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Making a distinctive phone these days is hard. Device manufacturers have to deal with product cycles of less than a year, a generally homogenous set of components to choose from, and the very basic prerequisite that a modern smartphone feature an all-glass front with a minimally thin back. These issues all factor into the "conveyor belt" look and feel of the common handset, and yet the Windows Phone 8X defies them all.

You’ve never seen a phone quite like this. Like the subtly concave Galaxy Nexus, the unique shape of the 8X is instantly recognizable from almost any angle. Though it measures 10.1mm thick, the tapering sides of this new handset make it feel thinner than it is. It’s as if someone took all the necessary parts for a smartphone, dropped them into a polycarbonate material, and vacuum-sealed the sides.

Some familiarities and longstanding principles of HTC design remain. There are no hard corners, every edge has been rounded down, painstakingly engineered to feel good in the hand. Think about why soap bars all end up in the same oval shape after a bit of use, and you’ll understand why HTC is so obsessive about curving every surface. In fact, the only truly flat space anywhere on this phone is the middle of its Gorilla Glass 2 display, which in itself slopes off at the edges to meet the even curvier unibody shell.

Both striking to look at and inviting to the touch

In HTC’s words, this is "the most comfortable phone you'll ever hold." I certainly find it among the most pleasing to the touch, thanks to the case’s grippy soft-touch texture and palm-fitting D-shape. Unfortunately, for all the sumptuousness of its look and initial feel, the Windows Phone 8X isn’t the most comfortable phone you’ll ever use.





The top-mounted power button is a particular annoyance. It sits flush with its surroundings and the area you need to press to activate it is about a millimeter thick. The volume rocker and camera key on the right are more generously proportioned, but they too are almost recessed into the phone's side. The 8X is also unusually tall for a 4.3-inch device, matching the dimensions of the 4.7-inch HTC One X and LG Optimus G while giving you less usable screen real estate. That’s a downer in itself, but more importantly, it means you’re negotiating the same handset height as with those seemingly less ergonomic devices — in my case, that resulted in a lot of fumbling and pressing of the volume rocker while trying to reach the power key. Mounting a beefier power button on the side, as Samsung, LG and Nokia have been doing, would have improved handling greatly.

Light leakage through the Micro USB port was a problem with some of our review devices, but not all. The thing that was consistent about all the Micro USB jacks, however, was a sharp edge around the opening. It won't cause any harm, but feels rough to the touch on the occasions that you do come in contact with it.





While the display and the wraparound case of the Windows Phone 8X flow seamlessly into one another, they do clash aesthetically: the typical high sheen of the glossy screen feels mismatched with the ultra-matte finish of the sides and back, particularly on the black model. More irksome for aesthetes will be the fact that the red version of the 8X uses no less than three different shades of the color: one for the case itself, a second hue on the strip around the camera, and a third for its physical buttons. And, in a final offense against design gurus, HTC misdescribes the purple variant of this phone as "California Blue." Trifling, perhaps, but it’s mildly disappointing to see the company’s attention to detail slip just as it’s applying the finishing touches.

The 8X makes the Lumia 900 feel thoroughly outdated

Nokia may have been first to use single-piece polycarbonate cases, but its Lumia 900 immediately feels dated when held alongside HTC's latest. The 8X is lighter, thinner, and just flat out better looking. High on design, uniqueness, and style, the Windows Phone 8X matches the overall ethos of WP8 very well — it’s clean, simplified, and, at least from the front, square enough to complement those minimalist live tiles. You won’t find a user-replaceable battery or a microSD card slot, and you’ll need a pin to access the Micro SIM slot, but this is one occasion where I can’t begrudge those compromises.