# HTC unveils its new Android flagship, the HTC One



## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

I have to say that it's rather a splendid looking thing. 







*Main specifications*

4.7 inch, 1080p, 468 ppi, Super LCD 3 display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.7 GHz processor
Android Jelly Bean with HTC Sense 5
2GB RAM
32GB and 64GB integrated storage capacity
NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n WiFi, DLNA, Infrared (more on this below)
Dual front facing speakers with integrated amplifiers
Beats Audio
HDR microphone
HTC Ultrapixel camera with 2.0 micrometer pixel, F2.0 aperature, 28 mm lens, and 1/3′ sensor
2,300 mAh Li-polymer battery
Dimensions: 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm and 143 grams
What do we think urban?

More here: http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-announces-its-new-flagship-android-handset-the-eye-catching-htc-one/


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## Firky (Feb 19, 2013)

At first glance I prefer the Nexus 4's design but that is an impressive spec. Well apart from the 'beats audio' wank.


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## weltweit (Feb 19, 2013)

Looks huge to me.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

weltweit said:


> Looks huge to me.


It's going to smaller than some big sellers. I like the front facing speakers. I think it looks great too.


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## Macabre (Feb 19, 2013)

The mat-black looks lush.  Specs look powerful but need to see what everyone else releases at the MWC to measure up.





Now if I could just pass my viva next week I may be able to get a job and buy one.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

It's going to be all about whether it can outdo the soon-come S4.


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## mack (Feb 19, 2013)

It looks really nice and the build quality will be excellent but I doubt it will increase their market share.


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## Firky (Feb 19, 2013)

Ohhh I like the matt black.


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## mauvais (Feb 19, 2013)

Looks OK and I want HTC to gain a bit of market share, so I hope it works.

I'll have a play next week. Still no SD (who cares) or removable battery? (I do)


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## mack (Feb 19, 2013)

I've never liked the sense interface, if they had an option to be able to use the phone with stock Android myself and I suspect a lot more people would be more interested. They are also still too slow in pushing out the Android updates because they have to integrate it with sense.


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## mrs quoad (Feb 19, 2013)

It's faster than the 15" laptop I've got downstairs (bought, admittedly, c.2006?)

E2a: and with twice as many cores.


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## Private Storm (Feb 19, 2013)

Yep, will have a play with this next week at MWC. Am very much looking forward to some geek porn, oh yes.


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## Fez909 (Feb 19, 2013)

Looks good. Obviously a big IPhone influence on the design, but looks slightly more chic. Spec good. Big battery.

Downsides: would prefer a smaller screen (although I'm surprised by the Nexus's screen size - it's the same as this HTC, but the overall phone isn't much bigger than my 4" LG O2X. I think 4.3" might be the sweet spot for me). Removable battery would be nice. Stock Android obviously would be miles better.


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## Quartz (Feb 19, 2013)

Is it as prone to heat damage as previous models?


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

mack said:


> I've never liked the sense interface, if they had an option to be able to use the phone with stock Android myself and I suspect a lot more people would be more interested. They are also still too slow in pushing out the Android updates because they have to integrate it with sense.


I went off Sense when I had my Desire, but I really like the way Eme's HTC Sensation looks. It's far slicker than my S2 in several areas.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

Quartz said:


> Is it as prone to heat damage as previous models?


What heat problems?


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

Private Storm said:


> Yep, will have a play with this next week at MWC


How come you're going?

I had a play on the Sony Xperia Z last night at a Sony event. That's a nice phone too.


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## Private Storm (Feb 19, 2013)

editor said:


> How come you're going?
> 
> I had a play on the Sony Xperia Z last night at a Sony event. That's a nice phone too.


 
I used to run the conference side of it and now do other events, so am going to nick some ideas


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

Private Storm said:


> I used to run the conference side of it and now do other events, so am going to nick some ideas


Weeell, if you're there and you fancy posting up some thoughts to Wirefresh...


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## mauvais (Feb 19, 2013)

I'm exhibiting


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

mauvais said:


> I'm exhibiting


Blimey! What are you exhibiting?


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## mauvais (Feb 19, 2013)

editor said:


> Blimey! What are you exhibiting?


Some Android software that sells to operators (ANDSF, for the mobile geeks). If I say any more then I might give away who I work for, and I'd rather not.

Been for the last two years. It's four days of traipsing around, with a lot of 'new' identical phones to see and a bunch of unexciting business-to-business sales pitches. This is why I'm so apathetic towards new product releases. You do get to see some interesting trends though, and a few things will probably stand out (Nokia's 808 camera last year was the only one I can remember)


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Some Android software that sells to operators (ANDSF, for the mobile geeks). If I say any more then I might give away who I work for, and I'd rather not.
> 
> Been for the last two years. It's four days of traipsing around, with a lot of 'new' identical phones to see and a bunch of unexciting business-to-business sales pitches. This is why I'm so apathetic towards new product releases. You do get to see some interesting trends though, and a few things will probably stand out (Nokia's 808 camera last year was the only one I can remember)


Weeeelll, if you get a bit bored and think, "you know what, I really fancy writing down some thoughts about this year's show..."

*cough


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## Quartz (Feb 19, 2013)

editor said:


> What heat problems?


 
Per my brother, some previous models got too hot to hold, and didn't last. One of the reasons he chose his last phone was that the back was completely metal and so acted as a huge heat sink.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

Quartz said:


> Per my brother, some previous models got too hot to hold, and didn't last. One of the reasons he chose his last phone was that the back was completely metal and so acted as a huge heat sink.


We've had four or five HTC devices in this house and never had any heat issues.


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## Firky (Feb 19, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Some Android software that sells to operators (ANDSF, for the mobile geeks). If I say any more then I might give away who I work for, and I'd rather not.
> 
> Been for the last two years. It's four days of traipsing around, with a lot of 'new' identical phones to see and a bunch of unexciting business-to-business sales pitches. This is why I'm so apathetic towards new product releases. You do get to see some interesting trends though, and a few things will probably stand out (Nokia's 808 camera last year was the only one I can remember)


 
Sounds like my idea of hell :z


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## Voley (Feb 19, 2013)

Macabre said:


>


Jessie Lisa and Peter look like twats. They can fuck off with their Sunday fucking drive.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

NVP said:


> look like twats. They can fuck off with their Sunday fucking drive.


What is Jessie Lisa and Peter?


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## beesonthewhatnow (Feb 19, 2013)

Nice looking phone, but I'm gonna hold out to see what the Nexus 5 looks like before I part with my cash...


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Nice looking phone, but I'm gonna hold out to see what the Nexus 5 looks like before I part with my cash...


I'll want to sneak a peek at the S4 too.


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## Fez909 (Feb 19, 2013)

I reckon there's going to be more than one Nexus next time, so should be worth holding out for. Motorola's new phone looks decent, and you'd expect them to produce at least one of the new Nexii, so it could be similar to that


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## Voley (Feb 19, 2013)

I'm a bit perturbed by the jogger too. Phones are going in a scary direction imo.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Feb 19, 2013)

editor said:


> I'll want to sneak a peek at the S4 too.


Unless they lose the plastic and make the case metal I'm not interested. 

I know it's meant to be as strong etc but plastic bodies just feel cheap and nasty to me. Every HTC I've owned has felt like I could hammer nails in with it.


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## EastEnder (Feb 19, 2013)

HTC do make some nice kit. My One X is very swish, if only the battery wasn't so parsimonious. I think their future will be dominated by trying to compete with Samsung, at least in the Android arena. I do wish they'd stop fannying around with "beats audio". Who gives a toss? I've had my HTC phone for 8 months now and I still don't really know what "beats audio" is, or really care for that matter. Daft supposed selling point, imho.

One area where HTC is inexplicably crap on is their own website. First time I'd ever owned a smartphone, my current HTC, I thought "now I can surf on my phone, what site shall I try out?", so I tried HTC's own site. What kind of mobile manufacturer can't be arsed to make their own website work well on a frigging mobile??!?!


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Unless they lose the plastic and make the case metal I'm not interested.
> 
> I know it's meant to be as strong etc but plastic bodies just feel cheap and nasty to me. Every HTC I've owned has felt like I could hammer nails in with it.


My S2 has proved to be a very tough phone indeed.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Feb 19, 2013)

editor said:


> My S2 has proved to be a very tough phone indeed.


I know it's as strong, it's more about the feel of it. Plastic just hasn't got that "quality" feel to it that metal does IMHO.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

Video demo:


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

I think it's better than the Xperia Z. A lot better.


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I know it's as strong, it's more about the feel of it. Plastic just hasn't got that "quality" feel to it that metal does IMHO.


Then you should love the new HTC. Check out the video above.


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## souljacker (Feb 19, 2013)

802.11ac wireless is an interesting inclusion. I wasn't expecting to see that in a phone until at least next year.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Feb 19, 2013)

souljacker said:


> 802.11ac wireless is an interesting inclusion. I wasn't expecting to see that in a phone until at least next year.


The hardware looks ace but all that "moment" camera bullshit at the start has put me off


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## editor (Feb 19, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> The hardware looks ace but all that "moment" camera bullshit at the start has put me off


You can turn it right off, but I think it might be really useful on occasion.


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## editor (Feb 20, 2013)

Here's the promo video:


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## editor (Feb 20, 2013)

It's got learning IR too so you can use it to control your home cinema, and it comes with a matching app. Neat. Very neat. Great to see HTC jumping out of the megapixel war and going for a higher quality sensor too.







I'm getting tempted here now....

Hands on review here: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/49907/htc-one-pictures-preview-first-impressions


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Feb 20, 2013)

IR does sound like a tasty feature. 

Edit: Fuck the IR...I'd like a laptop with that resolution, for a phone that's awesome.


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## Badgers (Feb 20, 2013)

It looks lovely  

I am still a bit miffed with HTC after buying the HTC Desire HD and then the software not being updated  

Also I am _*TRYING*_ to avoid getting into another (24/18/12 month) contract. This looks like a phone that will cost £400+ to buy SIM free. With a Nexus 4 costing £279 for the 16GB (pretty much all I need) the saving would pay for nearly a year of calls/texts/data.


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## Badgers (Feb 20, 2013)

£459.95 pre-order from Phones4U 
For delivery on 15/03


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## Blagsta (Feb 20, 2013)

mack said:


> I've never liked the sense interface, if they had an option to be able to use the phone with stock Android myself and I suspect a lot more people would be more interested. They are also still too slow in pushing out the Android updates because they have to integrate it with sense.



I had a Desire, now I have a Galaxy S. I miss the Desire's interface, it looked much better IMO.


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## editor (Feb 20, 2013)

Pretty red too!


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## Fez909 (Feb 20, 2013)

editor said:


> Pretty red too!


 
Nice. The best phone I've ever had was in red and that looked pretty chic too (still does in fact).


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## Chz (Feb 21, 2013)

editor said:


> My S2 has proved to be a very tough phone indeed.


IMO, the S2 was a high point for Samsung. The stuff since then hasn't been quite as nice.


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## Hocus Eye. (Feb 21, 2013)

Chz said:


> IMO, the S2 was a high point for Samsung. The stuff since then hasn't been quite as nice.


So why do you think the S3 is not as nice as the S2?

However the expected S4 is going to have to be really special to beat the HTC One. That should bring back HTC to the forefront of the smartphone market.


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## editor (Feb 21, 2013)

Unless you're likely to be dropping it in the bath, I think it's the best looking Android phone so far - certainly better than the Xperia Z (which I reviewed here: http://www.wirefresh.com/sony-xperi...ew-huge-screen-classy-looks-and-toilet-proof/ )


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Feb 21, 2013)

editor said:


> Unless you're likely to be dropping it in the bath, I think it's the best looking Android phone so far - certainly better than the Xperia Z (which I reviewed here: http://www.wirefresh.com/sony-xperi...ew-huge-screen-classy-looks-and-toilet-proof/ )


 
It's nice to see waterproof phones taking a huge step forward though. Up till now they've always lagged way behind so meaning I've had to buy bulky and ugly cases if I wanted to use a decent phone.


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## mauvais (Feb 25, 2013)

Here's your MWC review: booooooooriiiiiiiiiing.

The One has nice build quality but nothing struck me as amazing about the software. In fact some bits like the app launch page just looked a bit bad.


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## editor (Feb 25, 2013)

mauvais said:


> The One has nice build quality but nothing struck me as amazing about the software. In fact some bits like the app launch page just looked a bit bad.


Yeah, but you can change all that with Android. I think it's one of the nicest looking phones I've seen in a while.


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## mauvais (Feb 26, 2013)

editor said:


> Yeah, but you can change all that with Android. I think it's one of the nicest looking phones I've seen in a while.


Quite agree, but it won't be how it's reviewed or treated by the average consumer.


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## DotCommunist (Feb 26, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Nice. The best phone I've ever had was in red and that looked pretty chic too (still does in fact).


 
the miss still has that in black. Fair life span on them!


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## Chz (Feb 26, 2013)

Things I'm hoping for out of an S4:

A smaller brother (the main reason I bought HTC - the One S was more my size)
Rid of hardware buttons (how noughties!)
Moving the bloody back key to the left side where it belongs!
Deprecation of the menu key (HTC did well there - by default it's a task switcher button as Google sets in their standard. It controls menu and task switcher with an option to decide which one is short or long press)

It'll be interesting to see if the Goog can pressure them into no SD slot and integrated battery. I don't miss either, but some people need the option.


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## mauvais (Feb 26, 2013)

I strongly disagree with everything above except the size. Hardware buttons feel much better,  the menu button serves a valuable purpose, the back button was always there on 2.x (see also: fuck how they have swapped OK and Cancel) and overall I'm very glad Samsung bucked the trend -  can't get along with the Nexus 4 for these reasons.


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## Chz (Feb 27, 2013)

Perhaps if they were *all* hardware buttons I might agree. But having just the one? As a leftover from when they copied everything from the iPhone? No. And the back button in 2.x was in the _wrong_ place. Anyone can see that.

I'm not so much anti menu button as I am opposed to not having the task swapper button. Everyone is moving to 3 buttons only on the Android side and a task swapper is more useful than the menu button. (home and back are a given)


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## editor (Mar 12, 2013)

Big review in The Verge, generally positive throughout, although the camera fails to wow. I'm still thinking that this is likely to be my next phone.


> I really, really like the HTC One. I’m a sucker for beautiful hardware, and this device is one of the best-designed smartphones I’ve ever used. HTC’s done great hardware before, though, and ruined it with ugly and problematic software — this time, it’s manageable. Not great, not as good as stock Android, but manageable. Here, the problem lies with the camera. Maybe I’m in the minority when I say I care about the quality of my cellphone images, but I do, and the One just doesn’t deliver. Its battery life is also disappointing, though I’m not as concerned about that – it’s just a fact of life at this point.
> 
> In my quest to find the perfect Android phone, I’m still left wanting. I want the One’s hardware, but I want the Nexus 4’s software and promise of timely updates — I’ve said for a year that HTC should offer stock Android phones, and I’m still convinced the company could save itself with the One plus pure Android. I also want a better camera — the One isn’t bad, it’s just mediocre, and I’ve seen better from Android phones. For now, the list of Android phones worth buying is two items long: the Nexus 4 and the One. Personally, I’d buy the One if I had to choose right now, but with the Galaxy S 4 coming in just a few days, I'm pretty lucky I don't have to choose right now.
> 
> Even if Samsung can't best the One later this week, though, the most important question is still unanswered: can HTC find a way to sell a phone, even a great phone, when Samsung has so dominated the Android market? Until it does, it won't matter how good the One is — but for consumers' sake and HTC's, I hope the company figures it out.


 
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/11/4086390/htc-one-review


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## Chz (Mar 12, 2013)

From what I've seen elsewhere, the camera captures great images but the default processing is horrible. If you're the sort who pulls every picture into Photoshop before anyone sees it, it gives great results.


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## TheHoodedClaw (Mar 12, 2013)

The thing I like about the HTC phones (Magic, Desire, One X) I've had is that they feel nice and solid in the hand. It's shallow I suppose, but that kind of thing means more to me than marginal differences in spec, It helps that I don't mind Sense, mind you, and the 4.0+ versions are pretty slick and not as in-your-face as before.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Mar 12, 2013)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> The thing I like about the HTC phones (Magic, Desire, One X) I've had is that they feel nice and solid in the hand. It's shallow I suppose, but that kind of thing means more to me than marginal differences in spec, It helps that I don't mind Sense, mind you, and the 4.0+ versions are pretty slick and not as in-your-face as before.


I've always liked the Sense stuff, but then I've never owned an Android phone that wasn't made by HTC (G1, Desire, Sensation)


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## TheHoodedClaw (Mar 12, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I've always liked the Sense stuff, but then I've never owned an Android phone that wasn't made by HTC (G1, Desire, Sensation)


 
I've played around with various ROMs on my phones (not yet for the One X) and stock Android is nice. I'll wait a while before doing this on the One X though, the out of the box setup is damned good.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 12, 2013)

I really like sense... Running cyangen mod at the moment, some things are better, but miss bits of it.


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## editor (Mar 12, 2013)

Engadget have just added a rave review.


> Regardless of how well Samsung's soon-to-be-announced flagship does on the market, we'll continue to have a soft spot for the One. Last year, we were very impressed by the One X, but that wasn't enough. HTC pushed itself and made its sequel even more polished than the original. We love the phone's industrial design and the camera, while the Snapdragon 600 chipset and 1080p display aren't bad either. We're not sold on every aspect of Sense 5, such as BlinkFeed and the One's two-button layout, but overall the user experience is much improved. As far as we're concerned, HTC has a hit on its hands.


http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/12/htc-one-review/

Rollout looks like early April now.


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## friedaweed (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm having this to replace my sensation in July. Really have been impressed with HTC kit. The cameras take cracking images for a phone


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## gawkrodger (Mar 15, 2013)

I'm being offered this as a pre-order upgrade. Think I'll go for it


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## renegadechicken (Mar 24, 2013)

Offered this as an upgrade, which means i'll finally be leaving apple after 5 years of iphone ownership.


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## editor (Mar 24, 2013)

renegadechicken said:


> Offered this as an upgrade, which means i'll finally be leaving apple after 5 years of iphone ownership.


It looks to be a really lovely phone. I'm still mightily tempted.


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## renegadechicken (Mar 24, 2013)

I was initially going for the s4 but having spent a fair bit of time researching the phones, i went with this one. Should be collecting it on the 3rd April.


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## madamv (Mar 24, 2013)

I love my OneX.  Have no idea of the differences between these two.  I'm sure I don't use half the stuff available to me on my phone.


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## editor (Mar 24, 2013)

renegadechicken said:


> I was initially going for the s4 but having spent a fair bit of time researching the phones, i went with this one. Should be collecting it on the 3rd April.


Please post an early report. I'm ready to upgrade!


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## Badgers (Mar 25, 2013)

Had a play with one today. Really really good. The screen is mint and rated a lot higher that the iPhone 5 by a chap who owns both. Camera functions are excellent.


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## editor (Mar 25, 2013)

Badgers said:


> Had a play with one today. Really really good. The screen is mint and rated a lot higher that the iPhone 5 by a chap who owns both. Camera functions are excellent.


I didn't think it has been released yet.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/50547/htc-one-release-date-delay-explained


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## editor (Mar 25, 2013)

Still looks lovely!

Reviews: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/smartphones/1298431/htc-one
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tech/news/a467580/htc-one-review-great-phone-big-competition.html


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## Badgers (Mar 25, 2013)

editor said:


> I didn't think it has been released yet.
> 
> http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/50547/htc-one-release-date-delay-explained


 
Someone in the industry


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## gawkrodger (Mar 27, 2013)

had an email from vodafone to say mine has been dispatched. Mind you, I'm in Australia for the next three weeks so won't actually be able to check it out for a bit!


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## editor (Mar 27, 2013)

Early sales seem to be good (in the 'hundreds of thousands' in the US) so maybe this device will get HTC back in the frame. I hope so because they've made some great phones.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 27, 2013)

I do as well, that and I'm not comfortable with Android phones being dominated by one brand.


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## renegadechicken (Mar 28, 2013)

Just been informed that there's a delay and I'm not expected to get mine until the 5th April now.


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## gawkrodger (Mar 28, 2013)

well apparently mine has arrived. Not back in the UK until April 10th though


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## renegadechicken (Apr 2, 2013)

Just received a call today mines gonna be here on the 4th now......i could have it on the 3rd if i want black, the delay has been most people want the silver one, so they ran out.
And as a goodwill gesture they have thrown in a case,screen protector and car charger


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## renegadechicken (Apr 2, 2013)

TBH i'm quite excited about it, which is strange as it's 'only' a new phone, but after being tied to the iphone/apple products for the past five years, it feels quite liberating, and the screen size and audio really appeal as i tend to use my phone more as a mini PC than a phone( this makes sense as we got rid of our tv 3 years ago and use the PC for all media) - hoping it lives up to expectations as i had to sign a new 24 month contract for it.


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## Callum91 (Apr 2, 2013)

renegadechicken said:


> TBH i'm quite excited about it, which is strange as it's 'only' a new phone, but after being tied to the iphone/apple products for the past five years, it feels quite liberating, and the screen size and audio really appeal as i tend to use my phone more as a mini PC than a phone( this makes sense as we got rid of our tv 3 years ago and use the PC for all media) - hoping it lives up to expectations as i had to sign a new 24 month contract for it.


You won't regret it, it's a fantastically good phone. Complete change of ball game from your iPhone, it'll be like stepping onto another planet. The days of using a phone as anything less than a mini pocket PC are long gone. If only batteries would keep up with current power consumption.


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## nuffsaid (Apr 4, 2013)

Well I got my HTC One at the weekend and all very lovely so far. It's processing speed is superb, the screen is lush and the quality of the audio means it's going to push my Asus Eee Pad into the background when at home and just surfing or listening to internet radio. The TV app is utter witchcraft! I can use the phone to now control my TV, Sky Box and Surround Sound system. If you set all your favourite channels when in TV mode, it gives you a grid of what programmes you might like are on now or later. Click any of these and it automatically changes the channel. Couch-potatoism to another level..

Someone mentioned some bad things about the camera, I haven't tried it out properly yet, but this review is one reason I bought the thing, the light levels it deals with supposedly put a lot of other camera phones in the dark (sorry) : http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-one-1131862/review/7#articleContent

Some minor niggles: It wouldn't play a couple of videos that I copied over from my laptop (that's a player issue not a phone issue I guess) but the phone then didn't have an option to delete them, I had to connect back up to the laptop to delete these, my old Desire would just click hold and then you can delete. I've been told that if you download video or create video then you can delete direct from the phone. There was no one click to set vibrate mode, you have to keep the volume rocker button down on minus and it then sets vibrate only, although I did download a widget for this, but the Desire I had before had this option when holding down the power button, don't why they removed that. Finally the sound quality for calls, while absolutely fine and dandy does somehow seem different to my old Desire. It sounds like it's going through a filter, feels a bit 'fake' difficult to describe. I suppose I'll have to get used to it. Lastly the contact list when in groups mode shows your contacts in thumbnail form, but I want a list so I can see the difference between my numbers where a name is longer than the text provided under the thumbnail. eg. I might have Accountant - Bob - Mobile, or Accountant - Bob - Landline, but all I can see is Accountant - Bob... Would have been nice to have expandable memory but when looking at other phones in comparison (Xperia Z was one) they didn't match up on the camera, screen and style.

Overall though I'm very happy and thankfully on an unlimited data tariff as its definitely going to get more use as a mini-tablet than it is as a phone, you can get a case for it that allows you to stand the thing up landscape so great for watching videos on a lengthy commute.


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 4, 2013)

Nice looking phone, camera sounds a bit shit but if I was buying Android I'd be getting this not the plasticky Samsung...


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## editor (Apr 4, 2013)

The camera's not shit at all - according to the reviews, it's better than the iPhone/S3 is some areas and not as good as others - but perhaps not quite as good as some had hoped for. The Lumia 920 is the don though.

Comparison review:


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## Roadkill (Apr 4, 2013)

I've got an HTC One SV. Three very minor gripes:

1. Like my old Desire, whenever I'm not actually using it, it forgets about my home wifi network and goes back to 3G for no apparent reason.

2. It doesn't have a menu button, which one or two apps still seem to need, although doubtless updated versions of them will cure that soon enough.

3. I've got an error message telling me that HTC sense needs to be authorised to connect with my facebook account. I don't want it to, and can't find a way to tell it that, so I'm stuck with the permanent error message.

Aside from that I can't really fault it. Excellent phone. 

*e2a* The camera is anything but shit, too.


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## renegadechicken (Apr 5, 2013)

I received my phone today....slightly surprised to get a set of Beats by Dre solo headphones free with it..apparently i wouldn't look stupid walking down the street wearing them plugged into my phone...or so the wife says.

Anyway back to the phone.....after having iphones for the past 5 years the thing is a piece of pure beauty, it feels extremely well made and a decent weight without feeling heavy. The sound is astonishing through the speakers for a phone...i did some comparison tests with music through the htc, iphone and a s3 and its much better than the other two. The hd quality of the screen for movies again doesn't disappoint, it's crisp and sharp.I dont really use a camera that much on a phone so cant really do any comparisons to other cameras but the Zoe bit lets you take some inventive photos, took some great ones of the dogs playing in the dusk, and the video records 1080 @30fps which again is great.

One thing though I'm pleased i have such big hands, as the phone appears huge. Its just all screen, and some of the buttons take some reaching one handed.

Took me a while to learn what i suspect are some basic things to old android hands, i have spent 4 hours just playing with all the settings, setting up the blink feeds, playing with htc sync, adding stuff, removing stuff, factory resetting, setting it up again.....and thoroughly enjoyed my self.

It's fast, and the only issue i had at one point was due to internet speed rather than the phone.
I also downloaded videos from the web and via dropbox and yep it took me a while to work out how to delete the video from the phone, as it doesn't appear as straight forward as the iphone was.

It was easy to transfer contacts etc from the iphone, which i had visions of having to type them all in.

All in all pretty bloody happy with it.


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## renegadechicken (Apr 7, 2013)

Just thought I'd add that I've now had this phone for three days and i am so in love with it.........

not just for the looks (it is good looking i want to put it in a case to protect it, but i keep taking the case off when i go out as the looks and feel are awesome) but it is fast, easy to use and i just keep on discovering new ways to do things, nothing appears to be too out there to try...and mostly they have worked.

I now know my way around it after extensive play, and yes there are a couple of issues, the UI on certain apps/processes could be more intuitive, the blink feed can get annoying and its slightly limited at the moment to what feeds you can have, I'd love an option to have u75 notifications appear as i can with Facebook,twitter,Google+ etc but at the moment that's a no unless i am missing something. The video codec support isn't great, hoping this will be rectified at some point, as I'm not the only one saying this. Battery isn't great but it isn't bad i get a full day's use out of it and that includes downloaded,synching,streaming and i don't have the power saving turned on.Compared to my old iPhone 4 the battery is longer lasting for the same amount of use.
But i guess these are really just personal niggles rather than faults with the phone.


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## Roadkill (Apr 7, 2013)

Roadkill said:


> 2. It doesn't have a menu button, which one or two apps still seem to need, although doubtless updated versions of them will cure that soon enough.


 
Turns out I just hadn't read the instructions.  The 'recent apps' button doubles as a menu button if you hold it momentarily.


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## ohmyliver (Apr 7, 2013)

Roadkill said:


> 1. Like my old Desire, whenever I'm not actually using it, it forgets about my home wifi network and goes back to 3G for no apparent reason.


 
have you fiddled with the settings in networks>wi-fi settings>menu>advanced>wi-fi sleep policy ?


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## Roadkill (Apr 7, 2013)

ohmyliver said:


> have you fiddled with the settings in networks>wi-fi settings>menu>advanced>wi-fi sleep policy ?


 
Ah!  I'd not found those options.  Just altered the wifi sleep policy and it seems to have worked.  Thanks.


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## renegadechicken (Apr 13, 2013)

Hmmmmmmm.....i had the phone out of the case, on the table some 3 foot from the floor when the dog ran into the table, the phone left the table hit the laminate floor and i now have a cracked screen from the right hand lower button to the edge of the screen on the left an inch from the base of the phone, the top corner of the right hand side of the screen is also cracked, in a thumb nail shape, no damage to the aluminum case though. These are not scratches these are proper broken glass.

Not impressed with that as my iphone has fallen out of my shirt pocket, on a few occasions, onto concrete and no damage to the glass at all.
HTC are going to collect it on Monday and decide whether the glass was faulty or if I was just very unlucky with physics. My guessing is that I'm gonna have to pay for the screen replacement.

The ironic thing is i had it out of the case to fit a screen protector, which may or may not have saved it.

Having said the above I'm not looking forward to being without it for 7-10 days and having to go back to me iphone. I'll miss it a lot.


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## gawkrodger (Apr 13, 2013)

really beginning to like this phone. A few niggling things but sure I'll sort them out fairly soon


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## renegadechicken (Apr 17, 2013)

As my phone has gone back to HTC for repair... i've gone back to the iphone 4s and i bloody well hate it...can't wait for the HTC to come home.


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## gawkrodger (Apr 22, 2013)

quick question - I'm probably being daft but how can I add multiple gmail accounts (through the gmail app, not the mail sectuion which I think is far inferior)?


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## TheHoodedClaw (Apr 22, 2013)

gawkrodger said:


> quick question - I'm probably being daft but how can I add multiple gmail accounts (through the gmail app, not the mail sectuion which I think is far inferior)?


 
Yes. Open the Gmail app, hit "menu", then "settings", and there should be a "add Account" button.


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## gawkrodger (Apr 23, 2013)

cheers - yes, I was being daft


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## stuff_it (Apr 23, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Looks OK and I want HTC to gain a bit of market share, so I hope it works.
> 
> I'll have a play next week. Still no SD (who cares) or removable battery? (I do)


I'm not very impressed by the lack of removable battery either - especially as the only way I'll be getting a top-end phone is on a 24 month contract.


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## renegadechicken (Apr 23, 2013)

Ouch screen replacement is £214. Carphone warehouse insurance just cancelled as they state that this accidental damage is 'cosmetic' and therefore bill is mine.


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## mauvais (Apr 23, 2013)

renegadechicken said:


> Ouch screen replacement is £214. Carphone warehouse insurance just cancelled as they state that this accidental damage is 'cosmetic' and therefore bill is mine.


You could break it some more?


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## renegadechicken (Apr 23, 2013)

HTC don't operate like that, you have to send the phone in for them to check, they then provide a quote to repair it.


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## mauvais (Apr 24, 2013)

Well that bit makes sense, but not the bit about the insurance refusing to cover it.

I haven't looked at a teardown of it, but you could probably do it yourself with an eBay screen for much less.

Edit: turns out you can't, because it's really difficult. Not buying one of those, then!


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## FridgeMagnet (Apr 24, 2013)

renegadechicken said:


> Ouch screen replacement is £214. Carphone warehouse insurance just cancelled as they state that this accidental damage is 'cosmetic' and therefore bill is mine.


This sounds like one of those good reasons not to get mobile phone insurance tbh. "Cosmetic" - like screens are just a minor bit of decoration on phones


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## renegadechicken (Apr 24, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Well that bit makes sense, but not the bit about the insurance refusing to cover it.
> 
> I haven't looked at a teardown of it, but you could probably do it yourself with an eBay screen for much less.
> 
> Edit: turns out you can't, because it's really difficult. Not buying one of those, then!


It got 1 out of 10 in a teardown
opps missed your edit.

TBH i'm kinda dreading getting it back and the casing is damaged etc - hopefully HTC know how to repair their own phones


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 24, 2013)

Esp





FridgeMagnet said:


> This sounds like one of those good reasons not to get mobile phone insurance tbh. "Cosmetic" - like screens are just a minor bit of decoration on phones



Especially as it's normally half the cost of a new phone at least over those two years.


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## povmcdov (May 20, 2013)

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now. Overall I'm very pleased.

The camera is awesome at the sort of jobs you want a phone camera to do. In low light conditions it is very fast, rarely needs the flash and theres very little noise in the images. You wouldn't want to blow up the images too big, but IMO use a proper camera if you want to do that. You can access the camera straight from the lock screen without going through your security too, which is handy and new to me. The best thing about it is the speed though. Compared with my old desire HD you can point and shoot without much worry about motion blur or missing shots. I havent used the "zoe" feature yet but it could well be useful, however with the non-expandable storage I'm slightly worried about file size.

The display is truly gorgeous.

As far as problems go:

Build quality is ludicrously good as usual from HTC. If anything its a bit too slick as I find its smoothness and lack of the old style HTC projecting camera lens makes it a little droppable. It also has a habit of falling out of trouser pockets. Get the black one as the silver shows dirt a lot.

The sound is amazing for a phone and really good for watching video etc, however it is TOO GOOD! Even on the lowest volume setting it is quite loud, so headphones are a must if you want to watch stuff with anyone else in earshot. Additionally, because one of the big speakers is used as the phone speaker, in call volume is too loud on the lowest level. No doubt I will be able to fix this with some app, but at the moment everyone can hear my calls.

The home and back buttons are not backlit which does mean I keep missing them using it in the dark. This is not helped by the fact that the back button is now on the other side of the phone compared with my old Desire HD. They really should have a menu button too rather than the non-functional HTC logo.

Blinkfeed is a waste of time IMO unless you use social media a lot. I don't. It cannot be turned off completely, but I've hidden it and killed its data use, so it may as well not be there.

NB: One thing I didn't realise before purchase and isn't being advertised is that the handset comes with a 2 year 32Gb dropbox subscription free. This is presumably because you can set it to backup the phones contents to dropbox during setup, something I didn't bother with.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 20, 2013)

You don't need that much for contacts! It's for you pics... I got it as well with my new phone, quite nice to have. 

Nice right up btw.


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## povmcdov (May 21, 2013)

Cheers man,

I should just say that I realised last night that the buttons do illuminate, just at low light levels.


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