Welcome to another edition of Phone Wars. Today we’re pinning the HTC One X up against the Galaxy Note 2 (International variant). Both are quad-core devices, but still different processors, they both also have the same screen resolution and are beautiful displays. So which one is superior to the other? Join us as we find out. First up is the spec’s.
Specifications
HTC One X
Announced at Mobile World Congress in February 2012, the One X is one of the very first quad-core smartphones to hit the market. HTC said when they announced the One X that they listened to their customers and they wanted a non-removable battery and no sd card slot. Not sure who they talked to on that one. But the reason why they aren’t doing well is probably primarily due to those two reasons. The One X was one of the first devices to come with the completely overhauled Sense 4. Many people may not be fans of Sense 4, but personally I love it almost as much as stock Android. Mixed with Beats Audio, it’s a great device, but buyers can’t get passed the non-removable battery and no expandable storage.
Pro’s
- NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor; the Tegra 3 processor has the “4+1” technology which means there are 4 cores running at the same speed and a slower fifth core that can handle most of what you’d be doing on your device.
- Beautiful 4.7″ display, it looks like everything you see on your screen float on top of the the display. Which is just gorgeous.
Con’s
- Non-removable battery; For those that want to put in a fresh battery in the middle of the day, that’s not possible with the One X
- Poor Battery life; only a 1800mAh battery that cannot be removed
- No Expandable storage; While that might not be a big deal for the International variant as it comes with 32GB, the AT&T variant only comes with 16GB
- Beats Audio & Sense 4; while many people just think Beats Audio is a marketing scheme, I disagree. I can tell the difference between having it enabled and disabled. Sense 4 is a huge step forward for HTC but it’s still not enough.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Let’s introduce you to the beast that is the Galaxy Note 2. The first device to hit the US with a quad-core processor and LTE on board. Along with that beautiful 5.5″ display, and the S Pen. It’s an amazing device. It’s only the second Android device in history to be available on T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and US Cellular at almost the same time. Only other device to do that was the Galaxy S3 this past summer.
Pro’s
- Beautiful 5.5″ display, that is NOT using Pentile technology
- The S Pen! It’s just plain brilliant. There’s so many things you can do with it
- Multi-Window support; giving you the ability to truly multi-task on that huge 5.5″ display
- Huge 3100mAh removable battery; Giving you great battery life
- Expandable storage, maxing out at 64GB micro SD card
Con’s
- Slow Updates; even though Samsung has been pushing out Jelly Bean pretty quickly, it’ll still be months before it sees Android 4.2
- Touchwiz; While it’s less battery intense than Sense 4 on the HTC One X, it’s still not stock Android. How hard is it to get a pure Android device other than a Nexus?
- Only available in the US in 16GB models, even though 32 and 64GB were announced at IFA in August.
Winner….
Like you really had to ask. Of course it’s the Galaxy Note 2. It’s a newer device, running newer software, with much bigger screen and battery. Not to mention the magically abilities of the S Pen that comes with the Galaxy Note 2. Some of you may think the Galaxy Note 2’s screen is to big, and if it is go ahead and get the One X. Not that the HTC One X is a bad phone, it’s still a great device. It’s just older with older software on top. These are just our opinions and facts. If you find you like the One X better, then by all means pick that one up. You’re the one that has to live with it for 2 years not us.