Hands On: HTC One X+ and One VX

HTC's plan is elegance. That's clear now. The HTC One X+ and One VX are the company's new Android phones for the holidays, and I got to spend some time with them at an event.

If you want to brush up, check out our rundown of the two phones from when they were announced a few days ago. The One X+ is the flagship model, with an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and LTE, and the VX is the cheaper unit, with a 5-megapixel camera and a somewhat slower processor.

Both feel really classy, and both feel really similar. They're cast in polycarbonate like the current HTC One X, with super-sharp Super LCD 2 screens. The One X+ is startlingly light, almost featherweight. Like the iPhone 5, you have that thought of "is the battery missing?" But no, it's not missing - it's just a really light phone, made substantial by its relatively large size and rigid body.

The One X+ is the first LTE phone with a Tegra 3 in the U.S., and the advantage there is games. Nvidia has been cultivating game developers, seeding games into a "Tegra Zone" full of exclusives. There are only about 40 or 50 games there right now, but they're all gorgeous and high-end. I launched two of them on this One X+, and they played beautifully. It has Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean," too.

The One VX felt more natural in my hand than the larger One X+. It's slightly smaller, with a 4.5-inch screen rather than a 4.7-inch display, and it's a little lighter but that felt less disturbing, because the 4.4-ounce weight felt more appropriate to its size. The white polycarbonate body and Android 4.0 OS made it feel like a One X, not like the metal One S I carry around most days.

Both of these phones are very well built and classy, and that's one of HTC's big points here. Everything's tight. Nothing's creaky. Everything's snapped in. Nothing's easily removable. Samsung's phones sell better, but they often feel flimsier than these tightly speced devices. HTC's problem is that its strength is great build quality, and "great build quality" is hard to communicate before you hold a phone in your hand. Once you hold it you feel it, though.

The HTC One X+ and One VX will come to AT&T later this year.

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HTC One VX
The HTC One VX is AT&T's new midrange Android smartphone from AT&T, with a 1.2-Ghz dual-core processor, HD screen, and 5-megapixel camera.

HTC One VX Back
The HTC One VX is made of white polycarbonate. The 5-megapixel camera is on the back.

HTC One VX Angle
The HTC One VX is light and easy to hold.

HTC One VX and One S
Here's the HTC One VX with its immediate predecessor, T-Mobile's HTC One S. They're about the same size, but the One S has a metal body rather than polycarbonate.

HTC One VX and One S Back
The HTC One VX and One S, from the back.

HTC One X+ Back
The HTC One X+ is AT&T's new higher-end HTC Android phone. It has an 8-megapixel camera on the back.

HTC One X+ Front
The HTC One X+ has a 4.7-inch, 1,280-by-720 Super LCD 2 screen. It's bright and sharp.

HTC One X+ Game
Since it has an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, the One X+ can play the exclusive Tegra Zone library of games.

HTC One X+ and One VX
Here are the One VX (at left) and the One X+ (at right) together. They clearly share similar design language.

HTC One X+ and One VX Back
The two phones look similar from the back, too, except for the One X+'s larger 8-megapixel camera.