I can only speak for myself, but it seems to me that there is a lack of budget-conscious Windows Phone 8 devices this round. By that I mean devices that pack the same internal power as their top-tier counterparts, but lack the premiums such as high quality cameras, HD screens and other key hardware differentiators. Take for example the Lumia 710, it has the same processor and memory as the 920, but does not have LTE, the larger screen and front-facing camera. Yet in Canada the 710 came in at around $300 (after taxes), the 920 was like $529.99 - a substantial difference.
I was initially encouraged when the Lumia 820-series was revealed, but given the pricing info given out thus far, it seems to be expensive. Well to be fair, no official pricing has been given for North American (and specifically Canadian) 820s yet. The Lumia 920 at Rogers is coming in at $599 and it would be pointless for someone here to buy an 820 for $499 - I believe the added features of the 920 easily compensate for the $100.
Granted there is the HTC 8S (which expansys.ca lists at $369.99), and I am - to be honest - very interested in buying that device. However, I prefer the Nokia eco-system and would have loved a good 710 successor with the same internal specs as 920 - but minus PureView, PureMotion HD+, etc. Wait... That is the 820, but the price-difference between it and the 920 seems negligible to me. Moreover, it irks me a little to know that the Nexus 4 is down the corner being offered for like $359.99 for the 16GB version in Canada - and has the internal horsepower as well as an HD screen.
This is NOT to put Microsoft/Nokia/HTC/Samsung down, I am just stating the facts here from my perspective. I would like to buy a lot of things, but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to consumer goods. An example of my approach, I decided to put off buying a Surface this time around and instead opted to get an ASUS VivoBook S200 for $549.99. It's a touchscreen laptop powered by Core i3. Yes, not a true mobile oriented device but it'll let me experience/enjoy more of Windows 8 than my current hardware.
The way things are moving I will probably end up buying the HTC 8S and use it as my daily device, with the 710 sitting on reserve whenever I need to travel. OR perhaps wait it out till Winter and see what else is revealed, maybe one of the OEMs does have a solid all-round device in the pipeline? To be frank I really like the 8S' design, and at the end of the day, it packs the same core features of WP8 as other devices.
Ideally though, I wouldn't mind seeing someone - Nokia/HTC/Samsung - step up with a Windows Phone 8 device that packs the core functions people would expect today, e.g. multi-core processor, HD screen, etc. - and price it below $400 off-contract. Who knows, maybe that will be Microsoft's card?
I was initially encouraged when the Lumia 820-series was revealed, but given the pricing info given out thus far, it seems to be expensive. Well to be fair, no official pricing has been given for North American (and specifically Canadian) 820s yet. The Lumia 920 at Rogers is coming in at $599 and it would be pointless for someone here to buy an 820 for $499 - I believe the added features of the 920 easily compensate for the $100.
Granted there is the HTC 8S (which expansys.ca lists at $369.99), and I am - to be honest - very interested in buying that device. However, I prefer the Nokia eco-system and would have loved a good 710 successor with the same internal specs as 920 - but minus PureView, PureMotion HD+, etc. Wait... That is the 820, but the price-difference between it and the 920 seems negligible to me. Moreover, it irks me a little to know that the Nexus 4 is down the corner being offered for like $359.99 for the 16GB version in Canada - and has the internal horsepower as well as an HD screen.
This is NOT to put Microsoft/Nokia/HTC/Samsung down, I am just stating the facts here from my perspective. I would like to buy a lot of things, but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to consumer goods. An example of my approach, I decided to put off buying a Surface this time around and instead opted to get an ASUS VivoBook S200 for $549.99. It's a touchscreen laptop powered by Core i3. Yes, not a true mobile oriented device but it'll let me experience/enjoy more of Windows 8 than my current hardware.
The way things are moving I will probably end up buying the HTC 8S and use it as my daily device, with the 710 sitting on reserve whenever I need to travel. OR perhaps wait it out till Winter and see what else is revealed, maybe one of the OEMs does have a solid all-round device in the pipeline? To be frank I really like the 8S' design, and at the end of the day, it packs the same core features of WP8 as other devices.
Ideally though, I wouldn't mind seeing someone - Nokia/HTC/Samsung - step up with a Windows Phone 8 device that packs the core functions people would expect today, e.g. multi-core processor, HD screen, etc. - and price it below $400 off-contract. Who knows, maybe that will be Microsoft's card?
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