Finally some carrier and pricing info. I will have to seriously consider upgrading my LG Quantum to either the 8X or the 920. These are very nice-looking phones.
Surely that is a typo on the 8X and the Lumia 920? Not having an SD slot on the high end devices seems like a bad move given the target audience, the colours are...interesting but overall fugly, and I can't see many execs wanting a white and yellow phone. Still it seems like they should be pushing the new Windows 8 phones as the world is ignoring their Android phones, by and large and they have ceded the market to Samsung.
SD Card is kind of disappointing but not horrific to me at least. It does seem off that htey would leave it all out though.
I disagree about the colors. The cyan lumia sold very well for the amount of supply it had (on AT&T). I will probably go for black, but I can see friends of mine definitely getting "colored" phones.
Personally, I'm curious about battery life under windows phone. Apple has shown that a closed ecosystem can generally give very good battery life as well as a tight UI/user experience. Windows SHOULD and needs to be able to achieve the same thing with their phones. And with the batteries in these phones being presumably so much larger than the iphone, they need to kill with battery life and I'll be absolutely sold.
@Anandtech guys, any idea which phones will be in for review @ launch?
The only high end phones with a microSD card slot this year has been from Samsung, and that's because they've chosen to go with plastic removable backs. I grumble because of the price of a 64GB microSD card slot, but I would rather prefer not to be mugged for my money.
Anyway, if there's a 32GB version, I'm more than happy to settle. 16GB is pushing it because it's really just 10GB after to factor out the 1024->1000 conversion and the space the OS takes up. =/
Not having sd is probably due to the form factor , I am assuming industrial design. What's even more shocking is the amount of storage, only 16gb? The year old galaxy nexus has 32gb.
I don't expect Windows Phone 9 to "leave you hanging". The only reason Windows Phone 7 devices aren't getting Windows Phone 8 is because of the transition to the Windows NT kernel. Since Windows RT tablets will be built with the same SoC hardware and certainly have to last longer than 2 years, you should buy with confidence.
The other reason I suspect is that the Snapdragon S2 hardware was old even when Windows Phone 7 was released, The S4 is current generation stuff with plenty of headroom for future OS developments.
Yes, I certainly can't tell the difference between the corners that are completely rounded on these devices and the mixed curved/sharp corners on the iPhone. The curved glass that covers most but not all of the face on the 8X and 8S definitely looks exactly like the flat, all-glass face of the iPhone; and the flat, aluminum back of the latter is nigh-indistinguishable from the curved plastic backs of the former.
I sure hope you're trolling...not that you're doing a good job of it, but whatever.
Umm, there''s a difference between sarcasm, irony, and trolling. I suspect Aqua is guilty of the first here (sarcasm). Interpreting it that way, it gave me a little chuckle.
I mean, most people who are trolling don't start out with"Gee, . . .". People who troll want you to believe they are dead serious, and saying "Gee" doesn't connote seriousness.
It's hard to differentiate phones at some level... and I think just about every aspect that you can has been differentiated. The phone is curved, not "flat" or however you want to call the iphone (blocky edges in a way, both have curved corners.) The speaker strip on the top is longer, you have three capacative buttons on the bottom, not just one button. The back is definitely different, and the logo branding is different from Apple's. There's not many ways to be similar, other than they're black (but not all of HTC is)
No, actually it doesn't. What made you think that? A big glass screen? There are many phones that look similar to the iPhone, but HTC phones, as well as Nokia phones, are distinctively different.
Well it depends on your view. The front facing camera on the 8X is much nicer, but the back camera on the Lumia is way better. So obviously this is going to depend on if you take a lot of pictures or if you skype a lot.
The 8X is also tangibly lighter, but battery might take a hit because of it. Performance will be the same. The lack of extra storage might affect some, but not all (certainly not me). I haven't managed to fill up my old 8GB sim card, so 16GB will be very nice.
I don't think I've used my front-facing camera on my current phone once, but I agree that if you do do things like Skype, the 8X looks very attractive. I would love to have a phone that can actually take good (without quotes around the word) pictures, so that sways me towards the 920. When you factor in the higher-capacity battery and the extra 16GB of flash memory, it would be really hard for me to go for the 8X, just for the (admittedly attractive) blue color.
That being said, I'm not making any decisions without reviews. There's a lot a spec sheet can't tell you. And I still haven't ruled out the Galaxy Note II (or the SIII, or the ATIV S, for that matter).
True. I think the Lumia definitely is attractive spec-wise, but also considering size/weight, the 8X wins there as well.
I would probably get more use out of the front facing camera because I skype with people a lot, but I could see how a back facing camera is better for others for sure.
Reviews are also important. In hand feel and other things that can't be explained by a spec sheet make a big difference.
Size/weight is what's really holding me back on the Lumia 920. I have a Lumia 900 and I think it is already a bit too big and heavy for the screen size - it's nearly the same height and length as the 4.65"-screen Galaxy Nexus, while being thicker and heavier. Now the 920 is adding a couple extra mm on each side and yet another 25g of weight.
On the other hand, it does feel like a brick in the good old Nokia way, too; I have no fear of dropping it like I do of thew current iPhones. I suppose it's academic anyways. It'll really come down to what the off-contract prices are for the various WP8 and Android flagships available in the January-February period in which I'm looking at replacing my Lumia 900, and more broadly whether WP8 takes off.
Anyone else disappointed by the screen sizes? I mean the Titan was 4.7", I was hoping it would at least match the size...I wonder why they didn't make another large screen phone.
S4 Pro isn't really current gen... the only phone announced with it is that Optimus G or something, which is LG and iirc only in Korea right now. We might see it in USA/Europe later, but not yet. S4 1.5ghz dual core + Adreno 225 is standard right now.
I don't mind the screen size. It could be a bit bigger, but 4.3" isn't too bad.
It just makes me lean towards the Samsung ATIV S with it's 4.8" AMOLED screen. I don't know if the Samsung has anything else going for it besides the screen though.
Samsung ATIV S: biggest screen HTC 8X: Beats Audio Nokia: wireless charging and 2nd largest screen with higher resolution
I wonder if they have any plans for the Titan 3.....
The only S4 Pro out right now is the quad-core tablet version that doesn't have an LTE baseband. The Optimus G phone uses that chip and a separate LTE chip so the battery life is going to suck.
Soon the 8960T will be out (the T being really important here) which is just like the 8960 in this phone except the GPU is upgraded to 320 instead of 225.
I'm actually very happy HTC is still launching 720p flagships at 4.3" sizes. I find that to be about as big as I'm willing to hold, and the ppi will be incredible on a screen that size.
I actually like the body style of that black and white 8S better than the 8X. In general the whole line kinda looks a bit cartooney for my taste, but I guess you can't go too far wrong with a black phone.
Again with no SD support for the big phone? Is it really that hard and take that much extra space?
Any word on NFC? service providers? Bluetooth revision?
I think choosing one of these phones over a Nokia is a mistake. Not because of the hardware, but the software. Nokia has been locking up developers with exclusive deals for many apps. If you choose something other than Nokia, you will be waiting months longer for your apps. Microsoft fans will say this is NOT fragmentation of the marketplace, but differentiation. Either way, it's stratifying the user base and this is bad, bad news for a fledgling product.
I noticed there's really nothing at all to recommend HTC's mid-range 8S over Nokia's mid-range Lumia 820. Slower SoC, less NAND, poorer rear camera, NO front camera, screens are about even on size and resolution but the Lumia's Clearblack screen will almost certainly look better in strong sunlight. Unless you really prefer the HTC's design language and slightly lesser size and weight.
Verizon carries an HTC Win 7 phone now. Looks nice, but I opted to hold out for better Win 8 phones, and to tell the truth I'm a bit of Nokia fan and was kinda hoping Verizon would pick up Nokia alternatives.
So, I'm a bit confused here. No mention of Verizon on any of these devices. Frankly, I'm going to be a bit more than torqued if we don't get something along the lines of one of these higher-end phones on Verizon come November (or whenever they are released).
I don't think it's the first phone to go that high at that size (HTC itself might've had a 720p/4.3" Android phone last year I think), but it's certainly a rarity... Frankly I think that's the prefect sweet spot, though it could shed maybe a mm or two of thickness. I've got fairly long fingers but my 4.65" EVO feels like a slight stretch (bit too wide IMO).
I'm planing to get the 8X from Tmobile. I remember on the old HD7 you could open it up and install a bigger micro SD card. Any chance that will be possible on this one? I wonder if they're soldering in the storage on the newer phones. I will probably get it anyway because I think I can make 16Gb work along with my Skydrive account. Right now I'm still using a bottom of the line Samsung flip phone so this will seem like a pretty nice phone for me. My wife is still using the HD7, which was free and it has been a very good phone. I'm just not an early adopter because I think it's a waste of money. I have been waiting for the technology to get good and powerful enough that I wouldn't get frustrated with it and for the price to get cheap enough for the hardware and the service. I think it's ready for me now.
The HD7 was my wife's first smart phone and she went and got a Galaxy S3 and she didn't like it so she returned it. I told her to wait for the Windows 8 phones because the S3 is about as good as she will get with an Android phone. And that if she doesn't like it then she just doesn't like Android because it has great hardware, especially compared to he HD7. I guess she just got used to Windows phone 7.
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cmikeh2 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
According to Qualcomm's spec sheets, the MSM8627 uses an Adreno 305 GPU, not the 205 as the article states.SydneyBlue120d - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Here is the updated S4 table specs:https://developer.qualcomm.com/sites/default/files...
Spivonious - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Finally some carrier and pricing info. I will have to seriously consider upgrading my LG Quantum to either the 8X or the 920. These are very nice-looking phones.robinthakur - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Surely that is a typo on the 8X and the Lumia 920? Not having an SD slot on the high end devices seems like a bad move given the target audience, the colours are...interesting but overall fugly, and I can't see many execs wanting a white and yellow phone. Still it seems like they should be pushing the new Windows 8 phones as the world is ignoring their Android phones, by and large and they have ceded the market to Samsung.karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
SD Card is kind of disappointing but not horrific to me at least. It does seem off that htey would leave it all out though.I disagree about the colors. The cyan lumia sold very well for the amount of supply it had (on AT&T). I will probably go for black, but I can see friends of mine definitely getting "colored" phones.
karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Personally, I'm curious about battery life under windows phone. Apple has shown that a closed ecosystem can generally give very good battery life as well as a tight UI/user experience. Windows SHOULD and needs to be able to achieve the same thing with their phones. And with the batteries in these phones being presumably so much larger than the iphone, they need to kill with battery life and I'll be absolutely sold.@Anandtech guys, any idea which phones will be in for review @ launch?
dagamer34 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
The only high end phones with a microSD card slot this year has been from Samsung, and that's because they've chosen to go with plastic removable backs. I grumble because of the price of a 64GB microSD card slot, but I would rather prefer not to be mugged for my money.Anyway, if there's a 32GB version, I'm more than happy to settle. 16GB is pushing it because it's really just 10GB after to factor out the 1024->1000 conversion and the space the OS takes up. =/
agent2099 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Not having sd is probably due to the form factor , I am assuming industrial design. What's even more shocking is the amount of storage, only 16gb? The year old galaxy nexus has 32gb.ATimson - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I'm still waffling between an unlocked iPhone 5 and upgrading my HTC HD7 to a new WP8 machine (and buying a separate iPod Touch again).I like WP7, I really do. But after getting left hanging in the wind once, I'm afraid of it happening again with WP9 in a year or two.
I do like the looks of these new phones, though.
dagamer34 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I don't expect Windows Phone 9 to "leave you hanging". The only reason Windows Phone 7 devices aren't getting Windows Phone 8 is because of the transition to the Windows NT kernel. Since Windows RT tablets will be built with the same SoC hardware and certainly have to last longer than 2 years, you should buy with confidence.The other reason I suspect is that the Snapdragon S2 hardware was old even when Windows Phone 7 was released, The S4 is current generation stuff with plenty of headroom for future OS developments.
Aqua1ung - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Gee, it soo looks like an iPhone that's been dipped in blue/red/yellow/etc. dye! Had it been an Android, it would've been slammed as such immediately.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Yes, I certainly can't tell the difference between the corners that are completely rounded on these devices and the mixed curved/sharp corners on the iPhone. The curved glass that covers most but not all of the face on the 8X and 8S definitely looks exactly like the flat, all-glass face of the iPhone; and the flat, aluminum back of the latter is nigh-indistinguishable from the curved plastic backs of the former.I sure hope you're trolling...not that you're doing a good job of it, but whatever.
Sabresiberian - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
Umm, there''s a difference between sarcasm, irony, and trolling. I suspect Aqua is guilty of the first here (sarcasm). Interpreting it that way, it gave me a little chuckle.I mean, most people who are trolling don't start out with"Gee, . . .". People who troll want you to believe they are dead serious, and saying "Gee" doesn't connote seriousness.
;)
karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
It's hard to differentiate phones at some level... and I think just about every aspect that you can has been differentiated. The phone is curved, not "flat" or however you want to call the iphone (blocky edges in a way, both have curved corners.) The speaker strip on the top is longer, you have three capacative buttons on the bottom, not just one button. The back is definitely different, and the logo branding is different from Apple's. There's not many ways to be similar, other than they're black (but not all of HTC is)eyhk - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
No, actually it doesn't. What made you think that? A big glass screen?There are many phones that look similar to the iPhone, but HTC phones, as well as Nokia phones, are distinctively different.
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
That "California Blue" looks sharp...too bad Nokia doesn't have something similar, 'cause specs-wise it looks like the 920 still wins out overall.karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Well it depends on your view. The front facing camera on the 8X is much nicer, but the back camera on the Lumia is way better. So obviously this is going to depend on if you take a lot of pictures or if you skype a lot.The 8X is also tangibly lighter, but battery might take a hit because of it. Performance will be the same. The lack of extra storage might affect some, but not all (certainly not me). I haven't managed to fill up my old 8GB sim card, so 16GB will be very nice.
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I don't think I've used my front-facing camera on my current phone once, but I agree that if you do do things like Skype, the 8X looks very attractive. I would love to have a phone that can actually take good (without quotes around the word) pictures, so that sways me towards the 920. When you factor in the higher-capacity battery and the extra 16GB of flash memory, it would be really hard for me to go for the 8X, just for the (admittedly attractive) blue color.That being said, I'm not making any decisions without reviews. There's a lot a spec sheet can't tell you. And I still haven't ruled out the Galaxy Note II (or the SIII, or the ATIV S, for that matter).
karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
True. I think the Lumia definitely is attractive spec-wise, but also considering size/weight, the 8X wins there as well.I would probably get more use out of the front facing camera because I skype with people a lot, but I could see how a back facing camera is better for others for sure.
Reviews are also important. In hand feel and other things that can't be explained by a spec sheet make a big difference.
lowlymarine - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Size/weight is what's really holding me back on the Lumia 920. I have a Lumia 900 and I think it is already a bit too big and heavy for the screen size - it's nearly the same height and length as the 4.65"-screen Galaxy Nexus, while being thicker and heavier. Now the 920 is adding a couple extra mm on each side and yet another 25g of weight.On the other hand, it does feel like a brick in the good old Nokia way, too; I have no fear of dropping it like I do of thew current iPhones. I suppose it's academic anyways. It'll really come down to what the off-contract prices are for the various WP8 and Android flagships available in the January-February period in which I'm looking at replacing my Lumia 900, and more broadly whether WP8 takes off.
haukionkannel - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Lumia allso seems to have better screens. But it allso depends on what these devices are going to cost!Malih - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
oh yes, I'd love a WP8 Lumia with California Blue color, especially looks good when combined with Black and matching Tiles color.Amoro - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Anyone else disappointed by the screen sizes? I mean the Titan was 4.7", I was hoping it would at least match the size...I wonder why they didn't make another large screen phone.Amoro - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
forgot to mention the GPU as well...225 seems so last gen. Was it too much to ask for the 320?I really wish this would have been the S4 Pro and not the plus. Or am I mistaken in that the Pro's are reserved for tablets?
karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
S4 Pro isn't really current gen... the only phone announced with it is that Optimus G or something, which is LG and iirc only in Korea right now. We might see it in USA/Europe later, but not yet. S4 1.5ghz dual core + Adreno 225 is standard right now.I don't mind the screen size. It could be a bit bigger, but 4.3" isn't too bad.
Amoro - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
It just makes me lean towards the Samsung ATIV S with it's 4.8" AMOLED screen. I don't know if the Samsung has anything else going for it besides the screen though.Samsung ATIV S: biggest screen
HTC 8X: Beats Audio
Nokia: wireless charging and 2nd largest screen with higher resolution
I wonder if they have any plans for the Titan 3.....
MadMan007 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Beats audio is a branding, it doesn't really say anything about actual audio quality.winterspan - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Heres the deal:The only S4 Pro out right now is the quad-core tablet version that doesn't have an LTE baseband. The Optimus G phone uses that chip and a separate LTE chip so the battery life is going to suck.
Soon the 8960T will be out (the T being really important here) which is just like the 8960 in this phone except the GPU is upgraded to 320 instead of 225.
Avalon - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I'm actually very happy HTC is still launching 720p flagships at 4.3" sizes. I find that to be about as big as I'm willing to hold, and the ppi will be incredible on a screen that size.CaedenV - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I actually like the body style of that black and white 8S better than the 8X. In general the whole line kinda looks a bit cartooney for my taste, but I guess you can't go too far wrong with a black phone.Again with no SD support for the big phone? Is it really that hard and take that much extra space?
Any word on NFC? service providers? Bluetooth revision?
SilverRubicon - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I think choosing one of these phones over a Nokia is a mistake. Not because of the hardware, but the software. Nokia has been locking up developers with exclusive deals for many apps. If you choose something other than Nokia, you will be waiting months longer for your apps. Microsoft fans will say this is NOT fragmentation of the marketplace, but differentiation. Either way, it's stratifying the user base and this is bad, bad news for a fledgling product.kyuu - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I noticed there's really nothing at all to recommend HTC's mid-range 8S over Nokia's mid-range Lumia 820. Slower SoC, less NAND, poorer rear camera, NO front camera, screens are about even on size and resolution but the Lumia's Clearblack screen will almost certainly look better in strong sunlight. Unless you really prefer the HTC's design language and slightly lesser size and weight.kyuu - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Oh, and no LTE on the 8S (I believe LTE is built-in the Krait S4 SoC so the 820 should have it).Sabresiberian - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
Verizon carries an HTC Win 7 phone now. Looks nice, but I opted to hold out for better Win 8 phones, and to tell the truth I'm a bit of Nokia fan and was kinda hoping Verizon would pick up Nokia alternatives.So, I'm a bit confused here. No mention of Verizon on any of these devices. Frankly, I'm going to be a bit more than torqued if we don't get something along the lines of one of these higher-end phones on Verizon come November (or whenever they are released).
;)
Impulses - Saturday, September 22, 2012 - link
I don't think it's the first phone to go that high at that size (HTC itself might've had a 720p/4.3" Android phone last year I think), but it's certainly a rarity... Frankly I think that's the prefect sweet spot, though it could shed maybe a mm or two of thickness. I've got fairly long fingers but my 4.65" EVO feels like a slight stretch (bit too wide IMO).actionjksn - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
I'm planing to get the 8X from Tmobile. I remember on the old HD7 you could open it up and install a bigger micro SD card. Any chance that will be possible on this one? I wonder if they're soldering in the storage on the newer phones. I will probably get it anyway because I think I can make 16Gb work along with my Skydrive account. Right now I'm still using a bottom of the line Samsung flip phone so this will seem like a pretty nice phone for me. My wife is still using the HD7, which was free and it has been a very good phone. I'm just not an early adopter because I think it's a waste of money. I have been waiting for the technology to get good and powerful enough that I wouldn't get frustrated with it and for the price to get cheap enough for the hardware and the service. I think it's ready for me now.The HD7 was my wife's first smart phone and she went and got a Galaxy S3 and she didn't like it so she returned it. I told her to wait for the Windows 8 phones because the S3 is about as good as she will get with an Android phone. And that if she doesn't like it then she just doesn't like Android because it has great hardware, especially compared to he HD7. I guess she just got used to Windows phone 7.