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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nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Most people will prefer carrying one or two additional battery than carrying 6000mah battery every time.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I agree. But why not at least have the option, a model with expanded battery like the MAXX? Most manufacturers don't let you swap batteries in the manner you mentionCeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's why they give you the cheapo thin battery, you can't swap it.Take that thought back to the iphonetard rants on the prior pages that user replaceable battery is who wants it...
OF COURSE EVERYONE WANTS IT.
On Samsung, just buy the thicker mod back cover and the huge battery. Add the 64GB sd for $50.
Now the all day with monster movie storage and music to spare, and personal HDR video up the wazz is ready to go.
There are many reasons Samsung now dominates
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Not really, we are not talking about power banks VS extra battery. We are talking about no need to carry around an extra piece, no plug in and use at the same time, no turning off and on the phone to switch battery. Besides, how much could that extra weight be? Barely noticable.TrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I was playing devil's advocate to your rant by stating the obvious (and the *very relevant* if you are a phone manufacturer): Many users are finding it easy to get through the day on a single charge with today's more power-efficient smartphones. The 3-5 hours of screen time you mention, plus long standby time, is 'adequate' for many people. Hence the design tradeoffs we are seeing from manufacturers. In a world where manufacturers are trying to have only a single flagship phone, they are looking to hit the middle 90% of users. That stinks for the 10% whose needs are not being met.As I stated, I'd also like the option of a bigger battery to be available. But there is an obvious reason why manufacturers are making the tradeoffs they are making.
flyingpants1 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There are other good reasons to make a phone that works for longer than 4 hours. Battery life can be a selling point for the mainstream as well. Most smartphone users do complain about it. There is a huge third party market for external/extended batteries. Every manufacturer now makes the same phone with the same specs (Snapdragon, 5"), and only two, Apple and Samsung, make money (slight exaggeration). It's not like they have anything to lose by trying something different. If you took a poll asking "would you make your 2mm thicker if it gave you 1.5x battery?" I think the response would be overwhelmingly "Yes".Razr MAXX had a very positive response. If you actually sit down and look at a Maxx - it would be possible to build one with a 5050mah battery and have it fit into a slightly modified otterbox commuter case (the smaller 15mm version). Everything fits with no increase in dimensions. t
That's just a first attempt by me, and I'm no engineer.
In the very near future (3-4 years) our phones will have IVB-like performance and hundreds of gigs of storage, they'll slowly replace laptops for many people. When that time comes I'd rather be able to use my device for more than 4 hours.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The umm RETARDS in this area are suffering from the childhood trauma, which they never outgrew, where their led text flipphone was a bulky wad that hurt their sidie side and tum tum and butty butt when they laid down or sat down or rolled over... the forever scarring just can't be shaken... some of them ever had to wear a belt and use a leather belt holder or their first pants bulge ever ruined their press line.So ever since they got a boo boo with the formerly thick as a golf ball original palm helds, they've been on a rage...
Now 9mm is way too thin to complain about, but the forever scarred can't get a grip - often literally because the phones are too thin already to grip them... now that it matters, their nanny nanny boo boo matters, and that's about it.
flyingpants1 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I'm extremely proud and honored that a well-known troll supports my position. Thank you.You're right, 9mm should be just fine. Did anyone complain about the 12.7mm HTC EVO 4G (original)? But instead of incrementally increasing capacity, they make it thinner. It's important to note that the market didn't choose this, because there were no alternative options.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
You should be since I'm correct nearly 100% of the time, and have to correct the true children trolls who do not think with their borg acquired estrogen hispter spewlaid that has been crammed down their throats, did a 180 and sucked up into the tiny spongegourd they wield ineffectively.Let's face it, with the focus group the retards win saying thin thin thin.
Like I said they will continue in that clueless vein until the phone slices one of their digits off.
At that point they will consider some options and perhaps make their way toward being reasonable instead of spewing hipster lines.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I wholly expect "them" to demand thinness until the sharp alu metal edges of their "feeeel" mobile phone slices a few of their fingers off.At that point, they will reconsider "thinness". Until then expect them to remain utterly insane.