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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FaceBook Unveils Graph Search [Video]

Facebook this morning announced "Graph Search," a way to search all of Facebook's content for queries tailored to your profile. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the search by saying, "Graph Search is meant to answer very specific questions like 'Who are my friends in San Francisco?" In a video released by Facebook just after the announcement, project lead Lars Rasmussen (formerly of Google Maps / Waves fame) related a story about needing a dentist in a town he'd just moved to, and being able to search through which dentists his friends used for a tailored result. Worry not, privacy protectors: we're told Graph Search is "privacy aware;" Facebook's even dedicated 10 percent of its computing power just to the goal of ensuring privacy. And no, none of your privacy settings will automatically change as a result of signing up or using Graph Search.

It's being touted as a return to Facebook's roots, when the company's main goal was forging connections between people (rather than, say, a gaming portal, or a means for companies to advertise). Graph Search is essentially a relaunch of Facebook's internal search engine, allowing its already existing users to forge new relationships with folks they may not otherwise meet, and to find content that's hyper-specific. The beta -- albeit in a limited, English-only capacity -- kicks off today. During that period only a "subset of content" is available through search, with four primary areas of focus: people, photos, places, and interests. Facebooks says Graph Search will expand, "over the coming months," with additions like searchable wall posts and song listens (only if your privacy settings allow those things to be searchable, that is).

You can head right here to get whitelisted for the beta, which is apparently rolling out "very slowly." Or you could head past the break right now for the full PR from Facebook and a walkthrough video.

Update: Facebook "one more thing'd" us during its event, saying that Graph Search will also pull in Bing search results. [Engadget]

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