This is unfair to HTC, since I have the Lumia 920 first, but I wanted to share some initial observations based on several hours of use.
1: The matte casing (in black on mine) is definitely grippier than the glossy casing. This is a heavy phone, and I'd be frightened of dropping it on the pavement without the matte. Even with the matte, I find I'm handling it gingerly because of my fear of losing my grip... but that could be just me. In black, the phone doesn't "look" as heavy as it is, which is nice. With the naked eye, the proportions are fine, and it has a curved back that fits comfortably in my hand (I'm a 6'2" muscly dude, so take that with a grain of salt if you have smaller hands).
2: The screen. OH MY GOD THE SCREEN. This is not only the best screen I've seen on a mobile device so far, it's the best screen I have seen on any electronics product, period. I think Nokia needs to stop touting a billion different features of the phone and focus on the screen. It really is that good. Even WP7 titles like Plants v Zombies (which scales up nicely by the way) look better on this display than any I've ever used before. You turn on this phone, and fall into that screen. Photos pop, web pages zing, text is crisp and sharp (like reading text on a printed page from a high-resolution digital printer). There are no pixels, no gaps between pixels -- it's hard to put into words how good this screen is.
3: I have played a little bit with the camera. It's a good camera. I have taken a couple of photos in low and moderate light conditions, and it's done a better job than my S3.
4: Someone asked about what happens when you put a T-Mobile USA SIM into this device. It comes back with an error message saying you have put a non-approved SIM in, and asks for an unlock code. Unless AT&T will give you an unlock code, you won't be using this on T-Mo anytime soon.
5: Windows Phone 8 is FRICKIN' AWESOME. The OS is super-snappy, and it has been very cleverly updated by Microsoft. It's truly a triumph of design because the changes made are often subtle but VERY valuable... like the new emoticon keyboard. There's nothing jarring or "disruptive" to the experience ala iOS 6 maps or Android's "UI of the week." Everything flows really well -- even better than in 7.5. It's even smoother and more intuitive. If you've been holding out on a Mango or Tango device, you will get a world of good out of 8.
6: I will be trying Vcards per another request later this weekend when I have more time to play with the phone.
Early, premature assessment: a bit chunky, but with an absolutely gorgeous screen that blows away anything else I have ever seen. And WP8 is awesome.
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