HTC's One has followed in the footsteps of the Galaxy S4 (aside from the obvious) in releasing as a stock Android variant, doing away with Sense 5, BlinkFeed, and all the other packaged software taking up that valuable storage space. It was announced by Google's Sundar Pichai at D11, and means consumers can get hold of the HTC One running Android and only Android.
One of the highlights of Google's I/O, particularly for those with an affinity to Samsung-made devices, was the news that a variant of the flagship Galaxy S4 would be arriving on stock Android, bypassing all the crap additional extras Samsung likes to bundle therein. Now, rumor has it that HTC could be planning a similar move with its flagship ‘One’ smartphone, which currently ships with an overlay of bloatware including Sense 5 and the divisive BlinkFeed. The report, if true, would certainly appease the purists who like a 'clean slate' of Android when they purchase a new device, and given how unconfirmed sales figures have placed the HTC One in a strong position against the Korean company's latest and greatest (selling one unit for every two Galaxy S4s), it's a move that would help the Taiwanese vendor keep tabs on its strongest rival.
Custom ROMs are the way to go for power users of Android devices. No matter what developer you take and whichever flavor of a custom ROM you may want to pick up, some of the omni-present features would be faster updates, better modifications, root access, custom recovery, zip aligned APKs, deodexed ROMs, more features, ports from other devices and whatnot. Then, there’s that class of these firmware that hail from the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP, as it is better known. These ROMs are decidedly different from others, in their minimalist native feature set and more freedom towards change.
Guide on how to install ClockworkMod (CWM) Recovery On HTC One, with complete step by step instructions and download links.
It's not just Samsung and Apple that like to launch an ad every once in a while, HTC too knows how to get peoples' attention. While Samsung is intent on pointing fingers at Apple in its own set of TV ads, HTC appears to have taken a leaf out of its competition's book by also poking fun at those that it is in direct competition with.
We've all heard of drop tests, and there have even been cases of people blending new technology in the past. It's something of a right of passage for new smartphones especially, with the humble drop test not just offering entertainment for those who like to destroy things, but also a real world example of how a phone may survive if dropped whilst out and about.
The HTC One is unquestionably a beautiful device. In fact, many have stepped out and described at as the prettiest of the lot - even easier on the eye than the Apple iPhone 5. But if the One was particularly susceptible to major damage or blemishes, that perceived beauty could quickly be wiped out, so to see if this handset can survive some of the everyday wear and tear these kinds of mobile devices often encounter, check out the video embedded at the end of this post.
The HTC One has made waves in its very short lifespan, with commentators tripping over each other to praise the beautiful, simple design and wealth of features. As we've seen with Samsung and other big-name vendors, releasing a cheaper, less feature-rich equivalent handset for those with less extravagant budgets is never too bad a call to make, and having begun retailing the One for upward of 800 bucks off-contract, it would appear as though HTC is going to be doing exactly that.
The HTC One has been one of the most expected devices among the tech community, with many looking forward to giving it a try. While HTC’s supply chain seemed chaotic last week, with the company warning prospective users that it might not be able to ship the device out on time, the company’s issues were clearly resolved as HTC officially announced that both the 32GB HTC One and the 64GB developer edition would be available in U.S. for order today and ship overnight.
The HTC One may be going head-to-head with the Galaxy S4 for the Android crown, but in terms of design, the device has frequently been compared with Apple's iPhone 5. Just like its Cupertino rival, it's comprised of beautiful aluminum unibody, and the consensus seems to be that the two handsets are the prettiest, on the market. The build quality of the two respective flagships is certainly something to savor, but when it comes to real-world use, how do they fare against the day-to-day trials and tribulations a smartphone may well face? A drop test is always a pretty good measure of a device's durability, and AndroidAuthority has just videoed a head-to-head between the HTC One and iPhone 5. Find out how each coped with the rigorous test, and more importantly, which emerged victorious, after the break!
