I really don't think racing to the bottom hurts anyone; it just makes technology more accessible to people on tight incomes.

Macbooks and Ultrabooks still sell well despite super cheap laptops. People who want quality will spend more for it.

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@Falcon: The one thing that would get me to switch over from Android would be more openness in the form of sideloading apps. Just allow developers to encrypt their apps to prevent piracy. I don't feel comfortable with a company telling me what I can and cannot install on my phone. When that happens you run into shit like this silly update by Apple, Apple decides what is installed on an iPhone and that is just a little bit scary (to me at least).

@Falcon: The one thing that would get me to switch over from Android would be more openness in the form of sideloading apps. Just allow developers to encrypt their apps to prevent piracy. I don't feel comfortable with a company telling me what I can and cannot install on my phone. When that happens you run into shit like this silly update by Apple, Apple decides what is installed on an iPhone and that is just a little bit scary (to me at least).

@will: In the UK at least mid range phones make sense because they reduce the price of the contract. For example you can get the iPhone 5 for free on contract for roughly £45/month for two years. The GS3 for free for £35/month for two years. If the HTC 8S is priced around the same as the old mid range WP7s it'll be about £15/month again for two years.

So going with the 8s you could save £720 over two years.

@simplymortified: I have a pair of the Grado's they're fantastic; a word of caution though don't get them if you plan to use them on public transportation, they leak sounds like crazy so everyone around you will enjoy your taste in music too (mine is pretty poor).

It looks like the iPhone 5 is much more durable than its previous iterations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5q5TRuAsY (please excuse the annoying guy).

However the black definitely makes the scuffs noticeable, looks like the white may be the one to get.

The only thing thing I really found funny was the priority line gag. Other than that it's the same stupid attack ad bullshit, releasing an attack ad is basically admitting you're in second place.

UK Sim-Free pricing:

8X - £398.98

8S - £224.98

Source: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/htc-8x-and-htc-8s-uk-sim-free-pricing-revealed-20-09-2012/

@xeronius1: Yep that's true:

http://imgur.com/jGVGc.png

@Falcon: Oh I totally agree but I mean in the WP7 days after the Lumia's were announced they were basically the only WP that were talked about or got press coverage.

Not so with WP8 but I think that's best for everyone.

Also I noticed HTC was running some custom software with their beats stuff, would that affect software updates since HTC would have to update their stuff?

@Falcon: Ah that's good news about maps, shame about the limited storage though.

I bet Nokia's pissed that they aren't the defacto flagship for WP anymore.

Does the 8X have a micro SD slot?

Also will these get a Nav app similar to Nokia Drive?

@norman: IIRC you don't need to root to sideload, there's an option in the settings to install from unknown sources.

@Outrager: It was, the Kindle Fire got a spec refresh with the HD.

@Fish_Face_McGee:

If they could get the 820 to the same price that the 710 was then Nokia would basically have the best mid-range phone in existence.

That spinning whistle is freaking me out.

I hope that Microsoft gets a big marketing push behind WP8, Nokia could really do with a win.

@thatlad: As KingMonkey said; it works out to about the same in the UK, in the US contracts are just stupid expensive and you obviously save a lot of money going prepaid. Here however it's not so bad for example that Xperia at £26 PM vs buying it and going on say GiffGaff at £10PM.

£26 x 24 = £624

Sim only:

£400 + (£10 x 24) = £640

To be fair the GiffGaff plan is better but really all contracts do in the UK is spread the cost of an expensive handset over a couple years.

@thatlad:

I'd say Lumia 920, HTC One X or Sony Xperia T (or TX).

Just an FYI to a fellow brit; Carphone Warehouse has the Xperia T free on contract for £26/month right now. Seems like a good deal to me.

@pyj4m4r4m4: I think it has a lot more to do with data speeds than CPU speeds, apps need less data since they don't have to download HTML, CSS, JS etc.

@episcopo: Samsung pretty much made mass adoption of large phones with the Note and GSIII. They're also not afraid to put a bunch weird and interesting features in their phones. I think they're a very innovative company.

Just because Apple has decided to be safe doesn't mean every other company has.