HTC One M8

[simonlang]

After having to use the subpar Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3 for half a year (bought it because i lost my old SGS3), i recently thought it was time to replace it with something new and better. My last HTC has been a HTC desire bought new in 2011 and this was the last phone i bought new. since then i always bought used phones because i don't see it necessary to buy a brand new phone for 700 or 800 bucks and then after half or one year it is already outdated. So my strategy was always to go for a 1 or 1,5 year old used phone, saved my between 50 and 75% of the original prize, and keep it up 2 date with custom roms from xda developers. 

 

Because i was not happy with the build quality of samsung i decided to go back to HTC as i had great memories with my htc desire which was falling down more than once but survived everything.

After a bit of research i found the offer of a used HTC one m8 in basically new conditions (only one small scratch, package, headphones, charging cable, plastic backside cover) for only 200€ shipping included. the offer also included 1 otterbox defender case in black, 1 leather case, 2 display protectors. The seller had not used it for over half a year, which hinted at a still good battery.

After a few days waiting time for shipping, it arrived last week:

 

 

The preinstalled Viper ROM was an outdated version and this photo shows the device after having it flashed to the latest viper rom for my first tests.

 

- The device: I had to look very closely and long before even finding the scratch. its very minimal on top of the right side of the phone. thanks to its gun metal grey color the scratch can only be identified as such when holding it very closely to the eye and in the right angle. i can absolutely live with that. the backside of the device is really PORN. you have to hold it in your hands once to know what i mean. never seen a better looking smartphone yet. with my old samsung i just was happy to fire up a radio stream and then give it in my pocket. with the HTC not anymore. this is so nice to hold it in your hands and to show the others. amazing!

 

- the display: no scratches (was always used and came with a display protector applied), no pixel errors. the screen resolution (coming from a galaxy xcover 3) is amazing. very sharp, bright. texts are easy to read.

 

- i always wanted to have the HTC because of the boom sound boxes. nothing but great reviews about these on all youtube videos. and indeed, they are amazing. really, never thought that something like this would be possible on a smartphone. for my PC i have very cheap hama speakers, bought them for 10€, and they sound worse. i did a side by side comparison with my old samsung and the samsung sounds rotten. 

 

- as headphones i use philips SHE9000. the volume output on the HTC is so loud with boom sound activated that i don't even need to push the volume all up. impressive.

 

- HTC Sync. this was the first time i made use of NFC function and with the HTC sync i could transfer all my files, music, pictures, whatever from my old samsung to the HTC. this took about 40 mins. 

 

- Sense UI: i have been a BIG fan of sense since my desire days. for me its by far the best UI and i have never understood those prefering stock android UI which looks just like it lacks something in every aspect. The current Sense 6.0, also called the sixth sense, offers some awesome goodies:

 

- Blinkfeed. you can get all your favorite news, facebook infos, twitter tweets, etc. in one page. some dont like it, but i would suggest everyone to give it a try, because: it is really fast. i dont know how HTC has achieved this, but you can browse through all the feeds and pictures are loaded nearly instantly with no delay. seen samsungs my magazine on youtube and thats dog slow in compare.

 

- Sense start page: i love this one so much. first, i did not discover it but when i did it got a fix place on my home screen. its a widget where you basically have all your prefered apps in it. the new thing in this is, it has different "states" for "work", "home"  and "on the go".  its an intuitive applet which learns what apps you are using when you are at home, at work or outside and shows you these. ofc you need to accept the HTC data license when first setting up the phone, but it is really worth it.

 

- the battery: after one or two charing cycles it has improved somehow. i get now over 1 day easily, once i managed 2 days. most often it's 1 day and a half i would say. much better than my old samsung which really was draining the battery very quickly.

 

- the interface in general: everything works very smooth, fast responsiveness, no delays, for the first time i feel that i have a really fast smartphone in my hands.

 

- after the initial testing, i restored the phone to stock rom state and will wait for the soon coming android marshmallow update which is said to provide a much better battery life. HTC promised to release this in 2015 still and for the US versions its already out. so it cant be long anymore. 

 

- the camera: probably its weakest point going from all the reviews i have seen and read. i did not have the time yet to do many photos, but the few i have taken, are OK. easily good ennough to upload on facebook or somewhere else. those from my old samsung were horrible. the camera also has some nice addons, like a 3D effect or adjustable focus which can be applied after having taken the shot. 

 

before i give my rating, something to think about: i know this device is basically 2 years old now and if i run an antutu benchmark in comparison with sgs6 or the latest iphone it would lose out. however: not only did i save a lot of money, i also dont care about benchmark points. everything runs fast and smooth and if someone would have told me this is the latest and newest device i would have believed it without second doubt.

for me this was worth every single cent so far and therefore i give this a 5 out of 5 rating!

 

is the phone too big? many say so, but i went to a smartphone store recently and seen the latest flagship devices. they are all that big, some even bigger. it seems to be the new standard and after a few days of usage you get on with it. its a bit like my monitor, where i went from 15 inch many years ago, over 17 then 19 and now 22 which already feels small every time when i check my 40inch TV. 

 

Cant wait how the next months and probably years will go with that phone, i know thanks to xda developers the development will go on even when HTC decides not to support it anymore. 

 

[BetaguyGZT]

Love it. LOVE IT.  You got an awesome deal there, my friend. Well done!

 

After being mistreated by Kyocera's very crappy hardware, I think my better half and I are ready to upgrade to something like this; so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. And talk about a savings! My goodness, you got a great piece of hardware that will serve you well for as long as you need it to.

 

Thanks for the review!

[simonlang]

24 minutes ago, BetaguyGZT said:

Love it. LOVE IT.  You got an awesome deal there, my friend. Well done!

 

After being mistreated by Kyocera's very crappy hardware, I think my better half and I are ready to upgrade to something like this; so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. And talk about a savings! My goodness, you got a great piece of hardware that will serve you well for as long as you need it to.

 

Thanks for the review!

you are welcome. if you have got additional questions, just let me know. with sense 7 which the one m8 will get officially there is another impressive feature added, called "themes". there are already countless themes added in the themes hub all for free ofc and provides a very nice way to further customize the look of sense ui. 

 

edit: savings: i found someone who will buy my old samsung galaxy xcover for 100 euros. so that brings the price of the htc one m8 down to only 100 euro which is quite sensational. i forgot that a 64GB micro SDHC card was also included btw! 

[BetaguyGZT]

Niiiiiice!  Getting a return on your purchase too!? Wonderful!