Windows 8 Device Onslaught: Top Smartphones and Tablets Set To Take On Apple's iPhone 5 and iPad
Alas, software is only half of the equation. It takes hardware to push a platform to its full potential, and there will be no shortage of Windows 8 devices when the OS drops in two weeks on October 26, 2012. Like a dam about to burst, the market is about to be flooded with phones and tablets sporting Microsoft's latest and purportedly greatest OS to date, all of them vying to take a chunk out of the mobile pie that's currently being hoarded by Apple and Android products. Some of them will inevitably flop, but we're more interested in the ones that will rise to the top. With that in mind, we rounded up a collection of the most promising devices that we think pose the biggest threat to Apple and Android. Let's have a look.
HTC Windows Phone 8X
- 4.3-inch Super LCD display with Gorilla Glass
- 1280x720 resolution; 341ppi
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 16GB internal storage
- 8MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 2.1MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
- Beats Audio
- 4G LTE; 3G HSPA+
- $200 with 2-year service contract
Nokia's is head over heels in love with Microsoft's Windows Phone platform these days, but it's HTC that had the business savvy to actually name its next generation smartphones after the Windows 8 platform. To the less knowledgeable shopper, this might seem to indicate that HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S devices are the only official Windows 8 phones, even though that's not the case. However, the 8X is certainly a well-rounded phone, and for those who plan on doing a lot of video chatting, it has the highest quality front-facing camera (2.1MP) of the bunch. It's also the only one touting Beats Audio, if you're into that.
Nokia Lumia 920
- 4.5-inch IPS LCD display
- 1280x768 resolution; 332ppi
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage
- 8.7MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, dual-LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 1.2MP front-facing camera with 720p video recording
- 4G LTE; 3G HSPA+
- Price yet to be determined
For whatever reason, Nokia can't seem to help shooting itself in the foot, and the Lumia 920 is yet another example of this. How so? For all the hype, Nokia decided to sign an exclusive agreement with AT&T to carry its flagship device. Bad move, Nokia. We're still including it here because this isn't AT&T's first rodeo with an exclusive, and also because it's packing an impressive feature list that might allow it to be a success despite Nokia's self-sabotaging business acumen. After all, the Carl Zeiss lens on the Lumia 920 is the real deal, and it has twice the amount of internal storage compared to HTC's flagship model. That could be a deciding factor, since neither device is equipped with a microSD card slot.
Samsung ATIV S
- 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 2
- 1280x720 resolution; 306ppi
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 16GB or 32GB internal storage
- 8MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 1.9MP front-facing camera with 720p video recording
- 4G LTE; 3G HSPA+
- Price yet to be determined
Asus Vivo Tab
- 11.6-inch Super IPS+ display
- 1366x768; 10-point multi-touch
- Intel Atom processor
- 2GB RAM
- 64GB eMMC
- 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0
- 1024-level Wacom digitizer stylus
- 8MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus and LED flash
- 2MP front-facing camera
- NFC support
- $799 for Vivo Tab; $599 for Vivo Tab RT
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13
- 13.3-inch IPS
- 1600x900 resolution; 10-point multi-touch
- Intel Core i5 and i7 processor options
- Up to 8GB RAM
- Up to 256GB SSD
- 720p front-facing camera
- USB 2.0; USB 3.0; HDMI
- $1,099 for Yoga 13; $799 for Yoga 11
Acer Iconia W510
- 10.1-inch display with Gorilla Glass 2
- 1366x768 resolution; 10-point multi-touch
- Intel Atom Z2760 processor
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB or 64GB SSD
- 8MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, LED flash, and 1080p video recording
- 2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
- Up to 18 hours of battery life
- $499
Microsoft Surface
- 10.6-inch display; 10-point multi-touch
- 1920x1080; 208ppi
- Intel Core i5 processor
- 64GB or 128GB SSD
- Price yet to be determined