Now HTC has been known for its wide array of devices it drops among many carriers each year. Last year the big releases were the HTC Sensation(T-Mobile), HTC Vivid(AT&T) and the HTC EVO 3D(Sprint). Each phone carried its highs and its lows. Some had things the other wish it had. This year HTC has decided to go back to focusing on a new line called the “One” series. You have just about the same type of phone between multiple carriers with slight differences far as size and some cosmetic changes. But overall it looks to be a much better product throughout. Here we focus on the HTC One S aka the successor to the Sensation for T-Mobile last year.
Look & Feel
I didn’t think anything was sexier then my Sensation with its slim body,but i was wrong. The HTC One S has even more sleek feel and weights so much less. There could be several reasons to this as it uses a microsim card,it also forgoes the ability to add a microSD card. It does have a higher capacity battery of 1,650 mAh compared to the Sensation of 1,520 mAh. Doesnt look like a big difference its worlds better and HTC was able to make the One S utilize this for extremely long battery. I was pretty impressed especially with the numerous multitasking I was doing. I pulled about 24 hours out of the battery. Far better then the numbers I’d get from the Sensation.
The One S comes in a color of Gradient Blue which reminds me more of a blueish gray tint. Glad it didn’t come in a white color(HTC One X has a option) as they can get pretty dirty fast. Isn’t too much branding on it but the T-Mobile logo on the top front and the Beats Audio insignia on the back bottom where the audio speaker lies too. The microUSB port is on the top left size and volume control is on the right.
Tech – “Whats Running?”
A big step up from the Sensation is the hardware & software running on the One S. Sensation is currently running on Android OS 2.3(Gingerbread) with Sense 3.0. The One S runs on Android 4.0.3(Ice Cream Sandwich) with Sense 4.0 on top. The differences between these is a huge leap. ICS is Google’s stab at making their OS universal and more functional. Tie this into their smoother running Sense 4.0 and its a multitasker’s dream. Jumping from one app to another without slowdown is impressive. This also ties into the Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor inside.
The One S is actually the 2nd device to launch with Ice Cream Sandwich as the first was the Galaxy Nexus.
Since this is a ICS device you will notice you only have 3 buttons on it. Back,Home, and Recent Apps. If your used to pressing the menu button alot prepare to break the habit or else you maybe hitting “Home” quite a bit. Good thing about Sense 4.0 is it gives the user more ability to make changes to your OS. Its more barebones then 3.0 as alot of users didnt care for that interface. I’d preferred Vanilla(stock) Google OS but one can only dream. Good stuff you get with ICS is the improved GMail app, and Google Chrome beta browser.
One of the best features about this device is the way they redid the camera. Sure it has 8MPs like the Sensation but thats where it ends. It has a f/2.0 wide-angle lens. The One series have HTC’s ImageChip built inside which gives you endless options. It has a speed burst that will allow you to take almost 99 in a minute and then it will even tell you whats the best one. You can shoot 1080P HD video and while shooting video you can take snapshots at the same time. Other cool features is the Face Unlock feature but have to have good lighting or will have to unlock other means.
Experience – “Did I Enjoy It?”
Messing around with the HTC One S the past couple of weeks I’d have to say its possibly one of the best Android devices on the market. I would alternate between my Sensation and One S and do things and it would be steps ahead of it. Checking into a venue on Foursquare took seconds, posting images or reviewing others on Instagram was a snap. The fact I was able to get through a workday without charge and still have alot of juice left for other things is great for me.
Overall
The One S is definitely a step up and in the right direction of future HTC phones and hope they continue down this path. Its a big improvement of the Sensation and I’d recommend the upgrade if you have one available or even deciding to come to T-Mobile in general.
The “HTC One S” is available now on T-Mobile for $199.99.
