HTC J
HTC J REVIEW
The
HTC J is an interesting device. But first, we have to make it clear – this is
not the HTC J Butterfly, the 5-inch 1080p monster phone that you might have
heard of. Rather, this is a more ordinary smartphone, but still one that can
stand its ground. The HTC J is a fine device. It is built with just about the
right proportions for convenient one handed use, and feels sturdy as should a
waterproof device, but elegant as well. At its home in Asia, due to higher
standards for getting the ‘waterproof’ label, the J isn’t marketed as such, but
in reality it is waterproof. This explains the protective lids on the 3.5mm
jack and microUSB charging port, that fit snugly but are a bit hard to take
off. The phone is made out of plastic with a glossy back. We can say that this
is a very nice plastic, but still plastic. We also can’t skip a comparison with
its sibling, the HTC One S. While the J is a nice looking and well built
device, it just does not have the same premium feel you get from the killer combination
of slimness and micro-arc oxidized aluminum on the One S. The HTC J is also
thicker and slightly heavier, all things to consider if you have a choice
between it and the One S. Coming in a selection of white, red and black, the
device is 0.37-inch (9.5mm) thick and weighs 4.83 oz (137g). If we had to point
out some of the eminent design elements, we’d mention the elegant long and thin
earpiece on top, and HTC’s decision to go with three capacitive buttons right
below the screen. This frees up the display from on-screen buttons, and leaves
it all for more functional use. Speaking of the screen, it is a 4.3-inch OLED
display with qHD 540 x 960-pixel resolution. That translates into a healthy
pixel density of 256ppi, which for us was enough to not be annoyed by any
stressful level of pixelization. Still, a perfectionist’s eye would be able to
discern some individual pixels and that’s due to the fact that the screen
employes PenTile matrix with less subpixels than an equivalent RGB display. The
OLED panel means a slight hint of blue instead of a perfect white, but in
return it delivers deeper blacks. Viewing angles are good, colors don’t wash
out at an angle and even under direct sunlight it is not impossible to operate
the handset. All of that makes for an above average quality of the display. The
HTC J features Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.1, and it runs
very, very smoothly. Sense has become much lighter and we’d say better as it
matured to 4.1, but while it is a big improvement in some areas like the
camera, there are still some limps. We’ve mentioned its inconsistencies before
with things like forcing an out-of-proportion huge on-screen settings button in
apps. Multitasking is also the same card-based affair as on the One S instead
of the what seems the better stock solution. On the plus side, you get
customization options with various themes, quick access to four apps from the
lock screen, a plethora of widgets including the signature HTC Weather Clock. In
terms of silicon, the HTC J runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 with
Adreno 225 graphicsand 1GB of RAM. The S4 chip is manufactured with 28nm
technology and that means better power efficiency and less of a heating problem
than Tegra 3 devices. It scored high marks on standard Android benchmarks,
maxing out the graphics result on NenaMark (which most high-end devices do). What
these scores mean in a nutshell is that you get solid performance in virtually
all areas, including games. The device ships with 16GB of built-in memory with
only around 10GB of that available to the end user. Luckily, internal storage
is expandable via microSD cards of up to 32GB. The S4 chip powering the device
and the vivid colors on the 4.3-inch screen, make for a great media experience.
The device easily chews through all sorts of videos including DivX/XviD files
and plays them back without a stutter. The video player app comes with the
option to change screen brightness, take screenshots, lock the keys and even
display subtitles. A basic video editor where you could trim videos is also
there. On the audio side of things playback is crisp and clean via the rear
speaker, but lacks a bit in volume. HTC brings this device with Beats Audio,
and this means that when you plug in headphones, you can get an extra bass
pump. Of course, you’d need better headphones than the earplugs HTC includes in
the box. A phone is a phone is a phone. Yes, this means call quality has to be
good in this day and age. And it is on the HTC J. The earpiece is loud and
clear, and our callers heard our voice in its natural tones, with no side
noises creeping in. If we had to pick nits, microphone output on the device is
just a tiny bit muffled, a notch below great. Photography is one of the
stronger points of the HTC J. It has an 8-megapixel rear camera with a single
LED flash. HTC incorporates a dedicated ImageChip that speeds up everything
camera-related. It takes less than a second from starting the camera app to
capturing an image. Sense comes with a plethora of options for image enthusiasts.
It does feature HDR mode to get best dynamic range with contrasting objects
(and it yields very good results) and a burst shot mode that captures as many
as 99 consecutive images in an instant when you hold the camera trigger. The
snapper captures videos of up 1080p at around 30 frames per second. We say
around as frame rate varies according to the scene and indoors it goes down to
23 fps. What’s more interesting is the fact that you have both continuous
auto-focus and manual tap to focus while shooting video which means that you
can refocus on the go as you want, a feature that is not on that many phones.
You can also capture still images while recording video. Up front, there is a
1.3-megapixel front camera that is actually better than the snapper on the One
S. Still, its main purpose is video chat and nothing more. Browsing on the HTC
J happens on the default Sense browser which supports Adobe Flash, text reflow
(dynamically arranges text to fit the screen) and is very snappy scrolling
around and zooming in and out. You also get a reading mode that strips pages
off ads, images, and leaves you intimately with the text, as well as incognito
mode for your private browsing needs. Sure enough, you can download any other
browser from Google Play, and we do prefer Chrome with its cross-device
sharing, but having that freedom of browser choice alone is valuable. In terms
of connectivity, the device features quad-band GSM, HSPA at 2100 MHz and CDMA
plus WiMAX for Asia. Otherwise, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and A-GPS round up the
standard connectivity package. The handset sports a 1,810mAh battery that
easily gets you through a day of use and goes well into the second. Battery on
the device is actually larger than on the sibling HTC One S, and while this
gets the J thicker, knowing that your device won’t die on you just when you
need it is worth it in our opinion. The HTC J might feature WiMAX for Asian
markets, but we are looking at it from an international perspective as a simple
3G phone. And it can stand its ground. The device is waterproof, and that makes
it interesting. It is convenient for one-handed use. It is snappy. The camera
software in Sense is outstanding and the camera itself is nice.
SPECIFICATION & FEATURES
HTC J PRICE
Price in USA $562
Price in UK £360
Price in EURO €410
Price in PAK Rs.61,500
Price in INDIA Rs.32,000
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