HTC’s latest Smartphone.
Could this be a multimedia powerhouse?
Video of the HTC One Max
By: Kurt von Behrmann
 |
| The sleek metallic HTC One Max |
The
world of smartphones is literally filled to the brim with choices. In this competitive arena distinguishing
yourself from the crowd requires some key feature, or features, that the other
companies simply do not have. With the
HTC One Max, the Taiwanese handset maker is gambling that it will be in the
areas of larger screen real estate, superior sound and a vibrant screen will be
enough.
As an “also
ran” in this high stakes arena of smartphone
choices, HTC has been largely eclipsed by Samsung and the enduring iPhone. To separate themselves from the crowd,
HTC is hoping that in addition to great sound, sharp metallic looks will help shoppers give the One Max a chance.
What is
certain is that the larger 5.9 in screen sits right at the maximum for a
handset without being so cumbersome it rips a shirt pocket in half. The 1,920 by 1080 pixel LCD delivers the goods.
Picture quality and video are vibrant.
Blacks are black and colors rich and saturated. Not unlike its closest competition – and it
is clear that this phone is intended to go toe to toe with the might Samsung
Note 3—screen quality and clarity are not only selling points but can be what
separates an average phone from a spectacular one.
As with
any new smartphone, it has to be compliant with new technologies in order to
have added value. This point is not lost
on the HTC One Max. It supports Sprint’s new tri-band devices; it supports 3G
CDMA, 4G LTE and Sprint Spark. With Spark, Sprint is promising down load speeds
from 50-60 Mbps, where it is available. In the Phoenix area you may get sporadic
service on the Sprint Spark. Hopefully
Sprint will have full service soon.
Powered
by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, it is a quad core processor, performance is what you
would expect, smooth. On the AnTuTu
Benchmark the One Max scored 26712, a decent score. Where it earned high marks
were in multitasking, 2d graphics and supporting larger mobile games. That should be no surprise. The phone was
designed with gaming and video in mind.
On the
subject of specs, the One carries 2 GB of ram, 32 GB of on board total storage,
(storage to the end user varies, so anticipate about 24 GB free to work with)
and the there is room for a micro SD card sizes up to 64 GB storage. The card must be purchases separately.
 |
| The back of the HTC One Max |
Like
many high end phones, it is almost a standard feature with selfies on the rise,
it comes with two cameras. The front
facing one is 2.1 mega pixel. The back camera is 4 mega pixels. Instead of counting on pixel
counts, HTC has opted for larger ones rather than more of them. The resulting images
are sharp, crisp and do well under low lighting situations. While it may not be
the best of breed in photography, the camera is respectable. It also ships with additional software that
adds embellishment to images. While some
of those photographic extras may add value, some may argue the special effects
are best left to desktops. But this is
more about preference than anything else. One strong point about the cameras is
that they are fast.
One
obvious stand out feature has to be the sound.
The Achilles Heel of many a smartphone has to the absolutely weak sound
most produce. Not so with the HTC
one. The sound can be so booming, you
may actually have to lower it. It is just that loud.
The HTC Boomsound really delivers the
goods in the sound department. While it may not be able to compete with a
speaker system, if you want to watch games, movies and the like the extra boost
of sound is a welcome addition. The
carefully crafted front facing speakers are well placed, and may account in
part for the excellent sound quality.
Another
area that the One Max shines in is aesthetics.
Composed mainly of metal rather than plastic, the overall effect is that
it lends the phone a high end look. HTC
always has an eye for sleek contemporary design. The only place where there is a
design weakness is in the small, very small, button that allows you to open the
handset. For larger fingers, this control maybe just too small. I personal
found it frustrating to open the back of the handset.
At
least, thankfully, you can open the camera for Simm cards and an extra micro SD
card. The card must be purchased separately.
Unfortunately, the battery is not accessible to the end user. Access to it
is one clear advantage the Galaxy Note 3 has over the One Max.
Talk
time is impressive. As large as the
phone is, and it pushes the limit at 6.48” x 3.25” for practicality as a mobile
phone, 25 hours of talk time is very good.
In my informal tests with the phone it can last a full day with regular use without issue. Battery life is always problematic with high
end phones. It appears that HTC has
overcome the hurdle of battery.
Shipping
with Jelly Bean, there is an update that has been recently released that updates to Kit Kat. I was
very surprised the One Max did not ship with the latest Android OS. HTC, naturally, incorporates their own HTC
sense into the mix adding features not found in the vanilla variety of Android.
Personally
I am simply a fan of HTC sense. It feels intrusive and doesn’t really add any
features of any real substance. Some may
like it, but I found it more of a negative than a plus.
Conclusion
The
smartphone market is populated by what seems like a vast sea of phones. To stand out from the pack, HTC is relying on
strengths in sound, design, screen size, screen quality and camera agility to
beat out the competition. With the size
of smartphones escalating, the space between a tablet and a smart phone is
starting to blur a little. Clearly
phablets, those devices that mix tablet functionality with smart phone convenience,
are now a mainstay of intelligent phone design.
Seeing that
as an opportunity, HTC is hoping that their latest iteration of the One line
with the new Max will carve out a niche for them in the phablet arena. Time will surely tell if the features of the
phone art strong enough to encourage buyers to buy into HTC’s way of doing
things.
One
cannot help but think of the HTC One Max as a direct answer to the popularity
of Samsung’s offerings, mainly the Galaxy Note 3. What makes the Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3
special are its note taking abilities.
This adds extra value, practical real world value not tech for tech’s
sake value, that places the phone in a different category. It also offers a
feature that makes such a large screen make sense.
HTC has
decided to aim towards providing rich sound, strong visuals and a decent camera
as their arsenal in the assault it is certainly going to face in the market
place. As an overall media powerhouse, The
HTC One Max has a lot going for it. But,
it also has to square off with Samsung.
If you are like me, and you like all metal construction and build
quality counts to you, The HTC One edges out the competition ever so slightly. We will have to wait and see how the smart
phone buying market responds to the top tier One Max.
The HTC One Max is available at Sprint
The price: $ 249.99
with a contract
Contents of the Box
1.
HTC One Max
2.
Standard Lithium Ion Battery (embedded)
3.
AC Charger
4.
USB Cable
5.
Getting Started Guide
Full Specs
|
Weight
|
217g
|
|
Display
|
5.9 inch, Full HD 1080p
|
|
CPU Speed
|
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600 processor
1.7GHz quad-core CPUs |
|
Battery
|
Capacity: 3300 mAh
Embedded rechargeable Li-polymer battery
Talk time:
Standby time:
|
Specs
|
Size
|
164.5 x 82.5 x 10.29mm
|
|
Weight
|
217g
|
|
Display
|
5.9 inch, Full HD 1080p
|
|
CPU Speed
|
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600 processor
1.7GHz quad-core CPUs |
|
Platform Android
|
Android™ with HTC Sense™ 5.5
HTC BlinkFeed™
|
|
SIM Card Type
|
micro SIM
|
|
Network1
|
2G/ 2.5G - GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
3G - UMTS/ HSPA:
3G - CDMA
4G - LTE:
|
|
Memory2
|
Total storage: 32GB, available capacity varies
RAM: 2GB
Expansion card slot supports microSD™ memory card for up
to 64GB additional storage (card not included)
|
|
GPS
|
|
|
Sensors
|
|
|
Connectivity
|
|
