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HTC One S in the flesh, first impressions

While were still waiting for the official launch of the long-delayed HTC One S, we managed to score a review unit and take it for a spin. HTC Philippines will eventually release the One S but before then, let me share some live photos and first impressions.

The HTC One S can be considered as the smaller sibling of the One X, down to the design, materials and construction.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

However, the One S took the distinction of being the thinnest and slimmest handset coming from HTC. At only 7.8mm, it’s one of the very rare smartphones that measure just under 8mm. The only other phone that I can remember having this slim profile is the Motorola Droid Razr.

However, since the Droid Razr somewhat cheated with its reverse chin for the housing of the rear camera, I’d give the HTC One S the crown for the slimmest Android phone we’ve ever tested and used.

The One S also sports a dual-core Qualcomm Krait 1.5GHz processor, the same CPU used in the Sony Xperia S and the Samsung Galaxy S3 in some regions. In some benchmarks, the Krait 1.5GHz performs better than the quad-core Tegra 3 processor so the One S isn’t really far behind.

And while the handset uses a Super AMOLED display, it does not have the resolution used in the One X. The 960×540 pixels in the 4.3-inch screen only results to just 256ppi density. As such, you can still see the pixels with your bare eyes even though the display is crisp and clear like many other Super AMOLED screen before it.

The hardware configuration of the HTC One S is already impressive but one concern that it shares with the One X is the limited internal storage.

HTC One S specs:
4.3″ Super AMOLED display @ 540×960 pixels, 256ppi
Dual-core 1.5GHz Krait
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4
Adreno 225
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
HSPA+ 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP autofocus rear camera, 1080p
1.3MP front-facing camera, 720p
GPS w/ aGPS support
Beats Audio
1650mAh Li-Polymer battery
Android 4.0 ICS
119.5 grams
130.9 x 65 x 7.8mm

Since the HTC One S is not yet officially launched and released in the Philippines, the unit is still a rare device in the local market.

However, you can score one of these over at Widget City for only Php24,150 (check it out here).

Watch out for our full review in a week. For the meantime, check out some live photos we took of the device.

[fancygallery ID=”ones”]

Disclosure: Widget City provided for the review unit. They are also a display banner advertiser on this site.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

20 Responses

  1. Avatar for Ja Ja says:

    Has the “chipping issue” on the black MAO HTC One S been resolved? Based on the review unit, how was it? Please do tell us more about that.

  2. Avatar for kier kier says:

    why does i only see 10gb phone memory and 2gb internal …. since it was a 16gb internal storage? pls help … not a techy person.. thanks

  3. Avatar for Kulam Kulam says:

    According to a Hong Kong/Taiwan based tech site, Asia-Pacific One S will be released with the Scopion S3 CPU instead of the new Krait S4 CPU from this article here:

    http://www.eprice.com.hk/mobile/talk…212/1/1/95088/ (doesn’t really help if you can’t read chinese but I’ll translate the most important bits here)

    “HTC One S is rumored to be released with the stellar Qualcomm S4 dual core processor, but in the earlier unveiling event in greater China, the Asia-Pacific One S will use a 1.7 Ghz overclocked S3 processor, but retains 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of on board storage. Everything else including the Camera, beats audio etc. is virtually untouched)

    • Avatar for Francis A Francis A says:

      Are the HTC One S sold online (eg widgetcity, kimstore) have the 1.5Ghz processor?

  4. Avatar for anon anon says:

    I’m torn between this and Sensation XE :|

    Deal-breaker talaga yung swappable battery at microSD slot ng sensation xe

  5. Avatar for benchmark benchmark says:

    I own a Moto Droid Razr…well yep, it is somewhat no thin in the cam area, but I find it useful for handling the phone…well thats just my observation.

    But I notice the battery is somewhat same with Motorola Droid Razr….which is one of the flaws of Moto…well I hope power handling is good in this phone.

    As for the chipping issue, (if this is true) its not a problem for my kevlar backed phone. :)

    Specs wise, HTC S is good….great substitute for X. :D

  6. Avatar for anony-mouse anony-mouse says:

    Ok let’s get over the Processor issue.

    One concern with this model is the Oxidation/chipping of back case (not sure of the proper term). See X*A forums for details

    Maybe a problem with the manufacturing process or it’s just that people having this problem have very acidic sweaty palms :p

    Does HTC PH have an answer for this? Hoping we don’t get the failed rejects from other countries.

    • Avatar for Kulam Kulam says:

      Might be the reason it was not launched along with the One X and One V, due to the MAO (Micro-arc oxidation) issues. the grey/blue one of course is not affected.it seems to “chip away” for no reasons at all. also looking to get the black one, and praying hard not to get one of the bad batches

  7. Avatar for Raymond De Jesus Raymond De Jesus says:

    Sir…. Xperia S’ processor is S3 while One S is S4 they are way different…. and “I’d give the HTC One S the crown for the slimmest Android phone”… we know that we love to hear that but… the slimmest is Huawei Ascend P1 S opinion or not.

  8. Avatar for Mark Mark says:

    Does it also use micro sim?

  9. Avatar for Yahya Yahya says:

    No, it doesn’t have the CPU like the Xperia S has. And, the One S runs on an S4 Krait, not S3. It’s clocked at 1.5 Ghz dual core (it’s supposed to be quad core).

  10. Avatar for louwe louwe says:

    This is so wrong!
    Don’t be confused! HTC One S uses a 1.5ghz S4 chip while the Sony Xperia S uses only the 1.5ghz S3 chip!
    The are not the same! S4 chip uses a new architecture while the S3 uses the old ones!
    Duh! Please don’t fool us with this one.
    I’m a big fan of Yugatech and I read all your reviews but this must be corrected.

  11. Avatar for Glen Glen says:

    Can you talk about its built quality?
    Like the micro arc oxidation that they’re advertising :)

  12. Avatar for Kulam Kulam says:

    This phone had me at hello. just hoping it reaches the 20k range within the year.time to replace my Symbian phone, and Android is the one for me!

  13. Avatar for R-a-M R-a-M says:

    Gawd… This is a beauty… Too bad I got the One V ‘coz that’s only what my pocket can afford… hehehehe…

  14. Avatar for Jeff Dela Cruz Jeff Dela Cruz says:

    I think the Xperia S is running on a 1.5 GHz dual-core Scorpion processor and not a Krait processor. Just sharing my thoughts. The HTC One S sure is beautiful.

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