Review: HTC One
A year ago, I finished off my review of HTC’s One X by predicting great things for it and its maker. And then Samsung’s Galaxy S3 merrily outsold it ten to one. Thing is, that wasn’t a case of me being a colossal twit. The One X is the better phone - it’s better made, better looking and better to use. Luckily for HTC, the new …
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@dotdavid Re: "No SD no sale" Apart from entirely agreeing with you with regard to.........
............the lack of expandable memory my eye was taken by the phrase "Thing is, that wasn’t a case of me being a colossal twit.". I really do think that a professional reviewer should avoid expressing himself in a way that gives the impression that what he really means is that "everyone else is a colossal twit except me".
Re: @dotdavid "No SD no sale" Apart from entirely agreeing with you with regard to.........
That's not what I took from the reviewers comment. He's just saying that the fact that the S3 outsold the HTC One doesn't mean that it's a better phone.
Re: No SD no sale
Just because a phone lacks one feature you deem essential does not mean it can't objectively be deemed the better phone, if that feature is one few users want or use.
The fact storage support hasn't become the norm even now some people provide it, seems to show it's not a big deal to the majority.
colossal twit
I took that to simply be a self-deprecating aside.
Though admittedly the comments section of the Reg isn't a place I'd expect self-deprecation to be recognized.
As for all the howling about no SD card. Well, I back my entire movie library up onto a £60 128GB USB stick so as long as I can access that when I am out and about through my phone or tablet's micro USB port I'm happy.
The One is certainly a nice looking bit of kit.
Re: No SD no sale
"Just because a phone lacks one feature you deem essential does not mean it can't objectively be deemed the better phone, if that feature is one few users want or use."
It's not really objective if it's based on wants or needs, since they're personal to any given individual. A lot of flamewars here could probably be avoided if people realised and admitted that when pushing/defending - bit provocative there, sorry - *advocating* their preferences. Not having a go against you, just a general gripe and this is a good opening.
Re: No SD no sale
The One will support USBOTG - so plug in your USB Stick for the extra storage in times of need.
Re: No SD no sale
True, Samsung managed to bork their implementation of the S3's expandable storage up by inexplicably mounting the internal storage space as "sdcard"
That seems to be the standard way of things with Android when it's gifted with copious amounts of internal storage. I reckon it's 'cos too many things save to "sdcard" by preference and they want to force it onto internal when it's not limited.
As a manufacturer-friendly side effect, it bumps up the AnTuTu score significantly too. Internal storage is rather faster than even a class 10 card in a slot and unless you specifically tell it otherwise, AnTuTu benchmarks /sdcard for its card I/O tests......
@Lutin Re:"That's not what I took from the reviewers comment." That is not what I thought....
.......the reviewer meant either. I simply pointed out that he could have expressed himself in a way that did not give that impression......hmm?
@Peter Bond Re: "I took that to simply be a self-deprecating aside." So did I old chap........
..........however the problem here amongst some is they do not even recognise broad satire, still less self-deprecating humour. As far as your personal storage solution is concerned I have to say that I agree (within limits) and indeed have organised my use of my Nexus 7 in that way.
Re: No SD no sale
Yeah; I do pay-as-you-go and have been with Virgin Mobile (US) for years and my first real smartphone is a nice chunky dual-core HTC Evo 3d. V-Mobile sells the iPhone 4 and 4s, but I was more happy that I was buying a phone I could upgrade the memory on and replace the battery (which turned out to be quite a big deal when the defective one in it died about 3 months after I bought it). I will never, ever buy a phone I can't expand or put a new battery in.
Terminator because hey, Androids.
Re: No SD no sale
I agree, its a really really nice phone.
Its a fail for me because as I stated above I like the flexibility of using it like a USB drive and tend to travel to areas with patchy wifi, but if I was somewhere with lots of access to wifi, or my own computer I could see it not being as big an issue.
It still seems a bit silly though considering its probably quite low cost to add in SD card functionality, when you are setting out to make a S4, iphone killer. I'd have thought it would be a case of here's our phone its got everything, you sure you want to buy the rivals?
Can you change the battery - preferably for something bigger?
I'm looking to replace my ageing HTC Desire this year but I want something that can last for four or five days between charges and that means a 3aH or better battery. I've been looking at the Samsung S3 and you can buy a 4.3aH battery for it on Amazon. It makes it bulge a bit at the back and adds some weight but the same is true for the 3aH battery in my Desire. Doesn't bother me in the slightest - I think it makes it easier to hold and also means it can prop itself up sideways on the desk for viewing videos :)
Mine's the one with a spare battery in the pocket.
Depends on use....
An S3 with the standard battery, or a Note 2, will both last as long (or in fact longer) as you're asking for if you leave them on standy with wi-fi off and no apps running to drain the battery. Check the standby times for them...
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_ii_n7100-4854.php
If you're not going to do those things, then there is no smart phone on the market I'm aware of that will last as long as you want it to you. At least not without a big bulging extended battery, which you've also said you don't want.
If you have a genuine need to go for 5 days without charging a smartphone the better solution is to buy a second battery, keep it charged carry that with you.
Re: Depends on use....
I have always carried a spare battery ..... that is until I got the Note II. It is superb and you will get 2 days out of it. One of the first things I do is get a spare battery with a handset and I haven't even bothered with the Note. It is simply superb!
As far as this phone goes, no expandable storage is just crazy. I guess the 64Gb version makes up for this but it will be stupidly expensive if even available.
"I want something that can last for four or five days between charges"
This does not mean anything. It is like saying "I want a car that can go two weeks between refilling the tank". The important factor for battery life these days is how much the screen is on.
Why have an extra battery floating around in your pocket...
...when you can just have a bigger battery in the phone?
And I say this as someone with an XPAL XP8000 in the bag. I bought it because I had to, not because I wanted to. The car analogy only really holds up if every single car manufacturer decided that the smallest engine size they are selling now is a 7 litre American big-block, with a motorbike-size fuel tank.
Does nobody remember how long dumbphones can last?
Re: Depends on use....
>As far as this phone goes, no expandable storage is just crazy.
It does have expandable storage, just not very elegant or compact expandable storage.
It's not convenient if you want the storage for snapping photos (though 32 GB is a lot of photos), but if you're using it to watch movies on a long train or plane journey it doesn't seem like a deal breaker.
Re: Why have an extra battery floating around in your pocket...
>Does nobody remember how long dumbphones can last?
Ahhh, back in the day... when my phone battery would last all week, but my call credit would last five minutes.
: D
This does not mean anything
Well..okay. I wasn't going to bother quantifying it but as you asked:
Very few calls or texts.
Checking my POP3 server every 10 minutes.
Listening to music for an hour every day.
And a little bit of general use now and again but not that much. For what it's worth on the standard Desire battery I could just about go 24 hours between charges but that meant charging when it was showing orange. At present I'm charging on Monday mornings and Friday mornings and the display is still green.
I'm just not that much 'into' phones. Never have been. It's just a useful thing to have in my pocket (the sum of it's features rather than any single feature and making calls/texts is actually the least used) and I don't want to become a slave to chargers or be constantly bothering people to borrow theirs.
If I get invited to a dirty weekend on Friday (sadly, not common) I can just get in the car and drive off without having to worry about charging my phone. I know it will comfortably get me through to Monday.
Re: Why have an extra battery floating around in your pocket...
"Why have an extra battery floating around in your pocket...
...when you can just have a bigger battery in the phone?"
Because it makes the phone bigger and heavier in almost all cases.
Also it quite often causes other problems, the old HTC Diamond had an extended battery with a humpback battery cover to allow for it. The battery worked if you could live with the weight and size but when due to the position it blocked all GPS signal to the handset.
Re: Why have an extra battery floating around in your pocket...
Because it makes the phone bigger and heavier in almost all cases
Of course if having a svelte phone is a major feature then it's not for you but modern phones are already more than light enough and more than thin enough so doubling either measurement doesn't really make much odds. It's not like you're suddenly turning the clock back thirty years and walking around with a house brick in your pocket :)
As for functionality the only change I've noticed is that if the phone crashes it sometimes can't talk to the battery and won't charge. You have to re-insert the battery to get things back. But it doesn't crash very often (two or three times a year perhaps?) so of no consequence.
"Checking my POP3 server every 10 minutes."
Start by setting up an IMAP server and using push e-mail. Every time your phone wakes up any number of applications could start doing things.
The cost!
I started with an HTC Wildfire then upgraded to an HTC Incredible. I was looking forward to upgrading to an HTC One, then I saw the cost even for second hand, so I got a new Nexus 4 (8GB) for half the price. The Nexus 4 does the job for me (but I don't have GBs of videos and music to watch/listen to). Full marks for the front facing speakers though and I do realise that it's a top-spec phone.
Re: The cost!
I can't speak to the price of the HTC One in the UK, but, here in the states I can get $100 to trade in my 2 year old phone and $50 from Best Buy that I can use towards the purchase. That makes the HTC One an incredible deal!
very upbeat review
compared to the review of the XperiaZ recently - makes it hard to make an objective decision, given that I'm at upgrade time.
Re: very upbeat review
(Sorry for repeating my post, but it seems pertinent to RockBurner)
Major differences:
The Sony Xperia Z give you a uSD card slot, waterproofing and charging via an optional drop-in cradle.
This HTC trades those for a better screen, better speakers and an IR remote.
Neither has a removable battery. The Reg reviews suggest the HTC might have a longer lasting battery, but if it's an important issue to you you might do well to find other reviews online to confirm this.
<--- This
If I didn't have a Nexus 4, this is the phone I would buy. I will be recommending that friends who want an S4 also check this phone out as well.
Re: <--- This
I'm not a phone person at all, but to have something equipped with a "Krait-class CPU" would make me feel like i'm in a E.E. Doc Smith or Iain M Banks novel.... which can't be bad shurly ?
Re: <--- This
You get 20Cr for shooting a Krait IIRC, although watch out, because they normally fly in packs with a couple of sidewinders.
No swappable battery, no sale
It would probably be the battery rather than memory issue that would kill it for me.
I've just ordered a 5000mAh battery for my Galaxy Note to enable it to carry on displaying maps, tracking my location, monitoring my heart rate, playing music over Bluetooth and so on for far longer than the stock 2500mAh battery gives me when the phone's clamped to my bike's handlebars for 3-4 hour cycle rides in bright sunlight with the display brightness at 100%. When I get home with a depleted battery I can drop in a fully-recharged spare and carry on using it, rather than having to plug the phone in and wait hours for a decent charge before its usable again.
For the kind of uses I've put my phone to, I can't imagine ever wanting one where the battery couldn't be swapped out quickly and easily. It's a simple option that really ought to be standard when these devices have so many possible uses.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Just out of curiosity, do they make USB chargers that can affix to bicycle wheels so that they can charge the phone while you ride (as well as provide a little extra load for a workout)?
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
"I've just ordered a 5000mAh battery for my Galaxy Note "
If you have a link for this it would be much appreciated, might be just what I am looking for.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Just out of curiosity, do they make USB chargers that can affix to bicycle wheels so that they can charge the phone while you ride (as well as provide a little extra load for a workout)?
Nokia do, though it's the Nokia-style connector, so you'd need to be handy with a soldering iron to connect it to most phones.
When I get home with a depleted battery I can drop in a fully-recharged spare and carry on using it
"drop in" is really shutdown-remove-plate-swap-batteries-start-up-again. It's easier to leave it to charge up a bit while having a shower, making a sandwich etc., no?
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Why on EARTH can't you use your phone while charging? My phone works just fine while it's charging - I just make sure I'm using a 3m USB lead to charge it with so that I'm not yanking the lead all the time.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Hmm, was I voted down because I pointed to a Nokia-brand charger, or because I suggested leaving the phone to charge for 1/2 an hour while doing something else?
Even if one can't put the phone down, it's possible to use it while it's charging, after all...
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
"Even if one can't put the phone down, it's possible to use it while it's charging, after all..."
Actually, I have an Xperia Arc S that very occasionally will drain more than the charger can provide when it's functioning as a portable access point. As the phone is basically my ISP, this can be... annoying.
Only happens every now and then too, which just makes it even wierder.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Actually, I have an Xperia Arc S that very occasionally will drain more than the charger can provide
I guess that's due to the limit of the USB spec., but like you say, it only happens occasionally.
People voting me down: surely a spare battery is useful for the times when you're away from a charger, which doesn't include when you're at home, right? Plugging in a charger is surely easier than swapping a battery.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
"'drop in' is really shutdown-remove-plate-swap-batteries-start-up-again. It's easier to leave it to charge up a bit while having a shower, making a sandwich etc., no?"
Not when you're camping in a field, trapsing half way up a mountain, sunning yourself on a beach or on a long flight it's not.
Every smartphone I've ever had barely makes it past 8pm before it desperately needs a charge. If there's ever a chance of randomness in my day, my spare battery can deal with it.
Those external battery/rechargers are so slow, it means leaving your phone off for at least an hour before things become useful again. Useless on a long train journey when my only entertainment is my phone.
Then there's the fact that batteries lose their change over time. A year later and my original phone battery holds only holds 60% of it's original charge.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
Not when you're camping in a field, trapsing half way up a mountain, sunning yourself on a beach or on a long flight it's not. ... Useless on a long train journey when my only entertainment is my phone.
Do you do any of those things at home? To repeat myself:
"a spare battery is useful for the times when you're away from a charger, which doesn't include when you're at home, right?"
We actually agree! :)
Then there's the fact that batteries lose their change over time.
That true, but it's beside the point. I'm not arguing that being able to swap batteries isn't useful, just that swapping batteries when one gets home is more hassle than simply charging the phone.
Those external battery/rechargers are so slow, it means leaving your phone off for at least an hour before things become useful again.
Not in my experience. Your phone will still work while being charged, and even so, do you use your phone continuously when you arrive home? Why?!?
The activities that draw more power than the charger is providing don't make sense at home; if it's sharing a 3G connection, why not use the WiFi? If it's watching videos or gaming, why not use the TV or PC?
Put the phone down and walk the dog, wash the dishes, talk to the kids etc.! ;)
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
"Those external battery/rechargers are so slow, it means leaving your phone off for at least an hour before things become useful again. Useless on a long train journey when my only entertainment is my phone."
I got a cheapo battery jump pack from a poundshop. It plugs in the usb port and gives the battery a constant trickle charge. Its got a bloody great li-ion battery in it that i recharge before heading out. It gives a fair few hours extra without faffing about changing the phones battery. Its a bizzare thing, it has solar panels and also slots for normal aa batteries to recharge the internal battery on the go, so all bases are covered. The solar panel is a bit useless though, it takes hours and hours to fully charge the thing and gets worryingly hot if its placed in direct sunlight. might be handy in an emergency out in the wilds though.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
I hope that's a stationary bicycle you ride in bright sunlight. Otherwise why would the screen be on the whole time?
Work smarter, not more mAh'er.
Re: No swappable battery, no sale
"if it's sharing a 3G connection, why not use the WiFi?"
What wifi?
This phone is my ISP.
You don't have a USB charger on your bike?
Magnets on the spokes and coils on the frame to generate power to keep your smartphone fully charged while you travel. That's what I want, though I haven't seen it yet.
My own experience with HTC was quite negative. The battery was one of the problems, but there were many others, and my main beef with HTC was the AWFUL pretense of support on their website. I really can't imagine how I got the impression they were going to answer questions or something. I actually dumped it before the 2-year contract ran out. My carrier was actually running a promo that picked up part of the cost of a new phone they were pushing. I wouldn't say it was my perfect smartphone, but the Huawei has been substantially more satisfactory than the HTC was.
Nifty
Quite looking forward to this, contract is up in May so there should be decent stock by then. Lack of storage not an issue for me as I'm running a stock sensation and these days just use it as a phone and have an N7 for other pissing about.
Re: Nifty
Spooky - my Sensation contract's up in May... Although mine runs Cyanogen 10. And I use my Nexus 7 for pissing about as well (when the kids aren't using it - thank $DEITY for the multi-user feature!)
V.
This is a compelling phone, but I'm gonna need some hands on time with it, an S4 and a Windows Phone before I commit to upgrading my Sensation XE.
The XE had potential by the bucket load but is badly let down by the software, so HTC already have that against them. Also, this missing button interface. A step too far away from normal Android (for instance, if I decide to root the device and slap on a ROM?)
Lack of wireless charging? Some cool new tech not in a flagship device.....
Lack of SD slot used to annoy me, but frankly I've got over myself. I either use online services, or FTP to my home NAS. My 3 wifi gives me plenty of headroom for that.
All in al though, it looks like phones have hit that point of being powerful enough to do everything. I look forward to key lime pie.
Potato instead of camera module
HTC will struggle to sell their flagship phones while they continue to fit potatoes instead of camera modules.
HTC's marketing department can claim what they like about their cameras, but year after year, the back to back tests show time and time again their imaging capability is utter shite.
On the positive side, at least the build quality on this new model might actually see out a two year contract for once.
Re: Potato instead of camera module
"On the positive side, at least the build quality on this new model might actually see out a two year contract for once."
How so? My original Desire is still going strong and is now my Mum's, and my HTC One X is still running pretty well, and there's barely a ding on it...
The only thing which is pulling me away from HTC and to Samsung is updates and battery life.
Marketing nonsense
All other things being equal, image noise is a function of sensor size, not pixel size. Using fewer, larger pixels just makes the noise coarser and more difficult to deal with.
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