HTC, at event in China, announced that its 8X and 8S Windows Phone 8 handsets will shortly launch on all three of the country's major operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. The two devices are expected to go on sale in mid December. The HTC 8X and 8S will have retail prices of RMB 3999 (£400) and RMB 1999 (£200) respectively.

What's not yet clear is how much backing the handsets will get from each of the networks. This is becoming a more important factor in the Chinese market as more consumers are buying through an operator, with operator subsidies provided in some cases. Notably, the Nokia Lumia 920T, which was announced earlier this week, was unveiled at a joint Nokia-China Mobile event, suggesting the flagship Lumia may enjoy stronger operator support.

Each of the Chinese operators run their networks on different technology standards. This means there will be three different variants of each the HTC devices being sold in China. Each of the operators will also be getting a different set of "exclusive colours". This can be summarised as follows:

• China Mobile (GSM and TD-SCDMA). HTC 8X colours: black and yellow, HTC 8S colours: white, black, and red.
     
• China Unicom (GSM and WCDMA). HTC 8X colours: black and red, HTC 8S colours: white, black, and blue.
     
• China Telecom (CDMA CDMA200). HTC 8X colours: black and blue, HTC 8S colours: white, black, and yellow.

A number of pictures and commentary from HTC's event are available on the winp.cn site (Chinese language) and Engadget Chinese.

See also

Gallery: Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC

Windows Phone 8X by HTC unveiled in New York

HTC announce mid-range Windows Phone 8S by HTC

Windows Phone 8X by HTC - hands-on preview

Review: HTC 8X - hardware

Review: HTC 8X - HTC software

Review HTC 8X - final review thoughts