The new HTC is a great phone but it has some real competition from the Sony z2 and Samsung s5 this time around. iOS still makes the iPhone the best choice for me but hardware wise the android guys are bringing out some fantastic handsets now. Hopefully it spurs Apple on for the iPhone 6
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iPhone 5s vs new HTC One (M8) initial thoughts..
- Thread starter WilliamG
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I'm ok with sony Z2 .... But the galaxy bandaid s5 isn't in the same league, construction wise.
Ouch .... I'm almost forget about specs list: according with Samsung the S5 could make also the coffee, so it has to be better
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Quite honestly, I find there's very little between any flagship devices in terms of signal strength, voice quality etc. I also find that this is generally a given these days.
That's not true at all! Some phones are astonishingly bad for outgoing quality, with Samsung phones typically being the worst. No one ever seems to test this and it's not hard:
Just call voicemail with several different phones and read the same paragraph into the voicemail. Then listen to the voicemails made with each phone. The differences between phones will blow your mind. It's why I picked iPhone5s this time; the 5s has the best outgoing voice quality right now with MotoX in second place.
Also carriers make a huge difference too, so when doing the above test they all have to be on the same carrier.
Tmobile HD is best
Sprint is second best
ATT is third
Verizon is utter ***** for outgoing voice quality which is why I still never even consider verizon at all.
That's interesting. I have conversations with people on Galaxy S phones, MotoX phones, iPhones etc, and can honestly say I can't tell which phone they're on. I find the network they're on to be the biggest differentiator. Sprint is just the absolute worst!
The method I described is more objective, less subjective. Try it. You may be surprised. When I'm trying to do decide on a new phone I just go to a phone store (Tmobile, ATT or Sprint) and then call my voicemail from all the phones they have on display and read a paragraph from a book. Then I go home and listen to all of them. Also, the voicemail I call is Google Voice, so I can listen to it through my computer and a high quality audio system. The differences between phones is stark.
Just be sure to erase the call history on the display phone........or else you will have everyone calling your number too!
I sold a 5S and have a One M8 now and can tell you wont i don't miss for what its worth:
No more piss ant 4" screen.
No more pushing home button to check missed calls/messages all day long. So nice not to have a home button full stop.
No more iMessage for iPhone only. Can message anyone with airdroid off my macbook and iPad.
No hit and miss touch id, double tap to unlock is sweet.
One M8 feels way nicer in the hand, 5S never felt nice naked to me. My wifes IP5 feels buggy after this phone, it is so fast. LTE is super fast.
Call quality and reception is great, speaker is unbeatable.
The on and off button and the volume buttons are smoother than 5S.
No problems with bluetooth in car and office.
Video is great haven't really tested the weak point (camera yet)
This is my first top end model HTC and or Android phone so its all new to me, everything else i own and my family have is Apple. So i am not a Apple hater, love my MBPr and iPad (would never change them). My phone is a business phone which i mute a lot after hours except for family, and is so good to have a notification light again.
Obviously the 5S is 6 months old so the 6 will be a new ball game. But Apple really only release a new phone every 2 years. The S models are just upgraded with gimmicks.
I would say if you are after a social phone get the 5S, if you want a workhorse business phone get the HTC one M8.
No more piss ant 4" screen.
No more pushing home button to check missed calls/messages all day long. So nice not to have a home button full stop.
No more iMessage for iPhone only. Can message anyone with airdroid off my macbook and iPad.
No hit and miss touch id, double tap to unlock is sweet.
One M8 feels way nicer in the hand, 5S never felt nice naked to me. My wifes IP5 feels buggy after this phone, it is so fast. LTE is super fast.
Call quality and reception is great, speaker is unbeatable.
The on and off button and the volume buttons are smoother than 5S.
No problems with bluetooth in car and office.
Video is great haven't really tested the weak point (camera yet)
This is my first top end model HTC and or Android phone so its all new to me, everything else i own and my family have is Apple. So i am not a Apple hater, love my MBPr and iPad (would never change them). My phone is a business phone which i mute a lot after hours except for family, and is so good to have a notification light again.
Obviously the 5S is 6 months old so the 6 will be a new ball game. But Apple really only release a new phone every 2 years. The S models are just upgraded with gimmicks.
I would say if you are after a social phone get the 5S, if you want a workhorse business phone get the HTC one M8.
Verizon has been consistently with great voice and call quality with a whole bunch if different phones over more than a decade now in the areas where I've been. So perhaps just another thing that is different for different people at different times in different locations.
The device is pretty good, I wish they'd dropped the HTC logo on the bottom and simply had no black bezels at the top and bottom, go screen->speaker.
And a 4MP camera again? NoNoNoNoNO. The camera in the M7 was critisized so much for overexposing, adding way too much digital noise, and being way too small. I wish they'd put a larger sensor in and gone with 8 "ultrapixels".
And a 4MP camera again? NoNoNoNoNO. The camera in the M7 was critisized so much for overexposing, adding way too much digital noise, and being way too small. I wish they'd put a larger sensor in and gone with 8 "ultrapixels".
I really hate to say it, but unless Apple gives us a bigger screen, I highly doubt Ill own another iPhone.
Im not an Android or Apple Fanboy, I switch between Android and Apple quite often, they have their pros and cons, a lot of people that iPhones say they don't want a bigger screen, but thats generally because they haven't used a phone like the HTC One, having a big 1080p screen is AMAZING.
The M8 is a good amount more advanced yet a good amount not in advanced to the 5S, personally I'd take the M8 simply because I like the screen size.
Im not an Android or Apple Fanboy, I switch between Android and Apple quite often, they have their pros and cons, a lot of people that iPhones say they don't want a bigger screen, but thats generally because they haven't used a phone like the HTC One, having a big 1080p screen is AMAZING.
The M8 is a good amount more advanced yet a good amount not in advanced to the 5S, personally I'd take the M8 simply because I like the screen size.
The only Achilles heel HTC has vs iPhone is the camera. If HTC had just put their 8MP from their 2012 flagships (One X/One S) onto their last two flagships, the HTC One (M7+M8) wouldn't have suffered so much in that department.
I don't want to make this into a HTC vs Apple debate, but I find HTC outclasses Apple in nearly all areas the same way I find Android superior in most areas over iOS. HTC have been making smartphones before the term was even invented and they made great designs since the Touch Diamond. Xperia X1, Nexus One, Windows Phone 8X, and Butterfly S were all great designs. Even the plastic they use feels sturdy and top notch. HTC improved in sound and software with Sense. And Android has improved as well. It is just that HTC's marketing is weak.
Apple comes up with great designs but they rarely go up bat. It is like being considered the leading scorer but you only played in a fraction of the games as the second leading scorer. High efficiency because of very few attempts. HTC can consistently come up with great designs with razor thin profits.
If camera isn't your main priority, I think the M8 will still go down as one of the best smartphones of this year just like its predecessor from 2013. The current stock iPhones, I can't even play two videos at the same time. No IR blaster or FM radio. No Bluetooth transfer. No TubeMate. No sideloading apps. No SwiftKey which blitzes iOS keyboard. Can't even edit and trim my movies. No simple swipe gestures for actions like turning off the screen. We get 64-bit and all for nothing is really being used for it.
I don't want to make this into a HTC vs Apple debate, but I find HTC outclasses Apple in nearly all areas the same way I find Android superior in most areas over iOS. HTC have been making smartphones before the term was even invented and they made great designs since the Touch Diamond. Xperia X1, Nexus One, Windows Phone 8X, and Butterfly S were all great designs. Even the plastic they use feels sturdy and top notch. HTC improved in sound and software with Sense. And Android has improved as well. It is just that HTC's marketing is weak.
Apple comes up with great designs but they rarely go up bat. It is like being considered the leading scorer but you only played in a fraction of the games as the second leading scorer. High efficiency because of very few attempts. HTC can consistently come up with great designs with razor thin profits.
If camera isn't your main priority, I think the M8 will still go down as one of the best smartphones of this year just like its predecessor from 2013. The current stock iPhones, I can't even play two videos at the same time. No IR blaster or FM radio. No Bluetooth transfer. No TubeMate. No sideloading apps. No SwiftKey which blitzes iOS keyboard. Can't even edit and trim my movies. No simple swipe gestures for actions like turning off the screen. We get 64-bit and all for nothing is really being used for it.
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