An increase in specifications in the middle
of the product cycle? Every company is doing it nowadays, although it is
possible that customers, who have just purchased the product which they thought
was the flagship product of the year, stay away. HTC has actually played this
trick for a long time, first with the Sensation XE, which acts as mid-term
replacement for the original Sensation and now, with One X+ following One X. However,
with this newest device, the producer does have their excuse: One X+ owns the
internal storage of 32GB or 64GB, while the universal One X has 32GB as the
maximum level and AT&T just has 16 GB. Because there is no microSD
expansion on these devices, it might happen that One X+ is the logical
addition, which serves experience users and especially the storage hungry power
users and audiophiles. (Note: this review is about the HSPA+ version in UK of
this phone, and compares it mostly with the HSPA+ One X. We will soon check the
LTE version for US).
The
HTC One X+
Of course there are other upgrades beside
the larger internal storage. The Nvidia Tegra 3 processor has been speeded up
to 1.7GHz maybe this is an attempt to challenge the Galaxy S III. There is
2100mAh battery with bigger capacity to catch up with the more power-consumed
silicon; the front camera module has been replaced by the higher-resolution and
better image-processing chip; and there are also some new audio circuits to
improve the audio quality of the speaker. The One X+ also runs the updated
Sense 4+ of HTC, based on Jelly Bean, which after all will arrive at older
One-series phones. About the rest of the specifications, every good or not so
good thing from the One X are all brought up here – the Super LCD2 4.7 inch
1280x720 screen is still here, and the 8MP f/2.0 front camera is too. However,
it still just has 1GB RAM (the super phones’ RAM of LG and Samsung is double
that number). Therefore, what is needed here is a conclusion: if you have not
bought a super phone of the year 2012 yet, how does the One X+ compared to its
lower-cost predecessors and the newest competitors? Just read this and we will
find out together.
Hardware
The main appealing thing of the original
One X has never been doubted. That is the amazing design that any of former or
later Android phones are lacked, although One X+ is a little bit heavier (with
135g vs. 130g), it is still a similarly classy phone. A Gorilla Glass coat –
which is upgraded to version 2 – echoes perfectly with the curved and matte
polycarbonate body, and the effects are also nice and solid. Yes, the one-piece
design prevents the storage from being expanded and the battery from being exchanged,
which are painful sacrifices for some consumers, but in return, it pleases you
with endlessly interesting vibes every time you pick it in the morning.
The
One X+’s front and back side
However, according to this shallow
measurement, the One X+ is also imperfect. That is because it just has one
single color which is black: the matte black, with glimmers of read on the
navigation buttons (especially whenever they light up), the camera ring and
Beats logo. It is even more appealing when looking at the AT&T model with
the black features instead of red, but there is still no sign of love for
colorfulness on the newest Windows Phones of HTC. If you are in the group of
fastidious people, you will find that it is easier to recognize dust on this
dark model than the white of grey model, especially the black HTC logo at the
back.
The
HTC logo is kind of discrete and lies just above the screen
In favor of the physical aspect of this
device, it is nothing really amazing. The surface is highlighted with three
capacitive buttons along the bottom (back, home and multitasking) with the
front camera and earpiece. The HTC logo is kind of discrete and lies just above
the screen (Pay attention, Verizon). On the right edge, there is a large volume
rocker, while the power button lies beside the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the
micro-USB is the only thing that located on the left side. That is a good and
practical layout, but those who have small hands may wish to have the power
button located in such position that is more reachable rather than on the top
(like that on Galaxy S III for instance). Changing the holding position to turn
the phone on can become a habit, but it rather takes time. At the back side, we
see the protruding camera, which has become the symbol of this luxury phone
series of HTC, but it still easily get scratched, with a small LED flash and
not very powerful beside. There is charging point on the bottom right corner
which is compatible with many of contemporary One X docks and last but least is
the speakers which lie at the very bottom. We were informed that a feedback
amplifier has been added to the loudspeakers as the attempt to improve the
audio output compared to One X, and the sound is really less prone to
distortion indeed when we set the volume at its maximum level. Like what is
showed in the video review, the difference is not really considerable, so do
not expect any miracles or hosting a party without preparing the suitable audio
equipment.
