When I review a smartphone, I typically spend most of my time checking out the smartphone. Makes sense, right? After all, the rest of the junk in the box is usually... junk.
The HTC Rhyme on Verizon Wireless is exactly the opposite. It’s a Google Android smartphone with a box full of some of the coolest accessories I’ve ever seen. For that reason, I’m going to do this review backwards. I’m going to start with the “ junk” in the box before I actually talk about the smartphone.
Charm Call Indicator
Let’s start with the most unique of the included accessories, the Charm. This is a purple translucent cube (about 1.5cm square) that plugs into the headphone jack of the Rhyme. When you throw your Rhyme into a purse or bag (perhaps a “murse”) you let the Charm hang out of the side. When you get a call or text the charm will blink. What a great idea! It lets you slip your phone deep down into your purse without having to worry about missing an important text or call. HTC also claims you can use the Charm to pull your phone out since it acts as a tether too. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones.
Tangle-free Headphones
I love a good set of headphones for my smartphone. Truth is, the ones that are typically included in the box with our smartphones are 100 percent garbage. They sound bad and usually break within the first few months.That is not the case with the Rhyme. Not only do the included headphones sound better than I’m used to seeing inside a smartphone box, they’re also tangle-free. Really! The cables are flattened and have a soft rubbery feel to them. I’m not sure how this makes a difference but my attempts to truely tangle them failed. Another simple, yet really great idea.
Docking Station
One of the most useful yet often overlooked accessories for a smartphone is the docking station. Most of us plug our smartphones in at night on our nightstand. Many of us use them as alarm clocks. A docking station makes charging your phone easier and also makes it easier to turn it into an alarm clock or desktop radio. The docking station included with the Rhyme is super sleek and super simple. There are three metal contacts on the back of the Rhyme that align with pins on the docking station. Place the Rhyme into the dock and voila, the phone automatically switches into a docking station mode. You can play music, set alarms or use it as a digital photo frame. The dock itself is even covered in a slick black fabric and has a sticky rubber finish on the bottom to keep it from sliding around. These nice final touches make it feel like a perfect addition to your nightstand instead of a piece of “plasticy” hardware that doesn’t fit your motiff.
On top if all this, the dock has speakers built into the side. When it recognizes that the phone is in the dock, it connects to the phone via bluetooth ( A2DP for the geeks out there) to route all of your music and alarms through the dock and out of the dock speakers. I gotta say, this thing is awesome. Easily one of the best docks I’ve seen for a smartphone yet and it’s included WITH the Rhyme.
Finally, The Phone
Charm Call Indicator
Let’s start with the most unique of the included accessories, the Charm. This is a purple translucent cube (about 1.5cm square) that plugs into the headphone jack of the Rhyme. When you throw your Rhyme into a purse or bag (perhaps a “murse”) you let the Charm hang out of the side. When you get a call or text the charm will blink. What a great idea! It lets you slip your phone deep down into your purse without having to worry about missing an important text or call. HTC also claims you can use the Charm to pull your phone out since it acts as a tether too. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones.
Tangle-free Headphones
I love a good set of headphones for my smartphone. Truth is, the ones that are typically included in the box with our smartphones are 100 percent garbage. They sound bad and usually break within the first few months.That is not the case with the Rhyme. Not only do the included headphones sound better than I’m used to seeing inside a smartphone box, they’re also tangle-free. Really! The cables are flattened and have a soft rubbery feel to them. I’m not sure how this makes a difference but my attempts to truely tangle them failed. Another simple, yet really great idea.
Docking Station
One of the most useful yet often overlooked accessories for a smartphone is the docking station. Most of us plug our smartphones in at night on our nightstand. Many of us use them as alarm clocks. A docking station makes charging your phone easier and also makes it easier to turn it into an alarm clock or desktop radio. The docking station included with the Rhyme is super sleek and super simple. There are three metal contacts on the back of the Rhyme that align with pins on the docking station. Place the Rhyme into the dock and voila, the phone automatically switches into a docking station mode. You can play music, set alarms or use it as a digital photo frame. The dock itself is even covered in a slick black fabric and has a sticky rubber finish on the bottom to keep it from sliding around. These nice final touches make it feel like a perfect addition to your nightstand instead of a piece of “plasticy” hardware that doesn’t fit your motiff.
On top if all this, the dock has speakers built into the side. When it recognizes that the phone is in the dock, it connects to the phone via bluetooth ( A2DP for the geeks out there) to route all of your music and alarms through the dock and out of the dock speakers. I gotta say, this thing is awesome. Easily one of the best docks I’ve seen for a smartphone yet and it’s included WITH the Rhyme.
Finally, The Phone
I don’t think it’s fair to say that the Rhyme is the weakest link in all of this but I will say that it’s not exactly the cream of the crop in terms of today’s smartphones. It packs a 1 GHZ processor and a 5 megapixel camera. The processor is fast enough but doesn’t compare to some of the current dual-core processors on the market. The 5 megapixel camera shoots good pictures and HD video but it falls short of shooting stunning pics like the iPhone 4S and some other recent Android phones. It’s also not a 4G phone as many of the latest and greatest Verizon Wireless phones are. 3G is fast enough but if I’m buying a new phone I would expect the newest network.
Conclusion
Now that I’ve outed all of the deficiencies in the HTC Rhyme’s specifications, I need to footnote it. The market audience for the Rhyme probably could care less about what I just said. This phone is clearly marketed toward middle of the road consumers, not geeks like me. It’s even designed in a plum/purple color. Perhaps it’s designed for women? HTC avoids that specific mention but I think that’s the target. After all, it does come with a plum colored purse Charm and plum headphones. I'm just connecting the obvious dots here.
The included set of unique accessories makes this one of the best smartphone packages I’ve ever seen. At $199.99 with a 2 year contract, the Rhyme is priced alongside some of the top dogs of today’s smartphones. If this phone was in the box by itself, it wouldn’t be worth it. With the included Charm, tangle-free headphones and bluetooth docking station, it’s a killer deal. If specs aren't your thing but usability, accessories and the color purple raise your eyebrow, the HTC Rhyme on Verizon Wireless may be the perfect phone for you.
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