Love The New HTC One M8 : Review

I received a HTC One M8 unit from HTC to review as part of a testing program.  It was great to have a chance to test out this 2014 HTC’s flagship model  with the much anticipated HTC Sense 6 and Android Kit Kat 4.4.  The design of the phone itself is gorgeous - 90% metal unibody (weighing in at 160 grams)  and soft curves along the edges (as compared to the 2013 HTC One model), it looks and feels solid in the hands like a premium smartphone should, especially the clarity of the stunning 5-inch, full 1080p HD display.  

The gorgeous HTC One M8 metal unibody with the Duo Camera lens feature

Here are some of the features that I truly love about the new HTC One M8 :-

·       DUO CAMERA with Ultrapixel and a dual colour flash.  I really love taking photos with the HTC One M8.  With the Duo Camera adding a depth sensor, I can make my images more professional looking with effects like Ufocus which allows me to choose the focus area of my image after I take my shots.   There’s also the Foregrounder that allows me to choose from four variants; Sketch, Zoom Blur, Cartoon and Colorize.  These are the two most frequent effects I use amongst the many others like Seasons, 3D Dimension Plus, Sticker, Copy & Paste and Touch Up. The 5 MP wide angle front facing camera is a great feature too as its clarity is the best I’ve seen so far for taking “selfie” or “wefie”  photos.  The Ultrapixel also works best in low light conditions.  It gets the job done and done well.  Of course, we are not talking about enlarging images to poster size.

 Here's a pic I took and one which I used the Foregrounder "Sketch" to edit the pic.  Cute!

Here's a shot I took in a rather dim place but with lights surrounding this cafe counter. The words on the blackboard are still relatively clear; this is the Ultrapixel at work.

·       MOTION LAUNCH - Along with the HTC Sense 6, the HTC One M8 has this new feature which I love.  A double tap on the screen is all you need to do to see the time.  It turns the lock screen off and on! I love that I can prolong the life of the power button! A swipe downwards while phone is in sleep mode) activates the device that prompts you to say the name of the person you would like to call.  There’s also Auto Answer which allows me to answer a call when I put the phone to my ear, done without touching the screen.  Another great feature for those who have their hands dirty from eating some tasty buffalo wings or wet from washing dishes! Hahaha...

·       HTC BoomSound – There is an improvement over the previous HTC One.  The HTC One M8 is louder and delivers a richer tone through the dual frontal speakers as it has a new amplifier and speaker chambers.

I customised my BlinkFeed to get me straight to my favourite news and articles on Food! Hahaha....

Of course the micro SD card slot is a welcome feature here (up to 128GB!).  I personally use a 64GB and find that there is more than enough space for an avid photographer like me.  The battery performance has also been quite phenomenal, lasting me up to two days.  I use the phone for taking lots of photographs, editing work, internet, music and light calls and texting.  I guess it’s dependent on what sort of user one is.  I would dare say that it would last more than two days for a light user for sure.  Coupled with the availability of an Extreme Power Saving mode for those who are on the move and can’t quite get to charging the phone,  the HTC One M8 performs exceptionally well and much longer! Of course, the BlinkFeed is still here, consolidating all my favourite news from different customize sources. 

With the latest HTC One M8  (the above is gunmetal gray, my fave colour),  it’s the only ONE thing I need and rely on to connect with everyone and everything else!