"The M8, as our flagship, has been doing fantastic," says Jeff Gordon, HTC's online communications manager. "Microsoft came to us a while back and, loving what we did with the HTC One M8 for Android so much, they wanted to do something similar, but running Windows Phone software."
HTC One M8 Gets Reimagined as a Windows Phone Battleship:
The HTC One M8 for Windows has the exact same hardware as the Android M8 — with the familiar 5-inch full HD screen, Snapdragon 801 chip and robust "BoomSound" speakers — with just the Windows Phone logo beneath the "HTC" on the back betraying the operating system onboard. The phone is exclusive to Verizon for the launch, and it's available today for $99.99 (with a two-year contract) or $29.99 a month under Verizon Edge.
The HTC One M8 is one of the most well-received Android phones of the year, so when Microsoft approached the company about making a new Windows Phone, it requested the M8 specifically.
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The phone runs the latest Windows Phone software (version 8.1.1), which includes Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana. HTC also worked closely with Microsoft to ensure the One's signature features, such as the built-in TV remote control, carry over to the Windows Phone version with few changes:
·
BlinkFeed — the Android home
screen that's loaded with "snackable" information from social feeds
and news sites — is accessed via an app on the Windows version, rather than by
swiping to the left. The color-coding that HTC introduce with the M8 (green for
articles, orange for media, etc.) also gives way to the color theme the Windows
Phone user has selected.
·
The Duo camera is one of the best features of the HTC One M8,
and many of its tricks are preserved in the M8 for Windows. You can refocus
photos after the fact, add stylized textures to the background and even create
the same crude 3D effect you can on the Android version. One thing missing from
the camera experience, though, is the Zoe camera that helps in the automatic
creation of highlight videos (also absent).
·
And, yes, the phone's infrared port (which is built into the power button) also
doubles as a remote control, something Windows Phone doesn't inherently
support.
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Microsoft had to give HTC some special sauce so it could get the IR port working on the Windows model.
Microsoft had to give HTC some special sauce so it could get the IR port working on the Windows model. In both cases, the port works with an HTC-made remote app that presents content visually, with graphical title cards.
I had a little hands-on time with the HTC One M8 for Windows, and it succeeds, for the most part, in replicating the great experience of the Android version. The camera experience — probably the feature that matters most — is just as good, although I the lack of Zoe and the automatic highlight videos is a strike against it. However, it makes up for the absence with the ability to integrate other camera apps through Windows Phone's "lenses."
"We're really kind of following Microsoft's lead on Windows Phone as opposed to HTC Sense, where we control the entire experience," says Gordon.
The phone marks the first Windows Phone that HTC has created in two years. Back in 2012, HTC debuted the HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S — phones the company designed from the ground up to work with Windows Phone 8 (a variant of the 8X, the 8XT, appeared about a year ago).
Will the success of the HTC One M8 rub off on Windows Phone, a platform in desperate need of a boost? Microsoft certainly hopes so, since its own Nokiabrand can only do so much on heavy lifting its own. But for the strategy to really work, the Samsungs and Huaweis of the world will have to get on board, too. At next month's IFA trade show in Berlin, we should get a clue about whether or not that's happening.
The new HTC One M8 for Windows is unveiled on August 19, 2014 in New York.
MOBILE, TECH.
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