HTC One (M8) Review

PROS

• Excellent build and design quality
• High-end performance hardware
• Loudspeaker offers a great output
• Duo-lens camera with refocusing and other camera features
• Unlock gestures and active display

CONS

• Brushed metal finish doesn't offer a good grip
• Nano SIM card slot
• Camera supports only 4MP resolution

MRP: 49990

Summary 

The HTC One (M8) offers a great blend of premium design and performance hardware and is definitely the best looking Android smartphone today. It does however lack in features when compared to other flagship devices. If you are planning to invest in a flagship smartphone, then the M8 is not a bad recommendation. But if you are looking for a beast, then you should probably look at other options.

Review

The Taiwan-based handset maker HTC, is known for producing the first Android devices. But in the last couple of years, the company has been facing major financial losses. Some rumours even pointed that the company might just end up bankrupted. Thankfully, the brand is strong and with bunch of new smartphones including new flagship models, we are seeing HTC bounce back into the game. Their flagship, the HTC One, was probably the best looking smartphone for the year 2013 and won many awards as well. Now we have an upgrade and boy does it look good. The all new HTC One (M8) is bolder and looks as elegant as the last year’s model.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Display: 5 inches Super LCD3, 1920x1080 resolution with Gorilla Glass 3 (441ppi)
• Battery: 2600mAh
• Storage: 16GB
• Camera:  4MP dual-lens rear with dual-tone flash, 5MP front
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
• CPU: Quad-core 2.5 GHz
• GPU: Adreno 330
• RAM: 2GB
• Operating system: Android 4.4.2 with Sense 6
• Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB with OTG

BODY AND DESIGN

Last year’s HTC One was without doubt THE best looking Android smartphone and for 2014, HTC had a huge challenge to make it even better. The HTC One (M8) is exceptionally striking and the metal body gives you a reason to hold it in your hand. The design is quite similar to the last year’s flagship with some welcoming changes including a larger display and a microSD card slot (finally).

The HTC One (M8) has more metal and a more curvaceous design that fits well in the hand. Yes, it is bigger in size than the original HTC One and now boasting a 5-inch display, the M8 isn’t so easy to operate with one hand although it is quite sleek with a thickness of 9.4mm. And thanks to the curved design, it isn’t all that bulky.

The capacitive touch-sensitive keys have been replaced by onscreen ones giving more real-estate for the display. Above the display, we now have a 5MP camera with a wide angle lens to get those perfect selfies. Of course we have the BoomSound equipped stereo speakers on either sides of the display which are now louder and crisper. There is also a notification LED placed inside the top speaker to notify you about miss calls, messages, and so on.

The right side has the volume control keys and the nanoSIM card slot (a pain as everyone doesn’t have a nanoSIM card). The left side has a slot for a microSD card which supports up to 128GB of capacity. The top has the power/lock key while the bottom has the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port. The back has an elegant brushed metal look housing a new duo-lens camera with a dual-tone flash. The resolution on the camera has not been improved leaving you with 4MP pictures, but lesser pixels does not mean bad quality pictures (more on that later). There is also a distinct laser-cut HTC logo in the middle of the back panel.

The display is a Super LCD3 again and the viewing angles are pretty good for an LCD display. Colours don’t wash out when viewed from various angles and readability under bright sunlight is quite good.

For a 5-inch smartphone the HTC One (M8) is by far the best looking handsets that we have laid our hands on. The detail to finish and quality of materials is so good that one has to put an effort to point out any flaws. Probably the only minor thing we didn’t like is that it feels quite slippery and fragile in the hand. One would be extra cautious when placing the smartphone on their desk or even in their pockets. Also, since there is a lot of metal, there are chances of having scuffs on the edges if you are a rugged smartphone user.

UI AND PERFORMANCE
The HTC One (M8) comes with the new Sense 6 UI which is almost similar to 5.5 with a new theme option that changes the colour scheme of the UI, a new lockscreen with gestures, updated BlinkFeed and Camera apps. We have always loved HTC's minimalistic approach when it comes to the UI. The icons and widgets are same as seen on Sense 5.5 with a very flat look. The new Sense 6 is really smooth and doesn’t show any signs of lag or delay in response time.

The most useful update is the new gestures to unlock the smartphone. Double-tapping on the display wakes up the smartphone and double tapping again on the lockscreen deactivates the display. Once you are on the lockscreen you can then swipe right to unlock and jump to BlinkFeed or swipe left to jump to the first homescreen. Similarly, you can perform these gestures even when the display is not active. The lockscreen has a dock at the bottom that houses icons for 4 apps (dialer, messaging, browser and camera) that can be swiped up to open.

The news and social media aggregator, BlinkFeed, is now more colourful thanks to the added themes options. The app has been updated with new topics and feeds which means you can get more out of the app. Of course there is support for Facebook and Twitter, we only wish that more social networks could be added including Foursquare and Instagram. Apps like the browser, music player, gallery, etc. are all similar to the ones seen on previous HTC devices. HTC, just like Samsung, has added a TV control app which lets you control your TV and set-top box via the the infra-red port on the top. It is a pretty handy feature although getting used to the app takes a bit of your time.

On the synthetic benchmarks, the HTC One (M8) showed good results matching and even surpassing the capabilities of the Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2. Even day to day tasks including multitasking, gaming, video playback and internet browsing is a piece of cake for the smartphone. The Snapdragon 801 proves to be as powerful as the 800 providing immense power to play high-end games or uncompressed video.

Benchmark	Samsung Galaxy S5	Sony Xperia Z2	HTC One (M8)
Antutu X	37047	33429	34940
Quadrant	24470	17816	25773
Smartbench (productivity)	6145	7210	9873
3D Mark Unlimited	13032	18383	17925

The results show that the M8 does have a slight edge over the Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2. Although after testing all the three smartphones, we've noticed that all of them offer a similar bug-free experience.

In our standard battery test, we charged the smartphone to a full 100% and then pumped up the brightness to full and connected the smartphone to Wi-Fi. Next we played a full HD video for one hour to the see the amount of battery loss. The 2600mAH managed to have 88% of battery that was still left after the test, which means that you can play a full HD video for about 8 and a half hours continuously. For daily usage, we found that you get a battery backup of a full day on normal usage and slightly less than a day on heavy usage.

CAMERA
The snapper on the HTC One has been upgraded with the new dual-lens system which allows you to refocus your images and have a shallow depth-of-field giving a natural feel to the pictures. There is also a duo-tone flash which automatically throws a warm or cool beam of light according to the conditions.

The camera app has been redesigned with major modes accessible from the icon on the bottom right. It opens up a large window with big icons to select any shooting modes which include single camera shot, video, Zoe, Selfie (opens up the front camera), dual capture, and a panorama mode. You also get some tweaking options such as ISO, exposure compensation, white balance presets, some filters, and also a scene mode which includes HDR, night mode, portrait, handheld, macro mode, and so on.

There is also a manual mode which gives you total control of your focus, ISO, shutter speeds, exposure compensation and colour temperature. Very few smartphones out there offer such advanced controls.

A number of people have criticized the low resolution of the sensor on the HTC One. Yes, it only supports 4MP pictures but it doesn’t mean that the pictures produced are of low quality. If we go to the technical side, a sensor having 16 million pixels will obviously require more space than 4 million pixels. But since the 4 million pixels will take less space, each pixel will also be much bigger than the one on the 16 million pixel sensor. This means more information per pixel is stored. In short, yes you do get a lower resolution image, but there won’t be compromise on quality.

Coming back to the capabilities of the camera on the M8, pictures come out quite well and the camera app is super quick to take pictures. Thanks to the dual-lens system, when a picture is taken in optimum light (without flash) you can immediately select the picture and refocus on the area you want. There are other post-editing tools including a background shader, seasons effects, 3D dimension mode, stickers and also a neat feature that allows you to cut out parts or people from an image and paste it onto other pictures. You can add filters rotate, crop and even add frames.

Focusing is smooth and fast and the camera manages to focus well in dim lighting conditions. If you are using tap-to-focus in the auto-mode, apart from the focusing, the camera also adjusts the exposure of the area selected for focusing and this is something which is quite innovative. Pictures in low light are decent although we have seen better performance on other smartphones. The duo-toned flash works well but quite honestly we don’t think it is something that can bring in a huge difference in the pictures.

Capturing video is pretty standard on the M8 and you can capture a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Audio quality in the videos is decent and sounds pretty clear but we wish there was a sound normalization as some high levels of audio sound terrible. Now we know that it can’t shoot 4K videos like its other competitors, but the question here is, do you really need 4K video recording? Full HD videos, in our opinion, are sufficient enough and anything beyond the resolution just seems overkill on a portable device.

CONCLUSION

We would suggest the M8 for the ones who want to upgrade from last year's HTC One, as you get a slightly upgraded and better looking design along with the new duo-lens camera, and of course a microSD card slot. The areas where the M8 lacks are probably some high-end features that are otherwise available on the Galaxy S5 and/or the Xperia Z2 at the same price point. If you can compromise on the looks but not on features, then we would recommend that you look elsewhere. For those who crave for a stylish looking smartphone, this is the Android smartphone to get. The curved metal body with a brushed metal finish and the detail is just top notch and in our opinion, the HTC One (M8) is definitely one of the best crafted handsets for this year.

Motorola Moto E Review: Fresh Competition in the Budget Segment

Motorola has been bullish so far this year with its pricing and strategy for India. After a long absence, it came back with the Moto G and Moto X, and now continues with the Moto E, making other manufacturers sit up and take notice.

At Rs. 6,999, the Motorola Moto E is priced to ruffle feathers. Motorola is clearly sending a message to buyers that they can get a whole lot more for their money than they have before, and competitors had better adapt to this new reality. However, it is rather unfortunate that Motorola has chosen to stick to online sales only in India. Even though it managed to run through its first stock of Moto E within two days on Flipkart, Motorola could have done a lot better with a more traditional retail presence - at least competitors have that advantage for now. There has been lots of buzz around the Moto E even before its official launch, but that's nothing compared to the actual potential of the Indian smartphone market.

Look and feel

The Moto E follows the same design language of its elder siblings, the Moto X and Moto G. This is evident in the dimpled chin on the curved back which features the Motorola logo. There are a few subtle differences, though.

At its thickest point, the Moto E measures 12.3mm, making it a bit fatter than the Moto G. Also, at 142g it weighs slightly more, and definitely feels heavier in the hand. Fortunately the heft is reassuring considering its compact size. The body feels sturdy, and we get the impression that it will be able to withstand years of use. 

Despite being predominantly plastic, the Moto E feels premium, almost making us wonder how Motorola could afford to price it so low. Our only complaint is that the rear has a rubbery feel to it which could get oily after prolonged use. The rear cover is interchangeable, and nine  colours will be available, all of which look pretty good.

 

Above the distinctive dimple is the recessed rear camera module. This protects the lens from scratches - a small example of attention to detail from Motorola that we appreciate. Prying open the rear cover is a rather tedious process. Once opened, there are two slots on the right edge for the Micro-SIM cards and a slot for the memory card. The battery is non-removable.

The right edge of the Moto E houses the volume rocker and power button. Motorola has decided to leave the left edge blank. The ambient light, proximity sensors and a hidden status/charging indicator LED are above the screen. A front-facing mono speaker is masked by a metallic strip below the screen. 

The Moto E uses on-screen buttons for navigation. The bottom of the phone has a Micro-USB port for data transfer and charging, and the top features the 3.5mm jack for headphones. Inside the box, apart from the phone, you'll find a charger and a headset. The absence of a data cable is a downer.

Features and specifications

The Moto E is powered by a low-end Snapdragon 200 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, with an integrated Adreno 302 graphics processor. There is 1GB of RAM, which is a good sign that the phone will be able to run without stuttering (more on that later). The Moto E has 4GB of internal storage with 2.2GB available for use. Surprisingly, the phone recognizes it as external storage and installs apps to this partition. Unlike the Moto G, Motorola allows expansion of storage by up to 32GB using a microSD card. It supports two Micro-SIM cards in dual-standby mode, each of which can connect to a 3G network. 

                                                                                          

 

The phone has a 5-megapixel rear camera with no flash or auto-focus, and there is no front camera. We can already hear selfie lovers grumbling about this exclusion.

The Moto E's 4.3-inch display is protected by a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 - a first for a phone in this price range. The display has a qHD resolution of 960x540, which translates to a relatively sharp density of 256ppi. We couldn't really discern individual pixels. The colours displayed are quite vibrant, though viewing angles and sunlight legibility are not up to the mark.

Software

A major complaint among detractors of Android is the fragmentation of software versions across different devices. In that regard, it is extremely heartening to note that Motorola is constantly striving to bring the latest and the best version of Android to its smartphones. The Moto E runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), and Motorola has promised that it will get at least one future upgrade. This is another first for any Android smartphone in the sub-Rs. 10k segment.

Motorola leaves the Android software largely untouched, and so we are treated to the taste of unadulterated KitKat (pun intended): clean home screens, a lock screen with a camera shortcut, a whole collection of Google apps, Google Now, and on-screen navigation buttons which hide when you play games and watch videos.

 

Motorola adds a Moto Assist app that lets users determine which ringing mode the phone should be in at certain times. For example, it syncs with your calendar to check for meetings and enters the meeting mode at the appropriate time. The app offers two presets - meeting and sleep. We don't consider this bloatware because it is actually useful, and owners of other Android devices can also download it from the Play Store. Motorola also preinstalls an app called Moto Migrate that makes transferring important data from an old phone to the Moto E an easy process. Setting it up is quite effortless, and it functions as advertised.

Camera

The less we talk about the Moto E's 5-megapixel camera, the better. Before we get into the performance details, we want to remind users about the HTC Desire 310's abysmal camera performance. The Moto E is only slightly better. We don't expect anyone to buy this phone if they need a device that can take decent photos.

The default camera app on the Moto E is the same as the one on the Moto G. It is extremely basic with very few available settings. There is an HDR mode and a panorama mode. Motorola allows for selective exposure (with a very intuitive interface) but no autofocus. This baffles us, although without an autofocus lag, you can take shots really quickly.

Captured images have a lot of noise even in broad daylight, and low-light performance is a whole lot worse. Colour reproduction is average, which is the only saving grace of the camera. Video performance is dismal too. Then again, we can't expect much more from a phone priced this low.

 

Performance

Obviously, this phone isn't meant to be a performance beast. The best we can expect of it is to function without lags during everyday use. Thankfully, we found that the Moto E is extremely responsive while browsing through apps and websites . It is a really capable budget smartphone, and really does stand out amongst its competition. The performance benchmark scores are surprisingly good too.

In AnTuTu and Quadrant, the phone registered scores of 12,546 and 5,324 respectively. The Moto E rendered the GFXbench animation at an impressive 10.7 fps. To give users some perspective, this is close to the performance of the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra. We tried Dead Trigger 2, a graphically intense first-person shooter for Android, and it was mostly smooth, with only very few lags.

The default video app doesn't play 1080p videos, but we were completely surprised when third-party apps managed to do so just fine, without any hiccups or dropped frames. The mono speaker's sound quality is just about average, but it is adequately loud. The bundled earphones are uncomfortable to use and just sound bad. The situation did get better with the use of our reference headphones.

We were slightly disappointed with the battery life, considering the phone has a powerful 1,980mAh battery inside. It lasted only 5 hours, 41 minutes in our continuous loop test. This means that users will have to charge it at the end of each day, if not more often. On the flipside, call quality was phenomenally good.

  

Verdict

What Motorola has done with the Moto E is let loose a performance beast in the sub-10k range of smartphones. It might have a bad camera, but in every other respect the Moto E trumps its competition by a large margin. The only other smartphone that comes close is the Nokia Lumia 525 which runs Windows Phone 8, is more expensive, and has a limited number of applications in the app store.

Motorola is now the Goliath in the budget smartphone battle. We admire this phone immensely, and we're also excited to see how the competition in this extremely important market segment will respond now that the bar has been raised.