HTC One X

I ordered my HTC One X about four/five months ago now when my old monthly contract was nearly up. I was debating between this, the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Samsung Galaxy Ace, quite a range I know! I ended up choosing the HTC One X chiefly because it was quite new out and thus wouldn't become outdated as quickly as the other two and also because my last phone before this one was a HTC and I really liked using it.

My HTC One X

My phone handset is black, this phone also comes in white. As with most smartphones these days the front of the phone is predominantly touch screen being a 4.7-inch Gorilla Glass screen which is both durable and scratch-resistant. The back is relatively plain looking, with the HTC branding engraved in silver and the camera lens/ring visible at the top.

Size

Now I was quite surprised at how big this phone was when I received it in the post. Having ordered it online and not really had chance to look at it in the shops, I was expecting it to be a similar size to my HTC Desire model, however this is quite a bit bigger and I still feel that it is a bit too large for a mobile phone to be honest, however this is my only negative comment about the handset really.

The phone has dimensions of 2.75 inches width, 5.29 inches height and about 0.4 mm depth. In my hand I sometimes struggle to reach the top left hand corner of the screen with my thumb without adjusting or holding the phone with my other hand, which is slightly annoying. The phone weights 130 grams with the battery in.

Beats Audio

One of the unique selling points with this phone is the inclusion of Beats Audio - apparently, though I did not buy it for this reason nor have I made use of it since, but I should include some info for this review. This is made by Beats Electronics, LLC, who made lots of audio equipment. In 2001 HTC bought 51% of this company and is now using it in its handsets as a Beats Audio equalizer, which apparently means that "everything you hear on your phone--from music and videos to games and YouTube--is rich and authentic". As I said I cannot really comment on this, but it has it and it is apparently very good.

Home Screen and Navigation

What I really like about HTC's is their android system and easy navigation around the phones app's and settings. The HTC One X has 5 different home screens where you can install and add apps and notes for fast track use. For instance I have a twitter header, a large clock, a calendar, a mosaic of my photo's that I have taken and easy access internet options. You can move each screen across each by sliding the touchscreen either way.

The bottom of the HTC screen has three fixed touch buttons, these are the 'Home' button - that will always guide you back to your home screen, the 'Back' button - which takes you back a step and the 'Recent Apps' button which brings up you most recent or most common screens for you to quickly flick through and jump to if needed - I never really use this. These buttons glow a pale blue when the phone is in use.

The Camera

The camera is really good compared to my older phones, though not as good as some I know. The camera in the One X has a speedy one second start-up time, rapid-fire continuous shooting, simultaneous 1080HD video and imaging, and an 8MP camera. It is VERY simple to operate and my pictures come out well even with shaky hands or whilst taking late night pub shots which is likely due to the 'HTC ImageChip' - which produces great shots regardless of lighting and movement. The camera has an ok zoom for a phone and also lots of quirky settings and effects that you can set it to such as 'dots' and 'vintage warm' which are quite fun to play around with. The camera also has auto focus, smart LED flash, and BSI sensor AND takes photos whilst video recording - pretty cool!

Battery

Battery life is always a sore point with phones - my HTC would last about 36 hours with my moderate usage such as a few calls, texts, internet usage and some gaming, however I charge mine every night which I know doesn't help with battery life. There has been a lot of criticism written about this models battery power, however my attitude is IT'S A SMARTPHONE and everything you do drains the battery, personally it has never let me down and I am more than positive about its battery consumption. The handset is powered by a 1800 mAh battery which apparently gives a talk time of more than eight hours.

Other Specs and Info

CPU Speed - 1.5 GHz, quad-core (global version)
1.5 GHz, dual-core LTE version (USA & selected countries)

Platform - Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4

Memory - Total Storage : 32 GB; Ram : 1 GB

Sensors - Gyro sensor
G-Sensor
Digital compass
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor

Connectivity - 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
NFC3
Bluetooth with aptXTM enabled (Bluetooth® 4.0)
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)

My Overall Opinion

I love my HTC, it is so colourful, simple to use and also very well made and designed. I admit I do not use this phone to its full potential - I browse the internet, play some silly games every now and then and obviously call and text people on it, but this is designed for so much more. All the things that I do on it are VERY fast and reliable on the Android operating system, which I personally really like using.

As I mentioned the only drawback about this phone for me is that it is slightly too big for my liking, but I live with it because the rest of the phones features make up for it.

Thanks for reading :)