Today, Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation made official its first smartphones running under Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system. The company has announced a new flagship handset, the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, with a 4.3-inch Super LCD II 720p HD touchscreen display, as well as with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. Thus, the new handset is the most powerful smartphone that the company has unveiled with Microsoft's mobile operating system on board. HTC also packed the new device with 1GB of RAM, along with 16GB of storage but with no MicroSD card slot to expand it, and support for NFC and Beats Audio. The smartphone also comes with an 8-megapixel f2/0 BSI photo snapper with support for HD video recording, as well as with a front camera for making video calls. The hardware specifications of this device also include WiFi a/b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, built-in GPS receiver, and the usual set of sensors. The new smartphone will be released in the United States with support for 4G LTE networks, while being planned for release in Europe and other markets with HSPA+/DC-HSDPA connectivity inside. In addition to including Beats Audio, the handset also arrives on shelves with a pair of amplifiers to offer better audio quality to its users, one for the headphone jack, and another for the phone’s speaker. "We've been inspired by Windows Phone 8 to create new smartphones that give the platform the iconic design and personality it deserves," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "Windows Phone has clearly emerged as one of the top mobile ecosystems and is competitive against any other smartphone platform in the world." HTC also unveiled that these devices would be pushed to shelves starting with November, and that they would reach more than 150 carriers in 50+ countries. In the United States, the new Windows Phone 8X by HTC will be launched on the networks of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. It will also arrive around the world at Orange, O2 Telefonica, MTS, Three UK, T-Mobile, and Vodafone in Europe; Chunghwa Telecom, Optus, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel), Smartone, Telstra and Vodafone Australia in Asia-Pacific.