HTC One SV

HTC ONE SV REVIEW

The HTC One SV for Boost Mobile is an Android phone tailor-made for bargain hunters. you get a stylish handset with a bright screen and fast camera, plus access to a growing 4G LTE network (powered by Sprint). Measuring a wafer-thin 0.36 of an inch deep and 5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide, the device is practically petite by today's gargantuan smartphone standards. The phone manages to tip the scales at a featherweight 4.3 ounces, too, making it a breeze to carry or slip into pockets. Of course the tradeoff is the One SV's smaller 4.3-inch (800x400-pixel) LCD display. It has a lower pixel count than the HD-resolution screens you'll find on many high-end handsets. As a result text and images appear less sharp than I prefer and viewing angles are shallow. Even so, the display does get pretty bright. Above the screen is a long earpiece grille with five red dashes embedded within it that push the One SV's futuristic look even further. Here too is a 1.6 megapixel front-facing camera, while below the display are three capacitive and backlit keys, yes, red as well, for main Android operations. HTC kept ports and buttons at a minimum with just a Micro-USB connection on the handset's bottom lip, a thin volume bar on the right, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and power key up top. Around back live the One SV's 5-megapixel main camera, LED flash, and neon-red battery cover. The cover is thin but sports a soft-touch surface that's easy to grip and repels fingerprints. Underneath you'll find an 1,800mAh removable battery, plus slots for SIM and microSD cards. Running the Android 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the HTC One SV offers a modern software experience. Sure, it's not the latest and most advanced operating system that has rolled off Google's assembly line, that being Android version 4.1/4.2 Jelly Bean. HTC has layered its own Sense 4.1 user interface on top of the OS, though. It boasts plenty of useful enhancements such as a lock screen with customizable quick-launch icons, special gesture controls, and browser tools. To unlock the device and jump to the home screen simply flick a virtual ring from the bottom of the screen upward. You can also choose from four icons (phone, e-mail, messages, and camera by default) to drag into the ring's center, launching its associated function straight away. There are seven home screens at your disposal, too, which you can fill and tweak with widgets and shortcuts to applications. Dragging items on top of each other automatically creates folders to keep your screen layout tidy. HTC's gesture controls adds another twist. For example, instead of clumsily dragging application icons to the edge of the screen to place them on the next available home screen, just hold your finger down on a shortcut while swiping left or right. Doing so will cycle through screens until you locate an ideal spot to drop your favorite app or widget onto. Sense also natively supports multiple social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The upside of this integration is that the phone will scan your contacts list and suggest possible links among these services. You can view photos your friends have shared as well and see any recent updates they've made within the People app. The HTC One SV is a true Android smartphone and with this pedigree comes support for all of Google's popular services such as Gmail, Google+, the Chrome browser, and the Google Play storefront. There you'll find a wide selection of books, movies, music, and over 700,000 apps for download. The device supports corporate and personal e-mail accounts too, and the previously mentioned social networks. Useful third-party applications preloaded include the Dropbox file-sharing app and TuneIn's Internet radio player. Like all conscientious wireless carriers, Cricket has thrown in its own grab bag of software, most of it of little value, such as a mobile Web app, Cricket Browser, and MyBackup, a contact-saving tool. Muve Music, however, is another story. The free Muve service essentially lets you search for and stream or download audio tracks right to your Cricket handset. In fact, the One SV comes with a special 4GB Muve microSD Card, 3GB of which is reserved for storing Muve tunes. Don't get any ideas, though; Muve music you download is encrypted and only playable on the phone. An added benefit of the re-jigged design is that you can easily remove the back cover of the HTC One SV which not only gives you access to the microSIM and microSD slots, but also the removable 1,800mAh battery – which has been given a slight bump to improve the life of the phone. The HTC One SV flaunts a thin, stylish look, a fast processor, and free Muve Music service.

SPECIFICATION & FEATURES

HTC ONE SV PRICE

Price in USA $442

Price in UK £200

Price in EURO €320

Price in PAK Rs.48,000

Price in INDIA Rs.25,300