The new HTC ONE (M7)

[MRU]

Jon Rettinger from TechnoBuffalo gives it a glowing review, hates the HTC logo not being a button but loves the camera and says one of the best phones he's used in a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUOS2ILXD-0&list=UUR0AnNR7sViH3TWMJl5jyxw&index=2

Battery results were impressive in his daily usage

10:30 into the video approx. I'd be happy with brightness set to 80%, 2-3 hour call time, 2 emails refreshing every 5 minutes, blink feed on, updating social networks throughout the day etc, small bit of browsing as well... Fully charged at 7am, by midnight 30-35% remaining....

 

[Oohara]

Jon Rettinger from TechnoBuffalo gives it a glowing review, hates the HTC logo not being a button but loves the camera and says one of the best phones he's used in a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUOS2ILXD-0&list=UUR0AnNR7sViH3TWMJl5jyxw&index=2

Damn, that's quite a glowing review indeed. "...best Android phone I've ever tested, and it may be the best phone I've ever tested period."

I'm definitely hot for the screen, build quality/look and speakers. I kind of wish I wasn't so fond of the Note 2's S-pen and sheer screen size (and expandable memory), so I could get this thing. Will be very interesting to see how the S4 compares.

 

[onthecouchagain]

First full day of use today so be interesting to see how the battery holds out.

The button layout isn't as bad as I thought. You get used to it pretty quickly.

Lots of apps have the three dot menu button. Really like that to be sorted if possible.

That's another annoyance about the new button layout. That invasive and waste of space 3 dot on screen menu bar/button. What a waste of space.

 

[MRU]

That's another annoyance about the new button layout. That invasive and waste of space 3 dot on screen menu bar/button. What a waste of space.

The HTC one X series had this, and then they released a software update that allowed users to map the menu button to one of the other capacitive buttons (long press).

I'm surprised and disappointed too that it actually isn't there in the menu system to do the same from day 1 on the one. (a long press on back button for example could be used for menu).

-----------------------

EDIT!

Stop the presses.. Correction. I was right. The option IS there already like the HTC one X.

In menu, display & gestures... an option to set long press Back to Menu.

Enabling this will get rid of the menu dots being displayed on the screen.

 

[itsmemuffins]

The HTC one X series had this, and then they released a software update that allowed users to map the menu button to one of the other capacitive buttons (long press).

I'm surprised and disappointed too that it actually isn't there in the menu system to do the same from day 1 on the one. (a long press on back button for example could be used for menu).

-----------------------

EDIT!

Stop the presses.. Correction. I was right. The option IS there already like the HTC one X.

In menu, display & gestures... an option to set long press Back to Menu.


Image

Enabling this will get rid of the menu dots being displayed on the screen.

For god knows whatever reason, htc removed that option on the retail units.

 

[onthecouchagain]

The HTC one X series had this, and then they released a software update that allowed users to map the menu button to one of the other capacitive buttons (long press).

I'm surprised and disappointed too that it actually isn't there in the menu system to do the same from day 1 on the one. (a long press on back button for example could be used for menu).

-----------------------

EDIT!

Stop the presses.. Correction. I was right. The option IS there already like the HTC one X.

In menu, display & gestures... an option to set long press Back to Menu.



Image

Enabling this will get rid of the menu dots being displayed on the screen.

Nice!

----------

For god knows whatever reason, htc removed that option on the retail units.

So... no? It does or doesn't have that feature (long press back for menu)?

 

[MRU]

For god knows whatever reason, htc removed that option on the retail units.

are you sure ??? That's a pain to say the least. Why remove it from the retail software or is there any option in the developer section ?


Andy - if you see this post, can you check it on your retail device too and let us know.

 

[itsmemuffins]

Nice!

----------




So... no? It does or doesn't have that feature (long press back for menu)?

are you sure ??? That's a pain to say the least. Why remove it from the retail software or is there any option in the developer section ?


Andy - if you see this post, can you check it on your retail device too and let us know.

Reading reports from xda and other sites the feature is 100% removed.

 

[MRU]

Reading reports from xda and other sites the feature is 100% removed.

That's madness on HTC's part now, especially if it was there in the pre-production units. Of course it can be re-enabled via software update - but why remove it in the first place ?

 

[Tig Bitties]

Battery results were impressive in his daily usage

10:30 into the video approx. I'd be happy with brightness set to 80%, 2-3 hour call time, 2 emails refreshing every 5 minutes, blink feed on, updating social networks throughout the day etc, small bit of browsing as well... Fully charged at 7am, by midnight 30-35% remaining....

If that is true, that's AMAZING battery life. 2 to 3 hours of phone calls is a big deal, and typically a big battery drainer. Refreshing 2 e-mail accounts every 5 minutes is also a big battery drainer. And doing all of that for 17 hours and still have 30% battery left ? I don't know, sort of hard to believe, my Note 2 could barely do as well.

That's almost as good as my Note 2 I had briefly, which was rooted with a custom kernel known for good battery life.

 

[CD3660]

are you sure ??? That's a pain to say the least. Why remove it from the retail software or is there any option in the developer section ?


Andy - if you see this post, can you check it on your retail device too and let us know.

Definitely not there on the one I got from Phones4U. Thought I was going mad for a moment!

Pity.

 

[itsmemuffins]

That's madness on HTC's part now, especially if it was there in the pre-production units. Of course it can be re-enabled via software update - but why remove it in the first place ?

That's the story of htc though.

They are like the mad hatter of the smart phone world.

 

[CD3660]

If that is true, that's AMAZING battery life. 2 to 3 hours of phone calls is a big deal, and typically a big battery drainer. Refreshing 2 e-mail accounts every 5 minutes is also a big battery drainer. And doing all of that for 17 hours and still have 30% battery left ? I don't know, sort of hard to believe, my Note 2 could barely do as well.
.

Sadly, this has not been my experience on my first day with the HTC One although time will tell.

I started the day in the enviable position of having nothing to do except play with my new gadget, and had a 100% charge at 8:00am.

I used email, telephone, messaging, music streaming (via my home network to a Zeppelin Air), watched a couple of You Tube reviews, and generally messed around, but did not do any gaming. I had Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, and the screen at about 80%..

Battery was exhausted at the 5 hour mark. Of this time I would estimate that the screen was on for 4 hours.

Obviously, this is not typical usage for me (or most others I suspect) and time will tell whether the battery does better with subsequent cycles, but I was a little disappointed by this. It is no Galaxy Note 2 on the stamina front!

It is a stunning smartphone though, superbly built, with a beautiful screen, excellent speakers and it feels very good in the hand. It also works extremely well as a telephone, which is a real bonus. Indeed it is the best I've tried in recent years.

 

[MRU]

Definitely not there on the one I got from Phones4U. Thought I was going mad for a moment!

Pity.

That's the story of htc though.

They are like the mad hatter of the smart phone world.

Yep madness alright..... That's going to annoy me I know whilst I wait for them to inevitably put it back into the system menu.

----------

Sadly, this has not been my experience on my first day with the HTC One although time will tell.

I started the day in the enviable position of having nothing to do except play with my new gadget, and had a 100% charge at 8:00am.

I used email, telephone, messaging, music streaming (via my home network to a Zeppelin Air), watched a couple of You Tube reviews, and generally messed around, but did not do any gaming. I had Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, and the screen at about 80%..

Battery was exhausted at the 5 hour mark. Of this time I would estimate that the screen was on for 4 hours.

Obviously, this is not typical usage for me (or most others I suspect) and time will tell whether the battery does better with subsequent cycles, but I was a little disappointed by this. It is no Galaxy Note 2 on the stamina front!

It is a stunning smartphone though, superbly built, with a beautiful screen, excellent speakers and it feels very good in the hand. It also works extremely well as a telephone, which is a real bonus. Indeed it is the best I've tried in recent years.

Yeah that's the thing, the first few days we really use the new phones far more than what eventually becomes the norm, and at the same time = its during this period that the battery is getting its first charge / discharge routine so it can also be wonky or add to the wonkiness...

4 hours of screen on time isn't great certainly, but I guess it is more than my One X used to get (around 3 hours in it's case), but not as good as the Note 2.

However please keep us updated on battery life on the phone as you get into more of a normal routine of usage as it will be interesting to see how it lasts you then.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Sadly, this has not been my experience on my first day with the HTC One although time will tell.

I started the day in the enviable position of having nothing to do except play with my new gadget, and had a 100% charge at 8:00am.

I used email, telephone, messaging, music streaming (via my home network to a Zeppelin Air), watched a couple of You Tube reviews, and generally messed around, but did not do any gaming. I had Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, and the screen at about 80%..

Battery was exhausted at the 5 hour mark. Of this time I would estimate that the screen was on for 4 hours.

Obviously, this is not typical usage for me (or most others I suspect) and time will tell whether the battery does better with subsequent cycles, but I was a little disappointed by this. It is no Galaxy Note 2 on the stamina front!

It is a stunning smartphone though, superbly built, with a beautiful screen, excellent speakers and it feels very good in the hand. It also works extremely well as a telephone, which is a real bonus. Indeed it is the best I've tried in recent years.

That really sucks. 4h On Screen time today for a smartphone should be a given and easy with battery life still left. I think today's smartphones need to be giving around the 6h On Screen time mark, that would last a full day pretty much.

Yeah, that Techno Cow site, must be getting some HTC handjobs, no way they went 17 hours total on the battery, with still 30% battery left after 17h, No way.

I would be happy with total battery life span of around 16h to 18h, that would be enough for me, with no babying the phone, using at will, with all bells and whistles on. We should be able to do that, without needing a Note 2 large phone, with huge battery.

 

[CD3660]

...please keep us updated on battery life on the phone as you get into more of a normal routine of usage as it will be interesting to see how it lasts you then.

Will do.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I love how discreet the notification light is on the HTC One. Hidden away in the speaker.

Everytime I look at the front facing camera of my iPhone 5, I'm waiting for it to flash me a notification light. >.<

 

[Peterg2]

As I have alluded to before, I would not deem Android Central as one of the better review sites but here are their comments on battery life:

The HTC One is fitted with a 2300 mAh internal battery, which in numbers alone is about average for a high-end Android smartphone. There’s no way inside that aluminum unibody, so as you might’ve guessed, the battery is not removable.

We found the phone’s battery performance to be decent, but not outstanding. It’d easily last us a full day, just as the Sony Xperia Z and LG Nexus 4 have in the past. Some of that will depend on network connectivity, of course.

With moderate to heavy usage patterns consisting of browsing and social networking over LTE, HSPA and Wifi, music playback, photography and video recording, we clocked just under 14 hours of use before reaching the warning level of fifteen percent. With more conservative use, mostly restricted to Wifi, we reached the end of the day with around 30 percent left after 18 or so hours on battery. With all day spent on Wifi, we reached around 50 percent in the same timespan. We used the HTC One on DC-HSDPA on Three UK and LTE on EE, and we didn’t notice any significant additional battery drain when using 4G data services as opposed to good old HSPA. (That’s in line with other modern 4G devices we’ve reviewed, including the Xperia Z and Galaxy S3 LTE

http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-one-review

 

[2298754]

I love how discreet the notification light is on the HTC One. Hidden away in the speaker.

Everytime I look at the front facing camera of my iPhone 5, I'm waiting for it to flash me a notification light. >.<

It was similar on the One X. Looked sleek

 

[cynics]

I love how discreet the notification light is on the HTC One. Hidden away in the speaker.

Everytime I look at the front facing camera of my iPhone 5, I'm waiting for it to flash me a notification light. >.<

If apple would add that one feature to the 5S I would upgrade to it instead of waiting for the 6.

 

[andy2141]

So I've returned home after a full days use out on site.

Used google navigation in the car and made plenty of calls, Exchange email, eBay, checking blinkfeed etc and I have to say so far things are looking good.

Still can't really comment on battery life as I've had it plugged in whilst in the car, but at the moment I'm not having the urge to pick the iPhone back up like I have in the past.

Oh and just checked the button thing. 100% NOT there on my phone.

 

[MRU]

So I've returned home after a full days use out on site.

Used google navigation in the car and made plenty of calls, Exchange email, eBay, checking blinkfeed etc and I have to say so far things are looking good.

Still can't really comment on battery life as I've had it plugged in whilst in the car, but at the moment I'm not having the urge to pick the iPhone back up like I have in the past.

Oh and just checked the button thing. 100% NOT there on my phone.

Thanks Andy...

 

[Sensamic]

I started the day in the enviable position of having nothing to do except play with my new gadget, and had a 100% charge at 8:00am.

Oh boy. Every time I read this I get excited. It's like Christmas

 

[CD3660]

Oh boy. Every time I read this I get excited. It's like Christmas

Ha ha! Over a day later and I still can't put it down.

It's a beautiful phone for sure!

 

[F123D]

If apple would add that one feature to the 5S I would upgrade to it instead of waiting for the 6.

I've been saying that with the past 2 iPhones. lol. Don't know why apple hasn't implemented it already.