HTC was a credible, solid device manufacturer that not only made great hardware, but paired it with its customisations of Android that in past years made Android a credible option for business users rather than a geeks wet dream. But it feels like someone sucked out all the energy and dynamism out of HTC, and threw it into Samsung. Now don't get me wrong; Samsung, while they make great hardware, make some god awful UI's and add (in my mind) almost no tangible value to the Android ecosystem rather than numbers.
But you have to face reality; HTC is haemorrhaging its senior executive team, and despite announcing it before the Samsung S4, has delivered the HTC One it to market in most markets later (sometimes by days, but often by weeks) than its feared rival. So is this the last great phone HTC makes ? I hope not, but fear it is.
Onto the merits of the phone!
- Its gorgeous to hold in your hand, and feels so well built and less plastic than its rival
- Those stereo speakers are truly amazing - no more tinny noise, thanks to those Beats-inspired additions
- HTC Sense 5 is truly a breath of fresh air, providing a great skin on top of Android
But I'm afraid its not all roses :-(
- The battery life is miserable - try running out of juice (properly) by 4PM in a business day
- The lack of a large Calendar widget is a dreadful omission, given that its been there in almost every prior device
- The design gives the hint that its not life-proof compared to its rivals
I like it; enough to make it my primary ? Lets run the battery a bit longer and see. But if it continues to be miserable, no.
