With HTC's Windows Phone announcement last night, we have three of the
most awaited Windows Phone devices in front of us -
Nokia Lumia 920,
Samsung ATIV S and
HTC 8X.
There is no pricing or exact availability
dates for any of these, but these three are going to be the main
contenders for the next smartphone purchase of any Windows Phone lover.
Let's take a look at these devices and what they have to offer.
Starting
with HTC 8X, which is the latest of them. This uni-body Windows Phone
from HTC, is packed with industry-leading specifications. 8X comes with
4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display; it is the same display that we last
saw in HTC One X, just a little smaller.
Company also seems to
have included the same camera tech used in One X, but it does not use
ImageSense branding here. The device sports an 8MP CMOS sensor with
backside-illumination (BSI) for improved low-light performance, along
with an f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens and a dedicated imaging chip.
The
front camera also seems great on-paper; it is a 2.1MPwith f/2.0
aperture and 88 degree ultra-wide angle lens. 8X is also the first
Windows Phone with Beats Audio technology and an audio amplifier.
HTC
also seems to have realised the importance of colours with the new
Windows Phone devices. Windows Phone 8X will come in a variety of
colours including California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red and
Limelight Yellow.
On the downside, there is no expandable storage
on 8X and you will only get 16GB of on-board storage, part of which will
be used by the operating system itself.
Coming to the Nokia Lumia
920, it is the first Windows Phone device to feature PureView camera
technology, but no 40MP sensors here. Nokia includes a 8.7MP sensor with
advanced optical imaging stabilization. The company has reportedly put a
lot of effort in display technology, and Lumia 920 features 4.5 inch
Nokia PureMotion HD+ WXGA IPS LCD with super sensitive touch and
sunlight readability enhancements.
Nokia has always produced some
top notch hardware and we expect the same from Lumia 920. Another
interesting feature in the 920 is wireless charging. The smartphone
support Qi wireless charging standard. As expected, Nokia Lumia 920 will
come in a variety of colours including yellow, red, grey, white and
black.
There is no microSD card slot in Lumia 920, but Nokia is
providing 32GB of storage, which should be enough for most smartphone
users.
Talking about Samsung's ATIV S, it provides the best of the
three specifications on paper. Featuring an aluminium body, ATIV S
comes with 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD display, similar to what we have
seen in Galaxy S III.
There is also an 8MP camera on the back
along with 1.9MP front camera. Company also provides a microSD card slot
along with 16/32GB of internal storage. Overall the smartphone looks
quite decent.
As there are only odd differences between the three
devices, it will all come down to the pricing and how soon they can
reach the market.
