First Impressions
Amidst the rumours that some smartphone
makers were contemplating coming up with a 1080p display, HTC came out with
their HTC J Butterfly for Japan, Droid DNA for the US and simply 'Butterfly'
for the Indian market. We had the chance to review the exclusive unit before anyone
else could and we can easily say it's a beautiful display that will impress any
and every kind of user. But will it also impress us enough to pick it over
similarly loaded smartphones? We'll see.
The
HTC Butterfly
Review
Beautifully build, awesomely powered and
intelligently designed. That's the everlasting feeling you are left with after
fully testing this Snapdragon S4 quad-core 'super phone' with a Full HD
resolution of 1920x1080 in just a 5inch form factor. With 2GB of RAM it easily
should be the best in class with its benchmark scores, and almost is - tying
out with the LG Optimus G in some, but that phone never released in India and
perhaps never will. The overall performance is enhanced with Adreno 320 GPU,
which means playing videos in 1080p or the most graphic intensive games is a
breeze. Because of the amazing display, everything just looks spectacular -
almost like a dream. And though the 5" form factor has a slightly longer
length compared to the breadth (almost iPhone 5-esque), it does not suffer any
of the display issues that the iPhone 5 did, as the 1080p resolution is a
standard one. Multi-media is enhanced because of the Beats Audio integration,
plus there is 25GB of additional storage space via Dropbox to compliment the
internal 16GB. The microSD card will support up to 32 GB, making space a
non-issue. With Android 4.1 Jelly Bean available straight out of the box
(upgradable to v4.2) with Sense UI on top, the user experience is smooth, fun
and quite intuitive. Extended use, especially graphic-intensive use, heats up
the battery a bit. But the same issue we have encountered with every major
smartphone with pumped-up specs. On the negative, the micro-USB slot feels a
bit fiddly to open and the micro-SIM slot too isn't the best. The nice grip-assuring
material at the back ensures the phone never slips out and the excellent
finishing overall lends it a distinguished look.
Beautifully
build, awesomely powered and intelligently designed.
Camera
The 8MP snapper is rather good, perhaps the
best camera on a HTC device. The UI is the same that we saw on the One X+, and
the front 2.1MP cam has 1080p video capabilities just like the primary cam.
With
a plethora of connectivity options to boot, as well as a fairly good battery
life, the Butterfly should be high in everyone's shopping lift, if they can
afford the approx $0.8k price tag
Connectivity
The 8MP snapper is rather good, perhaps the
best camera on a HTC device. The UI is the same that we saw on the One X+, and
the front 2.IMP cam has 1080p video capabilities just like the primary cam.
The
8MP snapper is rather good, perhaps the best camera on a HTC device.
Verdict
The HTC Butterfly has got a Full HD display
before all major smartphone makers, but the gadget is not resting on those
laurels only. It performs brilliantly, has excellent Google integration and the
Sense UI is pleasantly easy to use and customize. With a plethora of
connectivity options to boot, as well as a fairly good battery life, the
Butterfly should be high in everyone's shopping lift, if they can afford the
approx $0.8k price tag.
Specifications
§ 5"
Full HD Super LCD 3 Display
§ 1.5
Ghz Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor
§ 2GB
of RAM, Adreno 320 GPU
§ Android
v4.1 Jelly Bean (upgradable to v4.2)
§ Sense
UI4+
§ 8MP
with Full FID video recording
§ 16GB
internal, microSD support up to 32GB
§ 140gms,
2020 mAh Li-Polymer battery
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