HTC M8 Windows Phone Arrives Exclusively on Verizon

HTC may not be having the hold that Samsung and Apple have over the world, but their Android smartphones are simply one of the best devices you can own today. Especially, the HTC M8, which is easily considered one of the best flagship handsets on Android with its high end specs and good build quality. It has been awhile since we got to see a HTC Windows phone and the last one that I can think of was the Windows Phone 8X a couple of years ago. Anyway, the good news is that HTC no longer wants its best flagship model to be available only to Android users and has just made it available for Windows via Verizon.

HTC M8 Windows Phone Features

Windows Phone users who have largely been stuck with Nokia devices now have a better choice of devices. The sleek HTC M8 for Windows runs on Windows Phone 8.1, has a  Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, offers 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot supporting an extra 128 GB if you’d like, 2GB of RAM,  2600 mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band Wi-Fi and NFC; 1920 x 1080 5-inch OLED display, dual-lens rear camera, front facing BoomSound stereo speakers all put together in a neat and stylish aluminum build. There is just the gunmetal grey color device available for now but hopefully we’ll see more colors pop up in the near future.

HTC M8 offers all the goodness that a Windows Phone delivers including Cortana voice search, folders, Miracast and Microsoft Project My Screen support. The phone also supports Verizon Messages. Users will also get the best of the HTC world, with BlinkFeed, which is a newsfeed and social feed that I’ve come to love and HTC Sense TV, which uses a front edge IR blaster to act as a universal remote and TV guide. The M8 for Windows also brings over almost 90 to 95 percent of the HTC Duo camera app features including UFocus, Foregrounder and others.

Windows phones have been stuck in a rut for a while now with no new exciting developments taking place, at least where the hardware is concerned. Its nice to see HTC take a leap on to the platform with a top end device and should the company succeed in its strategy shift, it could hopefully see more OEM movers in that space. It’s a long way to go though, and for right now, fans of Windows phones can enjoy all the goodness of a flagship phone running their favorite OS with the M8.

One certainly hopes that the Windows Phone Stores get a radical improvement in their app collections. That will give people more reasons to consider buying a Windows Phone, which will hopefully encourage more OEMs to bring their flagship models to Windows…eventually.

HTC One M8 Windows Tech Specs At a Glance (Verizon Specific)

• Design: 5 inch Full HD Super LCD3 Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Touch Screen Display
• Dimensions: Dimensions: 5.76”(H) x 2.78”(W) x 0.37”(D) inches; Weight: 5.64 oz
• Network: LTE Band 13/4 CDMA/1xEVDO Rev. A; Global Network: EDGE/GSM HSPA/UMTS E911, sGPS (simultaneous), Standalone GPS, GLONASS
• Operating System : Windows 8.1
• Memory / Processor: 32GB on board memory + 2GB RAM /Supports up to 128GB microSD Card (sold separately); 2.3 GHz Quad Core Processor
• Battery: Battery: Non–removable 2600 mAh Li–Ion; Usage Time: Up to 21 hours OR Standby Time: Up to 15.5 days.
• Camera Video: HTC Duo Camera, f/2.0, 28mm wide angle lens, 2x LED, Smart Flash and 1080P Camcorder; 5MP front facing camera and 1080P Camcorder; Video Formats: H.263, H.264, VC1, MPEG–4
• Music: Supported formats: MP3, WMA, WMA pro, AMR–NB, AAC–LC, AAC+, eAAC; Headset: 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 4.0; Bluetooth Profiles Supported: HFP, A2DP, AVRCP, GAVDP, AVDTP, AVCTP, OPP (Vcard, Music, Album, Cal), PBAP, GATT
• Global Ready: Coverage in more than 200 countries. Customers must activate a Global feature to enable roaming outside of the U.S. in GSM and UMTS Networks. International Roaming (CDMA) is available on all Verizon Wireless devices and does not require an activated SIM Card. (Global Feature is suggested)
• Verizon Preloaded Apps: Backup Assistant+, My Verizon, NFL Mobile, Slacker, Visual Voicemail, VZ Navigator, Verizon Messages.
• HTC Preloaded Apps: HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Camera, HTC Photo Edit, HTC Sense TV
• Microsoft Preloaded Apps: Alarms, Battery Saver, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Cortana, Data Sense, Facebook, Finance, FM Radio, Food &Drink, Games, Health & Fitness, Help & Tips, Internet Explorer, Maps, Messaging, Music, News, Office, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, People, Phone, Photo Edit, Photos, Podcasts, Settings, Skype, Sports, Storage Sense, Store, Travel, Video, Wallet, Weather
• Mobile Hotspot: Connect up to 8 Wi–Fi enabled devices
• Wi–Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz/5GHz
• HTML Web Browser: Internet Explorer 11
• Communication: Use your HTC One (M8) as a remote control with built–in IR Blaster and HTC Sense TV ; Embedded Ring Tones, Vibrate Alert & Silent; Multilingual User Interface; Dual Front Facing Speakerphone; Video Chat Capable; TTY/TTD Compatible: Yes, on device; Hearing Aid Compatibility = M4/T3

HTC M8 Windows Phone is available right now in the US as a Verizon exclusive for $99 on a two year contract or for $30 via Verizon Edge and $600 at full retail. Verizon customers who add the phone to their More Everything plan will be getting a year of NFL Mobile game streaming as an additional promotional offer. AT&T has also announced that it will be bringing the phone into its fold, but no pricing or availability has been announced yet.