HTC revealed two brand new smartphones to run the Windows Phone 8 operating system today, at a press event in New York.
We’ve seen and heard snippets about each phone here and there, but now we’ve been officially introduced to the Windows Phone 8S and Windows Phone 8X, by HTC. Similarly to its Android range, the 8X will be the flagship, while the 8S holds the mid-range.
Both phones will be available in a variety of crazy colours, which seems to be the theme with Windows Phone – personalisation. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and HTC CEO Peter Chou held up both phones in Fiesta red, Domino black-white, Atlantic blue and High-Rise grey-yellow at the event before delving into the finer details.
Until now, HTC’s devices have usually had a rounded feel to them – rounded edges, curved corners to fit the hand. These two phones are much more square, akin to the much older Touch Diamond phone from HTC for Windows Mobile 6.5 (remember that?), albeit with rounded sides.
Windows Phone 8S
The Windows Phone 8S by HTC should be a rather affordable affair, sporting distinctly mid-range features. Inside the phone you’ll find a dual-core S4 processor from Qualcomm clocked at 1GHz, along with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Unlike the 8X, you can expand storage using a micro SD card.
The 8S is much lighter and quirkier than the 8X, but it still packs an impressive 4-inch S-LCD display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, protected by Gorilla Glass.
HTC has opted for a 5-megapixel camera on the rear of the phone, but left out a front-facing camera, so there’s no chance of Skype calling. A large 1,700 mAh battery powers the whole show, and although there’s no NFC connectivity, you will get Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G (US) and 3G (UK), and Beats Audio integration.
Windows Phone 8X
The 8X also features Beats Audio integration, but takes things a step further with a dedicated audio amplifier that works for both headphones and the external speaker. It doesn’t have a micro SD card slot, but has quadruple the internal memory at 16GB.
There’s the same 8-megapixel rear camera sensor as the One X, with an f/2.0 lens which should provide better low light performance with minimal noise. HTC has taken top spot in the front-facing camera game, putting an impressive 2.1-megapixel front facing camera that can record video in Full HD 1080p quality, with a stunning 88 degree field of vision – if you’re wondering, that’s over double the angle you get on most other smartphones.
The 8X has a slightly bigger 4.3-inch display of the S-LCD2 variety, boasting a HD resolution of 1280 x 720. It’s sharp too, with a pixel density of 342ppi, and is protected by a sheet of curved Gorilla Glass 2, which curves around from the front of the phone to the back.
Processing power is provided by a dual-core 1.5GHz Krait chip from Qualcomm, coupled with 1GB of RAM.
Both phones should be launching very shortly, and are classed as the flagship phones for Windows Phone 8. Three UK has already confirmed it will be stocking both models. Stay tuned for prices and release dates as we get them.
UPDATE: HTC has confirmed that both phones will hit shops early November, shortly after Windows Phone 8 is completed at the end of October.
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