HTC Rhyme

Editor's Review of the Rhyme

The Rhyme is the first Android phone designed especially for women, despite the fact that HTC never marketed it as such. However, if you opt against the girly-plum flavour and keep the charm indicator tucked away in the box, can the Rhyme manage to cross the gender divide?

Design & Build

The first thing that struck us about the HTC Rhyme was its high-quality design. The handset features a uni-body frame that wraps around the screen, crafted from a mix of high-quality metal and HTC's traditional soft-touch plastic. The Rhyme feels just as great as it looks too, as its 10.1mm thick chassis fits comfortably in the tightest of pockets.

There's a 3.7-inch (480 x 800) Super LCD display within the casing, perfect for those bemused by the 4.3-inch screens of the Desire HD and HTC Sensation. We found the screen was plenty big enough and fit nicely in the the hand, while its Super LCD screen technology delivered decent image quality and good viewing angles. However, those after an eye-popping screen might want to check of Super AMOLED screen of the Galaxy S2, which its noticeably brighter than the HTC Rhyme.

As well as a well-built handset with a decent screen, adopters of the Rhyme will also find a bunch of accessories included in the box. These include a handy desktop charging dock, matching headphones, a Bluetooth headset and - of course - that girly charm indicator. Although men might not get that excited about the light-up add-on, we thought it came in handy when thrown in our handbag.

Lastly, the processor. The Rhyme lacks the dual-core power of its higher-spec siblings, and instead opts for a 1GHz single-core chipset. We must remember however, that while a dual-core processor would have been welcome, the Rhyme is much-cheaper than its more-powerful brothers.

OS & Interface

The HTC Rhyme unfortunately arrived before the release of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which means it comes rocking Google's Android 2.3.5 software instead. Not to worry, as Gingerbread works well with the phone's 1GHz single-core processor, which provides slick navigation through the phone's multiple homescreens and jam-packed app menu.

Of course, with version 2.3.5 of Gingerbread onboard, the Rhyme comes equipped with Google's Talk application, which enables you to make free video-calls using the phone's VGA front-facing camera.

HTC's upgraded Sense 3.5 interface sits atop Google's Gingerbread software, and offers a host of improvements and exclusive application. We've always been huge fans of HTC Sense skin, and the latest version is without a doubt the most appealing yet.

The most noticeable difference is the redesigned homescreen widget, which brings with it a virtual row of easy-to-access app shortcuts, and a brand-new weather widget. Although it's the same layout you'll find on the HTC Explorer, Sense 3.5 looks much-more appealing on the Rhyme's larger 3.7-inch screen.

Multimedia & Storage

The HTC Rhyme touts a fairly-average 5 megapixel camera, which although not on par with its 8MP rials, is noticeably better than the snapper found on most cut-price Android handsets. The camera delivers well-lit images and quick photo sharing, as well as a bunch of effects for you to add to your snapshots. The Rhyme is also able to capture HD video in 720p, which is perfectly-good enough for sharing on YouTube.

Everything Else

Of course, the HTC Rhyme comes with 3G mobile data, alongside WiFi connectivity for browsing in the home. When coupled with the phone's 1GHz processor, the Rhyme delivers a decent web-browsing experience, although it's noticeably laggier than on the Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S. Heavy sites with Flash content proved fairly difficult to navigation, and when paired against larger-screened handsets, the 3.7-inch felt fairly cramped.

We were impressed with the battery-life however - which despite a full day of heavy use - had more juice left that we were expecting.

Conclusion

Besides its weak processor and not-so-great browser, there's not much to dislike about the HTC Rhyme. The most important question is, however, is the Rhyme a phone only for girls? We don't think so. The handset's by no means a cutting-edge phone, but with its decent screen and ample camera, its a respectable Android mobile phone. Looking for a bigger screen? You might want to check out the HTC Sensation.