HTC outs Jelly Bean running One X revamp

HTC has updated its One X smartphone, pledging the handset will be faster, more capacious and run for a longer duration. The new model, the One X+, comes equipped with a 1.7GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 chip, making it 27 per cent faster than the One X, HTC claimed. HTC One X+ Despite the faster processor, the new phone's battery life …

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean...

... it now crashes 27% more quickly than before? My HTC One X is the worst handset I've ever owned. The ability to keep a network signal is abominable, and when it does lose it, a reboot is usually required; attempting to connect to your home network usually results in an error, and scanning for all available networks will sometimes find your home network, but then report your SIM doesn't allow a connection to it.

My advice: Steer well clear.

[The Baron]

Re: Does this mean...

I'm sorry to hear about your poor experience, but just to prove that one anecdote doesn't make a dataset, I have to say that my HTC One X is by far the best handset I've ever owned. It consistently finds and maintains a strong network signal, and has only needed to be rebooted once in four months; it connects instantly to my home wifi, from further away than my previous Desire HD or other folks' iPhones manage; and it has given me no SIM-related grief whatsoever. The only problem I thought it had was short battery life, but I eventually traced that to a desperately overenthusiastic weather app, so everything now works superbly.

My advice: Get one. Or get an SIII, or an iPhone, or whatever you prefer really; they all seem quite decent in their own ways.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Does this mean...

based on a sample of 2 then, the conclusion is...

meh

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Does this mean...

Very fair comments. If I'm on a wi-fi connection at home, it is a stunning piece of kit. Sadly, my experience of trying to use packet data on 2/3G networks is enough to ruin it for me. And indoor reception is apalling. I suppose I could try a replacement unit, but I have a strong suspicion the flaws in the radio hardware and stack go deeper than a one-off.

[Miek]

Re: Does this mean...

@AC

"Sadly, my experience of trying to use packet data on 2/3G networks is enough to ruin it for me." -- that would be your network provider's fault. Having (tried) to use packet data in the UK and failed, I found a perfect H+ connection, in France, in the middle of the mountains. Apparently, the French version of Vodafone can actually provide connectivity for packet data.

A quick* test with the speedtest.net android app produces the following results:

Ping: 1368ms

DL: 17kbps

UL: 29kbps

*anything but quick, I was unable to complete the test several times and it took ages to actually get a full result.

[Gerard Krupa]

Re: Does this mean...

I'm connected to 3 in the UK and while my results aren't exactly stellar for HSPA+, I get a reasonably consistent 3Mb/s down and 1Mb/s up with a ping of 70-150ms, all of this while tethering to a HTC One X indoors albeit in a central location in one of the UK's capital cities. I also had the signal dropping issue (and I also often had to reboot to restore signal - airplane mode wasn't enough) but since installing the 4.0.4 update the problem has disappeared.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Does this mean...

Alternative advice: Wait until this model is released and see how its first crop of users get on with it. Compare its price and features against your own personal requirements, desires and budget, and likewise for competing handsets.

It has been known for a newer version of a product to fix faults seen it is previous incarnation.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Does this mean...

Posting from a one x here, great phone, battery lasts all day with good usage browsing el reg etc frequently. Lasts about 4hours on max brightness playing minecraft though, think that's the app more than the phone.

Only real issue I had was a graphics glitch on release and that was fixed in a patch.

Would definitely recommend.

[Ben Harris]

Re: Does this mean...

My One X used to have the same signal dropping requiring a reboot (or airplane mode toggle) in order to connect to the network again problem. The update to Android 4.0.4 resolved it for me though.

[Anonymous Coward]

My love affair

With HTC ended when I took delivery of the One X. Having to charge it twice a day to keep up with just phone calls.

I suppose the new one has better battery life but the whole operating system is just not optimised on this phone. Even with the processor it still stutters.

HTC might want to take more care, especially when the new competition arrives.

[Anonymous Coward]

Reboots?

All these comments about having to reboot, once twice, all the time to get any performance out of the phones.

I had the same problems, with a Hero, Desire, Sensation and the One, but found a solution.

I bought an iPhone 4S, it is never switched off, ever, charged and used as necessary and has never needed a reboot in the last year except for the upgrade to iOS 6. Which incidentally was done the same day the phone came out with no waiting for the manufacturer or service provider to pass on the update. It took 15 minutes and was entirely pain free. I am a little put out by the quality of Apple Maps as my place of abode does not exist but hey, it just works.

[LarsG]

Re: Reboots?

Smug but true.

[Richard 12]

Re: Reboots?

This iPhone has needed rebooting about once or twice a month to make it connect to wifi or cellular data, and Safari crashed regularly under iOS 5 - usually while writing a comment on this very site.

To be fair, Safari does seem more reliable in iOS 6.

Basically they're all a bit crap sometimes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Does this mean...

Tphe's right, One X is an absolute piece if shit.

I tried, tried real hard, to use it for 3 months and finally I gave up.

Now I'm again using my iPhone 3GS (Yes, it's battery life sucks just like One X', but at least it doesn't crash and it works properly). I gave One X to my wife. She is happy with it as it has a larger screen than the crappy phone she had before.

As for me I am waiting to see if Apple will fix its maps, then I may buy iPhone 5.

Stay away from One X. I hope HTC goes bust.

[A J Stiles]

What about .....

..... an update for the Desire HD?

Still running Gingerbread here.

[Piro]

Re: What about .....

Yeah, they said that's not going to happen, even after they initially promised it would.

You need to head to xda-developers or.. well, that's it, really.

[Ilgaz]

Re: What about .....

Couple of brain dead, old school suits at Taiwan think you will upgrade to "one" if they abandon your device and if they release update, you won't.

As, you can't say "ooh, really?" and upgrade to another brand.

Idiots, what else?

[Piro]

Re: What about .....

As you say, the thinking behind that makes no sense, however, because most people's phones are tied to contracts, so when it's up, they get a new phone. Will they go with the manufacturer who failed to support their device? No.

I bought my Desire HD second hand off ebay and after some xda-dev magic, rooted, unlocked and so on, updated radio and custom ROM later, it's a perfectly decent device. Even lasts a decent amount of time on that tiny battery, and I love that solid "ingot of aluminium" feel.

But with there being no official upgrade, I do feel snubbed somewhat, and don't feel any loyalty to HTC.

[Oddbin]

This strikes me as HTC returning to making a good phone then releasing 3-4 versions of that phone over the next 6 months all with the same name but with one letter or symbol added therefore diluting down their offerings and confusing the average consumer as to which is best. Also adds to the nightmare for software updates. That's what got HTC in the financial mess it was/is in.

[Anonymous Coward]

People really struggle with the iPhone line up? Which has been adding/removing a letter and iterating a number for quite a few years now, which if HTC doesn't over flood their offerings shouldn't be a problem.

If, for example they did One X, One X +, Two X... (not saying it will go that way).... is it hard to work out which one is the best?

[Benchops]

hard to work out which one is the best?

There's only one way to find out....

[FordPrefect]

I have a HTC One X and if I could leave it plugged into the mains all day its an excellent phone. However if I am out and about and dare to actually use it the battery is dead before I get home again. In my mind its unacceptable to have a mobile that cant last from about 8am to 6pm if you use it for about an hour to play games/browse the web/email/facebook etc. For this reason I have ordered a samsung galaxy Note II it strikes me that the battery in the one X was a major design flaw and I wont be buying another HTC anytime soon as they dont even admit to the problem.

[Alister]

Given that they have just announced a new larger battery pack on this new version, then I suggest they have acknowledged there is a problem?

[Anonymous Coward 101]

From your description, that sounds like a kernel wakelock bug with the software. My Samsung Note was plagued with them until the 4.0.4 software came out. Ordinarily, the phone used about 0.5% of battery life per hour when on standby, but this would rise to about 5% an hour when it decided to play silly beggars for no reason. Only restarting would fix it. The 'Better Battery Stats' app showed me what was happening.

[Jim Coleman]

So...

...can we get rid of Android and install WP8?

(Fandroids should see what I did there)

[Piro]

Re: So...

Yes, HTC are releasing phones very similar for WP8.

[Anonymous Coward]

4.7 more hours of conversation

"the new phone's battery life when you're talking is 37 per cent greater - the equivalent of 4.7 more hours of conversation"

That alludes to conversation with the phone switched off surely?

[ComfortablyNumb]

Hmmm

Some interesting user experiences, mine was one of the very first batch, and suffered with the antenna fault - since that's been fixed, I have no issues with it at all. The battery lasts a full day with ease with lots of browsing, texting, and a bit of calling. I'm yet to find anything that the processor can't handle, and 32GB of storage has proved plenty, despite my initial dismay at the thought of not having a microSD slot.

It doesn't crash any more (although it took HTC 2 updates to fix that for me), has 5 bars indoors when iPhone owning friends need to go outside to make a call, and my data transfer rates on 3G are pretty good (5mbps down/2 up where I am sat right now)

The only thing in the new offering that I'd be interested in is Jellybean - I'd much rather HTC got on with releasing that for the existing One X rather than releasing an incremental update that offers nothing much new!

[tommy060289]

looks like a really great piece of kit

The HTC Desire X was the one phone that was tempting me away from an iPhone 5. Unfortunately, it lost out on the basis that 32 GB of storage isnt enough for my needs (and isnt expandable) and the battery was a bit pathetic!

If this was out a few weeks ago I'd have certainly had a lot more difficult choice!

[doug johnston]

Bluetooth not backwards compatible

My One X is 2 months old, i did not see this upgrade coming!

It hangs/crashes in spates - several times in a day then nothing for a few days. Battery will last day on phone use only but putting wifi or bluetooth on drops that and screen brightness needs to be minimum possible.

Worst of all I cannot use it with bluetooth system in my new citroen as the older protocols it has installed are not compatible with those on One X. Mr previous sensation XE worked OK.

[Rob Thorley]

HTC Changing Strategy Again?

I thought HTC had decided they were going to release a set of phones (One X, One S, and One V) and concentrate on those?

And now they're releasing a new phone instead of updating their existing range?

I've had my One X since O2's release day, and I love it. If I could get a bit more battery life, that would be great, so I could go 36 hrs on one charge.

4.1 should not be too much of a change from 4.0.4, but still, where is their focus?

[clockwork.satam]

By crivvens!

Hey guys, this is my first post on these hallowed forums, but the amount of negative things said about the One X has prompted me to get my opinion out there.

I've had my One X for a couple of months now and although I'm a little miffed that HTC have seen fit to release a turbocharged version of it so soon, the original One X is still a mighty beast of a smartphone and is without the best phone I've ever had. It's super quick, has an AMAZING screen and does everything I could want it to do without any problems.

Being a regular visitor of the XDA forums I've rooted and modded my one within an inch of its life, so that its running a streamlined version of ICS and NEVER hangs, crashes or misbehaves. I'm quite surprised to hear that so many people have evidently stayed with the standard firmware and ROM - I don't see the point of leaving an Android device unfettled with. If you want something the will be shiny and swishy and easy to use, join the mindless masses and buy an iPhone - if you want to mod, play with and generally fart about with a great phone that has got some unbelievable capabilities, stick with the One X. Hug it, play with it and tinker with it and you'll reap the rewards.