HTC has redefined itself with its two new offerings – the 8X and the 8S. While 8S is a low-end smartphone, 8X marks a complete shift in terms of design and features from the older HTC handsets like Titan and Radar. The 8X fully utilizes the capabilities of the Windows Phone 8 operating system and comes out as a winner both in terms of offering its rivals tough competition and its awesome hardware-software tuning.
The HTC 8X is a touchscreen phone that is powered by the latest Windows Phone 8 and fully optimized for it. The phone’s chassis has a striking design very unlike its previous models like the One X. This time around HTC has adopted a more streamlined design with defined edges that curve indiscernibly around the corners. All four sides of the handset also peter out from front to back thereby lending the device a classy appearance that is further complemented by its smooth matte finish on the rear.
The 8X is available in two colors – graphite black and California blue. As compared to its chief rival in the smartphone market, the Nokia Lumia 920, the HTC 8X feels extremely light to hold. Typical of most devices these days, the right hand side of the 8X houses the camera as well as the volume buttons while the power on/off button resides at the top edge.
Key Features of HTC 8X:
- It measures 132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12 mm (H x W x D) and weighs 130g.
- It’s powered by a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 CPU.
- The built-in memory is 16GB. However, there is no microSD slot for extra memory.
- Its 4.3 inch screen boasts a display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
- The phone has a RAM of 1GB.
Its 4.3-inch screen size is big enough if not the biggest available in a Windows Phone today. But it is the 8X’s screen resolution that takes the cake. With a density of 341 pixels per inch, the smartphone offers perhaps the most defined display amongst all devices powered by Windows Phone 8. Complementing this high-res display is its LCD 2 panel screen which brightens any image and makes for a crystal-clear picture quality.
However the red font on a dark background that the phone displays by default may be problematic for some and prompt them to switch to another color.
As far as the phone’s cameras are concerned, the rear camera is a tad bit less remarkable than Lumia 920 but the front facing camera is a delight to shoot self portraits with. The 2.1 megapixel front camera on the 8X has a pretty wide frame and also shoots videos.
The HTC 8X’s only shortcoming seems to be related to its memory capacity. Other than the fact that it offers a smallish 16GB storage that actually boils down to 14.56GB for actual use, it also provides no microSD expansion slot for those who may need additional media storage.