Ten reasons to buy the HTC One M8 for Windows instead of the Nokia Lumia Icon

HTC has just announced a Windows Phone 8.1 variant of its HTC One M8 flagship, and it is coming to the U.S. exclusively through Verizon. Now Verizon customers will have the choice to pick between the Nokia Lumia Icon and the new HTC One M8 for Windows, so which is the better choice? Here are ten reasons to pick HTC's newest Windows Phone over Nokia's Lumia Icon.

1. Front-Facing BoomSound speakers

The Nokia Lumia Icon has a decent speaker, but the HTC One M8 for Windows, stands in a league of its own with its fine-tuned, front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers. They're not only loud. They sound crystal-clear even at high volume, which makes games and videos much more enjoyable.

2. All-metal unibody design

The Lumia Icon follows in the footsteps of the Lumia 925 with a premium design and a solid metal frame around its side. However the HTC One (M8) for Windows is superior in this respect with its all-metal construction. In fact, it is one of the few smartphones crafted so meticulously.


3. Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor

The HTC One (M8) for Windows uses one of Qualcomm's fastest commercially-available chipset, namely the Snapdragon 801. The powerful, quad-core processor runs at up to 2.3GHz and has a capable Adreno 330 GPU. Even the Lumia Icon uses the slightly slower Snapdragon 800 SoC, which despite is capabilities cant match what the Snapdragon 801 offers.

4. IR blaster with HTC Sense TV

The HTC One M8 for Windows comes with a built-in IR blaster, which enables it to control your TV. Additionally the device is pre-loaded with the HTC Sense TV app, which lets you instantly see what's on air - tap a button and you'll be taken to the respective channel in an instant.

5. Dual-tone LED flash

The Nokia Lumia 930 comes with a powerful dual-LED flash, and its hard to compete with Nokia products in the camera department. But the HTC One M8 for Windows has a unique advantage in the form of a two-tone LED flash. Each flash emits a slightly different kind of white light. As a result, less color inaccuracies should occur in photos when the flash has captured.

6. HTC Duo camera with HTC Camera

The Lumia 930 can take advantage of the Nokia Refocus lens to capture a bokeh effect in your photos. The HTC One M8 for Windows offers the same effect, but achieves this with its Duo camera setup, instead of Nokia's software solution. Given that the result is practically the same, HTC's  hardware solution is expected to offer a superior effect. HTC has even included its own camera app which offers Various creative effects can be applied as well.

7. 5MP front camera

The Lumia 930 comes with a 1.2MP front camera, which is OK for selfies. But the HTC One M8 trumps its Lumia competitor by offering a far superior 5MP front camera with wide-angle optics. There is no doubt that the One M8 for Windows is one of the best selfie cameras in the market.

8. BlinkFeed

HTC's signature service, BlinkFeed, comes pre-loaded on the One (M8) for Windows. For those not familiar, it acts as a hub that unifies all your social network feeds and blends them with news from popular news outlets. The result is an up-to-date stream with bits of news you care about.

9. HTC Dot View case

HTC's Dot View Case, which is a cleverly-made accessory, we must say, is fully compatible with the new One (M8) for Windows. It lets users pick up calls or get the current time and weather information, without lifting the case's flap. HTC has even baked in Cortana support, which means you can call on your digital assistant without opening your case. Better yet, you may have the case for free should you choose to purchase the phone from a Microsoft retail store.

10. HTC Advantage

The HTC One (M8) for Windows is covered by the HTC Advantage program, which is an awesome perk. Most importantly, it lets you get a cracked screen replaced once at no charge, and that's pretty sweet having in mind that such a service may otherwise cost you a lot of money. Plus, you're promised timely updates for your phone's software and 15GB of free cloud storage.