Vodafone UK launches a full Windows Phone 8 roster on February 6th

Vodafone UK launches a full Windows Phone 8 roster on February 6th

Vodafone's British division has been shy to embrace Windows Phone much at all in recent months. There'll be no such reservation as of February 6th, when the carrier starts offering a wide array of Windows Phone 8 devices. HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S will ship in subdued colors, while the (partly expected) Lumia 620, 820 and 920 will be available in livelier hues. We've yet to hear about pricing -- and there's no mention of Samsung's ATIV S, for completists -- but the launch remains good news for UK residents who want to try Microsoft's approach to smartphones without leaving the Red Dot network.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Vodafone Social

HTC Windows Phone 8S available now on Three UK: £17 per month or £180 off-contract

HTC Windows Phone 8S available now on Three UK 19 per month or 219 offcontract

HTC's second Windows Phone 8 device may not ever visit the US, but the 8S has arrived, at least in the UK. British carrier Three has the phone for sale starting today, both online (with delivery for Monday) and in its bricks and mortar stores, offering the Windows Phone 8S in the two-tone blue and black finish -- we're checking with Three to see whether it'll offer any other color options, as we've got our eyes on the yellow version. Expect to pay £219 £180 sans monthly billing, while the phone will be free on two-year contracts priced starting at £17 per month. We'll be putting the 8S through the review wringer soon -- you can expect to see our verdict next week.

Update: Three has been in touch to say the contract-free price has now dropped to £180 -- a pretty tempting launch price.

Continue reading HTC Windows Phone 8S available now on Three UK: £17 per month or £180 off-contract

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Source: Three UK

HTC 8X, 8S and Butterfly to reach China in mid-December

HTC 8X, 8S and Butterfly land in China by midDecember

HTC isn't going to let Nokia keep the Chinese limelight for long: the phone maker has just launched three variants of its late 2012 flagship phones for China's mainland, all of which should reach local stores by mid-December. Those looking for sheer brawn will want the Butterfly. While it's ultimately a slight variant on the J Butterfly (Droid DNA to Americans) that should reach China Unicom, the 1080p smartphone should come to the country in rarer brown and white hues alongside the black we've already seen in the US. Localized models of the Windows Phone 8X and 8S are similarly inbound, but their aces in the hole should be sheer ubiquity -- variants are on the way for WCDMA (China Unicom), CDMA2000 (China Telecom) and TD-SCDMA (China Mobile) networks. We don't immediately have pricing for the two Windows Phone 8 handsets, but the Butterfly should cost a suitably large ¥4,799 ($771) contract-free.

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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: HTC (translated), Sina Weibo (translated)

HTC confirms the Windows Phone 8S will not be coming to the US

HTC confirms the Windows Phone 8S will not be coming to the US

The HTC Windows Phone 8S was announced as a lower-end alternative to its bigger brother, the flagship Windows Phone 8X, but the company has remained relatively quiet about it since. While we're still awaiting official details on pricing and availability across the globe, HTC has filled us in on one crucial nugget of information: it won't be coming to the United States. While we've been suspicious that this might be the case, we had been holding out hope that it might have at least some amount of reach in the US market. Essentially, HTC is focusing all of its stateside efforts on the 8X, its signature device. With that said, we'll still likely see the 8S show up as an unlocked and unsubsidized smartphone on various etailers, so Windows Phone enthusiasts with a penchant for bright colors will want to keep their eyes peeled. Now that we know more about the markets that won't be graced by the presence of the 8S, all we need now is a confirmation on when we can expect it elsewhere. Stay tuned past the break for HTC's official statement.

Continue reading HTC confirms the Windows Phone 8S will not be coming to the US

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HTC Windows Phone 8S hits the FCC with North American 3G, gives the US a horrible tease

HTC Windows Phone 8S reaches the FCC with tease of what could have been

Unlike Nokia, all of HTC's Windows Phone effort in the US this fall has been centered on the high-end, through the Windows Phone 8X. That makes the FCC appearance of its budget cousin, the 8S, borderline cruel for American fans of HTC's hyper-colorized design. The phone getting clearance has support for both AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA bands without the LTE that either American carrier would want. Given that the 8S is officially destined for Canada (and not the US) without a named carrier, we're most likely looking at an example for a budget Canuck provider such as Mobilicity or Wind. At least the frequencies will be a comfort to gray market US importers who want HTC's Windows Phone aesthetic on the cheap.

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HTC Windows Phone 8S hits the FCC with North American 3G, gives the US a horrible tease originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them bare (video)

HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them naked video

HTC and Microsoft have been cautious about what they'll let us see of the software on the Windows Phone 8X and its 8S counterpart. Apparently, they don't have any such compunctions about leaving the phones' naked components hanging in the breeze. Along with outlining the essentialist, Metro-inspired philosophy behind the Windows Phone 8 devices' design, HTC's new behind-the-scenes video (after the break) shows the internals without that extra-colorful shell getting in the way. The exposé is more about the sheer demand for customized hardware to match those distinctive enclosures than anything too scandalous -- that tapered shape requires some finessing on the inside, we're told. Whatever you think of HTC's guided tour, the company has at least learned its lesson and decided against including any unexpected prototypes this time around.

Continue reading HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them bare (video)

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HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them bare (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)

HTC Windows Phone 8S handson video

HTC is making a two-pronged attack on Windows Phone 8, and while it may not match up to the specs on its new flagship, Windows Phone 8S by HTC (yes, that's the official moniker) has some charm all of its own. The screen is a pretty underwhelming Gorilla Glass-coated 4-inch WVGA LCD, with a similarly middleweight 5-megapixel camera peering out from the other side. Given that's looking to be priced closer to the One V than the One S, we're not all that surprised. The phone itself is a good-looking slab, thanks to the breezy color schemes and while the build is certainly solid enough, we'd be hard-pressed to put it in league with the 8X, which felt at home in our hand from the start. The 8S is cocooned in a matte plastic finish, arriving in four different color options -- depending on carrier and territory.

The two-tone color scheme, aside from a few color licks around the lens and ear piece, keeps the second color limited to the bottom edge and the detachable cap. This offers access to the microSD slot (upgrading the built-in 4GB of storage up to 32GB), but like the 8X, no access to the battery. Yep, these new Windows Phones look nothing like HTC's One series, and while the same design studio is responsible, this time, it took its inspiration from Microsoft's tile interface. There's a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor inside, but the phone wasn't quite ready to be put completely through its paces. While the software was still locked down, but you can take a video tour -- and read more of our hardware impressions -- after the break.

Continue reading HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)

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HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8S by HTC hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)

HTC Windows Phone 8S handson video

HTC is making a two-pronged attack on Windows Phone 8, and while it may not match up to the specs on its new flagship, the Windows Phone 8S by HTC (yes, that's the official moniker) has some charm all of its own. The screen is a pretty underwhelming Gorilla Glass-coated 4-inch WVGA LCD, with a similarly middleweight 5-megapixel camera peering out from the other side. Given that it's looking to be priced closer to the One V than the One S, we're not all that surprised. The phone itself is a good-looking slab, thanks to the breezy color schemes and while the build is certainly solid enough, we'd be hard-pressed to put it in league with the 8X, which felt at home in our hand from the start. The 8S is cocooned in a matte plastic finish, arriving in four different color options -- depending on carrier and territory.

The two-tone color scheme, aside from a few color licks around the lens and ear piece, keeps the second color limited to the bottom edge and the detachable cap. This offers access to the microSD slot (upgrading the built-in 4GB of storage up to 32GB), but like the 8X, no access to the battery. Yep, these new Windows Phones look nothing like HTC's One series, and while the same design studio is responsible, this time, it took its inspiration from Microsoft's tile interface. There's a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor inside, but the phone wasn't quite ready to be put completely through its paces. While the software was still locked down, you can take a video tour -- and read more of our hardware impressions -- after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone 8S by HTC hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)

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Windows Phone 8S by HTC hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in November

Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and TMobile in November

We just had a chance to see and handle the colorful Windows Phone 8X by HTC, but where will we find it in the US? On stage, the company told us that the new device will be heading to three major carriers: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. All three operators should be pushing the device out sometime in November, though we're still waiting to hear specifics on pricing -- and we also haven't been told details on the availability of the lower-end Windows Phone 8S.

Check out our liveblog coverage of HTC's Windows Phone 8 launch event!

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Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in November originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in November

Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and TMobile in November

We just had a chance to see and handle the colorful Windows Phone 8X by HTC, but where will we find it in the US? On stage, the company told us that the new device will be heading to three major carriers: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. All three operators should be pushing the device out sometime in November, though we're still waiting to hear specifics on pricing -- and we also haven't been told details on the availability of the lower-end Windows Phone 8S.

Note: We're hearing whispers that the 8X will be $199 on AT&T and T-Mobile, but both carriers have responded to our request for more information, stating that no pricing has been released yet. The press releases can be found below.

Check out our liveblog coverage of HTC's Windows Phone 8 launch event!

Continue reading Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in November

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Windows Phone 8X coming to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in November originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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