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Windows Phone 8 handsets have generally been pretty good when it comes to battery life, and the HTC 8XT is no exception. The battery would easily last us an entire day, from the time we woke up until we went to bed, with all of our e-mails, social networks and notifications turned on.
If you forget to plug your device in overnight, expect a 4-6% drop in battery life, which we would consider to be negligible.
Connectivity and Call Quality
The 8XT has 3G and LTE connectivity, along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. Sprint's LTE network isn't as robust as Verizon's or AT&T's, so your experience may vary.
Sprint 4G LTE, where it is available, isn't nearly as fast as its competitors, either -- at least in San Francisco, where we tested the device. We saw an average of 6Mbps download and a surprising 12Mbps upload.
The smartphone also has a tendency to jump between 3G and 4G, too, though luckily it doesn't seem to take its toll on battery life -- only your sanity. It can be frustrating when you're downloading an app or streaming a video and everything suddenly slows down when it decides to hop onto Sprint's 3G network instead.
Call quality in San Francisco was good. The earpiece is loud and clear, and our friends were able to hear us just fine on their end. Speakerphone quality is excellent, too, thanks to the front-facing speakers, each equipped with its own amp.
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