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

[crackberrytraitor]

So your a mobile design engineer? That's pretty cool, you should call or email HTC and let them know that you could have designed the phone better.

The math has already been done, even with the on screen buttons the m8 does in fact have more useable screen real estate than the m7. Not much maybe, but it's still more. A lot of us have discussed this topic to death and have caused some very heated debates.

Posted via Android Central App

Yep, go ahead and reply with some smarmy ad hominem rather than trying to offering any kind of counterpoint. They left a giant ugly black bar in an awkward spot. Almost anything else would have looked better.

It was a sloppy and likely last minute compromise, probably arising from a late stage change in internal hardware arrangement, or a last minute change to on screen buttons after the phone had been already designed or the chassis had already gone into production.

Try reading some of the comments by designers and engineers in the industry on this particular issue. A great many of them seem to share the consensus that no designer worth his salt ever, ever intentionally do what HTC unless they absolutely had to.

It's all the more annoying because it's the only notable detractor from an almost perfect smartphone design.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skyway]

Yep, go ahead and reply with some smarmy ad hominem rather than trying to offering any kind of counterpoint. They left a giant ugly black bar in an awkward spot. Almost anything else would have looked better.

It was a sloppy and likely last minute compromise, probably arising from a late stage change in internal hardware arrangement, or a last minute change to on screen buttons after the phone had been already designed or the chassis had already gone into production.

Try reading some of the comments by designers and engineers in the industry on this particular issue. A great many of them seem to share the consensus that no designer worth his salt ever, ever intentionally do what HTC unless they absolutely had to.

It's all the more annoying because it's the only notable detractor from an almost perfect smartphone design.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

So what about the m7? Everyone complained about the black bar on that phone as well and then they released the m8 with the same black bar. My guess is that they use that to hide circuitry, antennas, and other electronics, most likely related to the speakers. Wait, that's not a guess, that's exactly why it's there. They just put capacitive buttons in there last year and didn't this year. That hardly sounds like a sloppy last minute compromise.

A lot of people don't like it, and everyone of those people have voiced their opinions. Personally I couldn't care about it, it doesn't bother me and I don't even notice it. It also makes it easier to hold in landscape while watching videos and movies. That's my opinion.

I don't need to read everyone's opinions on why they chose to design the phone a certain way, the fact is they did design it this way. I still bought the phone, so did a lot of other people. Love it or hate it, that's up to you, but it was a design choice, not a last minute compromise.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[crackberrytraitor]

So what about the m7? Everyone complained about the black bar on that phone as well and then they released the m8 with the same black bar. My guess is that they use that to hide circuitry, antennas, and other electronics, most likely related to the speakers. Wait, that's not a guess, that's exactly why it's there. They just put capacitive buttons in there last year and didn't this year. That hardly sounds like a sloppy last minute compromise.

A lot of people don't like it, and everyone of those people have voiced their opinions. Personally I couldn't care about it, it doesn't bother me and I don't even notice it. It also makes it easier to hold in landscape while watching videos and movies. That's my opinion.

I don't need to read everyone's opinions on why they chose to design the phone a certain way, the fact is they did design it this way. I still bought the phone, so did a lot of other people. Love it or hate it, that's up to you, but it was a design choice, not a last minute compromise.

Posted via Android Central App

It wasn't the same black bar it was a capacitive button panel. It wasn't just a half inch bar with a logo. And the black onscreen button bar compounds how bad it looks, making it seem ridiculously asymmetrical.

Also, circuitry has nothing to do with it. Like many have said, even if they still wanted to get rid of capacatives, they could have widened the silver inserts on the top and bottom so it wouldn't look so funky. Just sloppy.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skyway]

It wasn't the same black bar it was a capacitive button panel. It wasn't just a half inch bar with a logo. And the black onscreen button bar compounds how bad it looks, making it seem ridiculously asymmetrical.

Also, circuitry has nothing to do with it. Like many have said, even if they still wanted to get rid of capacatives, they could have widened the silver inserts on the top and bottom so it wouldn't look so funky. Just sloppy.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

But you still bought it?

Everyone acts like they know how to design a smartphone better than the manufactures. If they would have just widened the speaker grills, like you say, you would still be on here complaining about how they should have made them thinner.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[crackberrytraitor]

But you still bought it?

Everyone acts like they know how to design a smartphone better than the manufactures. If they would have just widened the speaker grills, like you say, you would still be on here complaining about how they should have made them thinner.

Posted via Android Central App

No, I wouldn't. That is my one and only gripe with the phone and I've never said a bad word about the One X and the M7.

I bought the phone because it's the best out there, it doesn't mean that no one should voice criticism. That's how companies learn to change things, just like with the SD slot.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skyway]

No, I wouldn't. That is my one and only gripe with the phone and I've never said a bad word about the One X and the M7.

I bought the phone because it's the best out there, it doesn't mean that no one should voice criticism. That's how companies learn to change things, just like with the SD slot.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

So you wouldn't care if the space was a speaker grill instead of a black bar? It wouldn't be any smaller, just a different material and color?

You weren't voicing criticism, you were speculating that it was a last minute sloppy compromise.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[crackberrytraitor]

So you wouldn't care if the space was a speaker grill instead of a black bar? It wouldn't be any smaller, just a different material and color?

You weren't voicing criticism, you were speculating that it was a last minute sloppy compromise.

Posted via Android Central App

No, I wouldn't care if HTC replaced something ugly with something not ugly. I mean come on, giant black bars don't look good. It makes the phone look weirdly asymmetrical, especially with another big black onscreen button bar on top of it.

And I certainly am voicing criticism, speculations being part of said criticisms, lol man.

This back and forth is getting silly now. I took issue with part of the M8s design and you've informed me that it doesn't bother you. Later, I'm out.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[benny3]

Cool... the pissing match is over i hope w00t!!!

 

[Graahle]

Just upgraded to the new HTC One M8 last week. I immediately rooted, flashed the GPE rom, and rooted again, and it has literally been the best mobile device experience in my life. I was about to buy the Nexus 5, but what sold me on the One was the micro sd card storage availability, the build quality, the swype-to-wake (taking a page right out of Blackberry on this one!), and the access to GPE ROM-effectively turning the phone into a sort-of "super" Nexus.

My battery life is insane. I'm not a power user, and my phone goes into airplane mode whenever I go to sleep, so I'm averaging almost 2 days of life before having to charge it. This device is a beast.

 

[anon(153966)]

This is now my second time with the HTC One M8, and having a case on it makes the world of difference.

The first time I bought the device, I felt it was too big and VERY slippery. This time round I bought an Otterbox Defender, too. Finally I can appreciate the device and appreciate it not trying to jump out of my hand every minute. I think I'm going to look at the Speck case, too. Albeit I'm very surprised at how slim line the Otterbox case is for it. We all know that typically Otterbox is thick.

Do you want to know what kept drawing me to this device? One word, GESTURES! I've been using BlackBerry and BB10 for almost two years now. Thus I can't stand home buttons now. Gestures are the way to go, and for that along the HTC One M8 wins over the likes of Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Nexus 5...

 

[U WOT M8]

I love this phone so much that I joined this community so I can post about it in this thread!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[CannedBullets]

Battery life is better than I expected. Sense 6 definitely beats TouchWiz and MotoBlur in terms of functionality and smoothness so I don't think I'll need Apex Launcher. It's big and the power button is top mounted so that's annoying to deal with when you try and turn off the phone with one hand but the phone looks really nice.

I have the Dot View case but I'm going to return it for a Spigen Slim Armor case. The Dot View case is cool but its awkward to deal with when you type, when you use the phone one handed, and when you use the camera.

Yeah I am glad I went with this over an S5.

 

[anon(153966)]

Here I am trying the HTC One M8 for the SECOND time. I'm going to try it for at least 7 days. Thus far, like the first time I got the device, my issue is the size, well, more importantly, the height. I feel like I'm really stretching with my thumb/index finger to get to the top of the screen...

 

[cwbcpa]

Here I am trying the HTC One M8 for the SECOND time. I'm going to try it for at least 7 days. Thus far, like the first time I got the device, my issue is the size, well, more importantly, the height. I feel like I'm really stretching with my thumb/index finger to get to the top of the screen...

What phone did you use before the M8? About the only good android phone that doesn't require stretching is the Moto X. I had a note 3 prior to the M8 so this feels comfortable to me. It's all relative I guess is what I'm saying. Not saying I can reach the top of the screen without shuffling the phone and/or stretching though. It's all about your comfort though. I hope it works for you. The M8 is a great phone.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

So, my friend just replaced his M7 with an M8, and he allowed me to play around with it.

Here are my impressions;

• The phone looks great. It definitely looks better in person than on the internet. My friend agreed with me on that.
• Speakers have definitely improved. Sounds significantly louder and clearer.
• Like the One M7, it's a great performer.
• Duo Camera performed well. On the phone, the pictures look crisp and the effects are pretty cool. The 5MP front camera was, well, nice. Not sure how the 4MP pics would turn out on a larger screen.
• The phone was significantly taller than the One M7, to the point where some may find it too tall.
• The gunmetal grey phone he had still felt a bit slippery, but my M7 was more so.

 

[wmurch3]

Got my new M8 in Amber Gold. Love the look but yes, it is slippery! Maybe it's the rounded edges but man I've dropped this think atleast 15 times since I got it Friday. Humorously I dropped it as I was telling someone how often I drop it. I have a case coming in a day or so so hopefully that will fix this. Hate relying on cases but I found one with a clear back and seems to let the design show through.

I'm coming from an M7 on Verizon so the experience isn't much different. I had rooted and installed sense 6.0 so I'm used to the new version. The screen looks a little brighter on the M8 and everything just looks a little crisper. Outdoor viewing is better as well even on power saving mode. I always had to switch that off when I went out in sunlight with my M7 but not with the M8!

Honestly, i'm not seeing a huge difference with battery life. I was getting great results with my M7 and am getting equally or slightly better results with my M8. I've been playing with it a lot so that's probably cutting down time a bit.

Didn't think I needed an SD card slot but it's nice to offload my Google Music All Access cached radio and playlists to the SD card. More room for apps and games on the main storage so can't complain with that.

Boomsound speakers are definitely a little louder. I can actually hear the music when I'm in the shower though I still prefer my 40 dollar bluetooth speaker. The speakers are great when that's not an option though. The headset sound quality seems a little better as well. This may be my imagination though.

Picture quality is great as far as I can tell. I admittedly only really look at my pictures on my phone and they look good on there. I guess it would have been nice if the second camera was a regular MP camera but it's not a deal breaker. Still have to play with all of the focus and edit options but they seem pretty functional.

It's nice to have on screen buttons but I have to echo what most have said about the device being too tall. If they could have keep the soft buttons and kept the same screen size I would have been happier I think.

Motion gestures are nice but are enabled a little too easily. I ran with my phone in my pocket and the screen woke up a bunch of times. I had to disable the gestures for the run which really shouldn't need to be done if they'd implement some pocket detection/sensor usage.

All in all, loving the phone with some minor quibbles.

 

[OptDoug]

I have only had mine since Friday but so far I'm loving it! I had an iPhone 4s before this one and it was really bad. It would lag on just about every app. The m8 had no lag at all. The auto spell check actually works about 95% of the time while the iPhone rarely worked.

On the road it's great too. A lot of my usage is while I'm driving, and the m8 works great. Maps and other apps that need internet just snap to life in a second. Much better than the iPhone.

The only problem I have had with this phone was connecting to my airrave at home. But once I figured out how to change from lte to 3g it connects to the airrave in about a second or two.

The bottom line is this thing is blazing fast compared to the iPhone 4s.

 

[scott_0]

my M8 arrives tomorrow, I'm really excited!! I'm going to wait a day or two and make sure I have no issues then I'll be rooting

Sent from my S4 using Tapatalk

 

[mjs2011]

my M8 arrives tomorrow, I'm really excited!! I'm going to wait a day or two and make sure I have no issues then I'll be rooting

Sent from my S4 using Tapatalk

Enjoy. I just bought the Harman Kardon version on Sprint. Such an awesome phone.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

[cjr4497]

Everything about the m8 is fantastic except for the size. It is to darn big. It barely fits in my pocket with an otterbox. I just can't get used to the size. I am returning it tomorrow and will just wait for the mini 2.

I don't get why all the high end androids have to be so big. Surely the success of the iPhone proves that no-one wants a high end phone that can be used with one hand.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk