HTC Amaze 4G Video Review

We've had the HTC Amaze4G in house for two weeks now, and T-Mobile's latest uber-phone is top notch. It's a large phone, somehow larger than the HTC Sensation 4G, though both have a 4.3" display. The Amaze has a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU just like T-Mobile's version of the Samung Galaxy S II. It's got an excellent 8 megapixel camera with a backside illuminated sensor and f/2.2 lens for better low light shots. There's also HDR and burst mode. This is a very elegant and stylish phone. It's available in white as well as black, and we have the white in house. HTC's signature gentle curves, LCD glass integration and excellent ergonomics are here, just as they were in the Sensation 4G. What does the Amaze 4G bring to the tablet vs. the Sensation 4G? It has a faster CPU, HSPA+ 42Mbps 4G just like the Galaxy S II on T-Mobile, a higher capacity battery and a much better camera. NFC is on board as well, though there's currently nothing you can do with it. Directly above and below: the HTC Amaze 4G and the HTC Sensation 4G.

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HTC Amaze 4G Video Review HTC Amaze 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy S II Price: $179 with 2 year contract

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HTC Rezound

The HTC Rezound is a member of Verizon Wireless' "big three" group of high end Android smartphones for the holiday 2011 season. It joins the Motorola Droid RAZR and Samsung Galaxy Nexus and has top specs: it's the US' first 720p smartphone display, it has a fast 1.5gHz dual core CPU, LTE 4G and a promised upgrade to Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Droid RAZR is incredibly thin and stylish, befitting the RAZR moniker, while the 720p Galaxy Nexus is also slim and is a pure Google experience phone that will launch with Ice Cream Sandwich. That's tough competition for the Rezound, whose strongest selling points are a sturdy build, strong LTE reception in weaker coverage areas and a bundled pair of matching red iBeats earbuds. Think of the HTC Rezound as the sleeper whose appeal grows after you've had issues with other Verizon phones' LTE 4G reception, or found the RAZR's Super AMOLED display not sharp enough. Design and 720p Display The HTC Rezound should particularly appeal to happy (or mostly happy) HTC Droid Incredible 2 andThunderbolt owners. You get the friendly and familiar HTC Sense software overlay (version 3.5 here), and the design is an evolution of the Incredible 2. Like the Dinc2, the Rezound has a waterfall back that cascades toward tapered edges, and a matte black soft touch finish. Accents are red, and the inner casing is translucent red plastic. The capacitive front buttons are red too, which looks cool. The Beats earbuds have a bright red cord, and the usual bulky buds with a variety of tips in the box. The phone isn't super-slim or uber-sexy, but it's attractive in a geeky gizmo sort of way. Since the display is just 4.3" (these days 4.3" is no longer particularly large), the phone isn't too cumbersome for moderate sized hands, and the curves make it feel at home in the palm. The power button up top is tiny and hard to press, and the same goes for the side volume controls. They don't rattle as did the HTC Sensation 4G's buttons, but they have almost no travel or tactile feel. The 3.5mm headphone jack is up top and HTC's ExtUSB port is on the side. It works with standard micro USB cables and our generic MHL adapter to provide HDMI out. Pull off the back cover and you'll find a 16 gig microSD card that's blocked by the red 1620 mAh Lithium Ion battery, and the LTE SIM card is under the battery. Yes, you'll have to pull the battery if you want to swap microSD cards. The handset feels weighty in a good way and is solid as a tank. It looks and feels like a quality piece of hardware. Things only get better when you power it on and see the sharp 1280 x 720 pixel capacitive Super LCD display. Colors are pleasing and accurate without the Disney effect of Super AMOLED, and text is stunningly clear. There are absolutely no jaggies here when reading, even with more complex serif fonts, and the phone thus is an excellent pocket eReader. When viewing HD videos, you can make out a bit more fine detail: creases in leaves, freckles on a cheek; but it's not overwhelmingly different or better than today's qHD displays. We haven't run into compatibility issues with our must-have 25 Android Market apps despite the currently novel resolution.

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HTC Rezound Video Review

Performance and Horsepower The HTC Rezound runs on a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 CPU with Adreno 220 graphics. That's one of the top CPUs right now, and we're more in love with it because it plays ever so nicely with the Qualcomm radio chipset used for LTE in smartphones (more on that in our data section). The Rezound doesn't score as high on benchmarks as the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket LTE Android phone on AT&T with the same CPU, but it is pushing considerably more pixels than the 800 x 480 Skyrocket. The phone feels fast and smooth, and lag was rarely an issue. If you have a need for speed, the Rezound should suffice. It handled 3D games fluidly and is a champ at MPEG4 video playback up to 1080p high profile. The phone has a gig of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage plus an added 16 gigs via the bundled microSD card. It runs Android OS 2.3.4 Gingerbread with a promised upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in 2012, and it has HTC Sense 3.5 with the usual collection of HTC widgets and apps like Friendstream for social networking and HTC Watch for movie rentals. Benchmarks Quadrant Linpack multi-thread Sunspider Javascript Test Droid RAZR 2550 75.7 2102 Droid Bionic 2126 59 4029 HTC Rezound 2421 63 2998 Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 3346 83.8 2878 Calling and Data There's good news and bad news here. The good news is that a Qualcomm CPU plus a Qualcomm LTE radio chipset equals a stable LTE signal with reduced power consumption, even indoors and in modest coverage areas. My Verizon LTE phones commit suicide on my desk when LTE is left on. They waffle between 3G EV-DO Rev. A and LTE 4G all day and I get about 6 to 8 hours of standby time. Yes, standby time, not actual usage time. Our LTE Verizon signal isn't even all that bad; it's 1 to 2 bars and averages -90 to -95db. But the signal often drops down to -100db for a few seconds and the LTE pack jumps ship for 3G. The HTC Rezound is much more stable: it maintains 1 to 2 bars and a steady -90 to -95db on my desk and never drops to 3G. The result is normal standby times, no worrying about the phone dropping data altogether during myriad network switches, and a well-behaved WiFi mobile hotspot and tethering. If you've been similarly tortured with LTE dropout issues and shortened battery life, the Rezound is for you. The not so good news? Voice quality isn't tops. It's not as clear as the MotorolaDroid Bionic and Droid RAZR. Unless we have a very full signal, outgoing voice sounds digitized and even garbled with a weaker signal. EV-DO 3G reception isn't as strong as the Moto phones, but those Motos are tops for 3G reception. If you live in a very good Verizon 1xRTT coverage area, the HTC Rezound will likely be fine for you and your call recipients. Otherwise, not so much. Incoming voice sounds rich, full and loud with a good signal, but does warble with a middling or worse signal. Like most Verizon LTE phones, the HTC Rezound uses the old 1xRTT network for voice, CDMA EV-DO Rev. A for 3G and LTE 4G on the 700Mhz band. It is not a GSM world phone. At the moment, there appears to be a limit to the number of cell technologies and SIM cards manufacturers can squeeze into a smartphone. The phone can act as a mobile hotspot over WiFi for an additional monthly fee ($20/ month for tiered data plans and $30/month if you have the grandfathered unlimited data plan). The WiFi mobile hotspot feature was reliable and stable in our tests, though speeds didn't match Verizon's fastest LTE data phones, the Droid Bionic and Droid RAZR. On the phone using the Speedtest.net app, we averaged 9Mbps down and 3Mbps up. On our laptop we got 7Mbps down and 2.5Mbps up according to the Speedtest.net website. Our two Moto Droid models averaged 13Mbps down and 4.5Mbps up on device and when tethered to a laptop. On 3G we saw a respectable (for EV-DO) 1.9Mbps down and 1Mbps up on the phone. If you wish, you can turn off 4G and stick with 3G to improve battery life. Beats Audio HTC recently bought Beats, maker of high end headphones and earbuds. The Sensation XL and Rezound have received some Beats love, and in the case of the Rezound, this gets you a set of iBeats style earbuds and a Beats audio mode on the phone. Beats over-the-ear headphones are bass heavy to my ears, but the included buds sounded very balanced and full. Honestly, I've rarely listened to earbuds that gave over-the-ear headphones competition, but the Beats earbuds included with the HTC Rezound sounded almost as good as my Urban Ears Plattan and Skullcandy Aviators. That's not bad for an in-the-box perk. The headphones have in-line music playback controls and a mic that delivered clear voice in our tests. The Beats audio setting works whenever you're using headphones, and it essentially improves EQ in a very good way. Turn it off and you'll easily hear the difference. It's not just a bass boost either; I listened to classical music and jazz where excess bass isn't a good thing, and highs were clearer without being harsh. Midrange became more alive, and background voices in a choir suddenly came alive, as did cello and guitar winding behind a lead. Could you do much the same thing if you spent time fiddling with EQ settings in a mobile music player, if present? Sure, but Beats does it for you and does it well. Camera HTC has really stepped up their camera phone game, and the current 8 megapixel model that debuted on the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G is good stuff. It uses an illuminated backlit sensor for less noisy low light shots and quicker low light focus, and it has a fast f2.2 lens with a wide 28mm equivalent. Though Samsung's 8 megapixel cameras are still a little better at low light with reduced noise, HTC's camera exposes outdoor shots better without the Samsung's whiteout. Photos look natural and warm with a sense of depth that's distinctly better than most phones. Low light (very low light) shots do have noise, but colors are still pleasingly saturated and reasonably accurate, unlike the Droid Bionic's near monochromatic low light mess. The HTC Amaze 4G on T-Mobile and the Rezound take some of my favorite shots, and I've gotten more keepers with them than competing phones (Nokia N8 not withstanding). The camera can shoot in widescreen or 4:3 aspect ratio, and there are plenty of scene modes, ISO settings and more to keep a shutterbug happy. Our only complaint is with incandescent shots: on auto they're too warm and when we manually selected incandescent, the camera software overcompensated and photos were a bit too cool and lost color depth. The HTC can shoot 1080p video at 30 fps, and video is very pleasing with well controlled motion blur, not too much blockiness and good color. The HTC has a front video chat camera that works with Gtalk, Skype and more. Battery Life No, it's not as bad as you think. Despite the relatively low capacity 1620 mAh battery, the Rezound fared no worse than my Droid RAZR or Bionic with its standard battery on 4G LTE. It easily outlasts the HTC Thunderbolt, a phone whose battery life might be counted in minutes rather than hours when on LTE. I'd wager that the full Qualcomm integration inside is helping the Rezound achieve decent runtimes with the smaller battery, and we've noted that AT&T's first 2 LTE phones running on all Qualcomm silicon also have decent battery life by LTE standards. If you're in an LTE coverage area and run the phone on LTE, you will need to charge nightly with moderate to heavy use. If you stream lots of video, use the GPS for trips during the day or stream Slacker over 4G, you'll probably need to plug it in by the dinner hour. If you use the phone for email, some web browsing and 45 minutes of calls with no extended multimedia use, it will make it to bedtime. If you turn off LTE and stick with 3G, the phone can last up to 2 days with moderate use. Software

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HTC Vivid

The HTC Vivid is a lovely high end phone with enticing specs and a vivid (sorry, but it is) qHD display. The problem? It's one of the homeliest phones HTC has turned out in years and its 4G LTE launch mate, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket shows it up in some, but not all, respects. But for HTC fans and Samsung not-fans, the Vivid has enough going for it that we can easily recommend it. The HTC Vivid joined the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket on November 6 as AT&T's first true 4G LTE phones. We're lucky enough to be in an LTE coverage area, and download speeds have been rocking 25Mbps on average, with 12Mbps upload speeds. Our top download speed was 38.4Mbps according to the Speedtest.net app! Of course, once the network is peppered with LTE devices, speeds will come down, but it bodes well for AT&T's new true 4G network. The HTC Vivid has much in common with the Skyrocket: both have 4.5" displays, Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread with promised upgrades to Ice Cream Sandwich, 8 megapixel cameras and dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs. The Vivid has a higher resolution Super LCD that's qHD 960 x 540 pixels, and it lives up to its name with rich and accurate colors that pop. Design and Ergonomics HTC is usually the paragon of elegant design, with complex curves, sculpted surfaces and classy soft touch finishes. The Vivid is the Pontiac Aztek of phones: a confused mix of textures, shiny plastics and an odd angular design that's neither comfortable nor attractive. The truncated pyramid that is the back is gloss black plastic that adores finger oils, isn't particularly comfortable to hold and is hard to grip. The flat finish metal back is a little jarring next to shiny plastic, but it redeems the phone from a quality materials perspective. The Vivid is also available in white, and from the photos it looks more attractive, though we haven't seen one in person yet. I hate to harp on appearances, but consumer electronics devices are an extension of personal style, so looks do count. And we have high expectations from HTC because their high end smartphones usually use top quality finishes and are good looking and well made. In terms of quality, the phone is solid and weighty as HTC devices often are. It feels more durable and rugged than the waifish Skyrocket and Samsung Galaxy S II, though we haven't intentionally abused the trio to see who best survived a bounce off the pavement. The power button is small but easier to operate than the sometimes maddening HTC Rezound, and the volume controls don't rattle or have play. The micro USB port is on the phone's left side and the 3.5mm headphone jack is up top. The microSD card slot is blocked by the battery, so you'll have to power down the phone to insert or remove a card. AT&T isn't as generous as Verizon: no card is included. But you do have 16 gigs of internal storage and the phone sells for $100 less than Verizon's LTE smartphones.

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HTC Vivid Video Review

Horsepower and Performance The HTC Vivid isn't the fastest kid on the block, though the 1.2GHz dual core CPU is solid enough. It scored 2159 in Quadrant and a middle of the pack 4526 in the Sunspider JavaScript test. The Vivid has to work harder to drive the higher resolution display, and that accounts for some of the benchmark differences, along with the not huge 0.3GHz clock speed difference. On paper, the Skyrocket is faster. In use, the Skyrocket feels a bit more responsive as well, but the Vivid never struck us as anything but quick. It's just not lightning fast. HTC Sense 3.0 is on board, and that may have something to do with it. We actually like Sense and the ease of use improvements it offers over stock Android, but it does consume more RAM and the highly customized app drawer with its enforced vertical page-at-a-time scrolling style can make it feel slower than it is. The phone has a gig of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage with 8.83 gigs available for your use. Like all recent HTC phones, it has a protected bootloader (important for those who want to root and install custom ROMs), but we assume HTC will offer a way to unlock the bootloader at the possible expense of your

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HTC One X

There's a lot riding on the HTC One X. After taking almost a half year breather from making Android smartphones, the One X is the paragon of HTC's new philosophy: make fewer but much better phones. HTC's thing was high end phones with excellent fit, finish and materials, but they diluted that with a mass of low to high tier phones. The One X, priced at $199 with contract on AT&T and $549 without contract, is one of their best efforts yet. It's insanely gorgeous, fast, runs Android OS 4.0.3 ICS and it has a superb 720p display. Available in white or gray polycarbonate, it has a distinct curvy HTC look that will never be confused with the polycarbonate Nokia Lumia 900. The HTC One X is one of the first phones with Qualcomm's fourth generation Snapdragon S4 CPU based on the new 28nm process. It's a dual core but it benchmarks as fast or faster than the quad core Tegra 3. Overseas, the One X has a Tegra 3, but the AT&T version has the Qualcomm CPU because Nvidia and Qualcomm aren't playing well together for LTE radio integration and AT&T wants LTE in all their high end smartphones. We're not sad: it's super fast and power frugal. Design and Ergonomics The HTC One X looks much like its smaller brother the HTC One S on T-Mobile. Both have very thin curved bodies (the X's curve is more pronounced) and a unibody design. While the 4.3" One S has a metal casing, the One X's casing is made from a single piece of polycarbonate, a very durable material that's also wireless radio-friendly. We have the white version and the back is matte while the sides have a low gloss, likely to resist grime. Our phone hasn't gotten dingy or dirty in a week of use, but schmutz can be cleaned off with a damp cloth. My gut feeling: avoid contact with things that stain, like blueberries, ball point pens and cranberry juice. The HTC One X, Nokia Lumia 900 and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket AT&T LTE smartphones. The 4.7" One X is surprisingly not much bigger than the 4.3" One S. HTC works miracles with their 4.7 phones--the 4.7" HTC Titan and Titan II Windows phones are likewise not significantly larger than some 4.3" and 4.5" phones. That doesn't mean this isn't a large phone: it is. But if you're used to 4.3" or 4.5" smartphones, it won't feel much different. What helps? Like Samsung Android smartphones, it's incredibly thin at 0.36". Like the HTC One S, it does feel tall relative to its width, and that swipe bottom-to-top to unlock gesture is a long trip. The phone has a gentle curve that looks chic and modern, and we suppose it improves face contact and comfort as with the Samsung Nexus S. The Gorilla Glass is curved as well, and it wraps around the sides just a bit. Yum. HTC definitely has a strong counter to Samsung's excellent but plasticky Android phones. Controls are logically placed and easy to operate with the power button up top, volume controls on the right side and the micro USB port on the left side (dock-friendly location). Though Android 4.0 doesn't require hardware buttons for Home, back and Multi-tasking, HTC includes capacitive front buttons and we find them convenient.

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HTC One X Video Review HTC One X vs. Samsung Galaxy S III on AT&T Comparison Smackdown

Display, 720p of Goodness The One X has a 1280 x 720 display that competes head on with the likes of theSamsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound and LG Nitro HD. The Super LCD has natural and rich colors with neutral whites, which are pluses vs. Super AMOLED displays that have bluish whites and unnaturally vibrant colors (though many like those better than life colors). Though blacks aren't quite as rich and deep as Super AMOLED displays, we have no complaints about the HTC One X's blacks when watching videos, and the display remains reasonably viewable outdoors. The RBG pixel arrangement means never having to complain about the Pentile Matrix used in Super AMOLED displays, which is important to those of you who have good enough eyes to see pixels on Super AMOLED Pentile Matrix displays. Speaking of good eyes, the One X has more than 300 dpi pixel density to ensure your naked eye spy viewable pixels. Do we like the One X's display? Yes we do. It has pleasing colors and good contrast behind the Gorilla Glass protection. The wrap-around glass makes you feel like the display is painted on the front: stunning. Calling and Data: 4G LTE and HSPA+ Though the Snapdragon S4 competes very well with the Tegra 3, we'd live with it even if it were a little slower because it gains LTE 4G. That's true 4G and our One X manages some of the best download and upload speeds we've seen yet on an AT&T smartphone. In general, AT&T's LTE network is very fast, though it still lacks the coverage of Verizon's, but AT&T is rolling out new coverage aggressively. The HTC One X averaged 29Mbps down and 20Mbps up according to Ookla's Speedtest.net app. That's even better than our very fast Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T. LTE reception is good, and beats the Skyrocket by a few -dbs, and HSPA+ 4G reception is likewise very good. Data speeds in the mid-90's on LTE remained high, and calls sounded clear with 2 out of 5 bars on HSPA+ (calls happen on the 3G/4G HSPA+ network and LTE handles data only). Voice quality for both incoming and outgoing voice is very good. Call recipients couldn't tell we were on a cell phone and the One X did a good job of rejecting ambient noise via the built-in mics. Incoming voice was clear and easy to understand with slightly better than average volume. As a calling device, the HTC gets a thumbs up. Performance The dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait CPU is the chip maker's latest and greatest offering that's meant to take on the quad core Tegra 3 CPU. The Qualcomm MSM8960 is a 28nm process CPU, which means it's more power efficient than the 40nm architecture used in the Tegra 3, Tegra 2 and previous generation Snapdragon CPUs. That translates into more processing power with less heat and power consumption. Yes, the Krait CPU in the One X scores just as well as the Tegra 3 in some benchmarks, and is significantly faster than prior dual core CPUs from Qualcomm and other manufacturers. The S4 has Adreno 225 graphics, which represent a significant improvement over the older Adreno 205 graphics, but so far don't beat the GeForce GPU in the Tegra 3. I personally wouldn't import the overseas Tegra 3 version and give up LTE just for the CPU change (if you prefer unlocked phones or hate carrier bloatware, that's another issue). Does the HTC One X feel fast? Yes! If you're using low demand apps, you won't likely notice the difference between this and recent TI OMAP dual core phones like the Droid RAZR and Galaxy Nexus, but when playing Adobe Flash video at higher resolutions, playing 3D or emulator games and playing HD video you'll feel the difference. Is it buckets faster than the Snapdragon dual core S3 third generation CPU used in the Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket and HTC Vivid? Yes, but you won't notice a gaping difference since both CPUs are more than powerful enough to run any Android phone app. But a year from now when apps are more demanding? Then you'll probably appreciate the S4 CPU or a Tegra 3. Benchmarks Quadrant GLBenchmark 2.1Egypt Offscreen AnTuTu Sunspider JavaScript Test HTC One X 5001 56 fps 7074 1617 HTC One S 5102 51 fps 7011 1825 Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 3346 33 fps 5367 2237 Samsung Galaxy Nexus 2753 N/A 5985 2175 Multimedia with Beats Audio and HDMI Some of you love Beats Audio and some call it too bass-heavy. The HTC One X has Beats Audio (HTC now owns 51% of Beats), and the audio enhancement works with any brand of headphones. Beats has quite a few settings to choose from, ranging from the classic bass-heavy Beats EQ to classical, vocal and warm. That should help for those who like their music less managed by EQ, but who do appreciate some audio enhancement. The rear firing speaker isn't all that loud and is easily muffled when laid face up on a desk, but music and video sound good through headphones. We weren't floored with the One X's audio output compared to Android tablets (they generally have robust headphone audio), but it's a tad bolder than some smartphones. The phone can handle HDMI out using an optional MHL adapter that plugs into the micro USB port. We tested this with a few TVs and our Sony AV receiver and it worked fine. We didn't get 5.1 audio out on movies with 5.1 sound, however. Perhaps the MHL go-between is to blame? HTC includes their own music app that integrates TuneIn Radio, MOG Music and SoundHound for track info, artist info and lyrics. You can add other music apps to the player if you like. The Music app automatically got album art for our tracks and we like the rich interface and background playback feature. You can control playback from the lock screen, top taskbar and widget. For those who prefer Google's apps, Google Play Music is here as is the Google movie store and standard Gallery application for photo viewing and video playback. HTC Watch is here for movie rentals and purchase. We tested 720p and 1080p MPEG4 video playback stored on the device and through MHL to HDMI and videos played smoothly with good audio sync. The S4 CPU is clearly up to the task of playing HD movies. Software HTC Sense 4 is on board, and it's toned down from previous versions. In fact, it lets more of Android OS 4's new UI show through than the HTC Vivid running ICS or the Samsung Galaxy III running TouchWiz. If you're a fan of HTC Sense, you'll appreciate it here and the continuity it brings from older devices. The the lovely clock-weather widget lives on, as does the lock screen with quick launch apps (yes, you can use face unlock too). Likewise, you get the customized app drawer that has tabs for all apps, downloaded apps and frequently accessed apps. You can edit tabs and access the Google Play Store using the menu at the top right of the app drawer. HTC leaves that ICS top menu alone (a good thing since it adds consistency to Android) and app menus or soft keys that appear at the bottom of app windows live in full glory. HTC uses their own USB drivers (also a good thing), and you can select from charge only, mount as a disk drive, HTC Sync Manager, USB tethering, Media Sync (MTP) and Internet pass-through (use the PC's Internet connection to provide an Internet connection for the phone). Mac users, that means you don't need to install Google's Android File Transfer app to connect to the phone, nor do you need manufacturer software to access it. Battery Life The HTC One X has an 1800 mAh Lithium Ion battery that's sealed inside the unibody casing. Fast CPUs, big displays and LTE 4G are a battery's worst enemy, but the One X managed to easily hold up through an entire day of moderate use. We streamed HD YouTube videos for 30 minutes, listened to music for an hour with the display off, talked on the phone for 30 minutes, made liberal use of the web browser, social networking and push email and had 35% charge remaining at bed time. Really, it's hard to kill this phone. What does eat battery quickly? Gaming. Beware casual games that run in the background like your favorite city or fantasy kingdom builders: they cut battery life by 30%. You can play those games, but I'd use the HTC task manager to kill them when you're not playing. Camera Like the HTC One S, the One X has an 8 megapixel rear main camera with LED flash that can do neat tricks like shooting continuous autofocus 1080p video with stereo audio and simultaneously take still photos (just press the shutter button while recording video). How does it do that? With the help of a dedicated imaging chip. The fast f 2.0 lens and backside illuminated sensor are particularly well suited to low light photography. I had high hopes for the One X's video after reviewing the 16 MP HTC Titan II, but the One X couldn't live up to the Titan II's still photo capabilities (to be fair, that's a hard act to beat). It does win for shooting very good quality 1080p video at 30 fps, and the myriad camera options are wonderful. Again, like the One S, we noted over-saturation of reds such as red roses, red buses and large expanses of red anything. Red tends to bloom on digital cameras, obliterating detail, and the One X has that problem. Otherwise, we noted good exposure and color balance, with an impressive amount of detail in small things like leaves and grass. Is it on par with the iPhone 4S camera? Yes. Does it absolutely blow the iPhone 4S camera away? Not in terms of image and video quality. We do however appreciate the many effects and settings that will appeal to shutterbugs and novices alike. With slow-motion video, HDR photos, panorama and burst, there's plenty of utility in Image Sense. The phone has a front 1.3MP camera that actually takes decent photos, though its main purpose in life is video chat via Google Talk, Skype and other video chat apps. Conclusion It's hard to go wrong with the HTC One X. It has the best of everything, and better yet: it all works well. From the gorgeous design to the striking 720p Super LCD it makes a great first impression. Use it for several days and you'll appreciate the excellent call quality, very fast data speeds and overall stability. The camera takes lovely shots and good 1080p video, the phone games admirably and it's consistently fast. Does the Samsung Galaxy S III present serious challenge? Yes it does, but the HTC One X holds up well under competition. Price: $199 with 2 year contract, $549 without contract

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HTC EVO 4G LTE

The first HTC EVO Android smartphone was huge for Sprint. No, we don't mean it was a really big phone (though it was), but it had the right mix of high end features to ride as Sprint's flagship phone for quite some time. Follow up EVO models haven't been as hot, but with the HTC EVO 4G LTE, we've once again got an iconic device for Sprint from HTC. The EVO 4G LTE shares a lot of DNA with the HTC One X, but Sprint EVO-ized it with a two-way kickstand and an industrial modern design look that's less curvy than the One X. Inside you'll get the same excellent 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 CPU that smokes the competition for performance and battery life. There's a gig of RAM, 16 gigs of internal storage and a 2,000 mAh battery. The phone runs Android OS 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4. The software experience is once again very close to the HTC One X, and you even get the same default wallpaper. Like other recent Sprint smartphones, it has NFC with Google Wallet. Design and Ergonomics Though the gloss black section on the back will no doubt be a point of contention, we think the EVO 4G LTE is one stupendous looking smartphone. Plastic phones abound, even at higher price points, and the LTE EVO is a breath of fresh metal. It looks like a quality piece and the cool feel of the metal sides and back are reassuring. Though large, this is a skinny phone that measures 0.35". HTC does a great job of making their 4.7" phones about the same height and width as some 4.3" and 4.5" phones, so we're not complaining about the size. But those of you who detest today's popular big phones might disagree. The phone has 3 capacitive buttons that are masked in white for good contrast, and the controls are where you'd expect on an HTC smartphone. The power button is up top and the volume controls are on the right. The buttons don't rattle like some 2011 HTC phones. The micro USB port is on the left side as it is on the HTC One X, and it's located there to work with HTC's desktop cradle that holds the phone in landscape mode. Thanks to the two-way metal kickstand design, you can charge the phone when the kickstand is deployed (just flip it so the USB port is on top). The back is metal except for the slide-off gloss black plastic panel that covers the microSD card slot. Why plastic? It allows for better reception. Why gloss? We assume Sprint liked the texture contrast and it does look good until it gets grimy (which happens quickly). The kickstand and its surrounding band are metallic red and look cool. Phone and Data This is Sprint's third LTE phone, and yes it will be released before Sprint actually has an LTE network. We know this is confusing for some buyers who think they're actually getting 4G LTE right now, but we understand Sprint's awfully difficult position: they're moving away from WiMAX and thus won't introduce new phones with that service anymore. We wouldn't want them to sell a dead end service, but offering hot new phones with 3G just won't cut it. So they're jumping the gun and offering future-ready LTE phones, even though their network won't start lighting up until summer 2012. Six cities will get LTE this summer, with the rest of the country to follow at an undisclosed rate. What does that mean to you? The HTC EVO 4G LTE is functionally an EV-DO Rev. A 3G phone now, and at some time in the future, you should be able to use it on Sprint's LTE network. I know: that's a little weak. Sprint's 3G service in our area of the Dallas metroplex is the slowest of the big 4 carriers, and that's a double ouch. The EVO LTE managed faster 3G download speeds than the Galaxy Nexus, and was on par with the LG Viper. In our area we averaged 650kbps down and 550kbps up, which is terribly slow, but if you're a Sprint customer who usually gets better speeds in your area, you should see your "normal" 3G speeds which may be better than ours. Voice quality on the EVO 4G LTE is quite good and it will get better when Sprint enables Qualcomm's new HD Voice codec on their network. We tested HD Voice at the CTIA trade show a few weeks back, and it was noticeably better than standard cell voice. HD Voice only works if the feature is enabled on the carrier's network and if both phones have the HD Voice feature. Until Sprint releases more phones with this feature, this means EVO LTE to EVO LTE only. But as we noted, standard non-HD call quality on both ends is quite good on the EVO, though not quite as impressive as the HTC One X (the One X is one of the best voice phones to cross our ears in the past year). Call volume is average and the rear firing speakerphone is clear though not terribly loud. Typical of HTC, if you turn the phone over and rest it face down on a desk, it will automatically switch to speakerphone mode. It also has HTC's pocket feature where it will increase ring volume if the phone senses it's in a pocket or bag and it has their quiet ring on pickup that deceases volume if you move the phone.

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HTC EVO 4G LTE Video Review HTC EVO 4G LTE vs. Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Sprint

Performance The dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait CPU is the chip maker's latest and greatest offering that's meant to take on the quad core Tegra 3 CPU. The Qualcomm MSM8960 is a 32nm process CPU, which means it's more power efficient than the 40nm architecture used in the Tegra 3, Tegra 2 and previous generation Snapdragon CPUs. That means a cooler running phone with longer battery life. The S4 has Adreno 225 graphics, which represent a significant improvement over the older Adreno 205 graphics processing power. The CPU scores a bit higher than the Tegra 3 in some benchmarks, and is significantly faster than older generation dual core CPUs, but so far don't quite beat the GeForce GPU in the Tegra 3 on graphics benchmarks (it's close though). The phone has 1 gig of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage with 2.3 gigs available for application storage and 10 gigs available for general storage (we're surprised to see this division of storage under ICS). There's a microSD card slot under the back cover, and that puts it ahead of the HTC One series and Galaxy Nexus that lack expansion. Does the phone feel fast? Yes, it does. Is it powerful enough to carry you through your contract? Yes, it should be. Honestly, it has more processing power than any current application demands, so it certainly should age well as more apps take advantage of advanced CPUs like the Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 CPUs. Benchmarks Quadrant GLBenchmark 2.1Egypt Offscreen AnTuTu Sunspider JavaScript Test HTC EVO 4G LTE 5086 56 fps 7001 1650 HTC One X 5001 56 fps 7074 1617 LG Viper 2839 N/A 5400 3317 Samsung Galaxy Nexus 2753 28 fps 5985 1869 720p Super LCD: a Good Thing The HTC EVO 4G LTE has a 1280 x 720 display that competes head on with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound and Samsung Galaxy S III. The Super LCD has natural and rich colors with neutral whites, which are pluses vs. Super AMOLED displays that have bluish whites and unnaturally vibrant colors (though many like those better than life colors). The EVO 4G LTE has better than 300 dpi pixel density and that means you won't be able to see individual pixels. It has pleasing colors and good contrast behind the Gorilla Glass protection. Though you don't get the HTC One series lovely wrap-around glass effect, the display still looks painted on because it's so sharp. Battery Life The HTC EVO 4G LTE has a 2,000 mAh Lithium Ion battery that's sealed inside. That's a healthy battery capacity, and we appreciate that in an LTE phone with a large display and fast CPU. Happily, the Snapdragon S4 sips power in a miserly fashion, and that means even better battery life. Granted, we obviously can't test with LTE's famously hungry drain vs. 3G, but we have a feeling given the phone's 3G and WiFi stamina, that this phone should last through the day with moderate use on LTE. With a mix of 3G and WiFi use, we managed 1.5 days of moderate use that included social network background updates, email, web browsing, an hour of music playback with the screen off and 20 minutes of YouTube streaming. Beats Audio and Multimedia The EVO 4G LTE has Beats Audio (HTC owns a controlling interest in Beats), and the audio enhancement works with any brand of headphones. Beats has quite a few settings to choose from, ranging from the classic bass-heavy Beats EQ to classical, vocal and warm. That should help for those who like their music less managed by EQ, but who do appreciate some audio enhancement. The rear firing speaker isn't all that loud, but music and video sound excellent through headphones. The phone can handle HDMI out using an optional MHL adapter that plugs into the micro USB port. The EVO has no trouble playing 1080p MPEG4 video and streaming content from YouTube and Netflix. The HTC has an FM radio that uses earbuds/headphones as the antenna. HTC includes their own music app that integrates TuneIn Radio, Sprint Music and SoundHound for track info, artist info and lyrics. You can add other music apps to the player if you like. The Music app automatically got album art for our tracks and we like the rich interface and background playback feature. You can control playback from the lock screen, top taskbar and widget. And for those of you who appreciate Google Play Music and its cloud storage feature, have no fear: it's here. Camera Like the HTC One X, the HTC EVO 4G LTE has an 8 megapixel rear main camera with LED flash that can shoot continuous autofocus 1080p video with stereo audio while simultaneously shooting still photos (just press the shutter button while recording video). The fast f 2.0 lens and backside illuminated sensor are particularly well suited to low light photography. The dedicated HTC ImageChip brings such goodies as 60fps video recording, and dedicated image processing chips are a rarity in camera phones. We love the many shot options, effects and settings that made us feel like we were using a dedicated digicam, and 1080p video recording is impressive, even in low light. As with the HTC One series, we noted over-saturation of reds but other colors were very good, and red does tend to pose a problem for digital cameras. Exposure and color balance are very good with an impressive amount of detail. This is one of the best camera phones on the US market. Software HTC Sense 4 is here, and it's toned down from older versions. If you're a fan of HTC Sense, you'll appreciate it here and the continuity it brings from older devices. The famous HTC clock-weather widget is pre-installed, as is the lock screen with its quick launch apps. If you enable security you can use PIN unlock or use face unlock via the front camera. HTC's customized app drawer with tabs for all apps, downloaded apps and frequently accessed apps helps keep things organized. You can edit tabs and access the Google Play Store using the menu at the top right of the app drawer. We like HTC Sense and the polish it brings to Android ICS without glossing it over into oblivion. Conclusion If I were a Sprint customer, this is the phone I'd buy. In terms of quality, materials, features and specs, the HTC EVO 4G LTE is the one to beat. Unless you prefer the pure Android experience that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus offers, the EVO 4G LTE is our choice, and we suspect it will hold up well against the Samsung Galaxy S III. Price: $199 with 2 year contract

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HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE (video review)

Is bigger always better? Not for those of you who simply can't stand carrying today's gargantuan phones. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE is all about livin' small. Downsizing. Less is more. OK, this 4" Android smartphone isn't all that small compared to the now diminutive iPhone 4s. But you will notice that your pocket doesn't have as embarrassing a bulge, and you won't need hand stretching exercises to train for your next phone. The third generation Droid Incredible by HTC may be smaller than the 4.8" Samsung Galaxy S IIIand other big boys on Verizon Wireless, but it has plenty of top notch features. A sharp Super LCD display running a qHD resolution, a 1.2GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 Krait CPU and a sharp 8 megapixel camera with BSI sensor and simultaneous 1080p plus still photo recording grace the feature list. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE runs Android OS 4 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense software. Unlike the HTC One X, it has a removable back so you can access the 1700 mAh battery and there's a microSD card slot to expand on the 8 gigs of built in storage. There's no dedicated imaging chip here, but the phone is a capable shooter. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE and the HTC One X. The phone has that distinctive Droid Incredible look with a sculpted waterfall back and red accents (power button, lens ring). The red Beats logo fits right in, and like HTC's other recent Android phones, the Incredible 4G LTE has Beats Audio that enhances audio. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE sells for $199 with contract, though Verizon's website has a web special for $150. The Incredible's biggest problem on Verizon? The Samsung Galaxy S III that sells for $199 and has every feature except a virtual kitchen sink.

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HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE Video Review Conclusion The Droid Incredible 4G LTE is a solid phone with a sharp display, excellent camera and good call quality. Were it not for the Samsung Galaxy S III and the very popular Droid RAZR MAXX by Motorola, I'm sure it would gain a lot more traction, but those flagship smartphones overpower the third generation Droid Incredible. That said, if you're a fan of the iconic Droid Incredible design and don't want a huge or expensive phone, it's well worth a look.

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HTC Droid DNA

What's hot: Superb 1080p display, fast phone, high quality materials and finish. What's not: Only 16 gigs of non-expandable storage, battery sealed inside. Reviewed December 2, 2012 by Lisa Gade, Editor in Chief (twitter: @lisagade) Look out Samsung Galaxy Note II, there's a new kid on the block, at least if you're a Verizon Wireless customer, and that's the HTC Droid DNA. Variously rumored as the HTC DLX and Butterfly J overseas, the HTC Droid DNA is one of our top smartphones for 2012. It has a slim and elegant design and it's relatively narrow, which makes holding this 5" Android smartphone easier than you might think. It trounces the Note II and every other smartphone on the market with its 1920 x 1080 Super LCD 3 display. That's 440ppi pixel density; significantly higher than the iPhone 5's Retina display and the lovely Nokia Lumia 920 332ppi display. Colors are more balanced and natural compared to Samsung's Super AMOLED HD display and letters and images look painted on the screen, much like the HTC One X and iPhone 5. Gorilla Glass protects the curved glass display. Performance and Horsepower But it doesn't stop there; this 5 ounce phone runs on a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU. The "Pro" is important, it indicates that this is the quad core variant of the S4 previously found on the speedy LG Optimus G and Nexus 4. The HTC DNA, running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean with the HTC Sense UI absolutely flies. It feels noticeably faster than other high end Android phones, despite pushing all those extra pixels. It has 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of storage. That's a sore point for us: we'd really like to see more than 16 gigs of storage since there's no microSD card slot. Of that 16 gigs, our phone had 11 gigs available after installing a few apps (none of which were particularly large). The HTC DNA has no trouble playing 1080p MPEG4 high quality video or playing today's cutting edge 3D games. Since this isn't a Tegra CPU, you won't get the special effects like water reflections and splashes in TegraZone games, but we can live with that. More Specs at a Glance The phone has a 2020 mAh battery, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a GPS and NFC that's not compatible with Google Wallet. As you'd expect from HTC, it has Beats audio that kicks in when you plug in headphones and there's a 2.5v audio preamp inside. The DNA has 3G EV-DO Rev. A and 4G LTE on Verizon and it's a world phone than can handle GSM/HSPA roaming abroad. The Droid DNA has a wide angle front 2.1MP camera and an excellent rear 8MP camera with BSI, fast f/2.0 lens and 28mm wide angle lens. The Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC Droid DNA and Samsung Galaxy Note II. Design and Ergonomics The Droid DNA has a sealed unibody design with a soft touch charcoal black back. It’s a stunner and feels great in hand, though it doesn’t look quite as interesting as the polycarbonate unibody design of the One X. At 0.38” it’s extremely slim for a big phone and we love the metallic red stripes on the side along with the red rear camera lens ring and top power button. The DNA makes the shiny plastic Note II and Galaxy S III look a little cheap: HTC has always been good at premium materials. Where does the Note II pull ahead? For those of you who enjoy the Wacom digital pen, you won’t find that here. You also won’t get the Note II’s neato side-by-side app view or the ability to play video in a floating window on top of any app. Unlike the HTC One X and One X+, the camera lens is flush so the phone doesn’t wobble when resting on its back on a desk or table. The perforated red metal side strips might look like incredibly thin speaker grilles, but the speaker is actually located on the back near the bottom where you’ll find it on most phones. The red metal power button sits on the top edge, and while it looks very nice, it’s also hard to press because it’s nearly flush with the casing and has little travel. The same is true of the volume controls on the upper right side. The 3.5mm audio jack, micro SIM card slot (requires the included tool or a paperclip to open) and two mic holes live up top. The micro USB port and another mic hole live on the bottom edge.

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HTC Droid DNA Video Review

Voice and Data Call quality is excellent for incoming calls with full audio and good volume, but we found outgoing volume to be average with some occasional digitization of voice. It’s nothing to worry about, but the DNA doesn’t stand out above the crowd of solid smartphones on the market for outgoing voice quality. Data speeds on Verizon’s LTE 4G network are par for the course, which is to say very good, though Verizon trails AT&T for LTE speeds at the moment in our area. The HTC Droid DNA manages the same speeds as the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX HD and Galaxy S III according to the Speedtest.net app (13Mbps down and 5.7Mbps up). This is a world phone that also works on GSM and HSPA+ networks for you world travelers. Our review unit actually worked with an AT&T SIM card (Verizon usually turns off compatibility with US GSM carriers). This may be because we have a pre-release phone, so no promises it will work for you. We suspect it’s a pre-release issue because after using an AT&T SIM card and enjoying HSPA+ data on AT&T’s network, we had to hard reset the phone (wipe it out and start fresh) to get it to register on Verizon’s network again. Display and Sound This is undeniably one of the best mobile displays on the planet. At a mind-boggling 440 ppi, you won’t find anything sharper than this, not even the 264ppi iPad with Retina Display. The full 1080p means you can watch full HD movies without scaling—on a phone. Wow. The fused glass on the Super LCD3 display makes images look painted on, much like the HTC One X and iPhone 5. Viewing angles are very wide and colors are rich and more natural than on Super AMOLED displays. The display’s sides have a subtle curve (again like the One X and also like the Nokia Lumia 920) and it looks cool. We haven’t had any problems with dust getting stuck in the crevices where the glass meets the phone’s body. The display has good brightness, but it’s not particularly gifted at fighting bright sunlight (the Nokia Lumia 920 and iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 get that honor). Glare and reflections are relatively well controlled on the gloss Gorilla Glass 2 display. The Droid DNA has a 2.5v audio pre-amp and Beats audio, but that magic shines through headphones rather than the rear speaker. That’s not to say the speaker isn’t fairly loud and full for a phone, but it doesn’t raise the bar either. Sound through the headset jack is top notch with a decent set of headphones: audio is not only crazy loud (be nice to your ears and avoid max volume), but it’s rich and full. This isn’t the mindlessly heavy Beats audio of old, but something more balanced and pleasing for a wide variety of music. Yes, bass is still more than ample, but the clarity of trebles and the faint whispers of background tracks like a brush on cymbals suddenly become clear and present. Camera HTC puts excellent cameras into their high end smartphones, and their Android camera app is top notch for offering myriad shooting options, including HDR and the ability to capture photos while simultaneously shooting video. The rear camera can shoot 1080p video at 30fps, though in low light the frame rate may drop. The rear camera has a BSI sensor and a fast f/2.0 lens to further improve low light photography. Indeed, the 8 megapixel camera with LED flash can take some compelling night shots of street scenes and moody bars, though we noted more noise than with the supremely impressive Lumia 920. That said, the DNA’s night sky blacks look black rather than noisy gray, and that makes for a very striking evening capture. Benchmarks Quadrant GLBenchmark 2.1Egypt Offscreen AnTuTu Sunspider JavaScript Test HTC Droid DNA 7823 78 fps (v.2.5 used) 14,578 1146 Samsung Galaxy Note II 6001 66 pfs (v.2.5 used) 14,056 1052 HTC One 12,252 37 fps (GLBench 2.7 used, so results are lower) 24,589 1155 LG Optimus G 7235 59 pfs (v.2.5 used) 11,087 1289 HTC EVO 4G LTE 5086 56 fps 7001 1650 Motorola Droid RAZR HD 5055 51 fps 6760 1862 HTC One X 5001 56 fps 7074 1617 Samsung Galaxy S III 5102 51 fps 7011 1825 Battery Life As with other recent HTC unibody phones, the battery is sealed inside, so you can’t swap in a spare as needed on the road. As a consolation, the 2020 mAh Lithium Ion Polymer battery has good stamina despite the big high res display and 4G LTE. Chalk that up to excellent power management and the Qualcomm S4 Pro’s power frugalness. Like most powerful, big screen smartphones, you’ll likely have to charge the phone nightly with moderate use (some calling, web, push email, music and 30 minutes of video playback), but we routinely ran the phone from 8am to 10pm without running out of power. Conclusion After two weeks using the HTC Droid DNA, I can safely say it’s one of my top smartphone picks for 2012 and early 2013. This is not only a fast phone with the latest quad core Qualcomm S4 CPU, but it has a class-leading 1080p display that’s a feast for the eyes. At 5”, you might think this is an unwieldy phone, but it’s much more hand-friendly than the Samsung Galaxy Note II, and not that much bigger than 4.7 and 4.8” Android smartphones like the HTC One X+ and Samsung Galaxy SIII. The design is elegant, the build quality is excellent and it’s a pleasure to hold and use. As long as you can live with the 16 gigs of storage, I highly recommend the DNA. Price: $199 with 2 year contract, $599 without contract.

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