For sometime, the rumour mill has been buzzing about the existence of a Windows Phone version of the HTC One (M8). On Friday, PC Magazine discovered an image on US carrier Verizon’s server, which essentially is a HTC One (M8), but with a minor twist – its homescreen shows a slew of Windows Phone tiles, instead of an Android homescreen.
Hardware wise, it’s likely that this is basically the same Android hardware subset running Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system. Already, Microsoft and Qualcomm have tied up to create a program where Android smartphone vendors can easily port Windows Phone to existing Android smartphones. The press render showing the M8 with Windows Phone also shows that it uses software keys like the Android version of the phone.
With the Windows Phone 8.1 update, Microsoft introduced support for on-screen keys like Android so that smartphone vendors can port their existing designs to run Windows Phone. So far, only the Microsoft owned Nokia made Lumia 630 uses on-screen buttons.
The One (M8) runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core chipset clocked at 2.3GHz, working in concert with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a 5-inch 1080p S-LCD3 screen. It has a 5-megapixel front facing camera, a 4-megapixel UltraPixel rear camera with a depth sensor for its duo-camera feature. It packs in a 2,600mAh battery, a microSD card slot for memory expansion, BoomSound Speakers and brandishes an attractive metal body.
HTC is hosting a press conference on August 19, and it will probably unveil the very same product at the event. Before this, the only prominent non-Nokia Windows Phone was the HTC 8X, which was launched way back in November 2012 alongside the launch of Windows Phone 8.
