HANDSET REVIEW: HTC ONE X
The HTC One X will go on sale in the UK today after impressing at Mobile World Congress. The Taiwanese manufacturer hopes its new flagship handset will remind people that it can still play amongst the big boys, with the former golden boy of the mobile world going somewhat off the boil last year. I’ve been putting the handset through its paces. The One X is all about power. Not only is it the first UK-release to have a quad core chip (that’s fast, if you’re not geeky enough to know about phone chips) – it also has a fifth single-core chip, which it uses when you’re not pushing it hard enough. That’s a bit like the snooker match in which Ronnie O’Sullivan famously decided to play left-handed because he was so much better than his opponent: it’s quite cool but it’s also showing off. It means you can run any app out there without a glitch – this is one of the speediest handsets on the planet and it’s not going to go out of date any time soon. The gigantic 4.7 inch screen is bright and sharp, although the chassis seems disappointingly familiar – it looks a bit like the Sensation XL.
Having so much power means the handset – which runs Google’s latest Ice Cream Sandwich software – isn’t the longest lasting piece of kit.
If you’re a heavy user, take a charger with you if you’re out for the day – you’ll need it.
With all this pent up power, the HTC One X should be an exciting prospect. The problem is, it’s not. It feels pretty dull – the exact opposite of what a flagship handset should be. It’s a solid, rugged handset but you can’t help feel it isn’t quite enough to give HTC the boost it needs.