A Month With A HTC OneX | Initial Impressions

It's been a while since I promised updates to what it's like living with a Quad-Core beast of a phone that likes eating Ice-cream Sandwiches, but the truth is I'm so reliant on using it for quite possibly everything in my life, going back to this keyboard seems a little antiquated.

A green, white, box

The key thing here is tactility. A strange one I know, but it really isn't something you can get by watching videos, reading most reviews or looking at specs online before a purchase. But the HTC OneX feels amazing. It may take a little getting used to and perhaps for the first few minutes it may even feel cheap, but this soon changes. The screen for instance, is curved at the edges. A tiny detail, but when you are swiping left or right across the screen, the very edge is smoothed over.

Combined with a very light weight, high quality plastics on the rear (that have an almost matte feeling) with an embossed HTC logo and the phone feels lovely to behold. Now that may seem a little odd, anal even, but when you consider how much you actually use a phone and how often it is in your hands, it doesn't seem so daft to point out after all. It really gives the phone a premium feel, a sense of purpose and this is something that Apple have managed for years with the eponymous iPhone. I'd argue this is the first phone not from Apple to really match it on build quality (and funky packaging).

A OneX, Lens Cap Not Included

Then the look of the phone is something quite subtle. From directly above it looks like any other run of the mill HTC, but with a large screen. Perhaps, even too much like my old DesireHD, alongside each other the OneX doesn't stand out initially. But side on, sat atop a table for instance, there is a really cool swage line that tricks the eyes into thinking it has a curved profile. In actual fact, the phone is completely flat. I've tried to show that in the pictures, but perhaps it has to be seen to understand how a clever little touch changes the entire look.

So, it is a quality product that is leaps and bounds forward over previous HTC devices from a design standpoint. What about what it's like to live with. After all, it may be one of the (if not the?) most powerful phones on the market, but if that was reason alone to buy one we'd all be buying Blackberry Curves or Nokia Lumia 900's. But we're not. Come back later this week for more and in the mean time, check out the quick video below when I opened it and turned it on for the first time. I've also made a G+ picture album and read the image captions for more impressions (for instance, transferring old contacts to new phone using Bluetooth is pretty swish and every so useful).

A follow up post to A New Phone: Taking The Plunge

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.