Htc One reviews of Htc One

Reviews of htc one x

The HTC Hero and the HTC Legend are all famous for one thing: having memorable chins. Following on from 2010’s highly rated HTC Legend is the HTC One V, which, unlike its predecessors, is a mid-tier Android 4.0-powered handset.

HTC unveiled the One V alongside its two new flagship handsets, the HTC One S and HTC One X, at MWC 2012. All three devices were generally very well received following Peter Chou’s keynote but the higher specced HTC One S and HTC One X did steal the show for obvious reasons.

So while the HTC One V is most definitely bringing it up the rear when compared to the likes of the HTC One X and the Huawei Ascend D-Quad, it is still a thoroughly decent proposition – especially for users that want to spend slightly less cash on their phone.

White htc one

Build quality on the One V is excellent featuring HTC’s ‘award winning curved-chin design’ as well as the company’s now-standard metallic unibody. Our handset was finished in matte black and looked every bit the premium-grade device.

We also really like the curved-chin design of the One V, although it’s obvious from some of the reactions to it in the office that it’s a feature that will divide opinion – HTC is no doubt fully prepared for this though.

When we first saw HTC’s new trio of handsets at MWC 2012 one of the first things that immediately struck us about them was just how good the displays were. Thankfully the One V’s 3.7-inch 480x800 resolution Super LCD 2 display is no exception to this rule with its crystal clear visuals, wide viewing angles and awesome colour representation.

The difference between 2011’s Super LCD and 2012’s Super LCD 2 panels is dramatic to say the least. Of course it’s not quite up there with the One X and iPhone 4S’ of the world but it’s certainly better than 99.9 per cent of handsets in its class.

The One V cuts a svelte figure at 120.3x59.7x9.2mm and weighs in at just 115g. The display, as we mentioned earlier, is 3.7-inches making it quite a rarity amongst the current norm of super-sized handsets in the Android community a la the Galaxy Nexus, One X and Galaxy Note.

The htc one x

Powering the One V is 1GHz CPU and Adreno GPU based on Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset alongside 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. Now that might read like hardware from 2010 but trust us it sure as hell doesn’t feel like hardware from two years ago. Everything flies on the One V – whether it’s flicking through homescreens, opening applications or playing games like Angry Birds. HTC achieved this not by witchcraft but by making some rather crafty omissions from the handset’s Sense UI.

The vast majority of these omissions relate to animation – there’s no 3D tomfoolery to be had on the One V and you’ve only got 5 homescreens to play with (not seven like on the One X). Couple these outtakes with already plentiful refinements HTC has made to its Sense UI and you’ve got a much subtler UI on your hands, and this is definitely a good thing.

Camera on htc one x

The camera set-up on the One V, like its predecessor’s, is very impressive. HTC was keen to laud just how good the imagining capabilities were on its ‘One’ brand handsets – and rightly so too. The One V features a 5-megapixel (f/2.0 lens) camera and will shoot video in 720p quality.

HTC has also included the vast majority of software features from its One X and One S handsets aboard the One V such as the ability to simultaneously shooting video and taking photos, as well as Burst Mode and a ton of effects.

All told: you’ll struggle to find a better camera at this price point. Video isn’t quite as good, unfortunately, but it’s still a hell of a lot better than some of the One V’s competition so it’s difficult to be too harsh.

Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, HSDPA, EDGE and GPRS are all supported – as you’d expect – and there’s a pretty sizable Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery aboard too, which delivers some pretty impressive usage – we eked a couple of days out of the One V with moderate usage.

All in all we like this device very much. Granted it’s not the best smartphone on the planet and it’s no way near as good as its bigger brothers, the HTC One S and HTC One X, lacking both the spec, grandeur and software that is present on both. But you still get plenty of bang for your buck, including 25GB of Dropbox, Beats Audio Technology and Android 4.0. And you get all this for just over £200 – talk about value for money.

HTC has well and truly got its groove back.