HTC One - WOW! A few questions though...

[MacRazySwe]

Having been a hardcore iPhone fan since back in 2009 when the 3GS was first released in Sweden, I think it may be time for me to move on.

The iPhone 3GS was absolutely perfect back in the days, I really loved that phone. However, my iPhone 4S which I bought in november 2011 has been nothing but a disappointment, due to several reasons. It's really unstable, crashes apps every day, freezes every week, and the camera drains the battery completely while taking photos with flash - If I have anything less than 25 % battery left, a photo or two with flash causes the phone to die, showing nothing but a drained-battery icon. That said, my 4S has been really full of problems, and moreover I have gotten so bored with iOS. It's been nearly identical (minus new features) since I first bought my iPod Touch back in 2008. iOS is a great OS, and the iPhone is a great phone in general - but it's time for a change, and that's the end of that (IMO).

That said, I was sure the Galaxy S4 would be the ideal phone for me. Having watched the presentation, seen photos online et.c., it looked like an amazing phone with specs on par. However, after seeing it IRL, I realized I actually could not stand the plastic-fantastic feel of the phone, or the UI of Samsung TouchWiz. That said, I was pretty disappointed.

I also considered the Xperia Z but never really fell in love with the design, moreover it was a bit too big for my preferences.

...So I figured I'd just stay with my troublesome 4S till something better arrived.

But then I walked passed a stand showcasing the HTC One (which has been unavailable in every other store) in a local phone house, and my god - this is something else! I was seriously impressed! The build quality was up to Apple standards, definitely the same or even better than the iPhone, and the fit and finish absolutely great. The phone lied perfectly in my hand, and the 4.7" size seemed like the perfect compromise. So I started using the phone, and was even more impressed. HTC Sense is absolutely nothing like the clutterful, disintegrated (that's how I experienced it) TouchWiz. Sense just felt so refreshing, and the design/style of the interface was really great. Moreover, there was no lag what so ever, it was all so fluid/responsive, very much unlike the laggy GS4 I had previously tested. The HTC One left me more impressed than I have been by any other phone since the release of the iPhone here in Sweden. I feel that for me, the HTC One is everything that I would have wanted the iPhone 5 to have been!

I'm now absolutely sure that I want the phone - however I have a few worries which I hope some of you would be able to answer.

First of all, I'm not worried by losing out on iMessage, Photostream, Airplay or any of those features. However, I use iCal a lot. My University has a shared iCal stream where any events/classes are automatically updated in my iCal on my Macs and on my iPhone. Would I be able to subscribe to the same iCal calendar on a HTC One? (This is of quite big importance to me).

The other worry I have is about the camera - The thing about the iPhone 4S is that it actually has a great camera (when mine's working..) that I frequently use to take pictures with. I do not print the photos in large resolutions, I do not even use them as wallpaper material on my computers, only on my phone - however I use Facebook and Instagram a lot and really appreciate good quality. I shoot everything from cars, events, people, et.c. with my phone - and I would prefer if the quality from the HTC One was not really any worse than my 4S. Do you think I will experience lower quality photos from the HTC One Ultrapixel camera than from the iPhone 4S?

Last but not least - I tend to keep my devices for a while - I kept the 3GS for 2 years, my 4S is now 1,5 years old, and I would very much like to keep that trend going. I am aware of the fact that I won't be getting as many updates on Android as with iOS, but in terms of durability of the phone - is it likely to last 2 years? Or do I risk experiencing slow-downs, or a phone which becomes laggy and unresponsive by time? What's people's experiences with previous HTC devices, or the HTC One? (I know it hasn't been out for long..)



Thanks in advance!

I hope to be able to join you One-owners out there soon, although I may just wait for WWDC before deciding.

 

[MRU]

First of all, I'm not worried by losing out on iMessage, Photostream, Airplay or any of those features. However, I use iCal a lot. My University has a shared iCal stream where any events/classes are automatically updated in my iCal on my Macs and on my iPhone. Would I be able to subscribe to the same iCal calendar on a HTC One? (This is of quite big importance to me).

Assuming they are just using CalDav you should be able to set it up with a google account and have them accessible on your macs and android devices.

The other worry I have is about the camera - The thing about the iPhone 4S is that it actually has a great camera (when mine's working..) that I frequently use to take pictures with. I do not print the photos in large resolutions, I do not even use them as wallpaper material on my computers, only on my phone - however I use Facebook and Instagram a lot and really appreciate good quality. I shoot everything from cars, events, people, et.c. with my phone - and I would prefer if the quality from the HTC One was not really any worse than my 4S. Do you think I will experience lower quality photos from the HTC One Ultrapixel camera than from the iPhone 4S?

The camera on the one is great for what you actually intend to use it for. The shots you are taking are all going to be things in relatively normal focal length / distance and so it will meet your needs.

I'd put the camera on par with the iPhone 4S tbh. But behind iPhone 5 & S4

Last but not least - I tend to keep my devices for a while - I kept the 3GS for 2 years, my 4S is now 1,5 years old, and I would very much like to keep that trend going. I am aware of the fact that I won't be getting as many updates on Android as with iOS, but in terms of durability of the phone - is it likely to last 2 years? Or do I risk experiencing slow-downs, or a phone which becomes laggy and unresponsive by time? What's people's experiences with previous HTC devices, or the HTC One? (I know it hasn't been out for long..)

There is no reason it should be slowing down over time, in fact with updates HTC software gets better and more optimised. The HTC one x for example went up over 2,000 quadrant points for the Tegra version between first launch and later software which was better enhanced...

KLP should also bring improvements under the hood. The HTC One should last you the two years no bother...

 

[chagla]

HTC One is a premium device. It should definitely last you more than two years.

Also if you buy a factory unlocked version instead of a carrier branded one, you're more likely to get official updates.

but then if you're a little techy, you can go over to XDA forums and can run the latest version of Android. some 3/4 years old HTC, Samsung phones are physically capable of running Android 4, but of course manufacturers don't update. many owners of these phones choose to root it and can still (unofficially) run the latest version.

 

[MacRazySwe]

Thanks for your replies guys!

I must check whether we use CalDav, I have no idea to be honest. I'm already running gmail, so I wouldn't mind using google calendar if I could just import it, and perhaps sync google calendar with iCal (which I've heard is possible).

Very interesting to read about the fact that the One X performance actually decreased after the new updates were applied - that sounds very promising.

In addition to all the other HTC One reviews I've seen, I just saw this one, showing pretty amazing camera shots if you ask me, and a lot of detail about the Sense software:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=tzC0I-9K0y8

It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for Apple, but I believe I have pretty much decided for the One, may just wait for WWDC for the sake of it though, and Google I/O.

 

[Fernandez21]

You should be able to set up your calendar, not 100% sure though, since I use google and yahoo.

As for the camera, low light and close to mid range shots should be better on the One, but daylight and distance shots will be better on the iPhone. If all your planning on doing with the pictures is view them on your phone and post them to Facebook and such, you should be fine and will probably have higher quality photos.

Here are two comparison photos from my iphone 5 and HTC One. Try to guess which is which.

 

[Kashsystems]

You should be able to set up your calendar, not 100% sure though, since I use google and yahoo.

As for the camera, low light and close to mid range shots should be better on the One, but daylight and distance shots will be better on the iPhone. If all your planning on doing with the pictures is view them on your phone and post them to Facebook and such, you should be fine and will probably have higher quality photos.

Here are two comparison photos from my iphone 5 and HTC One. Try to guess which is which.

I thought the one on the right was the HTC One because of how the light was coming across.

 

[alphaod]

I thought the one on the right was the HTC One because of how the light was coming across.

Also the sensor on the HTC One is 16:9

 

[MRU]

Thanks for your replies guys!

I must check whether we use CalDav, I have no idea to be honest. I'm already running gmail, so I wouldn't mind using google calendar if I could just import it, and perhaps sync google calendar with iCal (which I've heard is possible).

Yep, its very easy to do so too.

Open Apple iCal
In the toolbar, click Calendar, then Preferences
Click the Accounts tab
In the accounts pane on the left, click the + button to add an account
Enter the following information:
Account Type: Google
Email Address: Enter the email address that you use to log in to Calendar. Make sure to include the '@domain.com' portion (which is @gmail.com for Gmail users) in this section.
Password: Enter the password for the email address you listed above.
.

 

[Fernandez21]

I thought the one on the right was the HTC One because of how the light was coming across.

Also the sensor on the HTC One is 16:9

Yup, its the second shot. I really like how these shots show the different strengths of each camera.

If you look at the shot from the HTC One, You can see more detail in the darker areas. Stuff like the black shirt on the coffee table and the detail on the coffee table, my son's black iPhone 5 almost disappears into the table in the photo from the iPhone, whereas it's clearly defined on the One. My son's spiderman sheet is almost not visible on the iPhone, but you can clearly make it out on the floor between sofa and coffee table on the One. You can even make out some details on the microwave in the top right of photo, on the One you can see the buttons and glass door, while the iPhone shows nothing but a back box. You can also make out the wine bottles on top of the kitchen cabinets in the top left of the picture, very hard to make out on the iPhone.

But if you look at the shot from the iPhone, you can see the white text on the black bike is much sharper. The glass ceiling lamp on the top left is more defined. The house models hanging on the back wall are also more defined. And the light coming from the hallway in the right isn't blown out.

The bike is about 10ft away from me, everything closer than the bike looks better on the One, while most things that are farther away than the bike look more detailed on the iPhone.

 

[VinegarTasters]

Yup, its the second shot. I really like how these shots show the different strengths of each camera.

If you look at the shot from the HTC One, You can see more detail in the darker areas. Stuff like the black shirt on the coffee table and the detail on the coffee table, my son's black iPhone 5 almost disappears into the table in the photo from the iPhone, whereas it's clearly defined on the One. My son's spiderman sheet is almost not visible on the iPhone, but you can clearly make it out on the floor between sofa and coffee table on the One. You can even make out some details on the microwave in the top right of photo, on the One you can see the buttons and glass door, while the iPhone shows nothing but a back box. You can also make out the wine bottles on top of the kitchen cabinets in the top left of the picture, very hard to make out on the iPhone.

But if you look at the shot from the iPhone, you can see the white text on the black bike is much sharper. The glass ceiling lamp on the top left is more defined. The house models hanging on the back wall are also more defined. And the light coming from the hallway in the right isn't blown out.

The bike is about 10ft away from me, everything closer than the bike looks better on the One, while most things that are farther away than the bike look more detailed on the iPhone.

Can you do it again? But this time, tap to focus on the same area on both phones. I think both of the phones focus on different areas by default. For example, when calculating focus, some phones use the overall image. Some use the center area.