It hasn’t been long since Windows 8 appeared but there is already a budget smartphone out there running the new platform. It belongs to HTC and is the smaller budget brother of 8X – in this video review Digital Magnet presents HTC 8S RIO.
It is powered by the dual-core Qualcomm S4 at 1GHz frequency accompanied by 512MB of RAM
The design is the one we saw in 8X, which is inspired by the windows 8 tile interface, reminding us also about very much of the Lumia series by Nokia. It is a well-built device and its sleek looks don’t by any means give out its average cost especially if you add the multi color case variations. The glossy stripe on the bottom is the most distinctive design feature of HTC. Stand out with the unique two-color combinations of black and white or gray and yellow or choose the provocative red or the charming blue case. The smartphone delivers a mid-range performance at a mid-range price of around $360.
It is powered by the dual-core Qualcomm S4 at 1GHz frequency accompanied by 512MB of RAM. The internal storage is 4GB but it is expandable through the microSD card slot with 32GB more. Additionally you can create a SkyDrive account where you can store up to 7GB of contents.
The 4 inch super LCD sensor display has 233 pixels per inch, which is a rather good pixel density at the resolution of 480×800 pixels
The display and the graphics are decent. The 4 inch super LCD sensor display has 233 pixels per inch, which is a rather good pixel density at the resolution of 480×800 pixels. It comes with a durable Gorilla Glass screen.
The 5MP back camera has a pretty satisfying quality. The 35mm wide lens open to 2.8 aperture which is perfectly handles shooting in low light. It also records videos in HD quality. We could not possibly miss pointing out the lack of a front camera on the 8S. Traditionally the sound here is further enhanced by the built-in Beats Audio technology.
The smartphone delivers a mid-range performance at a mid-range price of around $360
The battery is the thing we can possibly really complain about on this smartphone, it is a Li-Ion Polymer 1700mAh capacity one. If you talk a lot and play online for too long you will probably need to charge the 8S every day or two at the maximum. There is a G-sensor, Proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor on board. The connectivity is established through Bluetooth v 3.1 or micro USB. You can use this phone with a micro SIM card type. HTC 8S weighs 113 grams including the battery.
To sum up HTC 8S it’s a low-cost well-performing Windows 8 smartphone but if you play and talk a lot with it you’d better always carry a charger.
