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HTC ONE X

blairh

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I'll start this thread so I can stop talking up this phone over at the iPhone 5 thread. I can't wait to demo this phone at AT&T once it's available. I've been using an iPhone since the 3G starting in 2008 but I see so much room for improvement. (Especially with respect to screen size.) I've always viewed Android devices as inferior to iOS (especially with fragmentation in the mix) however I'm starting to see Android play catch up quick with respect to apps and offering some nice hardware. ICS seems to be a universally liked OS and finally we seem to be getting Android's that can match the crispness of the retina display.

The One X is sporting 312 ppi on a 4.7" screen. I can't wait to see what that looks like in person. This video does a nice job of showing how crisp that screen really is. (Watch it in HD.)

Once I get my hands on this phone I'll report back my impressions. I'd like to wait till fall and see what the next iPhone has in store, however if this phone blows me away I might actually jump to Android.
 
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blairh

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I spent 40 minutes with the One X at AT&T this afternoon. They did not have it on the floor but a nice sales rep let me play with it and we also had a long discussion about the current market of smartphones.

I've been wanting to upgrade from my iPhone 4 for some time. When the 4S wasn't worth doing so IMO, I had essentially decided to just wait for the next iPhone in that time. I have however demoed a variety of devices in the past 8 months in stores including the a variety of Samsung devices and the Lumia 900. I had yet to play with a smartphone that impressed me.

This has now officially changed with the One X.

Let me preface by saying that none of this matters if battery life isn't up to par. I am going to wait and read the reviews with respect to the AT&T model coming to the market on May 6th. In the meantime, I will say that I was so impressed with the One X this afternoon that I'm seriously considering making the jump if it turns out the battery life is close to what I'm getting with my iPhone 4.

The first thing I noticed of course was that screen. It's amazing. Imagine the retina display blown up to 4.7". Even better, the screen lacks the bluish hue of my iPhone 4. I compared my iPhone 4 to the One X (same webpage on both) and it was clear that the iPhone 4 is bluish in color. I can't say enough about this screen.



Text is sharp and not a single pixel to be found. HD YouTube video clips honestly feels like you are watching a mini HDTV in your hand.



I was able to read text heavy desktop sites like Huffington Post and The Daily Mail without straining my eyes or zooming in. (I will say however that I was stuck using the stock Sense web browser and it's not on the same level as Safari. Especially noticed this with the few times I double tapped however I would use Chrome for Android so it's a non-issue.)








Style Forum looks great on the One X and requires no zooming in in landscape mode.



Sense isn't as great as stock ICS however it didn't seem like something I'd really loathe using either. There is the downside of course of being in the air with future OS updates, but I guess that's a cross-that-bridge-when-we-get-there situation.

The build quality of the One X is simply excellent. Unlike pretty much every Samsung device I've handled, this just screams quality. The polycarbonate backing is great to the touch and the curved backing reminds me of the days when holding my 3G iPhone was pleasurable. I thought the 4.7" was going to be way too big and cumbersome but honestly it isn't. And this is coming from someone with small-ish adult male hands. I'm no fan of capacitive buttons but for some reason the ones on the One X did not bother me one bit. My one serious gripe is that the camera lens is flush and appears entirely prone to scratching when laid on a flat surface. I wouldn't use a case but I'd have to figure out some way of elevating the back of the One X so that the lens does not touch the flat surface.



My other gripe is the 16 GB of internal memory. That's pretty weak but I'd just have to be selective about what music I choose to keep on the device plus I can stream my entire music collection over wi-fi via Google Music. Despite the fact that we've discussed it here in the past, I'm still not entirely clear if the 2 GB of internal memory will allow me to (potentially) use the memory of the phone storage in case I run out of room for apps on the internal storage.

So, yeah, this phone is incredible. Like I said before I'm going to wait until all the reviews come out until I make my decision. If this phone has respectable battery life on LTE and no issues pop up in the upcoming months, then I think HTC might have a huge hit on their hands.
 

blairh

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I just spent 20 minutes with the One X at my local AT&T store. My second round. Some observations.

The screen just blows away the iPhone 4/4S. It's honestly absurd how sharp it is. Whites are significantly white and everything just looks incredible. (Pictures, video, text, backgrounds, etc.)

Wi-fi was enabled however the sales rep told me they were having an issue with the cellular connection (I didn't ask what exactly). The rep was nice enough to download Chrome Beta for me to mess with.

Chrome Beta over wi-fi was faster than Safari on my iP4. I was able to handle the unit somewhat easily with one hand. I have smallish hands but was able to reach the address bar with my thumb in portrait without too much discomfort. I think the light weight of the device and curved backing help a great deal with respect to using it with one hand.

There were seven levels with respect to increasing and decreasing the volume. I believe the iPhone has 16 levels.

The unit I was handed appeared to have full power. Because ICS does not have a battery percentage indicator by default, I was unable to notice how much battery I lost in my 20 minutes on wi-fi. When I returned the device it did not appear as if the battery icon changed much, or at all.

I do have one serious gripe, and it has to do with Chrome. In order to access your bookmarks, you need to tap 'Menu' and then 'Bookmarks'. On Safari I simply tap the dedicated bookmarks icon. So it's an additional step, and while it may not seem like a big deal, it most certainly is. At least for me it is. That extra tap is a pain ***********. I spend a lot of time browsing on Safari with my iPhone and I can't get used to that additional step. I can't believe Chrome doesn't have a dedicated bookmark icon like Safari.

The stock browser also has no bookmarks icon. You need to tap 'Menu' then 'Bookmarks' just like Chrome. Puzzling.

Also the Chrome browser does not have a '.com' button on the keyboard. The stock browser on the One X (and Safari of course) do.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know of any Android browser that does have a bookmark icon? Dolphin perhaps? Opera? Perhaps Chrome will adopt this feature down the road.

Anyways, that serious gripe aside, I didn't walk away making a decision. I was banking on using Chrome if I jump ship, but this bookmarks issue really bothers me. I think I'm still going to wait till after WWDC to make a decision.
 

Jr Mouse

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I would wait to see what Apple has planned. It's not like the One X won't still be around.

EDIT: I have been thinking these Android handset makers really need to slow things down. Don't make so many new products each year. It doesn't have to be a single phone per year like Apple, but these product lineups get confusing and it limits companies ability to provide long term support and updates.
 
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blairh

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I would wait to see what Apple has planned. It's not like the One X won't still be around.
EDIT: I have been thinking these Android handset makers really need to slow things down. Don't make so many new products each year. It doesn't have to be a single phone per year like Apple, but these product lineups get confusing and it limits companies ability to provide long term support and updates.


I'll have a better idea after WWDC. By that point it will be roughly 4 months until the iPhone keynote. I should just wait. Whether I can hold off remains to be seen.

You should really check out the One X when you can. The screen is just crazy.
 

dah328

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Wi-fi was enabled however the sales rep told me they were having an issue with the cellular connection (I didn't ask what exactly). The rep was nice enough to download Chrome Beta for me to mess with.

Chrome Beta over wi-fi was faster than Safari on my iP4. I was able to handle the unit somewhat easily with one hand. I have smallish hands but was able to reach the address bar with my thumb in portrait without too much discomfort. I think the light weight of the device and curved backing help a great deal with respect to using it with one hand.

...

I do have one serious gripe, and it has to do with Chrome. In order to access your bookmarks, you need to tap 'Menu' and then 'Bookmarks'. On Safari I simply tap the dedicated bookmarks icon. So it's an additional step, and while it may not seem like a big deal, it most certainly is. At least for me it is. That extra tap is a pain ***********. I spend a lot of time browsing on Safari with my iPhone and I can't get used to that additional step. I can't believe Chrome doesn't have a dedicated bookmark icon like Safari.

The stock browser also has no bookmarks icon. You need to tap 'Menu' then 'Bookmarks' just like Chrome. Puzzling.

Also the Chrome browser does not have a '.com' button on the keyboard. The stock browser on the One X (and Safari of course) do.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know of any Android browser that does have a bookmark icon? Dolphin perhaps? Opera? Perhaps Chrome will adopt this feature down the road.

Anyways, that serious gripe aside, I didn't walk away making a decision. I was banking on using Chrome if I jump ship, but this bookmarks issue really bothers me. I think I'm still going to wait till after WWDC to make a decision.


The Android browser with the best bookmarks/tabs interface was the previous version of Firefox. Swiping right dragged the whole screen right displaying a list of your current tabs. There was a dedicated bookmark button in the title bar. Unfortunately, that interface changed in the most recent version which now requires at least two taps to get to a list of tabs. I believe Dolphin still has the bookmark button, but I didn't like the rest of the app enough to stick with it.

By the way, I have tried Chrome on three different devices and its performance is completely unimpressive, worse than the stock browser in either Gingerbread or ICS. Opera Mini has been far and away the best browser on all three of those devices.
 
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blairh

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By the way, I have tried Chrome on three different devices and its performance is completely unimpressive, worse than the stock browser in either Gingerbread or ICS. Opera Mini has been far and away the best browser on all three of those devices.


If I get the One X I'll download several different browsers and see what I like most. The lack of a bookmarks icon on Chrome Android is a glaring omission IMO. Perhaps they will include it when it comes out of beta.

Another option is ICS+. It's a replica of the stock browser found on the GNex.
 

Jr Mouse

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Did you clean the catche of each browser before doing your test?
 

blairh

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Did you clean the catche of each browser before doing your test?


Yes.

Update: I've decided to pass on the One X. It's the first smartphone in a long time that made me seriously consider ditching my iPhone. In the end I think it's too big plus I want to see what Apple is going to bring to the market next before upgrading my phone.
 
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blairh

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White or gray?
Help me decide. I'm getting the phone this weekend.
I like the look of the white but heard it gets grimy.


If you are contemplating the North American One X variant, I strongly suggest you think twice. This model has a serious multitasking performance issue. Despite that stunning screen I would strongly warn anyone to not purchase the North American One X.

If you still decide to get it, I would get the gray model. The white gets dirty very easily. Also, you should take a look at the Motorola Atrix HD which will be available tomorrow at AT&T.
 

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