Introduction
When Microsoft launched Windows Phone 8 back on 29th October this year, a few flagship Windows Phone 8 devices were also launched. They were the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC 8X. While these smartphones were first available in the United States, it was not until recently that these Windows Phone 8 devices began streaming into local markets, just in time for Christmas.
For most product markets, manufacturers for Windows Phone 8 have decided to segment their devices according to consumer needs, varying their smartphones in features and design. Previously, we took a look at the HTC 8X smartphone and the goodness packed within the Windows Phone 8 platform which came with it, as well as the various features that made the 8X THE Windows Phone. Today, we will be exploring the little brother of the 8X, targeted at mainstream and budget conscious consumers, the HTC 8S.
Specifications
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| Thickness comparison HTC 8S VS iPhone 5 |
There are only a few variables that manufacturers can customize on their device. Firstly, it’s the screen panel, which will to be of either 800 x 480 resolution( of Windows Phone 7’s resolution) or a much higher, 1280 x 720 display resolution.
Secondly, it’s the amount of RAM on the phone, which has to be at least 512MB and above. 512MB of RAM was adequate for any usage of the phone. If you remembered Nokia’s previous flagship phone, the Lumia 900, it was running on 512MB of RAM and the phone was working fluidly without any lags or hiccups. The amount of RAM on the new Windows Phone 8 is almost negligible to affect performance, because of the way the operating system performs memory management efficiently at the low level.
Thirdly, will be the type of camera sensors and lens that will be found on the phone.
Of course, the design of each individual phone is up to the manufacturer as long as they comply with the guidelines provided by Microsoft.
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Feature
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Specifications
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CPU
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Qualcomm S4 1GHz Dual Core
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SIM Card Type
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MicroSIM
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Memory
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4GB internal, MicroSD slot, 512MB RAM
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Network
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GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz2 |
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HSPA/WCDMA: Europe/Asia:
900/2100 MHz |
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GPS
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Internal GPS antenna with GLONASS
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Sensors
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G-Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor
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Connectivity
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3.5mm stereo audio jack, Bluetooth 3.1, Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
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Camera
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5 megapixel camera with autofocus LED flash, F2.8 aperture and 35mm
lens, 720p video recording |
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Battery
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1700mAh Li-ion Polymer battery
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Size
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120.5 x 63 x 10.28mm
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Weight
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113 grams including battery
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Display
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4 inch super LCD touch screen with Gorilla Glass
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Resolution
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WVGA 800 x 480
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| Power button and headphone jack |
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| MicroUSB port |
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| Volume and camera buttons |
Design
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| Front of HTC 8S |
The HTC 8S is meant to be an affordable Windows Phone 8 device. For devices of its class, focus should be placed on the physical design to differentiate itself from other manufacturers’ products. The designers at HTC were inspired by the design of Windows Phone 8 and decided to design the 8S to suit the platform. That is why the HTC 8S is designed with simplicity as its elegance. Windows Phone 8 is designed to make use of 3 core colours. Black as background, White as foreground text and a customizable tile colour to describe your personalities. HTC 8S adopted the same design, giving customers a choice of Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue, High-Rise Grey colours to choose from. The hardware touch sensitive buttons icons are then in white, while of course there will be a black display. The design of the HTC 8S is a form of art. The use of touch sensitive buttons as opposed to physical buttons give the whole phone a finished and complete look and feel, making the phone fully touch enabled, adding a classy style of touch beauty to it.
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| Back of HTC 8S |
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| LED lid buttons in low light conditions |
Features
Display
When comparing the difference in display density, there may be some differences to the naked eye. A phone with a higher display density will generally have a smoother and crisper picture. Of course, the HTC 8S cannot be compared to Apple’s retina display, but it is up to the standards of an average user. At 233ppi, it is considerably high when compared to larger screens on laptops and tablets. For the users of the phone, they would not be much particular on this issue as these small pixels does not matter much for their usage.
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| Pixel density of the HTC 8S |
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| Pixel density of Microsoft Surface |
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| Pixel density of MacBook Pro 13″ |
Beats Audio
Firstly, the music coming out from the earphones are much louder, allowing different effects from the audio stream to be heard clearly. Bass was increased, giving a thumping effect on the eardrums. Treble was also brought to notice and clarity was overall improved.
Camera
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| Photo taken from HTC 8S |
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| Photo taken from Galaxy S II |
The camera of the 8S is also captures more light as compared to the Galaxy S II under good light conditions. At these circumstances, the pictures coming from the 8S looks much better.
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| Photo taken from HTC 8S |
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| Photo taken from Galaxy S II |
Polycarbonate Body
Battery Life
If you are looking for something of a longer battery life, you could possibly look out for an external power bank to charge your smartphone on the go. If not, built into Windows Phone 8 is a battery saver option which essentially disables live updating of your emails and live tiles, reducing 3G connection activities, saving up a lot of battery for the device.
MicroSD Card Expansion
The Verdict
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Factors
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Score out of 5
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Comments
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Design and Aesthetics
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9
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The design of the HTC 8S goes well with the Windows
Phone 8 Operating system with their similar design concepts. It makes the phone design interestingly unified with the software. Besides that, with the availability of 4 colours for the device, there is definitely one that is best suited for you. |
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Features
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6
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Other than features provided with Windows Phone 8
Operating system, we were unhappy that technologies such as NFC and LTE were not found on the phone. |
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Performance
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8
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Dual-Core S4 Snapdragon processor is swift for the
Windows Phone 8 Operating System, giving users a great lag free experience. |
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Cost and Affordability
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9
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The HTC 8S is highly affordable and one of the
cheapest Windows Phone 8 device out on the market. |
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Differentiation
Factor / Innovation / WOW Factor |
6
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Beats Audio improves sound quality from the earphones
significantly. However, that is the only differentiating factor of the 8S as compared to competing devices. We hope to see more innovation in the 8S. |
Conclusion
