HTC’s first flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Windows Phone 8X, has been put on pre-order at Unlocked-Mobiles and Expansys for £399 and £400, respectively. Both offers include free shipping. Unlocked-Mobiles expects the phone to be available from 5 November, nearly two weeks after Windows 8 is unveiled.

The phone runs on a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 system-on-chip, likely the same as the Nokia Lumia 920's MSM8960, which is clocked at 1.5GHz.

The specifications listed include 1GB of RAM, 16GB onboard storage, a 4.3in Super LCD 2 display with a 1,280 x 720 pixels display and a Corning Gorilla Glass 2 overlay, an 8-megapixel camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor with a F2.0 aperture, a physical button and a 28mm lens, 2.1-megapixel front facing camera, full HD recording on both, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS and a 1,800mAh battery.

It is only 10.1mm thick and weighs 130g, plus sports a unibody polycarbonate chassis that reminds us of the Nokia Lumia 8x0 and 9x0 series. HTC has also included Beats Audio technology with a built-in amplifier.

Sources: Expansys, Unlocked-Mobiles