[Device Review] Hands-on with the HTC One S (UK 3) – Excellent

Overview

Design

Hardware

Display

Call and Sound Quality

Battery Life

Software

Camera

Device Performance

Network Performance

Total Score

4/ 5

User Rating

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Overall

Posted Thursday, May 10, 2012 by Dave Thornton

Full Review

A few weeks ago HTC released the One S in the UK. The device is available for free on a 2 yr contract with all retailers.
As you can see mine is on the 3 (three) network purchased from Carphone Warehouse. The One S at CW only comes in black so no dithering about which colour to choose.
The HTC One S is the second in command in HTC’s new One series rankings, one rung down on the size and power ladder from the HTC One X. That’s no bad thing because the giant scale and quad-core power of the One X won’t be for everyone. And one rung up from the HTC One V, which itself is no slouch.
The full Spec sheet can be found at the link. I’m not into what phone trumps that phone or this phone, it’s all very well jawing off down the pub about who’s got the flashiest phone, but I like the One S. Fits in my pocket, any pocket come to that.

This handset is fully loaded with the newest version of Google’s Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich, and the latest HTC Sense software, plus a dual-core 1.5GHz chip and an 8-megapixel snapper. Did I mention it’s also waif-thin? There’s even a choice of fancy finishes — either a black, carbonised ceramic coating that looks like it should be adorning the underside of an astronaut’s boots or a snazzy gradient grey metal finish.
SIM-free, the One S will set you back £429, or it’s available free on a two-year contract for as little as £26 per month. Alternative Android handsets at this price include the Beats Audio-branded HTC Sensation XE, and the perennially popular Samsung Galaxy S2.

Processor

In my view the HTC One S is the Goldilocks choice of HTC’s new One series — neither too big to pocket, nor too small to feel cramped. Rather than having four cores — the majority of which would surely sit idle most of the time — it packs a powerful dual-core 1.5GHz processor, which is plenty of power for most people’s mobile needs.
In benchmark tests, the One S showed itself to be no slouch. Its smaller screen size and lower screen resolution than the One X, coupled with its powerful dual-core chip, give it the edge in certain scenarios — as the quad-core bigger sibling has to shift around a lot more pixels.

Performance

The One S was ludicrously fast and responsive during testing, with menus zipping around and apps loading in a flash. To my eye, it looks generally faster than the One X — although the latter’s engine is more capable in certain specialist situations. But for everyday mobile tasks, such as browsing the web, flipping through emails, opening apps, and the like, the One S is blisteringly — nay, terrifyingly — quick.
For example, loading up a photo gallery filled with snaps is near instantaneous, the One S is white-knuckle-ride fast — with photos appearing in focus before you can shout “I hate the iPhone”.
Shifting around the pixels of the desktop version of a rich HTML5 website is also nay bother. And its pinch-to-zoom performance seems smoother than the One X — although it does have a similar glitch where it annoyingly realigns page content after you stop pinching. This can mean the portion of the page you were trying to get closer to jumps off screen.

Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 4.0

The HTC One S runs both the latest Android OS — Ice Cream Sandwich — and HTC’s newest interface, Sense 4.0. The presence of ICS means you get the option to unlock the phone just by looking at it, thanks to Face Unlock. You can also download Google’s Chrome for Android browser, which is ICS-only.

Less is more

HTC’s Sense 4.0 software has been pared back, with the company ridding v4.0 from some of the animations and flourish it added over the years. In the main, this is a welcome evolution with a more streamlined and capable interface emerging.
One key change is a new customisable launch bar on the home screen, which lets you choose up to four apps or folders to quickly tap into. These apps can also be displayed on the lock screen, where you can pull an app or folder into the ring to launch it straight from wake-up.
Sense 4.0 also has fancier folders than Sense 3.5. They’re much easier to fill with apps as you can just drag and drop them together to create a folder, and use a checklist-based add function that allows you to speedily pile various apps into a folder. There’s also a more streamlined notifications tray — and you can now flick items out of the list to delete them.
It’s not all new by any means. Sense 4.0 has retained plenty of the trademark Sense features — such as the pinch gesture that brings up a multi-home screen view, so you can easily see all the home screens and choose which one to dive into.
You’ll also still find scores of great HTC widgets that can be added to your home screens — including the familiar flip clock and weather widgets, plus all manner of handy toggle tools, utilities and more. You can preview the widgets before adding them and easily select which home screen to send them to via a useful overview feature.
The recent apps menu has had a makeover. Instead of a grid of app icons, you now get a 3D deck of cards with each card depicting a recent app. These can be flipped through or flicked off screen when you’ve had enough of them with a satisfying flick. Despite these fancy 3D graphics, the menu is lightning quick.

Design and build quality

The One S has a generous 4.3-inch display, which is big, but not so gigantic that even dainty-handed folk like me can’t hold it comfortably. The device feels long and narrow in the hand, not least because it’s so thin — a skeletal 7.8mm thick.
While the One S’s design is that oh-so-familiar HTC rounded oblong, it feels a lot more stylish than many of its slabby predecessors — thanks once again to that slim size and some fancy finish options.
There’s a choice of either a black ceramic option, created using a micro arc oxidation process that involves bathing the metal unibody casing in a plasma field, and electrocuting it so it carbonized. Ouch. This has a stylish, matte look. Or there’s an anodised, shiny grey metal coating that has a gentle colour gradient going from light grey at the top to darker grey at the base.
HTC claims the ceramic finish is five times tougher than the anodised casing. It should also resist light scratches but don’t take your keys to the back of the device — it’s not that tough.
Despite having a mostly metal casing, the One S feels relatively lightweight — it’s just 119.5g, which includes the battery since that’s not removable.
My review handset was the ceramic model. I like the matte feel of the finish, which is not as slippery as the plastic casing of the One X. The black One S also has a snazzy red metal collar protecting the camera, which protrudes slightly from the back of the casing.
The top and bottom sections of the case are rubberised plastic to aid grip. The top one of these sections can be fully removed to get at the micro-SIM card slot.
Despite being so thin, the black One S feels solid and well made, and does not have the problem with screen flex at the edge that I encountered on the One X. Despite copious poking and prodding, the One S’s screen remains rigid on all four sides.
There are only two ports on the exterior of the One S: a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, and a micro-USB port for charging on the left-hand side. There are also only two physical buttons: a volume rocker on the right-hand side and a power key up top. Both these physical keys are responsive, but the plastic power key does seem as if it might be prone to damage since the button is removed every time you take the plastic door off to get to the micro-SIM.
There are three touch-keys on the front of the device, which I found to be generally responsive to a light tap. These are the same keys as on HTC’s other One Series devices — a back button, home and a recent apps key. HTC has ditched the menu key found on previous generations of its Android phones.

Rating[4.5/5]

What is stopping me giving it a full 5* is the annoyingly realigns page content after you stop pinching. This can mean the portion of the page you were trying to get closer to jumps off screen. But I can live with that, oh boy am I going to enjoy using this beautiful device.

Bio
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Dave Thornton

Many yrs ago Dave was MSDN trained, a web designer and computer shop owner. Loves walking his dogs, Lab & Welsh border collie. Golden Retriever. Plenty of fields around where he lives in Dundee, Scotland and is 2 miles from the beach.