HTC is back with a brood of new smartphones – including the new One ‘S’ superphone with quad core engine, One X and V.
HTC’s three Androids, all variations of ‘One’ series, unveiled yesterday at World Mobile Conference 2012 in Barcelona, add to the gazillion (ok, 40) smarties already on sale globally by the anti-Apple Taiwanese brand.
So, are the Ones anything new?
Appearance wise, not too much although they pack a bigger punch in processor, storage and graphics capabilities on X and S, its new flagship superphones.
And the HTC phone ‘chin’ is also back, as reported by Android Central, a la One V model.
 HTC Super smartphone ‘S’ |
All three One’s smarties come with HTC Sense 4.0 with Dropbox integration for extra storage, Beats audio sounds and new camera and imaging ImageSense features, including the ability to snap images while shooting video.
Top of the pile is a quad core powered 4.7″ HTC One X – a blazing fast multimedia “entertainer” with the new NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor and a 12-Core NVIDIA GPU. The One X also boasts 720p HD playback on a Corning Gorilla Glass screen.
One X comes with a LTE-enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor in “select” LTE markets which may include Australia.
‘S’ for smartphone One S
The 4.3″ (also on Corning Gorilla Glass) HTC One S is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with “up to” 1.5GHz dual-core CPU.
The superphone has a thin 7.9-mm design – HTC’s thinnest mobile device yet.
It boasts two new finishes that “break new ground” in mobile innovation say its makers, with the first an ultra-matte black ceramic metal surface developed for use in satellites and is four times harder than anodized aluminum, so it can cope with hardcore wear and tear and falls.
The second finish is the result of a new patented process that creates a light-to-dark gradient fade that gives it a “sophisticated” edge.
Last of the One bunch is 3.7″ HTC V, a 3.7-inch WVGA Super LCD display (480×800 res), 1 GHz Qualcomm 8255 processor and 1500 mAh (non-removable) battery.
V will have broad appeal and a simple, aluminum unibody design, HTC believe.
The HTC One series will be available at Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, it confirmed in a statement.
“We are very focused on creating a camera and audio experience customers will love and use often and we believe the HTC One series delivers this in a way never seen on a phone before,” said Peter Chou, HTC CEO.
“The best moments in life are captured with a photo or remembered by a song, so it was key for the HTC One series to improve these emotional experiences with an amazing camera and authentic sound experience.”
Ovum analyst Tony Cripps, reckons HTC’s made a “pragmatic” move by perfecting a smaller number of smartphones with improved camera and audio multimedia functionality.
“Following a mildly disappointing 2011, these devices form the vanguard of HTC’s new strategy for greater brand coherence and a simpler value proposition.”
 Image credit: Ubergizmo |
The Sensation maker lacks resources to differentiate itself from rivals like Sony, Samsung, and Apple in terms of value-added services, so its decision to focus on perfecting core smartphone functionality around camera and music playback is an “extremely pragmatic one” adds Cripps.
“This approach also has huge benefits in terms of handset development, with the problem of managing multiple software builds across many devices – HTC currently maintains approximately forty variations of Android – dramatically reduced.”
