Just got home from the HTC One announcement event and thought I would share my observations.
First here is the HTC page for the new phone: http://bit.ly/12HHcc9 if you want to go check out the specs and things.
Having used the phone, I can tell you, I was not sure I could go back to a smaller device since I have a DNA and am very comfy with the size. However, it fit the hand very well, and was not so much different that it bothered me.
The main home screen now has "BlinkFeed", which if you ever used FlipBoard is very similar. You go in and tell it what information you are interested in and it assembles a mosaic of blurbs from your social media and news sources for you to glance at. When you see something you like, you can tap it to get details. It seems to scroll on and on forever.
I'm not sure how much I like this, it'll be one of those things you have to try out to see how it sits with you. I have been told it can be disabled for those who don't care for it. On top of this, you also get 4 regular style home screens for shortcuts and widgets.
Sense is very clean now. Everything has been minimalistically styled for sleek looks and a very sexy overall appearance. I was very happy with the way things looked and how they came together.
And for those of you worried about it, the original Sense WeatherClock is still in there.
It does have NFC, but they seem to have left out Android Beam. I was told at lunch that it should be back in by release day. We will see.
The camera is also an innovation. Something called "UltraPixel". They did not give tech specs, but having used it, I can tell you it is truly beautiful. They also paired it with something called "Zoe" which is hard to describe, but you will love it. It takes your stills and videos, creates a 30 second mashup, sets it to music, and you can watch it right there on the fly. Check out this vid AndroidPolice made at the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A5WXhzoCCA to better understand.
The phone has stereo front speakers and sound enhancement called "BoomSound". This really delivers a rich, full stereo sound that I was (for the first time on a phone) actually impressed with. You don't realize how bad your phone's speaker is till you hear something good.
They have added TV Remote software, which I did not try, but if you lose your remote, it could come in handy.
And finally, it has Sense Voice, which is supposed to let you make and hear calls, no matter how loud or cluttered the background noises are around you. Since the demo phones did not have service, I was unable to test that as well.
So there it is. Overall, I would say there are several major steps forward by HTC in this phone. You should definitely check it out when it hits the stores.
D
.
First here is the HTC page for the new phone: http://bit.ly/12HHcc9 if you want to go check out the specs and things.
Having used the phone, I can tell you, I was not sure I could go back to a smaller device since I have a DNA and am very comfy with the size. However, it fit the hand very well, and was not so much different that it bothered me.
The main home screen now has "BlinkFeed", which if you ever used FlipBoard is very similar. You go in and tell it what information you are interested in and it assembles a mosaic of blurbs from your social media and news sources for you to glance at. When you see something you like, you can tap it to get details. It seems to scroll on and on forever.
I'm not sure how much I like this, it'll be one of those things you have to try out to see how it sits with you. I have been told it can be disabled for those who don't care for it. On top of this, you also get 4 regular style home screens for shortcuts and widgets.
Sense is very clean now. Everything has been minimalistically styled for sleek looks and a very sexy overall appearance. I was very happy with the way things looked and how they came together.
And for those of you worried about it, the original Sense WeatherClock is still in there.
It does have NFC, but they seem to have left out Android Beam. I was told at lunch that it should be back in by release day. We will see.
The camera is also an innovation. Something called "UltraPixel". They did not give tech specs, but having used it, I can tell you it is truly beautiful. They also paired it with something called "Zoe" which is hard to describe, but you will love it. It takes your stills and videos, creates a 30 second mashup, sets it to music, and you can watch it right there on the fly. Check out this vid AndroidPolice made at the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A5WXhzoCCA to better understand.
The phone has stereo front speakers and sound enhancement called "BoomSound". This really delivers a rich, full stereo sound that I was (for the first time on a phone) actually impressed with. You don't realize how bad your phone's speaker is till you hear something good.
They have added TV Remote software, which I did not try, but if you lose your remote, it could come in handy.
And finally, it has Sense Voice, which is supposed to let you make and hear calls, no matter how loud or cluttered the background noises are around you. Since the demo phones did not have service, I was unable to test that as well.
So there it is. Overall, I would say there are several major steps forward by HTC in this phone. You should definitely check it out when it hits the stores.
D
.
