8X still worth buying on contract?

[rezallak]

Hi, I should be getting a new phone in the next couple of days, and I've been meaning to switch to WP for a while.

When the 8X was first announced I absolutely fell in love with it's design. It's combination of color, ergonomics, simplicity, beauty and connection between hardware and software still collectively represent one of the best designed peices of consumer electronics in the last couple of years IMO. I'm sure most people that have bought it have similar thoughts.

From what I can tell, the actual experience has been a mixed bag in terms of quality. Some people claim the corners of the 8X tear off if left in jeans pockets, and other decry the battery life and storage.

However, like any other consumer device, the 8X has simply grown old as well--old enough that it can be had for free on a contract (Verizon). Right now I have a 2 year old Android phone that was already several months old before it made it to American shores--the Galaxy SII. With Android, having an old phone, you can feel it. Software updates become scarce, but more notably, the phone feels outdated hardware wise; things become sluggish, the battery life gets worse, and the design starts to feel dated.

What I am asking is, anyone that's had a WP device for 2 years, maybe even one that was already old when you bought it for 2 years, how do they hold up? I imagine that it would fare a lot better than Android.

The final point that I'm brought to is, do you think that buying an 8X on a 2 year contract is still worth it, considering any longevity issues WP or HTC has? I understand that HTC's support for WP has been less than stellar, but is it really unacceptably bad? Do the quality issues (mostly battery life i'm worried about) dictate that one shouldn't bother with the 8X, regardless of the fact that it's old? Do you think HTC will release an updated model with more storage/bigger battery etc that one should just wait for? Will Microsoft's recent buy affect any of this?

I know it's a lot to think about, but if anybody could give insight onto just some of these factors it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you :smile:

 

[Eric J F]

This won't answer most of your questions, but it might help you decide:

I've had a T-Mobile 8X since January and like it a lot. The build quality is very good, though I have a case so I can't speak about the wear issues. Since the recent update it has no bugs and it's very fast. Battery life isn't bad, but my wife's Lumia 521 does much better. The 8X's two main drawbacks are its non-removable battery and lack of expandable memory. In T-Mobile's case it's also the lack of WiFi Calling.

Though I like the 8X, if I were to get a new phone I'd probably get a Lumia, mainly for the WiFi Calling.

 

[anon(5928073)]

it is a great phone. I had one for a while. Build quality and the feel of the phone is great. This issues are that there is no wifi calling and no LTE on t-mobile.

If you can deal with that, then go for it!

 

[Pete]

Buying an 8X is a difficult choice these days as it's clear that Nokia is heading the pack in terms of technology and apps.

Having said that, I bought my 8X on launch day and love it. Slim, ergonomic, stylish, and works well.

I did have cases at the start where the phone would randomly reboot itself, but that's now been fixed with a firmware update. I've had no significant issue with battery life (lasts a day with moderate usage, which is on a par with my expectation for a smart phone).

I've never used a case or screen protector with my phone (black) and never had any problems with scratching (either on the glass or the phone body).

I would say that it's a safe bet. HTC isn't as active as Nokia, but we have had firmware updates and updates to the HTC apps on a semi-regular basis, so official support isn't as non-existent as people report (why mess with something that works?). The phone will continue to get OS updates, just the same as the other handsets do.

16Gb of storage space does help a lot too.

 

[Meng Jinn Chuah]

I've had a Samsung Omnia 7, their first wp7 since December 2010, and up to now, the animations are still smooth. Only difference is app loading is pretty slow, like Soundhound and facebook.

Just recently purchased a 8X outright for about 250AUD, and build quality is great. Battery life isn't too great though: last charge says 20hours when i've 20% left, so you could probably get through a full day with light usage (push email every 30mins, intermittent whatsapp conversations, 1 or 2 calls, 10 minutes of playing game, etc).

I would say HTC 8X would still be a pretty good investment, unless Windows Phone 9 is released OR quad-core windows phones are released (which I hear they are testing it out).

Hope this helps!