The title says it all. The One X, may not be lightning fast for one of the newer phones on the market, but man is it ever smooth. When using this phone I was surprised at just how nice it really operates. No lag, no stuttering, just smooth. However — I’m not a huge fan of HTC’s Sense “skin” they put over the Android OS. Now before you start tweeting me on that statement, let me explain. I am a purist when it comes to Android. I love vanilla Android. So when I’m giving a “skin” on top of it, I’m pretty rough on it. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great things about HTC Sense. There are a ton of great things that I’m sure a lot of you will really like. The personalization options are fantastic for making it your own, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
Before we go any further, let’s go back to the beginning. When I first picked up this phone, I was shocked at how lite and thin it is. HTC did a great job here. It has a slight curve to it so it fits really well in my hand. But at the same time, it took me a little while to acclimate to having the power button on the top of the phone rather than on the side. But, that’s really just a preference thing. After a while it became pretty normal. A couple of times I tried waking up my personal phone that way and wondered why it wasn’t doing anything.
If you’re a music lover, this may be one of the best phones out there for you. The One X comes with Beats Audio, and while the difference may be small, it was enough to be noticeable – especially in the car. I had a great time blasting music during my drive around town.
Let’s talk about the camera. With any point-and-shoot cellphone camera – there’s always room for improvement. The camera is nice though. It takes some great pictures. But the part of it I really like was the ‘Instagram’ like filters you can apply. It was a lot of fun taking some random pictures like that. Another plus in the camera category is while shooting video – you can just touch the screen and take a picture while video is still going. I know a lot of phones are doing that, but it is something I really like.
If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know battery life is a big factor for me. And for my use, the One X just keeps on going! With some light use – I was able to squeak out two days! I’m talking 48 hours without having to charge it. But, that was with some light usage following Hurricane Sandy. After that, I really put this puppy to the test. Calls, emails, YouTube, games, tweets, Facebook, Google Plus – and it still held up. I was able to make it through my day just fine and still have a little juice by the time I got home. I was never rushing to find a plug to recharge. That’s really nice and a big selling point in my book.
The AT&T version I got to play with was running on Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0. It’s great, but once the Jelly Bean 4.1/4.2 update comes to this phone, it’s going to be amazing. So the big question is, should you get one? If you don’t want the Samsung Galaxy S3, I would easily recommend the One X. It may not be the newest device out there, but it can hold its own against some of the newer devices. HTC did a lot of things right with the One X, I just wish I didn’t have to use their skin on top of Android.
Do you have a One X? Another HTC device? What do you think about Sense? Got more questions about the One X? Post a comment below or just Tweet me @Doctor_Droid.
