HTC M7, Officially Called “HTC One” Unveiled, Release Date Next Month February 20, 2013HTC AndroidOff

Article by: Carlo Raphael Diokno, Posted on Feb 20, 2013, WEDNESDAY, 12:40 A.M.

For a company whose struggling inside the fiercer and more aggressive smartphone market, HTC is trying its best to differentiate itself from the rest of manufacturers — especially Samsung which is currently the top Android phone maker based on market share.

Unlike its 2012 smartphone strategy, HTC is taking the single-but-the-best path and introduced the HTC One — the long-rumored HTC M7 which replaces the One X. The HTC One is absolutely the “one” and only flagship smartphone of the Taiwan-based phone maker, no S or V versions — just the HTC One.

HTC is very aggressive with its HTC One Android smartphone. Similar to other new Android handsets, it will offer Android Jelly Bean mobile operating system, so no more software update waiting, but keep in mind that this handset will offer Android 4.1.2 on its launch date next month, not the absolute latest Android 4.2. The good news though, HTC has toned down its Sense software, thinner, simpler and more intuitive than the version running on older devices.

On its default home screen runs the new “BlinkFeed” which is basically the company’s new home screen that resembles the Google Now “cards” user interface, and slightly resembles the Windows Phone’s “metro” user interface. It is a nice-looking and very intuitive new home screen, in fact, it rivals the new BlackBerry 10′s swipe-centric presentation. On top of that, users can quickly switch to Android’s traditional icons-and-widgets user interface by swiping from right to left. There, customers can reach native apps and more, apart from the device’s custom app door which is accessible even while on Blinkfeed because it is placed at the native, customisable dock.

Another surprise feature of the HTC M7 or HTC One is its processor, the “Snapdragon S4 Pro Plus” of Qualcomm called Snapdragon 600 — a quad-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with Adreno 320 GPU — similar to the LG Optimus G Pro’s processor.

We have a lot to talk about — especially on the HTC One’s camera. Not taking the mega-pixels war, HTC is taking the other side of the road with its UltraPixel technology, some tech sites report that the HTC One’s primary camera is a 4-megapixel camera that relies on software enhancements to make better camera shots. Based on initial uploads, like the daylight video posted on Phandroid YouTube page, the HTC One’s camera can obviously compete with Apple’s iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Nokia Lumia 920′s cameras. See it below:

It is on HDR mode, according to Phandroid, even on YouTube’s 480p resolution, the video looks stunning. On 720p and 1080p the video taken by the HTC One looks gorgeous.

With no SD card slot to offer, HTC thinks that 32GB and 64GB storage would be enough to satisfy smartphone users. On its release date, HTC and its retail partners will sell the two version, with the 64GB model sporting a more expensive price tag.

Apart from larger flash storage option, the HTC One also offers other “regular” Android features like 2GB RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, Near Field Communication, microUSB, WiFi, and others. In the United States and other major markets, the HTC One will also offer LTE or Long Term Evolution.

Also in the United States, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile USA are confirmed to offer the handset next quarter, no word yet for the Verizon Wireless variant.

Based on our latest price check online, the unlocked HTC One is priced from $720 to $800 for the 32GB variant and $800 to $900 for the 64GB model. The HTC One is cheaper than the BlackBerry Z10 which is currently priced around $900 with 16GB storage and the Nokia Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8 sporting $900 asking price.

So far, the HTC M7 or the HTC One is the most beautiful Android smartphone we’ve seen, from its large 4.7-inch LCD 1080p display, all aluminum case from front to back and its IR Blaster located at the phone’s sleep/wake button– the HTC One might give the Taiwan-based phone maker a market share boost. Of course, the outcome would depend on how Samsung will play the 2013 smartphone game with its Samsung Galaxy S4.

According to sources from online stores, the release date of the HTC One (M7) unlocked is on the 15th of March, but will still depend on availability of units.

 

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• Meet the HTC One baby brother: Desire 200June 18th, 2013

• HTC lowering price point with One Mini and new Desire 200June 17th, 2013