The HTC One max is largely what we expected: a bigger version of the successful HTC One. That's good news and bad: certainly getting even more HTC One in your hands has appeal if you are fond of phablets or really big phones. The bad news is that we'd hoped HTC would push the envelope and improve specs and features in the 8 months since the 4.7" HTC launched. The One max has a 5.9" Super LCD display running at full HD resolution, a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 32 gigs of internal storage and the same 4MP Ultrapixel camera used in the HTC One. It has the same IR blaster remote and TV app so you can control your home theatre gear and a very good front camera. We take a look at the first US version in this review: the Sprint HTC One max. The phone is also available on Verizon in the US.

The One max adds two new features: a microSD card slot (which we greatly appreciate) and a fingerprint scanner on the back. This is the laptop style "swipe your finger" scanner rather than the iPhone 5s' rest your finger on the home button/scanner to unlock your phone. Being on the back and not having much tactile feel, it's not easy to locate and swipe effectively. It's not a great feature, as you'll see in our video review below. Like some laptops with this feature, it doesn't always read your finger the first or second time. That's annoying with a laptop but excruciating with a phone you'll need to access quickly and very frequently throughout the day. You can use the scanner to unlock the phone but not for entering passwords in apps and websites and it doesn't work for Google Play purchases. You can enroll a few fingerprints (handy if you want your spouse to be able to unlock your phone) and you'll set a backup password. Don't forget it or you'll have to hard reset the phone.

The One max looks much like the HTC One and even more like the HTC One mini. It has the same iconic design, but it loses the unibody design and metal chamfers on the side due to the removable back cover. That cover is quite large, but it only grants access to the microSD card slot and SIM card slot (not the battery, which is still sealed inside). This is a large phone and it's heavy at 7.65 ounces. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and other big phones and tablets, HTC didn't work on slimming the design to make it easier to handle. You'll definitely need two hands to manage this beast. The upside is that you get a fantastically large and gorgeous full HD display that's every bit as lovely as the HTC One's. If you buy the One max, you won't need a 7 inch tablet. You will however need large pockets and a strong waistband to hold up your pants, the phone is a real pants dragger.

HTC moved the power button to the side since it would be hard to reach the top with one hand, but the IR window for the TV remote remains where the power button was up top on the HTC One. The volume controls are still on the side and the micro USB port is on the bottom. Though it doesn't look quite as chic and exquisitely classy as the HTC One, it's still a good looking phone that shows up Samsung and LG's unabashedly shiny plastics. Build quality is good and the phone doesn't creak and it's certainly much too rigid to torsion.