On Wednesday, Taiwan-based handset maker HTC unveiled two brightly-colored smartphones - dubbed the Windows Phone 8X and the Windows Phone 8S - which run Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Taking the wraps off the new Windows 8-based smartphones a New York launch event that also had Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer taking the stage, HTC revealed that the devices - which will directly take on the two colorful Windows handsets introduced by Microsoft's key partner Nokia earlier this month - will hit the markets in November.

About the availability of the Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S, HTC said that the handsets will be available from as many as 150 operators in 50 countries around the world. In the US, wither the 8X or the 8S will be sold three of the top four wireless providers - Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA.

Meanwhile, though a large chunk of HTC's handset sales in recent years has come from phones based on Google's Android mobile operating system, Jason Mackenzie - global head of sales at HTC - said at the company's new Windows phones' launch event that the two forthcoming devices will be marketed as the "signature" Windows Phone 8 smartphones.

Moreover, with Microsoft likely to give HTC the requisite marketing support for the company's two Windows handsets, Ballmer told the attendees of the Wednesday event: "Consumers are going to love these phones, and we're committed to reaching them in a manner that's clear and direct."