HTC One V Review

HTC One V Review

Specifications

Processor 1GHz single-core Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 GPU,

Display:  3.7in WVGA 480x800 display,

RAM:  512MB RAM, 

Memory: 4GB of internal storage with microSD support for up to 32GB, 

Camera: 5MP autofocus rear camera with LED flash and HD 720p video,

Connectivity:  HSDPA, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n,

Sound: Beats audio

Battery: 1,500mAh battery 

OS:  Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), HTC Sense 4.0

Dimensions: 120.3x59.7x9.2mm

Weight:  115g

Design

The HTC One V has a unibody aluminium chassis that gives it a premium look. At just 120x58x9.2mm, the phone is easily pocketable too. The aluminum over the traditional and popular plastic finish. The unibody design just adds that dollop of solidity to the entire package. The curved back edges make the device  conformable to hold. The anodized shell is tightly beveled -- almost to the point of being too sharp-- while the screen is raised slightly above the rest of the construction (a relief,Gorilla Glass shielding it). It sports a slender design at 9.2mm thick and is reasonably light at 115g.

 

The One V limits physical buttons to a power/wake button on top and a volume rocker on the right. The 3.5mm headphone jack rests on the top with a notification LED that flashes every time you get missed calls, messages and indicates the phone's charging state.The bottom has three capacitive buttons for back, multi-tasking and home. On the left panel houses the Micro-USB port for charging and data transfers.
The phone features a 5MP camera with LED flash at the top while the bottom has a plastic cover that conceals the mic and speakers. There are slots for a full-sized SIM and a microSD card. The battery however is non-user replaceable.

 

Display

The HTC One V comes with a 3.7-inch capacitive touch display covered with Corning's Gorilla Glass. With a resolution of 800x480,  it lacks high-definition credentials, screen density of 252 ppi it's not embarrassingly grainy.For a mid-range Android handset, the display is bright, sharp and vibrant with no pixilation visible to the naked eye. The LCD offering stacks up well against other AMOLED and S-LCD smartphones available in this budget. Viewing angles are excellent even under the sun, mostly because this display does not have the reflective tendencies a lot of phones have.

 

Camera

The One V comes with a 5MP rear camera on board, with ImageSense, which provide continuous shooting, ability to capture stills while shooting videos and no shutter lag. The burst shot mode is the best feature drawing its power from the ImageChip processor allowing you to capture several images per second. The on-screen shutter button can be pressed for as long as one needs and then select the best from the stills captured.
The burst capture and speedy shot-to-shot times have disappeared along with that dedicated camera chip. The f/2.0 lens is still in tow, which means low-light performance was predictably strong. The sensor often struggles with adjusting to sudden light changes
it is advisable to shoot with the Flash turned off. It tends to burn out images and leave them unsaturated as well.

Software/ Interface

The device comes with Android 4.0 straight out of the box but is layered with HTC's latest Sense 4.0 UI. The interface felt pretty smooth with no lags absolutely whatsoever. The unlock ring gives you access to a range of shortcuts to applications on your home screen. You can also use exclusive Android 4.0 Google Apps such as Chrome Beta and a highly improved version of Gmail. HTC has slimmed down the Sense UI to work more efficiently with the One V's less impressive internals. For example, HTC's 3D-style Recent Apps menu is gone, and the phone also lacks Face Unlock functionality.

 
Third-party apps that ship with the smartphone include Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Polaris Office, 7Digital (a music downloading service), and TuneIn Radio (on-line streaming player). Dropbox, provids a 25GB of free cloud storage for two years with every purchase.

 

Performance

A 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor powers it with a single core. This is paired with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD. Call quality was great  with virtually zero call drops. Typing on the device feels a bit cramped in portrait mode and you can't help but switch to landscape orientation for a more comfortable typing experience.YouTube videos play out well with no pixilation and look crisp on the 3.7-inch display.Audio quality on the device isn't perfect. The Beats Audio integration only enhances the sound which works alright when listening to certain type of music but might get frustrating with others, especially with the earphones.
One V does not disappoint on its battery life.The 1500mAh battery did more than what was expected lasting an entire day on a single charge before completely draining out.

 

Connectivity

WiFi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0, the One V juggles tri-band HSPA (850/900/2100), capable of 14.4Mbps down and 5.6Mbps up and quad-band GPRS (850/900/1800/1900) radios. On the HSPA connection, speeds around 2Mbps down  and 1.2Mbps up can be seen.

 

Likes

Differentiable , sturdy  and Desirable design

Display is Bright, responsive screen

Impressive camera

Strong browser and UI

 

Dislikes

Slightly poor filming

Cramped keyboard

Not dual-core

No Beats headphones

Just 4GB storage

Sloppy video recording capabilities

 
Greatest complaint isn't the camera, nor the build quality, nor the screen, it's the processor. Increasing the power would have really helped the One V stand out as the go-to entry level Android phone.