Specs and Features
Manufacturer: HTCWe Like ! :
Price, DesignWhat we Don't Like !:
No front camera, Low Ram
The Bottom Line
The Most Affordable Windows Phone 8 device, but may not be the most suitable option considering upcoming competition.
HTC has really taken Windows Phone 8 up by storm, with the two Flagship In-class devices that are set to rival competition in the market. Does the Windows Phone 8s stand tall to the competition in the Windows Phone Marketplace? Lets Find out!
Build Quality and Design
From the moment you unravel the HTC Windows Phone 8S you will feel the soft touch finished polycarbonate shell, and the brilliantly designed tapered edges. The company has barely kept any difference in the Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S when it comes to design and build quality. The Windows Phone 8S has a removable bottom cover that allows you to insert a sim card or a memory card up 32GB in storage.
The dual color design also adds some spunk to the otherwise normal looking phone, appealing to the “Lumia” lovers who fell in love with the bright and vibrant colors of the Lumia Smartphones. The Windows Phone 8s is available in Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue, High-Rise Gray.
Hardware
For the processing power the Windows Phone 8S relies on Qualcomm to do the bidding, with a Dual-core 1 GHz Krait Snapdragon S4 chipset. The Windows Phone 8S also has a Adreno 305 GPU and a decent 512 MB RAM although a 1 GB would have done it wonders. The display is in the front is great too with a 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inch display that drops a ppi of 233.
Funnily enough there is only one camera on the Windows Phone 8s, which is a shame really because, several other phones in Android with the same price mark can deliver front facing cameras, most for them are from HTC. On the back is a 720p capable 5 MP camera. For Juice HTC has stuffed this Windows lover with a 1700 mAh battery pack.
Display And Multimedia
The display is highly accurate with good color reproduction. Black levels are really deep and one can barely notice the difference in the bezel and the screen of the phone. The display on the Windows Phone 8S also has good viewing angles and 16 Million color depth. Outdoor visibility could have been better as the Windows Phone 8X has brilliant outdoor visibility. Watching videos and playing games is a breeze on the phone simply because of the responsiveness of the touchscreen and the great overall display.
Performance
Windows Phone is a fairly easy OS to run on hardware, and the Windows Phone 8S has no issues whatsoever. Basic day to day usage will go by with almost no lag or slow downs. If you are a power user and have many apps running in the background, you might wanna shut a few from time to time considering the low RAM in the device.
All games from the Store seemed to work fine on the device, although a few did quit on running as they did on the 8X, whether that is a compatibility issue with the hardware, the software or the apps themselves is unknown.
Camera and Phone Capabilities
The camera is a basic 5 MP camera with only basic features, you have the Windows Phone 8 Camera app with the new built in lenses, which you can only exploit to some extent. Video is only 720p so its a little low in terms of quality.
The phone call capability on the 8s is potent, great network coverage and good quality in the earpiece and a decent microphone add up for a good overall phone experience. And since there is no Video calling voice calls is all you get.
Battery Life
The phone lasts a full day on a charge with phone calls, Whatsapp and Facebook usage, We also managed few hours of Internet browsing and a couple of video playbacks. We were overall satisfied by the battery life performance as you would get a good 5-6 hours of talk time with the other usage.
Conclusion
While Windows Phone 8 is not one of my most favorite OS’ because it still lacks some usability flaws and Microsoft does not allow vendors to customize it.The verdict truly comes down to the hardware capabilities, and in terms of performance there is little or no difference in the day to day use between the 8S and 8X honestly. The lack of front camera, video limit to 720p , smaller and lower resolution screen, and Lower RAM are the major differences in the devices. While we truly miss the front camera and the wish that HTC would have put it, we can see how it would jeopardize the sales of their flagship Windows Phone.
Even though Windows Phone 8 lacks a lot of things in comparison to the other operating Systems, it has been the fastest to evolve and may soon match up. Apps and options availability will increase as demand increases.
The 8S in our opinion is the best way to check out the Windows Phone 8 experience on a budget in India today. While the market still awaits the Lumia 820, which may be a better option considering better cameras (yes, a front facing one by default) 1 GB of Ram and more in-bulit storage along with a Super AMOLED screen. Only if the pricing turns out to be great.
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