The HTC One might be the best
smartphone you never heard of.
The
phone won critical acclaim last year, yet it barely made a dent in the
marketplace. It's overshadowed by Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy line of
smartphones.
Good thing HTC Corp. doesn't
understand defeat.
An
updated One expands on some of the features that made it notable. The new One
has a metal design like last year's model, but it feels smoother and more
comfortable in my hands. The back edges are more curved and remind me of the
sleek finish in Apple's latest iPads. HTC also turns its hub for personalized
content, the BlinkFeed, into a companion rather than an unwelcomed guest.
HTC is
making the Android phone available through all major carriers simultaneously
this time, starting Tuesday online and by April 10 in retail stores. Verizon
customers don't have to wait months, as they had last year. In an apparent
concession, Verizon is the first to get them in stores - on Tuesday.
The new
phone, known officially as HTC One (M8) (Pictures), will cost about $200 to
$250 with a two-year service contract, or about $650 without a contract.
Customers can choose gray, gold or silver.
The One
still has some flaws - namely, its 4 megapixel rear camera. By comparison,
Samsung's Galaxy S5 phone, which comes out April 11, will have 16 megapixels.
Sony and Nokia already have phones that exceed 20 megapixels. Apple's iPhones
are at 8 megapixels, twice what the HTC One offers. More megapixels typically
translate to sharper images and more options for printing and cropping.
HTC is
correct in saying the megapixel count is just one factor in what makes a good
camera. It prefers making the size of individual pixel sensors larger to absorb
more light for night and indoor shots. That's laudable, but Apple's iPhone 5s
(Pictures) and Nokia's Lumia Icon are both able to offer decent low-light shots
while providing more megapixels than the One.
Compared
with last year's model, though, the One's camera is much better, even at 4
megapixels. Colors look washed out in day shots I took with last year's camera.
The new model seems to have fixed that. The new version also has a 5 megapixel
front camera for selfies, far better than what rivals offer.
HTC also has improved its camera
software
Thanks
to a second lens on the rear, the phone now captures depth information. That
lets you decide later through built-in software whether to focus on the
foreground or the background while blurring everything else. Other phones also
offer this capability, but the One does this automatically. You don't have to
switch to a special mode ahead of time.
The One
offers plenty of manual settings, as other phones are starting to offer. The
One goes further in letting you save frequently used combinations of settings.
If you take a lot of action shots indoors, for instance, you can save a combo
that uses a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring from motion, while adjusting
the white balance to filter out the hint of color from the ceiling lights.
You can
pause video recordings. Most phones only let you stop recording, so you have to
stitch together several files with software to get the same effect. The Vine
and Instagram apps also let you pause video recording, but those clips have
length limits. With the One, you're limited only by the phone's storage.
As for
watching video, sound quality is wonderful, thanks to the phone's two
front-facing speakers. If I hold the phone close enough to my eyes and slide
the volume to maximum, I can pretend I'm watching in a movie theater. Phones
with rear speakers sound boxy by comparison.
The One
also has some useful shortcuts when the screen is off. Swipe from the left to
get the BlinkFeed content hub, and swipe from the right to get your regular
home screen. Press the volume button to get the camera and press it again to
take the shot. Double tap to get the lock screen.
With an
optional $50 Dot View case, you can see the time and the weather through the
small holes, or dots, on the case's front, flip cover. You can answer and
reject incoming call by swiping on the case, without needing to flip over the
cover.
As for
BlinkFeed, the One now offers more ways to customize it and increases the
number of social media services it works with. Through a partnership with
Foursquare, BlinkFeed also suggests restaurants based on the time and location.
Monday's lunch recommendation was dubious, though: It was suggesting frozen
yogurt at Pinkberry as outdoor temperatures in New York hovered at water's
freezing point.
I do like
that you can get BlinkFeed by swiping from the left. Otherwise, it stays out of
the way. To get back to the home screen, just tap the home button once or
twice. I hated BlinkFeed in last year's model because there was no easy way to
restore the home screen without knowing the proper swipes.
The HTC
One is a work in progress, though. There's supposed to be a power-saving mode
offering 15 hours of battery life when you're down to a 5 percent charge, for
instance. That and other promised features weren't done in time for the U.S.
release. But if you buy the phone now, you'll get them through upcoming
software updates.
U.S. customers are also eligible
for a one-time screen replacement if it cracks in the first six months.
The One
doesn't have a fingerprint sensor to bypass the security code on the lock
screen. The iPhone 5s has it, as will the Galaxy S5. It's also in the HTC One
Max (Review I Pictures), a larger version of last year's model. But HTC's
version didn't work well, and the company is wise to leave it out in the One.
There's
a lot to like in the new phone. This phone likely won't be as popular as the
iPhone or the S5, but the One is one worth considering if you're looking for
something that feels right and works nicely.
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