HTC Announces the HTC One (M8) for Windows
by Brandon Chester on August 19, 2014 10:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- Windows Phone 8.1
- One (M8)
It's been a while since we've seen a high-end device running Windows Phone 8 launch from a company other than Nokia. Despite Nokia's dominance, HTC has certainly not given up on the platform and today they're demonstrating that with the launch of a new flagship Windows Phone 8 device that you may already know very well. This new device is named the HTC One (M8) for Windows, and both its design and its hardware are essentially the same as the Android powered HTC One M8 that HTC launched earlier this year. We've laid out the specifications of the One (M8) for Windows below.
| HTC One (M8) for Windows | ||||||
| SoC |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974ABv3) 4 x Krait 400 at 2.26GHz Adreno 330 at 578 MHz |
|||||
| Memory and Storage | 2GB LPDDR3, 16/32GB NAND + microSDXC | |||||
| Display | 5” 1920x1080 Super LCD3 at 441 ppi | |||||
| Cellular Connectivity | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE) | |||||
| Dimensions | 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35mm max, 160 grams | |||||
| Camera | 4.0 MP (2688 × 1520) Rear Facing with 2.0 µm pixels, 1/3" CMOS size, F/2.0, 28mm (35mm effective) and 2.0MP rear DOF camera, 5MP F/2.0 FFC | |||||
| Battery | 2600 mAh (9.88 Whr) | |||||
| Other Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, MHL, DLNA, NFC | |||||
| SIM Size | Nano-SIM | |||||
| Operating System | Windows Phone 8.1 | |||||
With regards to the hardware there's not a whole lot to be said. This really is the HTC One (M8) running Windows Phone 8 instead of Android. For an in depth look at the experience on Windows Phone 8.1 you can take a look at Anand's review of it from earlier this year. HTC has worked to also bring over some of the features they include with HTC Sense on the One (M8), which include BlinkFeed, Duo Cam, and Sense TV.
BlinkFeed makes its way over to Windows Phone 8 with the One (M8) for Windows. For those who arent familiar with it, BlinkFeed is a feature that comes on some of HTC's Android devices which aggregates Facebook and Twitter posts, news, sports information, and more into a vertically scrolling list on HTC's launcher. On Windows Phone 8 HTC doesn't have the luxury of being able to drastically alter the launcher and so BlinkFeed is included as an application which functions in the same manner as the launcher widget on Android.
Because the One (M8) for Windows shares the same hardware as the M8, HTC has brought over their post processing effects enabled by the secondary sensor in their Duo Cam camera system. In addition, we see that Video Highlights is present in the stock OS. Unfortunately, the camera app doesn't also inherit the manual controls from the M8 and so users wanting more control over the exposure of their photos will have to look to Nokia's Windows Phone devices or buy an application like ProShot which has such controls.
The One (M8) for Windows also brings along HTC Sense TV which acts as a TV guide and a universal remote that displays when your favorite shows are playing as well as recommendations for shows you may like based on what you already watch. HTC emphasized the difficulty of bringing this functionality to Windows Phone, as it required close cooperation with Microsoft to properly implement IR remote functionality.
For some users the most exciting prospect of the HTC One (M8) for Windows may come from the fact that it shares the same hardware as the One (M8). It's possible that the developer community will be able to load the firmware from the HTC One (M8) onto the device in a dual boot configuration with Windows Phone 8 so users can switch between the operating systems as they please.
Overall, this seems to be a smart move for HTC. Instead of assuming additional risk in the form of new hardware, the only resources needed are for software development. There's no need for a new production line, hardware certification is easier because the hardware should be unchanged from other variants, and cost across the board is driven down due to increased economies of scale.
The HTC One (M8) for Windows will go on sale on August 19th at 12:00PM Eastern Time through Verizon's online store, and will be available for $99 on a two year contract.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
jimbo2779 - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
If only the camera had OIS this would be the perfect WP8 phone for what looks to be the rest of this year.Marc007 - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
Even without optical image stabilization, the camera is still very good. The dual lens camera on the HTC M8 is unique. In my opinion, HTC One M8 is overall better than the Lumia 930, which is one of the best Windows phones: http://versus.com/en/htc-one-m8-for-windows-vs-nok...testbug00 - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
Oh man, that versus has so many problems, I want to cry.1. battery life != battery size.
2. CPU clock is meaningless on WP8 in the majority of cases, .1Ghz certainly isn't a case that changes anything.
3. having memory slot (yay! a real, meaningful point!) +1
4. Better FFC (yay! meaningful point) +1
5. Stereo speakers (yay! meaningful point) +1
6. weight is 100% user opinion, I like heavier phones, others don't.
7. same for thinkness, but, thinner is typically better. +.5
8. IPS screen... The 930 has an AMOLED screen. They have different advantages, why does that link talk about TN???
9. apature being smaller does have some advantages also, if the basic research I did is correct.
10. Every WP8 device has a power saving mode.. Given that you can now set a black background, and the 930 has a AMOLED screen, it likely has better power saving. -1
11. Has a dual lens Camera? Well, let me zoom, er, well, how about in daylight, er, what about refocusing... oh, Nokia has a refocus application? Complete and utter BS. -1 for worse camera overall.
12. slo-mo video capture.. Er, might be useful to very few people. +.5
13. USB 3 v. USB 2.... +1
14. "lots longer maximum focal length" of 28mm versus 26mm? In what world is that a lot longer? +.1
Well, next time you have a link, make sure to check it makes sense.
maximumGPU - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
Agree that VS is uselessalthaz - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
The screen on the 930 blows the HTC screen out of the water in terms of contrast (aka the most noticeable aspect of a display). The 930 also feels nicer in hand and is overall just better quality hardware - including the camera (though both are acceptable).The HTC One is the higher performing phone, but the screen is the real turn-off for me (like most people who aren't phone reviewers, I vastly prefer the perfect blacks of AMOLED over LCD).
Alexvrb - Thursday, August 21, 2014 - link
I just checked Verizon's pricing... the M8 WP is indeed $99 with 2 year agreement, just as the article states. But the Icon is free with the same 2 year contract. If you need the SD card slot, get the M8. Otherwise, if the 32GB built-in is enough for you, the Icon is a great deal and probably the way to go. Either way it's good to see more competition in WP devices.craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
This is truly an amazing phone. Highly reviewed at http://www.topreport.org/phones/blckgrffn - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
The lack of a dedicated camera button is a bummer, but I would guess we'll see this a lot if Android handsets start getting ported over aggressively... The camera button is super handy at this point...hughlle - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
Define a dedicated button. Because i can use the volume buttons on the M7 for the camera without an issue. Nothing a dedicated button does that they can't.Brandon Chester - Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - link
My gripe with volume buttons as camera shutter buttons is they're not two stage. I miss being able to press down on my old Samsung Focus to focus and then press a bit more to click down and take the photo.