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 | ||
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
434 Comments
View All Comments
TrackSmart - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Yep, I understand the math perfectly well. We are talking about 13% larger screen area in the same footprint in a thinner and lighter package. That definitely adds points on Samsung's side. Is it enough to counteract the nicer look and feel of the HTC One? I'm not so sure. But it is a factor I would consider in my purchasing decision.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
And thus darwin was wrong again, some species never learn and die out, a lot do in fact.So beyond the retards in these post pages spewing that the dummies of the world will buy whatever feels good, they proclaim what feels good is what they will buy on other pages.
Thus, they are the dummies of the world.
geniusloci - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"Despite the heavy use of aluminum, the One doesn’t feel delicate."Should probably be rewritten.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The feel fanboys should take a physics class.Drop the lead weight and the intertia crushes and shatters.
ONLY in the cellphone area is lead weight "considered good" by the status tards.
Hey guess what tards - no one is looking at your phone, no one, you don't even roll it around and look at it, you either tak on it or LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND TOTALLY IGNORE EVERYTHING BUT THE SCREEN !
My golly, people really are retarded.
boogerlad - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
This may be a stupid question, but how long can you expect the battery of a modern smartphone to last when used as a dumbphone, ie only texts and calls?flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Calls 6-8 hours depending on the model. RAZR Maxx series up to 22 hours.Text much less since requires screen to be on 100% of the time
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It takes about 10-14 hours on my old Evo 4G with occasional calls and texts, so it should be good.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The battery will last indefinitely when the phone is in deep sleep (screen off). The only important figure is the number of hours you get during constant useDeath666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
When I only use my phone (Galaxy Nexus) for texts and calls, it lasts 2 and a half days. When using it for several hours of video/games or listening to audio books, it lasts for a day to a day and a half (but I always recharge it over night if I expect it to only last half a day the next day).phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
See Anand's iPhone 5 review.