HTC ONE x REVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS
Highs
Lows
GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 Announced 2012, February Status Available. Released 2012, May
BODY Dimensions 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm Weight 130 g - Touch-sensitive controls
DISPLAY Type Super IPS LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density) Multitouch Yes Protection Corning Gorilla Glass - HTC Sense UI
SOUND Alert types Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones Loudspeaker Yes 3.5mm jack Yes
MEMORY Card slot No Internal 32 GB (26 GB user-available) storage, 1 GB RAM
DATA GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Speed HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP NFC Yes USB Yes, microUSB (MHL) v2.0
CAMERA Primary 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality Features Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection Video Yes, 1080p@30fps, stereo sound rec., video stabilization, check quality Secondary Yes, 1.3 MP, 720p
FEATURES OS Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Chipset Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU Quad-core 1.5 GHz GPU ULP GeForce Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email Browser HTML, Adobe Flash Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator Colors Gray, White - MicroSIM card support only
- Beats Audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- SNS integration
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
- MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk
- Document viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input
BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Po 1800 mAh Stand-by Talk time
MISC Price group 
The HTC One X makes AT&T’s other Android offerings look weak with a supersized high-res screen, top-shelf camera and a thin, sleek design.
HTC didn’t have a good 2011. It lost its strong footing on almost every carrier to competitors like Samsung, falling in a market that has shown enormous growth. The One series is an attempt to turn things around. With the One S and One X, HTC is on a mission to prove it has the skills to last in this fast-changing market and remain a relevant driving force in phones. Most of all, however, it’s trying to make better phones for you. Has it succeeded? Find out below.
Video overview
Design
HTC's phones have been slowly moving towards sleeker design ever since the purchase of One & Co (which may have had more than a little to do with the new naming strategy) and the release of the HTC Legend.
Since then, unibody designs and smooth lines have been a feature of its devices, and that principle has been evolved with the HTC One X.
However, before you read any further, a note of caution: if you're not willing to accept a pretty large mobile, then you're better off waiting for the likes of the HTC One S – the One X is a large piece of phone estate in your hand.
But it's that large 4.7-inch screen that is such a stunning feature of the One X – it's a 720p HD display packed into a chassis that's only 8.9mm thick. Plus it's also using the Super IPS LCD 2 technology that, while it lacks the vivid colour reproduction of Samsung's Super AMOLED range, really brings games and movies to life.
Like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it's got a pixel density (screen sharpness) that rivals the iPhone 4S, but does it on a screen that's over an inch larger. It's one of those devices that you have to see to really believe, but there's a good chance you'll confuse it with a shop model with a static image Sellotaped onto the front.
The rest of the phone design is, again, pretty subjective. For the large size, it's very light indeed at 130g. That's quite a bit heavier than the likes of theSamsung Galaxy S2 (14g, in fact) but in reality you'll consider it to be almost impossible to feel in the pocket.
The rest of the phone is pretty minimal in design. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we're offered some physical (well, touch sensitive) keys on the front of the HTC One X, meaning the display won't need to jump up and down to show the contextual versions.
There's an expected volume rocker switch on the right-hand side, a power button on the top (accompanied by a 3.5mm headphone jack) and a microUSB slot on the left-hand side – which also doubles a Mobile High-Definition Link to hook up to a TV.
It's a very sparse offering on a phone that's so expansive in its design, and leads to a very minimalist feel, which will likely appeal to many.
That effect is compounded by the microSIM slot on the back of the phone, which requires an Apple-esque device to open it up – and there's no microSD support to be found here either, with the battery locked into the unibody design.
While the smaller SIM will be a slight annoyance to those upgrading from the full-size version, the lack of a microSD slot will be a big worry for many, especially as HD movies and large games will play very well on a phone like this.
There is 32GB of onboard storage, but that's not going to be enough for the ilk of smartphone user that wouldn't buy an iPhone until capacity was raised to 64GB.
The rear of the phone features the 8MP camera, which protrudes quite a lot from the handset, but thanks to the slightly curved nature of the chassis, doesn't affect the phone too much when resting on a table.
The power button on the top of the phone can be quite hard to hit with the phone resting in the palm if you've not got the largest hands in the world, although the travel is such you'll hit it pretty accurately most of the time, which is something some phones fail to manage.
The size is the main design issue we can see for most people – this sleek-looking, lightweight phone will appeal to both men and women, but those with smaller hands will struggle to use the HTC One X effectively without doubling down on their digits.
We reviewed the white version of the One X, and it's worth noting that in a few hours it was quite dirty with fingerprint smudges and the like, so be warned you might want to fork out for a case too.
Feel
The One X feels even more like a flattened, slimmed down Amaze 4G than the One S, which is quite awesome. The One X and S are the best-designed HTC phones we’ve used, and possibly the most comfortable as well. The X trades a bit of comfort for its wider profile, but its angular edges make it easier to keep a grip while you stretch your fingers to use its larger screen.
While recent phones like the Amaze and Galaxy Nexus seem to be getting bulkier, the One X follows in the footsteps of the Droid Razr. It’s much more comfortable to hold than the Razr, but still one of the thinner phones at just 9.1mm thick – about equal with the iPhone 4S.
The screen size and choice of fixed navigation buttons may also prove wise, as it’s much easier to reach the power, volume, and three haptic navigation buttons (Back, Home, Multitask menu). Having said that, because the screen is so large, it almost feels like space is being wasted. HTC could have included an extra row of icons if it wanted to, especially considering that it ripped out Google’s Search Bar from the top of the screen. There are noticeable gaps between icon rows that are a bit too large.
The One X isn’t a revolutionary leap forward in any major way, but it refines and takes smartphone design up a notch, like the One S.
Screen
With the One S, HTC used AMOLED technology, but with the One X, it has used a slightly upgraded form of LCD it calls “Super” LCD. The results are fairly impressive, though HTC’s marketing efforts seem to hide the fact that the X has an LCD screen (perhaps because AMOLED is more popular right now). For a while, we actually believed the screen used AMOLED technology like the S. For LCD, the phone is capable of getting fairly good blacks and bold colors.
The screen’s 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and LCD screen does eliminate one of the only problems we had with the One S as well: annoying subpixels. On the HTC One S – which has a smaller 4.3-inch AMOLED screen and 960 x 540 pixel resolution – we noticed some slight problems with jagged edges and black subpixels.
Gorilla Glass makes all that screen feel relatively durable, and should help resist scratches and smudges.
Operating system
Like the other One phones, the X runs on Google’s new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, which means it’s up to date. Most of the key benefits of Android 4.0 remain intact, but HTC has heavily modified the design of the OS with “Sense 4.0,” with the goal of making it look more like its Android 2.3 phones. Some cosmetic changes are fine, but others are a bit puzzling, like the new widget and homescreen modifier, and the new multitasking screen. At times, it feels like HTC is being different just for the sake of it, which is never good.
Still, the good outweighs the bad. Because this runs Android 4.0, users will have many stability improvements. If you can find its new location, the data usage monitoring feature makes a handy way to stay under your data cap, and you’ll notice many other small enhancements, too.
Pre-installed apps
HTC tries to make things easy on new users by including useful apps like weather, a task manager, and other simple things, but it does go overboard. There are about 40 apps installed on the phone when you buy it, many of which aren’t removable or particularly useful. Luckily, the One X has about 20 less pre-installed apps than the One S.
You can download extra HTC software from the HTC Hub, though we don’t recommend it. Stick to the Google Play store for now. We also don’t recommend spending money on HTC Watch, a movie service. There are other solutions out there that are not device and manufacturer specific.
(Warning: When you make new contacts on the HTC One X, make sure save them to Google Contacts, not “Phone.” Your contacts are safer in Google’s cloud than on the phone. You can delete them there anytime as well. HTC is shutting down all of its older cloud backup services on April 30, so if you had a previous HTC phone and used HTC Sense to backup contacts, text messages, or anything else,follow these instructions to get your data before it’s gone forever.)
HTC Media Link accessory
Along with the car stereo clip, HTC is releasing a relatively easy way to connect your smartphone straight up to your TV without the need for any wires. If you buy the $90 HTC Media Link HD, you can mirror your phone’s screen directly to your HDTV with a swipe of your fingers. Using a wireless connection, you plug the Media Link into the wall (Micro USB) and your TV (HDMI). After a quick initial setup, you can simply swipe three fingers up the screen at any time and show your content, whether it be Angry Birds, a video, or pictures, right on your TV. Pretty neat.
Beats Audio rocks
With HTC’s Rezound, to use Beats Audio, you had to use the crappy music player HTC installed on the device. Thankfully, this requirement has been removed. We’ll leave it to you to decide if some audio filtering is really a big deal, but it did make music sound a bit better (though the phone does not come with premium headphones, or any headphones, for that matter). The HTC Music app is also much improved. Instead of just playing music, it now acts as a hub for all of your other music apps, like Amazon MP3, Google Music, Pandora, and Spotify. All of them are easily accessible from the music hub – a step in the right direction. Useful features like this would serve HTC better than some of its other efforts. HTC also sells a Car Stereo Clip that makes it easier to stick the phone in your windshield for navigation and music on the go.
Specs
The One X has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM 8960 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal flash storage, a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 pixel Super LCD screen, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. It runs on Android 4.0 with HTC’s Sense 4.0 UI overlaid on top. Common features include Bluetooth 4.0, Micro SIM, Micro USB, headphone jack, proximity sensor, digital compass, gyroscope/accelerometer, and Wi-Fi (of course). Sadly, there is no microSD slot.
Camera
If there’s “one” thing the One X and S may be known for, it’s their cameras. Using a combination of technologies HTC is dubbing “ImageSense,” the X and S 8-megapixel rear cameras produce superb photos compared to other smartphones, even eclipsing the iPhone 4S in select areas. The X has a fast f/2.0 aperture that supposedly captures about 40 percent more light than other phones, a special imaging chip inside it, a smart flash with five levels of intensity, and HDR (High Dynamic Range), which allows it to take better pictures if there is a bright light behind your subject (if you like sunsets, this is for you).
One of the most innovative new features of the One series is the ability to snap photos while recording video. Anytime while recording, you can snap a picture of whatever is going on. It’s fantastic. If you’re watching a video, you can take screenshots of what you’re watching as well.
Outside of video mode, holding the shutter button will let you take a burst of photos as well. The default is set to a limit of 20 burst photos, but you can edge it up to 99 if you love taking shots. After you’re done shooting a burst, you can pick and choose which pictures are your favorite or save the whole batch. It’s a quirky feature, but may be very useful in some circumstances.
Voice and data
Voice calls are pretty standard on AT&T’s network. We had no trouble hearing or being heard. As always, voice calls sound crappy. No change here.
On AT&T’s 4G LTE network, we’ve experienced a mix of speeds. We’ve been bumped down to 3G several times, but due to AT&T’s branding, 3G HSPA+ speeds are still labeled as “4G” in the top bar. You only know if you are actually on 4G if there’s a little lit up “LTE” under it. The difference is far too subtle. AT&T, get a clue and stop confusing users. You have a real 4G network now. No need to lie about your old one anymore.
4G labeling aside, we’ve been getting about 8.5 megabits per second (Mbps) download speeds and 1.2Mbps on the upload, as an average.
Battery life
Battery life on the One X is better than the One S, as best we can tell. On moderate usage, we were able to get almost two days out of the 1,800mAh battery, which is better than a lot of comparable phones. HTC is claiming the device gets 8.3 hours of talk time and 13 days of standby – in the phone’s defense, it seems to also perform quite well on standby. If you watch a lot of moving video though, the phone may not perform as well. Since it does have a larger screen, video definitely isn’t its friend.
For those who need more battery life at times, this may not be your phone. The battery is sealed inside the phone, so there’s no way to manually swap batteries in a crunch.
As it stands, the battery life exceeds the Galaxy Nexus, but comes nowhere close to the performance of the Droid Razr Maxx, which still remains our favorite phone when it comes to battery life.
Overall
The One X is as large as mainstream phones should be. To some of you, it will definitely be too large to comfortably hold. We’ve managed to get used to it and it isn’t any harder to hold than the Galaxy Nexus, so we aren’t going to punish it, but if you’re looking for a more reasonable size, the One S on T-Mobile is almost the same phone, but a bit smaller. We really like the direction HTC is going with its One series. Everything about this phone is top of the line, from its battery life to its 4G LTE connection, camera, and construction (polycarbonate). If you’re on AT&T, there is no doubt that this is now the phone to have, and at just $200, it’s a lot more affordable than the $300 price we’ve been seeing for top-notch Android devices.
| GENERAL | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| Announced | 2012, February | |
| Status | Available. Released 2012, May |
| BODY | Dimensions | 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 130 g | |
| - Touch-sensitive controls |
| DISPLAY | Type | Super IPS LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass | |
| - HTC Sense UI |
| SOUND | Alert types | Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| MEMORY | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 32 GB (26 GB user-available) storage, 1 GB RAM |
| DATA | GPRS | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | Yes | |
| Speed | HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB (MHL) v2.0 |
| CAMERA | Primary | 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection | |
| Video | Yes, 1080p@30fps, stereo sound rec., video stabilization, check quality | |
| Secondary | Yes, 1.3 MP, 720p |
| FEATURES | OS | Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Nvidia Tegra 3 | |
| CPU | Quad-core 1.5 GHz | |
| GPU | ULP GeForce | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email | |
| Browser | HTML, Adobe Flash | |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support | |
| Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
| Colors | Gray, White | |
| - MicroSIM card support only - Beats Audio - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - SNS integration - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player - MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk - Document viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input |
| BATTERY | Standard battery, Li-Po 1800 mAh | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | ||
| Talk time |
| MISC | Price group | |
|---|
The HTC One X makes AT&T’s other Android offerings look weak with a supersized high-res screen, top-shelf camera and a thin, sleek design.
HTC didn’t have a good 2011. It lost its strong footing on almost every carrier to competitors like Samsung, falling in a market that has shown enormous growth. The One series is an attempt to turn things around. With the One S and One X, HTC is on a mission to prove it has the skills to last in this fast-changing market and remain a relevant driving force in phones. Most of all, however, it’s trying to make better phones for you. Has it succeeded? Find out below.
Video overview
Design
HTC's phones have been slowly moving towards sleeker design ever since the purchase of One & Co (which may have had more than a little to do with the new naming strategy) and the release of the HTC Legend.
Since then, unibody designs and smooth lines have been a feature of its devices, and that principle has been evolved with the HTC One X.
However, before you read any further, a note of caution: if you're not willing to accept a pretty large mobile, then you're better off waiting for the likes of the HTC One S – the One X is a large piece of phone estate in your hand.
But it's that large 4.7-inch screen that is such a stunning feature of the One X – it's a 720p HD display packed into a chassis that's only 8.9mm thick. Plus it's also using the Super IPS LCD 2 technology that, while it lacks the vivid colour reproduction of Samsung's Super AMOLED range, really brings games and movies to life.
Like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it's got a pixel density (screen sharpness) that rivals the iPhone 4S, but does it on a screen that's over an inch larger. It's one of those devices that you have to see to really believe, but there's a good chance you'll confuse it with a shop model with a static image Sellotaped onto the front.
The rest of the phone design is, again, pretty subjective. For the large size, it's very light indeed at 130g. That's quite a bit heavier than the likes of theSamsung Galaxy S2 (14g, in fact) but in reality you'll consider it to be almost impossible to feel in the pocket.
The rest of the phone is pretty minimal in design. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we're offered some physical (well, touch sensitive) keys on the front of the HTC One X, meaning the display won't need to jump up and down to show the contextual versions.
There's an expected volume rocker switch on the right-hand side, a power button on the top (accompanied by a 3.5mm headphone jack) and a microUSB slot on the left-hand side – which also doubles a Mobile High-Definition Link to hook up to a TV.
It's a very sparse offering on a phone that's so expansive in its design, and leads to a very minimalist feel, which will likely appeal to many.
That effect is compounded by the microSIM slot on the back of the phone, which requires an Apple-esque device to open it up – and there's no microSD support to be found here either, with the battery locked into the unibody design.
While the smaller SIM will be a slight annoyance to those upgrading from the full-size version, the lack of a microSD slot will be a big worry for many, especially as HD movies and large games will play very well on a phone like this.
There is 32GB of onboard storage, but that's not going to be enough for the ilk of smartphone user that wouldn't buy an iPhone until capacity was raised to 64GB.
The rear of the phone features the 8MP camera, which protrudes quite a lot from the handset, but thanks to the slightly curved nature of the chassis, doesn't affect the phone too much when resting on a table.
The power button on the top of the phone can be quite hard to hit with the phone resting in the palm if you've not got the largest hands in the world, although the travel is such you'll hit it pretty accurately most of the time, which is something some phones fail to manage.
The size is the main design issue we can see for most people – this sleek-looking, lightweight phone will appeal to both men and women, but those with smaller hands will struggle to use the HTC One X effectively without doubling down on their digits.
We reviewed the white version of the One X, and it's worth noting that in a few hours it was quite dirty with fingerprint smudges and the like, so be warned you might want to fork out for a case too.
Feel
The One X feels even more like a flattened, slimmed down Amaze 4G than the One S, which is quite awesome. The One X and S are the best-designed HTC phones we’ve used, and possibly the most comfortable as well. The X trades a bit of comfort for its wider profile, but its angular edges make it easier to keep a grip while you stretch your fingers to use its larger screen.
While recent phones like the Amaze and Galaxy Nexus seem to be getting bulkier, the One X follows in the footsteps of the Droid Razr. It’s much more comfortable to hold than the Razr, but still one of the thinner phones at just 9.1mm thick – about equal with the iPhone 4S.
The screen size and choice of fixed navigation buttons may also prove wise, as it’s much easier to reach the power, volume, and three haptic navigation buttons (Back, Home, Multitask menu). Having said that, because the screen is so large, it almost feels like space is being wasted. HTC could have included an extra row of icons if it wanted to, especially considering that it ripped out Google’s Search Bar from the top of the screen. There are noticeable gaps between icon rows that are a bit too large.
The One X isn’t a revolutionary leap forward in any major way, but it refines and takes smartphone design up a notch, like the One S.
Screen
With the One S, HTC used AMOLED technology, but with the One X, it has used a slightly upgraded form of LCD it calls “Super” LCD. The results are fairly impressive, though HTC’s marketing efforts seem to hide the fact that the X has an LCD screen (perhaps because AMOLED is more popular right now). For a while, we actually believed the screen used AMOLED technology like the S. For LCD, the phone is capable of getting fairly good blacks and bold colors.
The screen’s 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and LCD screen does eliminate one of the only problems we had with the One S as well: annoying subpixels. On the HTC One S – which has a smaller 4.3-inch AMOLED screen and 960 x 540 pixel resolution – we noticed some slight problems with jagged edges and black subpixels.
Gorilla Glass makes all that screen feel relatively durable, and should help resist scratches and smudges.
Operating system
Like the other One phones, the X runs on Google’s new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, which means it’s up to date. Most of the key benefits of Android 4.0 remain intact, but HTC has heavily modified the design of the OS with “Sense 4.0,” with the goal of making it look more like its Android 2.3 phones. Some cosmetic changes are fine, but others are a bit puzzling, like the new widget and homescreen modifier, and the new multitasking screen. At times, it feels like HTC is being different just for the sake of it, which is never good.
| | |
Still, the good outweighs the bad. Because this runs Android 4.0, users will have many stability improvements. If you can find its new location, the data usage monitoring feature makes a handy way to stay under your data cap, and you’ll notice many other small enhancements, too.
Pre-installed apps
HTC tries to make things easy on new users by including useful apps like weather, a task manager, and other simple things, but it does go overboard. There are about 40 apps installed on the phone when you buy it, many of which aren’t removable or particularly useful. Luckily, the One X has about 20 less pre-installed apps than the One S.
You can download extra HTC software from the HTC Hub, though we don’t recommend it. Stick to the Google Play store for now. We also don’t recommend spending money on HTC Watch, a movie service. There are other solutions out there that are not device and manufacturer specific.
(Warning: When you make new contacts on the HTC One X, make sure save them to Google Contacts, not “Phone.” Your contacts are safer in Google’s cloud than on the phone. You can delete them there anytime as well. HTC is shutting down all of its older cloud backup services on April 30, so if you had a previous HTC phone and used HTC Sense to backup contacts, text messages, or anything else,follow these instructions to get your data before it’s gone forever.)
HTC Media Link accessory
Along with the car stereo clip, HTC is releasing a relatively easy way to connect your smartphone straight up to your TV without the need for any wires. If you buy the $90 HTC Media Link HD, you can mirror your phone’s screen directly to your HDTV with a swipe of your fingers. Using a wireless connection, you plug the Media Link into the wall (Micro USB) and your TV (HDMI). After a quick initial setup, you can simply swipe three fingers up the screen at any time and show your content, whether it be Angry Birds, a video, or pictures, right on your TV. Pretty neat.
Beats Audio rocks
With HTC’s Rezound, to use Beats Audio, you had to use the crappy music player HTC installed on the device. Thankfully, this requirement has been removed. We’ll leave it to you to decide if some audio filtering is really a big deal, but it did make music sound a bit better (though the phone does not come with premium headphones, or any headphones, for that matter). The HTC Music app is also much improved. Instead of just playing music, it now acts as a hub for all of your other music apps, like Amazon MP3, Google Music, Pandora, and Spotify. All of them are easily accessible from the music hub – a step in the right direction. Useful features like this would serve HTC better than some of its other efforts. HTC also sells a Car Stereo Clip that makes it easier to stick the phone in your windshield for navigation and music on the go.
Specs
The One X has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM 8960 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal flash storage, a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 pixel Super LCD screen, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. It runs on Android 4.0 with HTC’s Sense 4.0 UI overlaid on top. Common features include Bluetooth 4.0, Micro SIM, Micro USB, headphone jack, proximity sensor, digital compass, gyroscope/accelerometer, and Wi-Fi (of course). Sadly, there is no microSD slot.
Camera
If there’s “one” thing the One X and S may be known for, it’s their cameras. Using a combination of technologies HTC is dubbing “ImageSense,” the X and S 8-megapixel rear cameras produce superb photos compared to other smartphones, even eclipsing the iPhone 4S in select areas. The X has a fast f/2.0 aperture that supposedly captures about 40 percent more light than other phones, a special imaging chip inside it, a smart flash with five levels of intensity, and HDR (High Dynamic Range), which allows it to take better pictures if there is a bright light behind your subject (if you like sunsets, this is for you).
One of the most innovative new features of the One series is the ability to snap photos while recording video. Anytime while recording, you can snap a picture of whatever is going on. It’s fantastic. If you’re watching a video, you can take screenshots of what you’re watching as well.
Outside of video mode, holding the shutter button will let you take a burst of photos as well. The default is set to a limit of 20 burst photos, but you can edge it up to 99 if you love taking shots. After you’re done shooting a burst, you can pick and choose which pictures are your favorite or save the whole batch. It’s a quirky feature, but may be very useful in some circumstances.
Voice and data
Voice calls are pretty standard on AT&T’s network. We had no trouble hearing or being heard. As always, voice calls sound crappy. No change here.
On AT&T’s 4G LTE network, we’ve experienced a mix of speeds. We’ve been bumped down to 3G several times, but due to AT&T’s branding, 3G HSPA+ speeds are still labeled as “4G” in the top bar. You only know if you are actually on 4G if there’s a little lit up “LTE” under it. The difference is far too subtle. AT&T, get a clue and stop confusing users. You have a real 4G network now. No need to lie about your old one anymore.
4G labeling aside, we’ve been getting about 8.5 megabits per second (Mbps) download speeds and 1.2Mbps on the upload, as an average.
Battery life
Battery life on the One X is better than the One S, as best we can tell. On moderate usage, we were able to get almost two days out of the 1,800mAh battery, which is better than a lot of comparable phones. HTC is claiming the device gets 8.3 hours of talk time and 13 days of standby – in the phone’s defense, it seems to also perform quite well on standby. If you watch a lot of moving video though, the phone may not perform as well. Since it does have a larger screen, video definitely isn’t its friend.
For those who need more battery life at times, this may not be your phone. The battery is sealed inside the phone, so there’s no way to manually swap batteries in a crunch.
As it stands, the battery life exceeds the Galaxy Nexus, but comes nowhere close to the performance of the Droid Razr Maxx, which still remains our favorite phone when it comes to battery life.
Overall
The One X is as large as mainstream phones should be. To some of you, it will definitely be too large to comfortably hold. We’ve managed to get used to it and it isn’t any harder to hold than the Galaxy Nexus, so we aren’t going to punish it, but if you’re looking for a more reasonable size, the One S on T-Mobile is almost the same phone, but a bit smaller. We really like the direction HTC is going with its One series. Everything about this phone is top of the line, from its battery life to its 4G LTE connection, camera, and construction (polycarbonate). If you’re on AT&T, there is no doubt that this is now the phone to have, and at just $200, it’s a lot more affordable than the $300 price we’ve been seeing for top-notch Android devices.
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