HTC One M8 Developer Edition will be more expensive starting tomorrow

7. DEATHSTROKE9 (Posts: 399; Member since: 09 Nov 2013)

Galaxy s5 is better. ISOCELL > ULTRAPIXEL

10. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

Yup, because the camera is the only part of a smartphone that matters. You sound like a Lumia fanboy. I think overall, HTC provides a better experience. Other than the added height created by the speakers and the camera, which is still good by the way, people over exaggerate the lack of quality of Ultrapixels, the One will give people a better experience overall.

12. DEATHSTROKE9 (Posts: 399; Member since: 09 Nov 2013)

The camera is too bad to be simply ignored.

13. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

Yes, it is a downside of the device, but it isn't terrible like everyone is making it out to be. The pictures it takes are perfectly acceptable for sharing over social networks and such.

You act as if you crop all of your photos 100% and print them out as huge posters. The only people who would notice the downsides of Ultrapixels should be carrying around a DSLR anyways if they care about photos that much. The One is perfectly capable of taking nice, quick pictures of good quality suitable for sharing, which is what HTC was going for. They're going for average consumers, who won't tell the difference between the 4 MP shots of the One and 16 MP shots of the GS5.

22. DEATHSTROKE9 (Posts: 399; Member since: 09 Nov 2013)

Don't get me wrong; I love the design of the M8. It is simply stunning. I love that it has dual Stereo speakers that too on the front. In fact I wanted to buy it immediately. Until I realised that all manufacturers are making phones with 13+ megapixel cameras with new technologies (Nokia, Sony, LG, samsung). Why should I make a compromise? I travel very often and so I take pictures wherever I go. So why should I settle for older unrefined technology. I was enraged to see the Older iPhone 5S outperform the M8 in a camera test. Not to mention, samsungs selective focus (galaxy s5 feature) is the samething as the M8s bokeh effect! And it does that without an extra camera! Also, I was very upset to hear that the secondary camera was the M7s front facing camera!!! The speakers on the S5 will be tolerable and most people use headphones these so.... Lastly, the One uses old screen technology! The S5 has the best display ever on a smartphone.

23. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

But my point is, it's not that big of a compromise. Yes, it got beaten by the 5S, but iPhones have always been held up high for their amazing photos, and even then, it only beat the M8 by 20 votes in the blind comparison, a whopping 0.9%. So, in a blind comparison, practically no one could tell the difference between the M8 and the iPhone 5S, a phone which has been praised for it's camera. That doesn't seem like a big deal.

Yes the Galaxy S5 has a similar feature to the M8's bokeh effect, but the way HTC did it takes out room for error and will be overall more reliable. The Galaxy S5 takes multiple pictures at different focus points to use that feature, so any movement while taking those pictures could make the after effect look weird. That isn't a problem for the M8, because both cameras fire at the same time. This is a big thing for me especially since I have very shaky hands.

As for the GS5 having the best display ever, that's not true. DisplayMate said it's the best mobile display that they've *ever tested*. There are plenty of devices they haven't tested yet, and could very well be better than the GS5. The M8 might use "old" technology (which isn't that old, S-LCD3 was first used in late 2012), but it's a very reliable and trusted technology that has been proven time and time again to give great results.

24. DEATHSTROKE9 (Posts: 399; Member since: 09 Nov 2013)

http://www.imore.com/htc-one-m8-vs-iphone-5s-camera-comparison I was completely disheartened by this post.

25. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

Why? As an average camera user, I would say that there are minor differences in all of those pictures, and the ones produced by the M8 are all perfectly usable; except for the HDR ones, those were way off. HTC will probably fix that in an update, it shouldn't do that bad and is probably the software's fault.

The only place where the M8 obviously lost to me is the digital zoom category, but that's to be expected.

Like I said, to the average user, no one can tell the difference between 4 MP, 8 MP, 13 MP, 16 MP, etc., unless you're cropping them 100% or blowing them up as huge posters. So, with the 4 MP camera on the M8, you get average well lit photo quality and above average low light quality. That's more than good enough for me, and more than good enough for 90% of consumers. Anyone who has legitimate concerns about it should have their own dedicated camera anyways.

27. limporgyuk (Posts: 203; Member since: 06 Nov 2013)

I couldn't agree with Berzerk000 more, it's a camera on a phone for god's sake. When I go to Disneyland with my daughter next month, obviously I will be taking my DSLR. The camera on the M7 hasn't let me down once

26. tech2 (Posts: 2738; Member since: 26 Oct 2012)

'But my point is, it's not that big of a compromise.'

How do you expect people to pay such a high price for a phone even if it involves a 'marginal comprise' (if not a big compromise). When this sphere is so intensively competitive.

Most of the people I know want to be future proof for 2 years when they buy a flagship phone (me included). Would a 4mp camera which does a 'okay' job by today's standards stay relevant in 2016 ?

28. DEATHSTROKE9 (Posts: 399; Member since: 09 Nov 2013)

Thanks Tech2, that is exactly what I was implying. @Beserk000 so you're saying that people buy this $600 phone and then buy a camera (at least $100)?

31. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

No, I'm saying that the majority of people who buy this phone will be happy with the camera. To me, an average camera user, the pictures are good and comparable to other high end devices. But, the people who can actually notice and be upset by the small differences in the photos are obviously photographers who are very picky about their cameras, in which case, they should have their own camera already, and not even bother worrying about their phone's camera since they have a dedicated camera already, whether it be the M8 or the Galaxy S5, they're not going to care about it's camera.

32. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

Because the compromise is so marginal that the majority of consumers won't notice it. No camera by today's standards would stay relevant in 2016, except maybe the Lumia 1020. Nothing is "relevant" 2 years after it's release. Yes, it may still be supported and it may still run fine, but it won't compare to that time's current offerings, that's true for any smartphone.

Do you remember the S4 Pro? The processor that everyone wanted in late 2012, because it was so insanely powerful? Well right now it's still being supported, and I'm sure devices using it are still running just fine, but there's nothing it will compare to in late 2014. It will not be relevant. Does that mean people who bought a S4 Pro device in 2012 should regret buying it? No, of course not. As long as it does a good job by the user's standards, it will not be a bad purchase.

29. Furbal (Posts: 472; Member since: 22 Sep 2012)

The loss of ois is huge.

30. Taters (Posts: 3693; Member since: 28 Jan 2013)

In order for it to provide a better overall experience than the GS5 it needs to be smaller than the GS5 and not as tall as a phablet. It also needs to have all it's buttons in properly ergonomic places.

As it stands the power and on screen buttons are annoying to reach, using it on a table creates a rocking chair effect, and if you are not really tall then you will feel the phone when you sit down and it's in your jean pockets, unless you get a murse.

Add a poor camera and smaller screen than your competitors and it doesn't sound like a good overall experience to me, let alone a better overall experience.

33. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

It doesn't need to be smaller than the GS5. Phone size is a matter of preference based on the users hand size and flexibility. Also, the tap to wake feature offsets the unusual place for the power button.

How are the on screen buttons annoying to reach? They're right where they should be, where the on screen buttons on every other phone are. The rocking chair effect was on the M7 too. I've heard it be mentioned once or twice, but otherwise it seems like a non-issue. I can feel my phone when I sit down, and it's smaller than the iPhone 5S. I've had a GS3 and a M7 in my pocket too, I could feel it, and it didn't bother me. I doubt the M8 would bother me. Maybe you shouldn't wear such tight pants.

It's not a poor camera. I would call it mediocre at the worst. It's a good camera, though I'm just the average picture taker, and I don't notice small differences all you (apparently) professionals do unless you use 100% digital zoom, which is a terrible decision on any camera. Screen size is based on preference as well.

34. Taters (Posts: 3693; Member since: 28 Jan 2013)

The tap to wake software isn't foolproof so you still use the power button.

The on screen buttons are hard to reach because the ideal position is where that huge HTC logo is. Because of that logo, you stretch way more than you should to hit a button.

It's basically an ergonomic nightmare and HTC needs to go back and retake ergonomics 101 if they want to compete in sales with the best.

35. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

I actually think the area of the HTC logo would be a perfect place to rest your thumb while using it one handed, so it wouldn't be a big stretch to use the on screen keys. That's actually a problem I have with my phone, the bezels are so small, when I use it one handed I press the buttons on accident.

You over exaggerate the dimensions of this device a lot, the way you're phrasing it makes it sound like you need to be a giant to go from the logo to the buttons, when really it's less than a quarter of an inch. I feel confident in saying the majority of people who buy this phone will not be infants and will have a thumb more than an inch long.

The only thing not ergonomic about this phone is the power button, and I don't think it's enough to call it a nightmare. It has a curved back and edges to fit nicely in your palm and an area to rest your thumb to use one handed without accidentally pressing the navigation buttons. It's too tall to have a top mounted power button, but that's bearable even without the tap to wake feature.

36. Taters (Posts: 3693; Member since: 28 Jan 2013)

HTC went from power button on top left to the top right. And the just two capacitive buttons to 3 on screen buttons in the span of a year...let's just say they don't have a clue about ergonomics and people notice....

You might not notice because like metal so much or something similar but trust me. People notice and that is why Apple and Samsung are so successful. They take care of things that the consumer might to subconsciously aware of and HTC just tries to make their phones look pretty and blame their failures on marketing.

Suck T C at their finest....

16. true1984 (Posts: 632; Member since: 23 May 2012)

dont care stop being a troll

11. fireblade (Posts: 714; Member since: 27 Dec 2013)

You haven't seen iPhone, have you?

21. true1984 (Posts: 632; Member since: 23 May 2012)

you havent seen the s5 have you?

14. Berzerk000 (Posts: 4148; Member since: 26 Jun 2011)

I think if you're willing to pay $650 for a device in the first place, an extra $50 won't make much of a difference in your decision. But I do agree that it is overpriced.

15. true1984 (Posts: 632; Member since: 23 May 2012)

yeah especially since its so easy to unlock the bootloader on htc phones. they'll do it for you for free! so this it kind of a rip off

9. AfterShock (Posts: 3697; Member since: 02 Nov 2012)

My take on this is...

Neither is a GPE edition.
Carrier unlocked, or developer edition with the bootloader unlocked for easy root and flashing.
The addition of carrier would have cleared fig in story some I suspect.

19. true1984 (Posts: 632; Member since: 23 May 2012)

htcdev.com will do it for free. the difference here it that it will still be under warranty if the phone breaks

20. true1984 (Posts: 632; Member since: 23 May 2012)

this is just the developer edition. the unlocked version is still 650