HTC One A9

breeno

Hey guys,

What are we thinking of the new HTC offering? I think it looks great(albeit an iPhone clone).

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/20/9567471/htc-one-android-6-0-marshmallow-iphone

The price of 399 dollars unlocked looks great but reports say that will translate as 500 to 600 euro when it gets here which is flagship territory.

I have a family member coming over from the states at the end of November. Thinking about getting them to bring one home for me. The network details from the official site are as follows

Network
AT&T,TMUS,VzW: 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; 3G UMTS 850/AWS(1700)/1900/2100; 4G LTE Bands FDD 2,3,4,5,7,12,13,17,29
SPCS: 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; 3G UMTS 850/AWS(1700)/1900/2100; CDMA BC0/BC1/BC10 4G LTE Bands FDD 2,4,5,12,25,26 TDD: 41

Would the unlocked model work here in Ireland and would it get 3g/4g on Vodafone or Three?

Interested to hear people's thoughts on the phone itself too.

Dublinstiofán

Apple will love that

biebiebie

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Apple will love that

Yes but didn't HTC have that aluminium design on the HTC One M8 before Apple released the iPhone 6?!

Bluefoam

Yeh, Apple copied the HTC design language first...

This looks like a great phone, especially if it come in below flagship prices

super_furry

Jesus that's pretty blatant. I feel that HTC are getting desperate now, they were in such a stong position after the success of the M7 and M8 but today dropped the ball with the M9 and it's going to take more than an iPhone clone to have them back challenging Samsung.

breeno

An article on the journal (at least I think it was the journal) mentioned €549 as the sim free price here. Seems a tad steep maybe?

Any idea about the LTE bands of the American model working over here? €350 or so would be a steal(US warranty issues aside).

Bluefoam

By all accounts this seems to be a good phone... premium build and features with a mid range processor and price... Seems to me that mid range is more than capable these days...

I'm hoping it sells well, I'm a big HTC fanboy

BTW... Zoe is going back to its original format... allowing you to take 3 second clips with each photo. I had a great time with this travelling around Asia, but they removed that functionality when they made Zoe multiplatform. Looking forward to getting it back

Mr E

Me too... 4 HTC phones in a row since 2009.

Bluefoam

I've had:
Hero
Desire S
Butterfly
One M7
One M9
Nexus 9
Re Camera

I'm a huge fan of Sense & looking forward to the new (even more) paired back version...

mad muffin

This would drive me mental.



http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/20/htc-announces-one-a9-iphone-clone-but-with-some-interesting-differences/

Bluefoam

mad muffin wrote: »

This would drive me mental.

http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/20/htc-announces-one-a9-iphone-clone-but-with-some-interesting-differences/

It's true that apple have more control over their component placement, due to their unique architecture, control over the operating system & critical mass in terms of supply chain...

HTC have to buy standard chips, components etc & fit them into the limited space as best as possible, without blowing their development or procurement budgets... would I prefer more attention to detail, yes... would the average mid range Android customer be willing to shell out a significant amount of euros extra for that level of detail... probably not, & that's where apple are able to occupy their own space in the market.

Lets remember, this is a mid level phone, with allot of premium features... It does not claim to compete directly with the iPhone.

super_furry

Getting rid of Boomsounds seems like a big step back too.

KillerShamrock

Im sorry but as a big HTC fan and owner of the original hero, This phone does nothing except disappoint me in every way.

Yeah its got good mid ranger specs, yeah its running sense (imo the best skin bar stock) but what the hell HTC talk about a fall from grace copying apple who in fairness copied you, but to copy a copy wtf talk about poor form ( I would expect and see it from samsung).

The design department need to be sacked straight away and who ever approved this as well.
An Iphone 6 running android with a slightly different home button and a usb slot instead of a lightning connector

HTC used to be the innovators of android coming out with stuff first now they are reduced to this... :mad::mad::mad:

As for a compact mid ranger why choose this over any of the z compacts which would be superior in most ways bar the screen size and res plus at this point they would be cheaper. Also no boom sound is a big no no it made HTCs as of late then its gone

This is supposedly going to cost €599 sim free now to me that is top end price for mid range specs no thank you.

Ah well Ill stick LG or go nexus/Moto next I really dont want an Ihtcphone and never will.

beno619

KillerShamrock wrote: »

Ah well Ill stick LG or go nexus/Moto next I really dont want an Ihtcphone and never will.

The A9 wasnt meant for you and isnt a true flagship, the M10 will hopefully deliver what most HTC fans want.

Bluefoam

beno619 wrote: »

The A9 wasnt meant for you and isnt a true flagship, the M10 will hopefully deliver what most HTC fans want.

Agreed, I'm happy with my M9 & will probably upgrade to the next flagship when it arrives...

Dublinstiofán

biebiebie wrote: »

Yes but didn't HTC have that aluminium design on the HTC One M8 before Apple released the iPhone 6?!

Apples first iPhone in 2007 was aluminium. But I doubt they could patient the use of aluminium.

There is a clear design copyright issue though. I'm sure Apple will take em to court over some sort of infringement.

in5pectre

2150mAh battery. Was thinking about it until I saw that.

Bluefoam

in5pectre wrote: »

2150mAh battery. Was thinking about it until I saw that.

I've heard the battery is lasting quite well in early units... Remember, this hasn't got a uhd screen and is running marshmallow/doze...

in5pectre

Bluefoam wrote: »

I've heard the battery is lasting quite well in early units... Remember, this hasn't got a uhd screen and is running marshmallow/doze...

I know, but....

Just never had a HTC with great battery life.

Actually, wonder what the benchmarks are like for M vs L for the same phone. Must check it out.

in5pectre

Just had a quick look. Seems the N5 battery was extended three-fold (standby) with M. That's impressive!

Somedaythefire

It's kind of odd that they're offering a phone that's not really a flagship at those kinds of prices, isn't it? I'm a lover of HTC's hardware, but not a chance I'd buy another. This A9 seems like it wants to target the cheaper "flagship killers" without actually going for flagship spec.

beno619

Somedaythefire wrote: »

It's kind of odd that they're offering a phone that's not really a flagship at those kinds of prices, isn't it? I'm a lover of HTC's hardware, but not a chance I'd buy another. This A9 seems like it wants to target the cheaper "flagship killers" without actually going for flagship spec.

I don't agree with the price and its an area where HTC really struggle. But most of the supposed "flagships" offer flagship specs but fail when it comes to user experience.

Somedaythefire

beno619 wrote: »

I don't agree with the price and its an area where HTC really struggle. But most of the supposed "flagships" offer flagship specs but fail when it comes to user experience.

HTC isn't that much better really. I guess Sense is better than TouchWiz, but that's about it.

beno619

Somedaythefire wrote: »

HTC isn't that much better really. I guess Sense is better than TouchWiz, but that's about it.

Id say their customer service is one of the bet in Android land.
Sense is still better than stock android in some areas even though the gap has closed significantly.
Id also say they are the best in terms up updates.

Somedaythefire

beno619 wrote: »

Id say their customer service is one of the bet in Android land.
Sense is still better than stock android in some areas even though the gap has closed significantly.
Id also say they are the best in terms up updates.

I wouldn't particularly say Sense is better than stock, though that's personal opinion. My phone is a lot better since I flashed stock. Updates, I disagree. I was on the One X before this and that was an absolute nightmare. Bad taste in my mouth from that.

beno619

Somedaythefire wrote: »

I wouldn't particularly say Sense is better than stock, though that's personal opinion. My phone is a lot better since I flashed stock. Updates, I disagree. I was on the One X before this and that was an absolute nightmare. Bad taste in my mouth from that.

Yep subjective I guess, but you just have to look at the number of Sense features Google has adopted to tell. Basics like the Camera and Contacts app are on embarrassment to Google.

The One X had great support, did you have a carrier version ? Generally HTC have left there flagships in good shape compared to the GS3 which iv heard was unusable after its last update.