Hush.. The Butterfly has come (HTC)

We took a while prior posting this entry because we've been HELLA busy for the past few weeks. Nevertheless this is one of those blogs that we looked forward to working at mainly because we're actually fans of the product. #fanmodeON!

We found ourselves marching from Laguna to Dillingers over at Greenbelt 3 last February 26 for the launch of HTC Butterfly. I'm glad we got invited for this one because I've been curious as to what the hype really is about. Much praise has been said of the Butterfly for its stunning design and features, and we wanted to see it with our own eyes.

  

Dillingers is actually a steak and brew restaurant, there was just a small HTC tarp near the door and a handful of people on the tables, so we were a little hesitant to get in. Turns out, we were led to a corner where there was a small gray-walled tunnel that led down to the Prohibition lounge, a wine bar and pub with a reception area. I think the setup was really classy and old school, like the guests were being invited to a secret. Perfect way to present the elegance of what was to come.

At Dillingers

The marketing head, Francisco Turno, and country president Richard Javier were there. I actually liked the product presentation. Straightforward and no frills. You can check http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-butterfly/ for the specs.

The HTC Butterfly is the first to bring 441ppi screen resolution in town. Take this: magazine photos are printed at about 300 ppi, museum-grade photos work with 400ppi, while this phone comes with 440ppi. So just imagine the display calibre this phone packs itself with. True enough, when we tried it, we were welcomed with unparalleled color vibrance for a phone. It was pleasure enough just to browse through the screen!

The phone also comes with a dedicated imaging chip. Well, not all 8mp cameras are created equal. Even some 12mp cameras suffer with over saturation of colors. But the HTC butterfly makes use of an imaging chip for quick shooting and better image processing. Guys, the thing can snap photos in as quick as 0.2 secs! Faster than you'd say "smile!" :p You'd never miss a precious, or hilarious moment with this one. :)

It also comes with a front 2.0megapixel camera for those vanity shots and group barkada pics (when you couldn't find someone else to take your group picture and you have to make use of "tantsameter" to fit all of you in the frame. Heheh!)

Product demo was straight forward and product-centered

Video shooting is also topnotch quality, as again, this is the first to offer 1080p HD video playback and shoot. That's like bringing your HD TV wherever you are. For whatever purpose you may have in mind, it also has a  slow motion video capture and playback capability, so that's being able to capture the smallest details of your basketball game, make fun of your friends while they eat, or just take a surreal moment of the time when your crush said "hi!".

We weren't able to check the actual performance since we only got to play with it for a short time, but so far I'm really liking the intuitive HTC Sense OS. And at 2gb RAM and 1.5Ghz, you'd expect that this is a blazing fast device.

One thing we had to check out were the audio quality and speakers. Being music lovers, this is one of our top priorities for a phone. For the previous One X and One X+ handsets, the sound quality with headsets on were good because of Beats audio, however when you use the speaker it tends to get distorted. For the Butterfly I tried to stream a couple of songs, one electronic rock, and one with heavy bass, over the internet (yes there was wi-fi), and the sound quality was pretty nice, with considerably loud volume, thanks to the built in amplifier.

rarr! I want one!!

The presentor has been calling it a phablet, but I'd beg to disagree, in as much that it is a 5-incher, it seriously doesn't feel like one. I swear. I mean when I hear phablet I imagine a bulky phone that you'd have to operate with both hands. But as tiny as my hands are, I can actually navigate through the Butterfly using only one hand (the back is a bit of a fingerprint magnet though). The polycarbonate body feels sturdy and durable, won't make you worry that it would slip any minute. We tried to place it in our pockets and it was so thin it fits comfortably right in, no bulk at all. We were almost tempted to sneak it out of the bar wahaha.

I've been looking at photos of the Butterfly over the internet, and yet I haven't really appreciated how beautiful it is until it was right in front of me. It has a premium feel to it, something that you'd love to just stare at (and end up spending your money on haha).

Desirable like a hot fudge sundae!

One thing I learned at the launch was the idea of optical lamination. This is a type of technology wherein a resin filler is applied between the Gorilla glass cover, and the LCD panel of the display. So basically the effect is that the LCD display feels like it's right within the glass cover. Parang "nakalutang". :D This is already in use for other HTC phones and Iphones.

Photo from http://forum.xda-developers.com

And geez, towards the end of the event, they actually gave away one HTC Butterfly! Whew! Super Inggit!

HTC gave away a Desire X and a Butterfly

Q&A portion

One downside to the phone though is the fact that it doesn't have LTE support just yet. Though I don't think that LTE is really significant in the Philippines as of the moment. Duh sometimes we can't even get a decent HSDPA signal.

And, of course, the price. It's currently selling at PHP30-32k in most malls. However if you check out Kimstore and CMK Mobile you'd be able to buy an HTC Butterfly for P29K. And hey ABC Store at Shangri-La sells this for only P26K! Wow! Javier quipped that HTC is still working on their pricing. Nevertheless, the build quality of HTC Butterfly and its packed features is just so good I wouldn't mind spending on it (now if only I had that money… :P). Plus, the HTC One has just been recently launched in the international market, so I bet the Butterfly's price would be a little cheaper in a couple of months.

Me and Ray walked out of the Prohibition lounge drooling. Hahah! Ray has always been a Samsung Note 2 fan but was an instant convert right after the launch. What I've always loved about HTC is the fact that they see to it that their phones don't just have top notch features, but that they do it with style.

 

In our day to day routines, sometimes we don't really have to deal with all these technicalities of gigahertz and quadcores and processors and such. More often than not, I think the intangibles can make or break your relationship with your gadget. You won't always do heavy multitasking and app handling in your phone, but you would always definitely hold it in your hands, and look at it at the start of every day. Maybe even brag about it to your friends. There's something to the "feel" of the phone that makes all of the difference. The HTC Butterfly makes that perfect balance of both, and does it with a lot of grace. Great job on this, HTC! :)