The HTC One X+ isn’t a new hanset as
such, because it shares many similarities with its brothe the HTC One X, but
there are a few key upgrades in play here.
The One X+ is here to
put the issues we experienced with the One X, such as battery life and limited
storage, to bed. On the inside the One X+ gets an OS boost over the original,
as it ships with Android 4.11 Jelly Bean, with an update to Android 4.2 almost
certainly on the cards
HTC One X+
Screen dream
The big screen of the
One X has been transferred to the HTC One X+, giving you a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2
display with an HD 720 x 1,280 resolution. It’s still wonderfully crisp and
clear, providing an excellent viewing experience.
Below the large screen
there’s the three Android touch buttons – back, home and multi-tasking –
sporting that pleasing red accent which glows nicely when illuminated, while
above the display you get the traditional HTC elongated earpiece grill and a 1.6MP
camera, up from 1.3MP on teh One X.
The big screen of the One X has been
transferred to the HTC One X+, giving you a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display with
an HD 720 x 1,280 resolutions
In true HTC fashion,
Android isn’t just left in its pure form, as with the Google Nexus 4 and Samsung
Galaxy Nexus. Iinstead the Sense overlay comes into play, with a whole new
version to get your teeth into. The improvements are more behind the scenes,
with smoother operation, improved performance and battery optimisation being
the key points.
HTC has also stripped
out textures from fonts and backgrounds, making text slightly easier to read as
shadows and embossed effects are replaced with crisper, more defined lines.
The One X was a
powerful machine, packing a 1.5GHz qud-core processor and 1GB of RAM, but HTC
has decided this simply isn’t enough, equipping the One X+ with four cores
clocked at 1.7GHz, while the RAM remains the same
The HTC’s cameras are impressive,
espicially the front-facing one
Round the back of the
HTC One X+ you’ll find an 8MP camera with a single LED flash, but the lens has
been given a lsight boost over the one found in the One X, as this one is
capable of capturing 1080p at 30fps, instead of 24fps. The front-facing camera
has also been given an upgrade, sporting 1.6MP, which is 0.3MP more than on its
predecessor, resulting in better quality Skype calls.
“Camera results will keep most mobile
snappers happy”
The HTC One X+ takes
less than a second to snap a photo after pressing the shutter button, and that
includes allowing the auto-focus to settle and flash to go off- very
impressive.
Results are equally as
good – with true-to-life colours and crisp images capable of picking out details
even in busier scenes, the HTC One X+ will keep most mobile snappers happy.
The HTC One+ has some
rather nifty video recording credentails, enabling you to film in full HD,
1080p at 30fps, while the front camera chimes in with a respectable 720p, also
at 30fps.
While the resolution
may be the same as the HTC One X+ has a superior frame rate, which provides
smoother video, putting it on par with the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 on
paper at least.
The HTC One+ has some rather nifty video
recording credentails, enabling you to film in full HD, 1080p at 30fps, while
the front camera chimes in with a respectable 720p, also at 30fps.
As well as having the
choice of shooting a full 1080p, or 720p via the rear camera, you can also
select to shoot footage in slow motion, which can produce some fun clips,
although don’t expect Matrix-style bullet time results. Final video footae is
pretty decent for a smartphone, and a marked improvement over the One X, which
we found to be a little grainy adn not overly smooth, and this hoists the One
X+up there with the best of them.
Smart storage
When it comes to media,
no one is questioning the HTC One X+, with its 4.7-inch HD display and now huge
storage options, backed up by the powerful quad-core processor. A criticism we
had with the original HTC One X was that there was no expandable storage
option. HTC has now dropped the 16GB option for the One X+, offering up its
latest flagship Android handset in 32GB and all new 64GB models – taking the
fight to the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.
Getting media on to
the HTC One X+ is easy- simply use the bundled USB cable to connect the handset
to your PC, wait for the drivers to install automatically, then drag and drop
content.
The HTC One X+ had the potential to be
the first five star smartphone since the Samsung Galaxy S2 but, unfortunately,
it’s quite literallly run out of juice before the final hurdle
When it comes to
phhysical connectinons, the HTC One X+ sports a microUSB port, which while not
ideally positioned, does let you connect up to a TV using an MHL lead (though,
sadly, one isn’t supplied in the box).
NFC is also on board,
after making its HTC debut on the One X, although as with the first phone, the
technology on the One X+ is offered via Android Beam, which lets you share
content between another equally Android device- don’t expect anything too
wondrous.
The HTC One X+ builds
on a number of issues that arose with the original HTC One X, addressing
storage concerns and improving web broser efficiency, and incluidng the alwasy
reliable HTC keyboard – however, the battery life is still something of a sore
point.
The HTC One X+ had the
potential to be the first five star smartphone since the Samsung Galaxy S2 but,
unfortunately, it’s quite literallly run out of juice before the final hurdle
There are so may
things to love about the One X+ and it really is a great smartphone. We urge
you to give it a whirl in store, and while it may not have the fancy tricks of
the Galaxy S3, or the cult following of the iPhone 5, it’s happily rubbing
shoulders with the big boys.
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Details
·
Price: $702.2
·
Website: www.amazon .co.uk
Specification
·
Screen: 4.7-inch 720 x 1,280
·
Processor: 1.7GHz quad-core
·
RAM: 1GB
·
Storage: 32GB, 64GB
·
Cameras: 1.6MP (front), 8MP (rear)
·
OS: Android 4.11
·
Wireless: GSM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
·
Battery 2,100mAh
·
Connectivity: Micro USB, 3.5mm
The good:
·
The great screen, improved Sense overlay, fast
processor
The bad
·
Battery still not great incemental upgrade, no
expandable storage
Dimentisions
·
Height: 134.4mm
·
Width: 69.9mm
·
Depth: 8.9mm
·
Screen size: 4.7-inch
·
Weight: 135g
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