The tech review stork delivered our
first Windows Phone 8 (WP8) powered smartphone experience with HTC’s Windows
Phone 8X. Can HTC do to Windows Phone 8 what they did to Windows Mobile devices
a few years back?
HTC’s 8X is off to the right start thanks
to its slim and curvaceous body that features a soft-touch finish, making the
smartphone very comfortable to hold. In fact, it feels like a Ferrari next to
Nokia’s flabby 920. Thanks to high-definition screen support included with WP8,
the 8X’s front is also easy on the eyes, due to the crisp 4.3” (720 x 1280; 342
ppi pixel density) Super LCD capacitive touchscreen.
HTC
Windows Phone 8X
On the hardware front
HTC included a snappy dual-core 1.5GHz
Qualcomm S4 processor, which keeps things as smooth as silk within WP8, while
you’ll find 14.5 GB user accessible storage but no microSD expansion
unfortunately. Furthermore, HTC’s Beats Audio integration offers an enhanced
sound experience via headphones, while almost as we came to expect from HTC,
the camera options are solid. A 2.1MP front-facing camera with 880
ultra-wide angle lens can snap up to four people into a single photo, while a
quick-on-the-draw rear-facing 8 megapixel shooter captures quality stills and
records full HD videos. Unfortunately users do not have access to HTC’s added
camera functionality offered on the One X, such as burst- or panorama shot.
A
2.1MP front-facing camera with 880 ultra-wide angle lens can snap up to four
people into a single photo
Windows Phone 8
WP8 boasts the same look and feel of
Windows Phone Mango with its familiar Live Tiles showing updated info without
users having to open apps. New within WP8 is the ability to resize tiles, and
you can also customize the quick status notifications, including SMSs received
and missed calls, on the lock screen. Unfortunately, unlike Nokia’s Lumia
devices that offer an array of extra apps such as Nokia Drive, HTC has not
included a varied selection, with only a photo enhancer app, HTC lock screen
and HTC hub for aggregating your weather, stock and news subscription info.
Instead of the excellent Nokia Maps, users have to make do with Bing Maps,
which lacks voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation.
HTC’s
Beats Audio integration offers an enhanced sound experience via headphones
To the point
HTC’s Windows Phone 8X is a fantastic
all-round smartphone with a slim body that is difficult to match. It shines in
almost all departments except, for apps, for which Nokia’s Windows Phone
devices remain superior.
HTC’s
Windows Phone 8X is a fantastic all-round smartphone with a slim body that is
difficult to match.
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Specifications
§
Price: $399
§
Network band: Quad Band
§
Camera resolution: 5 Megapixels
§
Main screen resolution: 480 x 800
§
Screen size: 4”
§
Product family: Windows Phone 8S
§
Cellular network supported: WCDMA 2100
§
Memory card: microSD
§
Weight: 113g
§
Wi-Fi standard: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
§
Memory: 32GB
§ Main
screen type: LCD
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