Positioning.
A good start, an incomprehensible middle, and a lean end. It's all about the smartphone market cycle Htc for the last year. All year they have been looking for themselves, offering their conservative models to users with similar views on things. But recently, interest in the company's smartphones has begun to fall, and I have heard little about the hero of our review. HTC One Xuntil I ran into him personally. After reading the information about this model on the forum, I immediately plunged into a sea of comments about the marriage in one form or another. Well, that boded well for the review. A cute-looking box fell into my hands. But what was inside was a complete disappointment. No, I'm not talking about the device itself - it's cool, I was talking about the delivery set. But why? Why is HTC stepping on a rake again? We are talking about the most conservative set. The smartphone, the flagship, the most expensive HTC device with the Beats Audio label is not equipped with branded headphones. In the kit, I found the most ordinary headset, charger and practically nothing else. But the expectation of something interesting remained and, as it is now clear, not in vain. The new One line has been designed to meet user expectations. Indeed - HTC did not launch such a stormy advertising campaign as in SamsungGalaxy S3... Therefore, the smartphone turned out to be fully consistent with the criteria of users. We get the following set: a good design, a good camera, one of the best fillings on the market, and a new display. What else does?
Before the launch of the new Galaxy S3, HTC's flagship is definitely the brightest Android smartphone. And of course, this is a small trump card. The model appeared almost immediately after being shown at the exhibition.
We hope HTC's new strategy will help it stay on the market. In the meantime, we will try to understand the pros and cons of the device.
Housing. Assembly. Control elements.
What can I say, the design was a success. The company really did its best. It turned out something unusual, good. There is no premium rigor in design, rather it is a mixture of modern technological design with the conservatism of past models. Creating a beautiful touchscreen phone is tricky because the screen takes up most of it. Here, even the back cover, which was called rustic, looks great and fresh. At least the device looks very independent. Also colors - white looks very stylish, and brown for amateurs, for example, I like it. The body is made of one piece, made of polycarbonate. Excellent durable housing. The smartphone itself turned out to be gigantic. But, despite its size, it is very comfortable. Now, alas, you just can't get the battery, and there is a separate slot for the SIM-card on the case.
The controls look traditional, but they are also slightly redesigned. There are three touch-sensitive keys under the screen: back, home and the task manager. They do not take up display space, but are placed separately. The key block is backlit and vibrated. The backlight works itself in low light conditions.
On top there is a speaker and indicator light, a light sensor and a proximity sensor, and a 1.3MP front camera. The front panel is covered by Gorilla Glass 2. The glass is slightly convex, which gives a little more charm to the smartphone.
On the right side there is a volume rocker, and on the left there is a microUSB connector.
Above - the power key, 3.5 mm jack for connecting a headset, and a slot for a microSIM card.
At first, it was not clear what the holes on the back cover were until we talked about the docking station, which is also not included in the package.
The device turned out to be unusually light - only 130 grams. And also I love it when the smartphone is thin, and here HTC was pleased - the thickness is 8.9 mm. As you guessed, the device with dimensions of 134x70 mm, physically cannot seem small, but it is very convenient.
Both colors are very pretty.The combination with black gloss on top of the screen stands out especially. The design should be given the highest mark. In my opinion, one could try a little more, and then we would get a smartphone that is beyond competition. Although recently announced, but not yet on sale Galaxy S3 - I like it much less for the design.
I have already praised the strength of the case, but the durability of the plastic coating is questionable. Dirt from a white smartphone can be easily erased with a damp cloth, but scuffs are already in use.
Overall, One X looks more successful than last year HTC Sensation... The only design flaw is the lens, which is located above the surface of the body, which means it will be scratched.
The screen and its capabilities.
The smartphone has a 4.7-inch screen. It received a new name Super LCD 2. However, nothing technologically new has appeared. But now HTC has finally reached the level of screens from Samsung and Sony... Just excellent viewing angles, the picture does not change, from which side you look. The sun's behavior is also perfected. You can quickly get used to such a diagonal. It is very pleasing that in new models you can see the resolution of 1280x720 pixels more and more often. Also, there is no air gap under the glass, thanks to which the picture looks even more interesting. Since there is no PenTile here, the fonts look great everywhere. True, the debate about which display is better will continue for a very long time. In fact, to date, both technologies give simply gorgeous results.
I wanted to give the best mark in this category, but there are some nuances.
As already mentioned at the beginning - I had to start writing my review by browsing the forums, where everything was full of information about marriage in this model. And what is remarkable - everyone complains on the screen. Most have different problems, but very often you can find information about yellow spots and dead pixels. However, many models had such shortcomings before, for example - Samsung Galaxy S2... On my copy, there was only one broken pixel, which did not affect comfort in any way. In service centers, up to three broken pixels are considered not a warranty case. There were no other display problems.
Camera and its capabilities.
The camera in this device received special attention. The company really wanted to fix the mistakes and talked about the camera everywhere. They managed to win. Not competitors, but ourselves, and this is important. There is a principle of progression - it means everything is in order with the company. The cameras in last year's smartphones were really terrible. To some extent, HTC was losing customers because of this.
This time we got a module with a resolution of 8 MP, with a double shutter and back-illuminated matrix (BSI) technology. As with the Galaxy S3 - we can see that the megapixel race has subsided and it's time to improve the quality. Therefore, in the bargain, we got a certain powerful Image Chip post-processing processor. Also added a new interface. But the most important thing is the shooting speed. We haven't seen a smartphone with a faster camera yet. The photo is obtained in 0.7 seconds, focusing occurs in 0.2 seconds. New modes have appeared, in particular HDR. There is also a decent burst shooting, but in the Galaxy S3 - it works a little better.
HTC also had problems with the video. And so far it is not written very smoothly. But here, as in most new Android 4 smartphones, you can take pictures while recording a video.
From the settings, you can select a shooting scene, timer, resolution, light sensitivity, white balance and much more.
Of the minuses, it is worth noting that the device spoils the pictures with a pink veil due to the wrong white balance, it is necessary to set the settings manually. I would like to hope that everything will be fixed in the new firmware.
Overall, the camera's capabilities are greatly exaggerated. And her PR at presentations is nothing more than a marketing ploy. There are obvious problems besides the pink color. Sometimes, there is not enough sunlight, noticeable noise, low detail.Macro mode does not work well. But, the camera cannot be called bad, just knowing about its characteristics - you unwittingly expect much more. At the same time, the quality of images is actually better compared to the previous year's models.
But the interface is good. It is convenient thanks to quick switching between photos or videos.
Software.
The new Sense 4.0 is not so much better as more enjoyable. The bottom line is that I'm not a fan of HTC's interface and still don't understand what's special about it. For example, last year's Sensation did not even have a file manager, and it was impossible to open a video without a third-party player, and is this the best interface? This time - the shortcomings are removed, they were limited only to adaptation for Ice Cream Sandwich and a slight revision of what was. And it went for good. The lock screen has changed a little, and its main drawback is the inability to set shortcuts to the bottom of the screen, they are simply duplicated from the desktop. The ability to control wireless modules has been removed from the status bar. Now for them you need to install an additional widget or go to the settings. It is not clear why this is done, if there are people who do not like to pile up screens.
A new feature of Sense 4.0 is the task manager, for which there is a separate touch button.
In general, owners of HTC smartphones will like everything.
The interface is highly customizable. There are up to seven desktops in total. Animation and scrolling are fast everywhere. Some widgets are really noteworthy. The changes in the menu are also not dramatic. There are pages with up to 20 labels, initially displayed in alphabetical order. There is the creation of a folder by overlaying icons one on top of the other, and much more. The shell looks beautiful, all obsession was removed from the third version.
Phone book.
As usual, we see all the entries in one list. The data can be sorted to hide the unnecessary.
When creating a new contact, you can specify several numbers, addresses, mail, social network accounts and much more. The search is performed by the first letters in the record.
There is quick access to any functions - just click on the subscriber's picture and a menu will appear from which you can call, send messages, and so on. Very strong social media integration sometimes gets in the way.
Calls.
Call list is a standalone application implemented as a tab in contacts. The list is the most common - all events are in one place, and they are not grouped. You can also make calls and send messages from this menu.
The keypad for dialing a number is convenient, there is a speed dial and a quick smart search, which automatically substitutes the necessary numbers.
Messages.
There is no division into message types. They go to a shared folder. You can view them in the chat mode with the subscriber. The SMS message is converted to MMS on its own. Inside there are settings, for example - font, sorting, blocking.
Email.
The e-mail box is very easy to set up using the setup wizard. Rather, it happens almost automatically. Setting up Google Mail is even easier. All encodings are displayed correctly. The functionality is very broad. The client allows you to open and download files, put signatures, customize the font, and much more.
Musical possibilities.
The logo on the back hints at high-quality sound. But the bundled headphones hint at stingy developers. What to do, I had to take headphones from Sensation XE and listen to what's what. However, nothing new - the same emphasis on bass. Lovers of non-bass music will be unhappy. But the main smartphone audience will appreciate this opportunity.
In the player, you can sort songs by albums, artists, tracks, genres. You can search for an individual song by searching, or use the shuffle function. During playback, all the necessary information is displayed on the screen, and in the additional menu you can see full information about the albums.
Unfortunately, there are no manual equalizer settings.
Radio.
There is an automatic search for radio stations. All of them are stored in memory or sorted into lists.Sound can be fed to an external speaker. Song information can be viewed on-screen using RDS, or you can try searching through SoundHound.
Video player.
Personally, I love using my smartphone as a mobile movie player. Therefore, I am pleased to see that HTC has finally thought of installing normal DivX and XviD codecs. Now you can watch any video, but for HD video it is better to put a separate player.
Gallery.
This application is again integrated with social networks and can be cluttered in this way. Otherwise, we have folders with sorted data there. The speed of work is high, the animation is beautiful. You can start the slideshow view. Any picture can be put on a splash screen or added to a subscriber contact.
Organizer.
The calendar on HTC One X isn't the best, but it's flexible.
You can set the display by months, weeks and days. Events are set in the most common way. You can add reminders to them.
Clock and alarm clock.
The device can store multiple alarms in memory. You can set a variety of repeat mode and melody.
There is a world time function, and separately - a stopwatch and a timer.
Navigation.
In addition to standard Google Maps, you don't expect anything special in an Android smartphone. So it is here. As a navigator, the HTC One X does well, but third-party apps are worth downloading from the get-go. Despite the fact that standard cards are slowly getting better - they require a constant internet connection.
Applications.
Youtube - a standard application for watching videos on the service of the same name.
Promotions - allows you to follow stocks on world exchanges.
Organizer includes many standard applications such as calculator, voice recorder and others.
Polaris Office - application for working with office documents.
Flashlight - apps to launch flash as a flashlight.
Facebook - applications for using the social network of the same name.
Sound hound - helps to identify the name of the song that is playing.
Twitter - standard customer.
7 digital - an online store with music, useless for our country.
Google talk - chat from "Google".
Google+ - a social network from Google.
HTC Hub - an application for personalizing a smartphone.
TuneIn - internet radio.
The Internet.
Everything is up to par. The browser is fast enough, you can run up to six tabs at the same time.
Performance.
The first time I read that there are as many as five cores, I was surprised. In fact, there is a processor with four cores - Nvidia Tegra3, clocked at 1.5 GHz. And the fifth core is an additional one, with a frequency of 500 MHz, for performing undemanding tasks. Well, an interesting solution. But, as with the Galaxy S3, this is pure marketing. Because the developers have not come up with anything cooler. Unlike Samsung, HTC has completely forgotten about power consumption. Such a symbiosis of nuclei consumes the charge very quickly. But visually, there are no differences even from powerful single-core counterparts in the interface. And tests are for those who are chasing technology. And, unfortunately, there are only a few games for the new platform, and there is not a single unique game of them.
RAM is installed here 1 GB, and built-in - 32 GB. Alas, there is no memory expansion slot. But we are given 25 GB in DropBox.
The smartphone works quickly, no complaints. If there were any problems, then they were related to the software part. And yet, if you are still interested in tests, the most important thing is that Tegra again lost to Exynos.
Battery and its capabilities.
The battery here is 1800 mAh. Not much, but not too little. But the problem is that it would be better for HTC to invest their energy here than in the camera. If many would have suffered with a camera, then the inability to use a smartphone throughout the entire working day is simply depressing.
Gluttonous display and gluttonous platform - and the battery is empty. Of course, during the test, the device was in the toughest and most intense mode. But the recently tested Galaxy S3 worked exactly twice as long! Buying an additional battery will not work as it is not removable.
The shortest time it took to drain the battery with active use is 4 hours. The longest time is 10 hours. In a predominantly pending mode, it leaves about two days.
Communication capabilities.
The phone works successfully in GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz and WCDMA 900/2100 MHz networks.
Otherwise, everything is standard. When USB is connected, you can work in recharging mode, in synchronization mode, and what is important - in storage mode. The last mode for Samsung on Android 4 was not found.
There is a built-in Bluetooth 4.0 module with support for numerous profiles, including A2DP and NFC technology.
Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n works well and does not cause inconvenience or problems. During operation, the smartphone heats up a little. You can run the machine as a modem. Wi-Fi Direct allows you to use the more modern Bluetooth counterpart.
Conclusion.
As is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S3 - I want to say that things are never perfect. Everywhere has its pluses and minuses. So it is with the HTC One X. It seems like a cool device on the one hand, but on the other hand there is a small amount of defects and annoying moments such as battery life.
There is no point in listing the pros and cons, you can read about them in the review again, but the most important thing is that the cons are nothing compared to all the pros. And so I would like to recommend this beautiful smartphone to everyone. Worth recommending to those who have not dared to switch to HTC after any other brand for a long time.
It is one of the most powerful smartphones to date. It has everything fans love, and fixes things that potential customers disliked. The potential of such a solution is enormous, and there is even nothing to reveal it. In general, you can become a happy owner for at least a few years, until something really better appears.
Choosing between Samsung and HTC? Many in the mobile industry believe that HTC, once the beloved brand of Android fans, has lost the favor of consumers when Samsung has already received 10,000,000 orders for the Galaxy S3.
So is HTC's new flagship a success? And should you choose it? Yes, and why not. Here it is worth looking at what is closer to you. If a beautiful design is closer, take HTC. If you want a little more, but you are ready to sacrifice the appearance for the sake of filling - take Samsung.
Unfortunately, some complaints about the new smartphone did not appear from scratch, they really are. But the work done on the mistakes is just colossal. And they promise to fix all the shortcomings with the next firmware. Moreover, the firmware of the new Galaxy S3, which I tested, is also not perfect, but more stable.
The fight with Samsung will unfold as serious as last year. And now we can say that HTC has chosen a strategy to put pressure on a competitor by lowering prices. And this is already noticeable, since by the beginning of sales of the flagship from Samsung - the model from HTC will cost 30% less. In the future, prices will equalize.
