Hands on: HTC One Max review

We're hours away from our full and in-depth HTC One Max review - stay tuned for the full run down and verdict of HTC's latest flagship challenger, but in the mean time enjoy our early verdict.

The HTC One Max is the phone that the Taiwanese brand has created to show that it still is able to make a phone for all occasions.

Coming with a 5.9-inch screen and all the same technology that made the HTC One such a world-beater, is this going to be the handset that topples Samsung's Note range too?

The One Max is a phone that borrows a lot from its heritage as HTC looks to create a 'family' of products around the One series. The same metallic properties are there, with the all aluminium body still (sort of) in place.

We say that uncertainly because while it does have the same metallic shell, there's a difference between the One and the One Max: a removable battery cover.

This is actually quite an odd feature, as it does detract from the overall build quality of the handset compared to the regular-sized device. It's there for two reasons: to allow access to the microSD card slot (whoo) and in some countries to faciliate the use of dual SIM cards.

The problem is that the battery cover, which pops off using a small switch in the top right-hand corner, doesn't like to sit well on the back of the phone, meaning it's very difficult to pop it back into place having been removed.

Unless you're willing to spend literally a couple of minutes smoothing the cover down over and over again, then you may be left with some unsightly raises which will irk when holding.

It also seems to affect the balance of the phone, as it doesn't have the 'all in one' feel that the One was so famed for, thanks to being hewn from a single block of aluminium.

We like the idea, but if the microSD card slot could have been designed into the side of the phone, then perhaps some country variants of the One Max could have packed a single chassis.

The battery isn't even removable, which will disappoint many, and it really shows that this is a phone that's really designed for the Asian market, where the bigger screen is much more of a king than in the US or Europe.

But enough of the way it looks. How does it actually feel to hold in the hand?

The HTC One Max is not an easy phone to manipulate in a single palm. We urge you to buy a cover for it as soon as you can (the power cover, which serves as both as a stand and an extra 1200mAh of juice, is an expensive yet attractive option).

The reason is this: you will drop this phone if you try to use it in one hand. The sides are laced with plastic, giving a very similar feel to the One Mini, and the overall shape is made larger thanks to the presence of the BoomSound speakers on the top and bottom.

It's those speakers that really make the phone unwieldy - we're not against them, as you'll see later in the review, but compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, this is a much, much harder phone to hold - so get used to double-handing where possible.

HTC has mostly simply put the original One on steroids with the One Max, coming as it does with so similar a design. Thankfully the power button is now moved; no longer combined with the top-mounted infra-red blaster, the power button now has the same ridged alumimium design as the volume buttons on the right-hand side of the phone, sitting below the sound keys in an easy to reach place for the right-handed.

The screen is still very impressive, with the 5.9-inch Full HD display offering fantastic clarity despite being less sharp than its smaller counterpart thanks to the pixels having more space to roam.

It's not easy to interact with most elements of the UI though at times, as you often need to stretch your thumb way across the screen, and that's simply not possible.

We like the way the HTC One Max is put together, but we can't help but feel that this phone is just too big. We know it's supposed to be larger, but if we're talking about the 'phablet' market, Samsung and Sony have devices that feel much more suited to their position in the market.

Perhaps the screen could have been slightly smaller, or the BoomSound speakers engineered down. Basically: don't buy the HTC One Max unless you're ready to hold your phone in a new way.