Review of the HTC Smart

HTC Smart is a non-complex entry-level smartphone with none too impressive features. The Sense UI may be the only remarkable aspect of the HTC. The smartphone looks good enough and the homescreens do pop. All other features bear minimal functions. Though, the wide range of multi-tasking options it lacks may be an advantage to a minimalist user.

Look, Design, Feel (8/10)

HTC Smart's conservative design does not exactly make it shine above other modern smartphones. With modest dimensions of 104 x 55 x 12.8mm and merely 108g heavy, the HTC Smart is all plastic and very handy. From its standard dark casing, to its flat resistive touchscreen, the unit offers an uncomplicated take on a smart phone. It is small and would not make a pocket bulge. The plastic casing is reflective and smooth, which makes the phone sleek looking and classy.

Few hardware keys are available on different sides of the smartphone. The top side of the unit is where the standard 3.5mm audio jack is placed. The bottom side has the mouthpiece, lanyard eyelet and the miniUSB port. The left panel has the volume keys and the right panel features the camera shutter key.

The front part features the resistive touchscreen, which could have been bigger, cramped with 4 hardware keypads: Call, Menu, Back and the small Option key. The back panel has a silver metallic boundary for the 3MP camera, with fixed focus optics. The flash LED and speaker can also be seen at the back. Behind the battery cover, an old cellphone design is adapted. The microSD card slot, up to 16GB card, is positioned underneath the 1100 mAh Li-ion battery.

Features (7/10)

HTC Smart utilizes the Sense UI and runs on the Brew platform. The functional interface features many skins, wallpapers, homescreens, and widgets including weather, internet, calendar, music and photos, among others. Tap on each gallery to open. The Friend Stream feature can be linked to popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and also offers status updates. One good function is the notification area on the top.

The phonebook is quite useful. The contacts can be imported from online networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. All updates can be received by the HTC Smart real-time. Each contact entry has all the details of that person, including contact numbers, emails, call history, etc. Of course, the Smart HTC has the basic phone functions of messaging like SMS, MMS and emails.

The music player offers nothing new. Tracks can be browsed via artists, albums, playlists, or with the 'List All' option.

The video player supports Mp4 and 3GP formats. Its key options are limited to Play/Pause only. The camcorder can record up to 15fps only of QVGA video. FM Radio with RDS has a tuning dial and allows only up to 6 stations to save.

Unfortunately, a 3mega-pixel camera is considered obsolete these days. Though, for the price of the HTC Smart, it's probably what matched the range. The web browser features the latest OBIGO in-house application. It supports Java sites.

Connectivity (7/10)

The biggest blow to the HTC Smart is its lack of WiFi connection. It packs 3G, quad-band GSM, and HSDPA support. POP3, IMAP4 protocols, and SSL encryption for email are supported. Basic messaging systems are covered: MMS, SMS, emails.

Performance (7/10)

Making calls is no problem with the HTC Smart. Voice quality is perfect, as well as the volume level and reception. FM radio audio quality is also clean and crisp, with good signal. Photos taken from the 3MP camera are acceptable to some, but can to be of poor quality to those used to high quality images. Avoid taking pictures in the dark as it will be unsatisfactory. When browsing web pages, it is advised to install the Opera Mini, as the HTC Smart's local browser is disappointing. It requires multiple taps when clicking on a link, or even just when zooming. Loading a page is also troublesome and takes too long.

At least the Sense UI will be an entertaining element. Although only 3 games are pre-installed, and few organizer selections and reminder notes, the active features in the HTC Smart offers interesting options for personalized handset like the colourful homescreens, wallpapers and preferred widgets.

Value for Money (5/10)

HTC Smart would appear to be short of what you pay for. With the same price, a list of other smartphones can be purchased with far better functions. It is unfortunate to feel cheated with the lack of features and quality of the unit. It might satisfy first time smartphone users, but will not suffice the need for multi-tasking.