A New Phone: Taking The Plunge

I have a HTC Desire HD. I bought it from new towards the end of 2010. At the time it was a very new model. My policy with phones is that because the market changes so quickly it is imperative to get a phone that is hot off the press as to try and be as future-proof as possible. Of course, this is hard to do as you are locked into a 18 or 24 month contract. But buying as early as possible is far better than buying an older model for a little less money. For instance, while I'm sure buying a new iPhone 3GS (which you can still do, as I write this) will give you plenty of badge and apps for relatively little expenditure, it already looks out of date and receives less improvements with every iOS update. Now imagine that phone 23 months from now. Or even worse, if you were one of the poor soles that bought a WindowsPhone recently....

So, to rewind to 2010 again, the DesireHD was running the up and coming Google developed Android OS and was, at the time I believe, the most powerful Android device available. Over the following 18 months I have thoroughly enjoyed my ownership. It is rare, which I quite like. The exact model was replaced quite soon with a HD2 and Evo 3D models, but the basic design and processor were much the same. I have never seen anyone else with the same phone. The only negative in this respect I found was lower spec Desire & Widlfire devices damaging the image and consumer satisfaction of running android (despite having less power and lower versions of android). So, I felt quite unique and it ran all the apps I needed for social media.

But as the last 6 months of technological advances occurred I started to feel phone-envy. Ice Cream Sandwhich 4.0 Android came first on the Galaxy Nexus and then to the HTC OneX & Samsung Galaxy S3. Not only that, but with a full memory and 18months of heavy daily use, my little old DesireHD was starting to look a little tired. Easily quicker than an iPhone 3GS and just about keeping up with an iPhone4  it was time to look around for a new pocket-able steed. (As an aside, ICS will be available soon on the DesireHD, but it remains to be seen how smooth the now old device will cope).

A Galaxy S3, Just In Case You Weren't Sure...

The obvious choice at the moment is the Samsung Galaxy S3. In 2011 the worlds best selling phone was the Galaxy S2 and it's easy to see why. Currently upgraded to run ICS, I've had plenty of time to see how nice the screen is and how quick the thing is at loading web pages & apps seen as my brother owns one. With the recent introduction of the S3, there is an even bigger and sharper screen, quad-core processor and a whole host of new Samsung apps that work in conjunction with ICS from the ground up. Having tried one out on several occasions, I was sorely tempted.

But, then there was good old HTC, also with ICS, large screens & quad-core power in the shape of the OneX. Not only that, but HTC reportedly spent more money designing the phone than on any other device in their history in order to impress in terms of looks and ergonomics (an area where Apple have a strong advantage). Once again, I tried before I bought. In fact, a good friends of mine DavidJMClare traded in his iPhone 4 for one and he loves his Apple products (iPod's, MacBooks, Apple TV etc) so there must be something to it.

The pros to the Galaxy were the nicer screen, more Samsung apps and a far better image (not overly important to me, but everyone knows what a Galaxy is, whereas it's simply not cool when I have to explain what a HTC OneX is....). The unquestionable negative is the actual build quality. I really like the phone, but it feels tacky to behold. The OneX on the other hand is subtle. Initially, it looks like any other HTC, but as soon as you hold and use the phone, you soon realise that this one of the best designed phones out there.

Close then, but the deciding factor was cost. The OneX was available with a free phone, £36 per month, enough internet/calls/sms to shake a stick at and, the clincher, only on a 12month contract. The iPhone 4S (which is now over 6 months old) and the Galaxy S3 could come anywhere near as close on cost per month, or having to pay up front and a minimum of 18months (most 24) contract.

So, there, I bought a HTC OneX. Now there will be a series of blogs with what I think and what it's like to actually own one. Stay tuned.