HTC One M8: A fantastic phone that can impress you

In the smartphone arena, the latest device from HTC has all the ingredients to get users hooked to it.

Only a few days ago, I was having an animated discussion with some of my friends about the best smartphone available at present.

One of them had recently invested a huge sum in the Samsung Galaxy S5 and, hence, he went bonkers defending his device.

 Another who owns an Apple iPhone 5s was busy singing the tales of how amazing his device was. Honestly, I felt lost during the whole conversation as I am not a proud owner of any of these high-end smartphones.

Soon, all my eager friends turned to me, expecting a judgement. They believe I am an expert on such subjects, considering the tag of a tech reviewer that I keep boasting of.

I had no intentions of disillusioning them. Hence, with a blunt expression, I said, “I shall reserve my opinion till the time I lay my hands on the HTC One M8.”

The next day, the review device arrived at the office. I have been using the device for three days now. So, friends, here’s my judgement.

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Design

I do not know who all subscribe to this idea but I for one certainly believe that looks make a huge difference to a smartphone. And, HTC appears to have nailed it on this count.

The One M8 is beautiful. Like the original HTC One, the body has a premium metal feel.

The two-tone plastic sides of the HTC One are gone, replaced by a one-piece metal back that curves around to meet the Gorilla Glass of the screen’s top layer.

A new curvier design gives the One M8 a smoother (at times, slippery) feel than its predecessor, while keeping the cool and hard feel you get with metal — aluminium, in this case.

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The power button sticks on the top edge but the new Motion Launch feature lets you switch the phone on from standby with just two quick taps on the screen.

For the specification hounds among you, the One M8 is 9.4mm thick, 71mm wide and 146mm tall and weighs 160g. The M8’s front is minimalistic and clean, with only a small silver company logo breaking from the dark glass and metal.

The M8 has a sealed body but there are now trays on either side for a SIM and a microSD card.

But by far, the most interesting physical aspect of this phone is the back, thanks to the addition of a second camera.

The power button sticks on the top edge but the new Motion Launch feature lets you switch the phone on from standby with just two quick taps on the screen.

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Latest processor

The M8 comes with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon processor, the 801.

The device houses 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded up to 132GB using a microSD card. The battery is rated at 2,600mAh, which is adequate.

The phone supports Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 and there’s also an infrared emitter and receiver, FM radio and the usual array of sensors.

The five-inch 1,080x1,920-pixel screen is noticeably larger than the M7’s 4.7-inch one and it’s really a matter of personal preference to call one better than the other.

The M8 runs Android 4.4.2, with HTC’s Sense 6 interface on top.

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Camera 

The much-hyped dual-camera functionality adds to the performance of the primary camera by adding depth and quality to the photo. Anyway, photos taken by the M8 are surprisingly detailed and clear.

There’s very little loss of detail and almost no visible compression when seen at full size, which cannot always be said of photos taken with phone cameras.

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Performance

This is our first opportunity to benchmark a device based on the new Snapdragon 801, since Samsung launched only the Exynos-based variant of its Galaxy S5 in India.

While the Exynos has four high-powered and four low-powered cores, the Snapdragon has only four but more powerful and running significantly faster.

Qualcomm’s advantage over other ARM-based processor vendors has so far been graphics. HTC’s BoomSound speakers also deserve a mention. Music and movies were both rich and detailed. The battery lasted 10 hours, which is pretty impressive.

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Verdict

The M8 is not a radical departure from last year’s HTC One. The M8 lures you with its premium build quality and camera gimmicks.

Without an iota of doubt, I can tell you that this is a fantastically crafted phone that works really well. It’s quite expensive at Rs 49,990 but if you have the bank balance to afford this beauty, then go for it.

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HTC ONE M8

• Price: Rs 49,990
• Weight :  160g
• Screen :  1,080x1,920 pixels, 5 inches (441 pixels an inch)
• Memory:  16GB or 32GB,
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: Expandable up to 132GB
• OS : Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
• Battery : Non-removable Li-Po 2,600 mAhHTC ONE M8