What will be my first Windows Phone 8 device?

[sc:mobile-category ]So Bell has said they will be releasing two Windows 8 Phones and that one of them will not be the Nokia 920 (presumably Rogers will get the 920), which leaves Bell with either the Samsung, HTC or the Nokia 820.

First, let’s be clear, they all look to be great phones, but in the end it leaves me in a quandary.  The 920 seems to be the phone I want, but I’ll have to pick up an unlocked version at full price (not a big issue).  However that means I have a huge credit with Bell as I’m due for an upgrade.

Then there’s Nokia.  Why did you have to make the 920 so good, yet clearly lack 2 important items?  The replaceable case of the 820 and the Micro SD card slot?

32g is probably lots of storage but it just irks me that you know they’re going to release a 950 or something that adds the Micro SD slot.

Likewise I don’t intend on swapping cases every other day or anything, but I have to admit I REALLY like the matte finish of the 800/900, and being able to swap out the shinny default for a nice matte black would be a really nice thing.

So let’s for a moment assume Bell not going to go with any Nokia WP8 phones (if history is any indicator, Rogers will get the 820 and Telus the 820).  That leaves the Samsung and HTC devices for me to choose.

I’ve had both a Samsung and HTC phone before and both have been quite good.  I have to admit I don’t think I like the Samsung’s physical Windows button, but I image I would get use to it.  In fact thinking about it some more it’s not the physical button I dislike, but the mix of capacitive and physical that irks me.

The HTC devices seem like the natural choice as I have the HD7 now, however I’ve always been disappointed in the camera on the HTC phones.  I hear they are much better now and by no means am I a photographer, but still, when I do use it I want it to work well.

And speaking of HTC, what’s with the 8X not having a micro SD slot either?  Is there some conspiracy that the high-end WP8 devices shouldn’t include micro SD?  Both the 8X and 8S look to be well designed phones but the S is too low-end and the X not high-end enough.  Rogers has announced they will be carrying the 8X, both an 8g and 16g model.  The 8g will be exclusive to Rogers, which practically screams that Bell or Telus will have the 16g version as well.

I’m leaning towards a two-pronged approach, get an “official” phone from bell, probably the Samsung phone.  Then when Nokia releases the second generation WP8 phones, get an unlocked one and move the HTC to my development/hacking phone and the Nokia to my primary phone.  I keep waffling though as I REALLY want the wireless charging…

Nokia has just put me in a position where I can’t buy the 920 without feeling some level of regret as it doesn’t have the Micro SD slot.  Likewise I can’t buy the 820 because I’ll always be thinking of the better display and camera on the 920.

Sigh… Beat. Head. Against. Wall.

 

 

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Greg

Greg is the head cat at JumbleCat, with over 20 years of experience in the computer field, he has done everything from programming to hardware solutions. You can contact Greg via the contact form on the main menu above.

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Greg

Greg is the head cat at JumbleCat, with over 20 years of experience in the computer field, he has done everything from programming to hardware solutions. You can contact Greg via the contact form on the main menu above.

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