ATT version hands on.

[tohio]

Back on topic. Let's have a good discussion.

Where were you when I was called a petulant little...

To answer you question, I have an Atrix 4g, I think it is an excellent phone and is still keeping up with the Joneses. My phone is unlocked and rooted. I enjoy experimenting with ROMs. I don't like the unpredictability of cloud storage (Amazon cloud outage downs Netflix, Quora - April 2011). I'd rather have a SD card that I can control. I also locate most of my apps on the SD card. I don't want to carry a charger with me when I travel. A spare battery is a much better alternative (for me). So I'm hoping the Galaxy S III has a removable battery and SD card. Does anyone really believe that the HTC One X wouldn't be a better phone with removable storage, a removable battery and a better lens design. If you don't believe that then explain how those perceived (by me) shortcomings make the phone better.

 

[tohio]

Aren't most of those supposed cons completely subjective based on the user of the phone though? The shortcomings you listed really don't bother me that much. I've had a good 10 Android phones since the G1 and I would consider myself fairly knowledgeable. And I haven't been this excited for a phone since the Nexus One.

I don't use my phone as a hard drive for my entire music collection. I rarely ever have to take the battery out of my phone. In fact, I'm using an iPhone and the Nokia Lumia 900, so it's not even an option. And for what it's worth the demo unit in our store went about 1.5 days before it died. This is with all of us going to the back room to play with it and learn about the device. So I think the battery life will impress. If it doesn't then I'm near a charger anyways.

As for the camera lens issue. I'm sitting here with a Galaxy Nexus, iPhone 4S and Nokia Lumia and all of the camera lens are in an area where they can be scratched now that you bring it up.

Anyways, there is a phone for everyone. Doesn't make this one lame. What work's for you, might now work for me. And vice-versa.

Good points. But explain to me how the lack of removable storage, lack of a removable battery and a protruding camera lens makes this a better phone than one that has removable storage, removable battery and flat camera lens. If you could have a camera with the same specs as the HTC One X but with the three items mentioned in the previous sentence, which one would you buy?

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Where were you when I was called a petulant little...

I was here and took care of it.

To answer you question, I have an Atrix 4g, I think it is an excellent phone and is still keeping up with the Joneses. My phone is unlocked and rooted. I enjoy experimenting with ROMs. I don't like the unpredictability of cloud storage (Amazon cloud outage downs Netflix, Quora - April 2011). I'd rather have a SD card that I can control. I also locate most of my apps on the SD card. I don't want to carry a charger with me when I travel. A spare battery is a much better alternative (for me). So I'm hoping the Galaxy S III has a removable battery and SD card. Does anyone really believe that the HTC One X wouldn't be a better phone with removable storage, a removable battery and a better lens design. If you don't believe that then explain how those perceived (by me) shortcomings make the phone better.

Having to change batteries when one dies presents another problem...charging that spare battery. Every use case is different. I'm pretty much always around a charger. Even when I'm not I can make it all day on a charge if I know I won't be able to charge. I can plan my usage around my day. If that won't work I can bring along a spare power pack that'll charge my battery. Yes, that has it's own weaknesses, but I'm willing to live with those.

The internal storage space can have apps moved to it to save app space. Also, microSD cards can break and go bad. The bigger issue with cloud storage is the limited data plans IMHO. On wifi (99% of the time for me) it's not an issue. But for a lot of people it is. And that's up to them to make the decision of whether or not they can live with it.

Would the One X be better with a removable battery and storage? Probably (yes in the case of storage). I've had an Evo 4G which had arguably the worse battery life ever. I still didn't change my battery. And I think HTC knows that the majority of people just won't change it. For those that live by changing the battery because they have to then the One X isn't for them (or they come up with a different solution).

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Good points. But explain to me how the lack of removable storage, lack of a removable battery and a protruding camera lens makes this a better phone than one that has removable storage, removable battery and flat camera lens. If you could have a camera with the same specs as the HTC One X but with the three items mentioned in the previous sentence, which one would you buy?

What you're describing is the EVO 4G LTE. Yes, I wish the AT&T version was more like that. I love the kickstand. But Sprint service is terrible around where I live. So for AT&T the One X is the phone for me. On May 3rd we'll hear about the new Galaxy from Samsung. I probably won't change my mind honestly.

 

[garrim85]

I guess you don't feel Mr. icebike can defend himself, but that's your assumption, not mine. You were doing pretty well in the "Can't we all just get along" department until you accused me of being sarcastic and condescending.

Not assuming anything about icebike, it's possible to point out the flaw of someone's post without being construed as coming to one's "rescue."

Holding down the power button shuts the phone down? Wow that's amazing. Don't do much rooting huh?

It being the internet and all, things can get lost in translation, like inflection etc. But how else is this supposed to be taken? Again, his first sentence answered your question. You responded to the second thing he said, and that was your reply. That's all I was pointing out, well that and it came off a bit condescending. If that wasn't the intent, ok, my bad, but it's entirely reasonable for someone to come to that conclusion with what you said.

As far as:

The phone is lame and I'm surprised that AC has invested so much ink in telling its readers that it isn't. The main complaints about the phone are storage and non-removable battery and AC agreed they were bad things. The camera lens issue is just too obvious to ignore. Remember you are reading an enthusiast web site and these problems are well known here. The average person who buys this phone won't have a clue as to its shortcomings until they run into a storage, camera or battery life issue. I'm surprised that supposedly knowledgeable phone guys would consider buying this weak sister.

The phone being lame is your rightful opinion, but an opinion nonetheless. Could it be that despite these "shortcomings" that they still feel the phone is a good buy for users that wouldn't deem those things "shortcomings" for their use/needs? Nah, couldn't be that (<- sarcasm) The storage and non-removable battery, camera lens "issue" (as you call it), are all things that some people don't have a problem with. Personally, I don't need more than ~9GB of space with the way I run my phone. Magically the One X leaves almost 10GB of storage for the user after OS allotment and whatever else takes up the other space - perfect for my needs. That makes the storage limit a non-issue for people like me, which there are a lot of. Not everyone needs as much as you, not everyone needs as little as I require and hell, some people even need less than me. So there you go. Non-removable battery? Big deal. Lots of Androids currently exist without a removable battery, their users get along just fine with that. And hey, it's not like you have to root your phone, after all. Never mind the fact that the people with phones that don't have a removable battery can still root their phones. Not sure why some people act like it's impossible without a removable battery, it's definitely possible. Battery life as far as I know at this point is not as bad as initially reported. After breaking in and software updates it seems like a lot of users are reporting 1 day and some change on a single charge. Certainly that comes down to the use case of every individual, as do all of these points of discussion of course, but I'm pretty sure that kind of battery life is what I could expect given how I use my phone. Sounds pretty darn good to me. Camera lens protruding... well that I will give you half points for, it's not a problem for me but I can see it being easy to damage with some users, sure.

TL;DR: Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Clcross18x]

Good points. But explain to me how the lack of removable storage, lack of a removable battery and a protruding camera lens makes this a better phone than one that has removable storage, removable battery and flat camera lens. If you could have a camera with the same specs as the HTC One X but with the three items mentioned in the previous sentence, which one would you buy?

Honestly, I would probably still get the One X. I don't really care about the battery since I work at AT&T so it's not like I'm not near a charger every day. I don't like keeping track of my microSD cards anyways and the current phones I'm using have slowly gotten me used to not having it anyways. And the camera lens issue is being blown way out of proportion. Phone hasn't even been out long enough to get a scratch on that part of the screen and already people are complaining about an issue that may or may not happen.

As I said before, what's important to you in a phone is going to be different then what other's will find important in a phone. Those things that you listed only make it better for you. I honestly could care less about some of that stuff. The good news is HTC did give you a phone if this one doesn't fit your needs. The EVO 4G LTE. I'm not that into Sprint though so it's not the phone for me.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Back on topic. Let's have a good discussion.

+1

Everyone's gonna feel a little silly when they finally get to use a One X.

 

[nyc_rock]

+1

Everyone's gonna feel a little silly when they finally get to use a One X.

I agree totally. While the ATT version will not be in my aresenal precicely because of the lack of on board storage, to call it lame is a gross exageration. When you actually see the screen in person, lame will be the last thought that comes to your mind.

 

[Jaymil]

I spent about an hour with the ATT version yesterday myself.

My thoughts:

Screen is amazing. I had a galaxy note and a galaxy nexus on me at the time and I actually liked the One X screen better. Colors were about equal but it just seemed... brighter and cleaner I guess.

Phone is plenty fast. Granted I didn't have 80+ apps loaded on the One X but it felt responsive. Quadrant was pretty good too, I wanna say it was about 4500 ish iirc.

Camera is amazing... Coming from my nexus on Verizon where the shutter speed was nice but the image quality left me wanting and then using the Note whose shutter speed felt horrible slow I gotta say that the shutter speed is amazing on the One X. The image quality seemed pretty good too even when taking pictures in burst mode.

Design... I'm not normally into white phones but this thing is beautiful. It's everything that the Lumia 900 should have been and wasn't. I love the way the glass curves off the front of the device.. I love how the polycarbonate is glossy on the sides and matte on the back. And this thing just feels super thin.

I didn't make any phone calls with it, did some light web browsing which seemed fine. Minuses are the obvious that have already been stated... no micro SD and only 9.7 gb of usable storage but I think I'll get by. I've carried around 25 gb worth of ripped movies on my phones for over 2 years now and I don't think I've ever watched a single one. That's what tablets and my samsung series 9 laptop are for Music wise I do as some others here have said, I use google music and just have certain playlists pinned. Pictures and video that I create get backed up to google+ and dropbox when on wifi.

As for the battery... well I'm always around chargers but I've noticed that AT&T's LTE phones seem to last a metric ton longer than Verizon's do. Maybe it's chipset, maybe it's radio.. maybe it's software or maybe it's even reception but they just do.

Anyway, I have mine preordered already.. I'll still be eagerly watching Samsung's event on the third but unless we get a solid date for US release I'll probably still be getting my One X.

 

[fubaracing7374]

I've got to go see what this phone is all about today!!


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

 

[neoenigma]

My big concern is how I use my current phone. The Epic 4G, for the longest time, has been the PERFECT phone. The screen + the video codecs means I can use it to play movies while I'm at work. it will play any movie I throw on it. I usually catch up on my TV shows this way. I use every single bit of my 32GB SD card as well.

I know Samsung has been the only phone manufacturer to actually include the video codecs that it does. Usually to play h.264 MKV movies on phones, you have to convert them first. Not on Galaxy phones though. I also love the slideout keyboard.

Now I'm probably moving to the One X which has no storage space, probably no video codecs, and no slideout keyboard. There are NO decent phones with keyboards anymore so I've come to terms with that. Just worried about how I'll be able to use my phone to play movies going forward.

I'm sure there are adapters that allow you to use SD cards though. I have one for my tablet. When I went on vacation with my wife a few months ago, I loaded up all kinds of TV shows onto an SD card, plugged it into my tablet with my adapter, and we were able to watch them that way. It's not ideal... as having that adapter sticking out isn't always practical, but it will probably alleviate some of my misgivings about storage space when it comes to media. Just need to see if there is an adapter for micro USB slots.

Still can't wait to get my hands on it though... only way to know if I really want it or not.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

My big concern is how I use my current phone. The Epic 4G, for the longest time, has been the PERFECT phone. The screen + the video codecs means I can use it to play movies while I'm at work. it will play any movie I throw on it. I usually catch up on my TV shows this way. I use every single bit of my 32GB SD card as well.

I know Samsung has been the only phone manufacturer to actually include the video codecs that it does. Usually to play h.264 MKV movies on phones, you have to convert them first. Not on Galaxy phones though. I also love the slideout keyboard.

Now I'm probably moving to the One X which has no storage space, probably no video codecs, and no slideout keyboard. There are NO decent phones with keyboards anymore so I've come to terms with that. Just worried about how I'll be able to use my phone to play movies going forward.

I'm sure there are adapters that allow you to use SD cards though. I have one for my tablet. When I went on vacation with my wife a few months ago, I loaded up all kinds of TV shows onto an SD card, plugged it into my tablet with my adapter, and we were able to watch them that way. It's not ideal... as having that adapter sticking out isn't always practical, but it will probably alleviate some of my misgivings about storage space when it comes to media. Just need to see if there is an adapter for micro USB slots.

Still can't wait to get my hands on it though... only way to know if I really want it or not.

A third party app might play the videos. Something like rockplayer?

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[crbauhs]

My big concern is how I use my current phone. The Epic 4G, for the longest time, has been the PERFECT phone. The screen + the video codecs means I can use it to play movies while I'm at work. it will play any movie I throw on it. I usually catch up on my TV shows this way. I use every single bit of my 32GB SD card as well.

I know Samsung has been the only phone manufacturer to actually include the video codecs that it does. Usually to play h.264 MKV movies on phones, you have to convert them first. Not on Galaxy phones though. I also love the slideout keyboard.

Now I'm probably moving to the One X which has no storage space, probably no video codecs, and no slideout keyboard. There are NO decent phones with keyboards anymore so I've come to terms with that. Just worried about how I'll be able to use my phone to play movies going forward.

I'm sure there are adapters that allow you to use SD cards though. I have one for my tablet. When I went on vacation with my wife a few months ago, I loaded up all kinds of TV shows onto an SD card, plugged it into my tablet with my adapter, and we were able to watch them that way. It's not ideal... as having that adapter sticking out isn't always practical, but it will probably alleviate some of my misgivings about storage space when it comes to media. Just need to see if there is an adapter for micro USB slots.

Still can't wait to get my hands on it though... only way to know if I really want it or not.

Well seeing as you are a big fan of your Galaxy now, the good news is Samsung is giving their presser on the 3rd of May. That will give you a good gauge of which phone you would prefer. Not sure what time frame your looking at to get a phone, but if no rush then wait and see. You might find out the GS3 is the one for you.

 

[Impulses]

Holding down the power button shuts the phone down? Wow that's amazing. Don't do much rooting huh? I would like to know how I can go into download mode or fast boot, etc. Some phones need a battery pull, button push and cable insertion to go into various booting options. This phone is getting less and less desirable the more I hear about it. Won't waste my time looking at it.

Quickboot will let you reboot into any of those modes automatically, the app is old as dirt, one of the first ones I installed on my EVO. Holding down power and volume down will reboot in case of a hard lock, etc, battery pulls are for the ignorant.

Lack of storage is a valid complaint, as well as the inability to swap batteries. A sealed battery does make the phone slightly more secure tho, if someone finds it they can't quickly yank the battery out to prevent tracking. Not that I'd take that extra layer of security over being able to swap batteries, but at least there's an upside to the inconvenience.

Dunno why HTC couldn't build a microSD slot into the unibody, just make it one of those spring loaded affairs instead of a larger lid like the new EVO.

 

[RoboWarrior]

I also wonder how they couldn't fit a tiny micro sd card slot in that expansive 4.7 inch phone. They pretty much wasted a lot of space if you ask me.