HTC hasn’t had an easy run as of late. In a final 6 months, Samsung has snatched divided most of a organization to help a bad a Taiwanese association had built up over a years. Devices similar to a Rezound fell prosaic opposite a competition, yet upon T-Mobile, HTC has remained a energy player. With a Amaze and a Radar, it has flourished upon a final vital conduit yet a iPhone. The One X, S, and V were denounced in Feb during Mobile World Congress as a phones to lead HTC’s resurgence during a back of in to a market. The One X is firm for AT&T soon, yet it appears which a not as large brother, a One S, will lead a charge. And from a looks of it, it competence have a good fighting chance.
Feel
The One S is somewhat not as large than a largest phones entrance out, with a 4.3-inch screen, yet it’s all a softened for it. While we favourite a One X, it will be as good vast for most users. The S manages to container in roughly any sparkling underline of a X, yet in an even nicer, some-more compress design. The One S feels similar to a perfection of some-more than a year of improvements (and setbacks) in HTC’s phone design. It borrows a altogether pattern pioneered upon inclination similar to a Sensation and Inspire, yet merges them with a neat unibody pattern of phones similar to a Radar. Overall, a phone feels similar to a flattened, slimmed down Amaze, which is, well, utterly amazing. This is a best-designed HTC phone we’ve used, and presumably a most gentle as well.
While new phones similar to a Amaze and Galaxy Nexus appear to be removing bulkier, a One S is following some-more in a footsteps of a Droid Razr (minus a large camera bump). Its dull edges have it most some-more gentle to reason than a Razr, yet it’s roughly as skinny during usually 7.8mm low (Razr is 7.1mm, iPhone 4S is 9.1mm).
The shade distance and preference of bound navigation buttons competence additionally infer wise, as it’s most simpler to strech a power, volume, and 3 haptic navigation buttons (Back, Home, Multitask menu).
HTC brags which a phone has a “ceramic steel surface” or “gradient anodized aluminum, depending upon a tone we choose. It’s removing some-more formidable to discuss it a disproportion in in between materials these days, yet this doesn’t have a cheap, cosmetic feel and tiny touches similar to blue surrounding a during a back of camera and underneath a removable backplate have it feel all a nicer.
The One S is almost a initial phone given a Razr Maxx which has felt similar to a indeed next-generation device. It isn’t a insubordinate jump brazen in any external way, yet it refines and takes smartphone pattern up a notch. Kudos to HTC.
Screen
In a query for redemption, HTC has additionally eventually deserted LCD screens in preference of AMOLED, which is right away a prohibited shade type. This equates to which a 4.3-inch shade upon a One S has a vivid, confidant colors AMOLED provides, as good as a low blacks. This is often a good thing, yet there have been still a integrate of quirks. While Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) was written with most blacks and colors meant to take value of a battery saving facilities of AMOLED, HTC’s Sense UI is a bit flashier, which competence be spiteful battery hold up a bit.
The screen’s 940 x 560 pixel fortitude competence additionally be spiteful it a bit. As with a Droid Razr, we can have out a little of a black subpixels upon a shade if we demeanour tough enough. Hard edges, similar to upon icons, have a somewhat rough, pixely border, and upon pristine white screens, we can have out a black lines. HTC has attempted to recompense for this by together with a lot of pointed patterns in a backgrounds, yet it’s there. Many of we competence not notice it, yet it competence additionally provoke users with quite good eyes. Hopefully destiny phones will have 720p screens, which will cringe a complaint substantially.
As a final note: The HTC One S shade is done of Gorilla Glass – regularly a comforting feature.
Operating system
Like a alternative One phones, a S runs upon Google’s new Android 4.0 (ICS) handling system, with a pattern mutated by HTC Sense 4.0. Most of a pass benefits of Android 4.0 have been intact, yet a idea with Sense seems to be reverting a demeanour to something some-more similar to Android 2.3. Some cosmetic changes have been fine, yet others have been a bit puzzling, similar to a mutated widgets, home screen, and a new multitasking screen. We still haven’t figured out how to shift a wallpaper yet entering a settings menu. At times, it feels similar to HTC is being opposite only for a consequence of it, which is never good.
Still, a good outweighs a bad. Because a One S runs Android 4.0, users will have most fortitude improvements. For instance, a interpretation use monitoring underline allows we to perspective how most interpretation any app consumes individually. Soon, most apps will be built for ICS, which allows developers to softened house opposite shade sizes and device types.
Pre-installed apps
HTC tries to have things easy upon new users by together with utilitarian apps similar to weather, a flashlight, and alternative elementary things, yet it does go overboard. Like all HTC phones, there have been about 60 apps commissioned upon a phone when we buy it, most of which aren’t removable or quite useful. Do we need Slacker radio, Amazon, Lookout Security, or Zinio? We don’t. A garland of T-Mobile apps additionally come congested aboard. One of a integrate of utilitarian additions most be Dropbox, which is preloaded with 25GB of giveaway clouded cover storage instead of a usual 2GB.
(A word to a wise: Don’t use anything yet Google to backup most of your data. Though Google competence go underneath tomorrow, your contacts have been expected safer with it than companies similar to T-Mobile or device manufacturers. HTC is shutting down and all of a clouded cover backup services upon Apr 30, so if we had a prior HTC phone and used HTC Sense to backup contacts, content messages, or anything else, follow these instructions to get your interpretation prior to it’s left forever.)
Beats Audio: Improved
With a Rezound (review), to use Beats Audio, we had to use a crappy song player HTC commissioned upon a device. Thankfully, this order has been removed. We’ll leave it to we to confirm if a little audio filtering is unequivocally a large deal, yet it did have song receptive to advice a bit softened (though a phone does not come with reward headphones, or any headphones, for which matter). The HTC Music app is additionally most improved. Instead of only personification music, it right away acts as a heart for all of your alternative song apps. On a phone, we use Amazon MPE, Google Music, Pandora, and Spotify. All of them have been simply permitted from a song heart – a step in a right direction. Useful facilities similar to this would offer HTC softened than a little of a alternative efforts. We additionally checked out a Car Stereo Clip when a One S was unveiled, and it’s flattering cool.
Specs
Here’s a rundown: The One S has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB of inner storage, a 4.3-inch, 940 x 560 pixel AMOLED screen, an 8-megapixel during a back of camera, and a VGA front camera. It runs upon Android 4.0 with HTC’s Sense 4.0 UI overlaid upon top. More usual facilities embody Bluetooth 4.0, a Micro SIM slot, Micro USB port, headphone jack, vicinity sensor, digital compass, gyroscope and accelerometers, and Wi-Fi (of course). Sadly, there is no microSD slot.
While we weight user knowledge some-more heavily than benchmarks in a reviews, it’s value referring to which a S4 processor is a screamer. In a Quadrant benchmark test, a HTC One S scored an normal of about 5,000, which is a top measure we’ve seen. Suspiciously high, actually: a (plenty fast) Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 scored in in between 2,500 and 3,400 in a same tests. While we wouldn’t indicate any tainted fool around here, there’s no approach a One S is twice as quick as a Galaxy Tab 8.9, so take it as a sign of because we take benchmarks so lightly.
Camera
HTC denounced a One array by comparing a camera without delay to a iPhone 4S. Indeed, HTC competence have taken during a back of a camera climax from Apple. In most ways, a 8-megapixel during a back of camera upon a S is next to or higher to Apple’s efforts. It has a quick f/2.0 orifice which presumably captures about 40 percent some-more light than alternative phones, a softened flash, and HDR (High Dynamic Range), which allows it to take softened cinema if there is a splendid light during a back of your subject, similar to if someone was station in front of a sunset.
In a contrast (check out a camera exam from MWC), we’ve found a One S’s camera to be intensely quick and accurate. Indoor shots demeanour during slightest as good as a iPhone 4S and outside shots demeanour extraordinary as well. In most conditions, it’s still a crapshoot which phone will furnish a softened shot, yet in sure circumstances, HTC does have an edge. Video is right away a single of them.
One of a coolest new facilities of a One array is a capability to snap photos whilst recording video. Anytime whilst recording, we can snap a 5-megapixel pattern of whatever is starting on. It’s fantastic. If you’re not recording, land a shiver symbol will let we take a detonate of photos as well. Whenever we attempted this feature, it seemed to lead to a lot of becloud shots, yet it’s positively cold to have a choice to take movement shots.
Voice and data
Voice calls have been flattering customary upon T-Mobile’s network. We had no difficulty conference or being heard. It all sounds as gloomy as voice calls regularly have. Our interpretation speeds in Manhattan have been flattering bad for a final integrate days, yet we’re sincerely sure which a debility competence be upon T-Mobile’s end. We’ve been downgraded to 2G use upon multiform occasions. When we’re upon a 3G HSPA+ network, we lend towards to get about 5Mbps down and .5Mbps up. This often equates to which things have been using flattering good (when we’re upon 3G), yet a network is nowhere nearby as quick as AT&T or Verizon’s 4G LTE networks.
Battery life
Battery hold up has been decent, yet not extraordinary by any stretch. Most users should be means to get a day out of a One S, and a battery hold up positively exceeds a Galaxy Nexus, yet comes nowhere tighten to a opening of a Droid Razr Maxx, which is a stream favorite. GSM Arena has a good benchmark of a One S’s battery hold up and how it stacks up. Give it a demeanour if you’re interested.
Overall
This is almost a most appropriate HTC phone we’ve used to date. While it still has as good most apps pre-loaded and HTC’s interface is a bit quirky, a manufacturer has obviously schooled from a mistakes. Thanks to a new AMOLED screen, good specs, a inclusion of Android 4.0, softened song and Beats Audio support, a kickass new camera which rivals a iPhone, and an altogether pattern which feels and looks similar to a next-generation Android phone, a One S is a clear lapse to form for HTC. This is a phone we can get vehement about owning.
Highs
- Fantastic, skinny design
- Comfortable to hold
- Vivid AMOLED screen
- Amazing during a back of camera
- Runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- Beats Audio is included
Lows
- Sense 4.0 UI is puzzling
- Weak front camera (VGA)
- Non-removable battery, no microSD
- T-Mobile’s network lags behind
tags: 4s, 8mm, Ceramic Metal, Compact Design, Culmination, Fighting Chance, Htc, Iphone, Metal Surface, Mobile World, Navigation Buttons, Power Player, Razr, Resurgence, Rezound, Setbacks, T Mobile, Taiwanese Company, Unibody Design, World Congress