HTC One X+ (AT&T)

The phone does everything an android phone should do. It is fast. The display is sharp. It's as good looking as any hunk of plastic in this form factor. But it does fail on one very important point... The bluetooth sucks. I don't know why; but connecting to three different bluetooth earpieces from two different manufacturers, the phone quality coming or going just isn't up to standards (although the media quality is just fine). I'm hoping they will release a software fix for this (I read somewhere where a rooted phone had its' bluetooth driver replaced and the sound quality improved). A phones primary mission should be Phone Calls! Everything else should add to that. Sadly, I'm beginning to feel that many manufacturers are focusing more on the mini-tablet functions instead of the phone call quality. UPDATE 11-May-14: This phone is now getting a little long in the tooth (it's been over a year since purchase, which is practically an eternity in cell phone age). It works just fine. The bluetooth issue was resolved with a new code load. The only thing I'm not entirely thrilled with at this point is that the battery cannot be replaced. It hasn't been an issue, yet; but I suspect it is coming. I'd really like to break the new phone every 18 months cycle. Anyhow, I boosted the rating to four stars since the bluetooth is now working well.

This is a great phone for tech savvy people who want a phone that does it all. It has a solid feel, a great screen and good cell tower range. This phone has all the bells and whistles, all tricked out. the music player is a "Beats Audio", the camera is a significant upgrade to most smart phone cameras with a more sophisticated ccd designed to capture more light. It has the latest version of Android "Jellybean" OS and can access all features of the newest apps. Mine is very fast, with great video and audio. The battery life is short, however when running the Quad +1 low power processor and shutting down the Quad core processor when not needed, battery life is noticeably extended.

This is my second HTC phone, and I've not been disappointed. Still amazed by the seemingly endless uses for it, and the apps available. Closest any device has come to being able to do everything. And very fast.

It lags no lie it sucksw

PERFECT!

I will start off by cutting to the chase. If you are looking for a new phone, this is a great phone. I highly recommend it. Now, lets get to the reasons why I love this phone. First of all, the screen on this phone is amazing. I recently switched from an iPhone, and I have to say, I was very nervous about moving to a new device that didn't have a "retina" display. However, all nerves went out the window when I held this phone in my hand the first time. The screen packs more pixels per inch than the iPhone and is very true to color, offering a phenomenal viewing experience. The screen on any new phone is the biggest decision point, and HTC does not disappoint; this screen is simply gorgeous. After you get past the screen, the overall design of the phone is striking. I love the black on black design, and this is the first phone I have been excited about getting in black. The screen melts into the unibody design, and the body of the phone is covered in a matte black finish that has the perfect amount of grip to it. The phone feels as solid as any phone I have ever used. Beyond the exterior of the phone, there are man features worth mentioning. First, the camera is great. HTC has loaded this phone with one of the best cameras I have ever used on a cell phone. There is a dedicated image chip inside the phone that allows the phone to process images unlike any of the competition. As if taking great pictures is not enough, you can also take full HD video, and snap photos while filming. Even when watching your video later, you can snap a picture during playback. What a great feature! The camera can also be placed in "sight seeing" mode, allowing the user to bypass the OS and go straight to the camera when unlocking the phone. This is one of the many features added to the Android experience by HTC with their Sense 4+ overlay. Alright, that provides a perfect transition to the geeky stuff. The sense 4+ overlay is not bulky, and actually adds some useful features. I would still prefer vanilla Android, but this overlay is very tolerable and does not get in the way too much. The One X+ features Jelly Bean out of the box, which is an awesome OS, and it is the main reason I switch to Android from iOS. Additionally, the One X+ is running on a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, with 1 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. In other words, this phone can handle all you can throw at it. Now on to the dislikes. One complaint and concern I have read about is the protruding camera. The back of the phone has a curve to it, which keeps the camera from sitting directly on the surface you have placed it on, and the camera housing feels like it is made out of a metallic material adding further durability. This has dampened my concern, but I have seen others with the original One X put a case on the phone specifically related to this concern. I am currently not utilizing a case, but there are many options available, and all One X cases do fit the One X+ because the body is the same exact dimensions. Also, AT&T and HTC have thrown some bloatware on the divice, but most of it can be disabled through the settings, and with 64 GB of storage, the concern is further alleviated. I am a little ticked off that AT&T continues to block the free 25 GB Dropbox account (Verizon does this too, FYI). AT&T encourages you to use their "Locker" service as an alternative, which does not work and is a waste of time. I was primarily concerned with using Dropbox to back up my photos, and have since discovered that signing up for Google+ will instantly get you a free backup of all photos and video you take with the phone through their "intant upload" service. I even had photos from my iPhone on there.

I honestly don't understand how CNET or individual purchasers can be lauding this phone when the display has been dimmed to such a great degree from the One X. I have an iPhone 4. Not even 4s. I have to move the dimming slider to maybe 90-95% of maximum to make it approximately match the brightness of the HTC One X. I have to dim it down to about 50% to match the One X Plus. This is a DIM phone. I consulted with sales staff at the AT&T store, and they assured me what I was seeing was correct. I called the HTC contact number for North America, and they assured me the dimming is intentional - to extend the battery life of the phone. I presume this is because the One X Plus has a quad core processor (the One X had a dual core) which is more of a battery hog. So, there you go. That's the brilliant trade-off HTC made to speed up a phone that was already fast. The dimness is substantial, and will definitely play havoc with sunny days. Great phone, and terribly dim display means don't even think about this phone, in my humble opinion.

I have owned multiple iPhones, Android (Samsung Captivate), and Windows Phone (Samsung Focus) in the past. Kept going back to iPhone for stabilty and App support. However, Android really outdid themselves with the Jelly Bean update. Smooth as butter. This phone is great as well in terms of hardware. I liked the look of the international version better (with the black and red) but in terms of specs, this is the best phone out there. The only con for this phone is the lack of removable battery and no SD card slot. The battery life is OK, I would give it a 7/10. When in battery saver mode, the phone will last all day plus more (20+ hours). And when you need the processing power, take it off battery saver and watch the phone speed up. Off battery saver, I get around 10-15 hours with WiFi and 4G on and moderate use. However, heavy use in non-saver mode can quickly drain the battery within 5-6 hours. The switch is pretty easy to do via notification tab. As for the lack of SD slot, this can be easily overcome with the 64gb of internal storage. If you really want more storage, you can connect an OTG MicroUSB cable and download Nexus Media Importer from App Store (doesn't require root/jailbreak) and you can access files off a SD/MicroSD/Flash drive. Overall, its a great phone. Not a single regret switching from iPhone to Android 4.1. Plus, the customization-ability of Android has vastly improved since I last owned Gingerbread, and much better than the same old UI of iPhone's iOS. Google Now is much better than Siri. I was down between Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X+. But the "plasticy" feel of Samsung turned me away and I decided to go for HTC. Plus this phone beats hardware specs of S3 in almost every way. Cons: Lack of Removable battery No accessable MicroSD slot (Use OTG cable as stated above) Battery life can be bad with heavy use Only 1GB RAM (only downside I see which is not amendable) Pros: Doesn't feel cheap to hold like S3 Great Screen Android Jelly Bean Quad-core 64GB internal storage EVERYTHING!