[alert color=”red”]Update: Another reason was added![/alert]
Unparalleled Build Quality
HTC has been in the Android business for quite some time now (more on that later), and during that time, they have learned a great deal about what makes a great smartphone, well, great. You of course, have the software, Â sound quality (it is a phone after all), radio quality, screen technology, camera capabilities, the list goes on and on. One of the most important features though, is the design of the smartphone itself. I mean, come on. The phone might be able to do a hundred things, and then some, but if it looks hideous and is uncomfortable to use, no one is going to want to use it. Well, almost no one. Anyway, HTC took that into account when they designed their latest smartphones, and it shows. The metal unibody of the HTC One M7, M8, and soon to be released, M9, has made HTC one of the leading exemplars of how a smartphone manufacturer should design their devices.
A Company of Firsts
When the first Android device came out, guess who manufactured it? If you guessed HTC, then you guess right. (Not too hard, since this article is primarily focused on HTC). The HTC Dream was the first commercially available smartphone to hit the market back in 2008 with the Android operating system on board. Â One of the biggest hits of the year, and the beginning of what would be one of the largest mobile operating systems in the world. All thanks to a Dream shared between Google and HTC. (Pun intended.) HTC was also the chosen carrier for Verizon when they decided to release their 4G LTE network to the country, and so they created the HTC Thunderbolt. It able to download and upload at speeds that, at the time, were unheard of. And let’s not forget the Nexus One. After so many manufacturers took the Android OS and made countless adjustments to it, Google wanted to create something that would run vanilla Android, with no OEM tweaks whatsoever. HTC was again chosen to be the leader of the pack, and they released the Nexus One, which would be followed by various other Nexus devices in the upcoming years.
HTC BoomSound
One of the things that has befuddled many a user is the fact that OEM’s (which stands for original equipment manufacturer) have always placed the phones media speakers on the back of the devices. When you are watching a video, the sound can sound distorted, since it is moving away from you instead of towards you. HTC decided to make a change, and they moved not one speaker, but two, to the front of the device. As a longtime Android user, I can definitely notice the difference it makes having the speakers face you, instead of facing away. Sound is clearer, louder, and more defined, and makes any media experience better because of it.
No Gimmicks
After so many years, OEM’s have run into the issue of what they can do to differentiate them from the crowd. While one can say it has only made Android devices better in the long run, it has also lead to some not so useful features that look and function like they were scrapped together in an attempt to just add them into the Android OS. We won’t name any names, but HTC has managed to stay clear from that policy of some of its competitors and instead has focused on making features that are useful, such as HTC BoomSound and HTC Sense, which we will discuss in more detail later on.
HTC Sense
HTC Sense was born of out a need to stand apart from the other smartphone makers. When everyone was scrambling to make what really were just skinned versions of Android, HTC was busy trying to compliment it, not detract from it. So out of that came HTC Sense. Though I will say it was a bit buggy and laggy when it first came out, it is now one of the best features about owning an HTC device. Most notably, BlinkFeed, which shows you FB posts, twitter posts, and news right on the homescreen. There were also some UI tweaks that just made the overall experience of owning an Android smartphone all the better.
Uh-Oh Protection
This again proves why HTC is such a formidable player in the mobile industry. They care about their customers, and to prove it, they announced their Uh-Oh protection plan. So, when you purchase a smartphone, you usually get a 1-year warranty. That means that if the device breaks down, due to hardware or software failure that is the manufacturer’s fault, they will replace the device. If the device breaks due to user error, maybe you dropped it on concrete trying to take a picture of that cute bird you saw fly by or your friends decided to push you in the pool and you happened to have your phone on you, then you are out of luck. Well, that is, you are if you don’t own an HTC smartphone, specifically the HTC One M9 (more phones might be added to the program later on). Now if your phone dies due to a cracked screen, water damage, or you decided to change carriers, HTC will send you a brand new device, free of charge! Now there are very few companies (I can’t think of any others) that offer that kind of protection. Also, if you manage to keep your HTC One M9 safe for a whole year, then they will give you a $100 on your next HTC One smartphone (presumably the HTC One M10).
Final Thoughts
While this is by no means a complete list of why owning an HTC smartphone is a great experience, it does cover some of the more notable features that has made the smartphone company one of the best for so many years. I have owned devices from Motorola, Samsung, Asus, and some others, and I always come back to HTC. It’s hard not too when they make such great devices. For more information regarding the various smartphones manufactured by HTC, you can head over to Amazon using the link provided.
I really hope there will be another article with the opposing view. I don’t mean to kick a company while it’s down, but balance is just good journalism right? Otherwise, you do yourselves a disservice. No gimmicks with HTC phones, I could show you a load of joke camera effects on my M8 that says otherwise, and it seems the M9 has taken that to new heights of uselessness. So let’s get the facts down?…​Worse​ camera in spite of more pixels, a screen with less real colour cast, surprisingly worse battery life even though larger, a throttled SOC to prevent overheating, speakers quieter & buggy software and all wrapped up in the same design from the previous 2 years and a company that might not be around. There you go, that’s 6 six reasons I can think of off the top of my head. My view is, if you reward failure with your money blind fanboyism, you can rest assured you’ll get more of the same crap, the next. Case in point, Apple & Samsung only changed their time due to loss of market share, voting with your wallet creates a better market for consumers…​
Hello Andi! I really appreciate your time, and you make some good points. While no company is perfect, I do feel HTC has made some notable leaps in the smartphone industry. I do like your idea though, of creating an article with opposing viewpoints!
I saw they have other articles of reasons you should buy other companies smart phones. I think I read one about Motorola and OnePlus
Hello John! We sure do! Some of our other great writers have posted reasons on why you should buy smartphones from Motorola and Samsung!
HTC devices are nice and it has its own design.
Wow seriously? Looks like some sort of paid puff-piece! Did you really just regurgitate a bunch of fucking marketing material that you got in the mail from HTC?
You should be as disgusted with yourselves as your readers are.