If Sony has NXT, HTC has its own new line of devices called HTC One. What will be common among HTC One devices are better optics and Beats Audio. This is not really new to HTC since they already got good optics on the HTC Sensation XL and Beats Audio on a couple of phones.
Anyway, it’s clearly a step to the right direction for this Taiwanese company and they have high hopes especially with the camera part of their new phones.
Let’s get to know the HTC One series shall we?
HTC One X
First up is their flagship model, the HTC One X which has specs that would make you drool. It has a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display with a whopping 720p (1280 x 720) resolution. That’s 312 ppi pixel density which is second to the Sony Xperia S’ 342 ppi. It has the 3D Gorilla Glass display like the ones found on the Nokia N9 (tapered on the edges).
A 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor powers this phone to go along with 1GB RAM. It comes with 32GB internal storage but HTC decided to take out the microSD slot on this one and instead, offers you 25GB Dropbox account which will be free for 2 years.
The 8-megapixel camera at the back has a Dual Shutter camera module which allows you to take still photos while recording a full HD 1080p video. The camera on this one has a 22mm wide angle lens, f/2.0 aperture, BSI sensor and HTC’s ImageSense dedicated imaging chip. HTC claims that the One X camera starts faster and takes better photos than the iPhone 4S. Hmmm.
Anyway, rounding up the feature list is NFC, DLNA, Bluetooth 3, WiFi, MHL and Beats Audio enhancement. And just like the Nokia N9, the HTC One X is made of a single piece of polycarbonate plastic. It’s also just 9.29mm thin.
HTC One S
Next up is the mid-range model of this series, the HTC One S. Unlike its quad-core brother, the HTC One S uses a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB RAM. 16GB is the space limit on this phone with no expandable storage in sight.
It has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with the same qHD resolution (960 x 540) as that of the HTC Sensation. It also has the same curved Gorilla Glass display as the One X.
The same better-than-iPhone 4S 8-megapixel shooter is equipped on the HTC One S. f/2.0 lens, ImageSense, a smart LED flash that automatically detects the distance of the subject, 1080p HD recording, the camera here is quite loaded.
No NFC on the HTC One S and it requires a microSIM to use. All of these features are encased on a super-slim (7.8mm) unibody, sexy curved ceramic metal casing. HTC claims that the microarc oxidation process they did on the aluminum body of this phone makes it 4 times harder and scratch resistant than their other phones. That’s saying a lot considering HTC has really durable phones to begin with.
HTC One V
Something that would appeal to the budget-conscious is the mid-range HTC One V. Its defining look is the tiny “œchin” at the bottom which reminds us of the HTC Legend. It has a 3.7-inch (480 x 800 resolution) Gorilla glass coated TFT Capacitive touch screen display.
The HTC One V is powered by a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon S2 processor and only 512MB of RAM. It only has a 4GB internal storage but comes with a microSD slot. It also has the same camera specs as the X and the S except this one has a smaller 5-megapixel sensor and can only do 720p video recording. There’s no front-facing camera on this unit. Like the other two HTC Ones, the One V also has Beats Audio enhancement inside.
If HTC One’s camera performance is as good as they claim, the One V might be a bang-for-the-buck choice for those wanting a mid-range smartphone that takes good photos and outputs good music.
HTC may not have the most-talk about innovation or design in this year’s Mobile World Congress, their announcement may sound boring even, but HTC did a good job in improving their lineup with what’s been lacking from their phones the past years, good camera optics and good audio in a single package. They’re already proven when it comes to design and quality so why fix it right? The new HTC One series may sound dull compared to Nokia’s PureView or Sony’s NXT but I’m thinking these new phones from HTC will be successful in their own right.
