HTC Smart review (2)

In terms of HTC Smart's hardware, the device is somewhat basic. It's neither at the lower rung nor at the high side having the same sleek look as the HTC Legend. Simply, it will remind you the first HTC Touch device, so nothing worth mentioning here. It incorporates the basic hardware buttons, but this is all you can expect from from a mid-end touchscreen device.

We also found an oversized back button (and menu button when on the homescreen) that consumes most of the space below the screen, call end and answer buttons on either side and a small select/menu button that appears directly below the display.

The device packs a 3.5mm headphone jack which is a welcome addition on any device. Then there is the charging port as miniUSB, which is again somewhat ordinary compared to latest high-end HTC devices that use microUSB.

Another low point with this device is its visibly low screen resolution. Surprisingly, we found it massively unresponsive too, mostly while typing in portrait mode. And a super-small keyboard adds to the woe of the user.

Being a resistive screen, we expected it to be a little less impressive than the capacitive screens seen on higher-end devices. However, when you are struggling to sweep between screens without pressing down hard, you know you're not going to be impressed by the user experience out of the phone.

You many think that the 300MHz processor might be slower on paper compared to HTC's other smartphones, but surprisingly we found it smooth enough as there were hardly any lags or struggles along the way, provided you stick to applications that don't consume lots of power.

The camera of the device has certain issues as well. You may experience that the shutter on the HTC Smart's camera poses a noticeable delay when snapping away. You may also not be very impressed with the image quality. The snaps often come out blurry unless you and your subject manage to stand stock still for the three seconds between pressing the shutter button and the phone registering that you're trying to take a photo.

However, one positive aspect of HTC Smart's 3.2 megapixel camera is that it does have a flash, although LED rather than Xenon. In short, the HTC Smart is a more than able smartphone targeted at the young mobile phone users in India. At Rs. 9,990, it's a decent smartphone device for those who need to remain connected through social networks on the go.

Also, it is hard to differentiate this device from any other HTC device on first impression as it features the similar HTC Sense interface. Although those who want more from their device may feel slightly disappointed due to the lack of extra features compared to an Android or Windows Mobile phone.

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