HTC Corp. launched the new version of its flagship Android smartphone One today at an event in New York, highlighting new premium features designed to compete with Samsung’s popular devices.
The new HTC One at first appearance is similar to many smartphones selling well lately, with a 4.7 inch touch screen that runs 1080p resolution and has a high pixel density of 468 pixels per inch. The processor powering the new Android-based device is a quad-core 1.7 Ghz, and the phone is available with 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage. It’s a slender phone at just 9.3 mm thick and it weighs a lean 143 grams.
The marketing spin from HTC highlights consumer features built into the phone’s user interface. HTC’s Sense runs on top of the Android OS and will now feature a live home screen displaying content to users from social and news feeds. Called BlinkFeed, the idea is that users won’t have to open up apps to access information, instead seeing it appear automatically on the home screen.
The rear-facing camera is called an “HTC UltraPixel Camera” that supports optical stabilization, a F2.0 aperture and a 28 mm lens. It supports 1080p video recording and HDR video. There are two front speakers with built-in amplifiers.
The new HTC One has a larger, 4.7-inch screen.
HTC is trying to keep up with Samsung, the Android smartphone maker that’s winning over users with its Galaxy line of devices. According to comScore MobiLens, Samsung owned 26.3 per cent of the U.S. market at the end of October 2012, while HTC had 6 per cent of the market. Samsung had gained 0.7 per cent since the previous quarter, while HTC lost 0.4 per cent.