It could officially be declared "National Smartphone Launch" month. On the heels of Apple's iPhone 5 announcement last week and Motorola and Nokia's
unveilings the week prior to that, HTC is now taking center stage today
with the launch of its two new Windows Phone 8 devices -- the Windows
Phone 8X and the 8S.
According to HTC, these will be the first signature Windows Phone devices. What does that mean exactly?
"Signature Windows Phones are born out of a close collaboration with
Microsoft and HTC," HTC's Director of Public Relations Tom Harlin told
ABC News. "The design of the devices are inspired by live tiles and
Windows 8 software. We are really bringing that to life. We hope these
are the best Windows Phones out there."
A Microsoft spokesperson clarified to ABC News that it worked with HTC to feature the Windows Phone brand in the name.
HTC has designed the 8X and 8S to stand out from the rest with some key
hardware features, including a very striking hardware design. Similar to
Nokia's Lumia 820 and 920, the phone is made out of polycarbonate and
comes in a number of colors, including a purple, red, neon green, black,
etc. Harlin explained that the design with its vibrant colors and the
tapered edges was supposed to match the Windows Phone 8's square and
colorful tiles. The phones are extremely attractive and the material
makes them very comfortable to hold.
But you won't be spending much time though looking at the back of the
phone. Both phones have Super LCD 2 displays, making colors extremely
vivid. At first sight, we actually thought the screen was painted on.
The 8X has a larger 4.3-inch screen, while the 8S has a 4-inch screen.
Both displays are covered in Gorillia Glass to protect against cracks
and scratches.
There is more than just beautiful exterior hardware, though. The phone
has Beats Audio, which provides high-quality sound if you were to attach
a speaker or set of headphones to the 3.5mm jack. The 8-megapixel
camera on the back has also been improved for low-light situations and
the front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera has an 88-degree wide angle lens,
which should allow up to four people to be captured in a shot, HTC
claims.
HTC is looking to those main hardware features to differentiate the
phone from the other Windows 8 Phone devices arriving at the same time
from Samsung and Nokia.
"What is going to set it apart is the iconic design, the amazing sound
experience, and the world class camera and the very sleek form factor,"
Harlin added. Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop similarly stressed hardware differentiation, including the Lumia's wireless charging, when he announced the Lumia 920.
Windows Phone 8
is expected to be released at the end of October. It continues to be
centered around a homescreen of live tiles or apps, but Microsoft has
also added Skype integration, turn-by-turn navigation, and NFC (near
field communication) functionality, which will allow for tapping phones
together to transfer information or to make payments. Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system for computers and tablets will launch around the same time.
HTC wouldn't confirm pricing of the 8X and 8S, but did confirm that the
phones will launch in November at 140 mobile carriers around the world.
In the U.S. the phones will be available at T-Mobile, AT&T, and
Verizon.
Nokia and Samsung similarly haven't announced pricing, but there's one
thing we know for sure: the pricing will be competitive. With a new
iPhone and new Android phones hitting, smartphone launch month will make
for a very competitive holiday buying season.
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