Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC: Hands on preview!

The Gadget Show  Wednesday 19 September 2012

The Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S by HTC have just been unveiled at the company’s New York press conference this afternoon, but we don’t like to hang around. Late last week we got an early sneak peek at the two new Microsoft phones – read on for all the details on them, as well as our first impressions.

First up, we’ve got the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, the Microsoft alternative to the HTC One X. It’s packing a 4.3inch HD screen (so it’s a tad smaller than the flagship Nokia Lumia 920), a top of the line dual-core 1.5GHz S4 processor, 16GB of storage and an eight megapixel camera around the back. Unusually, the front facing camera has a 2.1 megapixel sensor, meaning you can shoot in full HD out of both cameras.

We got hands on with the device (which comes in blue, black or yellow in Europe, and red in the US as well), and we’re quite taken with it. The straight lines make it feel a lot different to the new Lumias in the flesh, despite the similarities in photos, and it’s not oversized.

Unfortunately, because the software wasn’t finished, we weren’t able to see the operating system past the lock screen. Interestingly, HTC says it has scrapped some of its existing Windows Phone apps, including its Watch rental service and Locations map app. In their place comes Beats audio sound processing, to give your songs that extra oomph with any headphones.

Next up is the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, the slightly lower end Windows Phone 8 entrant. It’s a lot less powerful than the Android powered HTC One S though – you get a 4-inch 480×800 display, a five megapixel camera and just 4GB of internal storage, but you can add to this with a micro SD card.

It’s a lot like Nokia’s similarly pitched Lumia 820, with a bright two tone colour set (blue, yellow, black or red) and angular design, but it also reminds us a tad of HTC’s ever so slick Legend and One V Android phones. If HTC gets the price right, this could be a big hit.

Physically, the Windows Phone 8X and 8S are every bit as sexy as Nokia’s new Lumia efforts for Windows Phone 8, and they may be on sale sooner – HTC says they’ll land in the UK in early November.

The only question is, without exclusive software like the super handy Nokia Drive, is there any reason to opt for HTC’s take on Windows Phone 8? Time will tell – stay tuned for a review as soon as we get our mitts on the finished product.

iPhone 5 vs Nokia Lumia 920: Why Windows Phone 8 has iOS beat

Tags:

HTC, Windows Phone 8, mobile, windows phone 8x, windows phone 8s