This issue has been mentioned a couple of times, but I wanted to see whether anyone thinks there will be a fix.
Text reflow is when you expand text on the screen with your fingers and the column of text automatically is resized to fit the screen rather than being substantially wider than the screen requiring constant side-to-side scrolling to read.
I had the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. Over the weekend, I upgraded to the HTC One M8 at Best Buy and passed my S4 to a family member who needed a phone because I noticed that Best Buy's display M8 had the HTC stock browser with text reflow. This single feature makes the phone substantially more usable to me than my S4. As soon as the upgrade was completed, however, I found out that my M8 does not permit the use of the HTC browser (it only comes with Chrome) so I didn't get text reflow. My carrier is Verizon, and I quickly figured out that the Verizon version of the M8 does not have the HTC stock browser. However, the AT&T version of the M8 and other carriers have the stock browser (Best Buy had an AT&T phone on display). I called Verizon and HTC tech support and received confirmation that Verizon doesn't offer the stock HTC browser in the M8. On a quick web search, it appears that you can't use the HTC stock browser even if you are willing to root your new M8.
I would not have updated my S4 had I known the HTC stock browser wouldn't be available to mes, and thus I expect I will just return the M8. The HTC One M8 actually has less functionality for me than my Galaxy S4 because Samsung put a limited text reflow functionality in the S4 (hovering + and - buttons that reflow the text a number of steps up or down).
I know the Chrome browser is a good one, but text reflow can be a critical feature depending on your eyesight and reading vision. Compounding the problem, the text on the M8 also seems to be a bit lighter than the S4 (LED vs. AMOLED screen types, perhaps?).
I am not sure why Verizon dropped the HTC stock browser as other carriers offer it and Verizon's prior HTC phones (Thunderbolt, which I had, through the HTC One M7) had it. I imagine this is going to cost HTC sales of the M8 that it needs, and probably will cost Verizon sales as well. I emailed Verizon to ask about using the HTC stock browser, but haven't heard back.
Before returning the M8 (which I otherwise like), I wanted to take time to ask whether anyone has any further insight into use of the HTC stock browser with the Verizon M8 or heard any indications that Verizon might remedy the situation.
Thank you.
Text reflow is when you expand text on the screen with your fingers and the column of text automatically is resized to fit the screen rather than being substantially wider than the screen requiring constant side-to-side scrolling to read.
I had the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. Over the weekend, I upgraded to the HTC One M8 at Best Buy and passed my S4 to a family member who needed a phone because I noticed that Best Buy's display M8 had the HTC stock browser with text reflow. This single feature makes the phone substantially more usable to me than my S4. As soon as the upgrade was completed, however, I found out that my M8 does not permit the use of the HTC browser (it only comes with Chrome) so I didn't get text reflow. My carrier is Verizon, and I quickly figured out that the Verizon version of the M8 does not have the HTC stock browser. However, the AT&T version of the M8 and other carriers have the stock browser (Best Buy had an AT&T phone on display). I called Verizon and HTC tech support and received confirmation that Verizon doesn't offer the stock HTC browser in the M8. On a quick web search, it appears that you can't use the HTC stock browser even if you are willing to root your new M8.
I would not have updated my S4 had I known the HTC stock browser wouldn't be available to mes, and thus I expect I will just return the M8. The HTC One M8 actually has less functionality for me than my Galaxy S4 because Samsung put a limited text reflow functionality in the S4 (hovering + and - buttons that reflow the text a number of steps up or down).
I know the Chrome browser is a good one, but text reflow can be a critical feature depending on your eyesight and reading vision. Compounding the problem, the text on the M8 also seems to be a bit lighter than the S4 (LED vs. AMOLED screen types, perhaps?).
I am not sure why Verizon dropped the HTC stock browser as other carriers offer it and Verizon's prior HTC phones (Thunderbolt, which I had, through the HTC One M7) had it. I imagine this is going to cost HTC sales of the M8 that it needs, and probably will cost Verizon sales as well. I emailed Verizon to ask about using the HTC stock browser, but haven't heard back.
Before returning the M8 (which I otherwise like), I wanted to take time to ask whether anyone has any further insight into use of the HTC stock browser with the Verizon M8 or heard any indications that Verizon might remedy the situation.
Thank you.
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