It’s time yet again for two of Android’s best devices to go to war. You all know and love it, it’s our Phone Wars where we pin one device against another and show you the differences in specs, features, and more. This time we are pinning up two devices that are available this month (November 2012). It’s the Google Nexus 4, which will be on sale starting November 13th, with all it’s quad-core Nexus glory against the HTC One X+ and it’s Tegra 3 quad-core glory. So sit back and watch the fireworks from these two going head to head. Let’s get started with the first round, those juicy spec’s.
Specifications
Google Nexus 4
Here we have Google’s latest flagship device, which they partnered with LG on. It is the first device to run Android 4.2, of course the rest of the Nexus family will follow within days of the Nexus 4 being released, and one of the few quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro devices out there. Mix that powerful Snapdragon S4 Pro with 2GB of RAM and Project Butter, and you have got yourself a blazing fast machine that accomplish anything! There’s no LTE on the Nexus 4, Google says it’s a cost issue. I believe a part of the reason is they don’t want to deal with the carriers for updates. Which in the end is a good thing for customers. We want updates as soon as possible, right? And Photosphere, that is all.
Pro’s
- Android 4.2; Photosphere, Gesture Typing, Enhanced Google Now, Miracast and More!
- Nice big non-removable battery; in most cases should get you through a normal days use
- The Price; Starting at $299 unlocked straight from Google. You just can’t beat that.
Con’s
- No LTE, removable battery or expandable storage
- Only available (In the US at least) on contract from one carrier, T-Mobile. $249 on Classic plans, and $199 with 20 equal monthly payments of $15 on Value plans.
- Non-Play Store purchases; Reports we’ve seen lately show that the Nexus 4 is very overpriced everywhere around the world except in the Google Play Store
HTC One X+
The successor to the HTC One X, which was one of the first phones to sport a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. The One X+ is a slight step up from that. The only major differences between the two are the storage, battery and processor speed. While it may not seem like a huge upgrade, it is at least internally. You’ve got an upgraded Tegra 3 processor that’s a bit faster, a larger battery and double the storage. Currently only available in Europe, and will be available on AT&T at some point soon.
Pro’s
- Sense 4+; For many people this is a bad thing, but in Sense 4+, HTC really scaled their skin back and it’s actually quite nice to use. HTC went back to the days of the Droid Incredible with Sense 4+
- The Tegra 3 has a 4-plus-1 feature that has 4 cores running at the same speed plus one slower one that can handle most processing on the phone. Giving you better battery life
- Camera and Image-Sense; The camera on the HTC One series has been the best I’ve seen in quite a while. That 8MP camera is great for taking pictures, and when it gets Android 4.2, the Photosphere is going to look really nice with the One X+
Con’s
- Sense 4+; Like I said above, some people hate skins like Sense and Touchwiz. So if you do, you won’t want this device until it has been rooted and AOSP ROMs are available
- No expandable storage or removable battery; this might be a turn off for people that need more storage and switch batteries through out the day.
Winner….
Like most of our phone wars, this is a tough decision. But due to the more up-to-date software, and hardware, the winner would have to be the Nexus 4. The Nexus 4 and the One X+ has the same size battery, no expandable storage and no LTE. So it was down to software and spec’s. The Tegra 3 used in the One X+ is aging, while the Snapdragon S4 Pro is a pretty new processor. Then it’s 2GB vs 1GB of RAM, so of course the Nexus 4 would win that war. While my winner might not be your winner, that’s fine. We are just here to bring you the facts, compare the specs and tell you what we think of these two devices. To help you make an informed decision when you pick out your next device.