Supercharged new HTC One X Smartphone

When it comes to mobile essentials, the must - have list is simple: you need an amazing camera lens, great sound, an efficient operating system, and for the handset itself to look special. The new HTC One X comfortably surpasses the highest expectations and much more.

Its new quad -core processor isn't just superfast (it's the speediest phone HTC has ever developed), it's powerful enough to allow you to multitask comfortably and enjoy a seamless experience flicking  between applications or photo albums. And you can plug in HTC's Media Link HD accessory into your HDTV and stream films wirelessly to the big screen, while surfing the web on the device.

Then there's the camera, which has been enhanced at every level, from lens to software. It also has a new custom HTC ImageChip that reduces the amount of time needed to capture an image, so it's ready whenever you are, even in low light. You can shoot video and take stills at the same time - as demonstrated in the latest HTC campaign, when Nick jojola (right), an amateur photographer who had never skydived before, captured a series of amazing fashion images while freefalling at 200kph.

Match this with Beats Audio for your music, games and movies, plus easy sharing with Dropbox integration (25GB free) and this looks less like a premium mobile, and more like a modern essential

HTC Rezound and Vivid: Two Excellent Phones

     HTC'S REZOUND AND VIVID 4G phones have lot in common. Currently offering the Sense overlay atop Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), both are slated for an upgrade to 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwhich) sometime this year. And although are plagued by display pointing battery life, they're excellent for multimedia.

Rezound of Verizon

     Measuring 5.08 by 2.58 by 0.54 inches, the 6-ounce Rezound ($300 with two year contact) may not fit in every pocket, but it feels rock solid. The dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor keeps it zippy. The display, a 4.3-inch, 1280-by-720-pixel super LCD, looks  great, but on occasion it lagged when I pressed a button or swiped between home screen.

     In the FCC-approved Ookla Speedtest app, I clocked download speeds of 11.55 megabits per second, and upload speeds of 10.38 mbps, on Verzion's LTE network. Call quality was even, with no hiss or static. The other parties said that I sounded clear, and that I sounded clear, and that they couldn't hear any background noise.

Beats head phones are included

 with the Rezound; when you plug them in, 

the Beats Audio Software enables itself.

     Beats-brand headphones are included with the handset; when you plug them in, the Beats Audio software enables itself. In my tests, Beats-enhanced tunes did sound better - but only because normal music playback was muffled and murky.

     Regrettably, the battery life is not optimal. After I spent 3 hours browsing the Web, playing games, and video too, and it picks up audio well, but in my tests it produced a mild jelly effect

Downloading apps, our fully charged test unit had only 30 percent of its battery left. The 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash is adequate, but performs poorly in dim light. The 2-megapixel front-facing camera offers good image quality. You can fine-tune sharpness, saturation, and exposure, and even take panoramic photos. The Rezound can record 1080p.

Vivid for AT&T

A 1.2Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor powers the 5.07-by-2.64-by-0.44-inch ($200 with two year contract).The 4.5 inch qHD display lives up to the phone's name: Images and video have bright colors and crisp details, and you get plenty of screen real estate for playing games and watching full-length movies. In direct sunlight, however, the display fades a little.

     In my tests with the Ookla app, the Vivid registered average downloading speeds of 17.1 mbps and 10.58 mbps in various  parts of San Francisco. Unfortunately, although Web pages loaded quickly, switching from portrait orientation to landscape mode was a bit slower than I expected. And when I was using 4G, I could tell that it was putting significant strain on the battery.

     On AT&T  network, I had consistent reception. Friends on the other end said that my voice was loud enough, but slightly hollow. Their voices sounded natural and clear, with ample volume.

     Though the 8-megapixel camera supports 1080p video, oversaturated  colors and a touch of artifacting marred my clips. But HTC did well with the still camera: My outdoor pictures had bright colors, while my indoor photos boasted sharp detail.