If there is a fading brand in the world of smart phones, especially in the Android space, it would be HTC. We have been hearing a lot about how HTC has supposedly been falling in the past couple of years. Their HTC One X and series of devices were considered an initiative for a turn around in 2012, and the same mantra is now being applied for the HTC One, their newest 2013 flagship device that launched just before the Mobile World Congress. This flagship from HTC is one of their most interesting efforts. You can see the fruits in every department including design, build, hardware, and definitely the camera. We have had some hands on experience of the One at the Mobile World Congress, but we now have it in our labs. And as a precursor, we start with the ritualistic unboxing of the device.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05AIqAl3mPc
Like the HTC One, its box packaging is nicely designed too. Usually you get boxes that are rectangle and edgy, but echoing the design of the phone, this box too has rounded corners, which sits nicely with the huge image of the phone on the front.
Inside the box sits the phone in a nicely wrapped plastic cover. Even on the insides, it looks minimalistic.
So, lets take a look at the device then! As you can see below, the device has gorgeous hardware. The design reminds us of the iPhone 5 with chamfered edges and rounded corners but HTC have made a mark of their unique design with the speaker grills on the top and bottom and the distinct difference between glass and the aluminium frame on the front.
Again, you can see the device itself in full glory above. The chamfered edges are striking and the deep blacks on the display makes it look really sleek. The One measures at 9.3mm of thickness, which makes it on par with the BlackBerry Z10. Weighing in at 143 grams, it feels reassuring and premium and at the same time, not too heavy. 
On the top you have the power/lock switch, which is awkwardly placed, and there is a 3.5mm audio jack to its right. On the face of the device, you can see the really wide angle 2MP front facing camera that can record full HD videos. The ear piece is coupled with a speaker grille, machined with laser etched dots. There are also a couple of sensors there, one being the ambient light sensor and the other being the proximity sensor we assume. It is important to note that the front facing too, like the rear facing camera, has OIS technology for image stabilization.
On the bottom, you have the primary microphone for voice calls and the micro USB port, which doubles up as HDMI out, using the MHL technologyt. The bottom face has the same speaker grille again, making the phone stereo capable with really loud beats audio. Above the grille, you can notice the lack of the multitasking button and the odd placement of the home button on the right, the HTC logo in the middle and the back button on the left.
The front is adorned by the gorgeous 468 ppi 4.7 inch SLCD3 full HD 1920x1080p display, which is easily one of the best displays we have ever seen. It has great viewing angles, great colour reproduction and insane pixel density. Even though it is not much of a visual advantage from 720p displays, this display still wants to be touched and turned on when you have the phone with you.
Unlike most phones of today, the left side of the phone houses the micro SIM card tray that is ejected using a tool. Also, you can notice the sandwich like design that HTC has opted for, in the One. The middle part, or the stuff of the Sandwich is made of high quality polycarbonate plastic, which Aluminium takes care of the front and the back along with Corning gorilla glass 3 for the display.
The right side of the phone has the volume rocker which is made of machined Aluminium with a rounded pattern.
The back of the phone has two strips of polycarbonate material running through, which looks brilliant. There is a HTC logo in the middle, a beats logo in the bottom and the camera unit with the LED flash on the top. We also have a secondary microphone there snuck in between the polycarbonate strip on the top. Speaking of the camera, it, what HTC claims, is a UltraPixel camera, with a 4 MP sensor. We had done a detailed write up on this earlier, in case you are wondering what the Ultrapixel is all about. We will bring you samples and more information on it soon.
Oh, and inside the box, you get a Beats branded in ear headset with red ear buds. More about the unboxing in the video above, so don’t forget to watch it. And to quickly recap, here are all of the specifications of the HTC One –
HTC One Specifications
- 4.7-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with 468ppi
- 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor
- UltraPixel rear camera with LED Flash, BSI Sensor and Optical Image Stabilization ,F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens
- Full HD (1080p) video recording with HDR Video
- Object Removal, Group Retouch, and Sequence Shot photos
- 2 MP HD front-facing camera
- 3.5 mm headset jack, Beats audio support
- 2 GB RAM, 32GB / 64GB internal memory
- 4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX codec, DNLA, MHL, GPS with GLONASS
- 2300 mAh battery
- 9.9mm thick, Weighs 148g
- Android 4.1 Jellybean with HTC BlinkFeed , HTC Zoe,HTC BoomSound
- NFC
So, that’s it for the unboxing now. We will be bringing you more on the HTC One soon, so if you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below, and it shall be answered!
Bharadwaj contributed to this report.