It is a rarity in today’s day and age that a handset maker is actually capable of breaking the mold and creating something that you actually want to buy. Apple consistently revisions current hardware prior to re-design, aiding the ‘sheep’ mentality of it’s supposed customers (myself included) where companies like Samsung do their best to replicate Apple without infringing. Then you have HTC, the Taiwanese juggernaut that dropped a bomb on us with the One series essentially reinventing themselves and the modern smart phone.

The One X is HTC’s latest flagship handset, they’re repeating the history that they made with the EVO 4G on it’s initial release with Sprint. The device boasts a 720p display that is one of few handsets capable of rivaling Apple’s retina technology. It is by far one of the best mobile displays on the market, even rivaling the retina display on Apple’s new iPad. HTC has come up short quite frequently in the past with their displays, but they really knocked it out of the park on the One X. Comparing to the iPhone from all feature standpoints is comparing apples to oranges but due to Apple’s resilient reign over smartphone users, it’s a solid baseline to utilize for our purposes. It’s difficult to not compare the two greats to one another.

Sense 4.0 is a refreshing installment of what was once an overbearing nuisance that HTC insisted on adding to all of their phones. Sense used to make me hate life every time I picked up an HTC handset, regardless of how solid the hardware felt in my hand. Now that they have come to an understanding that their skin is something that should help the user, not burden them, they’ve got something delightful on their hands. Using the new variation is fantastic — while it’s easily noticeable, it also isn’t troublesome to navigate. It actually looks good as opposed to being over-bearing large fonts and icons designed to make the user feel mentally challenged.

The new Sense keyboard, for example, is one of the best Android keyboards that I have ever used. The previous rendition was great, it was one of the few highlights of Sense, but the new version is much, much better. Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich is the first time that typing on an Android handset isn’t a royal pain in the ass — it’s now comparable to the iOS or Windows Phone typing experience — something that Android has long been lacking and now makes for a refreshing experience.

The hardware is nothing short of beautiful — thin, solid, and a great hand feel. It isn’t feathery light like a Samsung device, so it doesn’t feel cheap while holding it, or like you’ll break it if you tap on the display wrong. The sleek one-piece design takes a page from Apple’s book — they’ve created something that’s actually visually appealing, like what Apple was going for with the iPhone 4’s design. When smart phones are nothing but slabs with large displays it’s difficult to find ways to create them and maintain a certain visual appeal and differentiation, HTC has achieved that with their One X.

The One X has Beats by Dre audio integration, which is supposed to make for a better music listening experience — this is just a gimmick, nothing you couldn’t achieve yourself by adjusting the equalizer but it makes for a good branding strategy. Your mileage may vary, but for those that aren’t interested in manually adjusting equalizers or don’t quite know what the different options mean, the Beats integration is perfect for you — pending you have a pair of Beats headphones.

All in all; if you’re an iPhone user looking for something new or an Android lover wanting the latest and greatest, this is the phone you want. There is currently no better Android phone, or any phone for that matter, on the market. Whether you use the international HSPA+ version or the LTE variant available in the USA and Canada you will be pleased with your purchase. From the beautiful display, to the solid hardware, to the fast data speeds, to the graceful user experience. This is one handset that anyone would recommend to friends and enemies alike.

The HTC One X is available exclusively through Rogers in Canada and can be picked up here for $169.99 on a 3-year term.