HTC One M8... does it have varying features country to country?

r_diddy

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Oct 21, 2014
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Hello all,

To start off, I am completely new to smart phones, and to be honest any decent cell phones all together. So please forgive me if I come off sounding foolish.

(If long posts annoy you and you want to get to the point, I have summed up my question at the bottom of my post.)

I currently own a Samsung Corby touch and use it for phone calls and text. It's pretty crappy. My stand alone sony MP3 player recently died and I was in the market for a new one when I realized that most cell phones nowadays have decent MP3 players in them, and killing two birds with one stone by getting a new phone at the same time couldn't hurt.

I was looking for a higher audio quality device and that is the story of how I arrived here at the M8. I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy phones but it seemed hit and miss from the 2 to the 3 to the 4 on how good (or bad) the audio quality was. I also read some posts and reviews stating that the quality of the Galaxy differed depending on which country you're from.... something about how different carriers and different countries limit or regulate how the phone performs because they require different hardware or firmware because of licensing issues or some other garbage. In one post I read that some people were saying that a certain version of a Galaxy had great audio quality, then some other users chimed in and said that their version of that phone had a different DAC in it due to being in a different country which made the quality not as good.

So, being in Canada, and most of the rave reviews for the M8 originating from the US, I figured I'd simply get in touch with HTC customer service and inquire what, if any potential differences there are with a Canadian based phone vs a US based phone.

I intend to buy an unlocked M8, so I don't see how there would be any carrier introduced differences into this equation. The CSR I spoke to told me basically there are ways the phones differ from Canada to US, but he said due to some company policy they have that he couldn't tell me why. I then asked him if that is the case how do I know what exactly I will receive when I donate my $700 to your company. Again he said I can't tell you and there was nothing he could do.

So if any of you have any thoughts as to what the differences are between a Canadian M8 and a US M8 are I'd be grateful.

TLDR version:

Want to buy an unlocked M8 in Canada, but want to ensure I am getting the same high audio quality and same features that the US version has. Not having any luck getting a straight answer.

Thanks very much for your time.
 

the tall guy

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Sep 23, 2013
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Hello all,

To start off, I am completely new to smart phones, and to be honest any decent cell phones all together. So please forgive me if I come off sounding foolish.

(If long posts annoy you and you want to get to the point, I have summed up my question at the bottom of my post.)

I currently own a Samsung Corby touch and use it for phone calls and text. It's pretty crappy. My stand alone sony MP3 player recently died and I was in the market for a new one when I realized that most cell phones nowadays have decent MP3 players in them, and killing two birds with one stone by getting a new phone at the same time couldn't hurt.

I was looking for a higher audio quality device and that is the story of how I arrived here at the M8. I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy phones but it seemed hit and miss from the 2 to the 3 to the 4 on how good (or bad) the audio quality was. I also read some posts and reviews stating that the quality of the Galaxy differed depending on which country you're from.... something about how different carriers and different countries limit or regulate how the phone performs because they require different hardware or firmware because of licensing issues or some other garbage. In one post I read that some people were saying that a certain version of a Galaxy had great audio quality, then some other users chimed in and said that their version of that phone had a different DAC in it due to being in a different country which made the quality not as good.

So, being in Canada, and most of the rave reviews for the M8 originating from the US, I figured I'd simply get in touch with HTC customer service and inquire what, if any potential differences there are with a Canadian based phone vs a US based phone.

I intend to buy an unlocked M8, so I don't see how there would be any carrier introduced differences into this equation. The CSR I spoke to told me basically there are ways the phones differ from Canada to US, but he said due to some company policy they have that he couldn't tell me why. I then asked him if that is the case how do I know what exactly I will receive when I donate my $700 to your company. Again he said I can't tell you and there was nothing he could do.

So if any of you have any thoughts as to what the differences are between a Canadian M8 and a US M8 are I'd be grateful.

TLDR version:

Want to buy an unlocked M8 in Canada, but want to ensure I am getting the same high audio quality and same features that the US version has. Not having any luck getting a straight answer.

Thanks very much for your time.

Hi, Firstly let me welcome you to Android Central :) it's a great site and it has some great forums. As for your question, being from the UK I don't know the exact answer, but I wouldn't imagine HTC would build a phone specifically for the US / Canada and the UK - sure the US phones will come with the usual carrier bloatware (not sure about Canadian ones) but I wouldn't imagine the sound quality would be any different, if it was it wouldn't be noticeably different.

I also have an unlocked M8, which was bought direct from HTC - the sound quality is the best I've heard, so much so that it made me convert to Google Music and start making the most out of those speakers - plus it comes with very nice ear buds, which was a big bonus :)

Don't worry about the sound quality, you won't be disappointed.

Just a quick note though, the new HTC One M9 is probably going to be out in Q1 of 2015 - if you can wait that is :)
 

r_diddy

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Oct 21, 2014
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Hi Kevin and thank you for the warm welcome. I hope to learn much about my upcoming new phone purchase here.

In regards to the carrier bloatware, I assume if I were to buy the phone directly from HTC as you did, it would be completely free from anything like that? How did the process of purchasing directly from HTC work out for you? Given that I am only buying an unlocked phone can I safely assume that there would be no functionality that I am missing out or losing because it wasn't purchased from a specific carrier? Is there such a thing as good bloatware?

I am sure the phone itself is amazing, I am mostly concerned with differing hardware from region to region, such as the DAC or other audio components being different from location to location because of licensing issues, such as the case I read about with the Samsung Galaxy versions. I can't possibly understand why the CSR from HTC would say there are differences between US and Canadian phones but I can't tell you what they are. How would one know what they are getting in a product?

I originally was going to purchase the M8 from amazon.ca, but the CSR said I should buy it directly from them... I'm not sure what difference it makes, but buying direct would cost me quite a bit more given the currency exchange, shipping, duty / taxes at the border etc. I tried to link the amazon.ca sale but I guess it takes 10 posts before I can do that.

I already have a pair of decent headphones to use with the device, Audio-Technica M50 so I don't think I'll be using the onboard speakers much.

Thanks very much for your help.
 

the tall guy

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Sep 23, 2013
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Hi Kevin and thank you for the warm welcome. I hope to learn much about my upcoming new phone purchase here.

In regards to the carrier bloatware, I assume if I were to buy the phone directly from HTC as you did, it would be completely free from anything like that? How did the process of purchasing directly from HTC work out for you? Given that I am only buying an unlocked phone can I safely assume that there would be no functionality that I am missing out or losing because it wasn't purchased from a specific carrier? Is there such a thing as good bloatware?

I am sure the phone itself is amazing, I am mostly concerned with differing hardware from region to region, such as the DAC or other audio components being different from location to location because of licensing issues, such as the case I read about with the Samsung Galaxy versions. I can't possibly understand why the CSR from HTC would say there are differences between US and Canadian phones but I can't tell you what they are. How would one know what they are getting in a product?

I originally was going to purchase the M8 from amazon.ca, but the CSR said I should buy it directly from them... I'm not sure what difference it makes, but buying direct would cost me quite a bit more given the currency exchange, shipping, duty / taxes at the border etc. I tried to link the amazon.ca sale but I guess it takes 10 posts before I can do that.

I already have a pair of decent headphones to use with the device, Audio-Technica M50 so I don't think I'll be using the onboard speakers much.

Thanks very much for your help.

Hey :) apologies for the delay - yeah it was pretty straight forward when buying direct for me. I didn't have any hassle and the phone was delivered very quickly. As I stay in the UK - we don't get bloatware from any of our carriers so I couldn't comment on whether or not you would be missing out on anything - tbh I doubt it. I have heard nothing but bad comments on US bloatware. My phone is no different to my friends - who got it direct from their carrier if that helps? Hope you manage to get the phone ordered asap :)
 

r_diddy

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Oct 21, 2014
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Well after stopping by a couple local mobile stores in my city, which told me they have discontinued carrying the M8 (???) I tried to order it online directly through HTC... who will only ship to the US. How did you manage to get yours shipped to the UK Kevin?

I tried the live chat option on their support page... they gave me a phone number to talk to their sales reps. Number doesn't work, it goes straight to busy after two rings.

I cannot believe it has to be this hard to procure a cell phone this day and age.
 

Rakkety

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Oct 23, 2014
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Not really. When I bought my phone from Costco (in the US), they told me they were going to stop carrying the M8.

If you can't find any in stores then the next bet would be to try amazon or ebay.
 

r_diddy

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Oct 21, 2014
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Well the most known retailer of unlocked phones that (used to) carry the M8 in my city was Wind Mobile and I called every last Wind store in my city and none of them stock the unlocked M8 anymore. I'd link you to the wind mobile store but I can't post links until I have 10 posts, but their site is easily found. They show them as being available on the site but when you go into the store to purchase it they tell you they don't have any and will not be getting any more.

Why would they fabricate it? They are losing out on an $800 sale because of it.
 

the tall guy

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Sep 23, 2013
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Well the most known retailer of unlocked phones that (used to) carry the M8 in my city was Wind Mobile and I called every last Wind store in my city and none of them stock the unlocked M8 anymore. I'd link you to the wind mobile store but I can't post links until I have 10 posts, but their site is easily found. They show them as being available on the site but when you go into the store to purchase it they tell you they don't have any and will not be getting any more.

Why would they fabricate it? They are losing out on an $800 sale because of it.

Hey, just had a quick look and I can go online and buy the phone right now - direct from htc UK. Obviously I didn't complete the transaction, but everything looked to be going through successfully. Maybe htc aren't trying to push the sale of the phone when a new one will be out in a few months?

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