Performance and battery life
When I first touched the Desire X at IFA,
we were not impressed with its performance. For the short time since then, very
little has changed. Users from the old phones that have lower specs can see this
is an interesting thing, but if you use anything with greater power of the processor,
it can feel a bit slow. Navigating through screens and swiping through menus
feels a bit like an athlete in professional sports who has passed his glory
days. It is fast, but will not defeat its opponents. The 8255 Snapdragon S4
dual-core 1GHz and 768MB RAM continue to be available now, but if you are on a
two-year contract, you should know that it can feel obsolete before your
upgrade appears on the horizon.
We spent a lot of spare time playing casual
games, and of course there was nothing bad to report here, although it is not
the device we will introduce to anything with heavy graphics. In general use (i.e.,
outside the game), we occasionally encountered a few screen glitches. It is not
always the case, but maybe once or twice during the morning, we had this when switching
between applications. When repeating what we were doing in hopes of re-creating
the problem, it never happened for a second time. To know more clearly the
strengths and weaknesses of the phone, we had to rely on the test, as you can
see below.
HTC
Desire X
·
Quadrant (v2.0): 2,682
·
Vellamo (v2.0): 1,147
·
AnTuTu: 4,938
·
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms): 3,448
·
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt Offscreen 1080p (fps): not
running
·
CF-Bench: 5,460
HTC
Desire X
Samsung Galaxy
Beam
·
Quadrant (v2.0): 2,764
·
Vellamo (v2.0): 684
·
AnTuTu: 5,250
·
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms): 2,391
·
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt Offscreen 1080p (fps): not
running
·
CF-Bench: 5,138
Samsung
Galaxy Beam
Sony
Xperia U
·
Quadrant (v2.0): 2,125
·
Vellamo (v2.0): N/A
·
AnTuTu: 5,348
·
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms): 2,696
·
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt Offscreen 1080p (fps): N/A
·
CF-Bench: 5,346
Sony
Xperia U
SunSpider scores: the lower the better. The
Xperia was tested on GLBench Vellamo 2.1 and 1.0, which is now obsolete.
Therefore, these numbers are a mess,
reflecting our experiences: generally good, with occasional hiccups in
performance. As for battery, with the 1650mAh battery underneath, and some of
the potential savings generated from the smaller screen, it was 6 hours 33
minutes of standard video test (Wi-Fi on but not connected, and brightness
fixed at 50%). In real use, we survived the next day before having stress of
finding the socket. If you are the type to turn off the phone at night, then it
can last a full 2 days with moderate use.
We have mentioned some aspects regarding
audio, but not everything is about the Beats, you may also want to call a few
occasional phone calls. And if you do, then you will enjoy them quite well.
Sound is heard clearly and decisively. Regarding data, we examine radio HSPA +
in many places around London, and found that the download speeds were good
within the standard of what O2 offers in this area (from 3Mbps to 4Mbps), with no
apparent interruption in connectivity or services.
Conclusion
We like the idea that HTC quits the method
of launching messy phones, and the naming seems random (Sensation? Explorer?).
So we're still curious about why the Desire brand exists. The Desire C
specifications are much lower, but they are embarrassing, the One V has lower
specs but expensive outwitted by the Desire X on some important features
(notably RAM and the number of processor cores). What about the design and
build quality? Or the old habits sneaking back? Perhaps the name of Desire also
adhered closely to the heritage of HTC that this company will not give up.
Whatever reason it is, the Desire X still exists.
The
Desire X can catch the moment, but it may start getting outdated very quickly.
More importantly, should you buy it? This
question is mainly for customers in European markets and Asia, especially those
who are looking to spend about 220 pounds/299 euros/$390 without SIM. If you are
looking for an average-sized phone, which does not like the old Android and is
capable of doing things like taking photos and playing games normally on your
way to work, then you will not be disappointed with the Desire X. If you want
more from all these items, you may soon find yourself asking too much from this
phone. A more urgent problem is longevity. The phone can catch the moment, but
as time and the software requirements - moves forward, the Desire X may start getting
outdated very quickly.
Advantages
·
Good build quality and good feel
·
Lively display
·
Sense will satisfy owners of previous HTC devices,
newcomers to Android.
Disadvantages
·
Outdated specs
·
Occasional performance problems
Key point
·
If you're looking for a way to jump from a
normal phone to something a little smarter, this is an ideal step, but don't be
surprised if in 12 months you will want to upgrade it again.
Specifications
·
Price: $390
·
Operating system: Android (Ice Cream Sandwich
4.0)
·
Screen size: 4 inches
·
Screen resolution: 800x480
·
Pixel density: 233 ppi
·
Screen type: LCD (Active, Color, Backlit)
·
Camera: 5MP
·
Location support: GPS (A-GPS)
·
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b, g, n (2.4 GHz)
·
Bluetooth: yes
·
CPU: 1Ghz
·
CPU cores: dual-core
·
Sensors: Accelerometer (motion), Ambient
light, Gyroscope, Proximity
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