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HTC One M8 Sells Poorly in Its First Week

April 4, 2014 By Daniel Giordano Leave a Comment

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Last week, HTC rolled their new flagship smartphone, the HTC One M8, a worthy successor of the HTC One, in an attempt to bid (and perhaps win) against its major competitors, namely Apple and Samsung. The new HTC One M8 was described back then as being the best Android phone the world has ever seen by the experts of BGR and we even published a favorable review emphasizing the new smartphone’s qualities, both software and hardware wise. Drawn by its features and its skills, experts all over the world were more than appreciative towards HTC’s efforts to offer the world an even better smartphone, although its predecessor, the HTC One was a hit among reviewers too.

But it seems that the general smartphone users are not so impressed with the new HTC phone as experts were. While the new and improved phone looks incredibly good on paper, the truth is that the HTC One M8 sells poorly and in its first week of life alone on the market, it witnessed not only a very slow start, but it actually sold poorer that its predecessor too. If even for a second Samsung and Apple suffered from insomnia at the idea that the HTC One M8 will be a blast, they are probably sleeping very peacefully now, as studies show that

the HTC One (M8) only represents 0.1% of HTC phones seen by the company’s network after its first week of sales. In comparison, the first-generation HTC One represented 1% of all HTC phones after its first week.

The market share also looks bad for the HTC One M8:

Compared to other Android manufacturers, HTC is in third place, but with only 8.4% market share, which is a far cry from the 61.7% share of the market that Samsung has.

However, HTC fans and the smartphone users daring enough to try this new phone should know that even if the HTC One M8 sells poorly for now, the game is still on. Verizon is the only carrier to sell the new phone in the U.S. in their stores, but you can find it online with other carriers.

HTC M8 case suggests fingerprint sensor for flagship successor

January 16, 2014 By Nicholas Anderton Leave a Comment

The HTC M8 leaks have been silent for a few weeks, but this new leak points to a reoccurring feature from the HTC One Max, the fingerprint sensor, coming to the successor to the HTC One.

A new plastic mould shows the HTC M8 design and on the back of the smartphone, consisting of a rear camera, mic and fingerprint sensor. This means HTC will not change the design of the fingerprint sensor, despite reviews of the HTC One Max saying it was not a useful feature because of the placement.

Fingerprint sensors are the new thing to have on a smartphone, ever since Apple announced TouchID, other Android partners have been clamouring to make their own sensor, with Samsung trying out Iris eye scanning technology and ZTE adding fingerprint sensors.

HTC M8 looks to run the same sort of feature, we cannot see this being a big improvement on the HTC One Max fingerprint sensor. We hope HTC looks to make the fingerprint sensor a bit more useful, possibly adding new software and services to use the fingerprint sensor.

Nothing has been talked about on the launch, we should see the HTC M8 come around Q1/Q2 in 2014, possibly at Mobile World Congress. Last year, HTC surprised us all with the new design and Sense UI that did not change a lot of the stock Android features.

This year, we hope HTC has the same sort of flair and makes a smartphone engaging on the design front and on the functionality. The only thing we really want to see is a better camera, since the 4 Ultrapixel shooter was only good for low-light images.

HTC M8 full specifications list leaked out

January 3, 2014 By David Leave a Comment

The HTC M8 looks to be the next flagship smartphone from the Taiwanese company, sharing the same ‘M’ code-letter as the HTC One (HTC M7). A new specifications list has been leaked out by Evleaks, revealing most of the internals.

Apart from some minor upgrades, the HTC M8 looks very similar to the HTC One, the full specifications list is as follows:

Snapdragon 800 processor
2GB of RAM
5-inch 1080p display
Ultrapixel rear camera
2.1MP front camera
WiFi a/b/g/n/ac

Comparing this to the HTC One, the Snapdragon 800 processor is a small upgrade, the RAM stays the same, the resolution stays the same but the screen size is slightly larger and we have the same Ultrapixel and front-facing camera, with an update to WiFi ac.

On the internals end, the change is minuet, the difference in performance between the Snapdragon 600 and Snapdragon 800 is minimal and nothing else is really different, making us wonder if this leak is up to date.

Some phones are starting to grab 3GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 805 processor is already available for OEMs. On the display end, we are starting to hear rumors of 2K displays (2560 x 1440) and Oppo has already said their next flagship will come with the higher resolution display.

It is possible the HTC M8 will be the turn of a new leaf for the company, considering the HTC One did not do enough to really save the company from a loss in Q3 and the lacklustre performance is starting to hurt both the brand name and the investor interest.

Perhaps the HTC M8 will take battery life and make big upgrades on Sense 6.0, running alongside Android KitKat 4.4. This would be an exciting change to take on the Moto X, but it would put HTC out of the race for the highest-end smartphone, something Samsung looks likely to win this year.

HTC One, Max and Mini all grabbing Android 4.4.2 before March

January 2, 2014 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

The consistency of updates from HTC is becoming impressive, from one update for most devices and two updates for very popular ones, HTC has now moved to making all devices worth upgrading and has started making sure all devices get updated much faster than they did previously.

All three of the major devices HTC has out right now, including the One, One Max and One Mini, will be grabbing the latest version of Android KitKat 4.4. Since the update will happen over the air, the company says the update will arrive between now and the end of February.

A spokesperson for HTC did say the One and One Max would be updated to KitKat and we believe the Evo 4G will be updated sometime soon. This may be the last update for the HTC One, as the next generation flagship is set to be announced at either CES or MWC.

The Android KitKat update brings a whole host of optimisation to the operating system, but to a user level the major changes are more Google Now functionality, immersion mode for apps, Hangouts integration with SMS and caller prioritisation.

Sadly the new update does not come with a new version of Sense, although HTC has updated the skin for Android KitKat 4.4. We believe the first look at Sense 6.0 will be at CES or MWC, when the company reveals the successor to the HTC One, possibly the HTC Two.

HTC is not the only company working hard to get updates out faster, Motorola has started bringing updates to the Moto X faster than some Nexus devices and both Samsung and Sony have been making sure their highest selling smartphones get quicker updates.

All of this brings more consumer confidence when it comes to picking up an Android device – if you know it will still be viable in two years, it is easy to pen in a two year contract.

Verizon updating HTC One to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

December 18, 2013 By Lori David Leave a Comment

Verizon Wireless was the last of the four big carriers in the US to pick up the HTC One, arriving months behind AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. Despite the delay, Verizon has announced they will be updating the HTC One to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean across the US.

The HTC One originally arrived with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and there was no update to Android 4.2.2. Instead, HTC and the various carriers around the world have waited for Android 4.3 and Android 4.4, the last step in Jelly Bean and KitKat.

Since this is a Verizon update, the HTC One will get its fill of new and improved bloatware. This has become commonplace for US carriers and we long for a time where Android OEM partners decide enough is enough, like Apple has done since the original iPhone.

The HTC One is still a fan favorite and many review website still call it the de-facto smartphone of 2013, despite newer smartphones available with better specs. HTC delivered an amazingly well designed smartphone with an operating system skin that didn’t upset many core vanilla Android fans.

HTC has already announced their plans to get Android 4.4 KitKat on the HTC One by January, making this update seem a little redundant. Of course, since carriers ship out the updates in the US, we probably won’t be seeing KitKat on HTC One devices in the US until late spring 2014.

Android 4.3 only brings a few updates to the OS and the major one is Bluetooth Low Energy and other Bluetooth updates. Open GL|ES 3.0 has also been added to the update, along with some UI changes.

Android 4.4 KitKat is where all the new Google-ideas come into play, not only does this update make low-end smartphones compatible, it also makes Google Now more impactful, adds full screen album art and immersion mode for applications and Google has merged SMS and Messaging together, similar to how Apple did iMessage.

HTC M8 revealed with WiFi certification, HTC One successor

December 16, 2013 By Micheal Baptiste Leave a Comment

HTC has one problem when it comes to the successor of the HTC One, what to name the smartphone. The HTC One Two does not sound like the type of product that will make millions in sales, it is confusing and bound to be mocked on the Internet.

For now, the HTC One successor is able to hide behind the HTC M8 codename. All HTC flagships hide behind the M codename, including the HTC One and HTC One Max, it looks like the successor will go under the same lingo.

We have heard various rumors on the HTC M8 and even seen a convincing blurry image of the smartphone, but the latest piece of news all but confirms that somewhere in the world, the HTC M8 is being developed, even though we still have no concrete evidence this will be the HTC One successor.

The confirmation comes from the WiFi certification, showing the HTC M8 passing the certification with dual-band WiFi a/b/g/n/ac. We are glad to see both dual-band and ac on the WiFi, meaning the connection will be much stronger and can be much faster, depending on the speed of the WiFi.

Most rumors point to the HTC M8 being the next HTC One and we have heard various tales on what will be added onto the smartphone. On the design side, we will not be seeing much change, but HTC will launch with a blue edition of the smartphone, as a leaked photo showed.

Internally the HTC M8 will ship out with a 2650 x 1600 display, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, 4 Ultrapixel camera, LTE, NFC and an IR blaster.

No date has been announced so far, but most rumors are pointing to an MWC 2014 launch in February, similar to reports on the Galaxy S5, LG G3 and other high-end Android devices.

HTC M8 to be available on four major carriers in Q1 2014

November 11, 2013 By David Leave a Comment

We have had quite a few rumors on the HTC M8 in the past week, pointing to some truth on the notion HTC will announce their new flagship smartphone early this year and it will come with the same design as the HTC One and possibly the same name.

According to a new report, the HTC M8 will land on all four major carriers in the US following its announcement at one of the big events early in 2014. This is a big deal for HTC, who have struggled previously to grab the support of all carriers.

The HTC One did manage to grab all support but Verizon Wireless took a few months to actually pick up the smartphone. The idea is that with the HTC M8 we will see all four carriers announce availability straight after the release of the smartphone.

Availability is not the only problem for HTC, last year the HTC One was out of stock in most places for a good two months. Problems with the Ultrapixel camera made the HTC One unavailable for a time in the US and may have lost HTC a huge amount of potential sales.

The HTC M8 may be a fix to all the problems HTC had in the short term, from the brief overview we got of the new specs, it looks like a slightly upgraded version of the HTC One, nothing that should push the availability or stock out of the water, at least in the short term.

Specs include the Snapdragon 800 chip, 3GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, an updated Ultrapixel camera and 2560 x 1600 5-inch display. The last part is really exciting and HTC will not be the only ones offering a new high-res display, with the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 expected to up-the-ante for MWC.

HTC M8 blurry photo leaked as the HTC One successor

November 7, 2013 By David Leave a Comment

The next line of flagship Android device may come earlier than expected if recent reports are anything to go by, Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG will be preparing to launch their next flagship sometime in early Spring 2014.

HTC M8 will apparently be the next generation HTC One, likely to be named similar to the previous generation. The HTC M8 looks a lot like the HTC One and we have already seen an apparent leaked specs sheet showing all the new components in the smartphone.

The HTC M8 is expected to come with the 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, 3GB of RAM and a new updated Ultrapixel sensor. On the software side we should see the HTC M8 come with Android KitKat 4.4 and the new version of Sense 6.0.

This does look like another winner for us, the HTC One is still one of the best devices on the market and is likely to take the smartphone of 2013 trophy hands down, beating the heavy competition on both Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

Even with the title of best smartphone, HTC has failed to make a huge amount of sales. The company has been scaling back on device launches and it has cost them a lot of revenue and gave them their first loss in quarter three 2013.

The HTC M8 may be another brilliant phone but HTC will need to market the phone and make sure it is available in as many countries as LG, Samsung and Apple are capable of grabbing when they launch a flagship device.

Other devices set to be present at MWC 2014 include the Galaxy S5, LG G3, Xperia Z2 and we may see a move from Huawei and Lenovo, who both want to get into the US market and may try to do it with a big smartphone launch at the annual conference.

HTC One will be getting Android KitKat 4.4 in 90 days

November 1, 2013 By David Leave a Comment

HTC has never been one of the best for adding updates to their premium handsets, but in the past few months the company has rolled out some pretty significant updates in quick succession, including the HTC One and some other devices getting the Android 4.3 update.

This time, HTC has not skipped a beat and announced every HTC One will be getting Android KitKat 4.4 in 90 days. This is a bold move by HTC, who now have to live up to the expectation and deliver the update before the end of January.

Normally with an Android handset the smartphone maker has to make changes to their UI skin first, making everything compatible with the update. It is then pushed to the carriers, who then add their junk to the system and it is then pushed to the user, after getting verified by Google.

This is a lengthy process and can be the reason users don’t get their update for several months. Sometimes Google will not accept certain changes to the UI and sometimes carriers will decide not to push out the update because of the size or customisations that may not favor their apps.

The HTC One is still the flagship device and continues to sell well, despite HTC’s poor third quarter. The HTC One Max and HTC One Mini will also be getting the Android KitKat 4.4 update within the next few months, making the whole brand updated until the next big Android update.

Android KitKat 4.4 does bring some notable changes, most importantly the ability to run smoothly on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM. In a time where 3GB of RAM is starting to become a thing, we are glad to see Google downscaling for the budget end community.

The new update also offering more battery life due to low-energy sensors and a less heavy OS. Google has added SMS into Hangouts and also added a fitness app to track walking.

HTC One Max finally official after months of leaks

October 14, 2013 By David Leave a Comment

The very first HTC One Max leak was way back in summer, when leakers found out something called the HTC T6 with high-end specs and a huge 5.9-inch display, since then we have had countless photos, specs info and executives detailing the HTC One Max.

Today we got an official announcement, one day before we expected it to happen. The HTC One Max has almost all the features leaked previously and the big exciting feature is the fingerprint sensor on the back of the smartphone.

Apple fanboys may claim copying, but the idea of fingerprint sensors has been around on computers for a while, fuelled by Apple’s new iPhone 5S and the leaks, HTC may have seen this as a great move in security and getting people excited about hardware features.

The HTC One Max sticks with the same design aesthetic from the original HTC One, the aluminium build, front facing BoomSound speakers, capacitive keys and 4 Ultrapixel rear camera, but comes with a 5.9-inch full HD screen, making this a “phablet” phone.

Inside the HTC One Max sits Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon 600 alongside 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Snapdragon 600 is a mediocre processor compared to the Tegra 4 and Snapdragon 800 and we aren’t sure why HTC didn’t put a faster CPU inside this beast of a device.

On the software side, the HTC One Max comes with Android Jelly Bean 4.3 on top of the Sense 5.5 UI skin. HTC has not announced any new software features to come alongside the fingerprint sensor, so this may just be another way to unlock the device.

HTC gave no official launch date on when the HTC One Max would be coming, but did say sometime next month. This may be enough time to wait for all the people who have been waiting months for this beast, but we believe many have already grabbed their phablet of choice, the Galaxy Note 3.