Earlier this morning, HTC unveiled what they have been working on since last year’s One series. We enjoyed the ambience of great food and the guys jumping around ramps to test out the One’s camera abilities. HTC has been pushing the envelope to further innovate over the past few years. They have packed even more inside if the One as this will be the single flagship Android device available globally in March. Our video and first impressions lie beyond the break.
- The HTC One is lightweight and super-thin. The aluminum-brush body w/ a matte finish and curved back makes holding it one a dream.
- The new HD display will make it hard for you to find individual pixels with the naked eye.
- The BoomSound front-facing speakers was difficult to test within the crowded atmosphere as well as the SenseVoice. We will get into those more in our review.
- Sense 5 has gotten more streamlined and minimal. You still have the classic Clock and Weather widgets but smaller and redesigned. Anyone has wasn’t a fan previously may actually enjoy your experience on here. Google Now is hiding under a long press to the Home button.
- BlinkFeed is ideal for content consumption on your homescreen but if you’re not into that, you can go with the standard Android screen.
- Ultrapixel camera is an interesting approach to better smartphone cameras by focusing on problem areas like low-light. HTC shooter uses bigger pixels which allows in more light. We took some pretty good photos at the event with it but will require further real-world testing.
- HTC Zoe allows you to take several high-res photos as a 3-second video you can edit/share as a photo or the entire clip as a video. Definitely a defining feature on the One.
- With Sense TV, you can control your cable/satellite TV, schedule programs to record on your DVR, use as a content guide to see what’s on, as well as access Netflix and Hulu content as well. HTC gave the Power button multiple functions as it doubles as an infrared sensor. You still have the on-demand content you can buy from HTC Watch.
- HTC allows you to turn the One into a mini-karaoke machine as it accesses Grace Notes for song lyrics while playing music.
- I love how your can tap your photo gallery and have it play as a slideshow w/ your choice of themes and music. Definitely making the little things even better.
I expect to see complaints on how the design is like the iPhone 5, Zoe is like BlackBerry’s TimeShift camera mode, and BlinkFeed is like Windows Phone Live Tiles. HTC brings all together nicely.
All-in-all, our brief encounter with the One was a pleasant one nonetheless (no pun intended).
