HTC Malaysia has recently sent us a media invite to the launch of the HTC One Max next week, their latest “big screen, state-of-the-art premium device” smartphone.
The pricing of the HTC One Max will only be officially revealed next Thursday. As of now, according to our source, the HTC One Max will be sold in Malaysia at the retail price of RM2499. (Note: Pricing is correct at the point of writing and it is based on very reliable sources).
The One Max was first unveiled mid last month. It packs a 5.9″ 1080p IPS display and is powered by the Snapdragon 600 chipset with a 1.7GHz quad-core Krait 300 processor, Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM.
Key features & short impression below:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
- 5.9″ 16M-color 1080p Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen with 373ppi pixel density
- Android OS v4.3 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.5
- Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset
- 4 MP autofocus “UltraPixel” camera with 1/3″ sensor size, 2µm pixel size; LED flash
- 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
- HTC Zoe
- 2.1 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV-out (Miracast)
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- 16GB/32GB of built-in storage, expandable via a microSD slot
- MHL-enabled microUSB port
- Bluetooth v4.0
- NFC
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Sleek aluminum body
- Front-mounted stereo speakers with BoomSound tech
- Fingerprint sensor
Short Impression:
There’s however a few down side of the phone. Despite its huge size, the camera is just too small in terms of megapixel and lacking OIS.
Quoting from what TheVerge reviewed:
“HTC’s 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera makes a reappearance on the One max, however it discards one rather important feature from the original One: optical image stabilization (OIS). That’ll have an impact when you’re shooting from a less than perfectly still position or in lower light, though let’s not forget that even with OIS the One’s camera is not exactly a world beater…”
And the fingerprint sensor:
“Firstly, it’s placed in exactly the wrong place. Sitting immediately below the camera lens and requiring a swipe, it pretty much compels you to smudge the lens every time you want to identify yourself. The need for a vertical swipe is also problematic, since your hand’s natural position is at an angle to the sensor, demanding an unnatural and uncomfortable motion to activate it. Inevitably, that leads to regular failures to recognize your epidermic signature.”
Despite some of the minor disadvantages, the HTC One Max has one of the best display and best speakers in the market. The back cover is removable but battery is not user-replaceable. However, it has a huge 3,300 mAh capacity, said to be enough for up 28 hours of talk time or 585 hours of stand-by.
The metal unibody would make most people happy for its premium feel, especially those who dislike the plastic feel of the Samsung Galaxy Notes. But at RM2499, we feel that HTC Malaysia should lower down the price. When it comes to features, a few smartphones out there are priced cheaper than the One Max.
There’s also two upcoming phones in the same range that would compete with the HTC One Max. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra comes with a 6.44″ Triluminous display and it is expected to be cheaper than the One Max. The Acer Liquid S2 packs a 6″ IPS screen and we doubt that Acer would sell this at a higher price. Both smartphones are powered by a better processor, the Snapdragon 800.
More official details will be out next week.
