HTC's newest phone, the 5.9-inch
HTC One Max, includes a fingerprint
scanner -- although unlike the one
in Apple's latest iPhone, it's located
on the back of the device.
The HTC One Max will go on sale
globally later this month and is the
company's latest attempt to revive
its smartphone business. The
Android handset is essentially a
larger version of HTC's critically
acclaimed One flagship phone, with
otherwise similar specs.
Unlike the HTC One, the One Max
can be locked or unlocked with a
touch on its fingerprint scanner. The
scanner can also be used to launch
up to three favorite apps, each
triggered by a different finger, HTC
said Monday.
The phone has a 5.9-inch 1080p HD
screen, a quad-core 1.7 GHz
processor from Qualcomm, and 2GB
of RAM. The front-facing camera has
a resolution of 2.1 megapixels, while
the 4 megapixel rear-facing camera
uses HTC's UltraPixel design, which
the company says uses a larger
image sensor to offer better low-light
performance.
Talk time on the WCDMA version of
the phone can reach 25 hours on its
3300 mAh battery. The One Max also
has a microSD card slot for
expandable memory, a feature not
found in the U.S. version of the HTC
One. It will be on sale in 16GB and
32 GB versions.
The HTC One Max arrives just a
month after Samsung unveiled its
own large-screen phone, the Galaxy
Note 3. The Note 3 has a slightly
smaller screen than the One Max, at
5.7 inches, with a 13-megapixel
camera rear-facing camera, 3GB of
RAM, and a 3,200 mAh battery.
HTC and its Korean rival have been
sparring on product strategy, and
both have previously launched
smaller versions of their flagship
phones. In HTC's case, it was called
the HTC One mini and unveiled in
July.
Despite positive reviews for its
phones, HTC has been struggling to
lift its earnings. Earlier this month,
it posted a loss of about US$101
million in its third quarter.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2054540/htc-one-max-packs-fingerprint-scanner-59inch-screen.html