HTC One user review

[Anonymous]

My first attempt at a review so be gentle with me guys -  I’ll do my best to remain impartial as I’m definitely an HTC fanboy  I’ve had the phone for 5 days now and still finding my way around some of the features so this is very much a ‘first impressions’ review, and as I’m not particularly technical there won’t be loads of talk about processor speeds etc., just the way the phone feels/performs in the real world. Main comparisons will be with my previous One X and the wifes Galaxy Note 11. So – here goes …..

• Out of the box – look, feel and build quality

The first thing that you notice is the build quality: aluminium and glass with zero-gap construction – this phone is HTC back to their best; superb design, top quality materials and precision build – it’s a joy to hold, it just feels right and fits the palm of your hand superbly. It really is a thing of beauty! One X – Mercedes, Galaxy Note 11 – Jaguar, the One? – Rolls-Royce.

• Set-up – synching from your previous handset

The phone has an app to bring all your content (media,contacts etc.,) from your old phone in one easy step: Over 200 images, 180+ music files,all contacts and settings transferred in about ten minutes. Works for Android (gingerbread>), Blackberry and even the ?-phone! Simples …

• Display – 4.7 inch Gorilla glass 2

Clear, sharp and as bright as you want with natural colours and rich, deep blacks – forget the PPI, that’s not what’s important in the real world – how does it look? A notable improvement over the One X and as good as anything I’ve seen. Viewing angles are exceptional and easily visible out in the sunlight (yes, it was sunny the other day!!)

• CPU – Snapdragon 600 - speed/stability etc.

Fast, smooth and snappy – apps open instantly, multitasking is dealt with swiftly with no lag or judder – the One X is slow in comparison, as is the Note. Browsing is super-fast, I can’t say how it’ll perform side-by-side with the SGS4 or the next ?-phone but at this level I doubt a mere human would be able to perceive the difference.

• OS – Android Jellybean 4.1.2 (upgradeable as and when ….)

Not a lot to say here, you all know what’s what as far as Android is concerned. Slightly disappointing that the One has not shipped with 4.2, but having said that I can hardly tell the difference between this and 4.1 (told you I wasn’t very technical) HTC assure that they are committed to releasing updates swiftly so time will tell …..

• UI – Sense 5

Most manufacturers these days will put their own skin over the OS, and Sense 5 is the latest offering in this instance. I have long been a fan of HTC sense but have to say that recently it has been getting too cluttered – Sense 5 is a welcome step away from that situation. It’s fresh and clean with fewer embedded HTC apps and a simpler appearance. Definitely works for me, but each to his own.

• Boomsound

Hate the name but the sound quality is awesome – you have to hear it to believe it! The front facing speakers above and below the screen produce a sound akin to that of a proper radio rather than a phone. Of course, that is not so good if the person behind you on the bus insists on sharing their chosen audio with the rest of the world but all things have their price……. Beats audio comes as standard and works on all media – video, audio and gaming, through the speakers and of course the earphones. The out of the box standard earphones are the best I’ve ever heard – not Dr Dre, but I would seriously doubt you would tell the difference. Let’s just say that I have given my a-JAYS one ‘phones to the wife!

• Camera – 4 ultrapixel with HTC Zoe

OK, I’m no David Bailey and don’t fully understand the tech here – I was part of the ‘more megapixels equals better images’ brigade, so I was a little sceptical about the quality of images: I am pleased to report that this scepticism was unfounded. Images are sharp, detailed and at least as good as the One X or Note 11, especially in low light situations, so HTC’s claims appear to be well founded. As for Zoe, I’m still trying to get to grips with the tech – it’s certainly smarter than I am but it appears to be a great tool, especially if you’re the type to ‘share’ your life on Facebook and the like.

• Call quality – it is, after all, a phone!

One word – superb, the best I have experienced. There is a tiny mic on the back of the handset that monitors noise levels around you, and the phone then compensates the sound levels in the earpiece and it works a treat. Everyone I have spoken to over the phone has said (when asked) that the quality at their end is great! Nuff said.

• Battery life – crucial to some

After four to five charging cycles I am pleased to report that battery life is looking very good – especially in comparison to the One X. As you can imagine I have hardly put the phone down, so with fairly heavy across the board use (although I don’t play games on the phone) the current state of charge is as follows:  48% charged, 17 hours 43 minutes on battery – wifi and synch permanently on, power saver and sleep mode off, no battery saver app in use. Pretty damn good I’d say!

• Summary

Easily the best phone HTC have produced – sleek, sexy, feels great, looks great and performs superbly. I personally feel that phones are like cars: when you get to the premium market they are pretty much all the same under the skin, it’s all a matter of personal taste. One thing I will say is this: If you are currently in the market for a high-end smartphone you have to at least get hands-on with the HTC One before you make a decision to part with your hard earned. In my humble (unbiased:smileywink:) opinion there is no better handset on the market at this time.

Phil M

[Anonymous]

Really fantastic post Phil, thanks so much for sharing.

It's great to hear your opinion about your phone and I'm sure it's going to help loads of people. Real reviews from real people are so important when deciding which phone to take, so I think community reviews are absolutely awesome.

I'll send this thread to some of our device, website content and online shop guys to share how cool they are. Perhaps we can give reviews like yours even more visibility.

So, if anyone else is up for reviewing their phone (or the experience of deciding which phone to take), feel free to kick off a new thread and I'll get them across as well.

Thanks again for sharing, Phil. Great stuff!

Leonard

[Anonymous]

Thanks Leonard, great to know that my efforts are appreciated and may be used in areas other than this forum

Cheers,

Phil

[version7point0]

Great review and well written.

Very enjoyable and I may take a few bits of this when showing it off in store

[Toby]

---

@version7point0 wrote:

Very enjoyable and I may take a few bits of this when showing it off in store

---

Haha! Good to hear version

[Anonymous]

---

@version7point0 wrote:
Great review and well written.

Very enjoyable and I may take a few bits of this when showing it off in store

---

That's awesome. Would love to hear how that works out and how people respond.

[MI5]

Leonard - You need to run a competition to win one of these that I can enter

[Anonymous]

A phone might be a bit much, but doing a competition with a small prize would be awesome. Really love that idea.

Let's first see if this will trigger a few more reviews, just so we're sure there's enough interest for such a competition.

[anticpated]

There's a guy on the internet who likes to test new handsets by scratching them with utility knife and dropping hammers on them. So it's good to see a completely unbias review,

About the Megapixels of the Camera, it really depends on the lens quality and software implentation.  2.1 Megapixel is the equivalent of 1920x1080 resolution so the current  de facto Full HD standard. So unless you are doing big A3 and A2 posters you don't need much higher.

Good review and not to quirky with useless marketting information like the standard of packaging or how difficult the box was to open 😉

[Anonymous]

Great review!

[sheepdog]

A review without mentioning the iPhone as a comparison! For that alone, congratulations  

Though would like to see a follow up in a months time over how its been like to live with.