HTC 8S to reach Indian shores, priced at Rs 19,260

HTC today unveiled The HTC 8S, alongside the HTC 8X at a regional launch event in Singapore. The smartphone features the new Windows Phone 8 operating system, in addition to a colourful design and a Beats Audio sound driver. This smartphone will be available starting from November in India for a market operating price of Rs 19,260.

The HTC 8S comes with a matte finish, unlike most of the black slabs available today. It will be available in Fiesta Red and Atlantic Blue. HTC created the Windows Phone 8S to blend the virtual and the physical, utilising a three dimensional, pure uni-body design based on the Windows Phone Live Tiles. The device has a sculpted, tapering body, which makes it feel quite thin in your hand. It also sports a bright super LCD 4-inch screen with Gorilla Glass.

One of the first Windows Phone 8 devices to make it to India

The Windows Phone 8S by HTC features a Beats Audio driver powering the 3.5mm audio jack and the speaker, boosting the audio signal for even better sound no matter if you’re listening to music, playing a game or watching a video.

Here are some of the highlighted features of the HTC 8S:

• 4.0-inch S-LCD touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE, Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth v3.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 5MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• 4GB internal memory, expandable to 32GB via microSD card

“Windows Phone has clearly emerged as one of the top mobile ecosystems and is competitive against any other smartphone platform in the world,” said Faisal Siddiqui, country head, HTC India. “We are confident that the iconic design and incredible innovation of the Windows Phone 8S by HTC will help consumers fully realize the potential and lifestyle benefits offered by these smartphones.”

Windows Phone 8 is the latest version of Microsoft’s smartphone operating system, launched earlier this week. Microsoft states that Live Tiles are the core of Windows Phone. Users can arrange the Start screen whichever way they like by pinning people, apps, music, games, photos and other tiles. One has the option of customising the Live Tiles and there are three different sizes and 20 different colours of tiles to choose from.

Windows Phone 8 offers a range of new features:
Live Apps - This feature brings information right to the Start screen, such as the Groupon deal of the day, flight information, and news headlines. Live Apps such as Facebook can deliver real-time information right to your lock screen with an updated wallpaper.

Top apps - The Windows Phone Store has 120,000 apps to choose from, with hundreds added every day. Today, Microsoft announced that Pandora is coming to Windows Phone in early 2013, with one year of ad-free music.

Kid’s Corner - Exclusive to Windows Phone 8, Kid’s Corner is way to share your phone with your kids. After a simple setup, parents can activate a specialised place on the phone for kids to play — complete with their own customisable Start screens, where they can access only the apps, games, music and videos picked by parents.

Rooms – This feature allows you to create private groups of people who have Windows Phone 8. Users can chat, share calendars, shopping lists or photos in an ongoing conversation where only those invited can join in. You can share some aspects of Rooms with friends and family on other smartphones as well.

Data Sense - This new feature helps you surf more and do more, without worrying about going over your data limit. Data sense helps conserve your data allowance by compressing Web images, deferring data tasks to free Wi-Fi and automatically adjusting your usage as you get closer to your plan limits. Data Sense also shows how much data is used per app. As you approach your limit, Data Sense notifies you so you can get the most out of your plan. Data Sense will roll out to select mobile operators this holiday and additional partners next year.

Wallet and near-field communications - Windows Phone 8 brings together the new wallet technologies, including payments via near-field communications (NFC). The Wallet can also store your debit, credit, loyalty and membership card information on your phone.

Always-on, Skype experience - With the new Skype app, coming soon to Windows Phone 8, you can make and receive Skype calls just like a regular phone call.