HTC 8XT

“When it’s all said and done, the HTC 8XT is a capable and compact smartphone able to tackle all the basics. The speakers are great and its camera is a trooper too, snapping images quickly and with pleasing quality. I just wish that Sprint and HTC put more oomph behind the carrier's first Windows Phone. Yes, it's slim and sexy, but it lacks the power and features of many Nokia Lumia phones and the sharp display of the HTC 8X.”

“The HTC 8XT is going to get a lot of attention for the design, just as the Windows Phone 8X did. Unfortunately, once customers get past the pretty exterior they’re not going to be as impressed with what’s under the hood. Almost everything about the 8XT is so-so: the display, the camera, the performance. The audio quality is above average, we grant you. Sill, we’re not sure why Sprint held off on bringing Windows Phone 8 devices to its network if the debut phone was going to be so underwhelming.”

“Although it looks much the same as the 8X, HTC cut some sharp corners getting the 8XT into the sub-$100 price range, such as equipping it with a subpar display. That it's exclusively paired with Sprint, the nation's smallest LTE carrier, doesn't help either. Still, we like that the 8XT has expandable memory -- a rarity for Windows Phones -- good battery life and above-average audio. The 8XT is a solid choice for the audiophile on a budget and is certainly the best Windows Phone option on Sprint”

“I don't know why HTC even bothered to make this phone. The 8XT is such a step backward from the 8X that calling it a successor is almost a joke. The screen is grainy, the camera is terrible, and you have next to no storage on the device. Combine all of that with a $100 price tag (and a two-year contract), and you have a phone that's going nowhere fast. Even the most hard-core Windows Phone fans should do their best to avoid this one.”