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Topic: Mobility

HTC and Microsoft reveal new Windows Phone 8 products; the 8X and 8S

Summary: Samsung and Nokia have shown their Windows Phone 8 devices and today HTC and Microsoft showed off their upcoming products.

Matthew Miller

By for Smartphones and Cell Phones |

HTC and Microsoft reveal new Windows Phone 8 products; the 8X and 8S

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.

WindowsPhone8X_Front_GLAM

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

WindowsPhone8S3v_BLUE_GLAM

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.

Topics: Mobility, HTC, Microsoft

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63 comments
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  • Wake me if we get a ship date and/or price.

    At least they picked the right day. Yesterday iPhone 5 review embargoes ended and Friday it goes on sale. HTC may actually get most of this news cycle if they're lucky.
    matthew_maurice
    Reply Vote

    • Oh, so you are considering one?

      There is only 1 possible reason why you would be interested in a ship date and price: you are considering getting one. What is it about these phones that are making you consider dumping the iPhone and switching to WP8?
      toddbottom3
      Reply 1 Vote

      • I keep an open mind.

        I doubt I'd ever choose to pay for a Windows Phone, but it would be my choice over Android.
        matthew_maurice
        Reply Vote

        • What is it about WP8 that you are interested about?

          Clearly interested enough to be extremely anxious regarding release date and pricing. Keep in mind, you have list the ways you think WP8 might be better than the iPhone, otherwise you should just stick with iPhone and you wouldn't care about WP8 release dates and pricing.

          Be specific.
          toddbottom3
          Reply Vote

          • work for them?

            You must work for Apple. Your pushing their products pretty hard on someone who's just considereing another viable option.
            to_be_announced
            Reply Vote

  • Low Amount Of Storage

    Clearly they had to cut costs somewhere, otherwise the lesser model is just going to be too expensive. Compare the HTC One range, where Android runs fine on hardware with one, two or four cores, while Windows Phone 8 is unusable on anything less than dual-core. What a shame Microsoft has produced yet another bloated, resource-inefficient OS.
    ldo17
    Reply Vote

    • Does have microSD, just updated post

      Sorry, the 8S does come with a microSD card slot, much like the lower end Nokia Lumia 820. This helps and the 8S may be a super affordable device for carriers.
      palmsolo (aka Matthew Miller)
      Reply 1 Vote

      • Re: MicroSD

        Doesn't change the fact that Windows Phone 8 has worryingly high hardware requirements.
        ldo17
        Reply Vote

        • where

          Why because Microsoft says people have to put so much into the phone so they run flawlessly?

          Unlike most Android phones apart from the flagships that feel like using a device from the 90's in comparison?
          danjames2012
          Reply 2 Votes

        • You mean low?

          Windows Phone has never had high requirements for hardware and has been show to FLY on tech that is a year or two old. They still don't have that high of requirements when you compare to Android that almost requires dual core just to function.
          palmsolo (aka Matthew Miller)
          Reply 4 Votes

          • Re: Android that almost requires dual core just to function.

            That's sad. I would expect someone who gets paid to write this stuff to be better informed than that. Just look at HTC's One range: there is the quad-core One X, dual-core One S and single-core One V, all running Android 4 "Ice Cream Sandwich".

            Now compare these Windows Phone 8 models: notice anything? That's right--no 8V single-core model! Windows Phone 8 just can't support it.
            ldo17
            Reply Vote

          • Have you actually tried the One V?

            I have. The One V doesn't run. It doesn't even walk. While it doesn't quite crawl, it's FAR from being "quick". Try running ANYTHING more demanding than email or a browser and you'll soon see why you don't want a single-core Android device.

            All Windows Phone 7 devices run on single-core CPU's and perform really well because WP7 runs very, VERY quickly compared to Android on the same hardware.

            It would be insane to introduce Windows Phone 8 on single-core CPU's when:
            a) one of the core benefits of moving to the new NT based kernel is that it supports multiple cores
            b) today's dual core SOC's are more power efficient than last year's single-core SOC's whilst delivering significant performance improvements.
            bitcrazed
            Reply 5 Votes

          • I wouldn't say can't.

            They won't support it. The don't want a bunch of crappy windows phone 8 phones out there are cheap android phones. It's all done in the name of quality.
            Sam Wagner
            Reply Vote

          • New Kernel...idiots

            Win8 is a shared kernel...why would you use one-core? One-core is reserved for v7.8 devices coming out later this year. Hold your breath
            erichon99
            Reply Vote

          • As to size

            Technically speaking, the ATIV S is the smallest of those three phones at < 85,000 square mm. The 8x is actually larger, at > 88,000 square mm. The largest is the Lumia, at >98,000 square mm. The ATIV S will also likely have the longest battery life, with AMOLED and the largest battery (which is also removable, I think?). Add to the fact that its got removable storage, too, and it just might be the best of the bunch for many.

            My personal preference is probably 1) Lumia, 2) ATIV, 3) 8X, but I will be only able to chose between phones on Sprint and T-Mobile, due to my family having plans on those two providers. Thus, I'll probably be getting the 8X. It'll still be a nice upgrade over my Arrive!
            x I'm tc
            Reply 1 Vote

        • Re: worryingly high hardware requirements.

          Just to add to this, note that the 8S has no front camera, unlike its Android equivalent, the One S, which does. That reinforces my point about having to cut costs because of Windows' high hardware requirements.
          ldo17
          Reply Vote

          • Wow, thart's a stretch. Can you quote HTC on that?

            I'm curious really.
            William Farrel
            Reply 3 Votes

          • What?

            Now, that's just plain ludicrous!
            chilenoinusa
            Reply Vote

        • No it doesn't. It has low ones so oems

          can produce low cost phones for emerging markets. And WP runs much much better on low end hw than Android, just like it does on high end hw
          Johnny Vegas
          Reply 1 Vote

          • Re: And WP runs much much better on low end hw

            Windows Phone no longer runs on low-end hardware.
            ldo17
            Reply Vote
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