Man, I researched this to death and was convinced this was almost perfect. I REALLY wanted to like this phone.
After three days, I just am not happy enough to part with $700. A lot of small issues that add up.
* Speakers do sound good, but for all the hype and discussion of added amplifier, they are NOT loud enough. My four-year old Samsung Galaxy Player had stereo speakers that are WAY louder. Not a total deal breaker but disappointing as this was pretty important to me.
* Screen, while being 5", is considerably smaller than the 5" screen on my old device. This is more vertically-oriented and the 3/16" of width that I'm losing makes a pretty substantial difference to me. I never really though about this before, but you can get a 5" diagonal with various rectangle shapes and they will all have different measured area. Everything seems smaller and it's not a good thing. If your width is limited, it really limits how all webpages display. Adding height does not help the limitation.
* Screen is really, really hard to read in daylight. Pretty disappointed. I have the brightness on MAX all the time and it's not as bright as my old Samsung.
* Although my Developer Edition comes with "Productivity " toolset including Polaris Office 5 file explorer, (and HTC said there was no file explorer stock on the M8)- it does not work well. Have no option for Move, or Delete. So, that's not very helpful. the onboard apps are supposed to be trusted by KitKat but does not look good to me. ES File Explorer cannot Move or Delete either.
* Although most people seem to want lighter and thinner products, I find the darned thing too light and thin. It feels like something for a little woman. I do not have big hands but this thing just feels like it's going to drop or disappear; I like something a bit more substantial.
* the camera really is disappointing. Not all the time, but if you're outside and shooting with any sun in the background, forget about it. I use camera for work and need the thing to produce acceptable images...not just in perfect light with sun behind me, but ALL the time. Also, the shutter sound is really barely audible even at full volume. Seems to be no options to change shutter sound from a tiny click to anything more substantial.
* The stock music player is way too basic and does not include much ability to list albums in various ways- and has no equalizer.
* The phone IS long (tall) and with the speakers and the black logo bar, it doesn't mean more screen space.
All in all, I'm disappointed and I just can't "settle" with such an expensive device. I fell in love, had a one-night stand, and realized that this was not the match for me.:'(
I want to thank all the great forum members for answering all my dumb questions; you're a great bunch of guys.
After three days, I just am not happy enough to part with $700. A lot of small issues that add up.
* Speakers do sound good, but for all the hype and discussion of added amplifier, they are NOT loud enough. My four-year old Samsung Galaxy Player had stereo speakers that are WAY louder. Not a total deal breaker but disappointing as this was pretty important to me.
* Screen, while being 5", is considerably smaller than the 5" screen on my old device. This is more vertically-oriented and the 3/16" of width that I'm losing makes a pretty substantial difference to me. I never really though about this before, but you can get a 5" diagonal with various rectangle shapes and they will all have different measured area. Everything seems smaller and it's not a good thing. If your width is limited, it really limits how all webpages display. Adding height does not help the limitation.
* Screen is really, really hard to read in daylight. Pretty disappointed. I have the brightness on MAX all the time and it's not as bright as my old Samsung.
* Although my Developer Edition comes with "Productivity " toolset including Polaris Office 5 file explorer, (and HTC said there was no file explorer stock on the M8)- it does not work well. Have no option for Move, or Delete. So, that's not very helpful. the onboard apps are supposed to be trusted by KitKat but does not look good to me. ES File Explorer cannot Move or Delete either.
* Although most people seem to want lighter and thinner products, I find the darned thing too light and thin. It feels like something for a little woman. I do not have big hands but this thing just feels like it's going to drop or disappear; I like something a bit more substantial.
* the camera really is disappointing. Not all the time, but if you're outside and shooting with any sun in the background, forget about it. I use camera for work and need the thing to produce acceptable images...not just in perfect light with sun behind me, but ALL the time. Also, the shutter sound is really barely audible even at full volume. Seems to be no options to change shutter sound from a tiny click to anything more substantial.
* The stock music player is way too basic and does not include much ability to list albums in various ways- and has no equalizer.
* The phone IS long (tall) and with the speakers and the black logo bar, it doesn't mean more screen space.
All in all, I'm disappointed and I just can't "settle" with such an expensive device. I fell in love, had a one-night stand, and realized that this was not the match for me.:'(
I want to thank all the great forum members for answering all my dumb questions; you're a great bunch of guys.
. It isn't exactly a fact for everyone.. Hence why the OP didn't like it. 
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