It seems that the HTC One X is still selling well despite the Samsung Galaxy S3 taking the limelight and boasting the highest ever Android phone pre-order numbers. What’s its secret? The HTC One X’s appeal is in its specs which match right up with the Samsung Galaxy S3 on paper as well as its early availability. Let’s do a quick run-down of the main features to compare both smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC One X: Perception vs Hype
The One X was the first HTC Android phone to feature a quad-core processor just like the Samsung Galaxy S3 was for Samsung, and both the One X and the Samsung Galaxy S3 have the latest Android 4.0 build preloaded. The HTC One X also has a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU with 1GB of RAM which just nudges ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S3 1.4GHz quad-core chip set with 1GB of RAM. In theory the HTC One X wins, but a lot of customers don’t know that some recent benchmark tests showed that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is more powerful thanks to its chipset’s newer architecture. Nevertheless, for most consumers the bigger the better and the 1.5GHz sounds bigger.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a 4.8″ Super AMOLED display with a 306ppi density and 720×1280 pixels. The HTC One X has an almost equal 4.7-inch Super IPS capacitive touchscreen, and both screens are made of Gorilla Glass. The One X seems to have a clearer display when tested outdoors, though, as we reported last week. The Samsung Galaxy S3 display has been called out for being Pentile as well, although most consumers only despise the word ‘Pentile’ due to the negative criticism it received in the past. So the HTC One X looks to come out better.
The cameras on both phones are evenly matched. The HTC One X has an 8MP camera with LED flash, autofocus, 1080p video and a secondary 1.3MP camera which takes videos at 720p. The Samsung Galaxy S3 also has an 8MP camera with 3264×2448 pixels, image stabilization, geo-tagging, autofocus and smile detection. For video calling it uses a 1.9MP front camera for video calls. HTC has heavily marketed the One X camera and its custom image processing chip as being even better than the iPhone 4S. Samsung however haven’t really pushed the advancements in its 8MP camera and for most folks, they assume it is identical to the 8MP camera on the S2.
Now not only does the HTC One X match the Samsung Galaxy S3 in just about every way, it’s also easier to get hold of worldwide, including the US (you can get it right now unlike the Samsung Galaxy S3 which is seeing shortages and exorbitant price tags worldwide). Its exterior design is easier on the eye too, and looks much more “high-end” than the plastic looking Samsung Galaxy S3. If you picked up both phones, the One X gives off a more premium vibe than the Samsung Galaxy S3 despite both technically being made of different plastic composites.
In the US, the HTC One X is on AT&T and Sprint (HTC EVO 4G LTE) and contract prices range from $133 to $199 depending upon the third party retailer you buy from. The Samsung Galaxy S3 unfortunately is in short demand over on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, while T-Mobile is charging a ridiculous $329 contract price for the device (you can get a $50 mail-in rebate though).
