While the world's attention is focused on the Motorola Droid RAZR and Samsung Galaxy Nexus, you may have missed yet another amazing device out of high-end handset maker HTC.  Certainly the Nexus and Razr have their place as great phones to compete for your dollars, but if you're a music junkie you should certainly take a long look at the HTC Rezound, the latest device to feature Beats Audio and a spec sheet that's worthy of a place among the elite of Android handsets on the market today.  Let's run down the specs.

• 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM 8660 dual core processor
  
• 1GB RAM
  
• 16GB built-in storage + micro SD slot for expansion with included 16GB card.
  
• 8MP rear camera with dual-LED flash, backside illuminated sensor, & 1080p video capture.
  
• 2MP front camera
  
• Android 2.3.4 with ICS Upgrade in the future
  
• HTC Sense 3.5
  
• Beats Audio with Beats headphones included
  
• MHL port

Hardware:

The Rezound is neither the thinnest phone out there, nor is it the lightest, but you'll have few complaints once you get it into your hands.  It can claim the title of first carrier-branded handset with a 720p display, however, which should count for something.  If you're comparing the RAZR and Rezound, the Rezound certainly comes in much thicker at 13.7mm, double the thickness of the RAZR at 7.1mm.  Still, size isn't all that matters, right?  It's also a little heavier at 5.78oz, compared to the RAZR's 4.5oz.  Despite that the device is very comfortable to hold, and the ridged back provides a nice grip so it won't slip out of your hand.

What should sway your opinion is the included pair of $100 Beats Audio headphones.  These babies are kicking when you plug them into your ears.  Sound quality is fantastic, crisp, and clear.  Treble is pitched just right, and the bass is deep and booming.  If you're a music fan and considering this device to use with the new Google Music, you absolutely can't go wrong with these headphones.  The Beats quality really cannot be understated.

The housing on the device is beautifully contoured, and reminiscent of the Droid Incredible 2.  We particularly like the contours along the top, which provide a great resting place for your fingers, as well as increasing grip.  The rest of the design is very minimalist in terms of button placement and ports.  On one side you'll find an MHL port, on the other a volume rocker, and on the top a power button.  The buttons are flush with the device, which is a nice style choice, but does cause some complications when trying to power on or adjust the volume.

The display is gorgeous.  It's not the first device in the US to feature an HD display, but the its the pixel count that really shows off how nice the display really is.  The resolution sits at 1280x720, while screen size is 4.3", making the pixel density 342ppi.  That's quite impressive!  It leaves the iPhone display way behind, and soundly bests all current competitors such as the Galaxy S II, RAZR, and even the Galaxy Nexus.  Where the display does meet with some failure, however, is in sunlight.  The Galaxy S II's display is still very useable in direct sunlight, where the Rezound is nigh impossible to see.  Out of the sun, though, the display is astounding when watching HD video.

Software:

The Rezound is running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, with HTC Sense 3.5.  Both of these work together flawlessly to present a user experience that's both clean, slick, and fast.  If you're looking to customize your bottom bar, though, you'll need to opt for new launcher.  Sense 3.5 features a set 3 button interface along the bottom for Phone, Apps, Personalization options.  The big, beautiful weather/clock widget is, however, very welcome and looks as good as it always has.  

    

Another thing to like about Sense 3.5 is the deal that HTC has made with Dropbox, by which Sense 3.5 users are given 5GB of free online storage to use with their device.  As with all Verizon devices, the Rezound is heavily loaded with bloatware.  Everything from Blockbuster to NFL Mobile to VCast is here for your displeasure.

             

It's also worth noting that while the device currently runs Gingerbread, it's been promised an ICS upgrade in the future.  As for what "future" means, your guess is as good as ours.

Performance and Battery Life:

The Rezound packs some of the latest and greatest in mobile tech.  The dual core 1.5GHz processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM, an LTE connection, and Adreno 220 GPU makes for top-notch performance.  This device holds its own against its competition, falling a little short of some, faring better than others.

We ran the Quadrant benchmark test, in which the Rezound scored a 2507.

The Droid RAZR has fared a little better, and the Galaxy S II Skyrocket has performed admirably better.  The HTC Vivid, the AT&T competitor to the Rezound, fared a bit lower.  However, some of that can be attributed to Sense.  Sense devices will usually perform a little under their rivals that are running skins like TouchWiz 4.0 (Samsung) or Don't Call it Moto-Blur (Motorola).  Regardless, the scores we saw were not at all disappointing.

We also ran a series of speed tests on the device, and as usual Verizon's LTE network leads the pack.  At least, here in our market.  Average download speeds fared between 16Mbps and 21Mbps.  We've seen speeds as high as 33Mbps on the download side, and as low at 10Mbps.  Upload speeds, as usual, manage between 1 and 3 Mbps.

The Rezound has a 1,620mAh battery.  Combined with LTE, Sense, and an HD display, the Rezound, unfortunately, suffers from the same lackluster battery life that plagues modern-day smartphones.  With very heavy use streaming HD movies the battery lasted a disappointing 4 hours.  When charged back up and used regularly with a bit of gaming, emails, messaging, calls, and a little YouTube, we saw about 6 hours of use.  Standby life is about on par with most other devices, however, until better batteries come along it seems we're all stuck with poor power consumption.

In terms of call quality the Rezound performs very well.  Verizon doesn't really have dropped call issues anyway, so we had none of that.  GPS lock happens rather quickly, taking about 5 seconds to lock on.  The Rezound also has a noise-cancelling mic, so background noise during your calls is filtered out pretty well.

The inclusion of Beats Audio warrants special attention to the sound quality.  The music player included on the device is integrated with Beats, and has a special sound profile to give you the best listening experience around.  Pair that with the $100 headphones and you've got a got a stand-out device for listening on the go.  If you disable the Beats Audio on the device you'll notice a dramatic difference in sound quality, especially on tracks that are heavy on the bass.

Camera:

The Rezound uses HTC's new favorite camera, an 8MP shooter with f/2.2 backside-illuminated sensor, dual-LED flash, and 28mm wide-angle lens.  The camera UI itself is easy to use and full of different options for shooting situations, filters, and effects.  It has continuous autofocus, which makes shooting quickly very easy to do.  However, the lack of a dedicated camera button is a tiny black mark.  The number of devices with this option, though, is pretty slim so we'll keep our complaints to a minimum.  Overall the camera quality is very good.  It takes great shots indoors and out, and the images are clear and colors beautiful.  We've posted a couple of sample shots from indoors and outdoors below.

         

Summary:

The Rezound is one of the overall best Android phones we've had the chance to play with.  The hardware is top-notch.  The software is glitch-free and snappy, and Sense is a beautiful skin for the average user.  Power users may have some gripes with the skin hampering overall performance, but the majority of users will have nothing to complain about.  Verizon's LTE network is excellent, and only getting better by the day.  Beats Audio integration is a huge selling point for anyone that's a listener on the go, and the included headphones could certainly be a deciding factor when choosing between this and other devices.

Unfortunately, it's not all roses.  The battery life is downright bad!  You'll need to look into dropping some cash on an extended battery, which will add a little more weight to an already chunky device.  Price is also a factor.  At the time of this writing, the Rezound is selling for a hefty $300 from Verizon.  By comparison, AT&T sells the GSII for $200 and the Skyrocket for $250.  The trend of Verizon charging a bit much for their devices continues with the Rezound.  For that price you'll still be stuck with a ridiculous amount of bloatware.  

Our conclusion?  The Rezound gets 4.5/5 stars.  It's a great device, but suffers from poor battery life, a high price, and too much bloatware.