This is what I like:

1. Big bright screen. Although I do miss the days of small compact phones that could fit in my jean pockets, my eyes appreciate the larger 4.7-inch HD display (–> Got those figures from the box).
2. Phone is sleek and very light. It’s a sexy phone that has a nice grip. Even though the display is larger, it can still be used with one hand.
3. Word options vs. Auto-correct. How many times have you texted “dumb phone” after a faulty auto-correct? Exactly.
4. Beats audio is clear and sounds awesome. Negative: You will only hear it through the headphones and not the phone’s speakers.
5. Picture-taking is sweet! The 8mp camera can take pictures using effects that are built into the phone.

   

   Even as an Instagram fan (feel free to follow me), I love this feature. I can add effects to my photos without using a 3rd party. And the storage space is crazy – 64GB! This is very convenient for my travel stories.

6. Fast app downloads from Google play. I thought the downloading speed was possibly a product of my wireless but when I compared it to my iPhone’s downloading from the app store, the speed between my 4S and the OneX + was night and day.
7. The battery is a beast! I played Pandora for 2 hours straight, starting at 7 pm, and after a full day of the phone being on, at 9 pm, my battery was still at half-life. I didn’t turn on the Power Save option and I had 5 apps running in the background. I’ve learned with the iPhone, one of the ways to preserve battery life is to fully close all apps you’re not using. I knew I wanted to try that with the HTC OneX+. It’s very easy to do, no instructions necessary. You tap the Recent App button on your phone and a gallery of your apps will tile. All you do is swipe it up the screen to throw it away and, poof! Be gone! Gratefully, I didn’t need to shut down my apps. But now that I know how to turn them off in the background, the battery life will last even longer.

To Be Continued

I haven’t tested all the features on the phone, but I have checked out the most important ones. The one I’m looking forward to testing out the most is the NFC Android sharing feature. My husband and I giggled at the summer Android advertisements that came out, poking fun at the iPhone culture and shortcomings. This “like magic” sharing feature between two NFC-enabled Android phones was one of those penis-envy moments.

My biggest wish list item for this phone: a pair of Beats mini headphones or any headphones for that matter.

Survey Says…

I’m hitting the “Love” button on this one. Question is, when my current phone contract is up, will I fully convert back to Android life or live between both worlds? There was a time when I absolutely adored my HTC Evo Shift, before I was coerced gifted into an Apple world. Based on the looks of the HTC OneX +, it’s quite possible – this is a pretty tight phone. Even my 9 year old is impressed. He says “that phone’s so cool.” I agree.

What do you think? Wanna give it a try? I’m running a giveaway for a phone just like mine, AT&T service not included. Just enter the rafflecopter giveaway below. UPDATE: Unfortunately, we had to take down the Rafflecopter widget as it was disrupting functions of the site. Those entries from Theresa J and earlier are all still in the contest and saved in the Widget offline from the site. All entries following, will be manually inputted.  For your optional entries, complete the following:

1.) Tweet about the contest and let us know you tweeted by posting your status link in the comments.

2.) LIKE Mom’s Guide To Travel on Facebook and let us know you’ve become a fan. We WILL verify.

For your mandatory entry, In your comments, tell me what kind of phone you’re sporting and tell me who inspired me to wear bright colors – answer is in my Winter Style post. Remember, winners are chosen at random, contest ends 11:59pm January 31, 2013, and you have to answer the questions. Good Luck!

Disclosure: Contest is sponsored by HTC. One lucky reader will be chosen at random to win an HTC OneX+! The giveaway is open to US residents only, AT&T service is not included. Contest runs from 1/26/13 until 1/31/13 at 11:59 pm EST. All photos were taken on my #HTCOne X+ provided by HTC as a member of #TroopOneX. All opinions are my own and I do not promote Yuengling Lager – picture provided for illustrative purposes.