My next Windows Phone - Jay Bennett

Rumored Specs on the HTC 8x

So the question that has been put to me by our Chief Editor is; which Windows Phone viii will be my next? It'due south a very tough 1 to answer right now, even being privileged as I am to have seen a glimpse at the full offer I tin can wait at launch. All the same I don't desire to just focus on the potential of devices in the futurity, Windows Telephone offerings have been around for 2 years now, and we can learn a lot by assessing the previous generations.

Almost every person I know has endemic an HTC device at ane time or another, and information technology saddens me to say I can't share that. I very about bought the HD7 as my launch device until the Omnia seven reviewed so well that it became the clear choice (personal opinion, sorry HD7 owners). Every HTC windows phone offering has also seemed very reliable, my father'due south HD7 serves him perfectly to this solar day, whilst my Omnia 7 had an annoying audio stutter bug for the start year of it'southward life.

Non to mention I love the attentive phone features on HTC devices, that coupled with a few interesting OEM only apps mean that for some fourth dimension they were the only manufacturer differing themselves in the Windows Phone race. Should I trust that their next offering will be just as robust? Volition HTC serve up some awesome hardware with a little manner and gadgetry like the intriguing One X?

HTC 8x?

Well I tin can tell y'all I've seen the HTC devices that volition be coming with Windows Telephone 8, and they are stunning. Get excited nigh them, because HTC are rising to Nokia'south claiming and have produced some seriously cute designs. My concern is that at that place does not appear to be a superlative end, no compromise device from HTC this generation, something which the competition has produced.

Now plow to Samsung, the Omnia 7 was and withal is an splendid device, yet I can't milkshake the feeling that Samsung'south ATIV S offering will have the same symptoms the Omnia presented early on, crashes requiring a battery pull, stuttering audio when listening to MP3s to name a few. Samsung volition ready these bug with firmware updates, they've proved this before, but it took them more than a year to ready the audio stuttering issue and information technology was a really frustrating bug. Which is exactly the problem, it took a twelvemonth, and information technology gave me the impression that Samsung weren't putting heart into their Windows Phone devices, they weren't treating me as a valued customer no matter how many times I tried to report the issue.

Samsung ATIV S

I should say though that I am very glad Samsung is going with a unified branding across their Windows devices, that'due south a huge and very important move that shows they may outset looking at Windows/Windows Phone viii as a serious entrant in the mobile race. I'm non against Samsung'southward decision to re-use the Milky way 3'south design here, it's a very popular device for a reason, merely the grade factor doesn't piece of work for me. The screen is just too big and I can't get my pollex all the fashion across information technology. Combine a design which doesn't excite me with my business concern over the device'due south stability on it's v1 firmware, and I'm out.

Finally, Nokia. The Lumia 800 has proved to exist an eventual winner. Information technology's beautiful pattern is unquestionable, but it too has suffered bugs that I cannot dismiss, and a bombardment life that is borderline unacceptable nether 3G usage. Farther the exclusive apps honestly haven't delivered on the promise and so far (with the exception of Mirror's Edge) for me, I don't use Nokia Bulldoze, and Nokia maps whilst good, isn't markedly better than Bing.

Nokia Lumia 920

Despite all the above, I'm nevertheless incredibly tempted by the Lumia 920. For no more extravagant a reason than wireless charging. I love the concept, I honey the gimmick, and I was incredibly jealous of the Palm pre/touchstone combination. The 920's design is also beautiful (yay curved drinking glass!) and hopefully won't be ruined by the massive screens Nokia are insisting on giving us. Honestly I'd much prefer a iv" screen but I'll larn to lug around that four.5" monster, which is right on the limit of what I view equally acceptable screen size. I'm as well not as bothered nearly Pureview as I could be, the images taken in low lite are impressive just still slightly blurry, and I strongly doubtable Nokia will demand to practice some firmware tuning after the initial release akin to that performed for the 800 & 900.

Perhaps most importantly, Nokia has produced a device that feels similar a flagship, a device you can buy making no compromises (you might telephone call no micro SD support a compromise but 32GB internal storage will do me nicely). I don't think any manufacturers are producing such high end hardware without making a concession somewhere in the specs, and particularly I can't say the same for HTC.

It's worth mentioning that hither in the U.k., for the commencement time ever, the carriers may actually play a role. EE'south announcement that they will be the first (by a very long way) UK carrier to provide 4G service will definitely sway me to their network should their exclusivity on the Lumia 920 turn out to be the merely 4G Windows Phone device here in Smashing Uk.

As of right now I am genuinely torn. I exercise non know which phone I'll be picking up other than that it won't exist the ATIV S. HTC has the opportunity to actually grab my attention now that I've seen the hardware designs. If they come up with some of the bonus features that Nokia have offered in accessory course, then I'm there. Because honestly, when information technology comes down to it I know that if I bought any telephone other than a Nokia, every time I went to plug in a charger I would be silently blasphemous nether my breath that this minor annoyance yet existed in my life, when I could exist living in the time to come. Damn that'south petty...

Is this real life?

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