HTC One M8 for Windows announced: Same premium hardware running Microsoft's mobile OS

A leak last month suggested that HTC may be working on a Windows Phone version of its premium One M8.

Now, the Taiwanese manufacturer has officially unveiled the phone that’s selling at half the price of the Android version. According to BBC , the HTC One M8 with Windows with a two-year contract is priced at $99 (£60), approximately 50 percent cheaper than the Android One M8.

The phone looks exactly like the Android-based M8,except that it runs on the latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. Even the specs remain the same, including a 5-inch 1080p display and Snapdragon 801 quad-core chipset. You get the Duo Camera that uses UltraPixel Technology sensor with a resolution of 4MP, as well as a 5MP camera on the front. The height, thickness and weight are all exactly alike.

The Android-based HTC One M8, is a premium smartphone that impressed with its metal design, slick and speedy interface , excellent sound, good battery life and very good low-light camera performance. While HTC seems to have extended most of these features to its Windows Phone counterpart, its the operating system will actually make or break the smartphone. To enable a differentiated experience HTC has packed in a BlinkFeed app that will bring the homescreen-like experience to WP 8.1. In addition, it has bundled in support for the Dot Case and has included the gesture wake support that made the One M8’s Android version a joy to use. The camera app will have support for the Duo Camera features, while HTC has added the Sense TV remote control app too.

This is definitely not the first instance of HTC adopting the Windows Phone OS. Earlier, the company had introduced HTC Windows Phone 8X, 8S, and 8XT to the market. In fact, all of HTC ‘s initial phones actually ran Microsoft’s Windows Mobile (as it was then called). However, HTC’s Android smartphones always scored better in popularity and performance compared with its Windows Phone-based smartphones.

While we don’t expect that to change with the new One M8, there’s a lot to look forward to this time. Compared with the previous versions of Windows Phone, the 8.1 version is a lot more polished and includes useful new features such as a-voice assistant called Cortana, folders and better multitasking abilities. Take a look at what’s new in Windows Phone 8.1 and the Update 1 .

As of now, the phone is available only in the US through the network provider Verizon.