The new HTC ONE (M7)

[onthecouchagain]

Can't tell, the benefit of the double dip case

But I imagine like most supercharged android device, when gaming it'll probably get warm. Though I don't game hugely on my mobile, I usually save that for my iPad mini.

----------



They're great, they clearly have different firmware to me. I wish android software rollout was more consistent, especially when a device launches and in almost every territory there is a different firmware.

Thanks for answering.

Just curious, are you sticking to Sense 5? Or have you loaded another launcher?

I'm watching more and more videos of Sense 5 and though I find a few things disagreeable, I'm now more open to the idea of sticking to it.

I can't wait to get this phone. Becoming more and more enamored by it day by day.

 

[MRU]

Thanks for answering.

Just curious, are you sticking to Sense 5? Or have you loaded another launcher?

I'm watching more and more videos of Sense 5 and though I find a few things disagreeable, I'm now more open to the idea of sticking to it.

I can't wait to get this phone. Becoming more and more enamored by it day by day.

I've tried a number of different launchers, but keep uninstalling them and using sense 5 as I find it preferable to me, and I like the Sense clock which is probably the only widget I ever use. (iLauncher, Nova Prime, Apex, Xperia home etc..)

Generally all the launchers I've tried have been buttery smooth though.


If you want to know how to 'desense' your HTC One check out

http://www.modaco.com/page/news/_/android/htc-one-de-sensing-r1013

You can make it as close to stock as you want.

(I even tried the launcher on there - it's so minimalist but still decided I like sense, and I find I do like Blinkfeed for twitter/facebook/calendar & to do reminders/rss news.





The only thing I'd also recommend is don't turn on Google Now. I haven't used it once, but I have read it's a real battery eater as it constantly polls for location. You can still get most of the Google now features with Google Search, so I don't see the point it GN hammering my battery for no reason.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I've tried a number of different launchers, but keep uninstalling them and using sense 5 as I find it preferable to me, and I like the Sense clock which is probably the only widget I ever use. (iLauncher, Nova Prime, Apex, Xperia home etc..)

Generally all the launchers I've tried have been buttery smooth though.


If you want to know how to 'desense' your HTC One check out

http://www.modaco.com/page/news/_/android/htc-one-de-sensing-r1013

You can make it as close to stock as you want.

(I even tried the launcher on there - it's so minimalist but still decided I like sense, and I find I do like Blinkfeed for twitter/facebook/calendar & to do reminders/rss news.





The only thing I'd also recommend is don't turn on Google Now. I haven't used it once, but I have read it's a real battery eater as it constantly polls for location. You can still get most of the Google now features with Google Search, so I don't see the point it GN hammering my battery for no reason.

Thanks.

I've always had Google Now off. Its features are great, but I don't need it.

 

[damitssam]

Nokia 920 hardwarve vs HTC One? I plan on buying a phone in July... wonder what new things might pop up... maybe Nokia's 41 mp phone

 

[Dontazemebro]

Sorry to burst your bubble. I am a developer for android. S-Off makes it super hard to actually flash a kernel. Sure you can flash an AOKP ROM but without a dedicated kernel that is not sense based, you won't get very far. Yes, Steve Kondik is no longer with Samsung. My point was not about the status of his employment, but how forward thinking the company is.

fastboot flash boot boot.img

Some developer you are.

 

[roxxette]

fastboot flash boot boot.img

Some developer you are.

If this is true all i can say is OWNED

 

[Dontazemebro]

If this is true all i can say is OWNED

Yep, as long as your bootloader is unlocked (htc dev), that's how you flash a kernel with s-on

Matter of fact, with most of the current htc devices, you can just flash a kernel using any recovery (clockwork, teamwin). It's only an odd few like the AT&T One X plus where you still have to use fastboot commands.

 

[0dev]

Yep, as long as your bootloader is unlocked (htc dev), that's how you flash a kernel with s-on

Matter of fact, with most of the current htc devices, you can just flash a kernel using any recovery (clockwork, teamwin). It's only an odd few like the AT&T One X plus where you still have to use fastboot commands.

I used 4EXT on my Sensation with S-ON and it had a workaround where it flashed the kernel separately to the ROM before rebooting. Worked fine for flashing non-stock ROMs on different kernels.

I still don't understand why HTC Dev doesn't just do a full bootloader unlock and give you S-OFF anyway though.

 

[JaySoul]

HTC One experience

So I've just had an HTC One for a long weekend. Used it alongside my iPhone 5 for much of it. Here are my thoughts:

Design: Absolutely beautiful. This is what the next iPhone should look like, actually. The build quality (not withstanding drop tests etc) is stunning, it looks amazing, the screen size is spot on and the aluminium is gorgeous. Honestly, I'd give it... 10/10

Sound: The speakers are out of this world. The dual speaker placement is exactly what I've been praying for, and the Beats logo is justified. I'm sure this must be the best sound on any phone ever... 10/10

Screen: The screen is brilliant. Great size, the colours pop, the text is crisp and it is very bright. The auto-dimming isn't the most intelligent late at night compared to the iPhone 5, but otherwise it's superb... 9/10

BlinkFeed: Blinkfeed is a real grower. Once you add in Twitter, Facebook, sports, politics, TV etc, then I have to say as a version 1.0 it does a very good job. My first instinct was to dump it, but by the end, I wasn't even using the other home screen options. If they can invest time/effort into it, BlinkFeed could be a real winner... 7.5/10

TV: The TV option is excellent, and works so well - I'd still say long-term the main remote would be used most of the time, but as a second TV remote (and recommending your favourite programs) it's a wonderful starting point... 8/10

Software: Other Sense software treats are a bit hit and miss. The Calendar is only ok, and the mail is decent enough. Everything loads quickly and nothing seemed to crash it, although I didn't get into the media side of things much (didn't load music/videos onto it much). HTC appear to have gotten out of the way of Android, and it's a good shout. At no point will you feel the bloatware take over, it's restrained... 7/10

Battery life: Firstly, if you're not using the official HTC charger, my goodness it takes forever to charge. With the official charger, much quicker but it still takes a good while to charge - from empty I'd say around 2.5 hours. The life is pretty good, but obviously it depends how you use it. I thought it was fine... 7/10

Camera: The camera is a funny one. It can produce incredible photos - the flash seems super-intelligent and well-timed - but it can also churn out some awful pics. It does seem out of the box to be hit and miss, and it probably requires some tinkering and a steep learning curve to calibrate it. I'd also argue that the Gallery is a bit confusing too... 6/10

Sync Manager: Well, the much hyped and newly revamped Sync Manager actually did not work AT ALL with my MacBook Pro. Even got on the phone with HTC for half an hour, and they ended up suggesting I use Android File Transfer instead. Have to say, that was one of 2 deal breakers for me. Bit ridiculous to be honest, c'mon HTC... 0/10

Buttons: The other deal breaker? There is no way to wake the phone without reaching to the top and clicking the Power Button. Seriously. Now, I realise a few Android phones have similar ways, but it was the absolute most backward awkward thing for me personally. Once you're into the phone, everything is amazing. But basically, I need to be able to wake the phone with a button the is intelligently placed. HTC absolutely flopped on this. The capacitive buttons at the bottom are decent, but frequently ended up with me pressing the internet/camera buttons by mistake. Why on earth could they not have added a button where the HTC logo is? Volume sits quite flush, which actually I didn't like too much. The Keyboard, on the other hand, is incredible - trying to type on the iPhone straight after was torture... 5.5/10

TOTAL SCORE: 70%

Now, keep in mind that I'm coming from an iPhone 5/MBP set up. So I'm one of the target switcher audience.

HTC could have done something incredibly special here, and but for 2 main issues, I would have sold my iPhone 5 this week.

1) That stupid Sync Manager just refused to work on a Late 2011 MBP. No excuses there - I know there are workarounds, but if you're touting it as a big feature to seamlessly switch from iOS to Android, then make sure your **** works.

2) That button. Ugh. I know, again, there are workarounds (I installed Always Wake On or whatever it is called where you can use one of the 2 sensors to wake the screen up). But that was hit/miss, and if there had just been a button (like on the Galaxy S3/S4) then on a day to day level, it would be so much easier to use. This is the main one that frustrated me too much, personal choice.

HTC could have nailed it, and it's a massive shame to me that they made a couple of lapses. Otherwise, the phone is simply exquisite. Apple and Samsung could learn a lot from HTC.

The end result is that I've sold the HTC, gone back to my iPhone 5... However, as my first proper experience with Android, I can safely say that I'll be picking up a Galaxy S4 in the next few months.

Android isn't perfect, but it is definitely outwitting iOS in many respects. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but 2013 is the crucial year. If Apple don't revolutionise iOS 7, and don't release a phone with a bigger screen, I can see a lot more people - like me - jumping ship.

As for HTC, hopefully they will release few phones and focus on excellent products like the One. Just make a couple of more intelligent decisions next time.

Thanks and hope that review proves helpful!

 

[Dontazemebro]

1. Sync manager - personal preference. Seems to bother you a lot but really it's only applicable to your situation. Drag & drop is the ideal method.

2. Button placement - personal preference again. I know a lot of people who have no problem with where the power button is placed, it's the HTC way of doing things.

 

[MRU]

Software: Other Sense software treats are a bit hit and miss. The Calendar is only ok, and the mail is decent enough. Everything loads quickly and nothing seemed to crash it, although I didn't get into the media side of things much (didn't load music/videos onto it much). HTC appear to have gotten out of the way of Android, and it's a good shout. At no point will you feel the bloatware take over, it's restrained... 7/10

You should try and learn to use the Zoe and HTC Share. Makes multimedia sharing excellent on the device for sharing events with folks.

Also the music player is excellent, the visualiser is stunning and the lyrics that appear on screen at the touch of a button is a great feature too. Beats audio really works wonders both in headphones and front speakers.

Media side of things on the device is great.

Battery life: Firstly, if you're not using the official HTC charger, my goodness it takes forever to charge. With the official charger, much quicker but it still takes a good while to charge - from empty I'd say around 2.5 hours. The life is pretty good, but obviously it depends how you use it. I thought it was fine... 7/10

Only 7/10 ? Yeah charging does take longer than the iPhone 5 but with nearly double the battery capacity it obviously would, just look how long the iPad 3 & 4 take to charge too. This is going to be more common in all devices going forward until battery technonlogy changes / catches up again.


As a side note, I'm doing a life test on my battery to see how long it will last doing medium usage workday use out of the HTC One. So far I'm 1 day 3h 10 mins with 50% left.

Camera: The camera is a funny one. It can produce incredible photos - the flash seems super-intelligent and well-timed - but it can also churn out some awful pics. It does seem out of the box to be hit and miss, and it probably requires some tinkering and a steep learning curve to calibrate it. I'd also argue that the Gallery is a bit confusing too... 6/10

Yes camera software needs some updating. The potential for great photos is there, but often feels like the software is breaking it. HDR shots in particular.

They are releasing new firmwares with those on 1.29 having great photos compared to us on 1.27 & 1.28 . I just we didn't have to wait for a bigger update and these incremental firmware updates rolled out to us all now.

Sync Manager: Well, the much hyped and newly revamped Sync Manager actually did not work AT ALL with my MacBook Pro. Even got on the phone with HTC for half an hour, and they ended up suggesting I use Android File Transfer instead. Have to say, that was one of 2 deal breakers for me. Bit ridiculous to be honest, c'mon HTC... 0/10

HTC Sync Manager worked for me. Make sure you download the very latest version otherwise it wont see the device connected.

Buttons: The other deal breaker? There is no way to wake the phone without reaching to the top and clicking the Power Button. Seriously. Now, I realise a few Android phones have similar ways, but it was the absolute most backward awkward thing for me personally. Once you're into the phone, everything is amazing. But basically, I need to be able to wake the phone with a button the is intelligently placed. HTC absolutely flopped on this. The capacitive buttons at the bottom are decent, but frequently ended up with me pressing the internet/camera buttons by mistake. Why on earth could they not have added a button where the HTC logo is? Volume sits quite flush, which actually I didn't like too much. The Keyboard, on the other hand, is incredible - trying to type on the iPhone straight after was torture... 5.5/10

More subjective opinion but I've found I have no trouble with power button compared to my One X or the worse phone power button the HTC 8X. In fact in my left hand it feels like the distance my finger travels to push the HTC One power button the left, as opposed the power button on the right of the iPhone 5 is identical.

I don't have the biggest hands in the world either. HTC One v iPhone 5



And the capacitive button placement for me is now second nature so I never think of it as wrong.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

1. Sync manager - personal preference. Seems to bother you a lot but really it's only applicable to your situation. Drag & drop is the ideal method.

Drag & drop is the ideal method for people that like drag and drop. I like plugging my phone in and letting the computer do all of the work in terms of syncing media.

 

[lordromanov01]

Buttons: The other deal breaker? There is no way to wake the phone without reaching to the top and clicking the Power Button. Seriously. Now, I realise a few Android phones have similar ways, but it was the absolute most backward awkward thing for me personally. Once you're into the phone, everything is amazing. But basically, I need to be able to wake the phone with a button the is intelligently placed. HTC absolutely flopped on this. The capacitive buttons at the bottom are decent, but frequently ended up with me pressing the internet/camera buttons by mistake. Why on earth could they not have added a button where the HTC logo is? Volume sits quite flush, which actually I didn't like too much. The Keyboard, on the other hand, is incredible - trying to type on the iPhone straight after was torture... 5.5/10

Is there any way to use the volume buttons to wake the device? Surely that would be a good idea as it would then have a wake button in a similar place to a Samsung or whatever.

 

[CD3660]

Is there any way to use the volume buttons to wake the device? Surely that would be a good idea as it would then have a wake button in a similar place to a Samsung or whatever.

Sadly not.

 

[MRU]

Is there any way to use the volume buttons to wake the device? Surely that would be a good idea as it would then have a wake button in a similar place to a Samsung or whatever.

Only if you unlock your bootloader / root and use a customised rom.

Unlocking the bootloader and rooting is easy. I have never used a customised rom as I'm scared of breaking my device.
________________________

Though adding support for it in normal sense rom is quite possible if HTC want to implement it.

 

[JaySoul]

1. Sync manager - personal preference. Seems to bother you a lot but really it's only applicable to your situation. Drag & drop is the ideal method.

See below...

Drag & drop is the ideal method for people that like drag and drop. I like plugging my phone in and letting the computer do all of the work in terms of syncing media.

This, exactly this.

I'm used to iTunes doing the work. If HTC are advertising Sync Manager as doing all the coordinating between the One and iTunes, and it doesn't even download to my MBP, then it's a problem. Things like this matter to new switchers like myself - I can accept teething problems but not flat-out-doesn't-work problems.

-----------

Is there any way to use the volume buttons to wake the device? Surely that would be a good idea as it would then have a wake button in a similar place to a Samsung or whatever.

Sadly not.

This. Such a shame, honestly for me the wake button thing was a big deal. Once you're in the phone, it's amazing - but I'm one of those annoying compulsive phone checkers who does it quite a few times a day And it just got too frustrating.

Such a lovely phone though in so many respect. Just looking at my score for it, if the Sync Manager worked and the buttons were better suited, it would be in the mid-80's which as a realistic score would be incredible.

 

[JaySoul]

You should try and learn to use the Zoe and HTC Share. Makes multimedia sharing excellent on the device for sharing events with folks.

Also the music player is excellent, the visualiser is stunning and the lyrics that appear on screen at the touch of a button is a great feature too. Beats audio really works wonders both in headphones and front speakers.

Media side of things on the device is great.



Only 7/10 ? Yeah charging does take longer than the iPhone 5 but with nearly double the battery capacity it obviously would, just look how long the iPad 3 & 4 take to charge too. This is going to be more common in all devices going forward until battery technonlogy changes / catches up again.


As a side note, I'm doing a life test on my battery to see how long it will last doing medium usage workday use out of the HTC One. So far I'm 1 day 3h 10 mins with 50% left.

View attachment 407842




Yes camera software needs some updating. The potential for great photos is there, but often feels like the software is breaking it. HDR shots in particular.

They are releasing new firmwares with those on 1.29 having great photos compared to us on 1.27 & 1.28 . I just we didn't have to wait for a bigger update and these incremental firmware updates rolled out to us all now.




HTC Sync Manager worked for me. Make sure you download the very latest version otherwise it wont see the device connected.



More subjective opinion but I've found I have no trouble with power button compared to my One X or the worse phone power button the HTC 8X. In fact in my left hand it feels like the distance my finger travels to push the HTC One power button the left, as opposed the power button on the right of the iPhone 5 is identical.

I don't have the biggest hands in the world either. HTC One v iPhone 5

View attachment 407849 View attachment 407851

And the capacitive button placement for me is now second nature so I never think of it as wrong.

Unfortunately I couldn't even get my music onto the One, as the Sync Manager wasn't even downloading! I'm sure the Music Player is wicked though - as I mentioned, damn those speakers were truly stunning....

All battery work is pretty subjective. I find, for my needs, that the iPhone 5 battery is pretty great. But then again, I don't really use Location Services much at all, and I have chargers at home and work, and it charges really quickly anyway. I found I was absolutely fine with the HTC but like I said, I only had it a few days so I can't really give a proper commentary on the battery life, other than it seemed fine.

The camera was a funny one, but like you said, I got the feeling that firmware would fix most of it. The flash was superb, and I think it will improve over time. The problem is most users just want a camera that works well, and the S4 and iP5 are really good in that respect.

Sync Manager just didn't even download in the first place, it just wasn't having it. It must be a known problem for HTC themselves to recommend using something else entirely.

I do recognise that the Power/Wake button is entirely subjective, but I'm betting that a lot of people would feel the same way as me. I've been using an iPhone for 4 years now, so I guess it just feels natural to me - ergo why I'll probably opt for an S4.

But that is subjective and if I felt I could have been trained out of that habit, I'd have stuck with the HTC because it's a truly stunning phone. I was absolutely gutted to sell it and really considering electro-shock therapy to rewire my synapses and get used to the Power Button!

 

[Dontazemebro]

Only if you unlock your bootloader / root and use a customised rom.

Unlocking the bootloader and rooting is easy. I have never used a customised rom as I'm scared of breaking my device.
________________________

Though adding support for it in normal sense rom is quite possible if HTC want to implement it.

There's nothing to be scared of MRU as long as you do a nand backup you can always go back to your previous stock RUU.

Give it a whirl, you'll likely find some awesome features that make the One experience even better.

 

[snowcrash]

So I've just had an HTC One for a long weekend. Used it alongside my iPhone 5 for much of it. Here are my thoughts:

Nice review. Thx for posting.

I think for me the wake/power thing wouldn't be as much as an issue since most of the time that's how I wake my iPhone. Since having 2 home buttons crap out on me (4 and 4S) I figure unlocking it with the power button puts less wear and tear on the home button. Though I could be setting my power button up for failure lol, but it hasn't happened yet so not as worried about it.

 

[sentinelsx]

I hope S-OFF comes out for this soon, other wise i will have to pass on this.

Using custom kernels and custom system tweaks is half the fun of tweaking and looks like the GS4 will allow it to be done easier than HTC One

 

[onthecouchagain]

In a video review (forgot by who) the reviewer said that when reaching for the power/wake button on the top, he'd inadvertently hit the volume up/down buttons, unintentionally changing his volume.

I worry about this.

Anyway, are there test units in stores yet? ATT or Sprint or anyone?

 

[CD3660]

In a video review (forgot by who) the reviewer said that when reaching for the power/wake button on the top, he'd inadvertently hit the volume up/down buttons, unintentionally changing his volume.

I worry about this.

I'm sorry to say that I found this happened all the time as well which was a real problem for me as I work in an environment where my telephone MUST be on silent. Often I found that my phone had gone from vibrate to an audible ring tone and alerts. At other times, I found that the volume level had gone to vibrate when I required it to be audible, or was deafeningly loud which I hate at the best of times! This all happened inadvertently when I was waking the phone from sleep because my fingers naturally rested on the volume switch when reaching for the power switch.

In the end it was this together with the unacceptable position (in my view) of the power switch and misgivings about the battery life that made me decide to return the handset after three weeks use.

It is a beautiful phone though as I described after my first day's use some pages back (Post #414 / 20th March 2013):

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.

All said and done, I was sorry to see it go, but at the same time I was too worried about those things that concerned me to keep it.

 

[lordromanov01]

Only if you unlock your bootloader / root and use a customised rom.

Unlocking the bootloader and rooting is easy. I have never used a customised rom as I'm scared of breaking my device.
________________________

Though adding support for it in normal sense rom is quite possible if HTC want to implement it.

So could you root it and set the volume rocker to unlock the phone, but keep everything else the same? Or does rooting it get rid of Sense and all those things? I'm new to all of this.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I'm sorry to say that I found this happened all the time as well which was a real problem for me as I work in an environment where my telephone MUST be on silent. Often I found that my phone had gone from vibrate to an audible ring tone and alerts. At other times, I found that the volume level had gone to vibrate when I required it to be audible, or was deafeningly loud which I hate at the best of times! This all happened inadvertently when I was waking the phone from sleep because my fingers naturally rested on the volume switch when reaching for the power switch.

In the end it was this together with the unacceptable position (in my view) of the power switch and misgivings about the battery life that made me decide to return the handset after three weeks use.

Sigh... This is something I may find unacceptable as well. I guess we'll see.

 

[CD3660]

Sigh... This is something I may find unacceptable as well. I guess we'll see.

Yes, you'll have to try it for yourself.

Hopefully you will have a very positive experience. If not, you have the option to return it.