HTC One (M8) Thread

Gunther_Gloop · 29-03-2014 12:28am

Basil3 wrote: »

make sure you select to show pay as you go plans also. I think they say the final price is £474 because they would sell you a sim with credit, but my guy just sold me a sim for £1, so it was £460.

Just remembered -this wouldn't be unlocked then... Technically I am with Three (Ireland), but I pay €24pm to Blueface for a Three piggyback. Any idea how straightforward it would be to switch?

29-03-2014 12:33am

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

Just remembered -this wouldn't be unlocked then... Technically I am with Three (Ireland), but I pay €24pm to Blueface for a Three piggyback. Any idea how straightforward it would be to switch?

I'm with Vodafone Ireland. I drove back in to Dublin, went straight to a Vodafone store, switched my micro SIM for nano. Done. Just had to manually enter my apn.

The guy in 3 told me all their phones are SIM unlocked, and even if they weren't you could go online and do it through their website.

Gunther_Gloop · 29-03-2014 12:46am

One final -stoopid- question (pardon my ignorance)... How does one "buy" something in Newry? I assume you need sterling? Do they take euros/ Irish debit cards (BOI) in Three stores?

29-03-2014 12:48am

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

One final -stoopid- question (pardon my ignorance)... How does one "buy" something in Newry? I assume you need sterling? Do they take euros/ Irish debit cards (BOI) in Three stores?

I just paid with my AIB visa debit card.

quarryman · 29-03-2014 1:43am

Basil3 wrote: »

It's not all about numbers. It performs well on battery, think i could get 7+ screen on time if I wanted. Today I was 2 hours screen on after 5 hours with 75% left.

Different things are important to different people. For me, Sense UI is a big pull, and development also. The M8 is going to have a thriving development community, looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

I'm interested to hear of your battery experiences on this phone. Thinking of upgrading from my iphone 5, sick of the crap battery life.

Can you get a full day out of the M8 with light use?

IS the super "battery saver" mode any good?

quarryman · 29-03-2014 1:44am

Also. I'll be travelling to the States soon. If i pick up an unlocked version there i should be ok to use it here at home yeah?

EDIT: What's this about developer and unlocked versions?

http://www.droid-life.com/2014/03/26/htc-one-m8-developer-and-unlocked-editions-available-for-649-ship-in-1-2-weeks/

Seems the states is much better value too, €471 (+tax) for the 32GB

29-03-2014 7:39am

quarryman wrote: »

I'm interested to hear of your battery experiences on this phone. Thinking of upgrading from my iphone 5, sick of the crap battery life.

Can you get a full day out of the M8 with light use?

IS the super "battery saver" mode any good?

With light use you will get easily 2 days. I have seen screenshots of people getting 7.5+ hours screen on time, so I suspect if you're using it for a couple of hours a day, it will last you two.

I haven't really used extreme power saver, but have seen someone post a screenshot of their battery still reading 99% after 10 hours in extreme power saving mode.

beno619 · 29-03-2014 11:56am

Battery Life is really looking fantastic.

http://tapatalk.com/tapatalk_image.php?img=aHR0cDovL2ltZy50YXBhdGFsay5jb20vZC8xNC8wMy8yOS9vcmlnaW5hbC9nZTV1bnVwZS5qcGc%3D

Uriel. · 29-03-2014 12:09pm

Nolimits wrote: »

In what way exactly?

I think it's more or less agreed that for the moment phone technology has plateaued.

Is the screen going to be much better?

Would an extra gig of RAM make it even faster? (HTC like every other high end phone is already very fast)

Would a slightly faster processor make that big a difference?

The only things I can see that it will or might do better is a better camera and battery. I think anyone buying the M8 knows there are better cameras and have already decided that they consider other things more important. As far as the battery goes, just speaking for myself, all I want is a phone that I can use as often as I like and it will last me the day any more than that is a bonus. By all accounts the M8 does this, helped significantly by the processor.

I'm probably going to buy the M8 and what is attracting me is the hardware, the unibody design and those two huge speakers. Unless the Lg is going to rival that I'm not sure if I give a **** if it has a 4000mah battery and 4gb RAM.

OK. That's fine for you. But I was responding to a poster who said they were going to wait two months to buy the M8.

IMO it would make sense to re-evaluate the options at that time, particularly where it falls into the expected release time frame for the next leading smartphone launch.

For more or less the same money, it is worth considering buying another phone that has better battery, better camera, better processor, better ram, better screen. Does that make the m8 crap? Of course not. But does it make the consideration worth it if you're not brand loyal, of course it does.

Nolimits · 29-03-2014 12:47pm

Uriel. wrote: »

OK. That's fine for you. But I was responding to a poster who said they were going to wait two months to buy the M8.

IMO it would make sense to re-evaluate the options at that time, particularly where it falls into the expected release time frame for the next leading smartphone launch.

For more or less the same money, it is worth considering buying another phone that has better battery, better camera, better processor, better ram, better screen. Does that make the m8 crap? Of course not. But does it make the consideration worth it if you're not brand loyal, of course it does.

I don't think you were suggesting it, but I'm in no way loyal to HTC (or any other brand for that matter). I just think until there is a breakthrough in battery life there will be no flagship that blows any other out of the water.

Edit : for the record, the point in your post that I was responding to wasn't that someone in two months time should not evaluate all of the phones available, it was that if even half the rumours about the L3 are correct, it'll blow everything else away.

beno619 · 29-03-2014 1:33pm

Nolimits wrote: »

Edit : for the record, the point in your post that I was responding to wasn't that someone in two months time should not evaluate all of the phones available, it was that if even half the rumours about the L3 are correct, it'll blow everything else away.

Again LG's software and design leave a lot to be desired copying Samsung will only get them so far.

Uriel. · 29-03-2014 2:13pm

Nolimits wrote: »

I don't think you were suggesting it, but I'm in no way loyal to HTC (or any other brand for that matter). I just think until there is a breakthrough in battery life there will be no flagship that blows any other out of the water.

Edit : for the record, the point in your post that I was responding to wasn't that someone in two months time should not evaluate all of the phones available, it was that if even half the rumours about the L3 are correct, it'll blow everything else away.

Well I didn't say blow out of the water but "kill everything " pedantic perhaps but there is a subtle difference.

Aside from the look and feel of a phone (which is down to Personal preference), two phones side by side with relatively equal price etc, If one had better hardware all round (at moment, based entirely on rumours g3 will beat current smartphones on every hardware aspect) it effectively kills the other phone. When it comes to the purchase, of course it won't be always pure spec that informs an individual's choice exclusively.

I wouldn't generally be too worried about software myself as flashing roms or even simply using a different launcher can overcome any problems with a particularly interface if one was so inclined.

BeeBumble · 29-03-2014 2:58pm

I just picked up the M8 in Newry this morning. It looks and feels fantastic! Thanks Basil3 for the info!

Gunther_Gloop · 29-03-2014 3:15pm

I called to a Three shop here in Cork (yes I was seriously considering a drive north). They heard nothing of it. "Probably an April or May release" they said. I guess I'll see what happens this week.

BeeBumble · 29-03-2014 3:18pm

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

I called to a Three shop here in Cork (yes I was seriously considering a drive north). They heard nothing of it. "Probably an April or May release" they said. I guess I'll see what happens this week.

I called in to my local 3 store on the way home to pick up a new sim card and she said they will have the M8 in stock on 4 April but she didn't know if it would be selling sim free. She also said that a lot of the time the first batch of new phones are actually sold sim free but they aren't allowed to broadcast that fact!

29-03-2014 3:31pm

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

I called to a Three shop here in Cork (yes I was seriously considering a drive north). They heard nothing of it. "Probably an April or May release" they said. I guess I'll see what happens this week.

In any case, the official release date here is Thursday.

https://twitter.com/HTCIreland/statuses/448511939111841792

The only thing is that price hasn't been confirmed by anyone. I've heard some saying it may be pushing €700, but i think €600 would be closer to the mark.

Uriel. · 29-03-2014 4:08pm

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/is-the-htc-one-m8-that-good-benchmark-cheating-alleged-again/

CNET published a very interesting short article in the last 24hours in respect of benchmark tests and "cheating" but htc seem to have answered the criticism quite well.. Maybe.

Still article shows what you're up against when trying to choose between many fine contenders

killbillvol2 · 29-03-2014 4:24pm

Basil3 wrote: »

In any case, the official release date here is Thursday.

https://twitter.com/HTCIreland/statuses/448511939111841792

The only thing is that price hasn't been confirmed by anyone. I've heard some saying it may be pushing €700, but i think €600 would be closer to the mark.

Bang on. €599.99 on O2.

29-03-2014 4:51pm

I was gonna try to go a whole day for battery stats, but unfortunately I gotta flash new recovery and rom.....in any case, here's another battery screen before i lose my stats.

I'm happy with this. 3:30 screen on, around an hour talking on the phone via bluetooth in my car earlier on, and also a bit of satnav with google maps.

This is only the second phone that I think I can realistically survive without a topup charge each day (previously only the Note 2 was capable of this for me)

edit: apologies about the screenshot size.

quarryman · 30-03-2014 1:27pm

Basil3 wrote: »

I was gonna try to go a whole day for battery stats, but unfortunately I gotta flash new recovery and rom.....in any case, here's another battery screen before i lose my stats.

I'm happy with this. 3:30 screen on, around an hour talking on the phone via bluetooth in my car earlier on, and also a bit of satnav with google maps.

This is only the second phone that I think I can realistically survive without a topup charge each day (previously only the Note 2 was capable of this for me)

edit: apologies about the screenshot size.

43% left after 9 hours seems ok. But doesn't seem THAT amazing. Although not bad with a 2600 mah battery. Let's see what the S5 will manage with the bigger battery...

30-03-2014 1:37pm

quarryman wrote: »

43% left after 9 hours seems ok. But doesn't seem THAT amazing. Although not bad with a 2600 mah battery. Let's see what the S5 will manage with the bigger battery...

It's actually 47%, which although not far off, it's a lot closer to saying half is left!

Bear in mind, the One (M7) would have been down around 30% at this stage I would say. To me it's significant.

I don't think battery life should come in to a decision between the M8 and S5. Even if S5 ends up being a little better, it won't last two days with heavy use, so would still require nightly charge. For me the most important thing is always lasting a day.

Mantis Toboggan · 30-03-2014 2:00pm

Will be interesting to see how the phones battery holds up over time. I've found that with a new phone the first 2 months can seem very impressive but it can quickly go downhill from there.

30-03-2014 2:01pm

Buddy Holly wrote: »

Will be interesting to see how the phones battery holds up over time. I've found that with a new phone the first 2 months can seem very impressive but it can quickly go downhill from there.

This is to do with you installing apps that cause drain and wakelocks. Nothing to do with actual battery degradation.

Mantis Toboggan · 30-03-2014 2:04pm

Basil3 wrote: »

This is to do with you installing apps that cause drain and wakelocks. Nothing to do with actual battery degradation.

So actual usage?

Bluefoam · 30-03-2014 2:05pm

Caliden wrote: »

I don't understand why they left in the huge HTC bevel at the bottom despite putting the buttons onscreen. There's a double black band going across the bottom of the screen as opposed to it's predecessor. That's my only gripe with it really.

Would love to get it in the blue color that was leaked a few weeks ago, anyone had any luck in finding if that color is actually being released as an option?

I read somewhere that its to do with fitting in the boomsound speakers...

Uriel. · 30-03-2014 5:00pm

Buddy Holly wrote: »

Will be interesting to see how the phones battery holds up over time. I've found that with a new phone the first 2 months can seem very impressive but it can quickly go downhill from there.

You should see an improvement in battery life about two weeks after first usage. It takes a number of charge cycles in order for the battery to be "bled in".

More worrying though, from the M8 point of view, is the inability to change battery. With my GNex I bought a bigger battery pack and it is great (essential actually) despite if being so ugly. But even without going for a bigger battery pack, the ability to hot swap a spare battery is hugely important I think.

Though I'll likely go with the M8 or z2, neither of which has swappable batteries. Hopefully they'll be good enough (in terms of software tweaks and processor improvements) to get a day out of a charge cycle.

30-03-2014 5:10pm

Uriel. wrote: »

You should see an improvement in battery life about two weeks after first usage. It takes a number of charge cycles in order for the battery to be "bled in".

More worrying though, from the M8 point of view, is the inability to change battery. With my GNex I bought a bigger battery pack and it is great (essential actually) despite if being so ugly. But even without going for a bigger battery pack, the ability to hot swap a spare battery is hugely important I think.

Though I'll likely go with the M8 or z2, neither of which has swappable batteries. Hopefully they'll be good enough (in terms of software tweaks and processor improvements) to get a day out of a charge cycle.

Didn't the GNex have shocking battery life though? Times have moved on quite a bit since that device came out.

Most people go into a complete meltdown over things like non-removable battery and non-removable SD card, but the reality is that neither is very important and it's very easy to live without both. It's actually interesting that HTC brought back removable SD for M8. I'd actually prefer 32GB on board and no removable SD rather than 16GB on the device.

Uriel. · 30-03-2014 5:26pm

Basil3 wrote: »

Didn't the GNex have shocking battery life though? Times have moved on quite a bit since that device came out.

Most people go into a complete meltdown over things like non-removable battery and non-removable SD card, but the reality is that neither is very important and it's very easy to live without both. It's actually interesting that HTC brought back removable SD for M8. I'd actually prefer 32GB on board and no removable SD rather than 16GB on the device.

Ah shocking enough, but to be fair even my work phone (iphone 5) is not great with the battery life either and that's not so old (nor does it have a big screen draining it).

Removable battery is a good option.
As a Nexus user I am used to living without an SD Card and use google's cloud for everything (music, videos etc.) but 16GB is a huge limitation and I have definitely found in recent months the problems that not having an SD slot brings. Now of course, perhaps 32GB would be the sweet spot. Most likely HTC reintroduced it in order to keep costs lower (plus the rather large space that the software appears to take).

Oafley Jones · 30-03-2014 8:04pm

Bluefoam wrote: »

I read somewhere that its to do with fitting in the boomsound speakers...

I've seen this a few times and I've no idea why people accept this. Why would the speaker design necessitate that black bar? It doesn't even pass the smell test in terms of excuses.

beno619 · 30-03-2014 9:46pm

Uriel. wrote: »

As a Nexus user I am used to living without an SD Card and use google's cloud for everything (music, videos etc.) but 16GB is a huge limitation and I have definitely found in recent months the problems that not having an SD slot brings. Now of course, perhaps 32GB would be the sweet spot. Most likely HTC reintroduced it in order to keep costs lower (plus the rather large space that the software appears to take).

They gave into sd card complaints, doubt its a cost saving measure, I would also prefer if they stuck to 32gb.

Oafley Jones wrote: »

I've seen this a few times and I've no idea why people accept this. Why would the speaker design necessitate that black bar? It doesn't even pass the smell test in terms of excuses.

HTC have stated that the wiring and supporting components for the boomsound speakers are under there. Why wouldn't I accept it ? Its also not as big a deal as some people are trying to make it out to be.

HTC One (M8) Thread

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