Summary: Samsung and Nokia have shown their Windows Phone 8 devices and today HTC and Microsoft showed off their upcoming products.
A couple weeks ago I was in New York City for the 2nd HTC Frequencies summit and had the opportunity to hold some conversations with HTC folks. We were shown the new Windows Phone 8 devices, under NDA, and today Microsoft, with Steve Ballmer, and HTC revealed these to the public at the HTC event again held in New York City. As you can see HTC is trying to differentiate in the Windows Phone 8 space with design and color on the 8X and 8S. I held a few of these Windows Phone 8 prototypes and think the smaller size, when compared to the Lumia 920, Lumia 820, and Samsung ATIV S will appeal to plenty of folks looking for a pocketable phone. HTC looks to be focusing on design and color while Nokia is focused on experiences and software differentiation in Windows Phone. It is great to see the competition in the Windows Phone space really heating up.
The new HTC Windows Phone 8 devices remind me of the design curvature seen in the Nokia N9 and Nokia Lumia 800. HTC will offer the 8X in California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red and Limelight Yellow. The Windows Phone 8S by HTC will be available in Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue and High-Rise Gray. I saw the Limelight Yellow and that is the one I personally want.
The HTC 8X has a 4.3 inch HD super LCD 2 display while the 8S has a 4 inch super LCD display. These two devices will be available in the November through more than 150 carriers in 50 countries. Note that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon were listed for the US, but I don't see Sprint in the list.
Windows Phone 8X by HTC
More specifications and details on the 8X include:
- 341 ppi (1280x720 pixels) Super LCD 2 with Gorilla Glass
- Qualcomm S4 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
- 16GB storage and 1GB RAM
- 8 megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperature lens
- 1,800 mAh battery capacity
- Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, NFC
- Beats Audio support
There is a great 2.1 megapixel, f/2.0 aperature front facing camera and I have been learning quite a bit from my daughters that front facing cameras are very handy for self-portraits and photos of you and your friends.
Windows Phone 8S by HTC
More specifications and details on the 8S include:
- 4 inch (800x480 pixels) Super LCD with Gorilla Glass
- Qualcomm S4 1 GHz processor
- 4GB storage (yes, seems crazy to me too) and 512MB RAM
- microSD card expansion
- 1,700 mAh battery capacity
- Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi
- Beats Audio support
The 8S has a small amount of internal storage, but does have a removable microSD card slot so that helps. There is also no NFC, but that hasn't proven to be a critical technology at this time. I think the smartphone consumer will like the look and feel of the devices and enjoy the overall experience.
