The One X, HTC's popular and powerful smartphone, is getting all the upgrades the company can cram into it.
Branded the HTC One X+, the new version upgrades the operating system from Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, doubles the internal storage to 64 gigs, and pumps the processor from a 1.5 GHz quad-core to a 1.7 GHz quad-core Ncidia Tegra AP37, which HTC says is 67 percent faster.
The battery also jumps from 1800mAh to 2100 mAh, increasing the talk time by 50 percent.
A self-portrait mode included on the camera lets users take glamour shots. The software adds "subtle enhancements to skin and eyes," according to a statement released by HTC.
And now HTC offers a web service that adjusts the phone settings. Setup or change settings online and transfer them to the phone, instead of searching through long lists on a little screen.
Speaking of the screen, it gets an upgrade to Gorilla Glass 2, which should make it a bit tougher, though the new version does weigh five grams more than its predecessor.
The One X+ will be debuting in Asia and Europe in October. No date is set for a North American release yet, though whenever that does come, the phone might have even more upgrades installed.
Leaked images show the phone being sold with a pay-as-you-go plan for £479.99 (that's $774.61 for us Colonials). No word on subsidized pricing with a contract, or actual American prices.
Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC has been struggling in recent years. It's lost plenty of marketshare to Samsung, whose Galaxy SIII smartphone has emerged as the best Android rival to Apple's dominant iPhone 5.
HTC has pared down its offerings lately, trying to focus on a few flagship models, though the fractured U.S. market still insists on carrier-exclusive models, hence the delay in the American market.
Rather than crafting a niche for a new phone, HTC's revamp of the One X is designed to make the One X+ a more worthy competitor to the Galaxy SIII, and indeed, head-to-head comparisons are showing the two juggernauts to be very similar in capabilities and user experiences.
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