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HTC doesn’t plan to waste any time before launching an alternative to the HTC 8X, which is SA’s first Windows 8 smartphone.

This month, SA will see HTC launching the HTC 8S, giving consumers an option to choose between the two.

The lighter HTC 8S weighs 113 g and has a 4-inch wide 800 x 480 resolution display, while the HTC 8X weighs 130 g with a slightly bigger, 4,3-inch HD touchscreen and 1 280 x 720 resolution display.

We were impressed with the HTC 8X’s

30 1,5 GHz dual-core processor. The HTC 8S has a 1,4 GHz dual-core processor. Both complement Windows 8’s multimedia applications and both have 3G connectivity. The main difference between the two is in the camera and storage. The 8X has a sharper, 8-megapixel camera while the 8S has a midrange 5megapixel camera.

Disappointingly, the 8X has only 16 GB internal storage with no slot for a memory card, which might be necessary for a smartphone so rich with multimedia applications. The 8S has a memory card slot, but only 4 GB of internal memory.

The price for the 8S hasn’t been released yet but the 8X retails for R7 000.

The HTC phones might be SA’s first Windows 8 smartphones, but Nokia also has a range of competitive smartphones running Windows 8. They have not been launched locally yet.