Hello, folks!

Yeah, I know. I never make blogs. What a surprise, huh?

Anyway, today we will be taking an in-depth look at the newest flagship smartphone from HTC, the HTC One, just announced earlier this week. Just kidding, there's already an HTC One. But there's a new one, now. Yeah. This one is called the HTC One M8, (M standing for model), specifically. Cool, huh m8?

BACKGROUND

The HTC One (M7), it's predecessor, was released in early 2013, more than a year ago. It just happened to become one of the best Android smartphones out there. It introduced a stunning 4.7-inch 1080p LCD display, a fast Snapdragon 600 processor, and incredible graphics capability. It also introduced revolutionary features such as the front-facing BoomSound speakers that just sound fantastic, an all-aluminum curved unibody design, and an UltraPixel camera that proves the unimportancy of megapixels on a camera to take great photos.

The HTC One has become one of the best-selling Android smartphones in the market as well, creating a strong competitive Android smartphone market amongst the premium-phone manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG, and Apple.

DESIGN



The improved design of the new HTC One M8 is nothing but extraordinary. The new hair-like gunmetal design brought forth in this phone is down-right sexy and feels of a very high quality. The cold-to-the-touch sensation is pleasureable. The lighter weight and the thinner design is a welcoming plus. It has a sheer-like finish to make it look more snazzy, as well.

However, the M8 takes a lot of design qualities from the HTC One, such as the curved design and the premium aluminum finish. This isn't a bad thing, since these qualities were highly praised and didn't need to be changed. If it isn't broken, don't fix it, right?

The curved design feels so good in your hand. It is uniquely made for your hand. Placing your hand on it feels natural and non-intrusive. It doesn't hurt when holding it for extended periods of time, something that would happen on other smartphones, such as the brick-like iPhone 5s.

The phone itself isn't too big either, so it isn't a pain to touch the screen corners when holding it with one hand. This was carefully measured by HTC, but required a cut-back which I will discuss further in this review. It is a bit larger than the One, though, due to some of the new features implemented, again, not a bad thing.

Now time for the fun stuff.

NEW FEATURES



Any successor to a smartphone contains new features, right? But does it blow the predecessor out of the water? That is the real question. This is highly debatable with this smartphone, because the new features don't necessarily blow the HTC One out of the water, but they are still very much welcome.

First, it sports an absolutely stunning 5.0-inch 1080p SUPER LCD display, at 441 PPI, which is slightly lower than the One but that's because of the bigger display. The resolution isn't improved as 1080p is currently the standard for premium smartphones, so there isn't rush in going higher than full HD. This may change soon, however.

The bigger screen and the necessity for a comfortable design required the cutback of the capacitive navigation keys, which I want to say that I'm not a fan of. On-screen buttons are not very reliable due to the fact that if you drop and shatter your phone, there's literally no way that you can navigate it anymore, and that would be a bummer.

Second, is dual-LED flash, which was pioneered with the iPhone 5s by Apple into consumer smartphones. Nothing impressive here, but more light to allow more accurate photos in low-light.

Third, is the new microSD Card expansion slot. Nothing special, but a welcoming addition. You will be able to expand your storage at a cheaper price and in a convenient way.

Fourth, is an improved battery. There weren't many complaints with the battery life for the HTC One in general, so it wasn't a primary focus. It is still much better. And with the new Extreme Power Saving Mode, you can get up to 10 additional HOURS of battery life from 10% of battery. Impressive, huh?

Fifth, is the new cameras. The front camera has been vastly improved. This must be a great feature to all those selfie enthusiaists. The rear camera has retained the UltraPixel feature from the One as well as the megapixel count.

What, why? Why wouldn't you add more pixels?

Cameras aren't about megapixels. They're about capturing the moment with that beautiful shot. This is the thinking behind this new camera. The aperture of the lens has been widened to allow more light in, and take better shots in low light. Along with software enhancements such as the UltraPixel technology and other minor hardware improvements, you can bet that you will get stunning shots. If you don't like them, then download more pixels.

And finally...

What is this?



This might be the most bizarre new feature of them all. This is the second camera on the rear. No, this doesn't mean 3D photos. This additional sensor, along with the primary camera, and software, allows you to do some pretty awesome stuff.

Aside from taking better pictures, you can, for example, focus a photo AFTER you've taken it. How cool is that? You can also take two shots at once, take faster HDR, enable Burst Mode, and even take Super HD Slo-mos. Pretty neat technology, huh? There is an endless number of cool things that you can do with this new camera system, all thanks to the second rear sensor.

Let's talk numbers now.

SPECS



The new improved specs are pretty good, but not the best. They are certainly welcome.

*Android 4.4 KitKat
*Snapdragon 801 quad-core CPU @2.25 GHz
*Adreno 330 GPU
*HTC Sense 6.0
*2GB LPDDR3 RAM
*BlinkFeed 2.0
*FitBit
*802.11ac Wi-Fi
*More bands for 4G LTE
*16 or 32 GB storage, expandable to 160 GB
*Improved BoomSound Speakers
*4.0 MP back-facing camera, 5.0 MP front-facing camera
*Auto-image stabilization
*Bluetooth 4.0

Tell me in the comments if I have missed something!

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Depends on the smartphone you currently have now and the platform you're on. If you have a new flagship smartphone that you are currently satisfied with (such as the Nexus 5, iPhone 5/5c/5s, LG G2, Moto X, etc.) you should probably wait for the new improved phones later this year.

If you own an old smartphone or a feature phone, (such as the Motorola Razr or an iPhone 4), then you should probably consider getting this phone. It is great. You won't be disappointed.

If you've never owned a smartphone, this is an excellent place to start.

If you're on another platform, such as iOS or Windows Phone, I suggest you consider switching to Android if you can. The change is dramatic. You will be able to do so much more. But it's more personal preference if anything. If you like something that's easier to use, then stay on iOS or Windows Phone.

Don't even get me started on BlackBerry. Leave that at once.

ubetrgetitm8 unless u hav no sweg.

The M8 is currently available in Gold, White, and Slate. Which one is your favorite?



PRICING

Depends on provider and capacity. Pricing ranges from $600 - 700 unlocked or $200 up front on contract for two years with monthly payments. Yes, this phone doesn't come cheap.

CONCLUSION



The HTC One M8 is a fantastic and noteworthy smartphone. It introduces fresh new features, while improving the features that worked on the HTC One. It is beautifully designed and built with passion and care. This is definetly going to set the standard in some ways on flagship smartphones later to come. This phone is definetly worth getting.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate suggestions, improvements for this blog, and comments in general. I look forward to writing more technology-based blogs for you all in the future. Hope you enjoyed!

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