Well, the wait is finally over: HTC has made several exciting announcements this year at Mobile World Congress, and things are definitely looking promising. The HTC One series was just announced earlier today, and here are the highlights:
- Sense 4, paired with Android 4.0, is actually going to be less bloated than in the past. The focus going forward is on speed, while still providing enhancements that users will value. One example is a new, simplified car experience, which will allow users to swipe between contacts, Google navigation, and internet radio or music.
- Cameras on HTC phones are going to be awesome. HTC's new camera technology, dubbed ImageSense, will supposedly rival traditional digital cameras. Image capture will be much quicker, and photos will be much better in adverse conditions. HTC claims that pictures will be taken 0.7 seconds after pressing the shutter, and autofocus will only take 0.2 seconds. Users will also be able to take nearly unlimited continuous shots just by holding down the shutter button. Finally, ImageSense will be able to tell how far away the subject is and adjust the brightness of the LED flash accordingly.
- Video Pic is another neat new feature, in which users will be able to capture a photo and shoot HD video at the same time. Also, users will be able to easily capture a photo frame from a previously recorded video.
- Dropbox will, indeed, be deeply integrated into HTC Sense, and will give users 25GB free for two years (basically, the life of your contract).
- Beats Audio will also be integrated in all areas of the phone, not just the music player. This means that third party apps like games will be able to make use of this awesome sound technology.
- HTC's new Music Hub will allow users to connect to their music through a large variety of different streaming services or internet radio stations. And HTC's new Car Stereo Clip will make it easier to play music or sound from any application on your car's stereo system.
- An optional accessory, HTC's Media Link, will allow users to wirelessly stream HD video from the phone to a television, while simultaneously browsing the web from the phone.
The One X phone will include the NVIDIA Tegra 3 mobile processor (1.5GHz Super 4-PLUS-1 quad-core processor with an integrated fifth battery saver core) and a high-performance 12-Core NVIDIA GPU. It's also got a 4.7-inch, 720p HD screen, Corning Gorilla Glass, and a f2.0 8MP rear-facing camera capable of 1080p recording.
The One S phone will have similar specs, but a smaller screen, while the One V will probably have the lowest specs and be marketed more as a mid-range model for the masses.
All-in-all, this is quite an announcement from HTC, and I can't wait to see how this might affect any future EVO announcements for Sprint. Indeed, HTC is setting quite a precedent here. Add on Sprint LTE compatibility, NFC, and 32-64GB of on-board storage, and we will have a brand new EVO that – I think everyone will agree – deserves the name.
[Android Central | The Verge | Phandroid]
