HTC Windows Phone 8X

Overview

Watch out Nokia Lumia, HTC 8X is here

Design

Camera

Misc

Shades

Overview of HTC Windows Phone 8X

Just when you thought Nokia was going to sweep people off their feet with their ultimate Windows Phone 8 gadget - Nokia Lumia 920, HTC turns the tables its way, by releasing a gadget with the much apprehended ‘X’ factor. For starters, HTC Windows Phone 8X flaunts a sleek and stylish unibody design- which fits comfortably in hands, comes powered a Dual-Core processor, supports Full-HD (1080p) video recording, and comes with an impressive Windows-8 Live Tile interface. However, that’s not the end of the story. There’s lot more to love about this sleek-and-stylish gizmo from HTC.

HTC Windows Phone 8X Design and Build Quality

HTC Windows Phone 8X’s looks incredibly sleek and stylish in the unibody polycarbonate design. HTC’s designers have obviously drawn inspiration for its design from the Windows Live Tile interface. The phone looks very much like a stretched out tile, and comes in funky colours like Blue, Red, Yellow, and Black. HTC 8X comes with a rubber back which makes the phone comfortable to hold which handling calls. Besides, the graceful curves at the sides make it an easy fit into hands, despite its thin profile. Weighing just 130g and spanning 132.4 x 66.2 x 10.1 mm, it’s also considerably slimmer and lighter than its counterpart- Nokia Lumia 910.

Display of HTC Windows Phone 8X

Windows Phone 8X features a 4.3 inch Super LCD 2 display (342ppi), which sports an impressive resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The impressive pixels-per-inch figure of 342 makes the text and images look crisper and sharper. The screen offers wide viewing angles, which makes it an ideal fit for watching HD movies and playing multi-player games. Though the display is not repulsive, when compared to Nokia Lumia 920, the colours on the 8X’s screen seem washed out- making the display look pale. Somehow, Lumia 920’s OLED panel renders more vibrant colours, better contrast ratios, and deeper blacks than 8X. That being said, Display alone isn’t a good enough reason to turn down this masterpiece from HTC.

User Interface

The Live Tile interface of Windows 8 is refreshingly different from the highly analogous iOS and Android interface. The Tiles are dynamic- which means there’s always something happening on the screen. The tiles are also highly customizable- like they can be resized to small, medium or large based on you preferences, and can be tweaked to show your messages, Twitter feeds and Email messages, as and when they arrive. It’s perhaps the dynamicity of the OS, which makes it so easy and fun to use.

Performance

HTC Window Phone 8X comes powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, which provides an amazingly snappier performance. It is perhaps the fastest processor on Windows Phone, and there’s little to worry about in this department. It’s good to know that HTC 8X’s hardware is as good as the OS. The sweet combo of Dual-core processor and light-weight OS gives the 8X- the much required ‘X’ factor.

Internet and Multimedia

The Web experience on 8X is much better- thanks to the 4.3 inch resplendent screen, which makes browsing web-pages on the device- an immensely pleasurable experience. 8X also supports HSDPA/HSDPA+ networks, thereby allowing you to Download/Upload content at super blazing speeds. HTC Windows Phone 8X supports playback all types of popular audio and video formats, like, aac, .amr, .m4a, .mp3, .wav, .asf, .wma (Audio) and 3gp, .3g2, .mp4, m4v, asf, .wmv (Video).

HTC Windows Phone 8X Music Player and FM Radio

The default music player for Windows 8 called ‘Music + Video' is perhaps one of the most beautifully crafted apps. HTC 8X provides decent audio playback while playing media files through phone’s external speakers. However, thanks to HTC’s pet project- Beats Audio which paves its way into the phone, the audio performance improves considerably when you tuck your headphones in. Sadly, there’s no FM radio in HTC’s 8X.

HTC Windows Phone 8X Camera and Image quality

HTC 8X has an 8-megapixel camera, and as expected, it’s nothing less than amazing. 8X comes with a superior F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens, integrated with a BSI sensor- which allows you to capture sharp, crisp photos even under low-lighting conditions. Moreover, the dedicated HTC Image Chip on 8X allows you to snap photos in less than a second of pressing the shutter. However, on the down side, though images on HTC Windows Phone 8X looks sharper, they appear washed out in colour. Maybe, the subdued image quality has something to do with the below par LCD2 display. Though 8X’s camera does not perform as well as cameras on other contemporary high-end smartphones, it comes empowered by a decent camera lens, which does not capture all petty snaps. HTC 8X flaunts an amazing front-facing 2.1MP camera, which takes some pretty decent photos. The 88 degree viewing angle is a huge-plus, as it allows you to cover more ground while snapping self-portrait pictures.

Video Camera and Video quality

HTC Windows Phone 8X captures some really amazing 1080p HD video at a frame rate of 30 fps. Just like images, the videos also appear considerably brighter even when they’re shot under dim conditions. The video mode offers lots of options to add effects, change resolution, adjust the white-balance, sharpness, contrast or saturation.

Apps and Maps

The lack of apps on Windows Phone 8, when compared to iPhone or Android, could perhaps be the only chink in the armour of HTC. However, HTC 8X could be an ideal fit for people who do not fancy trying lots of apps, and can sustain with the most basic ones for now. As a matter of fact, nearly 60% of the most popular apps for Android and iOS are now available at Windows Phone marketplace. Microsoft’s default navigation system is another huge disappointment. There’s no voice-navigation, transit directions, and the maps are highly inaccurate. Nokia has an edge over HTC when it comes to maps, as Nokia Maps are far, far better than under-development Bing maps.

Connectivity and Storage

HTC Windows Phone 8X comes with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.1, NFC, GPS, and 3G/LTE connectivity. Pretty much, everything’s there when it comes to this department. HTC Windows Phone 8X comes with 16 GB of internal memory, with no option for expandable memory. The unavailability of an external storage option is yet another let-down from HTC, as it snatches away one effective and convenient back-up option.

HTC Windows Phone 8X Battery Life

As it is with most HTC phones, 8X’s Li-Ion 1800 mAh does not last long enough. Though there’s a power-saver mode on Windows Phone 8, which allows you to save battery, it’s far from the ideal choice you should make. The battery does not last even a day on moderate usage- something which you should be wary of before buying the phone.

Value for Money

The phone is expected to be priced around the 35K (approx., may vary) mark in the India market. Though the phone has everything to die for- the looks, the performance, the amazing Windows Live Tile experience, but for everything it has to offer, the price-tag is undoubtedly- a bit elevated. We cannot say it’s an absolute value-for-money, unless are searching for a stylish Windows 8 gadget, and can’t seem to get your eyes off this one.

Verdict

HTC Windows Phone 8X is the first smartphone to run the all new Windows Phone 8. The phone looks sleek, stylish and feels premium in hands. The phone delivers an amazingly snappy performance and provides an off-beat Live Tile interface. That being said, the unavailability of apps on the Windows Phone marketplace, lack of expandable storage, and the ever-draining battery are some of the huge turn-offs of this device. With cool features like Pure View camera, larger display, and wireless charging, Nokia Lumia 920 is beyond doubt a better choice than 8X. However, if you prefer a more slimmer, stylish, and lighter phone, which is also feature-packed, HTC 8X is the way to go.