Windows Phone 8X by HTC - Signature WP8 Device

Signature Device for Windows Phone 8

HTC has been a steady supporter of the Windows Phone (WP) platform since two years ago when Microsoft unveiled WP7. Its first wave of WP7 devices include the HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Mozart and HTC HD 7. Subsequently, when Microsoft released the WP7.5 Mango in September last year, HTC followed up with the Radar.

As Microsoft made another attempt to fulfil its goal of establishing a three-horse race in the mobile market with WP8, HTC was also one of the four hardware partners mentioned. Not to be outdone by Nokia, HTC and Microsoft jointly announced two signature devices for the new mobile OS - Windows Phone 8X and 8S. 

The Windows Phone 8X is the flagship device from HTC, which will go head-to-head with the Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung ATIV S. So how does the signature WP8 device compare against the other WP8 offerings? Here's a quick look at its specs and the comparison among the three leading WP8 devices: - 

Key highlights of the Windows Phone 8Xby HTC Windows Phone 8 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 / 1280 x 720 pixels Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.5GHz processor 1GBRAM 16GB internal storage (no memory card slot) 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera / f2.0 lens / BSI /HTCImageChip / 1080p video recording 2.1-megapixel front facing camera / Ultra-wide -angle / f/2.0 lens / HTC ImageChip / 1080p video recording Beats Audio hardware and software 1800mAh battery (non-removable) 132.35 x 66.2 x 10.2mm 130g Price and Availability: $828 at all mobile operators and authorized retailers in November

Design

If there's an award for the best designed WP8 device, we would unambiguously give our vote to the WP8X by HTC. Sporting an angular chassis with contoured sides and non-slip matte polycarbonate, the WP8X by HTC is quite a distinctive phone from its peers.

The Nokia Lumia 920 still possess the design traits of its predecessor, the Lumia 900 while the Samsung ATIV S is basically a WP8 variant of the Android-powered Galaxy S III. On the other hand, the engineering team over at HTC pulled out all stops to make sure its WP8 flagship device is unique from the rest.

Compared to the hefty Nokia Lumia 920 (185g), the Windows Phone 8X by HTC offers a better handling due to its lighter weight (130g). Besides ensuring that the device feels comfortable in the hands, the tapering sides also makes the HTC phone look slimmer than the Nokia Lumia when the difference is actually just 0.6mm.

Like many of the WP devices out there, the WP8X by HTC features the three standard touch-sensitive navigation buttons (Back, Home, Search) below its 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 display. Its front-facing camera resides on the top left of its display, which seems to us as an awkward location since most phones either have it in the center or to the right.

As great as its design is, it is very unfortunate that its Power and volume controls are not well-designed for usability. We find the buttons to be too flushed to the body of the phone, hence we have difficulty pressing them when the need arises. It is especially annoying to see this happening despite the huge amount of effort and time devoted to designing the phone and yet overlooking on this critical aspect of usability. 

WP8 with a Spoonful of HTC Goodies 

We've covered the major features of WP8 in two articles - Top Eight New Features and New Features Unveiled for Windows Phone 8, hence we will not go into detail on them again in this article. Instead, we will focus on what HTC has to offer through its software additions which are Beats Audio integration, HTC and Photo Enhancer. 

Beats Audio

Exclusive to HTC smartphones only, Beats Audio integration is claimed to offer authentic, studio quality sound when you are listening to music, playing games or watching a video. From our previous experience with the Beats Audio optimizer feature on the HTC Sensation XE, we find the audio experience to be catered for bass-heads. 

HTC

Formerly known as HTC Hub, it has been renamed as "HTC" and gives you access to weather information, stock statistics and news stories. For all three categories, you can add more countries or cities (for weather), more indices (for stocks) and more subscriptions (for news).

Photo Enhancer

While WP8 will get Instagram by the end of this year, WP8X by HTC users can make use of the company's in-house photo enhancer app to add some image filters to the photos they have taken. The Photo Enhancer app and its image filters are also found on the current One series.

Performance

Previous generations of Windows Phone devices are equipped with single-core processors and 512MB or less RAM, yet they can deliver smooth and seamless interface navigation. What about the current WP8X by HTC? 

Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 1GB RAM, the overall user experience on the WP8X by HTC is pretty smooth. We did not encounter any instances of lag or system freezes.

Web Browsing Performance

When it comes to web browser performance, WP8 seems to have a solid lead over the Android competition while keeping pace with the Apple iPhone 5 in the SunSpider Javascript benchmark. This benchmark measures JavaScript performance on tasks relevant to the use of JavaScript such as encryption and text manipulation; a lower score is a better.

According to Microsoft, WP8 has a Javascript update which makes Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10) four times faster than the browser in WP7.5. From the benchmark scores above, it seems that IE 10 is also faster than the Android 4.0-HTC One XL despite running on the same processor and RAM. 

Multimedia Performance 

Like its One X/XL/X+ Android counterparts, the WP8X by HTC sports a Super LCD 2 display which is optically laminated to give the impression of text and images "floating just beneath the screen." As it is smaller at 4.3-inch, the pixel count amounts to 342ppi - the highest pixel density among all the WP8 devices. 

As such, the WP8X by HTC delivers great clarity and excellent viewing angles.The Nokia Lumia 920 comes in at a very close second with its 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display. Honestly, both phones have gorgeous displays, and we too had difficulties determining which one has the upper hand.

HTC's custom ImageChip, which first appeared on the One series smartphones, is also included on the WP8 device. Its imaging capabilities mirror that of its flagship Android devices, which include an 8-megapixel camera sensor, f/2.0 aperture, BSI and 28mm wide-angle lens. The front-facing camera receives an upgrade to 2.1-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture and an ultra-wide angle lens for self-portraits and group shots.

Battery Mileage

Our standard battery test for mobile phones includes the following parameters:

• Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
  
   
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
  
   
• Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

The WP8X by HTC performed badly in our standard battery test with the lowest uptime of four hours and 20 minutes. The Nokia Lumia 920 did not fare any better; it only lasted 11 minutes more. The Apple iPhone 5 easily outranked both WP8 flagship devices despite coming with a smaller battery capacity (1,440mAh). 

When it comes to power consumption, the WP8X by HTC ranked slightly lower than the Lumia 920 due to its smaller 4.3-inch display which drew less power compared to the 4.5-inch display on the Nokia device. Generally, HTC devices are known to have higher power consumption than its competitors, partially due to their level of power optimization.

In the Portability Index where the overall dimensions, weight and battery performance are taken into consideration, the WP8X by HTC avoided being placed in the last position thanks to its light weight and decent physical attributes compared to the chunky Lumia 920.

Outside of our standard battery test, the WP8X by HTC could last through a day at work, although there is a constant need to monitor the battery level. If you tend to surf the Internet regularly on the HTC device, it is not likely to last till you reach home. It is important to note that actual battery mileage will vary under different usage conditions. Having said that, all Windows Phone devices come with a built-in battery saver option in the OS, which will turn off some services while in standby mode to conserve battery life. That should help you buy time to find a power outlet before the phone powers off.

** Updated as of 24th November 2012 - Conclusion was updated to reflect the device's good imaging capabilities.

Conclusion

The WP8X by HTC has huge potential to be a killer signature device for Microsoft's latest mobile operating system, but its flaws and stiff competition threaten to overshadow its strengths. Out of the three WP8 flagship devices announced, the WP8X by HTC stands out with its unique design, great handling, gorgeous display and good camera performance. However, it lacks exclusive services or apps that would tilt the odds in its favor.

As exclusive as the integration of Beats Audio may seem, the fact that its One series of Android smartphones (with Beats Audio) failed to achieve the same level of success as the Samsung Galaxy S III / Note II speaks a lot on the market's response to the Beats Audio integration.

The Nokia Lumia 920 may look and feel like a 'brick', but the Finnish mobile company has a few tricks up its sleeves to impress potential customers such as its "PureView camera technology with Optical Image Stabilization and Carl Zeiss optics", Nokia City Lens, Nokia Drive and wireless charging. There are not to be taken lightly as they greatly enhance the phone's capabilities.

Available soon at S$828, the WP8X by HTC will appeal to consumers who are searching for an iOS / Android alternative but are turned off by the heft of the Nokia Lumia 920. It may have the looks of a signature WP8 device but the WP8X by HTC lacks the firepower of one to give it a strong compelling reason to choose it over the competition. Perhaps if mobile photography is a personal interest and pursuit, both the HTC and Nokia devices are strong contenders but HTC might appeal more for those who love to take self-portrait/group shots as it has the best forward facing camera of any smartphone currently. Even then, beware of its limited battery life performance.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.