From Mango to Apollo: The HTC Windows Phone 8X on the Daily
by Dustin Sklavos on January 28, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- windows phone 8
- Windows Phone 8X
- HTC 8X
Conclusion
Despite the moderate shortcomings of Microsoft's platform, due at least substantially to its relative youth, I can't help but continue to be bullish on Windows Phone. It's still very clearly an also-ran despite the sometimes brilliant innovations and design at its core, but it also suffers from having to build its brand essentially from the ground up. I'm not entirely convinced this is the platform for gamers or serious power users, and I think the fact that I'm the only AnandTech editor using Windows Phone as their daily driver is telling.
I absolutely think Windows Phone is one of the best options, if not the best option, for the average consumer that wants a fairly robust smartphone, though. That's only further solidified by the additions in WP8. Of all the people I've shown WP8 to, only one has actually disliked it. For most users, Microsoft has effectively out-Apple'd Apple in producing an experience that's easy to use and easy to understand. For me, personally, WP7.5 and now WP8 aren't just adequate for my daily use, they're perfect for it. The social media integration in Windows Phone is absolutely fantastic, and the operating system is a joy to use.
With WP8, Microsoft has also brought the hardware up to where it needs to be. The HTC Windows Phone 8X isn't some bargain basement phone; this is a modern handset with a dual-core SoC from Qualcomm, a reasonably fast GPU, a healthy amount of memory, a beautiful 720p display, and overall excellent industrial design. It has all the modern bells and whistles but LTE (available on the MSM8960 version), including front and rear-facing cameras (complete with Skype support), dual band Wi-Fi, and an NFC radio.
.jpg)
Two problems face Microsoft at this point. I feel like the Windows Phone experience is solid enough that it can sell itself just by getting the phones into peoples hands, so long as they're willing to keep an open mind and not immediately just think "oh, well it's not an iPhone" or "oh, well it's not Android." That's a tough thing to do, but those "swing state voters" are out there in great enough abundance to make a difference.
The other problem is the lack of a solid app ecosystem, and this is something that looks to be improving by the day. Microsoft is throwing a lot more weight behind WP8 than they did behind WP7 because they need it to be successful, and while I think gaming may be a reoccurring problem, popular services are liable to start appearing on the platform with greater and greater frequency.
Ultimately I would recommend both Windows Phone 8 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X without hesitation to the vast majority of users. Users stuck in Apple's ecosystem might have a hard time migrating, but Google users will only have to sacrifice some of their apps; Microsoft has done a lot to integrate outside services and streamline them with their own. If you're already on Windows Phone 7.5, I'm sorry you got hosed, but this is a worthwhile jump to make and a much safer one. Windows Phone 7 was Microsoft getting their foot in the door, but 8 is the chosen one. You'll get a better phone, a better operating system, better support, and a better collection of apps available.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
117 Comments
View All Comments
rex251 - Thursday, January 31, 2013 - link
I had HTC 8X for few days, couldn´t stand it any more, had some freezing screen issues, I don´t blame MS for that , but for things below I do blame MS.I just can´t stand simple little things get ignored from MS for three years (or more) in development of wp os.
1) if you bundle MS Office, I would expect best possible support for native MS Office documents, not been able to open password protected word document created in PC MS Office is just not acceptable
2) if there are three little buttons on the bottom of the phone, and one little button has symbol for search, why do you think Microsoft that I would like to use this button only for Bing search and not use it for searching my current application (like for instance contacts app, or mail app), why only Bing?????
3) when I am in phone app, and I try search for a contact, why do you Microsoft think I am only interested in searching my recent contact list, and not all my contacts, is this so damn hard thing to understand
4) when I see picture on tile (e.g. pictures app), I would really like to open that picture in that particular moment Microsoft, I really would, maybe live tile reminded me on my poor childhood and i didn´t saw this picture for years, why I am not able to open this particular picture Microsoft, why????
This is enough for know MS, see you in 2 years maybe if you´ll still be around.
JoanSpark - Friday, February 1, 2013 - link
just had the joy of setting up a mobile (Nokia Lumia 620) with Win phone 8.Coming from a Nokia N9 with Meego I got some findings..
pro of Win 8 vs. Meego:
- different sizes for live tiles/app buttons
cons of Win 8 vs. Meego:
- no clock when screen is shut off (very shitty, don't want to switch the phone on just to read the time)
- double tapping the screen doesn't bring the lock screen up (only pressing the button does, how last century)
- can't change the color of single live tiles nor their symbols (contact live tile is changing checker texture if sized bigger than 1x1 all the time which is disturbing)
- phone status (reception, battery) vanish after 30 secs (I live in a fringe area, this is important)
- closing apps and changing between them is not as convenient/intuitive as with Meego
I also miss a setting that would allow to have 3 tiles spaced horizontally on the screen, instead of either 4 or 2. The small tiles are too close together for error free usage and the bigger tiles take up too much space.
Wolfpup - Thursday, February 21, 2013 - link
I used Windows Phone 7 briefly on a Nokia, and largely thought it was pretty great in a lot of ways. I'd love to give this a shot!Some random thoughts though:
-These things need a way to manage installed programs from a PC. I think Windows Phone and Android you're just just redownloading (potentially huge) programs if you delete them or need to reinstall on a different device? I like Apple's approach...you CAN do that, but you can (and should) manage it from a PC.
-The search button...it's one of the three prominent buttons on the device, and as near as I can tell, it's next to useless. I do not understand it. When I click "search" I expect it's going to search THE DEVICE either globally or within the current program-preferably with an easy way to toggle one or the other. That's crazy obvious, only WP7.5 and 8 inexplicably just use that button to trigger Bing? I wouldn't mind optional web searches from a device search, but I'd want that listed AFTER the local content, with a way to disable it. It feels ridiculous to dedicate a prominent button to a web search...I want to do that from a web browser.
-I'd like some easy way to control screen rotation, like in iOS...
sarahjordan - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - link
Opportunity .. Adobe international company offering free download original version of the programExclusive: adobe Company has programs for free on his official website rushed to free download with serial on Win and Mac
The names of products adobe download for free:
- Creative Suite 2- Acrobat 3D 1.0 for Windows
- Acrobat Standard 7.0
- Acrobat Pro 7.0
- After Effects
- Audition 3.0
- GoLive CS2
- Illustrator CS2
- InCopy CS2
- InDesign CS2
- Photoshop CS2
- Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0
For download, please click to enter the website:
http://www.proshop.im/2013/03/free-photoshop-downl...
naynesh_shah - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - link
Does HTC 8 X Support Java ? I find without java support , mobile banking will , Train tkt etc will not work. Is there a way ?naynesh_shah - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - link
is there a way to run java applications like mobile banking , train tkt resevation etc on HTC 8 X?I understand that it does not support java. in that case it will be Big Mistake to BUY HTC 8 X.
pl help at naynesh_shah@hotmail.com
znender - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I had the HTC 8X for a few weeks but ultimately sold it for an Android device instead.The thing that I couldn't stand was the multitasking interaction for WP8.
If you get out of an app and onto the Home screen then tap on the app, it'll reopen the app and reload any data with the annoying loading screen. If you use the back button to access multitasking screen and select the app, the app will load but freeze for a bit before the app is useable. Not seamless at all. And it'll start showing loading data from the web.