<div><strong>By Mala Bhargava</strong></div><div> </div><div>The Taiwanese phone maker, HTC, has been steadily making huge operating losses. So much so that the company recently announced it would no longer be giving forward guidance for now.</div><div> </div><div>Nonetheless, HTC has been braving it out with a new release of smartphones of which the HTC One E9s is a recent and quiet launch. The E9s is a mid-range phone, costing about Rs 21,900. It’s in a segment that has increasingly been squeezed by great offerings of budget phones below Rs 15,000. But even if it weren’t for those, the E9s has frightening competition to contend with: The Asus ZenFone 2, a few Lenovo phones, the OnePlus, and the Mi4 from the aggressive Xiaomi. It’s a dog eat dog market out there and HTC has just signaled that it isn’t bowing out.</div><div> </div><div>To look at, the E9s has got that signature HTC look with the special rounded edges on the top and bottom of the screen. It is the design HTC became famous and loved for, but now it’s run its course and badly needs a refresh or building on. It’s still a good design, but in the case of this model, is “de-premiumed” by the synthetic soft rubbery back panel. Not openable, of course. HTC promotes it by saying it is grip-friendly, which it is. There’s little more to say about the E9s’s design, except that all HTC phones have it and so does everyone who’s ever copied them. It does look more interesting in white.</div><div> </div><div>This smartphone is a mix of specs. It runs on an octa-core 64-bit 1.5GHz MediaTek processor, but has a 720x1280resolution screen. The display actually has a noticeable green tinge to it, which is odd and disturbing. Other than this aspect, which you can adjust by tinkering with the white balance, it’s comfortable and doesn’t have compromised viewing angles. The screen is 5.5 inches, so this is a big phone we’re talking about. It could have had better ergonomics because it’s a bit broad and not comfortable to hold over long periods, but then it’s also fairly tough and stable because it’s well-built, so you can change grips and even hold it from one edge for a bit.</div><div> </div><div>Performance is good enough, with the phone’s 2GB of RAM. Benchmarking tests pegged it as just below the Samsung Note 4. Internal storage is 16GB, expandable with a micro-SD card.</div><div> </div><div>The cameras are 13MP primary and 4MP “Ultrapixel”. The primary camera is average with nothing remarkable to it and the front camera is meant to boost light in low light shots. HTC has had this camera on its HTC One and while its pictures look ok on screen, they can’t be enlarged too much and are often soft.</div><div> </div><div>But the E9s has a lot else going for it. Pretty good sound, as is typical of HTC phones. You also have two modes of sound: regular and a theatre mode for any multimedia you might watch on it. It’s also a dual-SIM (Nano) and has 4G connectivity. The 2,600mAh battery could have performed better, but is manageable for moderate use.</div><div> </div><div>The competition for this smartphone however, just can’t be taken lightly at this point. There’s just too much going on in its price segment as well as the slab below.</div>
