With the HTC One X+ due to come out on AT&T in the States this Friday, we thought it was time to put it against another flagship device that’s also available on AT&T, the Galaxy Note 2. Both are quad-core devices running Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean. So this will be a tough fight, but we will have a winner. Let’s jump on into the spec’s and see who has the better specs.
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Where to begin with the Galaxy Note 2? There’s so many great things about the Galaxy Note 2. Let’s start with software. It’s running Touchwiz on top of Android 4.2 and brings in quite a bit of Samsung apps, and features. Including S-Memo, S Voice, Smart Stay, and more. Smart Stay is by far my favorite feature. It uses the front-facing camera to see if you’re still looking at the screen, and if you are it will keep the screen on, if not it goes off like it should. Pretty useful when reading a book, or this article on your Note 2.
Then there’s the hardware. A beautiful plastic body. Some people think it feels cheap, but I think it looks and feels great. Along with that amazing display and huge 3100mAh battery to power it all day long. This is a great phone. While the large screen might be a turn off for some, many others are going to love it. My advice, if you think it’s to large, go to a store and check it out. You may actually quite like it.
Pros:
- Gorgeous Super AMOLED 5.5-inch display
- Huge 3100mAh battery
- Touchwiz; While Android purists will hate it, those who like the features it brings will love it
- Available on all of the major US carriers
Cons:
- While the screen is beautiful, it may be to large for some
- The 3100mAh battery is large, it’s battery life won’t be better than the Droid Razr Maxx HD, who has a smaller screen and a larger battery
HTC One X+
If you’ve watched our podcasts lately, you know our gripe about HTC and them not releasing the same device on all the US carriers like Samsung. But aside from that the One X+ is a great device. Not to cool with the name though. Starting with software, the One X+ comes with Android 4.1 and Sense 4+ already installed. No waiting for updates. If you’ve used an HTC device in the past, you might remember how crappy and bulky Sense was. Well starting with Sense 4, that all changed. HTC has also included Beats Audio on the One X+, and it works in all the applications.
Onto the hardware. HTC is none for their beautiful designs. Their phones look like premium devices, and they should be. Until you turn them on, and see an older version of Android with Sense. But this bad boy is running a Tegra 3 quad-core processor with a full gig of RAM and a beautiful 4.7″ SuperLCD2 display. Which is one of the best looking displays I’ve seen in a long time. The only one better is probably the HTC J Butterfly or Droid DNA.
Pros:
- Tegra 3: this processor feature the 4-plus-1 technology. Where it actually has 5 cores. 4 are running at a higher speed, with a fifth running at a slower speed to get most tasks done without using more battery power
- 64GB of internal storage People whine about non-expandable storage all the time. But with 64GB internal, who needs a SD card? And yes the AT&T version is coming with 64GB
- Sense 4+ and Beats Audio; Feel free to flame me in the comments, but I actually like Sense. It looks and acts much better since ICS came out with the One Series. Sense 3.x was horrible, but Sense 4.x was refined and looks amazing and doesn’t slow down your phone as much as in the past
Cons:
- No expandable storage; talked about this already. People like to have the option. But with 64GB internal already, is it really needed?
- Sense 4+; yes I have to play devil’s advocate here. Like I said with the Note 2, Android purists are going to hate Sense 4+, because it’s not stock Android, and looks nothing like Stock Android.
Winner….
And the winner is…..can I get a drum roll please? The Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It offers basically everything the HTC One X+ does and more, except for build quality, that’s all HTC. But I still say, go into an AT&T store and try both of them out. If you find the Galaxy Note 2 is to large for you, then you’ll want the One X+. Which ever device you choose, you will love it. Both devices are powerful, and can handle just about anything you throw at them.