HTC One VX Review

Introduction:

Balancing out its offerings, veteran smartphone maker HTC recently introduced its entry-level device in the HTC One VX for AT&T. The One VX is aimed to give basic end users something to drool about without being much of a bothersome in the wallet. Sure, it’s not an intimidating tour de force like some of the Taiwanese based company’s arsenal, but regardless of that, let’s just hope it can at least give some value to entry-level minded consumers without sacrificing a whole lot in terms of features and performance.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Safety and Regulatory Guide

Design:

Unlike the majority of smartphones under the $50 threshold, the HTC One VX sports a design that’s not only pleasant, but employs some of the distinctive design elements akin to the company’s line of One-branded smartphones. For starters, we like that it has a good balance between comfort in the hand and a decent build quality. At first glance, it would seem as though it’s rocking a metallic trim of some kind, but in fact, it’s nothing more than an aluminum painted plastic trim that’s sturdy and clean looking. For an entry-level thing, we appreciate all of its fine qualities.



You can compare the HTC One VX with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Being an ICS device, it’s sporting the usual trio of Android capacitive buttons below its display, which are thankfully sufficiently spaced from one another to reduce accidental presses. Above the display, though, we spot its earpiece light/proximity sensors, and VGA 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera – the latter of which can shoot videos in up to VGA (640 x 480) resolution.

You’d think that HTC would’ve focused on putting some distinctive physical buttons on its smartphones by now, but we continue to see the same flat buttons on the One VX. Aside from the power button and volume control around its trim, we also find its noise-cancelling mic, 3.5mm headset jack, standard mic, and microUSB port for charging/data connectivity.

Flipping it over, we’re greeted to its 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, which also has the ability to record video in 1080p. Looking towards the bottom edge of its rear, microdots line up in unison to make out its speaker grill. And if you can’t tell from the name stamped on there, the HTC One VX features Beats Audio support. Prying off the plastic rear cover, we’re given access to its nanoSIM and microSD slots. Interestingly, the 1,800 mAh battery isn’t something that can be removed by the user.


Display:

Amazingly, we no longer need to tolerate tiny and low-res displays with entry-level smartphones, as many recent offerings have shown us. However, the HTC One VX surely goes super-size with its larger-than-normal 4.5” qHD 540 x 960 Super LCD-2 display, which whips up a respectable pixel density of 245 ppi. Even though it suffices for more things, the larger size of its display causes fine details to deteriorate in a zoomed out view within the web browser. Regardless, it’s good enough for other things, especially with its good outdoor visibility, natural color reproduction, and wide viewing angles. Frankly, it might not have the stunning glow to enthrall us, but it’s pleasant enough nonetheless.

Interface and Functionality:

Hardly a surprise, the HTC One VX is running the Sense UI on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich – albeit, it’s the older Sense 4.1 UI. Therefore, there’s nothing terribly new in this aspect, but it still packs all of the lovable personalization options and polished widgets that are typically found with HTC’s custom experience. Beyond that, it’s rather unfortunate to find this running ICS out of the box, as opposed to Jelly Bean – still, an update is expected to roll out in the future to get it up to par.


As usual, the core organizer apps with the HTC One VX are no different from other recent smartphones from HTC’s camp. From their functionality to presentation, nothing new is seen with any of them. Furthermore, the email experience follows in form to any other Android smartphone, seeing that the Gmail app presents us with deep and comprehensive functions that we crave on the desktop side.


Blessed with a healthy amount of real estate, typing up messages with its on-screen keyboard is no issue at all. On top of being presented with a spacious layout, its responsiveness is tight enough to keep up with our rate of input. And as an alternative, you can opt to rely on the Trace feature to input text by using the appropriate swiping gestures.

Processor and Memory:

At this point, dual-cores are minimum expectation when it comes to entry-level models. With this, it’s powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. Generally speaking, it performs adequately with most things, but it tends to exhibit some sluggishness every now and then – though, it’s never downright frustrating. Yet again, for what it’s worth, we’re content with its overall performance.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
HTC One VX	5269	10822	58,4
LG Escape	5268	6830	59,8
Pantech Flex	5083	6974	60,5
HTC One S	4867	7012	60,7

For its category, we’re not too sad by the fact that the HTC One VX is stuffed with 8GB of internal storage. Why’s that? Well, it carries along a very useful microSD slot to supplements its capacity.

Internet and Connectivity:

As long as you’re in an area with AT&T LTE, you’ll be able to take advantage of its faster data speeds. If not, then you can always resort to HSPA+ speeds instead. Honestly, the web browsing experience is good – aside from the slight delays when it comes to rendering stuff whenever the zoom level is modified. Beyond that, everything else is in good position with its tight navigational controls and fast page loads.


Being a GSM smartphone, it’s enabled to work on the majority of GSM networks around the world – with a sprinkling of LTE compatibility in some places. Even better, this entry-level model is boasting all of the modern connectivity luxuries with find on higher-end devices – like aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot functionality, and NFC.

Camera:

Armed with a 5-megapixel auto-focus snapper, its quality isn’t in the same light as the elites in the category, but nonetheless, it might please some people enough to accept as being usable. As long as there’s plenty of lighting, shots definitely have some appeal with their overall looks – though, over-sharpening becomes apparent. With its color reproduction, it tends to come out somewhat distorted at time, and beyond that, it doesn’t seem to handle dynamic range that well. In lower lighting situations, noise, graininess, and super soft details become the distracting elements.



Likewise, we can say the same thing about its 1080p video recording quality. In general, the quality is average at best, but the biggest distraction is the artifacting elements that pop up, which become more transparent as there is less lighting. Otherwise, it maintains a good capture rate, has a gradual exposure, and produces so-so details.

HTC One VX Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Donning the same old Sense music player from before, there’s nothing particularly engaging about its presentation or functionality. Luckily, the audio quality of its internal speaker is superb, since its volume output doesn’t strain at the loudest setting. Better yet, Beats Audio support splashes on that lovable level of amplification to give it that robust and full bodied quality to headphones connected to the 3.5mm jack.


Combining its large size display and effective dual-core processor, it makes for a wonderful video watching experience. In fact, in didn’t strain once trying to play our test video that’s encoded in DivX 1920 x 1080 resolution. Additionally, it features support for other codecs out of the box as well – like H.264, MPEG-4, and XviD.

Call Quality:

When it comes to call quality, we’re very pleased by the results, as voices on both ends of the line are distinctive, audible, and clear. Through the earpiece, its volume output is effective enough to make out voices in any environment – albeit, the speakerphone emits some echoing. In addition, it’s worth noting that its noise-cancelling properties are quite effective in muting background noise.


Battery:

Sticking with HSPA+ connectivity, we’re able to inch out a solid day of normal usage with the One VX’s 1,800 mAh battery, which isn’t something out of the norm nowadays. However, it’s absolutely guaranteed that you’ll need to charge this one whenever, wherever as much as possible if you’re connected via LTE.

Conclusion:

Needless to say, we’ve seen an increase of very remarkable entry-level smartphones in the market – such as the LG Escape and Pantech Flex, with the two being priced aggressively. Well people, we’re happy to vouch for the HTC One VX as well, considering that it has that great balance of features, price point, and performance to appease those who aren’t looking to spend a fortune. On top of that, its design is undeniably something that stands head above water against most of the offerings out there in the same space. So if your budget stands at a mere $50, you’re sure to get your money’s worth out of the HTC One VX.

Software version of the review unit:
Android Version: 4.0.4
HTC Sense Version: 4.1
Software Number: 1.17.502.5 710RD

HTC One VX Video Review: