Review: HTC Rhyme, The Ultimate Feminine Phone
1/12/verizon_htc_rhyme_2.jpg”>aligncenter size-full wp-image-3280″ title=”verizon_htc_rhyme_2” src=”http://triptronictech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/verizon_htc_rhyme_2.jpg” alt=”" width=”536″ height=”420″ />
Many smartphone manufacturers today are focusing not just on power and software, but also style. Phones have to look just as good as they perform. HTC mainly focused on style when it comes to the HTC Rhyme. The phone just looks so nice, mostly because of its unibody design. While the HTC Rhyme may look good, does it have enough to stand out amongst its competition? Find out in my review.
The Hardware
On the outside, the HTC Rhyme is one of the best looking Android phones on the market. Its purple color and unibody design make it stand out. The Rhyme feels good in the hand and is not thick or heavy at all. In fact, the Rhyme is so light that I thought it had no battery inside when I first held it. Not only is the phone purple but it comes with a purple charm which plugs into the headphone jack and lights up when you receive a call or notification. I really could not figure out the significance of the charm but girls certainly will know their way around it. In terms of the look and feel of the device, the only major problem I had was that it sometimes overheated. There were a few times where I was streaming music on 3G data and that phone felt very hot afterwards. Phones do get hot after a lot of usage but this was definitely hotter than normal.
In the case of its internals, the HTC Rhyme unfortunately does not impress. For a $200 phone, it has only a 1 GHz single core processor. I can name so many phones at the same price that are more than twice as fast as the HTC Rhyme. This is pretty unacceptable. The speed difference is very noticeable, enough to say that Android phones really do need dual core processors to be decent phones. At least it has a decent amount of RAM at 768 mb. The amount of storage you get is also fine which is 4 GB of internal memory as well as 8 GB included on the micro SD card that came inside. The Rhyme’s battery at 1600 mAh actually was fairly great. I was able to get up to four hours of streaming music over 3G and the phone easily lasted a full day of moderate to heavy usage. The screen size at 3.7 inches is only small when being compared to other Android phones on the market. In general the screen is a nice size but the screen’s resolution is fairly low at 480 X 800 pixels. Phones half the price of the Rhyme has higher resolution screens. Just from what’s inside, it is clear that the HTC Rhyme is pretty overpriced for what one would actually get from any other phone with the same price tag.
The Service
Believe it or not, the HTC Rhyme is the first phone that I have ever reviewed on Verizon’s 3G network. I never used it before and I gotta say, the EVDO Rev.A technology is fairly decent. AT&T’s 3G network is still faster but Verizon’s service for the most part was on par with Sprint and maybe surpassing T-Mobile. The only difference with Verizon’s network was that I didn’t lose connection as much as I did for the other 3G networks. While in the Syracuse area, the other 3G networks were much better, Verizon was much more reliable than T-Mobile and Sprint and on par with AT&T everywhere else I went with the phone including areas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the New York metro area. I give two thumbs up to Verizon’s 3G network. I’d give more thumbs up to its incredible 4G LTE network as I’m using it now with the Galaxy Nexus but unfortunately the HTC Rhyme is only a 3G phone.
The Software
In terms of software, I have no complaints. I love HTC Sense and Gingerbread so if you have used any of those, you know exactly what to expect. Only real difference is that it comes with some more girly themes and wallpapers. My only complaint about software is that the single core 1 GHz processor limits what can be done on the phone and slows everything down. It’s clear that Android phones need dual core processors.
Final Thoughts
The HTC Rhyme is a pretty phone that feels great in the hand, but that’s all it really is. The HTC costs $200, probably double the price it should cost. There are so many other phones available on Verizon’s network at the same price that have more than twice the power and use Verizon’s amazing 4G LTE network. The Rhyme should be worth $100 at most. With so many better choices, I sadly cannot recommend the HTC Rhyme.
The Good
- Pretty unibody design
- Feels great in the hand
- The charm is kind of cool if you’re into that thing
- Runs HTC Sense and Gingerbread
- Battery life is not pretty good
The Bad
- Overpriced
- Underpowered with its single core processor
- Overheats
Final Score: 5.5/10
Special thanks to Verizon for loaning TripTronicTech an HTC Rhyme for review.
