The 8S is one of the most eye-catching phones in the market, with a 4-inch capacitive multi-touch screen bordered at the bottom by a bright panel (colours ranging from red, grey and blue) which has three of the six physical buttons the phone provides. With the Back button, Home button and Search button on the panel, a camera button and volume keys on the right side and a lock button on top, the 8S has the perfect combination of touch screen and physical buttons. The curved back also adds a stylish and refreshing touch at a time when most phones are going the block-look way. And it really is light, weighing a mere 113 grams, so much so that my iPhone 4 felt downright heavy in comparison. It did take a little figuring out that it was the coloured panel at the bottom that slid out to house the micro-SIM card, though.But that's enough about the body, what about its brains? It's pretty quick.
The body is solid, but the 4-inch screen is less-than-exciting. This is where the 8S very obviously shows that it's a step down from the 8X. Rather than the 8X's top-of-the-line display, the 480-by-800 pixel screen has nearly two-thirds less pixels -- it's pretty run-of-the-mill and on par with the Lumia 820. Meanwhile, the 19:6 aspect ratio works well for streaming media, and for a mid-range phone, the Gorilla Glass screen offers added protection from dings and dents. But as for image quality, it's not something that'll sway you. Instead, you'll look at it and say "meh."The 8S loses points for its 5-megapixel camera. The f/2.8 lens isn't the problem. It's not amazing, but it's what you'd expect from a mid-range phone -- although the Lumia 820 has an 8-megapixel camera. No, the problem is the lack of a second front-facing camera. You'd think since Microsoft owns Skype, HTC would add video chat, but alas, corners had to be cut somewhere to make the 8S more affordable. So stop reading now if you're looking for some face-to-face action. You'll still be able to record 720p videos. Videos are smooth and audio is clear, so no complaints. Again, it's not spectacular, but it's capable of taking nice-looking clips.
Where the 8S skimps on imaging, it more than makes up for in audio. As part of its investment into Beats, the 8S comes with audio integration that enhances the clarity, so you'll hear music as if you were sitting in the studio -- a plus if you're a music lover. The bass is lower, the treble is crisper -- in short, you'll wonder how you listened to music otherwise. And if for some reason you don't like the robust sound, you can always disable it.
The 8S, like its flagship sibling, runs on Windows 8, which means you'll only want the phone if you're comfortable with the vagaries of the software. Not that the vagaries are bad -- it's great if you like to customize your home screen. You can give each program and app its own "tile," and you can change the order and size -- you can shrink them, widen them, blow them up -- to keep your favorite things on the front page without having to scroll around. It showcases your priorities -- a music lover with no set schedule may feature a big music tile and forgo the clock, while business-minded people can cull distractions from their home page with ease.
Windows 8 is intuitive and aesthetically pleasing, but unfortunately, it still lacks the app roster of Android or Apple, and since Windows is still trying to gain momentum, there's no guarantee developers jump aboard. But with Microsoft throwing so much weight behind it, things will likely get better before they get worse. So if you're sick of iOS and Android, and you're feeling risky, Windows is a distinctive, intriguing alternative.
The 8S is powered by a 1-gigahertz dual-core chip, and you won't notice the difference between that and the 8X's beefier processor. They keep the phones running smoothly, which is partially due to how Windows 8 works -- it doesn't need as much processing power to keep running at a zippy pace. It comes with just 4-gigabytes of storage, enough for a decent music library, some videos and a few apps.
The HTC 8S is available on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile -- just like the 8X. But rather of costing you an arm and a leg, it's reasonably priced and good way to wade into the Windows 8 waters. But if you're looking for a mid-range Windows phones, the Lumia 820 really is nicer option with a better camera and 4G LTE.
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