Even before the HTC One M8 came out there were plenty of leaks circling the internet, but at least it’s nice to know that the picture of the device we saw leaked was accurate. When the device was launched it was a premium handset and it came with a brand new design, a superb display and plenty of power.
But how does the HTC One M8 bear up to some of the other handsets on the market at the moment? The Nexus 5 for instance is a real competitor thanks to a top of the range processor and plenty of features that are high grade.
When Google launched the Nexus 4 they designed it with a back that sparkled and the Nexus 5 received a makeover and it is now easier to hold in the hand and more durable. The plastic is soft touch and extends the surround to cover the whole of the handset. The device is large and it needs to be due to the display. However it is slinky and streamlines, lighter and it has a unibody that is contoured.
When it comes to aesthetics however, there is no one to beat HTC and the HTC One M8. They went back to the drawing board with the handset and while it does have a shape that is similar to the HTC One, it has been tweaked and is now more refined.
The HTC One M8 offers a unibody that has been enhanced and this now comes around the sides all in one piece. The phone does give you the feeling of it being in the same league as cars such as the Aston Martin DB5 and the Shelby Cobra.
The design of it is aluminium and so it does feel a solid handset. It also has a texture that is brushed and a gloss coat, which makes it feel smooth to the touch. You can pick up the device in Amber Gold, Metal Grey and Arctic Silver. The end cap design of the HTC is distinctive thanks to the stereo speaker grilles and these help to make the handset look classy.
While this is one of the best looking devices on the market, there is a downside and this is that the aluminium is soft and can scratch easily.
The HTC One M8 display is 5 inches, its predecessor was 4.7 inches. The Super LCD 3 display does have improvements, it is sharp and the viewing angles are good, along with it having excellent brightness. Contrast is also good and the display can be viewed outside easier than with its predecessor. It offers images at 1080p with 445ppi.
The Nexus 5 display is True HD IPS over 4.95 inches and this is the same display as on the LG G2. The images are clear at 1080p and resolution of 445ppi. Brightness and colour is also punchy.
With the Nexus 5 the storage choices are 16GB and 32GB, but there isn’t support for SD card. The connectivity choices are 4G LTE/3G, dual-band Wi-Fi (with Direct and Hotspot), DLNA, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, microUSB and wireless charging capabilities.
In the UK the HTC One M8 will be offered in 16GB and the 32GB version is said to be coming out later in other markets.
The 16GB may be expanded up to 128GB and there is support for infrared blaster along with MHL TV-Out. The device has BoomSound stereo speakers located on the front of the device with a built in amplifier. The sound, as you might expect, is better than on the competitors.
The HTC One M8 offers a 2600mAh battery, while the Google Nexus 5 offers the 2300mAh.
The HTC One M8 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core processor at 2.3GHz with 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU.
Meanwhile HTC chose the Snapdragon 801 processor which runs at 2.3GHz and this comes with 2GB of RAM.
On the Nexus 5 the camera is 8MP and it offers optical image stabilisation and LED flash. This means that it can capture video at 1080p, it also has PhotoSphere. This takes images in 360 degrees and they are linked to Google Maps.
The HTC One M8 is the cornerstone for the company and they have revamped their imaging suite of software. The camera features f/2.0 aperture and 1/3 inch, 4MP BSI sensor with Ultrapixels. This camera can capture video at 1080p and it offers dual LED two tone flash. One is white and the other is amber, this makes it better to capture photos in low light. HTC got rid of the optical image stabilisation.
The device has a second lens and this is located above the main port over on the back panel and it can take a sweep of partial data, along the lines of the Lytro camera. This information is then stored in an image file. It does come with some clever tricks and one of these is the fact that you can select and then re-select the focal point. It also offers a 3D hologram parallax effect, where you can tilt and shift the image.
The devices come with KitKat 4.4, however only the Nexus 5 offers the stock version. The HTC One M8 also makes use of the Sense 6 UI.
Google have changed stock Android visually and there are now transparent elements, such as on the status bar. The app icons have been made smaller along with the font being slimmer.
Google Now comes with always on voice activation, with the owner saying Ok Google and then giving it a command.
HTC Sense is superb and this means that the overlay isn’t an issue. It is fast and customisable; there are colour themes and app icons that are unique.
Sense 6.0 offers the Blinkfeed home screen, but you can get rid of this if you don’t want it. It does give you your news, social networking and photos at one glance.
KitKat has some elements of transparency, but it’s the small things that HTC do that do make a world of difference.
The HTC One M8 doesn’t have anything to offer that the other handsets don’t, but it does happen to do things a lot cooler and so the handset is a joy to use.
