HTC One X specs review
Starting April 5, we will be able to buy HTC's best Android phone so far, the One X. Let's dig a bit deeper to find out what we will be spending our pretty penny on, compared to all the other enticing options that landed on the MWC showfloor.
There is a lot to love about the HTC One X, and very little to disapprove of, like the lack of memory expansion slot and the sealed battery compartment.
The 32GB of internal memory render a microSD slot not really necessary, considering that you also get 25GB of free cloud storage via HTC's collaboration with Dropbox, which is woven into the interface.
The 1800mAh non-removable juice pack should be a bigger source of concern, though - you can't easily take it out and insert the charged spare in your wallet if the phone's power starts dwindling at the end of the day. And LTE versions with huge HD screens, like the One X for AT&T, are usually a killing combo for even larger batteries.
Let's not forget, however, that the LTE-laden One X will be with the newest Snapdragon S4, which is built with a 28nm process, so it will be as frugal as it will be powerful, compared to the current S3 dual-cores, and even compared to Tegra 3, which the global version of the One X sports. Here are a few benches that give a rough idea for the S4 vs Tegra 3 performance, courtesy of Anandtech, which benched the Snapdragon S4 reference platform recently.
As you can see, the S4 CPU is more powerful, while its Adreno 220 GPU lacks a bit compared to the Tegra 3 GPU, but we are pretty sure that nothing that's in Android Market currently will choke those two.
Moreover, the Qualcomm chipset comes with the second generation of LTE radios, chips that are way less power-hungry and much more compact than what we have now in LTE phones, so the HTC One X for AT&T should do just fine with a 1800mAh battery.
We are not so sure about the global version, sporting a quad-core Tegra 3 and 42Mbps HSPA+ radio, since NVIDIA's quad is still built on 40nm, but we'll give it the benefit of the 4-PLUS-1 doubt for now, since NVIDIA claims the fifth low-power core for everyday tasks makes the whole getup very frugal. Let's see how the HTC One X compares to the rest of the quad-core gang announced at MWC in that respect:
Actually we have both the LG Optimus 4X HD carrying a larger 2150mAh battery, and the Huawei Ascend D quad XL with its huge 2500mAh pack. The XL's battery is rated for 2-3 days of normal use, so a 1800mAh should get us at least a day and a half off the grid with the new chipsets in moderate usage scenarios, but we can't know for sure until the One X arrives at the office for a full test round.
With the Debbie Downer features out of the way, let's move on to the good stuff. First off, the phone strays away from the trademark aluminum chassis of HTC, and gets housed in a unibody polycarbonate shell painted in white or black. It is not actually painted - polycarbonate means deep coloring, so even if you scratch it, it will still be the same hue, not a black mark. It is also a very durable material, allows for excellent signal penetration, and has allowed the 4.7" monster to stay incredibly light and compact for its size - this is actually one of HTC's thinnest phones to date.
This display size is the largest so far on mobiles achieving HD 720x1280 pixels of resolution with a normal RGB matrix, and our hands-on review of the HTC One X confirmed it also adds bright, popping colors and superior viewing angles to its list of virtues. HTC claims that it has laminated the Gorilla Glass cover and the touch layer to eliminate reflection - the biggest enemy of outdoor visibility, and we will check on that as soon as we take it for a spin in the office.
Last, but not least, the interface matters. Sense 4.0 undoubtedly remains faithful to the presentation and design language of previous Sense versions, but from what we can gather so far, the improvements with it are found mostly in its functionality. Let’s start with the lock screen, which has been untouched - we’re greeted with the useful function for launching specific apps quickly, accomplished by dropping the specific icon into the ring.
The homescreen is laid in panels and again employs that neat 3D effect when navigating between them. Interestingly though, Sense 4.0 forgoes having the usual set of Android on-screen buttons integrated with the stock ICS interface, but rather, it seems as though devices will be sporting separate ones. Overall, there aren’t any dramatic changes found with the look of the homescreen, but we’re irked to find that the 3D carousel animation has been removed entirely – you know, the one that comes up when you swipe very quickly.
Regarding some of its core organizer apps, like the calendar and contacts, there isn’t a whole lot different with its appearance on the surface, but there is a new animation as we swipe between the tabs. Furthermore, with the calendar, there are pinch gestures in use that enable us to expand/minimize specific appointments.
There are numerous other features found with the new interface, so check out our video hands-on below to see it all in action. There’s plenty to like about HTC Sense 4.0 thus far, and we’ll surely check it out more in depth once devices are launched.
Now off to the camera module - we have the usual in terms of resolution 8MP rear snapper, but its capabilities now are anything else but usual. HTC has gone through the trouble to develop a DSP in-house, which it calls ImageChip, circumventing the standard ones that are in Tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4. It did that to introduce uniform quality and features across its cameras in the new One line of handsets. Here is the laundry list of new features introduced with ImageChip:
- Superfast Capture - HTC One dramatically reduces the time it takes to capture those key moments. In just 0.7 seconds you're able to take a shot, and with a new superfast 0.2-seconds autofocus, continue to take nearly unlimited continuous shots simply by holding the shutter button.
- Good photos in adverse conditions - HTC One delivers dramatic enhancements in image capture quality even in adverse conditions such as low light, no light or with bright backlighting. The f/2.0 lens on the HTC One X and HTC One S offers best-in-class performance, capturing 40 percent more light than the f/2.4 lenses available on other high-end phones. HTC One also includes HDR, a market-leading technology, for taking great photos even when there are varying levels of brightness.
- Video Pic (Concurrent Video/Still Capture) - With Video Pic you capture a photo and shoot video at the same time. Now, while you're shooting HD video, all you have to do is tap the shutter button and it snaps a high-resolution still photo while the video continues to shoot. You are also able to capture a photo frame from a previously recorded video.
- Dropbox integrated with HTC Sense - HTC One gives you an easy way to save and share your photos and videos. HTC has integrated Dropbox into HTC Sense 4 enabling HTC One customers to get 25 gigabytes of free Dropbox space for two years. That's enough to keep more than 10,000 high-quality photos. Dropbox is also integrated throughout HTC Sense 4, so it's easy to edit, save and share your documents and other kinds of files.
- Sharing your photos and more - HTC One gives you a new way to share your photos and videos. When you plug in HTC's wireless Media Link HD* accessory into your TV's HDMI port, you can easily share your photos, videos, or anything else on your phone with your friends, family or colleagues regardless of the television's brand as long as it has HDMI.
Above all, the camera app with Sense 4.0 has been overhauled by essentially simplifying things. Rather than having separate screens for taking photos and videos, the two have been integrated into one as the right edge houses both the shutter and video capture buttons. Of course, there are a ton of scene and shooting modes to appease even the most hardened photo buffs out there, but its most outstanding new feature, which we’ve seen in play with the HTC One X for AT&T, is the fact that it can shoot a consecutive set of photos by holding down the shutter key.
Once they’re taken, we jump into preview mode that displays the entire set of shots taken, and from there, it asks us to select the “best shot” out of the bunch. Once we make a selection, we're given the option of deleing the other photos – to cut down on memory consumption naturally. Additionally, we can snap photos while simultaneously shooting full 1080p videos, and extract frames from recorded videos as photos - very useful features.
The Beats Audio profile can now work with any application (previously it worked only with the built-in player). This means you will be able to enjoy it with YouTube videos, Games and any other content. There isn't information if there is any other improvement in the Beats software or the phone hardware, for better sound quality. If you want to know more about HTC's Beats Audio integration, check out our thorough interview with HTC on the topic.
Expectations
The HTC One X has already shaped to be one of the best Android handsets this summer, and the One series in general will see the largest global launch ever for HTC in about 140 countries at once, which means a significant marketing push. With the One X the company shows that it is ready to fight tooth and nail to regain its Android prominence, and it might have a shot at winning.
What do you think about the One X, are you planning to make it your One and only?
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