After we reported on LG's Optimus 4X HD, many of our readers voiced out their dissatisfaction over the performance of LG software on past devices. Well for those readers, fear not, as a premature website posting by Orange UK and subsequently other firms, has unveiled full specifications of HTC's latest front runner, the HTC One X and its slightly lower-end brother, the HTC One S and, great news, the One X also features Tegra 3 quad-core and a 720p display, as with the Optimus 4X HD.
Other features of the One X are a back-side illuminated 8 megapixel camera with an incredibly wide angle 28mm F/2.0 lens and adjustable power-level LED; the camera will use a dedicated image processing chip that will enable pictures to be taken whilst filming and enables 5 fps rapid capture. The device also sports a new 4.7 inch Super LCD2 1,280 x 720 Gorilla Glass 2.0 display, support for NFC and wireless HDMI, 21Mbps HSPA+ 3G connectivity and of course, Android 4.0 ICS.
The smartphone ships with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and will offer 25GB of inclusive storage from DropBox for two years. It's also looking likely that the retail package will include some form of Beats Audio earphones.
Full device specifications are as follows (there is a little debate over the actual CPU frequency and some minor specs, these are leaked figures after all!):
| CPU | 1.5GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9 (Tegra 3) |
| GPU | Tegra 3 ULP GeForce |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Internal Storage | 32GB |
| Other Storage | MicroSD |
| Camera | 8MP 28mm f/2.0 auto-focus with flash + 1.3MP front-facing |
| Connectivity | BT 3.0 + HS, WiFi b/g/n, NFC, 3.5mm Ear Jack (Beats Audio) |
| Display | 4.7 inch 1,280 x 720 Super LCD2 Gorilla Glass 2.0 |
| Dimensions | 134.36 x 69.9 x 9.29mm, 130g |
| Battery | 1,800mAh |
Exact specifications for the One S are still unknown, but it's looking like it'll be the following:
| CPU | 1GHz Dual-Core ARM Cortex-A9 |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Internal Storage | 16GB |
| Other Storage | MicroSD |
| Connectivity | BT 3.0 + HS, WiFi b/g/n, NFC, 3.5mm Ear Jack |
| Display | 4.7 inch 540 x 960 Super LCD2 Gorilla Glass 2.0 |
We can't confirm how this will translate to the UK, however the One X is expected to retail, SIM-free, at €699.90 and the One S at €599.90. No doubt we'll learn more as the week unravels but HTC is clearly looking to regain lost ground in mobile market shares by throwing some real contenders into the mix. Meanwhile, with other firms such as Huawei also announcing quad-core devices, it looks as though quad-core SoCs will be reaching mass-market penetration much sooner than expected, despite early reports that dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 devices can perform just as well but under less wattage.
EDIT: It has now been revealed that the HTC One X in the US will instead be equipped with a Snapdragon S4 series CPU with integrated LTE, whilst world-wide models will utilise the Tegra 3.
