The HTC One Has Finally Been Unveiled, it Brings a Whole Range of Goodies And a Few Tricks up it's Sleeve [Photos+Video]

Despite the abundant fanfare and critical acclaim, HTC's One X just couldn't quite mark the spot in 2012. No wonder, then, that the company's lopped off that extraneous letter in favor of a fresher start and renewed brand focus for its latest flagship: the One.

Gone by the wayside are those pure polycarbonate hulls -- HTC's Sense 5-laden Android Jelly Bean (4.1.2) handset comes crafted with an all-around premium look and feel, housing its 4.7-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display (boasting 468 dpi and protected by Gorilla Glass 2) in a machined aluminum unibody. And, in a bid for the top spot on the mobile totem pole, the One also bears the distinction of being (one of) the first smartphones to feature Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 600, clocked here at 1.7GHz and paired with 2GB RAM.

For all its premium, metallic construction, the One cuts a relatively light figure, weighing in at 143 grams and measuring 5.4 (137.4mm) x 2.7 (68.2mm) x 0.37 (9.3mm) inches -- a thickness that puts it on par with the BlackBerry Z10. Take note, that slim silhouette accommodates for the integrated 2,300mAh Li-polymer battery, radios for WiFi a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and 32GB or 64GB of storage (sorry, there's no slot for microSD expansion).

Looking at the load of innovations HTC's crammed into the One, it's clear this is a handset for the social oversharing set. Even its front face alone tells that story. From the dual stereo speakers (featuring dedicated amps) surrounding the screen to the 2.1-megapixel camera with 88-degree wide-angle lens capable of 1080p video, to the simplified soft keys (one for back, one for home), to the IR blaster (integrated in the power button), to the default BlinkFeed homescreen (a Flipboard-like social feed); it's safe to say, the One's aggressively embracing the role of smartphone as multimedia powerhouse. And that's just what it offers head-on.

HTC's taking a risk with the One. Flip the handset around and you'll find an unassuming rear shooter in the midst of that clean aluminum body. Or, as the company calls it, the UltraPixel camera. Tackling the "myth of the megapixel," HTC's outfitted the One with a 4-megapixel BSI sensor and f/2.0 lens, such that each pixel is meant to gather 300 percent more light than the current crop of smartphone sensors. The camera unit also features optical image stabilization and HTC's ImageChip 2 for HDR, 1080p and 60fps video. But that's not the end of HTC's imaging focus. It's also introducing a new feature / service dubbed Zoe, which allows users to capture and share short videos, much like Vine, via HTC's dedicated site.

Whether or not HTC will finally strike gold with the One, only time will tell. But it's certainly not for lack of effort. This is a smartphone at the top of its class (for now, anyway); a zeitgeist-y take that should please both power and social users alike. Look for it to rollout globally this March in both HSPA and LTE models. [Engadget]

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Is the Sony Xperia Z The Best Android Smartphone Ever? Find Out in This Great Review.

The basics

With the Sony Xperia Z, Sony’s gone all out to catch up with rivals like Samsung and Apple. On paper at least, it’s pulled it off: this Android phone is a beast. It’s packing a huge thirteen megapixel sensor and a five-inch, full HD screen, and underneath beats a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, support for 4G downloads speeds and a beefy 2GB of memory. Oh, and it’s entirely waterproof. Is that an extra plus point or just a bit pointless? Let’s find out.

The good

We’ve always had a soft spot for Sony’s design - that obsession with black plastic and solid straight lines that somehow has come to embody design from the Japanese gadget giant.

And while last year’s flagship Xperia S was just a bit too thick to compete, there’s no such problem here: this slick slab is just 7.9mm deep. Its large size isn’t for everyone - iPhone owners especially will struggle to adjust - but if you’ve been using one of the new breed of giant smartphones we’ve seen emerge over the last year, you’ll be fine.

(Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Sony’s claims that the Xperia Z is waterproof hold true: we completely submerged ours in a bowl of water for 20 minutes, and it came out the other end just fine.)

The screen meanwhile is a sight to behold: the first full HD smartphone display to reach the UK, it’s nothing short of stunning. You simply can’t see the pixels: websites, text and video all look beyond gorgeous.

Smartly, Sony has worked the Android navigation buttons (home, back and multi-tasking) right into the screen, as Google does on the Nexus devices. It works well and makes the phone seem even more monolithic when turned off. That top notch screen is helped by the superb shots the 13MP camera is capable of. They’re packed with detail - particularly impressive given how thin the Xperia Z is.

On the software front, Sony’s tweaked Android 4.1, but for once, we actually like the changes that have been made to Google’s open source operating system. It’s blindingly fast, easy to use and stuffed full of handy extras - we particularly like the widgets you can pop on the screen (and not just the homescreen either), like a one touch voice recorder.

Sony also seems to have finally figured out that fans don’t enjoy turning on their phone to find it full of spammy apps you can’t delete: there’s just pointless satnav app Wisepilot here and you can remove it straight away (Do so, and use Google Maps instead).

The bad

Fair warning: while we like it, you might hate the design. If you prefer the sleek curves of the HTC One X’ chassis, the boxy look of the Xperia Z may be the very opposite of what you’re after.

The waterproof doors also add some unnecessary clutter: if you don’t think you’re likely to take your phone swimming anytime soon, you might hate the extra fuss of having to prise open a flap every time you need to put it on to charge.

Other than that, there really is little to complain about - the Sony Xperia Z is a beefy, future-proofed phone - we just don’t know if its rivals from HTC and Samsung this spring will prove even more so.

The bottom line

The Sony Xperia Z is a coming of age for Sony Mobile. For the first time, the company’s proved it can truly kick it with the big boys, with top notch specs and a top quality camera. The size will be a bit on the excessive side for some, especially without the stylus skills of the Samsung Galaxy Note, and the lack of Android 4.2 at launch will be a blow for those who like to live on the cutting edge of tech. If you’re a longtime Sony fan with a passion for its black box design, you’ll love it. The only question: will Samsung’s Galaxy S4 blow this out of the water in the next few weeks? [GadgetShow]

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