Pros:Fluid and elegant UI; Rich social networking experience; Looks trendy; Impressive sound quality; Pixel-packed screen.
Cons:Mediocre screen contrast; Limited storage; Oddly placed lock button; Lacklustre maps.
HTC Windows Phone 8X
MRP: Rs 35,000
Microsoft's long time partner, High Tech Computers (HTC) has edged past Nokia to become the first manufacturer to ship Windows Phone 8 devices to India. With "Windows Phone 8" branding in tow, HTC is marketing the 8X as a "signature" WP8 handset. Microsoft's mobile platform has been acclaimed for its minimalistic design yet attention to detail, but it couldn't garner a significant marketshare due to various reasons. In its latest iteration though, the folks at Redmond have finally added Bluetooth file sharing and USB mass storage mode along with other enhancements.
Design And Build Quality
What has a colourful polycarbonate unibody, convexly-curved glass, but is not a Lumia? Well, HTC's Windows Phone 8X! While the design may seem inspired by Nokia's flagship handset; the Taiwanese manufacturer has indeed tried its best to bring in some originality. The tapering sides make the 8X feel thinner than what it actually is, for instance. Despire being lightweight, the handset is quite sturdy. The design is quite pleasant, and the soft rubberised finish at the back helps with the grip. However, at a few places HTC has made odd design decisions and overlooked a few things. Take for instance the lock button that is placed on the top, which is uncomfortable for single-handed use. And then the LCD backlight leaks out where the glass meets the polycarbonate body. That being said, HTC's efforts to achieve a bold design are appreciable. It's quite a welcome change especially when some biggies in the business are bombarding the market with a series of lookalikes. Overall, the design and build quality is good, if not impressive.
The 8X sports a 4.3" Super LCD 2 screen with 720x1280 pixels covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2. With pixel density of 342 ppi, the display is impressively sharp. However, the screen has a mediocre contrast ratio - the blacks are just not deep. In comparison, Samsung's mid-range smartphone, Omnia W's display beats this one hands down. This behaviour hurts the aesthetics of WP OS, where black is used throughout the UI.
This flagship handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset that combines 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU and Adreno 225 GPU, an 8 mp camera and Beats Audio integration. The full specifications are at the end of this review.
MRP: Rs 35,000
Microsoft's long time partner, High Tech Computers (HTC) has edged past Nokia to become the first manufacturer to ship Windows Phone 8 devices to India. With "Windows Phone 8" branding in tow, HTC is marketing the 8X as a "signature" WP8 handset. Microsoft's mobile platform has been acclaimed for its minimalistic design yet attention to detail, but it couldn't garner a significant marketshare due to various reasons. In its latest iteration though, the folks at Redmond have finally added Bluetooth file sharing and USB mass storage mode along with other enhancements.
Design And Build Quality
What has a colourful polycarbonate unibody, convexly-curved glass, but is not a Lumia? Well, HTC's Windows Phone 8X! While the design may seem inspired by Nokia's flagship handset; the Taiwanese manufacturer has indeed tried its best to bring in some originality. The tapering sides make the 8X feel thinner than what it actually is, for instance. Despire being lightweight, the handset is quite sturdy. The design is quite pleasant, and the soft rubberised finish at the back helps with the grip. However, at a few places HTC has made odd design decisions and overlooked a few things. Take for instance the lock button that is placed on the top, which is uncomfortable for single-handed use. And then the LCD backlight leaks out where the glass meets the polycarbonate body. That being said, HTC's efforts to achieve a bold design are appreciable. It's quite a welcome change especially when some biggies in the business are bombarding the market with a series of lookalikes. Overall, the design and build quality is good, if not impressive.
The 8X sports a 4.3" Super LCD 2 screen with 720x1280 pixels covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2. With pixel density of 342 ppi, the display is impressively sharp. However, the screen has a mediocre contrast ratio - the blacks are just not deep. In comparison, Samsung's mid-range smartphone, Omnia W's display beats this one hands down. This behaviour hurts the aesthetics of WP OS, where black is used throughout the UI.
This flagship handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset that combines 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU and Adreno 225 GPU, an 8 mp camera and Beats Audio integration. The full specifications are at the end of this review.Let's get straight to the point; the latest iteration of the platform is not only as sleek and fluid as that of the WP 7.5, but is also feature-packed. The unused space on the homescreen, often referred to as the "gutter", has been removed by Microsoft. Users can now customise Live Tiles with three sizes to choose from. The latest version of Microsoft's OS offers mass storage mode for effortless file transfer. You can also pair a WP handset with any phone and share files over Bluetooth. While these additions aren't worth bragging about, but it shows Microsoft's willingness to take user feedback seriously.
Telephony And Messaging
Instead of a plain phone book, Microsoft's OS features a People Hub. It brings all your contacts from Facebook, Windows Live, Twitter, and LinkedIn to one place. The social networking integration runs so deep that if someone pings you through FB, that person's message gets stored in the inbox (Messaging Hub). What's more, the WP8 keyboard is extremely responsive and thoughtfully designed.The handset's call quality and network reception were good during our tests. I had no issues with the 8X's wi-fi signal reception. Thanks to Bluetooth version 3.1, sending files to another device was a breeze.
Battery
With the 1800 mAh battery the 8X can survive a normal work day's usage. If you're a movie buff, this phone can last for around 5 hours of video playback.
Verdict
The WP8 OS is definitely the USP of this handset. Moreover, the trendy design and impressive sound quality are the 8X's plus point. On the other hand, I feel that its display and camera could have been better. If you're not nitpicky about these, then HTC's Windows Phone 8X is worthy of your consideration. Otherwise, it's wise to wait and see what Samsung and Nokia have to offer.
Specifications
- 4.3" Super LCD 2 screen with 720p screen protected by Gorilla Glass 2.
- Qualcomm Snapdradon S4 chipset (1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, Adreno 225 GPU); 1 GB of RAM.
- 8 mp auto-focus camera with auto focus and LED flash.
- Camera Features: BSI sensor, F2.0 aperture, 28 mm lens.
- 2.1 mp wide angle (88°) front-facing camera.
- Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 3.1, GPS (GLONASS).
- Internal Storage: 16 GB, Lacks MicroSD card slot.
- 5.2" (l) X 2.6" (w) x 0.4" (10.12 mm) (d); weighs 130 grammes.
- Microsoft Windows Phone 8.
- Supported Audio: AAC, AMR, M4A, MP3, WAV, ASF, WMA (version 9 and 10).
- Supported Video: 3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, ASF, WMV (version 9 and 10); recording: MP4.
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; HSPA/WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
- G-Sensor, Digital compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor.
- 1800 mAh Li-ion battery.
- Available Colours: California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red, Limelight Yellow.
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