HTC is launching its Windows Phone phones here well before the others and having used the 8X briefly, it’s very hard to resist. It’s slim, incredibly light, and looks very, very attractive. The rubbery enclosure is a godsend for those who tend to drop their phones since it gives a very good grip. The camera on the 8X works really well on its own, pictures come out great and the macro can be really tight, but Nokia just has better camera support.

Sure, it’s thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920 and arguably has better speakers but it doesn’t offer the cool and fancy camera tools that Nokia has, there’s no Nokia Drive, which means no turn by turn navigation, and no CityLens. 8X definitely wins on style but the substance fails to carry it over the line. 920 on the other hand has far more substance, really nice style, but a tad on the bulky side. Let’s hope the bulkiness is due to having a bigger battery. 

I still need iOS for Path, Tumblr, Tweetbot, FaceTime, Google+, WordPress, Flipboard, Instapaper, YouTube, Skitch, and a host of other daily apps that I use. Android would win over Windows Phone in this regard since it has most of the apps above aside from Instapaper, Tweetbot, and FaceTime, but I can’t stand using Android.

YouTube doesn’t seem to have recognized Windows Phone as a viable mobile device. Not just yet. There’s no proper native YouTube app yet to let people watch videos without having to resort to the browser and this stops people from watching certain videos that require the native app for ad display purposes.

The Galaxy S III put me off large screen phones because it’s just so difficult to operate using only one hand and the iPhone 5 is a tiny bit awkward to use due to the height. However, it turns out that these usability issues are strictly tied to the design of the software. The nature of Windows Phone software seems to eliminate this problem almost entirely. Very rarely do you have to reach up to the top quarter of the display to activate particular functions. Most of the controls on Windows Phone apps can be found at the bottom or near the center of the screen.

HTC has a winning chance here with its Windows Phone options but I’d wait for the Lumia 920 or even 820. The 8X is a great phone that’s only let down by the fact that the Lumia phones have much better camera tools and exclusive apps. – Read on Path.