HTC Windows Phone 8S is a great choice for people who are looking for a mid-range smartphone, a phone of quality workmanship, and solid performance. This model went on sale recently, so it’s pretty “fresh”, and we finally have a chance to deal with its previously announced numerous attributes, so let’s see what it’s all about. Join the HTC Windows Phone 8S review.
Dimensions and design
In the days of giant devices and their displays, people are looking for a compact, harmonious, and tastefully designed phone, and HTC Windows Phone 8S gives you just that.
The dimensions of this model are 120.5 x 63 x 10.3 mm, and with its size, a harmonious weight of 113 grams. (I) HTC’s design touch is recognizable on this model, but despite the fact that this device belongs to the middle-class telephone, it exudes traditionally high HTC quality.
The case of the phone is made of two parts, which is lined with a soft (you could say rubber) material that further facilitates control over this device when in hand, and preventing the possibility of “escape” of this model from the hand. This model is easy to use with one hand, thanks to its harmonious dimensions.
The lower part of the device is a different color and gives this model a two-tone look that takes it out of the sea of currently available black phones. The bottom cover is removable (giving you the ability to change the color of the phone), and it accommodates space for a SIM card (Micro-SIM) and a memory card (Micro SD up to 32GB).
On the top of the device, there is a button for turning on / off / locking the phone, on the side, there is a button for adjusting the volume. Above the display is a microphone and LED notification light, and below the display are 3 capacitive buttons that respond well to touch.
So the first impression is great, and if you know the day in the morning, the HTC Windows Phone 8S is a great choice On the top of the device there is a button for turning on / off / locking the phone, on the side, there is a button for adjusting the volume.
Display
HTC has improved this model with a 4-inch S-LCD display with a resolution of 480 × 800 pixels and 223ppi pixel density, which is quite correct. This correctness is also shown when using the phone.
The colors on the display are natural, the brightness of the display is solid (even when using the phone outdoors) and the viewing angles are high both horizontally and vertically, so only the display image is not “washed out” if you do not look at the right angle. We have experienced a relatively fast “smearing, ie greasing” of the display, and it is necessary to delete it often, but this detail, apart from aesthetic inconveniences, is not really a problem.
Software
As the name of this model suggests, this model works with the latest Windows Phone 8S operating system that is up to the task. This is understandable because this version of the Windows OS is in charge of many models of a much higher class than the HTC Windows Phone 8S.
This operating system brings us a number of interesting solutions on this model such as contacts of integrated social networks in People Hub-, a notification for the Weather app (weather forecast) which provides the user of this model with beautiful wallpapers when unlocking the display depicting the weather. The home screen of the WP8 software on this model provides you with other useful information such as news, stock market…
Hardware
That the HTC Windows Phone 8S is a great choice is proven by its “engine”. This model is equipped with an S4 Plus Dual-core processor of 1GHz, which is admittedly slightly weaker than the S4 processors built into the higher-priced models. But since WP8 OS is “put in a clear frame”, we did not feel that difference.
When testing more demanding games on this phone, at no point did we get the impression that the processor or graphics card (Adreno 305 GPU) could not cope with the task?
This model has 512 MB of RAM, which is half less than the “older brothers” with the WP8 operating system, and the difference in the speed of launching applications is noticeable, but in its class, this phone is great. The modest 4Gb internal memory deserves criticism, which nowadays does not meet the needs of a more demanding user.
Camera
This model is equipped with a 5MP camera enjoys the assistance of LED flash for shooting in low light situations, and (unfortunately) does not have an auxiliary camera for video calls. The interface and camera menu do not deviate from what we had the opportunity to see in other Windows Phone 8 phones, and the user of this model is allowed to adjust the contrast, focus, adjust the saturation, etc.
The images that the camera of this model makes are natural, they are rich in details (surprising for this resolution), the white balance is balanced and the images are sharp! The videos you can take with this model are created in HD 720p quality with a liquid 30 frames per second.
The colors during the video are a little paler but well balanced, and the video itself is still rich in detail and sharp enough. The soundtrack during the recording turned out to be solid, as long as you are not in a noisy environment.
Connections and Battery
When it comes to connections, we again come to the conclusion that the HTC Windows Phone 8S is a great choice. With its IE10 browser, this model has proven to be excellent when connecting to the Internet and browsing the pages, Zoom in-out, loading running smoothly.
According to the technical characteristics, the HTC 8S has a download speed of 42.2 Mbps (of course if HSPA and the network allow it). From the connections, this model has a Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth, and A-GPS.
HTC Windows Phone 8S is equipped with a solid 1700mAh battery, and HTC has not yet released official battery test results, but in our experience, the battery of this model should honor you without recharging for about 2 days with some average use.
Conclusion
At the end of this review, we can say that we can honestly be convinced, HTC Windows Phone 8S is a great choice that will satisfy a wide range of customers. If there were a ranking of devices in some of its class, we are convinced to this model found at the very top of the list with popular competitive models like the Sony Xperia U.
HTC Windows Phone 8S will equally find its clientele among females and males, older and younger population. This will be achieved thanks to its harmonious dimensions, quality workmanship, the excellent performance of the processor, display, and camera.
How do you like the HTC Windows Phone 8S?