If Windows Phone 8 is to be a rip-roaring success, it'll need phones that appeal to those of you shopping on a budget, as well as swanky high-end mobiles. HTC's 8X may be packed full of more powerful components, but the 8S -- also known as the Windows Phone 8S by HTC -- is a more wallet-friendly option that will compete with Nokia's Lumia 820.
Design
The 4-inch 8S feels light and slim -- it's by no means a bulky phone, unlike many of HTC's slightly older efforts. It sports a blocky design with touch-sensitive buttons arranged beneath the screen.
It feels a little plasticky to hold, but there's one advantage to this phone's more flexible casing -- the lower back of the phone snaps apart, revealing a slot to stow your microSD card, which means you can expand the storage.
The 480x800-pixel resolution isn't particularly high, but it doesn't look blurry. Although not technically HD, that pixel count should serve for tasks like web browsing or playing video.
A range of colour combinations are promised, though during my hands-on time, I only saw a grey and yellow variant and a black and white option, which have been called 'high-rise yellow' and 'domino black' respectively.
All things considered, this design didn't blow my mind, but I didn't notice the 8S feeling too cheap. It won't match the luxury of the Nokia Lumia 920, for instance, but as long as build quality is up to scratch, its style should serve well enough. It'll also be interesting to see how the 8S compares side-by-side with the Nokia Lumia 820's construction.
It's not an HD resolution but the screen appeared clear enough.
Hardware
As you might expect from a mid-range mobile, the hardware here isn't too inspiring. Powered by a dual-core, 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM, this phone isn't too powerful on paper, but it could perform well if the Windows Phone 8 software doesn't prove too demanding.
The 8S also plays host to a 5-megapixel camera, though one notable omission is the lack of a front-facing camera, putting Skype video calling firmly out of reach. This is a standard bit of hardware on phones these days, so it's curious that HTC has decided to axe it. The firm says it was a cost-cutting exercise -- here's hoping the 8S is a little cheaper than its mid-range rivals then.
You'll have to make do with the 5-megapixel camera on the back as HTC has jettisoned the usual front-facing cam.
Software
The 8S is running Windows Phone 8, which is the upcoming version of Microsoft's mobile operating system. The biggest change will be a brand new home screen with resizable tile widgets, but you'll also get Nokia's turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps to help you find your way around town.
HTC didn't let me play around with Windows Phone 8 during my hands-on, likely because Microsoft doesn't deem its new software ready to be publicly aired yet. That's one potential issue with this software -- because it hasn't launched yet, there could be some features or bugs we don't know about. It'll be interesting to see how many apps Windows Phone 8 can attract.
I haven't had a chance to rummage around in Windows Phone 8's innards yet but I'll get my hands stuck in when we review the 8S.
Thanks to a partnership with Beats Audio, there's some Beats-branded sound processing tech on board that will subtly alter what your music sounds like. It's worth noting, however, that unlike some other HTC smart phones, you don't get a set of Beats earphones in the box, though you will be given HTC-branded 'buds.
When you plug in some headphones, a notification at the top of the screen alerts you to the fact that the Beats tech has been activated, which could become annoying over time. Here's hoping you can disable that in the settings menu.
Outlook
The HTC 8S is shaping up to be a decent mid-range mobile. Its success will likely depend on whether its modest hardware is complemented by a price tag low enough to persuade shoppers to plump for it over a slew of strong rival handsets.
This phone competes not only with mid-range Windows Phone devices like the Lumia 820, but also with an overwhelming horde of cheap Android phones, so it'll need to really impress in the full review before we can recommend a purchase. Stay tuned!
