Review: HTC 8X Windows Phone 8 handset
It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for HTC. Eighteen months ago it was the darling of smartphone manufacturers having reinvented itself from a maker of unbranded handsets for the likes of O2 to an outfit boasting some of the best Android smartphones around. HTC 8X Windows Phone 8 Platform alteration: HTC's 8X Windows Phone 8 …
This topic is closed for new posts.
I'm surprised HTC don't let you use Nokia maps. Even Nokia phones don't have that pre-loaded, for some reason. You get prompted to download that from a Nokia section of the Marketplace.
I hadn't realised the Maps app (which I guess is Bing Maps) wasn't sat-nav. It'll work out routes and traffic, but doesn't give voice directions. I'd not used it before, due to having Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive.
Nice to see MS have got rid of Zune though. I was quite rude about iTunes, as clunky, buggy and not always easy to use. Then I got WP7, and had to use Zune. Ugh! Nasty, messy interface, looks like it was written in Flash, back in the worst days of 2003 and slow. Makes iTunes look easy to use, and did I mention how sllllooowwwww it is?
Do HTC do the funky colours on any of their Android phones?
Zune was awful. Hope it stays dead.
Re maps, I can't tell the difference between Nokia Maps and Winphone Maps. I prefer to use the awesomeness that is OS Maps app. Especially with the 1920s layer, it's a bit fun / sad to stand at Terminal 3 and think you used to be in a farmyard pond. Nokia Drive needs to have the maps for regions downloaded, but I can testify that it works bloody well in rest-of-Europe and no data usage.
It surprised me too - I fully expected Nokia Drive to just be there. I reached out to HTC for clarification but got nothing back beyond that it may arrive down the line.
Al
PS...Just to clarify I wrote this review before Google broke the news about Exchange ActiveSync.
"I reached out to HTC for clarification..."
'Reached out' - From Salford, not San Francisco?
GRRR!
but...
There is a BIG plus with this phone from HTC
It doesn't come with Sense UI.
...we can all be joyful and happy at this news.
Now if they would just use that mentality on their Android devices I might buy one again.
Those tiles make me wanna puke
And I'm sure I'm not the 'minority' who thinks this way, as WP's grand total of 5% of global market share can attest to.
WP OS = no sale. I do not want Microsoft's turd ecosystem.
Re: Those tiles make me wanna puke
Market share comment - check
use of the word "turd" - check
posted for no reason other to slag something poster has no interest in - check
You are Barry Shitpeas. I found you. What do I win?
Strictly off topic
I suppose it might infringe somebody's privacy, but I wish yo'd identify where you took the photographs; I /know/ I know where that is, but I just can't bring it to mind. That's a Chesters coach, so it's very likely not too far from Manchester; but that's all I've got.
Re: Strictly off topic
Outside the Salford City Council offices in Swinton, Salford on the Chorley Road.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=manchester&ll=53.511509,-2.338962&spn=0.003669,0.009645&hnear=Manchester,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=53.511509,-2.338962&panoid=vyDNNiSdwG7uiL1vPr00Fg&cbp=12,194.03,,0,-0.7
Re: Strictly off topic
Many thanks, I can sleep now. Blimey, not been that way in years.
No Gorilla Glass? I like to just chuck my phone in my pocket. Don't want a case to bluk it up.
Is the glass as toughened, but just not Corning?
It's made from Corning Gorilla Glass 2. I should have mentioned that.
Apologies
Thanks for following up, a bit late to say so now maybe, but thanks anyway.
USB Mass Storage
It doesn't do USB Mass Storage, it uses MTP.
MTP abstracts the filesystem of the device so that the OS doesn't need to support the filesystem in question.
MTP's big disadvantage is Mac OSX doesn't support it, which is slightly annoying but then probably a minority of users.
Win Pho - 1/10
Ugly UI. Insecure OS. Closed walled garden system.
The market has already rejected Win Pho - and it will continue to reject it. It rejected Win Pho 7 and it will reject Win Pho 8. The market is even rejecting Windows 8 on non-phone platform. the main reason? People do not want Metro. Secondly they don't want windows on their most-personal computers, their phones and tablets. Thirdly - 3rd rate apps.
Re: Win Pho - 1/10
Ah, the guru has spoken. We no longer need to worry about our tech choices. Eadon has gazed into his crystal ball, and told us what the future will bring.
Re: Win Pho - 1/10
@I ain't Spartacus - kudos for having the guts to reply to me with a handle instead of the usual AC's. However, as usual, you do not deal with my logic, you attack me personally.
Re: Win Pho - 1/10
Ugly UI - yet to see a 'droid that impresses or isn't an iPhone rip-off. The iPhone is looking tired too (and I'm a tired iPhone user).
Insecure OS - Android is worse by virtue of the mis-use of appstores and social engineering. But you're somewhat bias against MS, so a little blinded by stereotypes of the desktop OS.
Closed, walled garden - one of the reasons why Android is less secure. Closed architecture has strength in security that open can never have. It's a choice of flexibility vs. security/reliability - there's no right or wrong answer here.
People haven't bought into WinMo as it was too late to the party. With iOS (with a competent but unevolving product) and Android (passable, but I'm not a Goigle fan and theres too many crap handsets out there for each decent one) both very established, squeezing out older platforms like Symbian and BlackBerry, MS were always likely to have a tough time in this market.
Keep ranting though - great comedy value.
Re: Win Pho - 1/10
The WP OS is much more secure than Android or IOS. Avanarde are busy installing WP as the handset of choice for a major bank for exactly that reason...
Re: Win Pho - 1/10
I'll address your points as I see them.
Ugly UI. That's subjective but I know what you mean. It has a very clinical feel to it with the use of one or two colours for most things.
Insecure OS. What do you base this on? WinPho8 is not Windows 8 even if they share kernel stuff. Has WinPho8 been subject to some widespread attack or virus / trojan that I've missed in the news?
Closed walled garden system. The bad with the good. It should improve security but it also means a waiting game for app developers who submit their changes, wait for approval and then if they fail have to go through the same approval process. I'd like to see an Android approach where you can install apps from unknown sources if you choose to but for now it is closed.
WinPho7 is not the same as WinPho8 in anything but looks. Performance across the board has improved, features and missing things that made me go "ugh!" originally with 7 are finally around. With that said there are still some glaringly annoying issues such as having ringtone volume linked to music / media volume. The market hasn't rejected it so much as avoided it because they're happy where they are and that's fine. The real problem is those that MS upset by keeping 8 on new phones only. Add in the competition from a possibly revived RIM (I do like the look of BB10) and it'll be a make or break year for MS and WinPho8.
HTC One X and 8X owner (California Blue)
I own two high end phones for both Android and Windows Phone 8. Being a firm fan of Android and HTC I took the 8X with a large amount of suspicion and curiosity. The hardware is undoubtedly solid and build quality from HTC has been improving massively over the past year to the point where I'd say they are either at the top or very near it. The big unknown was how I'd handle going from Android to Windows Phone 8.
I own a second-hand Samsung Omnia 7 so I knew roughly what the OS was about and how to get around things but there is still a lot that has changed. First impressions were a surprise to me because even though it is very familiar it felt like a different OS altogether. Snappy, no 4 - 5 second pauses while switching apps, loading apps or resuming background tasks like WinPho7. The app selection is still on the sparse side with some big hitters missing like official DropBox clients but it has improved with some really good Twitter clients. I'm sure it'll pick up over this year with the help of MS's marketing clout and developers.
At the time I got the Omnia 7 the best thing I could say is that WinPho7 had a lot of potential and with WinPho8 it feels like that has arrived. Unfortunately for MS I feel like it's what they should have released instead of 7 and many owners of older hardware will resent that MS didn't say they would be stuck on the 7.x OS until WinPho8 was almost ready to ship.
The phone itself is really nice. It has a sort of pillow shape, or half pillow shape anyway that feels great to hold with the matching HTC theme giving the tiles the look of continuing where the phone's colour leaves off. I was a bit underwhelmed by the One X's camera despite all the buzz words thrown about at the time but the 8X's camera feels, to me, a lot better. Noise is vastly improved, detail loss in lower / less than ideal light is better and sharpness is great. A hardware camera key is nice and one of the things I miss on Android.
In summary if you aren't heavily invested in iOS or Android it's well worth a look. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that will jump on the bandwagon and bash it for what it isn't rather than what it is and that's a shame. The review here is pretty similar to my own thoughts really.
"MTP's big disadvantage is Mac OSX doesn't support it, which is slightly annoying but then probably a minority of users."
My contract is up tomorrow, and I'm on the verge of selecting a new phone. Presently a Mac user, though for how long is not certain, but I think this has just killed this phone for me.
This topic is closed for new posts.
