HTC made their name producing Windows Mobile handsets but it was their Android phones which raised their profile to be on par with top mobile manufacturers such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson. While they’ve continued to support Microsoft by releasing some excellent Windows Phone 7 devices more often than not HTC’s Android handsets have stolen the show.
Although following previous flagship devices such as the Desire and Sensation is a tall order it looks like the One X should be more than a match for its predecessors. The announcement of the first quad-core handsets means the bar has been raised for all new high-end smartphones and HTC have comfortably lived up to expectations by putting an extremely powerful 1.5GHz quad-core processor in the One X. Considering phones with a decent speed dual-core processor seem to be lightning fast the One X is bound to be astoundingly quick.
The Galaxy Nexus impressed with its large, high resolution screen but the One X’s 4.7 inch 720p screen should look even better as it uses IPS technology meaning we’ll see iPhone 4S quality colour and brightness only at a higher resolution and on a bigger screen. You’ll be wanting some 720p videos to make use of that beautiful screen and luckily there is 32GB of on-board storage ready to be filled with films and music.
While there’s no microSD card slot it’s not the end of the world as HTC have arranged for users to be given 25GB of DropBox storage for saving and sharing all your files. What makes this especially handy is the fact you can sync your DropBox across devices so you could have the same pictures and music available on both your phone, desktop pc and laptop.
The 8 megapixel camera features a burst mode for taking a series of snaps quickly and HTC are boasting that we’ll see none of the lag which plagues most camera phones. A 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera should provide good quality video calling while the back camera can record video at 1080p.
Visually the One X is certainly above average and the polycarbonate body will come in both white and grey (that’s what HTC are calling it but it looks pretty close to black to us). Like the iPhone 4 and 4S the One X takes micro SIM cards rather than the standard size to save on space and although it might be a pain getting a new SIM over time they’re certain to become the standard.
With features other manufacturers don’t have access to such as Beats Audio HTC may have produced a handset that will appeal both to those into the latest technology and those into the latest fashion. The One X looks great, has plenty of power and features a new slicker-looking version of HTC’s Sense UI, depending on what the Samsung Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 have offer this could be the phone to beat this year.
The HTC One X should be available in April although price and availability are still not yet confirmed.
