HTC's and Nokia's flagship Windows Phones for the holiday season were just released last week. Samsung has one coming a bit later, but right now the Nokia Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8X by HTC are the two top of the line Windows Phone 8 devices available… and they are very different in many ways. First off there is a significant size and weight difference. The Lumia 920 is heavier and thicker and wider and has a larger physical screen size. They both have dual core 1.5Ghz processors, but according to the benchmarks, the Lumia 920 is a little faster.
The screens are very different too. The Lumia 920 has a 768 x 1280 pixel IPS TFT 4.5" screen, while the 8X has a lower resolution 720×1280 Super LCD2 style 4.3" screen with a longer 16:9 aspect ratio. The Lumia 920 also has a much greater degree of touch sensitivity since it can work fine while wearing gloves where as the 8X is unresponsive to covered fingers. Both have 1Gb of RAM, but the Lumia 920 has 32Gb of storage while the 8X only has 16Gb and neither have expandable storage via MicroSD card support. The 8X has a dedicated audio amplifier with Beats audio for great sound quality while the Lumia 920 has Dolby sound processing.
When it comes to the camera, the Lumia 920 has a slightly higher resolution at 8.7 megapixels vs. 8 megapixels in the 8X. Plus, the Lumia 920 has the extremely innovative optical image stabilization where the camera lens is suspended within the body in order to reduce camera shake that causes blur with slower shutter speeds. This means it can absorb more light with more sharpness than other cameras. Both devices can record video at 1080p HD resolution, but the Lumia 920 again has the advantage due to its optical image stabilization which also improves video recording smoothness while in motion.
The Lumia 920 boasts built in wireless charging and a 2000 mAh battery to power all of the extra features as well as the LTE high speed network support. The 8X also has LTE but only the Verizon version will have built-in Qi standard wireless charging to keep its 1800 mAh battery juiced up.
In terms of software, I think the advantage again goes to the Nokia Lumia 920. When you look in the Nokia Collection store, you'll find dozens more exclusive and extremely useful apps available to you versus what you'll find in the HTC store. Many of Nokia's value-added apps are free as well. You'll get excellent offline GPS navigation software with maps around the world, free music downloads, offline movie trailers, public transportation directions, augmented reality location services and weather apps, numerous camera lenses, and special news/sports apps. Meanwhile on the HTC Windows Phone 8X, many of the value-added software they had for older Windows Phones seems to be currently unavailable. There's no more HTC Footprints for GPS navigation and no more camera lenses for panoramic or burst shot effects.
Now when it comes to pricing, you'll only be able to get the Lumia 920 on AT&T in the USA for now and it's available for $99 with a 2 year contract. The Windows Phone 8X on AT&T is $199 with a 2 year contract.
