HTC One 2014 (M8)

[Ravynmagi]

posting this again....
the space under the htc logo contains digitizer hardware. it's not empty space.

Is it really extending that far down though? Screens I've taken apart usually don't extend that much further down.

 

[Ravynmagi]

lol

Yeah, I wonder why the GPE is $100 more than the $599 off contract price from carriers.

 

[dawheat]

posting this again....
the space under the htc logo contains digitizer hardware. it's not empty space.

Doesn't matter unfortunately - all I can see is a bezel at least twice as thick as the G2.

Also it's not just that it gained 17 grams - but the starting point for the M7 was already on the heavy side for a 5" phone. 160 grams is approaching Note 3 weight and ignoring the stupid 'macho man' type comments, you definitely feel it after 10-15 minutes holding it one handed. So when you're reading or waiting somewhere killing 30 minutes, you end up having to switch hands and/or flexing out your hand. It's one thing to accept it when you're using a phablet size screen, I have a bit more struggle accepting it for a 5" screen.

Getting heavier across the board isn't the direction I want, especially in larger phones. Extreme thinness IMO is pointless, but reduced weight never is. After using my Note 3 for a while, holding my S4 feels surprisingly light, doubled again when I use my wife's iPhone 5.

 

[lothar]

Yeah, I wonder why the GPE is $100 more than the $599 off contract price from carriers.

Or $50 more than the Developer edition from HTC which comes with an unlockable boot loader that can easily be flashed into a Google's Play edition device.

 

[Bateluer]

Engaget's review.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/25/htc-one-2014-review/

 

[Red Storm]

Google Play has the new One page up:

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=htc_m8&hl=en

In other news the old GPE One is now $499.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Engaget's review.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/25/htc-one-2014-review/

It's a little concerning that this is a somewhat heavy phone with a slippery back.
Engadget's video review mentioned it's like a wet fish. Hmmm.

 

[Bateluer]

Google Play has the new One page up:

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=htc_m8&hl=en

In other news the old GPE One is now $499.

Take note, the GPe version is also the 32GB version, not the 16GB model. If I'm reading the radio and frequency support right, its also got the necessary bands for TMOs HSPA and their LTE. Unlike the GPe One.1.

New abbreviations: One.1 & One.2?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Take note, the GPe version is also the 32GB version, not the 16GB model. If I'm reading the radio and frequency support right, its also got the necessary bands for TMOs HSPA and their LTE. Unlike the GPe One.1.

New abbreviations: One.1 & One.2?

Not clear regarding their LTE.

4G LTE (700 MHz, AWS)

Which 700 MHz band? All of them? If so this is still a pretty limited subset. I don't understand why the OEMs are not pushing for a 1 SKU strategy like Apple, it would benefit their distribution and also make it easier to roam w/ 1 phone.

But maybe that description is just bad and maybe GSM Arena has a better breakdown of the bands:

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_%28m8%29-6074.php

I'm guessing this is the "T-Mobile" model??

 

[blairharrington]

I spent 20 minutes with the M8 today at Verizon. My impressions....

* Back is not slippery. Not sure what Engadget is getting at. It feels great in the hand.

* It feels better in the hand because of the curved edges and more rounded back.

* It is heavy but the weight is very well distributed.

* Bottom bezel is ugly. The front of the phone is simply uglier than the M7.

* Volume rocker thankfully is no longer flush.

* I can't make a fair assessment of BoomSound. The store wasn't super busy but I wasn't really impressed with the speakers at full volume. Perhaps I'd feel differently in a quiet room. I do not know.

* Swipe and double tap gestures seem to work extremely well. Thank goodness because that power button is way up there.

* Phone is noticeably tall. I could fit the dummy model is my smallish pant pocket with no issue, but this is borderline too tall for many.

My overall takeaway was very mixed. I think Motion Launcher and SD card slot are huge pluses. The camera still sucks in general. The phone got heavier and larger, and I think that's always a step backwards. I think the M7 with Motion Launcher would have been killer.

At this point I'm leaning towards the Nexus 5. 160 grams is heavy for a phone that isn't a phablet. End of story. In my situation I'm buying off-contract too. I think the iPhone 6 will blow the M8 away. I think things will only get worse for HTC.

 

[pete6032]

All in all I'm feeling like the phone isn't much of an upgrade from the original ONE.

I'd rather have an 8 mp camera than a 4 mp "ultrapixel" camera with dual lenses.

 

[RaistlinZ]

The bottom bezel itself would almost be a deal breaker for me. The lack of OIS certainly is.

 

[desura]

I don't get why people are so into metal phones to begin with. They suck to hold, are cold with sharp edges, are more expensive and often are heavier. Oh, and the metal interferes with wireless reception.

 

[vshah]

wait, m8 doesn't have OIS?

 

[RaistlinZ]

wait, m8 doesn't have OIS?

According to the Engadget review:

"The UltraPixel shooter around back is, for all intents and purposes, the same exact camera as last year. The sensor is the same 4-megapixel backside-illuminated one with giant 2µm pixels, but there's a new imaging processor attached and HTC has ditched the optical image stabilization tech."

 

[Ravynmagi]

I think I might be more interested to see what HTC does with the One Max refresh. These big speakers and bezels on a 5 inch phone just seems a bit out of proportion. The phone is almost as tall as the Note 3. The speakers and bezel on the 5.9 inch One Max however doesn't look as bad.

I like metal, it feels more solid. And I usually have more issues with sharp edges on plastic phones than I do with metal phones. Looks like HTC did a nice job with the feel of the One 2014. There appear to be no sharp edges. And I keep hearing "soft feeling", curious adjective to apply to a metal phone. However I'm not a metal die hard, but I think you can blame Samsung for what people want metal phones. Because Samsung usually does plastic poorly. I have a Nexus 5, a plastic phone and it's the best feeling phone I've ever owned. So plastic can be done really well, but everyone buys Samsungs and they generally demonstrate the worst qualities of plastic Fortunately though they are doing a better job with the faux leather at least.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I take it for granted because of Apple and Samsung. But I'm pretty impressed HTC is launching the One 2014 on all 4 carriers and Internationally at the same time. Took 5 months before it arrived on Verizon last year.

 

[Bateluer]

My overall takeaway was very mixed. I think Motion Launcher and SD card slot are huge pluses. The camera still sucks in general. The phone got heavier and larger, and I think that's always a step backwards. I think the M7 with Motion Launcher would have been killer.

18 months ago, people ranted about thin phones. The mantra was "Thinner! Thinner!" As a result, we got ultra slim phones, 6 and 7mm. Then it appeared that the fanboys realized that to achieve those super thin phones, the battery life suffered. Now we've got large 2600mah to 3300mah batteries and multi day battery life, those very same people are now ranting "Thinner! Thinner!" again. :/

I'll have to stop by my local Verizon store to check one out myself though.

I don't get why people are so into metal phones to begin with. They suck to hold, are cold with sharp edges, are more expensive and often are heavier. Oh, and the metal interferes with wireless reception.

Disagree. My metal HTC One.1 feels great to hold, very comfortable. It actually feels thinner than my previous two phones because of the tampered edges. There's also no sharp edges to it. Its not a toilet seat, picking up the One at room temperature isn't a chilling experience. As Asus learned though, you do have to put the antennas in the right place, but once you do that, there's no issues with reception.

 

[tsupersonic]

The original HTC One is just the right size (if not just a little bit big). This device looks beautiful, but I hate the bigger screen, as it makes the device just overly big.

 

[jpeyton]

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that both the HTC One M8 and SGS5 have kept almost the exact same screen size as the GS4, but are in noticeably bigger shells?

I thought the trend would be bigger screens and smaller bezels/frames. LG has the right idea. Give me a G2 with a physical home button and that would be worth upgrading for. With on-screen buttons, the G2's screen size advantage disappears.

 

[Red Storm]

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that both the HTC One M8 and SGS5 have kept almost the exact same screen size as the GS4, but are in noticeably bigger shells?

I thought the trend would be bigger screens and smaller bezels/frames. LG has the right idea. Give me a G2 with a physical home button and that would be worth upgrading for. With on-screen buttons, the G2's screen size advantage disappears.

Depends on the app. Playing video the buttons go away, other apps can also use immersive mode to hide them. You can also go one step further and hide them all the time with root, so they only show up with a swipe, and you can move them to the sides, or top, whatever you prefer.

The new One is just ridiculous though. Check out this comparison:

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/si...ne-M8,Samsung-Galaxy-S5/phones/7969,8242,8202

 

[lothar]

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that both the HTC One M8 and SGS5 have kept almost the exact same screen size as the GS4, but are in noticeably bigger shells?

I thought the trend would be bigger screens and smaller bezels/frames. LG has the right idea. Give me a G2 with a physical home button and that would be worth upgrading for. With on-screen buttons, the G2's screen size advantage disappears.

As Bateluer would say...stop complaining and stop by your local Walmart to buy some dumbbells or go to the gym.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that both the HTC One M8 and SGS5 have kept almost the exact same screen size as the GS4, but are in noticeably bigger shells?

I thought the trend would be bigger screens and smaller bezels/frames. LG has the right idea. Give me a G2 with a physical home button and that would be worth upgrading for. With on-screen buttons, the G2's screen size advantage disappears.

I heard a theory the Samsung got bigger because of the water proofing. Guess that's why the Xperia phones are so freaking huge too compared to their screen size. HTC of course has those speakers.

I do like this chart the compares screen size to phone size ratios. Though it doesn't account for on-screen buttons that use up screen space. And doesn't have newer phones on it yet. The LG G2 is at the top of the list, but I just got a Note 3 and it's right behind it and has no on-screen buttons.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Here...nes-for-their-screen-size-infographic_id52529

 

[jpeyton]

As Bateluer would say...stop complaining and stop by your local Walmart to buy some dumbbells or go to the gym.

You misunderstood. I'm fine with bigger frames if the screen-to-frame ratio is increased. I feel like Samsung could have fit a 5.2" screen in the S5's frame.

 

[Trombe]

As Bateluer would say...stop complaining and stop by your local Walmart to buy some dumbbells or go to the gym.

Although weight is a factor, one of the other main points of downsizing overall footprint relative to screen size is to make one handed operation easier.