HTC One X+ users can look forward to pretty significant feature and performance improvements in the next few weeks as the Taiwanese OEM rolls out an update to Android 4.2.2 that brings Sense 5 and BlinkFeed.
The update adds to the HTC One X+ many of the features first experienced on the this year’s HTC One, including the homescreen news aggregation widget BlinkFeed, automatic video highlights, a new and improved lockscreen, a new music app, autofocus lock in the camera app and more.
All this is part of HTC Sense 5, the company’s relatively new and vastly improved user interface that has gained so much praise since the launch of the HTC One.
Battery endurance on the HTC One X+ is reportedly also improved thanks to a new sleep mode switch. Users can track the status of the battery easily by turning on the percentage battery meter in the status bar. Since this is Android 4.2.2, the Quick settings panel is also presents and can be accessed by a two-finger swipe down.
HTC is yet to reveal any more information regarding the HTC One S, which it previously said would be updated to Android 4.2 but has since cancelled its plans for the handset. The news that the HTC One S would not be updated was met with dissatisfaction by device owners and a petition is still underway to pressure HTC into changing its mind.
Good news for those with the HTC One X, One X+ and One S. HTC posted a note on Facebook that they plan on bringing the new Sense 5.0 to the devices. Timing is unknown and so are the specific Sense 5.0 features. HTC also stated that some of the features will appear, but not all. Most likely we’ll see BlinkFeed appear and hopefully parts of the new Zoe camera feature but not all, as the HTC One has upgraded camera technology onboard to support them.
[quote] HTC will be offering upgrades to some of its existing devices in the next few months, including global variants of HTC One X, One X+, One S and the HTC Butterfly. Also, note that some features enabled by the new HTC One hardware will not be available in the software updates.[/quote]
HTC recently introduced the revamped Sense interface in the form of Sense 5.0 along with HTC One smartphone. The interface is much lighter and cleaner than company’s previous Sense iterations.
We’ll bring you more details as soon as we get them.
HTC Sense 5.0 key features:
HTC Blinkfeed
Minimalist layout
Integration of TV control (won’t be coming to One X, X+, or Butterfly as there is no IR Blaster)
According to trusted source @evleaks, which has been spot on about every product it has spoken about, the upcoming HTC M7 will be coming to market merely as the HTC One.
This is just a rumour, so it’s far from definite. But @evleaks does have a good track record of breaking news before it’s official. And Peter Chou did shout “HTC One!” straight after “M7!” at the company do. Maybe he was referring to last year’s range of mobiles, or maybe he was giving us a hint of the M7’s new name.
The lack of a suffix would certainly give the impression that this new flagship handset is the One, rather than another One – a change in perception that beleaguered HTC definitely needs.
The HTC One/M7 is expected to bring a 4.7-inch, full HD 1080p display as well as Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and a new version of HTC’s Sense UI.
It’s likely that a Qualcomm 1.7GHz quad-core processor will be powering the device, with 2GB of RAM to keep everything speedy.
We’re looking forward to seeing what the HTC One has in store for us, including a new “ultrapixel” camera system
HTC is almost certain to unveil the device at special events in London and New York on February 19 so we’ll know for sure whether it truly is The One.
HTC has started rolling out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for its flagship phone HTC One X.
HTC One X owners in the UK, Russia, India, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and other areas should be able to download the update over-the-air now. And it should come to other regions imminently, according to a source at HTC.
If you haven’t yet seen an alert, head to Settings > Software Updates > Check Now. You should get a 1.6MB file, and then a whopping 364.54MB Android update.
So what does the update bring to your phone? The user interface is faster, with speedier switches of orientation from portrait to landscape. You’ll also be able to switch between apps faster. Face Unlock is more accurate than in previous versions, and you can swipe from the camera viewfinder to see your photos for review.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean also brings Google’s improved voice search, and Google Now, which provides you with information as and when you need it, based on your location, appointments and schedules.
HTC is bringing Jelly Bean to its 2012 suite of devices fairly soon. This is known, but the company outlined its plans for these, and earlier devices, today in a FAQ on its support site.
According to the Taiwanese company, the One X and One S will receive Android 4.1 with Sense 4+ first, likely by the end of this year, with other devices such as the Amaze, Sensation and Raider coming later. Devices with 512MB of RAM, which include the recently-released One V and Desire C, will not be upgraded to Jelly Bean, as they want to ”ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience.” Jelly Bean, with its Project Butter additions, requires more powerful graphics processing abilities than those two devices can offer.
[quote]We work hard to ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience and therefore some products will remain at their current version of Android. In general, devices with 512MB RAM or less will not be upgraded to Android 4.1. As we identify other devices that will not be upgraded, we’ll provide updated information.[/quote]
As for which devices will definitely get JB, HTC says they are prioritizing the update for the devices that were launched in 2012, then working their way back. The company has quite the portfolio to work through, and as you most likely already guessed, it could take quite some time before we see updates go live for the Rezound, EVO 3D, and other once-flagship devices.
When we first held the HTC One X+ (Plus), we really asked ourselves whether the phone is a worthy upgrade. Many companies make major design changes when launching new phones, whereas the One X+ only has added red accents.
So whats different what makes it more expensive?
For the HTC One X+ its whats under the hood that matters. The new faster chipset shocked us when we ran benchmarks, especially with quadrant standard. The HTC One X+ beats out any Quadrant Score with 7394 Score on a stock rom, thats mighty impressive.
For Nenamark2 the HTC One X+ benchmarks were really high as well, scoring an impressive fps.
Antutu Benchmark also scored a 5 star rating on the One X+
The international version of the HTC One X will be getting its Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update today, the same update that began rolling out for the AT&T version of the device just a short time ago.
HTC has announced, courtesy of Engadget, that the HTC One X’s Android 4.0.4 update will begin to roll out today and that it will be bringing a number of enhancements along with it.
Owners of the international HTC One X will now be able to map a menu function to the ‘recent app’ key in the lower right hand corner of the device. This will improve presentation in applications that currently do not support Ice Cream Sandwich. So obviously, this makes the button more useful than it already was.
The update will also new abilities to the device’s camera including white balance and continuous autofocus, both of which will be welcomed improvements.
HTC has also included a dedicated tab switching button in the browser to make it easier for owners to switch between tabs in the browser.
The update for the HTC One X will also bring better overall browsing, more stability to the device, and more. So, it’s a pretty substantial update and one that users will want to take advantage of as soon as they possibly can.
Of course, the update is not Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Google’s latest piece of mobile software that is all the rage right now in the Android world.
HTC has promised Android 4.1 for the HTC One XL, HTC One X, and the HTC One S at some point down the road but first, it needs to take care of some devices that are still limping their way to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Looks like we sprung a leak! It appears that Micromax is working on a new Android device that seems to resemble the HTC One X in construction, its evident inspecting the design renders we got our hands on. The above image is of Micromax’s next supposed flagship device the Superfone A100.
A close inspection of the design shows a slightly larger size and a centrally placed large camera lens (could this be the first 8 mp camera phone from Micromax?). The phone also appears to have dual sim slots and a micro SD card slot. Initial impressions put the phone as a slim power phone, but we really can’t judge based on factory drawings.
Hopefully the product comes out soon, touting a 5 inch screen, a large camera,a big battery and Jelly Bean for a low price say 14k-ish ( Hey one can hope right!). In reality, no real information for the phone is available, and all Micromax officials, including those known to us, refused to acknowledge the existence of such a product. Acting pricey eh Micromax?
We will keep you updated on more news as and when we can make it available.
HTC has confirmed that the HTC One X, the HTC One XL and HTC One S will all get Jelly Bean update. Here is what their official statement read:
[quote]We know HTC fans are excited to get their hands on Google’s latest version of Android. At this point in time, we can confirm that we have plans to upgrade our HTC One X, HTC One XL and HTC One S to Jelly Bean. Please stay tuned for more updates regarding device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Jelly Bean.[/quote]
No other phones have been mentioned, but details on the fact that unlocked devices will get the update first.
An XDA user “tgascoigne” has been able to port Nexus Jelly Bean to the HTC One X and has made it available as a ROM on the XDA website. With a lot of things currently not working. Including Wifi, Radio, Audio and Camera the OS itself is very stable and can be felt including those greasy project butter tweaks.
The ROM is originally based on CyanogenMOD and the developer states that he seems to have found a fix for most of the errors and bugs and is in the testing phase.
Once the radio and wifi do get working, expect a full hands on from iGyaan, till then check out the screenshots below and if you are feeling the excitement then rush to the link below to give it a try yourself.
HTC has done extremely well for themselves with their new line of Smartphones, the One Series. Last week several reports of WiFi issues on the HTC One X came to light, issues that led to difficulty connecting to Wi-Fi networks and annoying lag when playing games. The issues, which can also negatively affect the handset’s battery life, may have related to a flaw in manufacturing, have now actually been confirmed.
Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC, has officially confirmed the device is infact suffering said issues. But having finally come clean on the issue, the Taiwanese Smartphone Giant also claims it’s found a fix, and has changed its production process for the One X to tackle the problem.
[quote]
After investigating isolated reports of Wi-Fi connectivity issues in the HTC One X, we have identified a fix that strengthens the area of the phone around the Wi-Fi antennae connection points.
While many customers have not experienced any problems with signal strength, we have taken immediate steps to implement a solution in our production process to prevent this issue from happening in the future.
HTC is committed to making sure every customer has a great experience and we apologise for any inconvenience this issue may have caused while we conducted a thorough investigation.
[/quote]
HTC has not confirmed what its line of action will be for those who are affected by this issue, and whether or not the company will replace affected handsets with the new design ones.
No matter how many specs a phone has to offer, one of the biggest factors that affect our choice when we’re buying a new phone is the Camera! We put 5 smartphones to the test! Here they are (We rank them in 3 categories) –
Warning: Images are in Original size and may take long to load.
Outdoor- Close-up, Brightly Lit, Macro
Xperia S
5/5
Xperia P
4.5/5
Galaxy S3
4/5
iPhone 4S
3/5
One X
2.5/5
Indoor- Dim Lighting, Macro
iPhone 4s
4.5/5
One X
4/5
Xperia P
3/5
GS3
2.5/5
Xperia S
2/5
Outdoor- Far focus, Brightly Lit
Xperia S
5/5
One X
4/5
Xperia P
4/5
GS3
3.5/5
iPhone 4s
3/5
1. Outdoor – Close-up
Undoubtedly the best, the Xperia S with its 12MP camera produced an image that even Bharat Nagpal was proud of! Rich in colour and detail, it was hard to flaw the image. A close second was the Xperia P which clicked the image with a sharp focus and brilliant colours. The S3 delivered an image that was nicely detailed and sharply focussed, though the colours seemed a tad bit brighter than normal. The iPhone 4s captured a rather off-focus image but the colours and detailing were top-notch! On the bottom of the pile was the One X, not too surprisingly producing a dull and off-focus image.
2. Indoor – Dim Lighting
The iPhone 4S was the best in this category, with an image which had had perfect focus, brilliant colours and amazing detail! Out of the rest the One X surprised us by clicking a near perfect picture, which was lagging just a bit in detail. The Xperia P and Galaxy S3 followed with images which were didn’t have accurate colours but decent detailing. Last came the Xperia S, which disappointed us a lot as we expected more from it’s camera.
3. Outdoor – Far Focus
The Xperia S was once again the best, evenly focused, accurate colours, perfect image. Tied for second place were the One X and the Xperia P, with high detail images which were slightly off-colour. The Galaxy S3 produced an image which even though wasn’t as detailed as the rest, was perfectly focused. And at the bottom was the iPhone 4s, with an image which wasn’t focused or detailed, only the colours were accurate.
Summary
Xperia S (12/15)
With its 12-megapixel camera, the Xperia S is THE best of the lot when it comes to outdoor shooting, though indoor shooting could have been better.
Xperia P (11.5/15)
A close second was the S’s sibling, the Xperia P, which produced images that were sharply focused and amazingly detailed.
iPhone 4S & One X (10.5/15)
While the iPhone performed excellently indoors, it let us down in outdoor shooting with slightly off-focus images. The One X too was not as impressive as we would like it to be.
Galaxy S3 (10/15)
The biggest disappointment was the Galaxy S3 which boasts of an 8-MP camera but did not produce any exceptional image.
Apple has filed a third challenge against HTC on June 4th claiming claims HTC is still violating patents with their new One series devices. If this case goes anywhere near success, Apple would slap down 29 devices including the new One Series, the One X, the One V and the One S. A full list of implicated handsets is in the source link below.
The latest suit contains a quote by Steve Jobs.
[quote]We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it, We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours. [/quote]
The One X is possibly one of the most sought after Android devices in the market today. After playing much with it at the launch of the device, we finally got the box of the device and were itching to get it unboxed.
A wonderful polycarbonate shell and an amazing display, mixed with an amazing camera and beats audio is what is being projected, but thats not all that makes the device. A slim and wonderful device with a great look and feel. Check out our images below and stay tuned for a video.
We are currently in Singapore to cover the launch of the HTC ONE X, One of the most anticipated smartphones from HTC’s stable. The device features a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 resolution display along with a 1.5 GHz, quad core cpu, Android ICS 4.0 with HTC Sense™ 4, 32 GB inbuilt and 1 GB of RAM. The One X also has a F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens 8 MP camera.
Bookmark this page as we go live around 12:00PM IST and the Launch begins at 1:00 PM IST.
