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Microsoft officially launched Windows Phone 8 yesterday and showcased some of the upcoming hardware on offer from the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Nokia. Phones and rough plans are available on our various networks and the phones themselves will arrive from mid-November with some pretty cheap priced handsets on show.
HTC 8X
Key Specs: 1.5 GHZ dual-core Qualcomm S4, 1GB RAM, 130 grams, 132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12 mm, 1800 mAh
Carriers/availability: O2, EE, Vodafone
Price: £399 SIM-free. Free on a £31 a month contract (via Phones4U), £30 on a £29 a month plan (three), or £29 plus £36 a month (O2 & EE).
HTC 8S
Key Specs: 1 GHZ dual-core Qualcomm S4, 512MB RAM, 113 grams, 120.5 x 63 x 10.28 mm, 1700 mAh
Carriers: EE, O2, Three, Vodafone
Price: £240 SIM-free. Free with a £20.50 a month contract (via Phones4U), free with a £21.50 contract (O2) or 20.50 (EE).
Nokia Lumia 820
Key Specs: 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4, 1GB RAM, 160 grams, 123.8mm x 68.5mm x 9.9 mm, 1650 mAh battery
Carriers: O2, EE, Vodafone
Price: £420 SIM-free. Free on a £31 a month contract (via Phones4u), or free £36 a month (O2 and EE)
Nokia Lumia 920
Key Specs: 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4, 1GB RAM, 185 grams, 130.3 mm x 70.8 mm x 10.7 mm , 2000 mAh battery
Carriers: EE
Price: £470 SIM-free. Or £19.99 on a £46 a month contract (via Phones4u), or £49 plus £36 a month (EE).
Samsung Ativ S
Key Specs: 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4, 1GB RAM, 135 grams, 137.2mm x 70.5mm x 8.7mm, 2300mAh battery
Carriers: O2
Price: £440 SIM-free. Free on a £36 a month contract (O2).
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Halleluiah, better late than never
Just went into Phones 4u and saw them all. The 920 is easily the best looking out of all of them!
They’re in store now? Tsk, that means I’m going to have to completely reorganize my late afternoon!
Wonder if they’re in CPW too?
i heard 920 is exclusive to EE and phones4u
Ugh, I wanted a 920 as well…
Since the Nexus 4 announcement yesterday all these phones seem ridiculously overpriced.
Race to the bottom for android now. Going to see even more dull looking androids that sacrifice innovation, design and possibly build quality for the sake of specs and price. Question is will a reputation for being cheap make the masses think they are crap?
I think the opposite – companies are going to have to innovate like crazy to still offer the high-end spec and new technologies but for mid-low end prices.
Race to the bottom my arse. Just because they aren’t available in primary colours you think they are lacking in innovation and design? Remember that this is the market that windows is competing in and which it hasn’t even made third place yet.
Yeah, that’s precisely what I thought. Regardless of how good the Nexus 4 actually turns out to be, they’ve undercut the competition by a mile.
I have to say the Nexus 4 does not in any way look cheap. Add to that it is running the latest version of the leading Mobile OS and can match and outdo any feature of Windows Phone 8 that is not Microsoft specific (and even then has equivalents that are as good or features of their own that WP8 doesn’t) Windows phone needs to outdo the competition if it wants market share, playing catchup hasn’t worked for Apple who have been treading water in the phone space for ages. Best to start with the price cuts now before people assume you’re dropping the price on outdated ghardware.
Haven’t seen either the Nexus 4 or Nokia in person yet so my opinions might change.
But I’m more excited to see the Nokia than the Nexus, it just seems more exciting to me. It’s really hard to ignore that price if I was buying it.
Me too. The Nexus is definitely not something you’d covet emotionally. It’s a rule with your head decision.
To different degrees, I’d say treading water is a completely fair and accurate way of describing Apple’s smartphone strategy right now. I wonder how long it will be before we see any changes as a result of the recent shakeup at Apple. I hope things are moving in the right direction.
Worst case scenario would be if innovation slowed down and things became a lot less competitive.
Looks like I riled a few droids with my OPINION
Sam, you should add the tesco pricing information to this article for the Lumia 820, they are best by far. Link is further down in the comments.
I don’t think your opinion was ridiculous. I think some phones will be, as you described, racing to the bottom in terms of specs and build. While others will perhaps be more keenly priced and yet offer something in the way of design flare. It’s going to be a mixture of all the things mentioned above.
I was not riled, but my opinion does differ greatly from yours. No doubt the market will decide, ultimately who was correct.
Don’t forget Darrell, this is the My Little Pony generation that like pretty colours and a UI that looks like it was designed for a slot machine.
You realise there is a lot more to the Metro UI than just the tiles?
Uh, really? Thanks for pointing out the obvious. However, for me, there is nothing beneath the slot machine UI that is either impressive or outstanding enough to make me move platform. I think MS still have a lot of work to do to usurp the top platforms.
Try it for a few months, like most us MS users have done in the past with droid and iOS…
Not sure I agree with that, unless I’m colour blind everything is black, white and silver these days
OK Winphone 8 is out.
But where the fook is my 7.8 upgrade!!!
Signed, Sealed and lost in the post.
overpriced! They are going to have to price these down by a lot since the Nexus 4, they don’t stand a chance.
wow that sammy is ugly as sin, and £46/month for a 920? and people wonder why nokia are dying… -_-
It looks a lot like a Samsung Galaxy S III in the flesh.
and therefore equally as ugly. the S3 and Note2 have to take the crown as the most tacky, cheap-looking flagships in the history of smartphones.
Agreed – though I suspect that’s only in comparison to the other offerings. I’m a big fan of both the HTC and Nokia design moves.
I’ve really been converted to unibody since I got my One X – I don’t think it really makes sense until you use a device day-to-day and feel how equally solid and beautiful it enables the design to be.
Ditto here – my only qualm about the One X is my aversion to protruding cameras. Otherwise it’s the nicest feeling phone to cross my palm.
That’s really unfair on poor Sam, Unless you are talking about Biddle rather than Gibbs, In which case, fair comment.
Lumia 820 is also at Tesco with free wireless charging plate & shell:
http://phone-shop.tesco.com/mobile-phones-and-sim-cards/pay-monthly-phones/nokia-lumia-820.aspx
Free from £20.50
they all look very similar
Has there been a phone in the last few years that hasn’t?
No
I thought the Nokia looks a bit like a giant Ipod Nano
iPad mini nano?
Odd, particularly as the phone was announced long before the new nano.. who’s stealing who’s ideas huh?
Oh I was talking about the shape of the case of the original ones, with the little screen and the white circle. It doesn’t REALLY look like them, its just the corners and flat top and bottom that reminds me of them
The Nokias and HTCs look pretty good, but that Samsung looks like one of their cheap offerings from a couple of years ago. Maybe its just because its the only phone not pictured at a rakish angle, making it plain looking. Specs look decent though
It’s only a matter of time before the dev community has WP8 ported to the HTC HD2.
For those interested in the cost of ownership for the nokia 920 over the 24 months.
EE 500MB £993.99
EE 1GB £1033.99
EE 3GB £1123.99
EE 5GB £1243.99
EE 8GB £1363.99
Outright £830 (on 3s £15 a month contract)
So… does that mean you can still use the Lumia 920 on a network other than EE when it’s released?
I don’t know for sure, but I don’t see why not.
I find it funny how people pick looks over functionality and then probably stick it in an ugly case anyways.
I would be interested to see what the stats are for iPhones in cases vs every other kind of phone. Hardly anyone I know with a non-iPhone has it in a case
I’ve always found that funny too! Unless you’re planning on reselling it I think you’re doing your taste a disservice hiding it. Tonnes of people pay top dollar for a beautifully designed piece of kit then hide it away in ghastly £5 cases made of old yogurt pots.
I have seen some beautifully designed cases, but personally I only opt for a screen protector. My phones frolic naked as they came.
Does anyone know if the reduced specs on the 8S has a real impact on general usage?
At such a low price point, after I have tested out Windows Phone 8 (and if I find it satisfactory), this phone could get thrown into the mix for a mid tier option in the company I work for.
P.S. I am slightly disappointed that there is no ‘chin’ which I thought I saw when I first glanced at the 8S.