HTC’s new flagship One X mobile phone was announced at mobile world Congress last week, as a part of the new range of handsets – all bearing the same ‘One’ family name

This hands-on review of the soon-to-be-released mobile, complements the ITProPortal.com hands-on walkthrough in both pictures and video.

The phone will arrive with a familiar shape and design that is now synonymous with the Taiwanese handset maker, in a lightweight polycarbonate unibody form, rounded edges, and a shape with origins that could be traced back as far as 2007, with the HTC Touch.

HTC’s One X design is both simple and effective, with a look that immediately makes you think of HTC – in much the same way as Apples’ phones always look like an Apple phone.

Screen

The 4.7-inch screen of the mobile supports a full high definition resolution of 1,280 by 720, with the inclusion of the second generation of Corning’s Gorilla Glass. This is 30 per cent thinner, than the previous version of the tough glass. It is only the fourth handset from HTC to support this larger screen size, along with being the first to contain a HD screen.

HTC’s One X display hasn’t been completely, flatly, embedded into the handset’s chassis, instead it has a slightly-rounded lip that joins the side of the phone’s body – where it has been stated to ITPP that “the screen melts off to the side”, which we would agree. This, offers up much more of a premium feel, instead of the sharp edges that could have finished off the phone’s design.

We found the display itself to be responsive to the touch, with actions being carried out very fast indeed, which is partly thanks to the substantial processor on board. This is coupled with the screen being both a clear and bright LCD. HTC adopted this display technology when they dropped AMOLED, back in 2010, in favour of the LCD format.

On the rear of the phone, towards the base, are pogo pins, for use with docking stations and similar accessories but details of these haven’t been released as yet.

Camera

The back also houses an 8megapixel camera, with a F2.0 aperture and a 28mm lens that’s standard across all the One range; capturing 40 per cent more light than the f/2.4 lenses and we can testify to the fact that it does take a good picture.

A part of the new HTC Sense 4 user interface is a feature, known as ‘ImageSense’. This is backed by a dedicated HTC ImageChip, which allows for a number of new camera abilities, such as capturing a picture in 0.7 seconds and being able to record a 1080p video. The latter of which also offers still-picture capture, at the same time as filming – without any shutter noise. We tried this feature out and it does work well, along with fast image capture and a continuous-shooting mode, too.

Operating System

HTC has included the Android ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ 4.0 OS on the HTC One X. This is a good fit for the device and an expected one too, where the company’s rivals aired their new models running ‘Gingerbread’ 2.3, with the promise of an update. However, HTC has still missed some tricks with the platform.

On the base of the screen are still touch sensitive buttons, for back, home screen and to see all the running applications. These are actually a part of the new OS and are integrated into the display. They don’t really need to be there on the One X, but have been included anyway and this does seem a little redundant.

The argument could be made that the One X was already some way along in the development stage, when Google included this ability in the operating system and it was all too late to change the hardware. Only time will tell, if HTC will adopt Androids’ features in their handsets or just stick with the status quo of touch sensitive buttons.

Processor

Running the mobile phone is the Nvida Tegra 3 quad core 1.5GHz CPU, with a 12 core graphics processor. The American version won’t run from such a CPU, due to the LTE requirements of the handset and a Qualcomm dual core variant has been added, instead.

This quad core processor works very well on the handset, whilst performing tasks in a fast and efficient manner. A fifth 500Mhz companion processor actually does most of the work and a lot of the time too, even when playing the likes of full 1080p HD video. This will keep down the high-performance power drain on the 1800 mAh battery, which most people will assume will go hand-in-hand with a powerful chipset, of this nature.

We didn’t see many instances of the other cores being used on the One X, but we are guaranteed  they are only brought in when truly necessary. On that note, ITProPortal isn’t entirely convinced by the need for quad core processing in a mobile phone, but we are aware there are those that will want the most powerful and the fastest device on the market.

What will convince us of the usefulness of a quad core, is if more applications are written to take advantage of a processor of this nature. Nvidia has their own section on the Android Market/Google play, entitled TegraZone, with games written soley for the Tegra chipsets. If there are more useful and processor resource hungry apps here, the more likely we are to be convinced of a quad core need, in the mobile space; think HD video editing, Adobe Photoshop for Android and similar apps.

Audio

In August 2010, HTC announced a partnership with Dr Dre Beats Audio company with a reported heavy investment. Since then we have seen two handsets from this venture, the Sensation XE and then XL. These devices have integrated bespoke sound chips and audio profiles, which when used with a Dr Dre set of headphones change the sound to match the high quality of the headphones.

This has now been brought over to all of the One family of mobile phones, but it’s unsure whether Dr Dre headphones will accompany the One X, S or V – but hearing this feature in action, ensures us the integration is worth it and it sounds great.

Other abilities to the new Sense 4.0 user interface relate to a different multi app interface, from the one seen in ICS; the integration of Dropbox; an active lock screen with access to the likes of Facebook status and a rich HTML5 web browser.

Final Thoughts

On the whole, the HTC One X is a fast, high-end handset and one we found works well, as it should do – with all that it has inside. We can’t fault many aspects of phone, other than the lack of foresight of the Ice Cream Sandwich features and possibly the lack of a microSD card slot, but there is 32GB of internal storage and 25GB of on-line Dropbox access.

On the whole, the HTC One X is a fast, high-end handset and one we found works well, as it should do – with all that it has inside. We can’t fault many aspects of phone, other than the lack of foresight of the Ice Cream Sandwich features and possibly the lack of a microSD card slot, but there is 32GB of internal storage and 25GB of on-line Dropbox access.

Unnamed sources have tipped off Pocket-lint that an official announcement on the matter could come from the companies at the forthcoming edition of the Mobile World Congress to be hosted at Barcelona later this month.

Meanwhile, HTC has declined to comment on the issue saying that it was not a company policy to comment on rumours and speculations.

Sony first announced its decision to make classic PlayStation titles such as Gran Turismo and Crash Bandicoot available on mobile platforms through the PlayStation Suite program last year

“It expands the PlayStation experience beyond the PSP border. It is the first cross-platform endeavor,” Kazuo Hirai, the then Sony Computer Entertainment CEO and soon to be president and CEO of Sony corporation stated while announcing that much applauded decision.

HTC, which has done quite well with its Android line-up of smartphones, will definitely get a boost if it does gain the PlayStation certificate as it will be able to offer a lot more extra in terms of gaming compared to other Android handset vendors.

Last November, HTC stated that some HTC Android powered smartphones would be getting Ice Cream Sandwich updates.

The company also provided the names of the devices which were suppose to get the updates including Sensation XL, HTC Sensation (and Sensation 4G), Rezound, Sensation XE, Evo Design 4G, Amaze 4G and the Evo 3D.

But the Taiwanese company has not released any other information until recently. On Wednesday, the Turkish wing of the company, on its Facebook page, released a neat table including details regarding the handsets to receive the updates and when.

The list discloses quite a bit of information. For example, the HTC Evo 3D was supposed to get the update last December, but apparently this did not happen.

The list suggests that Sensation XL, Amaze 4G, Design 4G, HTC Sensation, Rezound, Sensation XE, Vivid as well as Evo will get the update this month, January 2012, reports Unwired View.

In fact, the list also confirms the HTC Thunderbolt update will be launched in the 1st quarter of 2012. The image of the list is not available anymore and according to latest reports, it was posted by a “fan” and not by the company. HTC has not commented on anything yet.

High Tech Computer (HTC), the Taiwanese phone maker, recently announced that the company’s profit dropped by 25.5 per cent, first ever in the company’s history. The mobile manufacturing giant released its financial data from last quarter of 2011 which showed that the net income after paying all due tax, stands at NT$11.02 billion.

During the same quarter a year ago the company made NT$14.8 billion. But, the company said that year-on-year growth from the month of January till November increased by 78.9 per cent with around NT$439.4 million earned as revenue.

The fall in profits of HTC can definitely be attributed to the fact that iPhone 4S stole the thunder in the last quarter of 2011 and there was very little that the Taiwanese phone maker was offering that could stand the competition of Apple.

Despite the fact that HTC was one of the early adopters of Android, Samsung managed to steal the thunder across the globe with its Galaxy range of smartphones.

Analysts believe that even though comparatively smaller players like Motorola and HTC did manage partnerships with Google, bigger players are taking away lion’s share of the smartphone market and the status quo is not going to change that quickly.

“HTC and RIM [Research In Motion Ltd] appear to be suffering from a market share shift to lower-end products and other vendors”, said Steven Pelayo, regional head of Asian-Pacific technology research at HSBC Securities reported Taipei Times.

After these disappointing results, the company tried to pacify the concerns of its investors. Perhaps during next week’s CES the company will be launching some new models to improve their market condition.

On Tuesday, Nielsen reported that Android once again became the dominant mobile operating system among mobile subscribers in United States in the third quarter. Apple remains the largest smartphone maker in the country, however.

According to the report, Android OS in the third quarter had 42.8 percent of the entire smartphone market.

Interestingly, HTC smartphone powered by Android operating system captured 15 percent of the total smartphone market, whereas Samsung phones with Android had 10.1 percent share in the market, according to the Nielsen Blog.

Apple, on the other hand, was far ahead than any other Android maker in the third quarter with 28.3 percent of the total market share. Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturer of BlackBerry, secured second position with 17.8 percent share.

Together, iPhone and Android users occupied 71 percent of the entire smartphone market. In a 30-day span, these two groups downloaded almost 83 percent of all mobile apps.

Nielsen surveyed 22,200 mobile subscribers in US. The survey also revealed that at present 44 percent of all mobile phone users in the United Stated have smartphones.

Source: Erica Thinesen

Pent-up UK demand for the new iPhone 4S meant that Apple sold more than three times as many phones in October as in any of the three previous months, eclipsing the rival Google platform, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Data released by the research company show Apple’s iPhone took 42.8% of UK smartphone sales in October alone, ahead of all Androidphones, which took 35% in the same period. The figures from ComTech also show the UK market is shifting dramatically towards smartphones: sales of smartphones grew by 43% in October, but the overall phone market dropped by 4% in October as “feature phone” sales nearly halved.

Smartphones made up 69.8% of sales over the three months, meaning 44.8% of the British population now owns a smartphone. But it also leaves 29 million adults in the UK not yet using a smartphone – representing a huge opportunity for rival brands.

The research company says the October boost meant that for the 12 weeks to the end of October, Apple’s market share of UK smartphone sales was 27.8%, compared to 25% in the same period a year before. The Android platform continued to increase its overall lead, powering 46% of smartphones in the 12-week period, compared to 34.2% a year ago.

The Guardian’s calculations suggest that Apple’s sales jumped nearly fourfold in October as the iPhone 4S was released. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, complained that ahead of the launch, sales had slowed down substantially as people waited for the expected launch of the new iPhone – which many expected to be called the “iPhone 5″. For those three months, ComTech’s figures showed the iPhone’s share of sales dropping to just 18.5%. Android phones made up 49%.

Despite looking the same as the iPhone 4, which was released in summer 2010, the iPhone 4S has clearly boosted Apple’s fortunes in the UK. Dominic Sunnebo, global insight director at ComTech, noted that 75% of sales of iPhones in the period went to people who already owned one – indicating strong brand loyalty among existing customers, but equally that Apple may not be growing its market as quickly as it might want, as the overall smartphone market grew faster than that 25%.

The rapid expansion of Android sales suggests it is reaching new users who have not previously used the platform or even a smartphone.

Other data from ComTech showed that for the three-month period, Nokia’s now-deprecated Symbian OS made just 3.9% of sales, down by 10.2%, and the Windows Mobile platform – officially all but discontinued – almost vanished, making just 0.5% of sales. BlackBerry maker RIM also saw its share fall, to 19.6% from 20.9%.

Microsoft’s new Windows Phone platform saw a small uptick in sales, to 1% of the market from 0.2% a year ago, when it had just been launched. The ComTech figures predate the launch of Nokia’s Lumia range, which are expected to boost Windows Phone’s share noticeably.

Sunnebo said: “The October launch of the hugely anticipated iPhone 4S has catapulted Apple into second place among operating systems based on the last 12 weeks of sales. However, if you just look at the month of October, Apple took a whopping share of all smartphone sales, giving it a significant lead over Android – a feat many thought was impossible.

“With nearly a year and a half between iPhone launches there has been huge pent-up demand for a new Apple device. We have previously seen that Apple customers tend to be very loyal to the brand. However, it is still astonishing that 75% of new iPhone 4S owners previously owned an iPhone. Most of these loyalists tended to own previous generation devices such as the 3G or 3GS models. However, 14% previously owned an iPhone 4, demonstrating that quite a few people bought themselves out of their contracts to get hold of the 4S. Clearly the upgraded processor, camera and unveiling of Siri assistant was enough to generate excitement among the Apple community.”

Sunnebo continues: “While unwavering loyalty is clearly great news for Apple, it is likely to be a relief for other smartphone operators. With Apple predominantly driving sales from within its existing customer base, it leaves the field wide open for the likes of Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsungand HTC to focus on converting the remaining 29 million adults who don’t yet have a smartphone to their brand.”

Kantar ComTech UK smartphone sales data

HTC has dispelled the damp sales forecast it has for next year by promising to release better and more competitive smartphones in 2012.

According to an article on Reuters, the company has said it would continue with its current strategy and design more competitive devices in 2012, despite the fact that its market share has dropped by 30 percent.

The company, which first started as a contract based device maker, became a strong player in the smartphone market with the success of its Android based smartphones.

But, as Apple and Samsung continue to rise, the company’s share has fallen, worrying investors who believe the company has lost is innovative spark. The company recently shocked the market by forecasting no growth for the fourth quarter.

HTC, which is known for its Desire, Sensation and Wildfire series models, claimed it won’t become another Nokia and continue to forge ahead in these tough times.

“I don’t think it’s so serious. We have six quarters of improvement, the most conservative guidance is 45 million units of shipments this year, a lot higher than 25 million last year,” Chief Financial Officer Winston Yung told Reuters

“We will focus on the product next year, better and more competitive. Other than new LTE phones for the U.S. market, we also have phones for the global market. We will launch some worldwide flagship products. We’re confident in them,” he added.

Source:  Erica Thinesen