My Experience With The HTC Windows Phone 8x

I’ve been seeing the HTC Windows Phone 8x on TV commercials and I got curious. I have experienced using gadgets on the iOS, the Android system and the Blackberry OS, but I haven’t tried using any mobile gadget on the Windows OS — that is, until I had the awesome opportunity to actually review it.

Here are some of the features of the HTC Windows Phone 8x:
– Processor: Qualcomm® S4 1.5 GHz, Dual-core
– Operating System: Windows
– Memory: Total storage: 16 GB, available capacity varies, RAM: 1 GB
– Dimensions: 132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12 mm
– Weight: 130 grams with battery
– Display: 4.3 inch super LCD 2 touch screen with HD 720p resolution Gorilla® Glass 2
– Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz HSPA/WCDMA: 850/1900/2100 MHz LTE:700/850/AWS/1900 MHz
– GPS: Internal GPS antenna with GLONASS
– Connectivity: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, NFC capable, Bluetooth® 3.1, Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
– Camera: 8 megapixel camera with auto focus, LED flash, and BSI sensor (for better low-light captures), F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens, 1080p video recording, Dedicated HTC ImageChip
– Battery: Embedded & rechargeable Li-ion Polymer battery, Capacity: 1800 mAh
– Special Features: Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™ built in

Since call quality really depends on the carrier you choose and your location, I won’t focus on that. I will instead focus my review on the device itself. I can say though, that AT&T has good coverage in my area.

The HTC Windows Phone 8x is so customizable and I love it because of that!

It’s like having a different phone anytime you want! You can change your wallpaper, the sizes and layout of the tiles and the background which can be light or dark (see 3rd to 6th photos below). You can also change the theme color to represent your mood for the day (see 7th to 12th photos below). There are actually 21 colors that you can choose as your theme. Awesome, right?

Windows Phone

Windows Phone Themes

One of the first things I noticed about the Windows Phone 8x are the live tiles. I love that some tiles, specifically the Photos and the Me tiles, are constantly moving to show saved photos. These are the tiles at the bottom of the screens in the photos above. As you can see, a different picture is shown on the tiles for each photo I took.

Love music? Then you’ll definitely love the fact that it has Beats Audio in it! It’s one of the best sounding phones I’ve tried so far.

The phone also takes great photos and videos. There are 7 resolution levels for the photos you want to take (VGA, 2048×1152, 2048×1536, 2592×1458, 2592×1952, 3264×1836 which is the default, and 3264×2448). And there are 4 resolution levels for videos (1080P which is the default, 720P, VGA, and QVGA). So even in your photos and videos, this phone offers you settings that fit your need. If you’re wondering about video quality, here’s a video of my son which my husband recorded using the HTC Windows Phone 8x. We used the default resolution for this video. In case you’re curious the word “bagsak” which we kept on saying in the video means “knockout”. 🙂

Since I use Facebook a lot, I made sure I got used to the way the Facebook app works on the Windows Phone. It was very user-friendly. The app can be scrolled horizontally and each column shows you your News Feed, Photos feed, and the Menu. It was also very easy to directly upload your photos and videos onto Facebook.

I think the only thing about any Windows Phone out there that doesn’t really match its competitors is the number of apps available. Though there are over 120,000 apps available for Windows Phones, that’s very little compared to huge number of apps available for Android and Apple devices. But if you are open to exploring apps that aren’t exactly the same as the ones you’re used to, then this won’t be much of a problem. It’s actually fun discovering new apps and games on the Windows Phone.

All in all, I can say that this phone would be great for anyone who loves all kinds of media. It produces awesome sounds, photos and videos that you would be proud to share with friends and relatives. It may take you a bit of time to get used to the operating system and its different apps but once you get the hang of it, you’re going to love it!

BUY IT!
You may purchase the HTC Windows Phone 8x at www.HTC.com. Depending on the carrier you choose, price ranges from $99 to $199 with a plan.

UPDATE: After just 4 months of lightly using the HTC Windows 8x, it died on me while I was trying to transfer my media files from the phone to my Macbook via the Windows Phone app. I searched online for possible fixes to the problem and tried various suggestions without success. According to a techie person we talked to, it seems like it was a motherboard issue. 🙁

Comments

My Experience With The HTC Windows Phone 8x — 56 Comments

  1. would love to try this phone out. looks awesome and its great theres colors to chose from. always a plus

  2. Thanks for the review, I was checking out this phone at the AT&T store earlier today 😉 Looks really nice

    • Hi Kayce! Talk time is 8 hours and standby time is 13 days. In the weeks that I’ve been using it, I’ve never had any problem with the battery! 🙂

      -Isis

  3. I’ve never really considered this phone as I didn’t know much about it, but after reading this, I will definitely look at this phone next time I’m buying one

  4. I know this has nothing to do with the phone but he is so cute in the video!!! The picture quality is pretty impressive. I can’t believe how slim the phone is. Technology is so amazing. I can’t even imagine making something like that.

  5. looking into getting a new phone right now because my kid through my phone into the bath tub…def. want something that takes great pictures as i am always taking them on my phone

    • Oh no! My son throws stuff into our bathtub and toilet too! That’s why we make sure the doors to the bathrooms are always closed. But somehow he still manages to throw stuff inside! 🙁 Anyway, I really love the quality of the photos and videos of this phone! It’s definitely one of the best things I love about this phone! 🙂

      -Isis
      Isis Serraon recently posted..Daily Coupon Recap for Jan 15My Profile

  6. I have seen this monster of a phone and would love to try one myself. The colors are vibrant and it just seems to grab you because of it’s size. Only problem I see, will it fit in your back pocket?

    • Hi She! I’ve placed it in my back pocket without any problem. It was actually very easy because it’s so thin (or at least thinner than the other phones we have here). It’s a bit taller than the usual smartphones though so if your back pocket is not deep enough, it might not fit all the way inside. 🙂

      -Isis
      Isis Serraon recently posted..Daily Coupon Recap for Jan 15My Profile

  7. Thank’s for the review! I like to know how different smart phones work. It’s hard to know by just looking at the store.

  8. I’m curious how long the battery lasts. I find that phones with all the bells and whistles don’t last very long compared to the older phones.

    • Hi Jeanine! In the few weeks that I’ve been using it, I’ve never had any issues with the battery life. Perhaps I was just so used to the smartphone I was using before which I had to charge twice a day! The HTC Windows Phone 8x has a talk time of 8 hours and standby time of 13 days. Pretty good battery life in my opinion. 🙂

      -Isis
      Isis Serraon recently posted..Daily Coupon Recap for Jan 15My Profile

  9. OMG. This phone looks awesome! The cost is worth it! Maybe Imma try this if I decide to change my phone! :Dv thanks for posting the specs~ ^^

  10. I haven’t had a Windows phone in ages. But, I loved the one I had. Glad to hear this one has great sound like my old one did. I’ll have to take a closer look at one.

  11. ooooh the smell of a new gadget. how i wish i can smell one. that BEATS audio included is really the attention grabber for me.

  12. This phone is so cool! My husband has it and love it. I can’t wait until I can upgrade my phone. I am getting this for sure. I love the live tiles.

  13. I like this phone. I have an older model of the htc windows phone and wonder how this might be different from the one I have, this sure looks nicer!

  14. That is a great looking phone. After having an iphone for 2 years, i think im ready to switch to a Windows phone. However, i wish my carrier had the new Lumia phone. Maybe later in the year theyll decide to carry it. Good review, thanks.

  15. Wow I am actually impressed. I was wondering since the window’s phone came out so late in the game after apple and google. I am not sure I will switch but the tablet may be kinda neat to try. Apple didn’t have a lot of apps when it first came out but now it has so many that I’m sure developers will get on the microsoft train and start producing apps now.

  16. I still don’t have a smartphone…But this one looks cool, and if I did have one, I would want it to be Windows based!

  17. I have a regular cell phone from Consumer Cellular that is very cheap but I still hate it.
    Love to have a Smartphone with Windows.

  18. I’m in the market for a new smartphone and this sounds like it has all the features I want, and then some! I’m keeping this one on my list of definite possibilities! Thanks for the review!

  19. I don’t have a cell phone and am considering getting one…the price looks right on this one and with your good revew I will have a look at it!

  20. I am liking this phone a lot since reading your posting. I have heard good things about it and your article says it has Beats Audio built in..my contract is up this year and I will give this phone a closer look!

  21. Glad this phone seems a lot more durable and useable then the “dinosaur” HTC smartphone my husband had 3 or 4 years ago. That thing was total garbage, but this sounds like a vast improvement on the original.

  22. I love that you can change the colors and theme to represent your mood. This is a unique phone. Thanks for sharing

  23. Great post. Very informative. I’ve been thinking of getting a new phone, I will have to check this one out. Thank you for sharing.

  24. The HTC Windows Phone 8x looks like a wonderful phone, I’d definitely give it a try. Thank you for sharing this review.