Share your HTC One (M8) first impressions and personal reviews!

EggoEspada

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I don't own the M8 (still contemplating buying one). But I just visited a Verizon store earlier today, and the second I picked up the gun metal grey, I was completely overwhelmed by the aesthetics and overall quality of the device. I have never felt such a device with high quality in a long time. Closest device I felt in quality was the iPad Air, but still not close.

The phone was speedy and the display was great quality as expected. Didn't play with the improved BoomSound, but I had previously owned the M7 so I have an idea. The camera -- both front and back -- was actually really good. The back specifically wasn't as bad as I feared it would. It's actually pretty close to my iPhone 5s which I consider the best mobile camera on the market right now.

So overall, everything I had an issue with the M7 has been more or less fixed here -- pending on the battery performance. All this may very well make this my next phone. Of course, I still have issues with Android. But HTC seems to have done the best they possibly could on their part.




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jspring86

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I got my M8 yesterday from Verizon. I decided to keep my Note 3 as well and use it primarily as a work phone so now I have the two to compare. A few comments:

1.) The M8 is heavier or at least feels heavier than the Note 3 (I didn't look up the exact numbers but it certainly feels this way in the hand). I personally don't mind since I enjoy having a big phone, but the weight (and size) of this phone will likely bother those coming from something significantly smaller like an iPhone. Since I have been using the Note 3 since October the size seemed fine to me but the phone is longer than it probably should be, many people have mentioned that already.

2.) I have been living with Sense 6.0 so far and its not terribly bad. I am contemplating whether or not I will install my Nova launcher setup I have on my Note 3, but for now I'm giving Sense a chance. Blinkfeed is nice, but I am not a huge fan of the App drawer and the vertical scrolling. Coming from the Samsung I'm finding the the quick settings a little bit more convenient. I like the placement and ease of use.

3.) The M8 is super fast as many have said. The Note 3 and M8 are both so fast its hard to notice a difference between the two really, but anything I have thrown at my Note 3 I have also tried on the M8 with similar speedy results. Gaming, editing spreadsheets, watching videos, all work great and super fast.

4.) Dot-view case is really cool in my opinion. I bought one and enjoy playing with it. Think it might be even more useful if they add more features. In the end I may go back to using the phone naked since the all-metal looks and feels super nice to me.

5.) As everyone has said, the camera is inferior to my Note 3 in most ways. HTC has built-in some cool features into the camera, but the overall image quality is still better on the Note 3 due to higher MP in my opinion. Since I have both phones the camera deficiency doesn't bother me too much, but it may discourage those who will use it as their only device.

I'm sure many comparisons to the Note 3 and other phones exist out there, but if people have anything they want me to compare in particular, just ask!
 
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roflwaffleton

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Anyone was not like wow'd by the interface? Seemed so basic to me the black and I would have to get used to the up and down scrolling...I am on iPhone 5S

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Sounds like you were in the app drawer. It's exactly what it sounds like. It's a drawer for apps, only opened on occasion. It's not where people spend most of their time on Android devices. The home screen pages are where the action is.

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theboldest

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Ok, so I have the phone. First android ever from BB Bold

Cool things. Swiping when the phone is off to do stuff, being able to activate the camera from a locked phone very quickly, the voice recognition is very very good, i never swipe typed but this is ALL i do and it works great even for someone with 2 days of experience, its fast as hell! Has an IR blaster, i can control my tv without having to take the remote from my wife, the TV feature is cool because it gives you live score feeds of all games in all sports in real time in the channel menu, so far the battery is barely cutting the mustard, but i have the phone totally stock and am beating on it to get a real life gauge on the battery. Unplug at 7am and went til about 10pm before it 1% last night with tons of apps, web, talk.

Just hate the height of this thing but im getting used to it.

The bluetooth audio works great with my alpine radio, pandora comes on fast and connects without having to **** with it like i did on the BB. Voice dialing works great, so far about 95% accurate on first hit dialing

Thats all i can think of right now. Hope this helps
 

anon(1011167)

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The phone is brilliant, I received mine from Vodafone UK yesterday and it came with a free case.

I like the feel of the brushed metal finish, the screen is bright and the sound is crystal clear. HTC have certainly put a lot of effort into the phone, the speakers really do the phone justice and as for the inclusion of the SD Card space, this is a major bonus.

The rear facing camera is still only 4mp, but with the Ultrapixel sensor it does take some brilliant photos.

If you want a premium smartphone then this is the one.
 

hachsa

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I got my phone on Thursday, and coming from an EVO 4G LTE on Sprint. I absolutely LOVE this phone. I know a lot of people are making a big deal about tall the phone is, but it quickly became unnoticeable. Same thing w/the weight, the phone just looks and feels so premium, that I appreciate the thought of how HTC made this phone. I went to go look at the Samsung Galaxy 5 at Best Buy, and the whole dimpled thing on the back wasn't that bad, it just looks really horrible in photos. But still, the Galaxy felt kiddish, plasticky, & clunky, at least, in my opinion.

The M8 is amazingly fast. I haven't had a crash yet, but I wouldn't consider myself a super-user. The display is gorgeous and playing videos is amazing. The phone doesn't get hot at all for me, except when I'm charging and playing around with it. Also, I know alot of people have gripes with the camera, but there is an Android app called Snapseed, that allows you to correct various things with the picture, it literally takes like 20 seconds to fix contrast, sharpness, color, etc. I don't have any problems with the camera.

Also, LTE on this phone is FAST. I use Sprint, but I live in JAX, Fl & that is a Sprint Spark location.
 

jlbattagli

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I got my phone on Thursday, and coming from an EVO 4G LTE on Sprint. I absolutely LOVE this phone. I know a lot of people are making a big deal about tall the phone is, but it quickly became unnoticeable. Same thing w/the weight, the phone just looks and feels so premium, that I appreciate the thought of how HTC made this phone. I went to go look at the Samsung Galaxy 5 at Best Buy, and the whole dimpled thing on the back wasn't that bad, it just looks really horrible in photos. But still, the Galaxy felt kiddish, plasticky, & clunky, at least, in my opinion.

The M8 is amazingly fast. I haven't had a crash yet, but I wouldn't consider myself a super-user. The display is gorgeous and playing videos is amazing. The phone doesn't get hot at all for me, except when I'm charging and playing around with it. Also, I know alot of people have gripes with the camera, but there is an Android app called Snapseed, that allows you to correct various things with the picture, it literally takes like 20 seconds to fix contrast, sharpness, color, etc. I don't have any problems with the camera.

Also, LTE on this phone is FAST. I use Sprint, but I live in JAX, Fl & that is a Sprint Spark location.

How is your RF performance on the M8? Specifically the signal range and ability to hold on to a signal. I currently have the Evo 4G LTE, and the M8 is on my short list of replacement options. Living in a fringe area for all cell phone service providers, signal strength is going to be a major factor for me. Thanks in advance.
 
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MDteX

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@hachsa - I too have an EVO 4G LTE and it has been an excellent phone with no issues. The odd thing about the M8 is that the usable screen space is actually less than on the EVO. That just seems odd. A longer phone and less screen. But everything else looks good. I did not get to play with the camera really to see what all the fuss is.

I'm still not sold on the M8 since the EVO has the larger usable screen and mine works perfectly.
 

EggoEspada

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So I got the Amber Gold M8 from my job to play with. Been using it for a couple of days and the battery seems a tad better than my iPhone 5s. Camera is so-so. It can take really good shots, but it falls on to face to often. Sense is pretty smooth and very clean looking. Don't care for the Sense Launcher and I'm a bit OCD on some of the color themes HTC put into place. I wish it was a little more custom as to what type of apps have what coloring as opposed to being stuck in the 3 themes with their own color groups in each.

Oh, and the Amber Gold is actually really nice in person. I have no problem with the color, but it's actually quite feminine. Its sorta a copper look versus the champagne look on the iPhone.


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hachsa

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How is your RF performance on the M8? Specifically the signal range and ability to hold on to a signal. I currently have the Evo 4G LTE, and the M8 is on my short list of replacement options. Living in a fringe area for all cell phone service providers, signal strength is going to be a major factor for me. Thanks in advance.

In my case, everything is going good. I've only driven and spoken to someone on the phone once or twice though, so I haven't experimented much outside of that.

With Sprint, I think you can try out the phone for 2 weeks & return it, if it doesnt seem feasible to you.
 

hachsa

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@hachsa - I too have an EVO 4G LTE and it has been an excellent phone with no issues. The odd thing about the M8 is that the usable screen space is actually less than on the EVO. That just seems odd. A longer phone and less screen. But everything else looks good. I did not get to play with the camera really to see what all the fuss is.

I'm still not sold on the M8 since the EVO has the larger usable screen and mine works perfectly.

I HAD to get my EVO 4G LTE replaced since I dropped it last year and there's a crack across the screen that sometimes made my phone glitchy. I was originally trying to my phone replaced with the Nexus 5 but my contract was too early. I wanted to see what HTC does with next iteration of the One & I love it. I was at BB the other day & I love the M8 over the original one, the OG feels so blocky.

I think with the all the complaints about the Camera, the bezels, & the size will prompt HTC to design the best form of the One next year though & if you hold it out until then, I'm sure it'll be great.
 

LocationDudeNYC

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Does anyone else with a Verizon M8 have barcode stickers on the back? Kind of feels like they don't want to come off. Never had this on a new phone before. Thnx.
 

groundfighter

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Traded in my M7 for the M8 opening day at Verizon, cannot say enough about this platform, honestly nothing I don't like yet and seems to do everything better, faster and with a bigger screen than the M7, very happy indeed.
 

Rose4uKY

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Can't wait to get mine! The guy at the Best Buy Mobile store in the mall had a gold one for us to see. But we ordered 3 phones and are only keeping 2 but this way my husband can see Gunmetal and Gold together. After we left the store we went to Verizon and saw Gunmetal and silver which is what we wanted but I'll take gold he's still undecided.

So I got the Amber Gold M8 from my job to play with. Been using it for a couple of days and the battery seems a tad better than my iPhone 5s. Camera is so-so. It can take really good shots, but it falls on to face to often. Sense is pretty smooth and very clean looking. Don't care for the Sense Launcher and I'm a bit OCD on some of the color themes HTC put into place. I wish it was a little more custom as to what type of apps have what coloring as opposed to being stuck in the 3 themes with their own color groups in each.

Oh, and the Amber Gold is actually really nice in person. I have no problem with the color, but it's actually quite feminine. Its sorta a copper look versus the champagne look on the iPhone.


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Rose4uKY

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I love hearing people rave about the new M8 that had the M7. My husband said I love my phone do we really need to upgrade? But I really wanted too and since we were due and Best Buy will give us 125 for our M7's and I should get the extra 50 from phone freedom so it wont' cost us much.

Traded in my M7 for the M8 opening day at Verizon, cannot say enough about this platform, honestly nothing I don't like yet and seems to do everything better, faster and with a bigger screen than the M7, very happy indeed.
 

ffejjj

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I love hearing people rave about the new M8 that had the M7. My husband said I love my phone do we really need to upgrade? But I really wanted too and since we were due and Best Buy will give us 125 for our M7's and I should get the extra 50 from phone freedom so it wont' cost us much.

I would think your M7 would be worth more. Try selling online first and see what kind of $$ you could get.

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