With its unique timeline interface, powerful feature-packed camera, impressive speakers and built-in TV compatibility, the HTC One looks to be a serious contender and one that’s likely to impress media lovers, social photographers and anyone who likes to keep their finger on the pulse. HTC graciously gave us the chance to play with the HTC One ahead of its official launch, so read on for our full thoughts...

One look

The HTC One rocks a full-metal body in either a black or silver finish (we checked out the silver model), and it’s a remarkably solid phone that should take some serious punishment.  Pressing down hard on the 4.7inch screen caused only the tiniest  bit of distortion, and it’s made of  Gorilla Glass to lower the risk of  scratches ruining your shiny new  toy. 

                            It also feels great in the hand,  thanks to its narrow design and  curved rear. Compared with the  HTC One X, for instance, it’s a little  narrower (although also slightly  elongated) and a bit thinner too at  just 9mm. The camera lens doesn’t  jut out as it did on the One X, so  that helps to keep it slender. From the front, the One is still unmistakeably an HTC phone even though the design has changed from earlier handsets. The screen stretches close to the left and right edges with a silver border top and bottom. 

                         A long speaker has been built into both silver borders, and there’s also room for touchsensitive back and home buttons  either side of the HTC logo, as well  as a front-facing camera up top. In terms of ports and physical buttons, HTC has kept things to a minimum even though you can’t prise the One open. The black power button sits on top beside the 3.5mm audio jack, while the volume buttons are combined into a single rocker on the right edge. The USB port is on the bottom as normal, while the SIM card slot sits on the left side. There’s no memory card slot  but the HTC One has either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, depending on which model you buy. 

BlinkFeed 

HTC showed off its new Sense 5.0 interface on the HTC One, which sits on top of Android 4.1.2 and offers a new experience for users. The biggest change is the new ‘BlinkFeed’ home page, which acts as a chronological collection of everything you want, from the latest news and sports headlines to your mates’ social media scribblings. BlinkFeed’s look and layout reminds us of Flipboard. Your items are arranged as randomly sized picture tiles with text overlays, such as a headline, for instance.

                      You can flick through them to see older updates, or tap one to bring up more information. As you’d expect, BlinkFeed is completely customisable so you only see what you want to. HTC is hoping to have 1,500 news feeds to choose from, including the likes of ITN, Sky News, The Independent etc. and  you can also see updates from apps and services (including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn).

                       You’ll also get calendar reminders at the start of each day, so you know what on earth you’re supposed to be doing. BlinkFeed obviously needs an internet connection to update, and it doesn’t cache the full information you get when you tap on a tile. If you don’t like BlinkFeed, you can also replace it with a standard Android homepage. 

HTC One specs

 That slim 9mm body houses a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 series processor and 2GB of RAM, and we didn’t see a single stutter as we played around. Even more impressive is the beautifully crisp 4.7-inch LCD screen, which  packs in an impressive 468 pixels-per-inch (PPI). That far exceeds what the likes of Apple’s  iPhone 5 manages, and photos and video  certainly look amazing. You get a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera which boasts the same wide-angle lens as the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, and the same countdown feature for capturing group shots with yourself included. As for the main rear-facing camera, that’s a four-megapixel effort...

 A question of megapixels

You’ll probably think that 'four-megapixel camera' was a typo (“hang on, surely that should be 14-megapixel, right?), but it’s actually an incredibly bold (and perhaps foolhardy – only time will tell) move by HTC. We’ve mentioned before in camera features that the megapixel rating is actually only a small part of a camera’s competence. The underlying technology makes a big difference to photo quality, and even the glass used plays an important part. HTC has scaled back from eight megapixels on the original One X to just four megapixels here, but that still provides a sharp enough photo to view on your telly or print out without graininess or other negative effects. 

                              The real cleverness comes with HTC’s Ultrapixel technology, which ensures the lens captures as much light as possible.  The end result is impressively detailed photos, even in low light conditions. In fact, the HTC One’s camera proved very capable at taking shots in the dingy basement where we’d gathered, thanks also in part to the f2.0 aperture lens and dual-axis optical image stabilisation (which counters hand tremors to prevent motion blur). 

                         HTC reckons its tech is comparable to Nokia’s PureView camera, found on the Lumia 920, but without the same bulk issues. From our brief play, it looks like it may be right. The question is, will consumers be swayed by a four-megapixel camera compared to a 13-megapixel effort from rival manufacturers when faced with both options in the store? 

Say hello to Zoe 

HTC is also hoping to change the way you use your phone’s camera, with the new Zoe mode. The whole idea is ‘not missing the moment’ – so the camera will actually start to cache images before you press the shutter button, and store them from both before and after you push it. Therefore, even if you’re slow off the mark to capture a funny or exciting moment, the camera will still make sure you have it stored. 

                               The HTC One X allowed you to take a snap at the same time as shooting video, but the HTC One’s Zoe mode actually combines them both, shooting a brief three-second clip as well as taking 30 photos automatically. You can skim through and edit these photos with an incredible number of options, including some beautifying features such as face slimming and skin smoothing (perfect for those flattering Facebook profile pics). 

                             You can even blow up your eyes into freaky enormous Manga efforts.  There’s also a clever face tweaker similar to the BlackBerry Z10’s Time Shift mode, which rewinds people’s faces back in time to a moment where they weren’t looking weird. The HTC One will combine your Zoe clips and photos into a collection automatically, so you can quickly create a montage of your day and upload it to social media sites. It’s an interesting idea and the collection of three-second clips gives a fast-paced music video feel to your memories, giving an engaging overview of a place you visited or a special time. It’s one of those things you’ll either fall in love with or never even use.   

Other features

 HTC has always concentrated on sound quality in its smartphones, and the HTC One once again rocks Beats Audio to boost your lesser-sounding tracks. However, the big news is the two front-facing speakers, which put out a surprisingly powerful sound (amusingly labelled ‘BoomSound’ by HTC). We sampled a quick blast of music and it was easily loud enough to fill the reasonably-sized room, without any real loss in quality. 

                        Pretty much anyone with a smartphone will regularly mess around with it in front of the telly, keeping one eye on their emails and the other on Bargain Hunt. HTC knows this, so it’s included an infrared remote control app that’s well integrated into Android. You get full controls plus a builtin TV guide that shows you what  programes are on right now. 

                    You can tap a show to bring it up  on your TV, and the One sticks it  into your notification bar so you can  quickly access it again if you flick  over. You even get reminders in  your BlinkFeed about your favourite  shows, so you don’t miss them.

HTC One UK release date and pricing 

 As this issue was due to go to press, HTC announced that every UK operator and retailer would  be stocking the HTC One from March, with pricing ‘comparable to the One X’, so we'd expect the 32GB model to set you back around £400 SIM-free, with the 64GB model  coming in at closer to £500. 

 

 

LG’s Optimus phones had a busy MWC, with a new L-Series, F-Series and an update to the Optimus G

LG’s Optimus G Pro is one of the most exciting new smartphones we played with at MWC 2013, cramming tons of fantastic and original new features into a sleek and powerful frame. Although it isn’t currently confirmed for UK release (the original Optimus G sank before arrival on these shores), we’re really hoping it makes it over here – and this is why.

                                    First, let’s admire that 5.5-inch body, which keeps the same slick, glossy design of the Optimus G. The screen takes up a generous portion of the front panel, with a very thin bezel either side. It’s pleasingly slender with a silver bar running around the edge, and a shiny white back sporting the LTE logo – this is a 4G phone, so you’ll be able to make full use of the new speedy network that’s rolling out across the UK.

                             The camera lens protrudes ever so slightly, but you’ll barely even notice. The Full HD IPS display packs in 400 pixels per inch, which makes the LG Optimus G Pro’s screen sharper than Apple’s iPhone Retina display, and although the likes of Asus’ Padfone Infinity rocks an even crisper 441ppi, we’d be hard pressed to notice the difference. 

                                 The Optimus G Pro’s screen is incredibly vibrant with beautifully rich colours, and at 5.5 inches it’s a great way to play with your apps or take in a movie, and the 3,140mAh battery will hopefully keep you going for a day or more. You’d expect the LG Optimus G Pro to pack a quad-core processor, and of course it does, running at 1.7GHz for speedy performance. 

                                          Rounding off the  specs is a 13-megapixel camera on the back, and a sharp 2.1-megapixel front-facer. We’re massively impressed with the sheer number of excellent features LG has thrown into the Optimus G Pro. For instance, its new dual recording option allows you to film with both the front and back cameras at once (with one of them showing as a boxout window) – a great way to film a commentary as you shoot a place you’re visiting, or some family activity. 

                              When you’re playing the movie back, you can watch it in a resizable window while you play with apps or compose an email, and you can also fade the movie while keeping it fullscreen, to do something else in the background. With three or four apps running side-by-side at once, the Optimus G Pro never stuttered. Filming HD movies in noisy environments is also much easier thanks to a clever zoom feature, which picks up sound from a central subject while ignoring everything else around it. 

            We saw footage shot in a hotel room with a stereo blasting music, and when the shot zoomed into the TV, the music faded and the TV audio was picked up with surprising clarity. There are plenty more features to talk about, but we’ll save them for the full LG Optimus G Pro review, coming soon. 

                                                                                     

 BlackBerry Hub



From almost any part of BB10, you can flick your finger up the screen and then to the right to access the BlackBerry Hub – a smart collection of all of your alerts, from texts and mails to Twitter mentions and calendar reminders. It’s a great way to see all of your notifications in one place and the fact that you can respond from within the Hub makes life nice and easy. The BlackBerry 10 OS will be a cyber stalker’s bestest buddy, thanks to its new calendar feature which lists all attendees for any upcoming meetings. You can select an individual and BlackBerry 10 will gather as much info as possible from the web (if they’re not already your contact), from the likes of LinkedIn. As well as a photo, you can see their recent activities and any prior times you may have met with them.

 Remember

                                                              
                                   Remember is just what it sounds like – a way to remember important stuff quickly and easily. It’s essentially a collection of virtual folders to which you can add text notes, photos, audio recordings and attachments – useful if you’re compiling all of your correspondence on a particular work project, for instance. Doesn’t sound too shiny or exciting, but it’s incredibly helpful for quick reference. Flagging emails in the Hub is supposed to automatically add them to Remember, ready for filing. However, we found that this wouldn’t work with our Gmail messages for some reason.  Still, we loved being able to file away our photos and videos in different folders, with annotations to remind us of the places we visited.


Story Maker                                      
                 

                                   
                          
                                  Story Maker is BlackBerry’s version of Apple’s iMovie, which lets you string together photos, video clips and sound clips/music to produce a home movie. You can add subtitles and hilarious captions, and then share with your friends and family to prove what a talented director you are. Story Maker is aimed at non-techy people who want their video software to be a simple, no-hassle drag-and-drop affair. It’s easy to select a bunch of photos and videos to string together, and slap a song over the top, but don’t expect much more control that that – for instance, we couldn’t see any way to raise or lower the volume of the soundtrack so you can hear what’s going on during videos. You’re also limited to putting captions at the start and end. However, the end result looks decent, with photos flashing up in a cool split-screen montage.

 BBM

                                     

                                 Blossoming from a simple text instant messaging service to a full-on video chat tool, BBM is an excellent way to stay in touch with fellow ‘Berry fans. It works the same as ever, but with Skypestyle video chat now included, you can converse  with loved ones face-to-face, even when you’re in  completely different countries. You can only video  chat with fellow BB10 users, but voice chat is still  possible with older BlackBerry owners. However, probably the coolest feature is the new screen sharing function (left), which allows a remote user to check out your desktop. This is a quick and easy way to show off your mighty collection of apps for instance, or  your fantastic holiday photo album.

BlackBerry Balance

                          

                               BlackBerrys are traditionally work devices, but it can be pretty irritating carrying around separate work and personal devices. BlackBerry Balance aims to separate your work life from your home life, giving you two separate profiles to set up however you like. Download games and movies onto your personal section, and fill it with photos of friends and family. Meanwhile, your work section can be used exclusively for filing your important documents and other businessy stuff. BlackBerry Balance isn’t just a simple profile feature, however. Your work section can also be remotely accessed by your work’s IT team in case of emergency, to wipe any sensitive data. That way, if you happen to be a super spy and your mobile ends up in some evil organisation’s hands, you can have any important files deleted remotely.

Time Shift
                                

                                  

                                   Taking a photo of a big group of people is one of the most teeth-gnashingly frustrating experiences ever, especially where kids are involved. Guaranteed, one will be blinking, another will have their finger stuffed up their nose, and the last will pull a face just as you push the shutter button. This is where BlackBerry’s Time Shift saves you from taking a dozen shots in pursuit of the perfect photo. The camera actually takes two seconds of footage when you hit the button, and you can rewind and fast-forward each individual’s face until you find a moment where they look vaguely presentable. If you take a shot close-up, the join can look a little flimsy, but for a group shot taken at distance it’s a great solution that offers a unique twist on most manufacturers’ ‘multi-shot’ function.

Huawei  Ascend P2

Huawei’s ascend P2 is the follow-up  to last year’s hit ascend P1 smartphone,  and is being billed as the ‘world’s fastest  smartphone’. That’s not a reference to  the zippy 1.5GHz quad-core processor  and 1GB of RaM, however - rather, it’s a  nod to the Category 4 LTe support,  which theoretically means the  ascend P2 can use 4G to download  data at speeds up to 150Mbps.

                          Theoretically... For a phone with a 4.7-inch screen,  the ascend P2 is impressively slender  at just 8.4mm and is so light that you’ll  hardly feel it in your pocket. The large screen  is super sharp thanks to the 1280 x 720 pixel  resolution and the all-glass front panel gives  the handset a classy look.

                       we had a quick play with Huawei’s new  interface at Mobile world Congress, which  sits on top of android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and  switching between desktops is a smooth  experience, while a handy widget on the  home page clusters all of your important  information, including news, weather and your photos, like those taken with the P2’s  13-megapixel camera. at £350-ish for a quad-core smartphone,  the Huawei ascend P2 should be a bargain  worth picking up.

Mozilla’s Firefox is ready to set up a battle of the OSes

The first Firefox phones for consumers were unveiled at Mobile World Congress but the overwhelming response was one of disappointment. Firefox, created by Mozilla, has long been one of the leading alternative browsers to Microsoft’s Internet explorer and Apple’s Safari. Until Chrome came along, Firefox’s innovation and ability to be customised made it the go-to program for many users, so when Mozilla announced that it was working on a mobile operating system, we were excited.

                               However, when we finally got  our hands on the Alcatel One Touch Fire – the first Firefox phone – what we were met with was underwhelming. At first glance, it looks like a nice compact phone, but it doesn’t take long for the cracks to show. Physically, the phone is not a bad little device. The curved corners and soft-touch back feel good in the hand, and it’s a decent weight, but once we started to prod the screen, these positives became irrelevant. 

                                         Mozilla’s new Firefox OS is not the Android/iOS rival we were hoping for. The only way it relates to Android is in how reminiscent it is of a clunky version of Gingerbread. To be fair to Alcatel/ Mozilla, the software was still in beta, but if this phone is going to be on the market within months as planned, the huge leaps in performance needed are simply not going to materialise. The amount of lag when using the OS is horrifying, and apps take what seems like forever to open (when they don’t simply crash). 

                                     The One Touch Fire has a lowresolution 3.5-inch, 480-by-320pixel display and the 3.2-megapixel camera is grainy with serious shutter lag. The front of the phone has one physical button, but even that feels loose and ineffectual when pressed. Looking under the hood, it’s unsurprising that the user experience  hands on is less-than-perfect. 

                                          There’s a 1Ghz processor, but that is supported by just 256MB of RAM. The storage space is equally stingy – the One Touch Fire packs a tiny 180MB, however this can be expanded via microSD. Alcatel is clearly aiming for firsttime smartphone users and those  in developing countries, but at this  point, it’s going to struggle against  rival manufacturers and operating  systems .

 Open and shut case 

The second Firefox phone on display at MWC was the ZTe Open. Alas, things did not pick up for the new OS.  Upon holding the phone, the first thought is to how cheap it feels. The body is light and flimsy and feels as if its innards aren’t big enough to take up the space inside. 

                                    The screen and camera are the same as the Alcatel, as is the RAM on offer (256MB), however the storage is slightly better at 512MB. Once again, the operating system is poorly-rendered and unresponsive, and the time between swipes and on-screen action is unforgivably long.  There is no firm release date for this phone yet, but if/when it does arrive in the UK, it will be firmly embedded in the budget handset camp.

 Sony Offers FireFox experience

 Despite the various issues with the OS so far, there is still interest from other manufacturers. Sony has thrown some of its weight behind Firefox, offering the software to developers and tech-savvy users. An experimental ROM of the platform has been made available for the Sony Xperia E, letting users have a first-hand play with the OS.

                                  If you’re interested, tread carefully - the Firefox OS ROM comes with a warning that unlocking your bootloader and switching operating systems ‘may void your warranty’. Nonetheless, the fact that Sony is bothering at all is a sign that the Japanese giant sees something in the upstart.

Alongside the Lumia 720, Nokia launched a new super-budget Windows Phone 8 device called the Lumia 520. Priced at just €139 (pre-tax), the Lumia 520 is a fourinch slab of colour,  with bright removable backs that can be swapped depending on your mood. It’s a chunky little beast, but doesn’t feel too heavy in the hand. he back pops off easily, giving you access to the battery and SIM/ memory card slots, and allowing you to swap to a whole new colour. 

                               The Lumia 520’s 1GHz processor is basic but does the job, keeping Windows Phone 8 running smoothly. The screen isn’t as vibrant as the Lumia 720’s, but it’s reasonably  crisp and bright and pretty good  for the cash. You get a capable five-megapixel camera that packs a Carl Zeiss lens, the same as the Lumia 920, and the Lumia 520 seemed to take decent low-light shots in our brief fiddle. 

                                 You get all of the great camera features too, such as Cinemagraph (which allows you to animate parts of a photo, with creepy results), but no front-facing lens. Expect a full review soon, with the Lumia 520 to hit UK stores in Q2.