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Topic: Mobility

The AnandTech HTC One review: Spend a couple hours learning this weekend

Summary: Wow. I really can't put into words how incredible Brian Klug's review of the HTC One is. I can't even call it a review, but rather almost a doctoral thesis on every detail you could ever think of pertaining to the HTC One.

Matthew Miller

By for Smartphones and Cell Phones |

I have written quite a bit about the HTC One, including my thoughts on why it is the best smartphone I have ever used. I urge you to now pull up a chair and spend a couple hours learning everything about the HTC One. The AnandTech review written by Brian Klug is epic, and I have never read a more educational and informative review of any smartphone in my lifetime.

The AnandTech HTC One review: Spend a couple hours learning this weekend
(Image: HTC One)

Brian doesn't just cover the hardware and software, he goes into depth so far that I bet that many folks at HTC are even learning things about the HTC One from his review. I was impressed when Brian gave a presentation on optics at an event I attended, and I can guarantee you will learn something new from his review. It is really more of a thesis than a review, and will likely be remembered for years.

There are 17 pages in this review, hundreds of photos, and extreme analysis. No smartphone has been exposed to such detailed analysis, and the amazing thing is that in the end, Brian awarded the HTC One the Editor's Choice Gold Award, and he has never given a smartphone such an award before.

I feel even better about my Developer Edition purchase and agree with Brian's conclusion. Do not jump right to the conclusion though; read, study, and enjoy this epic review, and share it with others.

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Topics: Mobility, Android, HTC, Reviews, Smartphones

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25 comments
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  • This phone is not environmental friendly

    The aluminium body needs 3 hours 20 minutes to be cut. All of that just to have a zero gap mount glue everywhere and you end up having a device extrememly hard to repair. And for what? The users, so scare of scratching this marvel are going to cover it with a $2.50 case.

    The owners of these phones are going to cry in a a year or two. When they will discover that the slightest repair, even a battery change, will cost them a fortune.
    RelaxWalk
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Can't be true

      A consumer product that will be made in millions needs and process that takes more than 5 minutes will be too expensive. 3+hrs to machine - they must have thousands of CNC machining centres lined up doing the work.
      sonnet37
      Reply Vote

      • Look like it's true

        Sounds surprising but here what I read on the Anantech article "Two hundred minutes of CNC cuts later, a finished One chassis emerges. Plastic gets injected into the chassis between cuts during machining for the antenna bands and side of the case, which also gets machined. The result is HTC’s “zero-gap” construction ..."
        RelaxWalk
        Reply 1 Vote

    • To the future

      In a year or two 'we'll' be on to the next device..besides, ever hear of a thing called warranty?
      everereste
      Reply 1 Vote

      • It's not a warranty problem, it's about respect of nature

        There are people who like real fur coat, or stuffs made from ivory or a rhino horn. Because they look cool. Do you really think a kitchen knife with a handle made with rhino horn would make you a better cook?

        Well same thing with this stupid HTC One phone. They need to wast 3+ hours on a CNC machine to make that aluminium body. There are more economic way, less resource intensive to achieve the same goals.

        That Anandtech article, is for the "ignorant" geeks. It just shows off the hardware and there is not a single word on how to install custom ROM on this device.

        Besides the cameras, a Nexus4 will do as well at half of the price. You save enough money to buy an extra 7" tablet. Nexus devices are easily rootable that will open more possibilities that the "posh HTC users" have no idea.
        RelaxWalk
        Reply Vote

        • Re: They need to wast 3+ hours on a CNC

          They want to compete with Apple, that's why.

          All these Apple wannabe competitors try one thing or another, in hopes to discover what makes Apple so successful with their devices.

          At the moment HTC believes copying the Apple's CNC machining process will do it. I doubt it, but let's just wait and see. When it fails, they will try another aspect, if still alive, that is.

          There must be some secret sauce, after all, right? :)
          danbi
          Reply Vote

          • If so I am afraid of what's coming next

            An HTC employee will forget a soon to be release phone in a bar. Some one will pick it up and the police will come to his place, and put him in jail.

            A blogger will leak some early details, HTC will sue him for a hefty damage fine.

            HTC will pay shills to camp in line in front of the store 2 months ahead of realease date. The store will have two phones available. The 3rd guy, and last in the queue could not get his HTC phone and will throw eggs on the front door of the HTC store.

            HTC will find a an easy competitor-prey to sue, for the sake of "because I can beat you up". At the HTC scale, the victime company will probably a shop somewhere in Papua New Guinea who manufactures "Jungle Horn". An inter-jungle communication device that blatantly infringes HTC's "intellectual" property.

            In that case, I strongly advise you to buy HTC stocks. It will reach $800 / share.
            RelaxWalk
            Reply 1 Vote

          • FUNNY!!!

            ha ha ha THAT WAS GOOD READING...FUNNY AS HELL, BUY I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE IPHONE 5S???
            allinbigt@...
            Reply Vote

          • WHO ARE YOU AGAIN????

            OK so I gather from your educated smart comments that everyone who buys a HTC ONE is what A-stupid B-stupiditer and C-studitest...ok ok okwho f-----cares about your comments..this is AMERICA people have a choice, ever heard of choice? So you don't like how the phone is made...millions love it including me,your comments won't make me have my phone in my hand in a week, MY CHOICE...so love the iphone galaxy S3 or 4 whoopie..what the hell do you want a cookie? In this world people will be pro-whatever they choose, but you sound like a Apple fanboy out to assassinate the HTC ONE's character..so far I had a iphone 4, a 4S, a iphone 5, and currently a S3, and none of them physically looks beautiful than the HTC ONE!!! I just hpoe from the million reviews I have read saying performance is way ahead of the previous ones I've mentioned, that I am not disappointed..enjoy life with your phone, and I will enjoy life with mine.
            allinbigt@...
            Reply Vote

          • Think about you kids

            Hi Sir or Madam,

            I hope you won't be offended by my answer. The resources you refrain from using now is the gift you will give to your kids and grand kids. It's not because you have the mean to consume that you have to take it.

            Let's imagine the middle age epoch had less troubles which would allow for the industrial revolution to begin 100 years earlier. Do you know what would happen now? You will be living in heavily polluted atmosphere and would be happy to harvest enough food from your backyard to feed your family. Because all the easy resources are depleted. The fairy tales your grand-father will tell to your kids would look like something like that "Oh man ... I remember when I was young, we didn't wear gas mask and everybody has an HTC one."

            The Easter Island inhabitants, in their time, their "HTC one" was to erect statues all over the island. Until the last tree was cut.

            Keep your HTC One in good shape. It will be good memory when you have a chance to tell the story to your grand kids.
            RelaxWalk
            Reply Vote

          • Get a life RelaxWalk

            I never comment on these things but good lord you see comments like RelaxWalk and you can't help. Talk about a crack pot. It's a phone, nothing says you have to buy it. Spare us your comments when clearly you have an extreme bias...no one cares. Using your logic about your environmental bull you shouldn't be using a phone at all because they are all a waste of material and because of the phone you're using now it is ruining your grand kids' lives. Anyway I'm not a phone junkie considering I still have the HTC evo, but I am looking again this spring and this is one of the contenders. I'm not looking at the iphone because I'm not an Apple guy; that's my bias. So it's between this and the S4. If you look at the specs they really are a close match with the exception of the camera, which personally doesn't matter to me since I have a GoPro3. So then what it comes down to is the look and feel because we all know aesthetics matter. The only reason why I hated the evo is because the back plastic broken multiple times, the white paint chipped off the sides after a few months to show the red underneath, and it felt cheap. Overall it looked bad within a year. So when I heard about a phone that focused a good quality product I was interested. I will be using this phone for another 2 years so I want it to be solid.
            RelaxWalkisStupid
            Reply Vote

          • Got your point, sorry

            You are right sir (or madam), perfectly understood your point and your choice. I went a little bit overboard in this thread. My apologies to everybody if I offended anyone. Please be assured that I am not a green extremist.

            Normally I keep my comments civilized. I don't know why but the manufacturing of this aluminium unibody had struck a nerve somewhere in me.

            Good luck for your next phone. As for your current HTC evo, how about covering it with a TPU case?
            RelaxWalk
            Reply Vote

          • Relax, please Watch this George Carlin video clip...

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W33HRc1A6c

            like George Carlin mentioned, earth is gonna to be fine...the people are fu
            lord_lad
            Reply Vote

          • Sadly

            I have to agree with you... All the things I hate about the iPhone hardware seem to be included when others make their phones.

            Nexus 4 has a glass back, sealed battery, and IPS Display which make the phone a point of frustration coming form previous Nexus phones.

            HTC has followed the same pattern with the One X and One line of phones.

            RGB Amoled is far superior in just about every way and having a glass back was something that even Apple had issues with... Of course, the sealed in under spec battery is also hurting the smartphone market.

            Anyway, I am okay by companies being influenced by one another but, use your brains and fix the flaws from your competitor products.

            Of course the saddest part is that Samsung phones are now the least Apple Like products on the market and I am forced to go with them over other companies I liked in the past.
            slickjim
            Reply Vote

      • Reply (To the Future)

        There is this magical thing called a protection plan. It last as long as your contract. All you have to do is pay about $10 an month or $168-200 up front depending on your carrier.
        Victor Sims
        Reply Vote

    • +1

      In is not only hours of machining, it's also the amount of material that goes to waste and cost of maintenance of tools. Even if the waste is recycled, recycling requires energy, too.

      The same must be true about MacBook cases. It would be cool if one of ZDNet journalists made a research on this.
      Earthling2
      Reply 1 Vote

      • TRUE

        In is not only hours of machining, it's also the amount of material that goes to waste and cost of maintenance of tools. Even if the waste is recycled, recycling requires energy, too.

        The same must be true about MacBook cases. It would be cool if one of ZDNet journalists made a research on this." DITTO!!!!
        allinbigt@...
        Reply Vote

    • What about Apple

      Can you say the same for Apple products?
      tok1
      Reply Vote

    • Htc One

      I change phone every year. Why do I need to cry? Buy what you like and shut the hell up
      ux007@...
      Reply 1 Vote

    • You seem to be knowledgeable

      What degrees/diplomas etc. do you currently hold?

      and oh yeah somewhere i read that it takes 153 hours to make this phones body not 200 minutes but i can't find the URL for it.
      beau parisi
      Reply 1 Vote
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