HTC One X+ vs. One X

It seems so long ago. Before Samsung grew into the dominant player, the hottest Android manufacturer was HTC. Fast-forward to today, and HTC is trying to regroup with its series of One phones. Its latest offering is the upgraded version of the One X, dubbed the One X+. How does the new phone compare to its predecessor? Let's take a look.

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Google gave HTC a shot in the arm with the first Nexus device, the Nexus One. The Taiwanese company subsequently solidified its status with the hot-selling powerhouse, the HTC EVO 4G. Then HTC made the mistake of going all-in on 3D (has that ever worked for anyone besides James Cameron?) and Beats Audio. This led to a disappointing 2011, and 2012 hasn't fared much better.

HTC's attempt to rebound has come in the One series. It rekindles the type of simple, elegant, and powerful device that put the company on the map. The high-end handset of the bunch, the One X, was praised by critics, but hasn't exactly been a hot seller.

Now HTC is continuing its back-to-basics approach by introducing the One X+. Much like Motorola did with the Droid Razr Maxx, Peter Chou and company are taking their flagship phone and tweaking it in several key areas.

Lets break down the specs between HTC's two One X revisions:

Dimensions

No differences here

Look familiar? As you can see, the phones are physically identical. These are somewhat beefy phones compared to anorexic handsets like the Droid Razr and iPhone 5, but their sleek design should help make up for that.

Weight

The upgraded battery in the One X+ adds a negligible amount of heft

The One X+ tips the scales a bit more than its predecessor, because of its superior battery (see below).

Display

The display in the One X was already top-notch; so no changes there

The display also stayed the same in the One X+. HTC decided that the terrific 720p resolution, 312 pixels per inch (ppi) screen in the One X was good enough to leave alone. You will probably agree.

Processor

The One X+ has an improved Tegra 3 over the international version of the One X, and a big upgrade from the dual-core chip in the US One X

Here's another big upgrade in the One X+: a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. The global (non-US) version of the One X sported a Tegra 3, but the US version had a dual-core chip. With the One X+, everyone gets in on the quad-core action.

Clocked at 1.7GHz, it looks better on paper than just about any other smartphone CPU.

RAM

RAM stays the same in the One X+

RAM stayed the same in the One X+, with HTC focusing more on the upgraded processor for a performance boost.

Storage

Internal storage gets a big upgrade in the One X+

Flash memory also got upgraded in the One X+. It ships with a whopping 64GB of internal memory. This helps to offset the absence of a microSD card slot, which the One X also lacked.

Like with the One X, HTC is also offering 25GB of free Dropbox storage (which is integrated into HTC Sense for photo and video syncing) for two years. Combining physical and cloud storage, that gives One X+ owners a theoretical 89GB for storing files and media.

Wireless

Like with the One X, it may be mostly US customers enjoying LTE in the One X+

The One X only supported LTE in the US (the rest of the world got Tegra 3 instead). With the One X+, HTC can finally combine NVIDIA's quad-core chip with "true 4G."

Many global customers, however, will be limited to a non-LTE version of the One X+.

In the US, the One X+ will be exclusive to AT&T. Keep in mind, though, that AT&T's LTE network is still growing and is only available in select regions.

Battery

The One X+ packs a better battery into an identical external casing

The One X+ also gets an upgraded battery. The One X has solid battery life, but the X+ should last a full day for most users.

Cameras

Only the front-facing camera sees an upgrade in the One X+

No changes here for the One X+, aside from a slightly upgraded front camera. As the One X has one of the better smartphone cameras available, this isn't a bad area to stand pat.

Intangibles

We're stretching here a bit, as both phones will soon have Jellybean, and both ship with Beats Audio (Dr. Dre photo: Ed Kavishe)

With two nearly identical phones, there aren't many miscellaneous differentiating factors. The One X+ will ship with Android 4.1 Jellybean, but the One X will be receiving an OTA Jellybean update soon.

The One X+ will sport an upgraded version of HTC Sense. Sense 4+ features a few perks, like a Self Portrait mode (face detection helps you take better pics with the front-facing camera), the ability to use the power button as a camera shortcut, and an enhanced Gallery.

The best features of the One X carry over to its successor, but both phones do have Dr. Dre and company's Beats Audio. The reaction to Beats in HTC phones has been mixed at best, but it can enhance your listening experience if you pair it with Beats headphones.

iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S III

There's nothing like a good rivalry. Whether it's Ali vs. Frazier, FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, or Magic vs. Bird, gritty duels have a way of getting people pumped. In this Digital Age, consumer tech has its own sets of sworn opponents: in the 80s it was Apple vs. IBM, later we saw Windows vs. OS X, and gamers even have Playstation vs. Xbox.

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In 2012, however, the biggest tech rivalry is the match between the two biggest players in mobile: Apple and Samsung. This one has gotten nasty,extending into international courts. Things only get more interesting with the release of Apple's iPhone 5 this week.

A great product is much more than the sum of its parts, but – even in this post-PC era – specs can matter. If one phone has a quad-core chip with 2GB of RAM, and another a single-core CPU with 128MB of RAM, the first one will be much faster. Likewise, a display with 320 pixels per inch (ppi) will look much sharper than one with 163ppi. You'd be foolish to worship at the altar of specs, but technical details can still shed some light on the subject.

So, with many grains of salt in hand, let's see how Apple's newest iPhone stacks up against the current cream of Android's crop, the Samsung Galaxy S III:

Dimensions

Say what you will about Samsung's originality, but its devices are beloved by millions. The Galaxy S III has an expansive surface, but measures thinner than the previous two iPhones.

The iPhone 5, meanwhile, is Apple's first redesigned handset in over two years. It's longer than the iPhone 4/4S (by 8.6mm), but maintains the same width. At 7.6mm thick, the iPhone 5 is also one of the thinnest smartphones around (the Droid Razr measures at 7.1mm, but it has a protruding hump).

Weight

The iPhone 5 is light. Though the iPhone 4/4S was far from a hulking monstrosity, the new model is 28 grams lighter. Part of this is due to its thinner design (and internal components), but its aluminum backing is the biggest reason. The past two iPhones had glass backs, which naturally added some heft.

Though it may feel heavy next to the iPhone 5, you can do much worse than the Galaxy S III. Despite sporting a monstrous display and a wider build than Apple's latest, it's still a relatively light smartphone.

Display

The iPhone 5 offers the first change in screen size since Apple entered the industry in 2007, boosting the iPhone display from 3.5 to 4 inches. Rather than adding a huge screen with the same 3:2 aspect ratio, though, Tim Cook & company lengthened it. It shifts to a narrower 16:9 aspect ratio: larger, but you can still reach your thumb across the screen.

The Galaxy S III, meanwhile, has a display that is both longer and wider than the iPhone's. If you aren't concerned with thumb reach, the S3 offers significantly more screen real estate.

Size isn't everything though. Apple is promising 44 percent greater color saturation over the iPhone 4/4S. The touch-sensing electrodes are also nearer to the display's surface, moving one step closer to the illusion of ink on paper.

CPU

Remember when I said specs weren't everything? These chips are great examples. On paper, the processors in both versions (North America and international) of the Galaxy S III are superior - faster clock speed and an equal or greater number of cores. But early tests reveal that Apple's custom A6 SoC is a beast, breaking records in Geekbench and Sunspider benchmarks.

Unsurprisingly, the A6's closest rival in those tests has been the Galaxy S III. Both editions of the handset deliver some of the best smartphone performance you'll see in 2012 ... but they may not match the wicked speed of the iPhone 5.

RAM

Another big factor in performance, RAM is evenly matched at 1GB in the iPhone 5 and the global Galaxy S III. The US/Canada S3, meanwhile, doubles the memory with a whopping 2GB.

Storage

Here's another closely-matched category. The 64GB version of Samsung's flagship launches soon, and the only other difference is the microSD card slot that it (and most Android phones) offer.

As always, more flash memory means you're spending more money.

Wireless Connectivity

After over 18 months worth of LTE-equipped Android phones, Apple has now given us an iPhone with "true 4G." Those who live in an area with available coverage will see cellular data speeds that are faster than many home broadband connections.

The Galaxy S III also supports LTE, like most high-end Android phones from the last year or so.

Battery

The biggest reason for Apple taking its sweet time delivering LTE? It took a while to get battery life up to snuff. Early LTE phones like the HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Droid Bionic sometimes struggled to last a few hours. We finally saw an LTE phone with great battery life in the Droid Razr Maxx, and the Galaxy S III is no slouch either. It should last a full day for most users.

We've yet to put an iPhone 5 through the paces, but Apple promises better battery life than the iPhone 4S, even while on LTE. Early reviews suggest that it lives up to this promise, but we'll update after getting our hands on one.

Camera

You can't go wrong with either camera. At least before the iPhone 5, many valued the S3's shooter as the best on the market. Despite many similarities to the 4S' camera, Apple is promising key improvements over its predecessor - including better low-light shooting.

Apple is highlighting a new panorama shooting feature in iOS 6 (exclusive to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5). Though it offers Apple's customary polish and attention to detail, there are already several quality third-party panorama apps on both iOS and Android, and a similar stock panorama feature on the S3.

Intangibles

Though Apple design guru Jony Ive isn't part of the iPhone 5, he does represent those elements of Apple's appeal that can't be drawn from tech specs alone. While rival manufacturers focus more on specs, marketable features, and pricing, Apple's main focus is on the customer's experience. That includes the feeling one gets from holding, viewing, and using the product. With its combination of lightness, unprecedented thinness, and beautiful design, the iPhone 5 may epitomize this philosophy more than any prior Apple product.

The Galaxy S III, on the other hand, is today's Android flagship. In a crowded field of high-end smartphones, that's no small feat. In other words, if a friend asked for advice on the one Android phone to buy, you'd be wise to recommend the Galaxy S III.

The Galaxy S III isn't quite on the software cutting edge, sporting the nearly year-old Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (skinned with Samsung's Touchwiz UI). Samsung did, however, cook up several unique features: S Beam (which utilizes its Near Field Communication chip to enable peer-to-peer sharing), a variety of social sharing features, and its (less intelligent) Siri rival, S Voice.

The iPhone 5 ships with iOS 6, which heralds the arrival of a new Apple Maps app - including Siri-powered turn-by-turn navigation - and system-wide Facebook sharing. It also brings incremental improvements to Safari, Mail, iCloud, and Siri.

Long-term Apple customers will notice another big difference this year: Apple has redesigned its bundled earbuds. Now known as Earpods, the tiny headphones promise a more secure and comfortable fit, as well as improved acoustics. As a standalone $30 product, these aren't high-end models for audiophiles, but they do look to drastically improve on the old earbuds.

One last iPhone update to keep in mind: Apple added a new connector to the iPhone 5. Dubbed Lightning, it's smaller, promises faster speeds, and is reversible. Unfortunately, it also requires you to buy a $30 adapter to keep using all of your old docks, speakers, and other accessories. It was time for the old 30-pin connector to go, but it would have been nice to see a cheaper (or bundled) adapter for those old accessories.

Summing Up

So which phone is better? Who's the grand poo-bah of the smartphone market? Much of that will come down to your preferences. If you've already dug your heels into either the Android or iOS camp, then your mind was likely made up long ago. But if you haven't yet chosen a side, we recommend you head to a retail store to get some hands-on time with both phones. It's hard to go wrong with either one.

As the iPhone 5 begins to arrive on people's doorsteps (and in the hands of weary Apple Store campers), we'd love to hear your thoughts about it. Does it live up to expectations, or feel like another incremental update? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

Nexus 10? Google and Samsung reportedly making high-end tablet

The tablet market has been clearly split. There is the high-end, dominated from inception by the iPad. Then there's the evolving low-end, which has been led by the Kindle Fire, but is also party to offerings from Google (Nexus 7), Samsung (Galaxy Tab 7) and Barnes & Noble (Nook HD). As Apple prepares to enter the low-end with the iPad Mini, Google may now be looking to take on the iPad.

According to CNET, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shin has the lowdown on the tablet. Shin says the slate would carry the Nexus branding, and would be yet another collaboration between the search giant and Samsung (after the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus).

High-end

The 299 ppi would be new ground for tablets (peacock feather:Shutterstock)

The device's killer feature would be its display: its 10.1-inch, 2560 x 1600 screen would be sharper than anything on the market, with its 299 pixels per inch (PPI) easily topping the 264 ppi in the 3rd gen. iPad. You can argue that, at a certain point, raising pixel density is overkill – but you may want to see the display before jumping to that conclusion.

Shin says that this will be a high-end tablet, with a price to match. Aiming squarely at Apple, Google and Samsung would be foolish to overprice it; US$500 or less for the base model sounds reasonable. With the iPad having no proven challengers at the high end of the market, the companies know that they need to dazzle. The potential success of Microsoft's Surface andother Windows 8 tablets only adds to the task before them.

No word yet on a release date (assuming Shin's sources are sound and the tablet exists), but it sounds like 2013 would be a safe bet.

What do you think: would a Nexus 10 be a true challenger to the iPad? Or would it go the way of the fallen XOOMs and Galaxy Tabs that came before it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.