This is not a review of the Galaxy Nexus, Droid RAZR or other super-new Android phone.
Released late last year, the HTC Rezound for Verizon is getting old in the fast-paced Android world. That doesn’t mean it’s forgettable, though. Still on sale at stores across the country, the phone is still considered top-tier for most users.
The Rezound runs Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” with HTC’s Sense skin on top of it. The phone is slated to get Ice Cream Sandwich this year. Sense is a heavy-handed Android UI — HTC’s widgets are comically huge, and there are lots of unnecessary animations, for example. That said, HTC’s done a great job at unifying the OS under one consistent look and feel. It may feel comical in places, but at least it’s more polished than the Gingerbread running beneath it.
Android is still Android, though, no matter what the skin. A lack of quality apps, good media sources and a consistent user experience still get under my skin. The four touch buttons are confusing and inconsistent, just as I remembered them being.
However, the general, non-nerd public is eating these phones up, so ignoring Android isn’t something Apple nerds should do forever.
The Rezound runs on Big Red’s 4G network. Here in Memphis, I saw impressive speeds. In fact, it was hard to tell when I was on Wi-Fi and when I wasn’t
The big story with this phone is the inclusion of Beats Audio, though.
The phone comes coupled with the company’s famous red-corded earbuds. While not as iconic as the white buds Apple ships, I do noticed the red in public from time to time.
The Beats Audio logo is all over the phone. It’s on the grippy rubber back, on the default wallpaper and even in the artwork that shows as the phone boots up.
So, is it any good?
In my brief time with it, I was impressed with the Beats Audio system when listening to hip-hop and rap. There’s a lot of bass and low-end with the built-in earbuds. The low-end is clear and sharp. Camp by Childish Gambino hasn’t ever sounded so sharp to me, for example. Same goes for Watch the Throne.
On the other end of the spectrum, albums like Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons seem muddy on the low end of things. Regular old rock albums sound good, but bass-heavy.
In short, I’m impressed with the Beats Audio, when the situation is right.
It is important to note that the Beats Software (and whatever EQ secret sauce its using) is enabled only while:
- Using the included Beats earbuds or other Beats headphones
- And using the built-in music app. Rdio, etc. don’t get the fancy boosting.
On the hardware side of things, the earbuds are comfortable, on par with the premium buds Apple sells.
The phone itself sports a 4.3 inch 720p display. It’s sharp, with nice colors. Going from an iPhone to it makes the Rezound’s screen feel big, but it isn’t unwieldy.
The camera is decent. Inside shots look okay as long as there is enough light, but outside, it really shines. The 1080p video looks on par with what my iPhone 4S shoots.
The Rezound sports 4 touch buttons, that light up red in low light. The red theme is obviously taken from the earbuds, and shows up on the speaker grill and accent pieces on the back cover, as well.
With Sense using a bright green to highlight text, show buttons and more, it’s a bit jarring. I almost wish more of the UI was red, too.
The volume rocker is my biggest complaint about the hardware. It’s quite skinny — a sliver, really — and is hard to hit on the first try, at least without some practice.
All in all, the Rezound is pretty nice Android phone. I’m glad to see it getting ICS this year, and I think the hardware is just about right.
The Beats Audio is nice, too. I’m not sure it’s worth the extra coin, but I can say that it beefs up the audio in a way most users will appreciate. That said, audio pros will realize the effect created can be done with an EQ, for the most part.
If I were in the market for an Android phone, this would be on the list. High on the list, in fact.
