After months of leaks, leaks and more leaks, its good to finally get the official word from the makers themselves. HTC has officially unveiled its latest flagship device, the HTC One M8 in an event on Tuesday. Although one could easily confuse the latest model with its predecessor which bears the same name, the HTC One M8 has a larger display, an improved design, and curvy sides that makes it stand out from previous models.
HTC One M8
HTC’s CEO Peter Chou said that the company has taken the best smartphone in the world and made it better in every way. The device comes with a 5 inch 1080p display and is powered by Snapdragon 801 processor. Unlike last year’s version, the HTC One M8 offers a microSD slot. It also retains the attractive brushed metal design of the original version.
A few improvements that users will appreciate include the removal of the dedicated capacitive buttons, louder BoomSound speakers, and relocation of the headset jack.
The HTC One M8 combines the smartphone with a Duo Camera that features the HTC UltraPixel module, a dual flash and full 1080p HD video recording. The 5-MP wide-angle front facing camera is perfect for capturing superior selfies. The rear camera can capture in-depth information for each shot, allowing users to refocus their images after capture.
The device now runs HTC Sense 6.0, the skin having been redesigned completely. Its being called the Sixth Sense and includes BlinkFeed, Zoe, and a TV Remote from the previous versions, but is said to be more intuitive and bold in terms of customizable theme colors and a more personalized user experience.
HTC One’s battery is an improvement over the original with a new power-saver mode that can restrict certain functions when the battery hits a low, giving users a larger window of time to charge it before it completely dies.
There are new gesture controls for turning on the screen, accessing BlinkFeed, and such without having to hit the power button. For instance, a simple swipe will activate the device, while Auto Answer will let you answer a call by placing the phone to your ear.
Another perk that HTC is throwing in with the new HTC One is that the screen will be covered under HTC’s Advantage warranty program, meaning it will be replaced free of cost should you happen to damage it within six months of purchase. Additionally, the company commits to providing two years of Android updates.
Key Specs of the HTC One
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor at 2.3 GHz
- 5 inch 1080p LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3
- Android 4.4 with HTC Sense 6
- 16/32 GB internal storage with microSD card slot support up to 128 GB
- 2 GB of RAM
- 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX enabled
- HTC BoomSound with front facing stereo speakers
- HTC UltraPixel camera with additional camera for depth info
- Front facing 5 MP wide angle lens camera
- 2,600 mAh battery
- Dimensions of 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm and 160 grams
HTC One M8 and the Blah Blah Blah Teaser
The HTC One certainly looks like a neat upgrade over its predecessor, but doesn’t offer anything revolutionary, a key factor that would have airlifted the company from the doldrums its been finding itself in, in recent times.
The new HTC One will be available in Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver and Amber Gold in more than a 100 countries. The US, Australia, Taiwan, the UK, Germany, France, and China will see the devices in stores by the end of April, but those living in North America can order the devices right away from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Rogers, Bell, and Telus for immediate shipping. Verizon customers can simply hop over to the store right now and pick up the device at a contract of $199.
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