use of aluminum, I don't feel overly worried about scratching/damaging the finish.
The challenge with any smartphone is to build something that looks distinct in a sea of black rectangles on a wall in a store. With the One (and arguably the One X before it), HTC does a good job of balancing the need to be seen with the need to be subtle. Elegant is the right word here.
While I’m sure there will be comparisons to the iPhone, the fact of the matter is that the design cycle on these smartphones falls somewhere in the 12 - 24 month range. With something as sophisticated as the One, you’re looking at the longer end of that spectrum. For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out.
| Smartphone Spec Comparison | ||||||
| Apple iPhone 5 | HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S 3 | Samsung Galaxy S 4 | |||
| SoC | Apple A6 1.3GHz | Snapdragon 600 1.7GHz | Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz | Exynos 5 Octa (1.6/1.2GHz) or Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz | ||
| DRAM/NAND/Expansion | 1GB LPDDR2, 16/32/64GB NAND | 2GB LPDDR2, 32/64GB NAND | 2GB LPDDR2, 16/32GB NAND, microSD | 2GB LPDDR3, 16/32/64GB NAND, microSD | ||
| Display | 4.0-inch 1136 x 640 LCD | 4.7-inch SLCD3 1080p, 468 ppi | 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 720p, 306 ppi | 5-inch Super AMOLED 1080p, 441 ppi | ||
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 (depending on region) | ||
| Dimensions | 123.8mm x 58.6mm x 7.6mm | 137.4mm x 68.2mm x 4mm - 9.3mm | 136.6mm x 70.6mm 8.6mm | 136.6mm x 69.8mm x 7.9mm | ||
| Weight | 112g | 143g | 133g | 130g | ||
| Rear Camera | 8MP | 4MP w/ 2µm pixels | 8MP | 13MP | ||
| Front Camera | 1.2MP | 2.1MP | 1.9MP | 2MP | ||
| Battery | Internal 5.45 Wh | Internal 8.74 Wh | Removable 7.98 Wh | Removable 9.88 Wh | ||
| OS | iOS 6.1.2 | Android 4.1.2 | Android 4.1.2 | Android 4.2.2 | ||
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, USB 2.0, GPS/GNSS | 802.11ac/a/b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, IR LED, MHL, DLNA, NFC | 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, USB 2.0, NFC, GPS/GNSS, MHL | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (HT80) + BT 4.0, USB 2.0 NFC, GPS/GNSS, IR LED, MHL 2.0 | ||
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DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I completely agree there's a HUGE need for a sleek Android, and One is IT! It's just too bad, in trying to be sleek, One has sold its soul in trying to be like iPhone, forgetting to offer the right set of features for the benefits of the consumers. I would love to get the One and not feel like sacrificing a part of my user experience because of it, because that feels dirty, all apple like, and Android should be different, NOT apple like!jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I wonder how many people actually take the time to even load the SD card?CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
If that's called taking time, WHY do you have a smartphone to begin with ?LOL
Just get a Y2K flip dialer with text led screen man.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There are a million other things you can do with a smartphone, like surf the web, genius.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
enough people to convince Samsung to include it in their latest Flagship?phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I think that the sales of their last flagship 'convinced' Samsung to include it in their next flagship.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I.e. if it ain't broke, don't fix it (much).DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
OK, let's say that's the case, why would HTC, in their right mind, forget that fact (the need for replaceable battery and SD card)? They don't like large sales volume apparently. The buying decision would be so much easier for so many people if One simply has the replaceable battery and SD slot, it would be for me that's for sure.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
No jaysucks wonders, and has no idea, a few pages back he said nearly no one on his word and immense experience and knowledge base.The troll is tarded, and says whatever pops into his borged gourd, forget any reality, it's Reality Bloggie spew posting.
Besides, he should be the CEO, The One, he knows and it's too bad a gigantic successful corporation doesn't listen to his brain farts which smell like rosey.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
For me and everyone I know, every phone capable of hold a SD card has a SD card in it, most of them come with one, so good luck overlooking the one obvious short coming of the One. And tell your HTC one, one version 2 of the One, remember to include the replaceable battery and the SD card if HTC is still relevant by then.