HTC Jealous Of Samsung's Phabulousness - Plans Counter-Attack

WILL THE PHABLET PHASE PHLARE UP WITH HTC ENTERING THE NICHE?

Now this has to be the best rumor I have read this week... HTC is said to be entering into the phablet arena with their own jumbo 5" smartphone device. They just could not let Samsung rule the phablet roost without tossing their own version into the ring.

This comes from the professional leak-artists over at Digitimes. They claim the HTC phablet will be 5" with pixel layout of 1794 x 1080 at 1080p HD. The new monstrosity is supposed to be announced in September or October of 2012.

This might sound a bit far-fetched; but if you think about it for a while, it follows the pattern. HTC has gone blow-to-blow with Samsung for the past year in cranking out similar smartphone devices. They've done a great job, too.

I happen to be of the opinion that Samsung takes the slight edge over HTC with their devices, but HTC certainly pushes the limits in making what I believe to be one of the best product lines on the market.

People didn't predict a tremendous success for the Samsung Galaxy Note 1, and I think everyone is surprised at how solidly this unit has been selling over the past several months. Sure, it's not breaking records, but it has had respectable sales and has proven the phablet to be a strong enough niche to take seriously.

That's why I think this rumor will turn out to be fact. HTC is not going to sit back and let Samsung exploit a potential strong niche without providing a competing product. I'm just wondering which one will spec out in the lead between the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the HTC "Behemoth" phablet-to-come.

One thing is for sure, however... I don't see Apple jumping into this fight ever. Theyr'e still stuck in the 4"-or-less smartphone display size paradigm, and the best possible related product would be their iPad Mini (IF it even comes to fruition).

Share your thoughts! Are phablets the next strong gadget niche, or will it pass in the night?

Carlton Flowers
Phablet Rumor Watcher

The HTC One X (AT&T) Is ___ In My Hands

TEST DRIVE OF THE HTC ONE X (AT&T) HAS BEGUN!

I am on day three of test driving the new HTC flagship smartphone called the "One X", and I already have a lot to say about this device. To answer your question, it feels GREAT in my hands!

Right off the bat, out of the box, I was impressed. The One X is super thin. Far more thin than any HTC smartphone I have tested to date. And it "feels" right in my grip. Besides feeling wafer thin, the edges are rounded off and the screen melds into the casing.

The case seems to be made of a polymer composite that has the color built-in. I could be wrong, but it seems an aweful lot similar to the Nokia Lumia 900, other than the edges have a glossy finish.

The power and volume buttons are different than my Samsung Galaxy S2, so that took some getting used to. But they are nicely located on the top and right side of the phone, with the power plug on the left.

Something I noticed that was different on this smartphone than any other was the audio quality. With "Beats Audio" by Dr. Dre, playing music over the internal speaker is much more enjoyable than my Galaxy S2. My phone sounds like music coming from a tin can as compared to the One X, that plays music with a wider and more even frequency response.

Stay tuned for the next post, where I'll tell you the big difference I noticed with the qHD display, as compared to the Super AMOLED Plus display. You might be surprised! Until then, enjoy the video, or jump to Amazon Wireless and get your HTC One X today for only $169.99 on contract!

Carlton Flowers
Smartphone Testerizer

HTC One X Pre-Order Special At Amazon For $149

PRE-ORDER THE HTC ONE X FROM AT&T WIRELESS AT AMAZON

Folks, the HTC One X is about to roll out! You can stand in line now by pre-ordering your very own from the Amazon Wireless store through AT&T for only $149 with a new 2-year contract. Check the link below!

Click the link below to jump to Amazon Wireless to check out the HTC One X now! It comes with a huge 4.7" HD 720p display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4G LTE connectivity through AT&T Wireless, GPS, hotspot capability, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, full 1080p video capture, front and rear-facing cameras, 16Gb of storage, and more.

Click here to view the HTC One X