We got a chance to play with HTC’s new Desire EYE. Is it the next phone you should buy? Does it live up to all the hype? Let’s find out shall we?
Design:
The first thing I notice about the Desire EYE is that it seems more playful in it’s design than some of HTC’s previous phone designs. It ditches the sleek, but drab black and grey colors from the HTC One and replaces it with a slick colored strip around the side of the phone. It doesn’t have a curved back so the phone sits flat on the desk. If you’re not used to a large phone, this phone does look pretty big and really long coming in at 5.2 inches. You will most likely have to use two hands to operate it, but HTC made some good button location choices to accomodate. The power button is below the volume rocker on the right side so righties will be able to easily toggle the screen on and off. There is also a dedicated camera button below the power button on the bottom right corner. It’s got a sort of matt finish which makes it feel comfortable in the hand, but that still didn’t make me completely take away my fears of dropping the device.
Looking at the phone dead-on, you mainly see the very large front facing camera and the dual LED Flash. I definitely have more to say about this in the “Likes” section. I didn’t realize until later that they’ve kept the speakers on the front of the device as well, but you have to do a bit of searching to find them…which is a very good thing. This phone also comes with the ability to take a micro SD card for extended memory if you need it.
Functionality:
I really liked the Operating system, but to be honest I still like stock Android better. That said, HTC does a really good job of not overloading the look and feel of the OS and it comes off feeling very light and simple. Definitely not as gaudy as some of the other Android skins I’ve come across, but that is a matter of taste. I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty here because if you’ve used an Android phone – there really isn’t too much more to note. Rather, I’d like to talk about the software that governs the impressive cameras. They’ve got a slew of things that you can do with the 13MP front and rear facing cameras that I’ll point out here. Some are really useful, while others are nothing to write home about, but this is where the Desire EYE stands out from other phones.
They’ve got Face Tracking which zooms in on your face while on a video chat session. Though a relatively small improvement, this can be hugely useful when video chatting with someone while doing something else or while walking around. I’ve been in those situations before and I find this a welcome addition. They’ve also added screen sharing support with skype which could prove useful in a business setting. However, I can’t really see myself using that feature too often, but it would be cool to show it off the one time it proves useful. Split Capture is something I’m still undecided on. It’s where you can take a selfie and a shot with the main camera at the same time. The software then merges the two pictures with your selfie on the left and the main image on the right. I think it’s really cool and is something I can imagine using on vacation or in group pictures where the person shooting can finally be involved. Voice Selfie is super useful for taking selfies with the main camera, but the front facing camera is so good I wonder if it’s necessary. I could totally use voice selfie with my current phone (Nexus 5) because the front facing camera is terrible and even worse in low light. But sometimes it’s hard to hit the shutter button from the back of the phone so just yelling out “Cheese” would be a welcome change. Either way, I think it’s a step in the right direction so I welcome that functionality.
Likes:
I really like the sound of the front facing speakers. It really is impressive for a mobile phone and the fact that they are pretty much hidden allows for more focus on the huge screen. When I’m playing games I can hear everything which is cool. currently, my palm muffles the sound since the speaker is at the bottom of my Nexus 5.
I also love the front facing camera with dual LED lights. It’s 13 MP! I mean c’mon. I love the move though because now video calls and selfies using the front camera are now totally worth it. Add to that the HTC EYE suite of camera functions and you’ve got a sweet deal.
Dislikes:
Honestly, I didn’t like how big the phone was. I’ve got smaller hands, and it’s really hard for me to do what I need to do with one hand. I’m a New Yorker and I multi-task constantly so I really would like my left hand free. I also didn’t like the message center that much, and I noticed it hung a few times. If you swipe all the way to the left you get to this center where it flags relevant news and updates. It’s not terrible and I may learn to like it if I bought this phone, but initially I was put off by it. I’d rather find an app of my choosing to do that sort of thing for me.
Summary:
All-in-all, the phone is a solid buy. I could recommend it without hesitation. Sure, there are some things that didn’t float my boat, but the HTC Desire EYE really shines when it comes to it’s cameras. Android phones haven’t had too leaders in the camera category, but I’d say that the Desire EYE is one such phone. If you’re into selfies and a really big screen, you should give this phone a try.
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