HTC’s flagship Android smartphone is finally set to make its debut in Malaysia. The HTC One, as it is called, is the company’s latest flagship and quite possibly the finest Android smartphone it has built to date. But in the path of HTC’s success with the One is Korean giants Samsung and their upcoming Galaxy S4 flagship which we also had a quick look at recently.
We’ve just gotten hold of the One, and took it through its paces. More on the HTC One after the jump.
As far as flagship Android smartphones go, HTC’s One certainly has the latest and greatest in terms of hardware. Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, the HTC One will also be one of the few LTE-enabled devices here in Malaysia on the 2600MHz band. Inside, there’s a generous 32GB of flash storage – but no options of expanding it via microSD cards.
The HTC One also boasts the densest screen on any smartphone to date, with a 4.7-inch Full HD Super LCD 3 display – which is similar to the one we saw and fell in love with on the HTC Butterfly.
Round the back, HTC has taken quite a gamble with the camera by placing what they are calling an Ultrapixel camera, which has a unique 4MP sensor with larger pixels to capture up to 300% more light. In front, there’s the familiar 2.1MP f2.0 wide-angle front-facing camera which we also liked on the HTC Butterfly and 8X.
However, the specs of the HTC One all fade to the background the moment one holds the HTC One. The One has, bar none, the best build quality on any Android device we’ve seen so far. Sure, there’s no dust or water resistance on the One. But the One’s subtle rounded back fits almost perfectly into the hand, and the aluminium unibody (which HTC says took 12 years to perfect) gives enough heft on the One for a super premium feel. On the other hand, while performing benchmarking tests on the One, the entire device was warm to the touch – though not as hot as when the LG Nexus 4 was under heavy use.
The HTC One is expected to be launched here in Malaysia as early as the 25th of April, and will retail for RM2299. The One will be available in two colours, Black and Silver.
We’re not done yet with our preview of the HTC One! Stay tuned for some image and video samples shot on the One.
