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There has been quite a buzz surrounding the HTC One X – reviews, questions about the release of Android 4.1, etc. However, it's rather uncommon to hear much about the One X's little brother – the One S. The HTC One S is essentially a smaller, cheaper, and slightly less powerful version of the One X. Having had (and used) the phone for a good few months, I felt it time to share my insights into the device. The phone I was using before this was a Samsung Galaxy S II, which is what I will be comparing the One S to.
Specifications • 130.9 x 65 x 7.8 mm (length x width x depth) • 120 grams • 4.3” AMOLED display with a 960 x • 540 (qHD) resolution • Android 4.1.1 with HTC Sense 4 (may still be shipping with 4.0 – update is available over the air) Complete list: http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-one-s/#specs
Screen
At first glance, the screen seems a little less vivid (compared to the S II). Though the colors aren't quite as bright, I find the HTC One S to be a lot more comfortable on the eyes, and the screen seems much more responsive. The real estate is used well by the Sense skin, and I haven't noticed any contrast issues with the official themes for Sense. The automatic backlight adjustment is adequate – I've found that at times the screen can be a little dark for my tastes, which is easily remedied by adjusting the brightness manually. The only issue I have is the “ring toss” slide to unlock feature. It's fine if you're planning to just unlock your phone – but it's also the method needed to answer calls when the phone is locked. If you're not careful enough to get the “answer” icon into the ring, it will fail to answer the call, and you'll have to try again. Very problematic if you're on the go and have cold hands (or are wearing gloves which you need to take off first). More than one call was nearly missed this way.
Camera
HTC advertises the One S as a great photo-taking phone, offering things such as panorama shots and low-light capabilities. Personally, I find the camera works better than any of my past cell phones – but it doesn't beat most point and shoots. Features such as the panorama mode can be buggy (or just plain difficult to use). If you didn't own any other camera, you could probably manage to do very well for yourself if you invested in some form of tripod to keep the camera steady. Also very usable if you're out somewhere and want to capture a moment. Reason alone to buy the phone? No. If you're torn between two phones and camera quality is important to you, then it might help make your decision.
As you can tell, the photos are nice, although the first shot of the panorama (I went right to left) is extremely blurry, though I felt that I was holding the camera steadiest for that shot. If anyone is interested in seeing the original photos, send me an email and I'll pass them along.
Performance
The device has a 1.5GHz-1.7GHz dual core CPU, which results in a snappy response from the device at most times. Opening apps (besides games, which take just a little bit longer to open than normal apps) is quick, and using the Recent Apps feature is a dead simple way to free up some of the 1GB of RAM, if you need it. Wi-Fi signal strength is on-par with any of my laptops, or my Asus TF101 tablet. This means that I have a steady (if sometimes weak) connection, even in some of the problem rooms where the Galaxy S II had issues. I also find that the One S is faster to change from E to 3G connection when it becomes available – the Galaxy S II always had a delay before the speed adjusted, which doesn't seem to be present in the One S. Definitely an improvement if you're someone who commutes through many areas of varying signal strength. That being said, the phone does seem to ignore areas of extremely weak signals entirely. The S II often had a weak connection in places where the One S has none at all. However, this won't be typical for anyone who lives in an area with even sub-par coverage.
The One S responds to touch input very well, with the exception of the lock screen, which seems to be more of an implementation issue than an actual hardware issue. I've also noticed a significant improvement on transitions and web browsing with the upgrade from 4.0 to 4.1.1 (and the addition of Project Butter). The difference between the One S and the Galaxy S II is the difference between night and day. The S II could freeze or lag when getting around the home screens, whereas the One S handles it without so much as a hiccup. There are, obviously, some performance issues that crop up when you're taxing the device with heavy apps – but for normal basic usage, it's a vast improvement. However, the HTC One S does not contain a removable battery – so if it does hang, you'll need to hold the power button for 10 seconds and cause a “hard reset”, which is useful to note. Also, I've found that this can sometimes result in your phone rebooting in your pants pocket, as the power button is located directly at the top of the device. If you keep your devices in a jacket pocket, shirt pocket, or a purse, you probably won't notice this issue. That being said – the One S has also randomly rebooted while I was using it. It happens very rarely, but not for any reason I can discern. This could also be happening in my pocket, rendering that complaint moot. Is a reboot problematic? Not really, as the device boots quickly, and I have yet to experience a crash when doing things like talking on the phone or replying to emails/text messages. The S II would hang with surprising frequency when doing any task at all, leading to a few interrupted calls.
Sound Quality
HTC loves to advertise that the One S comes with “Beats Audio”. However, I don't find that the audio quality sounds any better/worse than my Motorola Milestone, the Samsung Galaxy S II, or my old 2nd generation iPod Touch. Not that I have any complaints about the quality. The speaker is sufficient (though the S II seemed to be a bit clearer), and phone calls are extremely clear. I have yet to have complaints about the call quality from the device (even in crowded subway trains). As such, I'm inclined to say the microphone (and noise filtering) is a lot better than the S II – though I can't say I've done a fair trial.
Battery Life I haven't put the phone through a stress test of any sort to measure exact hours under heavy load. However, I tend to use my phone for listening to music whenever I go out, it's set to automatically pull/push emails, and if I am using the maps function, I'll have Wi-Fi running in the background. Otherwise I shut off all unnecessary antennas (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc). Throughout the day, I'll answer emails, check news, browse websites, download some updates, upload photos via instant upload on Google+, use Dropbox, occasionally tether the device via bluetooth, or use it for navigation. At the end of the day, after about 6-8 hours of usage like that (with constant music playback) the device is around 35-40%. Occasionally it drops into the red 14-15% mark, but I have yet to experience the phone being dead when I need it. I do charge it every night (unless it's nearly full and I'm at home the next day so using the phone is unimportant, then I may just leave it). I also put it into airplane mode when I'm at home, as my house has terrible reception – I save some battery life by avoiding the search for radio towers. If I need to find a signal, I can quickly turn on the antennas again. Overall, the device seems to last longer than the S II, and is roughly on-par with my father's iPhone 4S.
Build Quality
The phone seems to be made out of metal, for the most part. The screen also seems to be made out of tough glass – I can't say for certain what exactly it's made of, but it resists any scratches from whatever I may have in my pockets (coins, a zipper from my headphone case, etc). It does collect a lot of fingerprints (obviously) but they wipe off without a lot of effort – the screen has probably been treated somehow. Overall, the device feels solid and has survived a few roughly one-meter falls without a scratch (I should probably note that these were neither intentional, nor caused by me). The covering for the SIM card is solid, and can probably survive being taken on and off a great number of times. The camera stands out a little at the back, where I would have expected it to collect a lot of scratches. However, the lens seems to be made of the same material as the screen, and has yet to get a serious scratch.
Conclusion
The HTC One S is a great little phone that can currently be had for around €380. The Samsung Galaxy S II I owned cost about €20 more, and I was never half as satisfied with it as I am with the One S. If anyone is in the market for an Android smart phone (that isn't quite as huge as the One X), then I would definitely recommend that you consider the One S when making your decision. If you want a phone that can double as a camera on the fly, the One S is by far the most capable camera replacement I've had the pleasure to use, so also consider that. For anyone who is looking for a larger device, the One X should definitely also be on your list of options, as its quality is very similar to the One S.
A generally great device, though the occasional random crash, and the somewhat inaccurate “slide to answer” system prevents it from getting full marks.
If anyone has exact questions, or wants to know something I haven’t covered, feel free to email me at lswest34@gmail.com. Please put “HTC One S Review” or “FCM” in the subject line, so it doesn’t disappear into my inbox.