Windows Phone 8S by HTC announced with 4-inch display for November release

The second of HTC's newly announced Windows Phone 8 devices sees the company target the mid-range with the Windows Phone 8S. In a somewhat similar look and feel to Sony's Xperia P device, HTC has created a device which looks like it's been partially dipped into a vat of paint.. Featuring a 4.0-inch WVGA display, the 8S includes a 1GHz dual-core S4 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage.

Beats Audio now on Windows Phone

Like the 8X, HTC has opted to include Beats Audio on its Windows Phone 8S — however, the 8S does not include additional amplifiers to take advantage of the Beats integration. HTC has a Beats Audio application installed on the 8S which provides notifications after headphones are plugged in, with the option to switch the Beats settings on.

HTC isn't shipping the 8S with a forward facing camera — so there's no true video calling using the built-in Skype functionality of Windows Phone 8. At the rear there's a 5-megapixel camera with an f/2.8 aperture and 35mm lens that will record video at 720p. HTC is also equipping its 8S with a microSD slot to allow owners to expand storage past the rather small 4GB internal offering. The 8S will be available in a choice of four colors: Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue, and High-Rise Gray.

A good HTC Radar replacement

I got a chance to look at HTC's 8X during a recent briefing and my overall impression is that it will make for a good Radar replacement for a low-cost Windows Phone. There's a removable panel at the bottom of the device that provides access to the Micro-SIM and microSD slots, but there's no removable battery. It's slightly lighter (113 grams) than the HTC Radar (137 grams) and the 4-inch boost from 3.8 makes it a nice increment on the previous mid-range HTC Windows Phone. Overall, it might get overshadowed by its bigger brother, the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, but pricing could make it an interesting prospect for some this holiday season. HTC isn't announcing pricing or exact availability, but it says the 8S will be available in early November.

Windows Phone 8S hands-on photos

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