Mobile World Conference 2012 is officially underway. I didn’t make it to Barcelona this year, but that doesn’t mean I’m not keeping up with the coverage that’s coming out of Spain.
I had the privilege of taking a look at HTC’s One X, One S and One V trio of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones and I was quite impressed. While only the One X and One S were powered on, I did manage to get a good feel for the device and its features.
As mentioned, the phones run on Android 4.0 and as usual, come with HTC’s Sense 4.0 skin. The devices weren’t tuned into 4G LTE radios or 3G – just Wi-Fi – but they felt extremely fast and responsive. The UI just felt so bubbly. HTC says it cut a lot of the bloat in Sense 4.0 to make its One family as lean as possible and I’m obliged to agree.
The major features for the One phones are fast cameras Beats audio. On the camera front, the shutters were so fast that at times I thought I didn’t even take the shot properly. From what I saw and tried, the One phones can shoot at 5 frames per second, 20 on burst mode for best shot, and can record HD1080p video while simultaneously allowing you to take full five-megapixel stills. Quite impressive.
Beats audio didn’t really excite me, but I did enjoy hearing about how HTC is using micro-perforation techniques to cut the speaker holes as well as using dyed polycarbonate and anodized aluminum to achieve brilliant unibody designs that are super thin and light.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences between the three One smartphones:
HTC One X: 1.5GHz dual-core processor for AT&T model (Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor on International HSPA+ model), 4.7-inch (1280×800 resolution) IPS display, 4G LTE (AT&T) Beats audio, 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1.3-megapixel front camera, 9.3mm thick, MHL-HDMI output, 32GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM and sealed 1800 mAh battery. Carrier: AT&T
HTC One S: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED (960×540) display, HSPA+, Beats audio, 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1.3 megapixel front camera, 7.9mm thick, MHL-HDMI output, 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM and 1650 mAh battery. Carrier: T-Mobile
HTC One V: 1.5GHz processor, 3.7-inch (800×480) display Beats AudioMHL-HDMI output, 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM (microSD card slot) and 1500 mAh battery. Carrier: MetroPCS, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Virgin.
Battery life is a little on the poor side, but I won’t know for sure until I get more hands-on time with these. For now, enjoy the hot gallery:
Meet the HTC One X.
See the micro-perforated speaker holes?
A spacious keyboard doesn’t hurt it.
Up top is a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video chatting.
Three buttons to work better with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Polycarbonate back is matte. We shall see how fast it gets dirty.
8-megapixel back camera with LED flash.
More micro perforations.
The One X has a 4.7-inch IPS display. Quite nice viewing angles.
9.3mm body. Quite slender.
Camera is super fast with zero lag.
View of their backs (left to right): One X, One S and One V.
Believe it or not, but the borders are glossy.
Stacked top to bottom: One V, One S, and One X.
Left to right: One V, One X, and One S.
The HTC One S has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash.
Same Beats audio with micro perforations.
Foreground: One S. Background: One X.
HTC One V.
5-megapixel camera with LED on back.
Anodized aluminum unibody design.
See that “legacy” chin design from the G1/Hero era?
Stacked from top to bottom: One V, One S and One X.
