News & Reviews:   HTC One

Overall, it is good to see HTC on the up and up, as it gives them the time to come up with patents such as this dual-screen slider smartphone patent. Rather than have a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard, the patent shows a device where a second screen slides out to fit with the existing screen and form one unified display.

If you've been following us, you'll know that Facebook has released Facebook Home, it's app launcher for Android smartphones. While the initial release was for the US market back on 12 April 2013, the app has finally made it's way to other markets, including Malaysia. All you need to do to get it is to go to the Google Play Store and download it. Do remember that you probably need to have the Facebook for Android app and Facebook Messenger app already installed.

While everyone else is still speculating on the price of the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV, DiGi have revealed that they may be in the know with a pre-order for the smartphone starting from RM1199. Granted this is a subsidized price under a 24 month contract for the DG SmartPlan 148. The point is that this subsidized price is dropped from an RRP of RM2199, about RM200 less from earlier estimates, RM100 lower than the HTC One under the same DiGi pre-order plan and even lower than the Singapore price (RM2450).

While the HTC One has yet to arrive, preorders have opened up, specifically under DiGi starting from RM1269. To be more specific, this price is for their DG Smart Plan 148 plan under a 24 months contract but you also have the option to preorder under the DG Smart Plan 58 and DG Smart Plan 88. Check out the plan details as below:

When the HTC One went for an aluminum unibody (ala Apple iPhone) it upped the prestige level for Android smartphones around the world. Nokia's Windows Phone powered smartphones are looking to get the same aluminum unibody treatment with the Nokia Catwalk and the Nokia Lumia 928.

Great Design, Drops Better than the iPhone 5

While the HTC One managed to beat out Apple's iPhone 5 in drop tests recently it should be noted that it is a lot harder to repair. The HTC One recently got a teardown at iFixit (a site which takes apart smartphones and tries to put them back together). In that particular iFixit teardown, the HTC One is the only smartphone to get a repairability score of 1/10, which means it is next to impossible to repair (the Apple iPhone 5 has an iFixit repairability score of 7/10). Tearing down the HTC One the folks at iFixit found:

• Most of the components are covered with copper tape for shielding which when removed looks like used aluminum foil (almost impossible to fix back)
• The battery is attached to the midframe and covered by the motherboard, making it very difficult to replace.
• To replace the display you have to remove the rear case which may require taking apart the entire HTC One.

For quite some time now, Apple's iPhone has touted it's toughness and endurance based on it's aluminum unibody carved from a single block of aluminum. However, it is no longer alone in the smartphone arena as from the horde of plastic Android smartphones comes the HTC One, one of the first Android smartphones to have an aluminum unibody as well. Both have aluminum unibody casings and both have not nearly as tough glass screens. Which one would survive drops better?

HTC One's Ultra-pixel camera has been noted for its much better low-light performance. However, when reviewed at the time, the daylight performance for the camera didn't turn out as well as expected as you could see just a little bit too much noise from shots resulting in a rather blurred effect. Thankfully, this was due to the software it was tested with as the latest software update has proven.

On top of the upcoming flagship HTC One, the company is also coming out with smartphones like the Desire Q and Desire P. Aiming for the low to mid range markets, the two smartphones will offer these features :

HTC Desire P:

• 4.3-inch WVGA display
• 8MP rear camera + front camera
• 1Ghz dual core processor
• microSD card support
• Beats Audio technology
• red and white colors
• Android 4.1

Right on the heels of the recent news regarding the HTC One delay is an official statement from HTC regarding said delay. While they haven't confirmed why the delays have happened, they have confirmed that 3 countries will get their HTC One shipments starting next week. These countries include United Kingdom, Germany and Taiwan. Other countries and markets are not so lucky. HTC has however promised that the HTC One will be released in Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and most everywhere else before the end of April. While it may be a bit slower to the gate than Samsung's Galaxy S4, its always better late than never.