HTC One M8 for Windows…Confirmed?

It seems that what was only a rumor last week may actually be confirmed. The image below (click for full-size) of a phone that looks a whole lot like HTC’s One M8 running Windows Phone OS has been discovered, living large on a Verizon Wireless URL, and hinting that smartphone company will indeed be announcing the phone at its upcoming press event on August 19.

According to PC Mag, which links back to the Verizon URL, reports that Microsoft’s Terry Myerson had reached out to HTC last year to arrange the new phone. Apparently Myerson offering to waive the licensing fee that usually comes when OEMs put out phones loaded with a mobile OS – which, as the post points out, Microsoft went ahead and waived the fee for everyone, supposedly in the hopes that a new wave of Windows Phone devices would come as a result.

As it happens, the One M8 running Android still retails for about $600 without a contract, while carriers may offer the handset anywhere between a hundred dollars to just giving them away with a contract. It seems likely that the Windows version of the M8 will sell for a similar price considering it’ll likely have the exact same hardware specs as the Android version.

However, it’s also possible that Microsoft and HTC might want to find a way to jump start sales of this phone, and offer at a discounted rate to generate more interest. All in all, I’m really keen to find out how well the One M8 for Windows performs after it’s unveiled. It’s been a while since we’ve heard about a buzz-worthy Windows Phone device not coming from Nokia, a company that’s now a part of Microsoft itself. What will HTC bring to the table with their first Windows Phone handset in two years? We’ll probably find out on August 19.

[Source: PC Mag]