Gadgetory

so the same thing kind of always happens when a new phone is announced the media gets the device ahead of time maybe a couple days a couple weeks if we're lucky and we get to use it while we're preparing our review then the date and time of the press embargo arrives the embargo lifts everybody posts their review at once and it is a giant big frenzy of activity there's commenters going nuts and defenders and attackers and it's just a huge explosion for about a day and then everything disappeared ensure there's follow-up coverage and stuff as people find bugs people have other stuff to say by the devices they wear a min over the course of a day or so but really nobody ever goes back and revisits these devices after that initial blast of a review to see how they feel after a couple weeks so let's do something about it let's have a look at a device when it's a couple of weeks after release and not shiny and new anymore I'm high memory better with varga now calm this is the HTC windows phone 8x and this is episode 11 of after the buzz when both HTC and Microsoft announced the Windows Phone 8x it was hard to grip the concept of a signature Windows Phone if Allah liam's were forced to retain certain similarities across the platform add to that the fact that this is one of the most expensive windows phones in the market and it was clear there had to be something amazing about this device to justify that price tag holding the device for the first time gives you the immediate impression that they did do something right at times when the world is full of jumbo phones all around HTC manages to build a gorgeous device in design that feels premium and adequately sized for your hand it's tapered edges and it's soft polycarbonate body make it feel impossibly thin and light and honestly it just makes you want to hold a device again and again match that the gorgeous 720p display and it's clear that the designers were lost when they said they built the phone to blend with the Windows Phone life tiles if it wasn't for the devices lack of a replaceable battery or external storage to back the decent 16 gigabytes of storage at this price tag I really would have no complaints when it comes to hardware software is a different story since there truly is a lot to love and hate about Windows Phone 8 on an HTC device on the positive side this device makes Windows Phone look elegant and sleek when those phone is a well-oiled machine and so far there isn't a shore we've thrown to this phone that it hasn't handled with ease the display just contributes to making this an excellent user experience HTC also shines in adding additional applications and services like a clock tile that really make the phone appear different to any Windows Phone counterparts but sadly it won't the throne the Nokia Lumia when it comes to added software and features mainly the problem with Windows Phone is the lack of popular applications that don't allow you to interact with other users from other platforms well like the case of the lack of Instagram or Spotify or other services that Microsoft can't ignore have been the cornerstone of popularity for Android and iOS and when it comes to the applications that are available the little things like the weird multitasking services that force you into the menu if you want to return to the application in its previous state instead of allowing you to launch the application where it was from the live eyal and the lack of true notification center just makes the experience frustrating at times in the end there's really nothing wrong with the operating system or the way the phone handles it mainly the problem is the ecosystem because it doesn't really provide you with options that allow you to blend with today's popular task for smartphone when it comes to the user experience the camera is good but it's not what many would call great it takes good photographs but it seems a common thing for Windows phones that still struggle to focus on subjects well before taking a shot and making low-light photography hit or miss the fun facing camera is one of its high points though and I went for more subjects to fit into a frame through a wide angle lens which is in addition that we feel should be standard on all smartphones especially for those facebook bathroom pics 1080p video is good and the phone does a great job in picking up your audio but it's frustrating that you can't tap to focus on anything since what the phone does is actually stop the video and start a new one instead of actually focusing on whatever you wanted to focus on now battery life really amazed me giving the sleek design of this phone there was really no problem getting through the day no matter what I through to the device and when it comes to daily usage it handled phone calls with an amazing clarity and data speeds were also well handle even through hspa+ now Beats Audio is really where I had trouble judging this device it sounded a lot better on the One X with the included headphones that on this 8x when it comes to fidelity so it's really hard to see if Beats Audio is really an OS thing or it could just be a HTC thing so bottom line what I still recommend that you buy an HTC windows phone 8x after a couple of weeks of usage well that answers kind of complicated on its own the device is beautifully designed it provides a great day to day performance and it's just a good device to any HTC fan out there when judged against competing devices and other platforms things get tough mainly because of Windows Phone 8 since it really isn't where we wish it would be when it comes to applications and it just makes us wish that HTC brought the same designs of Android when compared to other Windows Phones things get even worse since flagships like the Lumia 920 easily beat this device when it comes to storage capacity and added features for half the price tag overall I'm sad to admit that unless you're a die-hard HTC fan like I am you'll most likely prefer to skip this device over other options that will give you more for your money that's it for episode 11 of after the bus thanks for joining me and be sure to share your impressions or comments of the HTC windows phone 8x in the comments down below then you like the phone then you skip the phone let us know why in the comments you should also follow us on your social network of choice and again be sure to give this video a thumbs up if you liked what you saw I'm hi Mary better thanks for watching