HTC Smart Mobile Phone

HTC Smart Mobile Phone:

'Smart' looking device, well designed Audio clarity for calls and music is good Camera is quite decent Lacks Wi-Fi for the price Battery life could have been better No Google Maps or chat apps preloaded

HTC has had quite a bit success with their slew of Android devices that seem immensely popular with all demographics. However so far, they haven’t really been able to tap into the budget segment i.e. under Rs. 10,000 , the Smart is undoubtedly their attempt to bridge the gap. This is their cheapest Smartphone yet and here’s my opinion on whether or not it’s worth the money and lives up to its name.

Form Factor
The Smart is a pretty sleek new handset that’s got just that right amount of weight (108g) for good balance. It’s just 12.8mm thin so it’s easy to carry around without leaving a bulge in your pocket. HTC has gone with a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen that has a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. Although it’s not too visually appealing I have no complaints about the overall clarity even in the bright outdoors, wherever you can find it these days.

The button set up is not one of my favourite things about the handset. It has a small key just below display that’s can pull up the menus, it’s quite tiny. The large ‘Arrow’ key is for returning to the previous menu or if pressed and held will return you directly to the main desktop menu. A 3.5mm handsfree port is located at the top with a mini USB (although it may look like one) port at the bottom. The volume keys are neatly camouflaged along the chromed border and a camera shutter release is located on the other side in the same way. A hot swap MicroSD card slot is located just under the rear panel on one side.

It’s a simple yet professional looking handset.

Features and Performance
Interface
The Smart is running on a new OS designed by Qualcomm, called Brew Mobile which comes off as quite Android-ish complete with multiple desktops, full page widgets, shortcuts etc. The settings options and other subtle functions all appear that way too. Nevertheless it’s easy to manage, customize and navigate. It’s fluid and the Smart’s 300MHz processor enables speedy delivery of access to the various features andfunctions. I like the layout, it’s comfortable, however multitasking is not the handset’s strongest point. A standard mobile keypad of the virtual variety obviously is available, however you do have the option of switching to landscape with a QWERTY option as well. Don’t let the small keys fool you, if you’ve calibrated the screen properly, it’s very handy for speedy typing.

If you’re used to hitting the ‘Call End’ to return to the main screen you’ll have to re-learn that habit. The Smart’s end key will lock the screen, so you’ll have to press and hold the Arrow button to return to the main desktop.

Media
Unfortunately, just like the Android’s player, this one is also strictly play and listen with no customizable options to alter audio output. However, on the plus side, the tone quality is really good and the decibel level is high enough for you to listen to your music peacefully even in the obnoxiously loud local trains at peak hour. Playlists can be created on the device itself but it doesn’t allow for individual folder viewing/playback in case that’s how you categorize your music. The FM radio worked out really well with clear reception almost everywhere I went. It scanned and saved all available stations in about 8 seconds which is quite impressive. Video Playback is limited to just 3GP and standard mobile MPEG 4 formats. Playback and viewing is quite comfortable on the 2.8-inch display. Large JPEG files may take a little while to load but that’s only to be expected for lower end handsets.