Last time I ever buy anything from HTC.


Recommended Posts

Today, my Titan II, bit the dust. It died sometime during my class today, after something happened with the battery. Which is strange, because I used it without problems *right* before class started. Plugging it in to Zune, and invoking the reset buttons does nothing, and the phone was charged over night last night. It's even more irritating because I've had this phone since July. It's not even a year old. This makes it the second HTC handset I've had spontaneously die on me in two years. I'm done. HTC, may your junk hardware rot in the deepest darkest parts of the underworld.

I'm being sent a replacement, however, I get the feeling it's another junk refurbished phone. Come next month, I'm moving to Nokia. I'm tired of fighting your recycled Android hardware.

You get what you pay for, what did you expect for a cheap phone, top of the line quality? Maybe invest in top of the line hardware next time and stop blaming the manufacturer because you're cheap

I have had nothing but great luck with HTC on both Android (Droid Incredible) and Trophy (WP7), both are still working great. Samsung on the other hand = I personally hate the cheap feeling, not to mention my Fascinate died.

  • Like 1

HTC hasn't been very good quality in a few years from my experience. They were good when Android first started out, but turned to crap once Samsung started taking the lead in popularity

the only HTC device that actually has my interest now is there new WP8 phone, it's actually a quality piece of hardware again

You get what you pay for, what did you expect for a cheap phone, top of the line quality? Maybe invest in top of the line hardware next time and stop blaming the manufacturer because you're cheap

Way to be dismissive!

Back in the WinMo v6 days, HTC was king. Now they are pure suck. The horrendous battery life of my wife's HTC EVO 4G is all I need to know never to go near them. Seriously though, did anyone test that phone out before selling it?

HTC hasn't been very good quality in a few years from my experience. They were good when Android first started out, but turned to crap once Samsung started taking the lead in popularity

the only HTC device that actually has my interest now is there new WP8 phone, it's actually a quality piece of hardware again

This. It seems the market goes in cycles. HTC had a while there, I'd say a year or two where their phones were garbage. Phones like the HTC Sensation, I remember my friend getting that one when I got the Infuse. It was terrible. Sense was terrible, everything about it was terrible. Meanwhile, Samsung was building fantastic devices that were far superior to HTC. Fast forward to the current market and Samsung's phones are getting cheaper and cheaper, and HTC's new flagships like the One series for Android and the 8 series for Windows Phone are about the best on the market. So I wouldn't take your anger towards them too far. They go in cycles of good phone and bad phones, you just have to pick the cycles right. I could promise you the 8X would be an incredible phone compared to the Titan II. You just hit them on the end of their crap cycle.

Way to be dismissive!

Back in the WinMo v6 days, HTC was king. Now they are pure suck. The horrendous battery life of my wife's HTC EVO 4G is all I need to know never to go near them. Seriously though, did anyone test that phone out before selling it?

See above. Their current phones certainly do not suck, but the phones for the last couple years prior, yes. The EVO was the first mainstream phone with a 4.3" screen and 4G, of course it had terrible battery life. That phone was a HUGE hit though as it was the best of everything for a while there, but you paid for it in poor battery life. People need to research phones and understand limitations or issues with them and how they affect what they look for in a phone before they purchase them.

Way to be dismissive!

Back in the WinMo v6 days, HTC was king. Now they are pure suck. The horrendous battery life of my wife's HTC EVO 4G is all I need to know never to go near them. Seriously though, did anyone test that phone out before selling it?

Going off my experience, no. Lol. Pretty sure they just slapped together some hardware and sold it.

I could promise you the 8X would be an incredible phone compared to the Titan II. You just hit them on the end of their crap cycle.

Maybe. I have a buddy who just picked one up. We'll see how that goes...

I have an HTC EVO that is still running great. So, unless HTC drastically reduced their quality between when they released the EVO and the Titan 2, it's not really an HTC issue. Phones die all the time, regardless of manufacturer.

I would suggest removing the battery if possible. If it's a software issue that caused your phone to shut down, removing the battery should clear anything in memory and get your phone to boot, at the very least.

I have an HTC EVO that is still running great. So, unless HTC drastically reduced their quality between when they released the EVO and the Titan 2, it's not really an HTC issue. Phones die all the time, regardless of manufacturer.

I would suggest removing the battery if possible. If it's a software issue that caused your phone to shut down, removing the battery should clear anything in memory and get your phone to boot, at the very least.

I do feel like they did. The Evo was never a bad phone, aside from the battery life issue, but that was a well known issue. I think I've seen more old Evos hanging around than just about any other old phone. That's about where I mark the start of their slide.

I bought a HTC Desire when they were brand new, literally 5 minutes of the box it would overheat, freeze and refuse to boot until it cooled down, so did its replacement. So I decided on another phone, few years down the line I decided to grab HTC Sensation as I liked the look and specs of it and again another garbage phone, terrible build quality, the area below the CPU would get super hot, enough that it would be uncomfortable to the touch, battery life was terrible.

Definately won't be buying HTC again in a hurry.

I have an HTC EVO that is still running great. So, unless HTC drastically reduced their quality between when they released the EVO and the Titan 2, it's not really an HTC issue. Phones die all the time, regardless of manufacturer.

I would suggest removing the battery if possible. If it's a software issue that caused your phone to shut down, removing the battery should clear anything in memory and get your phone to boot, at the very least.

Integrated battery. :/

I have had one of each Samsung Omnia 7 and iPhone 4 die in front of me. Friend's HTC desire on the other hand still continues to work after 3 years and it gets custom ROM practically every day.

So electronic gadgetry is pot luck (Well most of the time)

Get a replacement if in warranty period and move on. If the replacement dies in same fashion, then it is a genuine problem.

You try holding down that power button for 10+ seconds to see if it'll reboot or whatever?

I had an HTC Touch on Sprint and that thing was nice and solid. Switched to the Palm Pre for 3 years (HTC's quality was miles ahead of Palm), then finally went to the EVO LTE. It seems in the years between my two HTCs, they released numerous garbage phones. I can say that with the current line of HTCs, It's gonna be X series or bust. My EVO LTE (One X elsewhere) has been nothing short of astounding. Solid build, top notch components, and the battery life (I'm on Cyanogen based Paranoid Android ROM) has been amazing. If I do nothing but make calls, my phone easily lasts 2 or 3 days without a charge. With light use, I can go 12 hours and still have 50% battery left. Obviously, heavy usage on ANY device is gonna suck the living hell out of the battery. That screen...it hungers for power.

Is there a special button combination to boot into a BIOS menu? I know on the EVO it's something like: hold the volumn-down button and then press the power button until you get to the menu. Is there a similar combination for your phone?

I'm not sure if that requires a root or not...it's been so long since I rooted my phone. But the menu may have some options that could help you.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • You literally have to do it on a desktop, which is incredibly annoying in our mobile-first world. What???
    • What part of "you can’t really depend on service providers to maintain features forever" is not clear enough?
    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Supreme Spray LV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      165
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      88
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!