I'm going to disagree with much of what others have said here. Sorry guys.
I thought I read that the Nokia exclusive apps would go to general availability after a set period of time? If that's the case you would eventually get them.
Nokia Drive is supposed to be available for all WP8 devices once it is out of beta. Then Nokia Drive+ will be exclusive to Lumia phones.
Nokia Drive proper coming to other Windows Phone OEMs after all | WMPoweruser
None of Nokia's apps are coming to non-Lumia devices except ND (Nokia Drive)... maybe. Until ND is actually seen on the 8X, there is no guarantee you will get it either, and it even depends on where you live. Unfortunately it isn't straight forward.
This is a more detailed description of how this mess works.
I mean, if Nokia can launch the HERE mapping platform on iOS and Android then I think it would be stupid for them not to release it for other manufacturers of WP.
Nokia already released the HERE platform for all WP devices. It's their "location platform" that is already included in every copy of WP8 shipping from Microsoft. From a consumers point of view the HERE platform is similar to Google maps... a webpage that offers mapping services. From a developers point of view it is much more than that, but that will not interest consumers directly. In any case, getting access to the HERE platform doesn't mean everyone is getting a ND equivalent for their devices.
I think the hardware would out do the software/apps for me. I think if you have to "look" at the device everytime you use it, you may want to go the route of HTC with the better screen res.
A smartphone's usefulness is defined by the apps it can run, not by hardware. Hardware exists only as a means of running software (and for bragging rights). If you do a lot of up-close reading on your smartphone (web browsing, ebooks), then I would also recommend going with the 8X as that is when you will notice the better resolution, otherwise 800x480 is fine.
The issue with win 7 updates was, honestly, the service providers. Now, because of wp8 microsoft can push updates themselves. I doubt that this will be a problem now.
As of yet this is still unconfirmed. Microsoft said as much of WP7 which turned out to be completely false, so I think a bit of skepticism is justified.
Anyway, even if we all end up getting every single WP8 update within a day, there is still the question of firmware and app updates from HTC and Nokia. Nokia has a proven track record of taking care of customer complaints and patching firmware quickly. At this point HTC still needs to prove they can do that too. So far they have not, and more often than not that wasn't the carriers fault.
Don't get me wrong. I think the 8X is a good device and I also think it is fine to say: "the 8X looks better and that is why I bought it".