Ars Technica: HTC 8X is the Best Windows Phone 8 Handset 'till Date

The first Windows Phone 8 handset from HTC, the HTC 8X was reviewed by Ars Technica. It had been put into contest with Nokia's flagship phone, the Lumia 920 and emerged as winner soundly.

The exterior design of HTC 8X received a lot of praise from Ars Technica reviewer. According to them, the curved poly-carbonate back of the phone, when hold in hand, feels very comfortable. Although the phone is not exactly slim, the tapered edges allow it to feels much thinner compared to its rival, Nokia Lumia 920. One of the Ars Associate Writer, Andrew Cunningham said:

"Coming from an iPhone or even a larger Android phone like the Optimus G, the 920's size is striking (and not in a good way). The Optimus G fits a larger screen and much faster hardware into a thinner, lighter, and more attractive package. The smooth, rounded plastic body of the 920 also fails to give you much to grip....By contrast, the 8X feels much nicer in our hands. Its screen is a bit smaller—4.3 inches and 1280x720 compared to 4.5 inches and 1280x768 in the 920—but it's also much thinner. Its back tapers more gradually than the 920, which I find makes it sit in my hand more comfortably. This tapered edge exists on all sides of the phone as well; the 920 has rounded left and right edges, but the top and bottom of the phone aren't rounded at all. When I'm holding a smartphone, I usually find myself propping the bottom of the phone on my pinky finger to provide extra stability. The increased weight and flat bottom of the 920 made this much less comfortable.
...That said, this is a case where the specifications don't quite capture what it's like to actually use a piece of hardware every day. The 920 includes quite a few extra perks, but we feel that the 8X is generally the stronger, more comfortable phone for day-to-day use. Nokia's phone just isn't as comfortable to hold and to carry around."

The reviewer also praises the sound quality of HTC 8X. HTC 8X's speaker is Beats Audio-certified and approved by Dr. Dre, the infamous American hip hopper. At top volume, HTC 8X delivers loud sound with little distortion, together with solid bass.

Camera quality of HTC 8X is also impressive. The 8-megapixel rear camera is able to capture crisp images even at the lowest brightness setting. The dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon CPU from Qualcomm isn't disappointing either. Web pages load smoothly and the phone delivers fluid performance throughout the experience.

Of'course, nothing is perfect, so as HTC 8X. The smartphone suffers from short battery life and can only last around 6 hours under video loop test. Clearly, the 1800mAH battery inside the phone does not provide enough juice for full day heavy usage. This does not affect much to users who have lighter usage though.

Another downside is lacking of high-profile apps in Microsoft's mobile platform. Since Windows Phone 8 is still very young, we will have to give some time to developers in building more interesting apps for the platform. For those who only want to have better integration with Microsoft's service such as SkyDrive, the HTC 8X does not disappoint.

Source

HTC Scrapped Large Windows Phone 8 Plan

Here is one piece of bad news for the lovers of large Windows Phone devices, new report claims that HTC decide to scrap its plan to introduce a Windows Phone 8 with a large display screen that could give the likes of Galaxy Note 2 a run for their money.

Bloomberg report that a person familiar with project claim that HTC had killed its plan for a large screened Windows Phone 8 model citing a large display screen would in turn have a lower screen resolution than on that competing phones, including Android models from HTC and Samsung. Although the details about the phone remain unknown but this HTC Windows Phone 8 originally planned to be introduced sometimes next year.

HTC earlier released two large sized Windows phone variant on the AT&T name the Titan and Titan II which come with 4.7-inch 800X480 display. Windows Phone 8 have the capability to support the higher resolution screen which goes up to 1280X768 and 1280X720. Microsoft’s latest OS currently did not include the support for 1080p Full HD screen that can be seen on Android handsets like the HTC Droid DNA and possibly on the Samsung’s next generation of flagship model, the Galaxy S4.

With Samsung and LG also planned to release its own 1080p Full HD Smartphone, HTC would be playing catch-up even before its hit the market.

This news certainly are a bit unfortunate for Windows Phone fans that have been anticipating a Titan-sized windows phone 8 device from HTC mainly after the arrival of the 8X and 8S which was well received and praised for their design and colors

Source

HTC 8X used to Demonstrate The Windows 8 Phones Benefits

For quite some time, the smartphone market has been dominated by phones which run the iOS and Android operating systems. Recently, Microsoft has launched its latest offering, Windows Phone 8. The launch of this software has seen several impressive handset models hit the market such as the HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920.

It’s well known that the smartphone market has been dominated by phones that run on either the iOS or Android operating systems. Recently, Microsoft launched its latest offering, Windows Phone 8 which aims to be one the competitors for iOS and Android in the smartphone markets. The introductions of Windows Phone 8 operating system have already seen several impressive models hit the market such as HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920.  

A latest advertisement for this mobile operating system has recently been released and it highlight the benefit of its to people in the street in effort to convince them that Windows Phone 8 is also a great operating system that can meet their needs and demand. Among the features showcased are its unique live tiles and people hub.

Although the focus of this advertisement is Windows Phone 8, it is certainly worth to watch this ads video if you are in the market to purchase a new smartphone and looking for an alternative to other than iOS and Android devices such as Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.

The phone that was use in Advertisement to showcase the features of this windows 8 operating system is the HTC 8X which is a high-end device launched by the Taiwanese manufacturer to introduce Microsoft’s latest Operating system. It was launched along a mid range Windows Phone 8 device, the HTC 8S that are offered as a more affordable price point.

Mean while, once a market leader in the mobile phone industry, Nokia has also launched two phones in a bid to revive its brand back to top again with this new operating system which is the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. The Lumia 920 is a high-end device while the Lumia 820 is the Finnish maker’s mid range device.

Nokia report that the early sales of the Lumia has been very positive with report claimed that the device has been a sold out in the US,Germany and Australia, with more than 2.5 million units of the handset sold in less than a month after its official launch. 

Once Windows Phone 8 has had some time to establish itself on the market, it will be very interesting to see how popular the platform becomes, but early signs have certainly been very encouraging.

Source