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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jjj - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Well Samsung has extra sensors (pedometer,temp) ,removable battery and SD slot. HTC went again with no SD so we are better off with them going broke.Amusing that you think a phone with no SD, no removable battery and a shiny exterior is for enthusiasts,sounds more like something for Apple fanboys. Buying a PC because it's shiny pfff.
EnzoFX - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The whole sd and removable battery... people need some perspective on this, seriously. Most people don't do this, you do not represent the masses. Don't cry, "How dare they!" when a business is making a conscious decision to make things easier in terms of design, lowering cost (however minuscule), and allowing in thinner design, relatively, and easier to put together for them. I'd like to see Samsung make the move to Alu and still offer removable battery...nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
All alu phones will live inside a heavy case anyway.Rits - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
And is that a fact? I never used a case, ever. When I had Samsung plastic phones, I just swapped the back out after a year when it had enough scratches to look like a mess. Never had visible scratches on the display on any of the phones I've owned. Two metal phones and one matte polycarbonate unibody I've had in the past never needed a case anyway. Cases are for clumsy and/or messy people or those who are overly paranoid.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Thus you rits are so great, may we sign you up for some Olympic competition ?In the mean time, back in the real world...
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's not gonna happen because you got it all wrong. Samsung did choose to make it plastic because their lack of design and stuff, in order to offer removable battery they need to have a flexible, durable back cover. So plastic IS a conclusion from design. Why would they want to move to Alu if they want to offer removable battery?CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
iPhone moved to glass back. Why would they do that ?Well there you have it. Plenty of retards in the world.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The irony here is that the GS4 is shiny and the HTC One is matte.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Uhhh... Ultrabook?StormyParis - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"that the ideal display size is somewhere around 4.3”"That's the issue: HTC got it perfect with the HD2, and have been flailing about since then ;-p