Like NEO, It's The ONE. HTC's Best Phone, So Far.

Intro

       So, on April 24th, I bought the T-Mobile HTC One. It's May 28th and and I can honestly say that I am in love with this device; however, I've been in love with it since Day 1, mainly because I am BIG on the aesthetics of a device and believe me, the HTC One is INSANELY GORGEOUS.  I sold my Samsung Galaxy Note II and its S-Pen, which is also a nicely crafted phone, err, phablet--that lacks in the premium materials department. I never felt like the device was worth the $700.
       Before the Galaxy Note II, I was rockin' the iPhone 5, the famous contender to virtually every other flagship device. smartphone and out of the hundreds of iPhone 5 videos that we've all seen, we know that not many devices come close to the top notch quality and design of the iPhone; Well, not until this One.
       This review has nothing to do with the markets in which the HTC One is sold, the carriers under which it is able to operate, or the data speeds in which it is capable. This is a freestyle review aimed at the daily consumer who cares about a quick (ha!), non-scripted review (hence the term, freestyle.) I have a limited concern with tech specs; I'm more focused on how those specs are transferred into common-lingo so that you are able to understand how they are applicable in daily use.

Design

       The HTC One as I've stated is insanely gorgeous. I can't think of a device before the iPhone that matched this build quality and design. The anodized aluminum, the Corning Gorilla Glass 2, and the zero-gap aluminum unibody screams sexiness from all angles. Sexy, or sexiness is usually used to describes things that, umm... well... make you feel good inside (and possibly others too). The One does just that; it makes you feel good inside, and it feels good inside the palm of your hand with its curved back (no pun intended). It makes others feel good if they plan on buying the One, or bad since the device that they are using probably isn't sexy like yours. They wonder what device you have and since it's so sexy, you don't mind talking to them about it. Who doesn't like talk about sexy? This is the first  device that you can actually brag about without any doubt.

Specs For the Daily Man:

• 4 Ultra-Pixel Camera & Front Facing 2mp Camera
• Images are half the size of an 8 Megapixel camera, but they absorb 300% more light. This means that if you are in the club, at a bar, or just enjoying the night life in Savannah, Georgia (or any other city for that matter) then this camera is going to be pleasing.  However, lower light means it takes a longer time to focus and slight movements can cause image-blur. However, shots do look great when you are able to have still-subjects and an adequate amount of light. Now, the front facing camera is pretty good too--but it does not have the "extra light absorption" that the Ultra-Pixel Camera has. It actually contains a wide lens as well so about 4 people can get into the photo pretty comfortably, but since it does have a wide lens, I noticed that pictures taken vertically look almost distorted, as in the person's bodily proportions look elongated. Both cameras present the Rolling Shutter Effect, meaning, that if you are recording video, and you pan the camera rapidly, then the video image is going to look like a layer of Jell-O trying to play catch up. YouTube "Rolling Shutter" and you'll see what I mean. No need to worry though because even some DSLRs have this effect. It is not like you are trying to record sports events, cop chases or "Fast and Furious" things with your HTC One, and if you are, then sadly this phone is not the One to do so, or any phone for that matter.
• Corning Gorilla Glass 2
• Who really knows how strong this stuff is? Well, I've seen hammer smacks, knife scratches and dings and drops all applied to the One's screen; more or less, some results were pleasing but others were disappointing. I read a review on XDA where a person drop his phone face down and the screen was literally shattered. He didn't have a case. I don't recommend trying to figure out how strong this glass is because while it may be strong, you still have to take that everything with a grain of salt. Just enjoy your phone and put a screen protector on it with a nice case that has a lip aka lay-on-table-design.
• Screen Quality
• The HTC One's screen quality makes me want to keep my eyes glued to it all day long--it's that beautiful!(There's another one of those terms that we attach to phones). Get a load of this: There is a 4.7 inch, 1080p screen with a pixel density of 469 PPI - if You've seen the iPhone 5 screen quality then you know that it was something outstanding. Take it to the next level, and you have the HTC One's screen. It's not by a landslide though. The HTC One's screen is capable of outputting the same amount of detail that your 1080p television outputs in terms of getting everything on the screen. When you watch a movie, you are getting the entire image. When you are reading things or browsing the web, you are not getting those pixels, meaning that you can't even see them because so many, 469 of them, are packed into one square inch of the screen. This means you have magazine-like quality It's so nice not being able to pinpoint individual blocks of RGB on your screen. Colors are vibrant, and you can read the phone in direct sunlight when it is maxed out on brightness, but everyone's eyes are different so results of course with anything in life, varies.
• BoomSound Speakers Hardware/Beats Software
•  I remember when the Beats headphones came out - everyone wanted them. Then Dr. Dre signed a deal with HTC to incorporate the Beats software into HTC devices. To me, It was sort of a win,  but to this day, I still don't see an adequate amount of HTC devices with Beats Software. Heck, I don't even see the HTC Sensation or the Sensation XL around. Nonetheless, the Beats software teamed with the BoomSound speakers are phenomenal; I can hear my text message alerts and my ringtone from across the room with no problem--and that's at half level, which really means full level since there are two front facing speakers. The sound is crisp, and voices sound clear. Music playback is great--the hi and low pitched sounds of songs along with the basses are easily heard since there is an incorporated on-board amplifier. However, sometimes when watching YouTube videos or streaming movies from Netflix, there are occasionally "pops" or clicks in the audio--as if the volume is too loud and is rupturing the speakers. I believe this problem is addressed in the 1.29 software update that T-Mobile users have yet to receive, or if not, then it will surely be addressed in subsequent updates. But don't fret, because it's not like this happens all the time; it is only occasional.
• Call Quality
• Call Quality on the HTC One is great! People hear me clearly and  there are few "Huhs?" if any from the other caller. The noise cancelling microphone on the back does its job well, but like the iPhone 5, movement and holding the phone in certain positions after it has gotten accustomed to the ambience in a given setting can sometimes interfere with how well the caller hears you. The two microphones are constantly working to provide for the best possible hearing and speaking experience for both parties. Don' feel like you have to be a robot and stiff when you are speaking to someone though. Talk normally and move normally and you shouldn't have any problems.
• HTC Sense
• HTC Sense 5.0 is pretty cool. Everyone will have their opinion but to settle things down with a straight up answer, I will tell you that the UI (User Interface) looks more professional than Samsung's  Cartoony TouchWiz UI and less professional than Blackberry 10's QNX based operating system (obviously). It's not as personal as Windows 8 because Microsoft's operating system is colorful and more oriented to sugar coat people's personal appeals.
• Battery
• Hmm...the battery life for the HTC One is unfortunately, TERRIBLE! Ok, ok, slight joke there just to get your heart to drop. I can see faces now glued to the screen in utter disappointment as the last line was read. However, if you are coming from a Galaxy Note II or a Droid Razr Maxx then you will probably align your opinion with my earlier joke. On average, I can get a days use out of the phone. we are talking about being up at 7 a.m. and searching for a charger around 9 p.m. One thing that I have noticed about the phone is that the standby time is outstanding--a 3-5% loss in about 6-8 hours untouched, screen off, power saver mode-off. This is really good, but battery life balances out considerably when you start to actually use the phone. Touching the screen, playing games, calling, browsing PhoneDog.com, texting, getting un-lost, etc. all have a dampening effect on the bat-juice. If we learn to be humans instead of making our phones and devices extremities of ourselves, then maybe we will see a jump in battery life. The device also takes a long time to charge, so make sure you plan ahead and carry a charger if you are one of those people that are always out and about in the wee hours of the night trying to capture glorious photos with your Ultra-Pixel camera. Number wise, a person should be able to squeeze 14-16 hours out of the HTC One with moderate use. Then they'll hear the "BEEP BEEP"  warning that there is 15% left, and then the device automatically switches to Power-Saver mode which clocks down the CPU, turns off vibration and haptic feedback, reduces screen brightness and turns off data when the screen is off.

Outro

•  All in all, the device is a wonderful device to use. I have no problems with the UI, or the build quality with the device. People's opinions may vary, as will their devices that they use and prefer on a daily basis. There is also an IR blaster on the device which works great, but it is a software feature that you'll find that you won't use very often, unless you want to show people what your phone can do when you are having a get together at your house. But I am pretty sure you'd rather show them all of the other great things that the HTC One offers. I recommend the HTC One, and I don't have a star rating system, but for the sake of it, I give this phone a solid 9/10.