Hasta La Gadget!

A lot of the smartphone color options we see announced are no big deal, but there was a certain something about HTC’s metallic red One that demanded closer attention. We’ve just handled the burgundy bombshell, which has the same hardware credentials seen on the silver and black options (4.7-inch 1080p display, UltraPixel camera, Snapdragon 600 processor), but coated in a metallic “glamour red” finish just in time for summer. The color extends across the rear of the smartphone, the two speaker panels on the front and the chamfered edge that connects the two. The effect is slightly textured to the touch (more than the initial monochrome models, at least), making it a bit easier to grip, while bouncing around any ambient light that manages to hit it. That’s pretty much all there is to say, but you can scrutinize the new choice of color in our gallery below — and check our full review, because the phone’s fortunately otherwise unchanged.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Facebook

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We hate to say this, but the KIRF market is often a good indicator of how popular certain devices are, hence the plentiful fake iPhones and Galaxy phones in China. (Meanwhile, MediaTek is shamelessly cashing in as it ships its SoCs to those cloning factories.) Now, we’re not saying the HTC One doesn’t have any clones, but most of those we’ve seen weren’t very convincing — they were either of different sizes or had very poor build quality. But we eventually stumbled upon a pretty good fake in Huaqiangbei.

The offending device is pictured above on the left. Externally, it bears a disgustingly strong resemblance to the real deal thanks to the same 4.7-inch screen size, the same curved back, the same micro-SIM tray, the same dual-soft-key layout and even the same metallic chamfer on the front. But if you look closer or touch it even, the tell-tale signs start to show up. See for yourself in the gallery below — the fake One is to the left or on top of the real thing.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Verizon’s flagship Moto X will release on August 23rd, according to a leaked road map obtained by PhoneArena. The site also notes that Motorola’s first handset built in the US gives users who order online the choice of separate colors for the back cover and trim and can also be engraved a la iPods and Zune HDs of yore; brick and mortar retail models will be standard black. The document also lists an August 1st release date for the HTC One, a phone we still have a soft spot for. We’ve reached out to the Big Red carrier for confirmation and will update this post accordingly should we hear back.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Verizon

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Source: PhoneArena

Last week we got our hands on the HTC One Google Play edition and shared our first impressions. Today we dig a little deeper into how this superphone differs from its Sense 5-equipped siblings, with a focus on benchmarks, battery life and camera performance. As you’ll recall, Samsung introduced a Galaxy S 4 running stock Android at Google I/O and HTC quickly followed suit by announcing an unskinned version of its own flagship, the One. The handset, which went on sale in the Play store on June 26th for $599 unsubsidized, is based on AT&T’s 32GB model and features identical specs. As such, it also comes with the same limitations. So, what’s the HTC One like with stock Android? Is it better than the devices running Sense 5? What do you give up and, most importantly, is it worth spending the premium for this Google Play edition? Find out after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Google

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Vudu’s player for Android launched last year with tablet support, and now a new update lets it work on a limited selection of phones. Newer Samsung handsets, the Nexus 4, HTC One and several other devices round out the list, as the app works for either streaming or downloading movies. It worked without issue on our Nexus 4, however since its UI hasn’t changed from the tablet version some of the buttons were smaller than we’d like. Also, we couldn’t get the video to play in any res beyond SD so it wasn’t the sharpest, but there was a high enough bitrate to make movie-watching enjoyable on the small screen. As usual, the app is free, if you have an account with the VOD / Ultraviolet service hit the Play Store link below to see if works on your hardware of choice.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

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Source: Google Play, Vudu Blog