Wow. Three days with the M8 and I'm returning it!

[I Can Be Your Hero]

The outdoor brightness definitely cannot be true. You either have battery saver mode on affecting brightness or you need to get your eyes checked, man. Every reviewer has said that outdoor visibility on the phone is great, and I've even compared my M7 with the S3 and S4 outside and the brightness does well.

Yeah, I was thinking along those lines as well.

I live in Australia, and it gets damn bright and sunny here and the screen visibility in sunlight is great. Certainly brighter than the Samsung devices I've had as the screen seems to be able to reach higher brightness levels, whereas AMOLED screens were harder to see in direct sunlight. And the comment on the speakers was strange, as one of the more celebrated aspects of the M8 are the speakers and just how loud and clear they do sound.

Irrespective, OP is entitled to his/her opinion. If he/she didn't like it for whatever reason, then there's no reason to keep it.

Buy whatever makes you happy, OP.

 

[Relgoshan]

You obviously don't know anyone I mentioned if you did you would know most receive review devices weeks in advance and once the press embargo is lifted they make well thought out reviews that have pros and cons plus give their opinions. This is the reason why review videos are all released at once on release day. Don't believe me? Ask Phil, Gerry or anyone on AC if you don't.

Considering the at-times MASSIVE disparity between review and result, even if some of the pros are 100% legit they still do not always line up with the consumer response. And some of these reviewers are very much quite dodgy.

Everything online is somebody's opinion...we all have one. This guy says the phone is too light, then he also says the camera suffers when the sun is behind him. Totally untrue. The speakers aren't loud enough..yeah right. Then he says he's taking pictures all day, yet he chooses a phone that's been getting bashed for not having a million mega pixel camera since its first review. There is no shortage of camera reviews on this phone. So, when the op says he studied this phone in depth before purchase. You don't purchase an HTC One M8 with the purpose of taking pics all day, especially if you've read the reviews. My opinion is the op is just another Samsung fanboy! I agree the screen can't be seen in the sunlight, but only if you're wearing sunglasses. Take them off and it works well.

I also have to revisit the issue of taking pics with this phone with your back to the sun. I know he has no idea what he's talking about because the M8 just as any other phone will always take great pics with the sun behind you(you being the photographer not the subject). That means the sun is lighting up the subject. That's photography 101...Every camera on earth can take a good picture with the sun behind the photographer. Things get dicey when the sun is in front of the camera.



Posted via Android Central App

Your *entire* post was invalidated by a lack in reading comprehension. He claimed that if the sun was in the sky at all, his pictures kept washing out UNLESS he put his back to it. So he said "having his back to the sun" was the only way he could get a good pic and he wanted to be able to take a picture with the sun in the background of the FRAME without it washing out.

So either he didn't do much reading or he only read the many reviews that give the M8 an instant pass for low light pickup/stereo sound/Not Samsung. And didn't go into the total package.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Considering the at-times MASSIVE disparity between review and result, even if some of the pros are 100% legit they still do not always line up with the consumer response. And some of these reviewers are very much quite dodgy.



Your *entire* post was invalidated by a lack in reading comprehension. He claimed that if the sun was in the sky at all, his pictures kept washing out UNLESS he put his back to it. So he said "having his back to the sun" was the only way he could get a good pic and he wanted to be able to take a picture with the sun in the background of the FRAME without it washing out.

So either he didn't do much reading or he only read the many reviews that give the M8 an instant pass for low light pickup/stereo sound/Not Samsung. And didn't go into the total package.

Was it my reading comprehension or a mistake on my part? Was my entire post truly invalid because of my lack of reading comprehension? I thought I made some good points, but if the smartest guy in the room can judge my reading comprehension from a post, then so be it!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Considering the at-times MASSIVE disparity between review and result, even if some of the pros are 100% legit they still do not always line up with the consumer response. And some of these reviewers are very much quite dodgy.



Your *entire* post was invalidated by a lack in reading comprehension. He claimed that if the sun was in the sky at all, his pictures kept washing out UNLESS he put his back to it. So he said "having his back to the sun" was the only way he could get a good pic and he wanted to be able to take a picture with the sun in the background of the FRAME without it washing out.

So either he didn't do much reading or he only read the many reviews that give the M8 an instant pass for low light pickup/stereo sound/Not Samsung. And didn't go into the total package.

But, you're absolutely right,I did misread the op's post...Good Call! And, of course he's right, the camera will not perform well with the sun behind the subject..But, that's not just an M8 thing, that's most cameras. You can take pics of sunsets with the M8, but it will always be hard to expose a foreground subject with a strong backlight! It doesn't have to just be the sun per se. It could just be light coming through a window. Most cell phone cameras will struggle under those circumstances.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[beamolite]

Lol I'm sorry,but please try to find good sounding/loud front facing speakers on another cell phone..oh wait that's right,you won't find another phone that sounds this good or loud,the HTC one m8 has by far the most loud and beautiful sounding speakers on the smart phone market,hands down,its not even a contest,good luck trying to find another phone that sounds better,you won't.

Posted via Android Central App

The BlackBerry Z30 has very impressive front facing speakers. But I still prefer the HTC One M8.

 

[freddyttt]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that is skeptical of the validity of this thread. Just find it funny how there are a few actually believing and giving the person in question the benefit of the doubt, thought we all knew better.... Oh well.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

and this-

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.

 

[davidnc]

I suggest some members participating in the discussion of this thread should review the guidelines here :

Community Rules & Guidelines - Mobile Nations Forums

As well as emphasis on this:

Be a pro. Don?t get into arguments over dumb things. If someone responds in a poor or rude fashion, ignore it. If you notice a pattern of rude or poor behavior from a particular member, report them to our moderators. If you don?t have anything nice to say, don?t say anything at all. In a nutshell, ?think before you post?

Also remember calling another member a troll is in itself a forum of trolling.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

For OP: I also had an M8 for a short time and returned it. For me it was the height and weight. I got an LG G2 and really like it. You might want to hang until May27th when the LG G3 comes out. Screen will be spectacular. They will have a 1 watt speaker. Might be to your liking. Good luck and post what you do.

 

[isdaako]

"...It feels like something for a little woman..." and to quote the first word from the OP, "WOW."

 

[icenija]

To each his own and to the OP I hope you find a phone that suits your needs. I will comment on one thing you said, I have ES File Explorer on my M8 and it moves, copies, and deletes files just fine.

Ice

 

[Lilshaq65]

To each his own and to the OP I hope you find a phone that suits your needs. I will comment on one thing you said, I have ES File Explorer on my M8 and it moves, copies, and deletes files just fine.

Ice

You can move stuff from you Phone memory into your SD card?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Relgoshan]

Was it my reading comprehension or a mistake on my part? Was my entire post truly invalid because of my lack of reading comprehension? I thought I made some good points, but if the smartest guy in the room can judge my reading comprehension from a post, then so be it!

Posted via Android Central App

But, you're absolutely right,I did misread the op's post...Good Call! And, of course he's right, the camera will not perform well with the sun behind the subject..But, that's not just an M8 thing, that's most cameras. You can take pics of sunsets with the M8, but it will always be hard to expose a foreground subject with a strong backlight! It doesn't have to just be the sun per se. It could just be light coming through a window. Most cell phone cameras will struggle under those circumstances.

Posted via Android Central App

Thank you for going back and re-reading. Some of your points did seem valid, just the premise was off. It doesn't help us that the usual phone camera 'test' is a dingy street, some streetside flowers and a couple wine bottles in the corner of someone's flat.

Notebookcheck and a couple others tend to dig more scientifically into screen and camera performance, when they can be bothered to review a phone at all. I also noticed that some phone and compact cameras actually do some decent ISO clamping to reduce glare, while others work some non-ISO voodoo to make the picture look even worse in ISO mode. My Flex and I think the M8 too have a more accurate ISO 800 in low light than my Sony camera, which always seems to over brighten.

To each his own and to the OP I hope you find a phone that suits your needs. I will comment on one thing you said, I have ES File Explorer on my M8 and it moves, copies, and deletes files just fine.

Ice

Some people say ES works and others say it does not...is this a carrier thing or are you rooted? I am getting very confused about the state of file management.

 

[dpham00]

Thank you for going back and re-reading. Some of your points did seem valid, just the premise was off. It doesn't help us that the usual phone camera 'test' is a dingy street, some streetside flowers and a couple wine bottles in the corner of someone's flat.

Notebookcheck and a couple others tend to dig more scientifically into screen and camera performance, when they can be bothered to review a phone at all. I also noticed that some phone and compact cameras actually do some decent ISO clamping to reduce glare, while others work some non-ISO voodoo to make the picture look even worse in ISO mode. My Flex and I think the M8 too have a more accurate ISO 800 in low light than my Sony camera, which always seems to over brighten.



Some people say ES works and others say it does not...is this a carrier thing or are you rooted? I am getting very confused about the state of file management.

I have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on KitKat, and es file Explorer allows me to copy from internal to sd card. I suspect m8 would allow it too

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[Relgoshan]

I have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on KitKat, and es file Explorer allows me to copy from internal to sd card. I suspect m8 would allow it too

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

That would surely be a relief if 4.4-compatible patches are landing. That update drove some of my customers up a wall....

 

[steve dave]

I have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on KitKat, and es file Explorer allows me to copy from internal to sd card. I suspect m8 would allow it too

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

It doesn't.

 

[darkman265]

I have had the M8 for a week now love the phone but the exchange email issue is something I should not have to deal with especially when trying out Nine and it works no issues whatsoever. I will be returning the phone this week.

 

[Ikeman90]

Lol I'm sorry,but please try to find good sounding/loud front facing speakers on another cell phone..oh wait that's right,you won't find another phone that sounds this good or loud,the HTC one m8 has by far the most loud and beautiful sounding speakers on the smart phone market,hands down,its not even a contest,good luck trying to find another phone that sounds better,you won't.

Posted via Android Central App

personally i never saw the appeal in front facing speakers on a phone. if your using the speakerphone there is a good chance your doing something where you cant touch the phone or are looking right at the screen while you talk so whether your sound is at the back or bottom, you'll barely notice. if your watching something your probably using headphones or its a foot infront of you so the back or bottom position, once again, wont kill ya. if your sharing a screen with someone and watching something on a 5in screen its uncomfortable in any position sooooo back or bottom wont kill ya. its certainly not loud enuf to throw a party with. you wouldn't use it in place of your car's sound system (unless you have a beat up old 87 hooptie to which i raise the question, why do you have a phone worth more than your car?). i honestly cant think of a situation where i would need a phone with a super loud speaker(s) of the front.. now a tablet, many reasons come to mind. tell htc to put that same tech in a tablet with hardcore specs and its will sell well. *note* i'v never actually heard the m8 so im not comenting on volume or quality just position

 

[freddyttt]

personally i never saw the appeal in front facing speakers on a phone. if your using the speakerphone there is a good chance your doing something where you cant touch the phone or are looking right at the screen while you talk so whether your sound is at the back or bottom, you'll barely notice. if your watching something your probably using headphones or its a foot infront of you so the back or bottom position, once again, wont kill ya. if your sharing a screen with someone and watching something on a 5in screen its uncomfortable in any position sooooo back or bottom wont kill ya. its certainly not loud enuf to throw a party with. you wouldn't use it in place of your car's sound system (unless you have a beat up old 87 hooptie to which i raise the question, why do you have a phone worth more than your car?). i honestly cant think of a situation where i would need a phone with a super loud speaker(s) of the front.. now a tablet, many reasons come to mind. tell htc to put that same tech in a tablet with hardcore specs and its will sell well. *note* i'v never actually heard the m8 so im not comenting on volume or quality just position

with all due respect your way WAY off the mark. navigation, haveing a conversation while driving, having a conversation and you want someone else to hear. sometimes if i'm busy cooking or whatever the speaker phone comes in handy. games. youtube vids. iv'e used my friends note 3 and the s5 and the speaker use is pathetic. i'm a tile layer and use my speakers everyday while working. while some people have no use for front loud speakers a lot do.

 

[Almeuit]

with all due respect your way WAY off the mark. navigation, haveing a conversation while driving, having a conversation and you want someone else to hear. sometimes if i'm busy cooking or whatever the speaker phone comes in handy. games. youtube vids. iv'e used my friends note 3 and the s5 and the speaker use is pathetic. i'm a tile layer and use my speakers everyday while working. while some people have no use for front loud speakers a lot do.

I loved the speakers on my M7. They were better for videos and games but honestly I disagree on the call thing. I use my Note 3 speaker just fine.. Maybe it's just my house /shrug.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[Skyway]

personally i never saw the appeal in front facing speakers on a phone. if your using the speakerphone there is a good chance your doing something where you cant touch the phone or are looking right at the screen while you talk so whether your sound is at the back or bottom, you'll barely notice. if your watching something your probably using headphones or its a foot infront of you so the back or bottom position, once again, wont kill ya. if your sharing a screen with someone and watching something on a 5in screen its uncomfortable in any position sooooo back or bottom wont kill ya. its certainly not loud enuf to throw a party with. you wouldn't use it in place of your car's sound system (unless you have a beat up old 87 hooptie to which i raise the question, why do you have a phone worth more than your car?). i honestly cant think of a situation where i would need a phone with a super loud speaker(s) of the front.. now a tablet, many reasons come to mind. tell htc to put that same tech in a tablet with hardcore specs and its will sell well. *note* i'v never actually heard the m8 so im not comenting on volume or quality just position

You really need to hear them to actually make a judgement call. In theory they may not sound beneficial, but when you actually use them, it makes a world of difference. Compared to any other phone (except z2 because it has front facing speakers as well), it isn't even close.

Posted via Android Central App