The rumours and leaks were spot on. HTC's giving its flagship One X a spec bump to help it compete with the likes of the Galaxy S III. Meet the new 1.7GHz quad-core-packing, 64GB-equipped 4.7-incher, dolled up in go-faster red and black, the HTC One X+.


Basically, it's the same phone we were impressed by back in April, just with upgraded internals and a new colour scheme. It's got the boosted 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chip at its heart, backed by 1GB of RAM; an 8MP shooter on the back coupled to a new imaging chip; an upgraded 1.6MP chat-cam on the front, plus a Beats audio feed-back amplifier, which apparently makes the on-board speaker sound better - perfect for annoying the hell out of everyone on the bus, now with distortion-free, tinny sound.

One of our biggest gripes about the One X, was the crummy battery life; thankfully HTC's seen fit to put a bigger, 2,100 mAh cell in the One X+, so hopefully it'll last a little longer. Oh, and it might not come with a charger, depending on who you buy it from.


In our hands-on play it felt snappy and responsive, but honestly, anything packing Jelly Bean does these days. The improved camera works as advertised, while HTC's new Sense 4+ skin is light and blends well into Google's own handiwork, along with its new Watch 2.0 and "Best Deals" apps.

HTC's flagship just got better, but is it enough to drag you away from the awesome Galaxy S III or Apple's new iPhone 5? Probably not, but at least it's a decent alternative if you're not a fan of the battling pair. Pricing and availability are yet to be announced for the US.

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