Our friends over at HTC have sent us the AT&T HTC One X for us to review. This the flagship device of the new HTC One series. The One series as of now has 3 device, the One V, One S, and the One X. No carrier has in the US has announced that they will be getting the One V as of yet. However, the One S is for T-Mobile and the One X is for AT&T. To start off I just want to say that HTC did a great job with the design of this device, a complete uni-body design. And it looks absolutely stunning, once you get your hands-on it. However, does the rest of the phone live up to all of the hype? We will answer that in the full review, which begins now!

Design

As I mentioned before the design of the HTC One X is amazing. It comes in either gray or white, I am testing out the white version of the device. The One X comes in a just .36 inches thick, making it super thin and one of the thinnest devices on the market. And it is super light at just 4.6 ounces. The devices main body is white all around. The screen has black going around it, and it is black around and behind the touch-capacitve buttons. Around the amazing 8 mega-pixel camera on the back you have a sliver rim going around it. The LED flash is located on the outer rings of the rim. The HTC logo is silver on the back, and the letters themselves are a bit lower than the white surface. On the bottom right hand corner you have the contacts for the docking station. On the back towards the bottom you have your serial and model numbers, the “beats audio” logo, and the speaker. Since it is a complete uni-body design, the holes for the speakers were cut out by a laser. This same technology was used to create the ear piece on the front. On the top of the device you have a headphone jack, sim card slot, microphone and sleep button.  Above the screen you have the earpiece, AT&T logo, and the 1.3 mega-pixel front facing camera. Under the screen you have the back, home, and menu touch-capacitve buttons. On the bottom of the device you have another microphone, the 2(two) microphones work together to give you crystal clear sound while using the phone. On the left hand side you have the micro USB port, there is no door over the port and it gives it a nice and clean look. The right hand side is home to your volume rocker, this has the same white color as the phone and is slightly raised, that way you can use the buttons. Keep in mind that the device is also slightly curved, this makes it more comfortable in the hand.

Camera

The HTC One X has an amazing back camera. This both thanks to the camera itself and the great camera application that has been updated thanks to HTC Sense 4.0 . Let’s begin with the camera application. For starters it has a couple more buttons than you are normally used too. You now have both a camera shutter button and video record button both available at the same time. This way you can start recording or snap the photo as soon as the application is open. I wish that HTC put a dedicated shutter and record button on the side of the device, like the one’s found on the HTC Amaze 4G. However, they decided not to include these, one can only hope that they add it in for the next generation. Above the record and shutter buttons you will find the different effects button, it looks like a clear magnifying lens. You can choose no effect, distortion, vignette, depth of field, dots, mono, country vintage, vintage warm, vintage cold, grayscale, sepia, negative, solarize, posterize, and aqua. HTC has given you a plethora of effects to add to your photos and videos. Under the record and shutter button you can go directly into your gallery. Going across the bottom you have your zoom options. You then have the letter “A” which opens up to a menu that allows you to, make a slow motion video, shoot in auto, HDR, panorama, portrait, group portrait, landscape whiteboard, close-up, and low light. Then you have your settings menu where you can choose which camera to use, change the resolution, turn-on the self timer, change the video quality, change the ISO/White Balance, and many more options. You then have the flash options which are on, off, and auto. By changing the options in all of the menus you can find the perfect setting for your photo. Now, let’s talk about the camera itself, it is an 8 mega-pixel camera with HTC Image Sense. It also features an LED flash to the side of it. Now, keep in mind that HTC Image Sense is both the camera application and some of the technologies inside of this camera. To make sure it takes those photos quickly and processes them easily as fast, HTC has put in the One X the “HTC Image Chip”. This is another chip that is here to help the camera out, and the results with this are amazing. Your image resolution is 3264 X 1840, this makes for a beautiful image that looks good not just on the phone but, also on a larger device. The HDR mode will give you even better looking images, so be sure to check it out. Video recording is in full HD, so the quality of the video on this device is amazing. One other great feature is the ability to record video and take photos at the same time. This way you never miss the moment, for instance want to record someone blowing out the candles on their birthday cake and also get the photo? Well, with the HTC One X you can. Want to see it for yourself? Check out the NJTechReviews HTC One X Camera Test below, we show off video recording and all of the different effects that come on this device! Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below! Overall, HTC worked insanely hard on this camera and boy did it pay off.

AT&T HTC One X Camera Test

Hardware And AT&T Network Performance

The AT&T HTC One X doesn’t just have a great camera, it has some awesome hardware as well. For starters you get a gorgeous 4.7 inch, 720p HD super LCD screen with  contoured 3-D Corning Gorilla Glass. The screen is great, we are talking amazing viewing angles that still give you the same great quality as when you are looking head on. This allow features some of the newest technologies from Gorilla Glass. The quality of the screen on the One X is also the same as that 720pHD TV that you have in your house. And in my opinion it looks better than the display on the Galaxy Nexus. Now, on to speed this device both has speed from the network and from its processor. The overseas version features a Quad-Core Processor, but since the AT&T One X has LTE it only gets a  1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM. Now, the device is quite fast so there is nothing bad about having a Dual-Core processor. In fact this is one of the fastest devices that I have played with. Applications and the operating system run very smoothly on this device. The 1.5GHz Dual-Core Processor and 1GB of RAM give it plenty of speed. Hears where it could be better, as we all know AT&T is still launching their 4G LTE network. Now, while this device is 4G LTE enabled, 4G LTE from AT&T is currently only launched in a hands-full of locations. So, if you’re not covered you will get AT&T’s “4G” HSPA+ network, which is not exactly 4G, but will give you speeds faster than 3G or on the higher end. At least it is usually for the download speed, this was not always the case for upload speeds. You can see our speed tests here:

NJTechReviews AT&T HTC One X Speed Test

• Ping 55ms, Download 1.31Mbps, Upload .57Mbps
• Ping 82ms, Download .52Mbps, Upload .53MBps
• Ping 106ms, Download 2.77Mbps, Upload .09Mbps

I wish I could be showing you a better speed test, but this is what we were able to get with the AT&T HTC One X. And for the most part we were running on 4 or 5 bars, but keep in mind that this is not 4G LTE. This is AT&T’s “4G” HSPA+ Network, and in our area we were not getting fast speeds. Keep in mind that in your area AT&T may have faster “4G” HSPA+ and their 4G LTE Network may be launched. Now, we move onto one of the bad things on the One X. There is no expandable storage on the One X what so ever, in fact only the micro SIM is allowed to be removed. The back does not come off, so the  1800 mAh lithium-ion battery does not come out either. However, inside it has 16GB of internal storage, but to help make it better HTC has partnered with Dropbox. When you get the HTC One X you will get 25GB of free cloud storage in Dropbox, thanks to this partnership. Overall, 16GB should be enough for the regular Android user. Speaking of the 1800 mAh lithium-ion battery, it did get us through the day. This is always a good sign, and it was a pretty average day full of phone calls, messages, photo taking, checking social networks and email, and more. Everything that a normal user would do on this phone. Just remember to charge the device over night, that way it will last the day. Overall, the hardware on the HTC One X is great and makes the phone a powerhouse!

Software: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich And HTC Sense 4.0

Finally a new Android device that is running 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, no longer do we have to wait for an update. And to add to the enjoyment of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, you get HTC Sense 4.0 . This is in my point of view the best user interface available for Android. HTC Sense has always been one of the best user interfaces and 4.0 just brings more great features. You will notice differences right when you see the unlock screen. You can now drag any of the pre-set applications, and open them immediately. So in a way if you have the camera application there, it makes up for not having a dedicated shutter and record button. Once you are in you will fall in love with all of the new personalization options. The famous weather and clock widget is till there, and has new and some revamped friends that are now available. If you go into personalize you will see all of the different theme and backgrounds that you can choose from. Overall, it makes for a great user interface and In my opinion the best on the market. The other great thing about this device is the speed. Even though we don’t have a quad-core processor, like the overseas version the 1.5GHz Dual-Core Processor and 1GB of RAM give the HTC One X more than enough speed. During my testing i had no delays what so ever, and the new multitasking mode was flying. You have the menu button which will let you scroll through all of the different recent applications and the ones you have open. This is by far the best multitasking experience I have seen on an Android device. It works very well and it is super easy to use. I really have to hand it to HTC for the awesome user interface. Now, there are not that many pre-loaded applications. You get the AT&T App Suite, Google App Suite, Amazon Kindle, Twitter, Facebook, Device Help, Movie Editor, HTC Watch, Play Store, MOG, Facebook Messenger, YP Mobile, Top HD Games, and more. Overall, HTC did a great job on the software and it is the best user interface that I have played around with yet.

Bottom Line

The AT&T HTC One X is a phenomenal smartphone, and is most certainly one of the best on the market. And in my opinion it is the best smartphone on AT&T’s network, as of now. We all thought that the LG Nitro HD was the king of the smartphone camera, well now the One X gets that honor with it’s amazing 8 megapixel back camera that has HTC Image Sense. I certainly hope that Image Sense is included on all future smartphones from HTC as well. You also get an Android 4.0 and HTC Sense 4 right out of the box, no more waiting for upgrades. An amazing display, yes you get a .7 inch, 720p HD super LCD screen with  contoured 3-D Corning Gorilla Glass. And for speed you get AT&T 4G LTE (where available) and a 1.5GHz Dual-Core processor with 1GB of RAM. The only issue is here is that it does not have expandable memory, but in the next generation it should be there. It also has a sexy and slim design, that will win everyone’s heart over. There is no reason why you should not consider this device, if you are planning on upgrading or getting a new device on AT&T. And the price is not that bad for this device. It will cost only $199.99 with a 2-year contract or $549.99 with no contract. You can get in your choice of either white or gray, I tested out the white version and feel in love with it. The AT&T HTC One X will be landing on May 6, 2012 but, it is available for pre-order. For More Info On The AT&T HTC One X, Please Click Here. We would like to thank HTC for providing us with a copy of the “AT&T HTC One X”. Be Sure To Let Us Know If You Get The AT&T HTC One X!