On Sept. 19, HTC officially took the wraps off its first set of Windows Phone 8 handsets, the HTC 8X and 8S smartphones. Both devices are set to be released in November 2012, when they will go up against the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 Windows Phone 8 smartphones.

The HTC 8X is the more powerful of the duo, and seems to carry the same design as its Android cousin, the HTC One X. Compared the Nokia Lumia 920, which features a 4.5-inch display, the 8X has a 4.3-inch Super LCD II 720p display. On the inside, the HTC 8X packs a fast 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB worth of RAM, which seems to promise good performance..

Other specifications and features include an 8 megapixel camera, front facing camera for video calling with Skype, 16GB of internal storage, Gorilla Glass, WiFi a/b/g/n, NFC, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, LTE and Beats Audio. HTC's flagship smartphone is lacking a microSD card slot, however, a decision which may upset many users.

The other handset is the HTC 8S, a device that is aimed at the lower end of the market. The mid-range smartphone's lack of a front facing camera may disappoint consumers, since Skype will be one of the main features in Windows Phone 8. No matter the demographic a company is targeting, users are likely to expect every Windows Phone 8 handset to come packaged with at least a low level VGA front facing camera.

The HTC 8S come packaged with a 4-inch Super LCD II display, 512MB RAM, WiFI b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 4GB of internal storage, 5 megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot. Beats Audio is also here, though it is lacking a few features when compared to the 8X.

Both devices will be available in the US via AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. In Europe, Vodafone, Orange, and T-Mobile will take charge as the carriers, while in Asia, Telstra, Vodafone Australia, Singapore Telecoms, Chunghwa Telecom, Smartone, Optus, and Telecom NZ will be the only places to get your hands on these handsets.