[brmiller1976]

As soon as I saw the HTC Windows Phone 8X back in September, I knew. I tried to be pragmatic, talk myself into the possibility that the Nokia Lumia 920 was a viable competitor, but it’s not. Let me just be clear here: There is the HTC Windows Phone 8X, and then there is everything else. And this handset isn’t just better than the Windows Phone competition. It’s better than all smart phones. And it will be my day-to-day phone going forward.

I couldn’t be happier.

The HTC 8X, as I’ll call it, is the only smart phone on the market that edges past the iPhone 5 in terms of sheer beauty. It’s better looking, and it feels better in the hand, while offering the same benefits of a thin and tall design. Since hardware design was the iPhone’s biggest advantage over previous Windows Phone handsets, this is a huge accomplishment.

A great review! The rest is here:

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/...hone-8x-144722

[anvilofstars]

He also has this beauty in there:

"One I find surprisingly useful is simply called HTC, and I use it primarily to glance at the time, since it features a wonderfully large clock display on its tile."

which is followed by

"It’s not perfect. The HTC 8x lacks micro-SD expansion, and some may pine for that or at least more internal storage. The side-mounted hardware buttons—power, volume, and camera—are flush to the device and sometimes hard to press.

And … I’m pretty much grasping at straws here, trying to come up with something to criticize."

Other quotes:

" It’s almost fetishistic. I can’t stop touching it. (Enough of that.)"

"Long-time readers know I’ve become somewhat obsessed about smart phone camera quality. I’ve been taking photos with this thing since Monday and the picture quality is superb, easily the best of any smart phone I’ve ever owned."

followed by:
"An impromptu camera test pitting the 8X against an iPhone 5 on Tuesday was inconclusive: The shots were nearly identical, which I take as a good sign. But I’ll be doing a more detailed comparison of the cameras in the 8X, the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920. "

Please don't call that a review, that is a stupid rant.

[Trocien]

Interesting. Maybe I should think a little bit more between the Lumia 920 and the 8x....hmmmmm wow...this is a hard one.

[squire777]

Lately Paul has been sounding like he's losing it.

[VagrantWade]

I'm so happy for brmiller and the other HTC guys.

Those of us on AT&T will go with the superior 920 though. PT and his poor little dwarf hands couldn't handle the superior power of the 920. If only he dated Jessica Alba who is much stronger and could carry the 920 for him.

[brmiller1976]

He shared his perspective and used superlatives, hailing HTC's outstanding design and the 8X's sheer power and usability. Apparently one isn't allowed to do that with an HTC device! ;)

(Oh, and it's available November 14th!) :D

[VagrantWade]

He shared his perspective and used superlatives, hailing HTC's outstanding design and the 8X's sheer power and usability. Apparently one isn't allowed to do that with an HTC device! ;)

(Oh, and it's available November 14th!) :D

Of course he is. The 8X is a great device. But you posted this in Upcoming & Rumored instead of the 8X board. Intentionally. So naturally I had to compare the two. And the 8X came up short. Like Paul Thurrotts' Tyrion Lannister hands.

[baseballbert]

Not so fast. I'm on AT&T and the 8x will be the one for me. The design alone is enough to get my vote next week! #timetoswitch-to8X

[VagrantWade]

Not so fast. I'm on AT&T and the 8x will be the one for me. The design alone is enough to get my vote next week! #timetoswitch-to8X

You're still hung over from the parade. Go back to sleep bert.

But once again the 8X is a nice phone. But I can't take anyone serious that things 180g is a lot of weight. I just can't. I would have to mail in my man-card.

[independentvolume]

Christ. What we have here is a much needed ace review to push wp8 forward and there are people whining about it. Pretty sad.

[rockstarzzz]

Put this Paul who bashes everything he can against that Verge(?) I can't remember but recent thread about Lumia 920 camera, iPhone 5 and 8x comparison where 8x "missed" most of the times. Who do you trust?

People commenting here were quick to commit that 920 failed and sucks as it is only good for low light settings, did not say a word about how 8x screwed up and instead there was a discussion about what an average user might or might not do. But then in this thread 8x is all praises?

God forbid a guy with SGS2 or SGS3 who wants to get a WP now, reads these threads and he wouldn't have a clue what to get!

[brmiller1976]

Paul is tough, but fair. I've never seen him bash anything unfairly (though I am open to being proven incorrect).

[brmiller1976]

But you posted this in Upcoming & Rumored instead of the 8X board. Intentionally.

So sorry that I posted a review of an Upcoming Device in the Upcoming Devices forum. It's clearly not supposed to be done, which explains the 22 review threads in "Upcoming and Rumored," including the photo review threads, mostly about the Lumia 920.

Clearly I am an evil, evil man who should be spanked. Vigorously. :D

[gerrymad]

I agree with everything Paul said. I've been using the 8X sinc Monday and I just love it. It works great and looks great. He really hit the mark when he mentioned how he likes to touch it. This phone just feels good. Everybody who sees me using it wants to check it out and they all comment how nice it feels. I've also had a lot more people asking me for more info about Windows Phone.

That said I actually hope the 920 gives it a run for the money. From a munfacturer's perspective this is about beating the other hardware companies. My view is that having multiple nice devices where people can actually argue over which is better means we have a vibrant market. Much like Android benefitted from choice WP8 as a platform will benefit. In the iPhone market you have the 4 row of icons version or the 5 rows of icons version. In this WP market there are many good options with real differences. Pick the best one for you.

[brmiller1976]

It isn't just about other Windows Phones.

It's about having the BEST phone in the market.

According to Paul, the 8X is the BEST phone out there. Period. End of.

That's a HUGE coup for Windows Phone.

[anvilofstars]

He also has this beauty in there:

"Long-time readers know I’ve become somewhat obsessed about smart phone camera quality. I’ve been taking photos with this thing since Monday and the picture quality is superb, easily the best of any smart phone I’ve ever owned."

followed by:
"An impromptu camera test pitting the 8X against an iPhone 5 on Tuesday was inconclusive: The shots were nearly identical, which I take as a good sign. But I’ll be doing a more detailed comparison of the cameras in the 8X, the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920. ".

Paul is tough, but fair. I've never seen him bash anything unfairly (though I am open to being proven incorrect).

Which part of that seems fair to you? He brags about it being the best phone ever and in the next sentence he claims he can't prove it.

I would say he is being pretty unfair to the iPhone there.

Moving on though.... He has this gem also:
"Since hardware design was the iPhone’s biggest advantage over previous Windows Phone handsets, this is a huge accomplishment."

Really? This is where you should have stopped reading. The looks of the WPs wasn't what was holding them back, it was everything else and I am sure everyone else here will agree.

That gem is followed by this:
"The HTC 8X comes in three brilliant colors—the deep blue I’m using, red, and yellow—plus black, and as with the Lumia devices, the color isn’t painted on, it’s baked into the unibody design, and issimply gorgeous looking."

I am not usually about grammar, but that whole statement is just one big WTF.

I'll re-quote this one cause it needs to be:
"Where Apple’s machine has harsh edges, the 8X is soft and wonderful. It’s almost fetishistic. I can’t stop touching it. (Enough of that.)"

This is on top of the fact that he gets the sensor facts wrong (No GPS Chip) as well as forgetting to mention that it has 2 amps (he says one), one of which is dedicated for the headphones.

Again, this is not a review. I like Paul for his support of the WP and I could care less about his choice of phone, but calling this a review is insulting to just about every WP8 including the 8x.

[AngryNil]

According to Paul, the 8X is the BEST phone out there. Period. End of.

And his justification? It looks nice. Just ignore complaints of others regarding its top-mounted power button (which makes its height a problem) and its square corners. He hasn't even put the other phones through their paces.

"The Galaxy Ace is the best phone out there. Period. End of."

Did I just make the Galaxy Ace a great phone? No, I didn't.

[theefman]

His views are no more valid than any other review. Its up to the individual to make up their own mind what they want from the device they choose. People are trying way too hard to overcompensate for the htc which is what this thread is all about. Its a good phone, said it already. Maybe time for some to get over the fact that others just like something else.

[Narr]

I'd love to know what the reception and signal are like because the Titan sucks big time. Also I want to know if HTC are even thinking of creating or sponsoring apps as Nokia do at the moment otherwise it can look and feel as gorgeous as it wants but it's not the real deal.

"From a tech specs perspective, the HTC 8X is fairly leading edge for a Windows Phone." This caught my attention as 16GB and lack of gyroscope is far from leading edge.

[independentvolume]

His views are no more valid than any other review. Its up to the individual to make up their own mind what they want from the device they choose. People are trying way too hard to overcompensate for the htc which is what this thread is all about. Its a good phone, said it already. Maybe time for some to get over the fact that others just like something else.

This goes both ways. I've never been on a forum where everything gets trolled so hard. 920 thread, troll it. 8x thread, better troll it. Ativ S thread, better troll it.

[VagrantWade]

This goes both ways. I've never been on a forum where everything gets trolled so hard. 920 thread, troll it. 8x thread, better troll it. Ativ S thread, better troll it.

The biggest most notorious trolls on the forum are two HTC guys and one Samsung guy. So I'd say an inferiority complex is responsible. People think of WP8 they think of Lumias. Only natural to want to over compensate. I'm loyal to none of them. I am loyal to Microsoft I'll ditch any of them is a surface phone comes out.

[Smg-Uk]

This caught my attention as 16GB and lack of gyroscope is far from leading edge.

But class leading Screen and a camera that top's the IP5 & Lumia 920 in certain situations along with the best audio out of the current wp8 devices and best FFC is not leading edge?

The biggest most notorious trolls on the forum are two HTC guys and one Samsung guy. So I'd say an inferiority complex is responsible

Nonsense if you say anything bad about the Lumia 920 (no matter if its fact) then prepare to get jumped on by a pack of bloodthirsty Nokia Fans.

I don't remember WP7 having all these rather pathetic fanboy wars but maybe now that WP has got more interest this is what we have to put up with hmmm

[jdevenberg]

The biggest most notorious trolls on the forum are two HTC guys and one Samsung guy. So I'd say an inferiority complex is responsible. People think of WP8 they think of Lumias. Only natural to want to over compensate. I'm loyal to none of them. I am loyal to Microsoft I'll ditch any of them is a surface phone comes out.

I have seen just as many Lumia guys dismiss any of the advantages the 8X has as being worthless, minimizing any disadvantage the 920 has, and swearing by the 920's camera before there are any solid reviews. Its just not viewed as trolling because most people on here are Lumia fans and don't view opinions that agree with their own as trolling. I am not loyal to any phone brand (though I'm not fond of Samsung). I'm personally torn between the 8X and the 920 and think they are much closer matched than a lot of Lumia guys want to think.

[pjs37]

Lately Paul has been sounding like he's losing it.

To be fair to Paul Thurrot this is listed under the "What I use" posts he does which talks about what he is using at the current moment such as his Ultrabook or tablet etc. it is not meant to be taken as an actual product review it basically is a way for him to explain what device he has chosen to use and why he is using it. I think people saying its a lousy review aren't quite grasping what the concept of this particular column is supposed to be and it shouldn't be called a review even and I think Paul would admit this himself.

[brmiller1976]

I'm not trying to "overcompensate" for the 8X. I *am* trying to get people excited about a review that puts a WINDOWS PHONE on the top of the heap. If you don't get why that's important for WP, well, I cannot help you.