MOBILE

HTC Desire X - Last Applause For An Ex-Flagship Product (Part 1)

5/11/2013 11:16:41 AM

Is the Desire X a good reinvented phone, or just a backlash from HTC?

Before we go into more detail about the HTC Desire X, remember the time before the company launched the "One" series of the Android phones. You may remember such names like Wildfire, Sensation, Rhyme, and of course, Desire. You may also remember many conversations about the company's plans to simplify the Android phones, and to release slower and more considerable phones. So, we were a little confused when we first heard about the Desire X. HTC has a cheap phone, which is the One V, but it seems that it is not cheap enough and the Desire C has filled the position at the most basic level. With a dual-core 1GHz processor, WVGA screen (800x480) and 5MP camera, the specs come from the same era as the original Desire, with a bit more modern price: $390 in Europe. So, with any "One" brand removed, but bearing the name that many people will remember lovingly, is the Desire X a good reinvented phone, or just a backlash from HTC? We spent some time in the company to find it out.

HTC Desire X

HTC Desire X

Hardware

If you check the specs of the original Desire and the Desire X, you will see that in about 2 years which separate them, the screen has increased from 3.7 inches to 4 inches (the capacitive buttons are still present on the X) with RAM of 768MB rather than 512MB, a 5MP camera and the resolution remains the same. The clock speed does not change, but this time you will have one more core with Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon chipset. However, things are not looking to the past.

The overall design of the device mimics some features from the One series, which gives it a good design and modern feel. We started from the rear: the removable battery has a matte finish, which is almost soft, except for a plastic part around the camera lens and LED flash. The perimeter of the camera is made of plastic with ridges, which almost feels like a part cut off from the vinyl. Below this is the HTC logo embossed at 90 degrees, and Beats audio brand along the bottom. Located to the left of the brand are some small holes covering the speaker. This rear casing also contains the ports for the headphone jack, micro-USB port and mic, as well as the power button / standby and volume rocker. However, there is no way to insert nails if you want to remove it; instead you will have to put something into that gap where there is more leverage (mainly around the top). The benefit here is that it makes the phone look like a coherent unit. The disadvantage is that getting under the hood a cumbersome task. However, once you figure out the way, you will see the 1650mAh battery, the SIM slot and the large microSD port.

The disadvantage is that getting under the hood a cumbersome task.

The disadvantage is that getting under the hood a cumbersome task.

It is when you find your way back to the front of the device that its family lineage becomes more obvious. Apart from the small drilled speaker holes on the top, and the Android 4.X capacitive buttons along the bottom, the similarity to the Desire S is very noticeable. There is the common two-tone bezel at the bottom, where the prominent fascia is found next to the matte detail cover resting the back, connecting to the outstanding chin of the phone. When you look around the edges, the finish goes on to both sides, and contributes to the glossy black chassis around the screen with sharp cutting edges. The sharp edges really become quite uncomfortable for long and firm gripping.

The 4-inch super LCD screen is certainly one of the most astounding elements of the phone. With an average resolution of 800x480, you couldn’t have expected anything more. But the non-PenTile screen is laminated, with glare reduction and really bright and lively colors. That feature, along with its not too large size, means that while there may be many more rich-pixel screens nowadays, what you'll get on the Desire X does not seem to be of low quality, or secondary. The whites look fresh and clear, but the blacks are a bit too light, with light passing through and a little blue tones. We must add that it is not something that causes distraction, but quite noticeable when placed next to other phones (the Galaxy Nexus or the Acer CloudMobile, for example). You will be pleased to hear that the lively image reproduction does not make you sacrifice the expense of the arbitrary contrast, with photos and videos which seem to have the same level, just like when you are viewing the files on the desktop.

The 4-inch super LCD screen is certainly one of the most astounding elements of the phone.

The 4-inch super LCD screen is certainly one of the most astounding elements of the phone.

The Desire X’s Radio will tune in to GSM / EGDE (850/900/1800/1900) and HSPA + (900/2100), but it also has Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and single-frequency 802.11b/g/n with DLNA support. The Media Player with one preset feature allows you to "select player" for sharing with compatible devices. We checked this with Samsung Smart TV Wi-Fi on the same network, and the phone detected it immediately. Once selected, the video that we chose started playing, and we did not need to touch the controls on the TV at any time. Perhaps it was a bit brutal, but effective.

 

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