That Verizon exclusive HTC Windows Phone we’ve heard about thanks to the rumour mill and seen leak several times in the run up to today’s event is finally official. And yes, it is everything the grapevine made you believe it would be. Sleek, gorgeous, HTC. You know the name HTC is synonymous with well designed phones so the same applies here. In fact, it is everything that the Android-running One M8 is except that the One M8 running Windows Phone won’t be available in multiple colours. Buyers of the device will have just one colour option: gunmetal gray.
Also, since things are much different over on Microsoft’s platform, there’s obviously no Sense in the One M8 for Windows Phone. Just several HTC apps to take advantage of the hardware features like the Duo Camera setup and others like Blinkfeed and the like. Hardware specifications, just like the overall design of the phone and its oficial accessories (Dot View Case), remain the same.
It’s been a while since the One M8 as we know it on the Android platform was unveiled so here’s a run down of those specs again:
- Size and weight: 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm at 160g
- Display: 5 inch full HD
- Processor:Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.3 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM/ 32 GB internal expandable upto 128 GB with a microSD card
- Camera: 4 MP Ultra Pixel camera/ 5 MP front-facing selfie camera
- OS: Windows Phone 8.1 with Update 1
- Battery: 2600 mAh
- Others: Nano SIM, Verizon LTE, support for Microsoft Project My Screen, Twin BoomSound front speakers, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Miracast, also supports consumer infrared remote control
The device is priced at just $99 on a two year contact. As already mentioned, the device is exclusive to American carrier Verizon and there’s no word on whether it will be available to other carriers in the same country leave alone if it will be crossing the Atlantic to other regions where HTC devices are popular like Europe and Asia. Nokia did it with the 5 inch Verizon exclusive Lumia Icon being available in foreign markets as the Lumia 930 so there’s still hope. Here’s to hoping that this won’t be a case of those Verizon Exclusive Droid smartphones from Motorola that the rest of the could only salivate at but never get a chance to buy. An international version of the device cannot be ruled ot at this point though but until we hear from HTC about that, this is definitely one of the most good-looking devices that you can’t have if you live outside the US.
Samsung pulled a similar stunt last year when it announced the ATIV SE, a Galaxy S4 clone for Windows Phone that was (again) exclusive to Verizon.
