Windows Phone 8 Hit Full-Throttle

The Windows have opened: Nokia Lumia 820, HTC 8S on Windows Phone 8.
And Optus are giving them away for free. Well kinda.

The telco is flogging Nokia’s new Lumia 820 4G smartie free on $50 plan and ditto for HTC 8S on $35 plan over 2 years, announced today.

The Lumia 820 with 4.3″ OLED display has an 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, 1.5Ghz Dual Core Snapdragon processor and a Full HD video camera.

Other unique features include: Near Field Communications for touch and tap mobile payments, Augmented reality with Nokia City Lens (pictured) which gives pop-up info about places, nearby shops and entertainment, Microsoft Office Mobile and Outlook Mobile built-in, which may appeal to business users.

The Microsoft Windows 8 smartphone is available on six other plans including $30 (+$7 handset fee), $60, $80 and $99.

Telstra already sell one Windows 8 Phone, Nokia Lumia 920 – the 820’s bigger brother but is currently sold out, according to its online store.

Optus customers will be among the first to get their hands on the HTC Windows Phone 8S.

HTC 8S

The two-tone HTC has a smaller 4″ super LCD screen than Lumia 820, 5MP camera but is one of the only Windows Phones with Beats Audio, which you can sync with other Windows devices.

However, no 4G on this baby – its 3G only.

Optus is offering for $0 upfront on the $35 plan and is offering six other plans from $30 (+$3 handset fee) to $50, $60, $80 and $129.