HTC One X: Winning the smartphone race

Market monsters like Samsung, HTC, and Sony unleashed their smartphones this year and the offerings have been good enough to challenge brand loyalty and make some ditch their old and preferred brands for the greener grass on the other side. HTC released One X to combat Samsung’s highly publicized and awaited S III and doesn’t truly disappoint. HTC One X comes with the latest version of Android 4.0 which is the Ice Cream Sandwich. It has a very impressive 4.7-inch screen, fits in the pocket without much struggle and feels very user-friendly. The design The first thing that you notice is the huge screen – and that is even before you switch on the phone. Even though it is very light, it has a respectable weight which balances the way the phone feels in your palm. When a phone is as long and wide as the HTC One X, if it got any lighter, it would have a “toy-phone” like feel – which is the last thing you would want for the money you’re doling out. The touchable handset feels especially comfortable while messaging, watching videos or gaming. The phone comes in white and black and both the colors are visually appealing with a gloss finish. The screen The screen stands out mostly because of the size. At 4.7 inches, it’s huge, but the real star of the show is the spectacular resolution. It’s extremely sharp and pays attention to detail – which is perfect when you’re zooming into a photograph or checking out videos. Way before you marvel at the resolution, you notice the lock screen. Instead of the regular horizontal slide to unlock, you need to drag a ring up the screen to start it and you can also drag one of the icons into the ring to start that application. The moment I forgot to breathe was when I saw the live wallpaper and checked out one which shows autumn leaves delicately falling on water and creating ripples. Mesmerized, I reached out with my finger and touched the screen, expecting to feel cool water against my skin, fully forgetting that I was looking at just glass. Another wallpaper of soft clouds moving in the sky simulates the feeling of looking outside the window of a flight mid-air. If that’s not sheer genius, what is? The camera HTC One X went all out to showcase the camera on this baby as one of the best-selling features and probably THE reason you should rush out and buy the phone. When you view the scene on the screen, it does look terribly impressive and the colors look more vibrant and almost three-dimensional but on clicking the picture, the image looks artificial and almost waxy, which is not something you expect. This is disappointing but you can still give marks to the fact that the shutter and video recording buttons are on the screen throughout and lets you add effects as you take the picture. The phone also lets you snap images from the HD video recording which is great as long as you’re cool with the waxiness. Beats Audio The sound is a perfect blend of bass and clarity, so full points. With 32GB of storage, you also get access to bonus Dropbox storage for two years. Beats Audio creates a fantastic listening experience on youtube, Netflix or your personal music list. One X lets you multi-task as you catch a movie or listen to music, so no compromises there. Battery The battery doesn’t have a reputation for being spectacular and it needs a few charges through the day, assuming you are using the phone to take calls, message, listen to music, watch and download videos or just keep checking out the features on a daily basis. Apart from all this, One X also manages to pack in GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC technology, plus there’s quad-band GSM and 3G connectivity. The one small nagging problem might be the way Wi-Fi gets affected because of the design and the phone does tend to get heated up sometimes. HTC One X is jam-packed with options, features and stuff that would make your mom proud – like the flashlight with three varying degrees of brightness or stuff that would impress your dad – like the Car Mode which helps you use your phone in peace when it’s functioning as a GPS attached to the windshield while you’re driving. On a final note, given the rate at which Android is taking over the world, the distance between Apple’s iOS lovers and Android converts is getting hammered down to tissue paper thinness each passing day.