HTC One Launch

[Tech & Gadgets]

MHB’s Kelly and I attended the launch of the new HTC One at Studio Lounge, Tropicana City Mall on 25 April 2013.

In case you didn’t know, here’s brief history lesson on HTC:

HTC Corp. was founded in 1997 and is the creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe by putting people at the center of everything it does, and is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the HTC Sense® user experience.

The predecessor to the new HTC One, the HTC One X (HTC’s 2012 flagship model) actually did very well at the Mobile World Congress 2012 and won two awards so there are high expectations for the new HTC One.

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Beautiful isn’t it? Well here’s a short video on the new HTC One.

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Now lets take a closer look at the phone and some of the key features:

HTC BlinkFeed: A personal live stream right on the home screen

An integral part of the new HTC One experience is HTC BlinkFeed which transforms the home screen into a single live stream of personally relevant information such as social updates, entertainment and lifestyle updates, news and photos so that people no longer need to go to separate applications to find out what’s happening. HTC BlinkFeed aggregates the freshest content from the most relevant and interesting sources, giving it to people at a glance, all in one place, without the need to jump between multiple applications and web sites.

To enable this new dynamic approach to the smartphone, HTC will provide both local and global content from more than 1,400 media sources with more than 10,000 articles per day from some of the most innovative media companies, such as the AOL family of media properties, ESPN, MTV, Vice Media, CoolHunting, Reuters and many others.

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HTC UltraPixel Camera with HTC Zoe

The HTC UltraPixel Camera redefines how people capture, relive and share their most precious moments. HTC Zoe gives people the ability to shoot high-res photos that come to life in three-second snippets. These Zoes, photos and videos are then displayed in a unique way that brings the gallery to life and transforms the traditional photo gallery of still images into a motion gallery of memories. It also automatically creates integrated highlight films from each event comprised of Zoes, photos and videos set to music with professionally designed cuts, transitions and effects. These highlight videos can be remixed or set to different themes, and can be easily shared on social networks, email and other services.

To enable this innovative camera experience, HTC developed a custom camera that includes a best-in-class f/2.0 aperture lens and a breakthrough sensor with UltraPixels that gather 300 percent more light than traditional smartphone camera sensors. This new approach also delivers good low-light performance and a variety of other improvements to photos and videos.

For those of you who love taking photos of yourself, you can now do so with the ultra-wide angle front-facing camera which supports 1080p video capture. Multi-axis optical image stabilisation for both the front and rear cameras also helps ensure video footage smoother whether stationary or on the move. HTC UltraPixel camera adds many other features and effects such as enhanced 360′ panorama, time sequencing and object removal.

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HTC BoomSound

The new HTC One offers the best audio experience of any mobile phone available today. HTC BoomSound with Beats™ Audio introduces for the first time on a phone, front-facing stereo speakers with a dedicated amplifier and an amazing full HD display that gives you a whole new dimension and experience listening to music, watching videos or YouTube™ clips, games and even when conversing using the handsfree speaker.

HDR recording uses advanced dual microphones and audio processing to capture clean, rich sound that is worthy of high-definition video footage. Phone calls sound great on HTC One thanks to the addition of HTC Sense Voice™, which boosts the call volume and quality in noisy environments so that conversations come through loud and clear.

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HTC Sense TV™

Tired of switching between your phone and the remote when watching TV? Now you don’t have to as the HTC Sense TV transforms the new HTC One into an interactive program guide and remote control for most TVs, set-top boxes and receivers. Tapping the power of the cloud, Sense TV makes it simple and intuitive to see what’s on and find that favourite show.

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Metal Unibody Design

Wrapped in a zero-gap aluminium unibody and sporting a brilliant 4.7”, Full HD (1080p) screen, the new HTC One features the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system and LTE network technology to offer blazingly-fast browsing in a package that combines premium design with breakthrough build quality.

(At time of writing, I’m aware that Maxis provides LTE for the iPhone 5 but I’m sure this will be rolled out to cover other models once more LTE enabled phones are in the market).

Available in silver and black, the sleek and crafted aluminium unibody sits comfortably in the hand and showcases HTC’s unique antenna technology, which helps people achieve a crystal clear signal. The Gorilla Glass display also resists scratches and reduces glare, whilst offering incredible 468ppi resolution and rich, natural colours.

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There it is, a highly desirable phone and I must say that I really want to own one. The aluminium body will be a departure from the plastic body of my current and previous phone which doesn’t quite give a premium look and feel.

The new HTC One is priced at RM2,299 for 32GB storage and RM2,499 for 64GB storage in both colours, Stealth Black and Glacial Silver.

For more information, check out HTC’s website http://www.htc.com or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HTCMalaysia

More info at http://www.htc.com/sea/smartphones/htc-one/

Photo credits: HTC Malaysia and author’s own

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