SYNAPSE CIRCUIT HTC ONE M8 LAUNCH

One (M8): Motion Launch. Now where have I seen that function before?

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
HTC ONE M8 LAUNCH
#HTC #OneM8

Good evening, Good Friends! I hope you had a great day and that all is well with you!

Yes, finally, after all the “leaks” HTC has launched the successor to the One... Introducing the One (M8)...  

SPEC:-

GENERAL   
2G Network   GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network   HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - EMEA, Asia
HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - AT&T
HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - T-Mobile
4G Network   LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600 – EMEA
LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100 - T-Mobile
LTE 700 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 – Asia
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - AT&T
SIM     Nano-SIM

STATUS
Announced: 2014, 25 March
Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2014, March, 26th

BODY
Dimensions: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm (5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in)
Weight: 160 g (5.64 oz)

DISPLAY      
Type: Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch: Yes
Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3

UI OVERLAY
HTC Sense UI v6

SOUND        
Alert types: Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes, with stereo speakers, built-in amplifiers
3.5mm jack   

MEMORY     
Card slot: microSD, up to 128 GB
Internal: 16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA
GPRS / EDGE
Speed: HSDPA, 42 Mbps (21 Mbps - AT&T), HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL

WLAN           
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
NFC (market/operator dependent)
Infrared port 
USB microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB On-the-go, USB Host

CAMERA      
Primary Dual 4 MP, 2688х1520 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
Features: 1/3'' sensor size, 2µm pixel size, automatic simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, HDR, panorama
Video: 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., video stabilization
Secondary: 5 MP, 1080p@30fps, HDR

FEATURES 
Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801
CPU: Quad-core 2.3 GHz (US/EMEA)/ 2.5 GHz (Asia, China) Krait 400
GPU: Adreno 330
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
Browser: HTML5
Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS  with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java via Java MIDP emulator
Colours: Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver, Amber Gold
SNS integration
Google Drive (50 GB cloud storage)
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
DivX/XviD/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/FLAC player
Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk
Organizer
Document viewer/editor
Photo viewer/editor
Voice memo / dial / commands
Predictive text input

BATTERY              
Non-removable Li-Po 2600 mAh battery
Stand-by: Up to 271 h (2G) / Up to 496 h (3G)
Talk time: Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 20 h (3G)

THE BIG QUESTION IS... IS IT ENOUGH TO USURP SAMSUNG’S GALAXY S5?
Hmmmm... I don’t know... That’s my honest first response. Let me ask you the question: Would you, if you have the One 2013, go for the One 2014? If you went for the Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4 would you now switch? Would you as an iPhone user switch?

Would I? Before I answer that let’s weigh it up!

Design-wise it looks very similar to last year’s model and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Apple have used the same incremental design strategy (not that it’s working for them) and it appears as though Samsung has adopted the same strategy too!

I can imagine that those who like their smartphone to be some sort of statement i.e. fashion or a badge to show allegiance to one’s favourite manufacturer then the One X (M8) strikes up a good argument! The One (M8) looks delightful and could come off the set of a Sci-Fi movie albeit a sequel! It was pretty much common knowledge that HTC wasn’t going to deviate from its successful design. I do LOVE HTC designs – they are stunning! The One (M8) should go down well.

The next item to sell folk on is, for me, the camera... Oh, I should say that the CPU, RAM and storage are forgone and concluded to be top notch already! At this premium level such components will be powerful and fast! So, HTC are still selling the UltraPixel ideal; I can’t say that I was too impressed with the results of One 2013. For me the cameras on the Galaxy S4, Notes 2 & 3 are better! I would very much like to compare the One (M8) camera to the Galaxy S5. And I have noticed that the Galaxy S5 does 4K video already! On the score of video you can see that the Galaxy S5 is superior. Once again, from my experience the premium HTC handsets of their day were always a bit of a disappointment to me!

WEAKNESS?
Hmmmm... Y’know, it’s one thing to poke a little fun with clever adverts against the competition but the launch itself took every opportunity to throw a bit of mud against Samsung! And you wonder why HTC are making huge losses? It seems that HTC hasn’t learned from Apple’s constant attack on Samsung that to mention or hint at the competition is to give them FREE advertising! If you are launching a mobile phone into today’s market would you keep referring to the competition? Your answer should be a resounding NO!!!! Everytime the competition is mentioned at a press launch it makes intelligent people think more about the competition than your product. The sheep will no doubt use such mudslinging within G Plus communities and other online social networking facilities. Yawn! But intelligent people who weigh up wants on offer will be thinking, “Hmmmm... Well, if they keep mentioning other products in a negative way then maybe it’s because their own product(s) is lacking...” Then you’d look into it some more!

Some have said that Samsung is the Apple of the Android kingdom and I say rubbish! In my humble opinion the Galaxy S range have always surpassed the iPhone (no matter how many so-called tech media keep giving accolades to the iPhone). Samsung have always innovated in ways that Apple just aren’t able to do! Samsung is in a league of its own. If anything HTC is more like Apple in that they have great design principles but they are lagging behind the competition. And just like Apple, HTC feels that it has to utter derision in Samsung’s direction.

HTC is not going to make profits by following the Apple trend of griping like babies. Uh-uh! And you can’t copy the Samsung signature of answering calls without having to press any button and then make snide comments about them; it just comes across a silly! It’s not good for business! HTC gripes about their meagre advertising budget in comparison to Samsung but they blew their budget on their typically forgettable ads – including the Robert Downey Junior ones! HTC just can’t, for some reason unknown to mankind, create good memorable ads. Bad ads lead to bad sales and that leads to a loss of profit! Simple! It’s so important for HTC to not only get their products right in terms of features but they need to sell what the products can do instead of attempting to be clever in their advert content. When Samsung launched the groundbreaking Galaxy S3 they focused solely on what it can do! I can still remember those ads like it was yesterday!

JUICED UP?
I reckon that the battery life is a major concern to heavy smartphone users. Once again, the One (M8) design doesn’t allow for a removable battery. So, if you are going to go for the One (M8) the power stick is going to be an option! I am going to get one of these power sticks for my One X – if I decide to keep it!

However, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is packing a 2800 mAh battery to the One (M8) 2600 mAh!

Already, just by looking at some of the spec and comparing them to the Galaxy S5 all this talk of “prepare to be One-upped” looks a tad disappointing.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Let me answer the question as to whether or not I’d go for the One (M8) when I am next due to update... I’d have to say no! It’s not an outright absolute “no” but it is a no all the same. That said I will make up my mind by reviewing it.

What do you reckon?   

Take good care!

Thank you for watching and reading!

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