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.
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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.
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yankeeDDL - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
Wow. This is the first time in ... what, 7? 8 years? ... since I read AnandTech, that I am disappointed about a review.I mean, what is this? Really? "A bit more editorial?" Is this a polite way to say that "objectivity" stays out of the door?
Come on: the whole idea of a smartphone is to be able to use whatever app will increase its usefulness, productivity, or fun.
If you need a phone to make phone calls and update Facebook you don't need a "smart"phone, or at least not one that sets you back $450!
Yes, the lackluster app store is a chicken and egg problem: if you don't buy a phone devs won't have incentives to develop apps and it'll never work.
But has anyone looked at the Windows Phone store? Top photo app "Photofunia"? Seriously?
Top free game: "Ragdoll run"?
Come on, I have tons of fun free games from my kids on my Android to keep them entertained when we travel. I have several books to read on the go (I prefer a larger phone than having to bring a phone and a tablet ... but that's just me).
Personally, I would love to see some key benefit of using Windows' platform (screen expansion, live VNC, remote execution, ...), but rather than leveraging on existing Windows desktop ecosystem, Microsoft has created a the Windows Phone platform from scratch, and what's worse, is that it is showing it down the desktop as well, killing what it had already going.
JPDVM2014 - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
So, you are saying that since the top free apps in two categories are something you don't think are fun or worthwhile, that this review is disappointing? Also, I believe that "editorial" does mean a certain amount of objectivity goes away. It is a personal opinion after all. I use a WP, and have tons of free games, and books to read on the go, so it must be just as good as android, right?yankeeDDL - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
No, I am not. I didn't want to bother listing all the top free apps on every single category, but I mentioned two that go a long way in Android and iOS in terms of popularity (Instagram? CameraZoon? PaperPhoto?).Instagram is a (was a?) booming social app for crying out loud.
But again, I only wanted to say that the apps market is a deserted land, IMHO.
That doesn't mean that someone can't find what is looking for but still, that does not change the fact that the offer/quality is abysmal compared to Andoid and iOS.
For me this is an enormous deal.
The article didn't even mention that Google went as far as negating WP support for most of his Apps, at least for now.
I don't know you but I normally buy a phone planning to use it for 3~4 years or more: the thought of being locked into a sub-par apps market when there are two glaring alternatives seems a no brainer to me.
Which goes back to my comment: I am sure there are plenty of people that prefer to use their smartphone more like a "dumb phone". Snap shome photo, call people and that's about it. Then I really don't see WP8 having any real limitations, but would it be worth the price? I say no, and that's my opinion.
DukeN - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
I probably use Gmail and Google Maps the most out of just about any set of apps.How is the experience on WP8?
(assuming the standard apps like ScoreMobile, Netflix, Kijiji, are available..)
s44 - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
Not so great, mostly because Google isn't interested in boosting WP8.El Goog is cutting off the Exchange connector for new devices of non-paying Gmail users this week, so you won't get push until/unless MS implements IMAP idle (probably in another OS release that requires entirely new phones)...
As for Maps, there's no official app, and mobile IE doesn't play terribly well with the mobile site (Microsoft proprietary vs. Webkit).
zilexa - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
Thanks for this article, very nice and pleasant to read.I fell in love with the Lumia 920. But its rocky release was bad.. and availability was worse. Now it's finally in stores and I tested one in the store. Way too big. I don't mind the weight, optical stabilization is actually an outcome for me so the extra weight is the price you pay.
But overall it's huge.
if there was a smaller version with the same high end features, would be a big hit.
Not like the 820, it's just lacks the good looks (I even think its ugly) and has a bad resolution: screen too big for such a resolution, definitely for a 2013 phone, which it is!
prdola0 - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
I have to say it again - why does Apple very time get shiny nice photos of their products and EVERYONE else is getting these terrible, crappy pictures like the one in the articles overview and in the article? This phone looks really nice in reality. Even small tech websites have better and higher quality pictures without all that dirt and fingerprints. Why not you?I've been trying to be polite, but never got an answer before. But now I have to say it straight - Anandtech is BIASED.
Dustin Sklavos - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
Actually, it's a much more mundane and probably disappointing answer for you.Anand has the space and the equipment to take stellar photos, and he's the one that usually reviews the Apple products. I don't (though I do need to buy a new backdrop, admittedly).
prdola0 - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
Well then it is biased. Since one vendor gets in fact better treatment, it's quite unfair for the others, even if unintended. Why not send the gear to Anand for taking pictures after you're done with the review?crispbp04 - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
I'm confused on the part talking about not supporting multiple calendars. I have multiple calendars working just fine. Facebook, Live, Exchange, and Outlook.com all integrate fine and I can pick and choose my calendars. Maybe it's a limitation of google calendars? It could be due to a 3rd party and not the fault of msft.