HTC One (M8) Android smartphone review

Name: HTC One (M8) Android smartphone review
Item: HTC One (M8) Android smartphone review
Rating: 4.75
Author: Tony Ibrahim

Is this the year HTC topples the mighty Samsung?

Tony Ibrahim

PC World

@slicktonyi

01/04/14

Expert Rating

4.75 / 5

Pros

Excellent design
Great speakers
TV remote and EPG

Cons

Low resolution camera

Bottom Line

HTC has managed to put together one of the best smartphones. Forget the DuoCamera gimmick, because the One M8 boils down to the basics — the screen, the speakers, the processor, the software — and HTC has laboured extensively to get them absolutely right.

Would you buy this?

Price
$ 899.00 (AUD)

Dot View

One of the coolest characteristics of the HTC One is the new Dot View case, which presents stunning LED-style notifications over the entire 5in screen. The One (M8) screen generates the LED-style notifications and they shine through the case’s dot-matrix design. It is hands down the best case from a manufacturer to date.

Hands down the best case from a manufacturer to date

Notifications include incoming calls, missed calls, texts, volume up/down and low battery. Viewing notifications is a matter of double tapping the screen, while swiping up or down can accept or dismiss a call respectively.

The dot-view case is a wonderful addition, but it’s not meant for everybody. Dust can fall into the small circles and leave an annoying pattern on the screen, while typing with two hands is less than comfortable with the case opened.

Not much thickness is added to the One (M8) when equipped with the case

Final thought

Competition is heated in the smartphone market. Leviathans like Samsung, Sony, LG and Apple have deeper pockets than HTC, and more resources too. Worse yet, Samsung and Sony are readying the launch of highly anticipated flagships. The odds are indeed against HTC.

And yet the company has managed to put together one of the best smartphones. Forget the DuoCamera gimmick, because the One M8 boils down to the basics — the screen, the speakers, the processor, the software — and HTC has laboured extensively to get them absolutely right.

Then there’s the look of the phone, with its full metal jacket and its dark, ominous lining. After a year of heavy usage, long after the novelty of its DuoCameras tire, you’ll glance at the HTC One and still have reason enough to smile. Samsung and Sony phones might look good alongside it now, but in the long run only the HTC One will age with grace.