The Wonder of Tech: The HTC One S is one sleek smartphone

The "S" in the HTC One S may stand for "superb," "stunning" or "sublime". Whatever the "S" stands for, this is a splendid phone.

The HTC One S is a 4G smartphone running Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and available from T-Mobile. The design of the phone is curvy, lithe, and comfortable. The phone nestles in your hand comfortably like the favorite book you've read countless times.

The phone – just 7.8 mm thin – is the slimmest smartphone ever made by HTC and feels solid, substantial and balanced. The texture of the phone is smooth without being slippery. Holding the phone, you aren't afraid that you will drop it.

This phone is a thing of beauty. I'm not a big fan of form over function, but this phone brings both. The curved design looks like a high-end sports car, rather than a practical sedan. Even the color, called Gradient Blue, sets it apart from other phones.

The phone isn't just beautiful. This device is also packed with features, such as Beats Audio™, a large and sharp screen, Bluetooth, a high-quality camera and a very fast processor. HTC One S Specs

The battery life is extensive for an Android phone, with up to 10 hours of talk time and 13.2 days of standby time, according to T-Mobile. In other words, unless you're an ultra-heavy user you should be able to get through a day using this phone without worrying about recharging.

While the advanced design and thin shape of the phone may lead you to think the phone is delicate, think again. HTC must have realized that people would be reluctant to hide this design in a case so they made the phone sturdy.

The phone is currently available from T-Mobile for $149 with a two-year contract. This price includes a $50 mail-in rebate that is good until Aug. 21.

And here's some good news: HTC has announced that this phone will be upgradeable to the next version of the Android operating system, 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

T-Mobile provided me with a phone and a plan for testing.

The One S screen is a joy to behold. The screen measures 4.3" diagonally, which is an ideal size to give you a large viewing area but still be able to fit the phone in your pocket comfortably. The screen is excellent. I tend not to use use tech terms in this column, so I won't mention that it has an AMOLED screen, but I will say that the picture is sharp and clear.

Both the size and the clarity of the screen make watching videos on the phone a pleasant experience. I loaded the Netflix app onto the phone, linked it to my account and tested watching videos over both 4G and Wi-Fi connections. The videos streamed seamlessly, with no stuttering, lagging or pixelation.

The One S has two cameras, a front-facing camera for video chats or using your phone as a high tech hand mirror, and a main camera that is on the back of the phone.

The main camera on the One S is 8 MP with 3264 x 2448 pixels. The features include geotagging of pictures and face and smile detection. You can take panoramic shots as well as rapid fire shots. The continuous shooting mode captures up to 99 images in a row. The camera has image stabilization, auto flash and a dedicated imaging chip.

The camera has simultaneous HD video and image recording, meaning you can capture a photo while you are video recording or create a photo from one of the phone's recorded videos.

The camera software comes with a range of "filters" so you can add effects either before you take a shot or afterward. Offerings include Vignette, Distortion, Sepia, Solarize, Aqua and several other fun effects.

See the unretouched original versions of the photos in the slideshow: Sunset | Beach | Flowers

The One S can function as a mobile hotspot, turning your phone into a Wi-Fi router for Internet connection. You can connect up to five different devices at once, sharing your 4G Internet service with others. Be mindful of your data plan to avoid overage charges, because five connected devices using 4G can chew through your data limit pretty quickly. The hotspot feature, which is available for $15 a month, is included in some T-Mobile monthly plans.

Dropbox is intimately integrated into this phone. If you're a Dropbox fan, you will love using this phone. If you're not yet a Dropbox fan, you soon will be after getting this phone.

First, you get free storage space on Dropbox when you activate the Dropbox app on this phone. Currently, you get 23 GB of free space on Dropbox for two years when you are the first one to activate the app.

Second, this phone makes it easy for you to transfer files to and from your Dropbox folders. Sharing options for such apps as Gallery and Notes includes Dropbox as one of the options, which means that you can save files to Dropbox without leaving an app. You can also retrieve your files from Dropbox to have them handy on your phone.

After you take a photo, press Share =>Dropbox => Upload and the image is copied into your Dropbox account. It really is that simple.

This phone comes with the HTC Sense skin, which has some handy features. One very cool feature is the Car app, which gives you a different screen for driving. The screen shows the time, weather, message notices and large icons for Google Maps Navigation, Phone, Music and Internet Radio. The app is designed to limit your smartphone use when you're in the car. You have to reply to a command to exit the app so you don't close out of it accidentally.

A smartphone's advanced features sometimes go unused if people don't understand how they work. HTC provides helpful "How To" videos to guide the user through the phone's advanced features. Some of the instructional videos for the One S that can be found on the HTC website include:

The One S isn't perfect. There are some features that could be improved:

• The phone does not have a memory card slot. The phone is well-integrated with Dropbox and gives you 23 GB of free Dropbox storage though, so you may not need extra space. On-board storage is limited to 16 GB, which is not expandable, so if you need more space than that on your phone, the One S isn't your best choice.

• The One S has a fixed battery so you can't swap out your battery if your charge is running low. If you are someone who keeps a spare cell phone battery around to power your phone, you may need an external power source for extra heavy use. The battery life of the phone is strong for an Android phone so you might find you don't need extra juice to get through the day.

• The notification light is tiny. Many smartphones use a notification light to indicate battery charging and events such as new messages or missed calls. The light on the One S is small and requires that you look at it straight on to be able to see it. If you are bothered by blinking cell phone lights, this could be a plus, but if you rely on a notification light, this is a negative.

• The One S has only three menu buttons at the bottom of the screen and they are capacitive, not physical buttons. The menu button is noticeably missing, though it does pop up on screen in certain apps. If you're looking for an Android phone with four physical buttons, you'll find this design feature to be a negative.

The HTC One S is an Android phone worthy of consideration if you're looking to get a new smartphone. The feel, form and function of the phone combine to make it a phone for the future.

Carolyn Nicander Mohr is a Chester County resident and the creator of a website, the Wonder of Tech. Contact her at wonderoftech@gmail.com.