By Jayanta Ghosh
HTC One M8 is one of the star handsets of 2014 which is a better-designed device that has the expanded features of HTC M7, with some new more features added. Its aluminum build is additional attraction to its overall aesthetic look and feel.
Features:
The HTC M8 comes with Qualcomm’s best Snapdragon processor, the 801, one step ahead of last year’s flagship Snapdragon 800. The M8 in India has a higher clock speed: 2.5GHz as opposed to 2.3GHz in other markets. The device is powered with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card. The battery is rated at 2600 mAh, which is adequately beefy. Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard and there is also an infrared emitter and receiver, FM radio and the usual array of sensors. The 5-inch 1080×1920-pixel screen is noticeably larger than the M7’s 4.7-inch screen. The M8 runs Android 4.4.2, with HTC’s Sense 6 interface on top. This version of Sense is definitely more minimalist than previous versions.
Performance:
At our first look we really liked the new design: it looks fresh and inviting. Another thing which we liked about this device is its Duo Camera’s new abilities which are fun and useful. HTC M8 really improves in its performance and battery significantly. The new version of HTC Sense is better than M7’s. HTC has slimmed down the screen bezel to minimize the increase in width. One technical issue with making any ‘all-metal’ mobile device is that wireless antennas struggle to transmit through it.
That is why the backplate is ‘only’ 90 per cent metal. There are two little plastic strips that sit across the top and bottom, and this is where the antennas live. These strips have become part of the series’ design language. Clever design like this makes functional choices look like pure style ones. The M8 retains its predecessor’s resolution and display tech, but steps up to a slightly larger 5-inch screen. Compared to the last model, the panel looks sharp, bright and vibrant; viewing angles are wide and the display is easy to see in direct sunlight as long as you push the brightness up to 75 percent or higher. The screen itself is protected by a slab of Gorilla Glass 3, which is, of course, designed to be scratch-resistant. Most of Sense has been tweaked in one way or another, but all of the basic mechanics are the same as the last version. First off, HTC is sticking to its UltraPixel philosophy. HTC, king of the UltraPixel, done few updates in the new M8 but still have a space of improvement if it wants to be best in the competition. The new HTC’s Duo Camera, however, eliminates the need for these separate modes because it takes just one image and uses the image’s depth information to determine which part of the photo to keep in focus.
Pros: Design, expandable memory, Dual camera
Cons: Camera images not that sharp, no water resistance.
Price: Rs 49,900.
Specs:
• Android OS
• 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad Core Processor
• Full HD Recording
• 5-inch Touchscreen
• HTC UltraPixel Primary Camera
• Wi-Fi Enabled
• 5 MP Secondary Camera
• Expandable Storage Capacity of 128 GB
