The M8 for Windows would still be the best Windows device if only it wasn't for the...

[waazzupppp]

So, being real, and loving my M8 immensely since release, I had to take stock of the current crop of Windows devices and wonder - is the M8 the best Windows phone that was ever made? I broke it down and realized that for me, it was the PERFECT phone except for one tiny-glaring error... The camera.

I know people will have their own definitions of 'the best camera ever' in a phone and my personal award for this one goes to the Lumia 925, but honestly, if HTC could have done something MORE with the camera on the M8, this device would have been a game changer for Windows. The Audio is superb, the screen is brilliant and the feel of the device is timeless. The camera, however, just never delivered awesome shots, they were just "ok"...

Throwing down against the Lumia 1520, the camera actually does a better job in reproduction, but misses the mark in anything that required detail after Macro range. So, my question is... how many of you feel that the M8 was indeed the best WP ever made and why?

 

[mark233]

I certainly agree with this ^

My overall favorite phones with Windows was the 925 ... and the M8 is right on the heels. If the camera on the M8 even just had OIS onboard then it would have been in front of the 925 for me. That phone just handled Win 8.1 super fast and was nearly flawless.

 

[aximtreo]

I had one once upon a time. Loved it but my itchy fingers wanted something different. I remember it being built like a brick ... house.

 

[xandros9]

I personally don't agree. The design of the M7 and on never really grew on me, although perhaps oddly I liked the design of HTC phones in the WP7 era.

My chief concern with the M8 is I hear that it's pretty hard to repair. I'm would hold up the 920 as best WP myself, but don't get me wrong, the M8 is quite the force to be reckoned with. Just not my style even in Android-land.

 

[Sedp23]

if only they didnt drop support for it so fast.....thats worst than the camera

Sent from mTalk

 

[fatclue_98]

I have to agree that the camera did turn a lot of people off. That being said, the M8 and the Ativ SE were my favorites of the W8 devices only because of their sizes. The 1520 was not an easy piece to hold even with my mitts.

 

[onlysublime]

I had both the One M8 and the Icon. Both great for different reasons. Overall, I like the HTC more. It's a shame Windows Phone fans didn't show more support. Maybe HTC would've released one of their newer phones if the WP version did better with WP fans.

 

[waazzupppp]

I personally don't agree. The design of the M7 and on never really grew on me, although perhaps oddly I liked the design of HTC phones in the WP7 era.

My chief concern with the M8 is I hear that it's pretty hard to repair. I'm would hold up the 920 as best WP myself, but don't get me wrong, the M8 is quite the force to be reckoned with. Just not my style even in Android-land.

I loved the Titan and Radar which is what the M8 really reminded me of. It was more polished and finished, but it was very similar in style. The M8 was no harder to fix than any of the Nokia models that were out at the time, and it's not nearly as difficult as the glass back models that are running around the carriers now. My Android M8 has been blown up so many times I can't even count them, but it still looks new and runs smooth as silk. Battery life isn't where it once was, but for about $75 HTC will happily throw in a new one for me - as long as they still have them available.

I get the feeling of missing those Win 7 handsets. They were so nice until MS dumped support of them. Wait, that sounds familiar doesn't it?

 

[waazzupppp]

if only they didnt drop support for it so fast.....thats worst than the camera

Sent from mTalk

I'm not sure that this is really on HTC as the M8 came out so close to the EOL for Win 8.1. If more units had sold, would MS have pushed Win10 to HTC to make them release it? Maybe, but that's all a guess at this point. The fact of the matter was the M8 was the first serious cross over handset from Android (I know Sammy did some close-to-its with the Galaxy and the Ativ, but not dead on like the M8) so it had some MAJOR promise in the works. I still say the killer features that were missing were USB OTG, a decent enough camera and the switch from XBox music to Groove was a bit chunky for such a great Audio device. Oh and the fact that they made APN editing non-functional without root changes.

 

[xandros9]

Oh and the fact that they made APN editing non-functional without root changes.

Just a really minor detail but I'm pretty sure that's a trait shared by all/most Verizon Windows Phones.

 

[fatclue_98]

Oh and the fact that they made APN editing non-functional without root changes.

You don't need "root" on Windows devices, drop that Android mentality. A simple registry edit is all that's needed and if you search the forums the tools are amazingly available. The tools and the steps are the same for the Icon, M8 and Ativ SE.

 

[Sedp23]

I'm not sure that this is really on HTC as the M8 came out so close to the EOL for Win 8.1. If more units had sold, would MS have pushed Win10 to HTC to make them release it? Maybe, but that's all a guess at this point. The fact of the matter was the M8 was the first serious cross over handset from Android (I know Sammy did some close-to-its with the Galaxy and the Ativ, but not dead on like the M8) so it had some MAJOR promise in the works. I still say the killer features that were missing were USB OTG, a decent enough camera and the switch from XBox music to Groove was a bit chunky for such a great Audio device. Oh and the fact that they made APN editing non-functional without root changes.

its doesnt matter how close to eol for 8.1 it was released....HTC PROMISED a update to windows 10 when it was announced then all of a sudden 10 comes out and they are no where to be found

i would never buy another phone from them after that

Sent from mTalk

 

[waazzupppp]

You don't need "root" on Windows devices, drop that Android mentality. A simple registry edit is all that's needed and if you search the forums the tools are amazingly available. The tools and the steps are the same for the Icon, M8 and Ativ SE.

Seriously, "root changes" is a generic term. It's not saying you need root access like Android. I could have said modifying the system files or whatever, but the fact is you need to HACK the phone to enable the APN editing. It's not something that the average joe-blow from the street is going to be able to do on their own. Sure, if you search online, find a site like this, download the developer apps from MS then reprogram your device, you can edit the APNs, but if I purchased a used M8 online, then put my T-Mobile SIM in the Verizon Phone, it won't work. That's all I was saying. Nokia offered an APN editor - HTC did not.

its doesnt matter how close to eol for 8.1 it was released....HTC PROMISED a update to windows 10 when it was announced then all of a sudden 10 comes out and they are no where to be found

i would never buy another phone from them after that

Sent from mTalk

This has been covered multiple times and still can be covered again and again with hair splitting words... HTC promised to provide the most current version of the OS for 2 years on Android handsets. Since MS branded Win10 as a NEW OS, completely different from 8, HTC's support ended with 8.1 - which was the last verison of Windows 8 that Microsoft released. I'm not saying it was a good move, but there were only a handful of One M8 for Windows devices sold. It wasn't worth their time or effort to release 10 to the carriers because they didn't even want to test it. As you can see today, 10 is a failure in the consumer market (at this point) and it shows no signs of making a comeback any time soon.

People try to say it's HTC's fault, which it partly is, but Microsoft is really the one that turned their back on the users once again. Look at all the Lumias that dropped off the Win10 list after it was ready to go. MS did it to us on 6.5, then 7.5 and again on 8.1. I love Windows Phone/Mobile, but it's getting old having to buy a new handset everytime MS gets a bug up their rear about having to restart everything. Best of luck finding a Win Phone in the future that doesn't end up screwing you for updates though. It's a tried and true patter for MS ever since, well, forever - with the exception of the HTC HD2, which I think even runs Win 10 at this point.

 

[Sedp23]

Seriously, "root changes" is a generic term. It's not saying you need root access like Android. I could have said modifying the system files or whatever, but the fact is you need to HACK the phone to enable the APN editing. It's not something that the average joe-blow from the street is going to be able to do on their own. Sure, if you search online, find a site like this, download the developer apps from MS then reprogram your device, you can edit the APNs, but if I purchased a used M8 online, then put my T-Mobile SIM in the Verizon Phone, it won't work. That's all I was saying. Nokia offered an APN editor - HTC did not.




This has been covered multiple times and still can be covered again and again with hair splitting words... HTC promised to provide the most current version of the OS for 2 years on Android handsets. Since MS branded Win10 as a NEW OS, completely different from 8, HTC's support ended with 8.1 - which was the last verison of Windows 8 that Microsoft released. I'm not saying it was a good move, but there were only a handful of One M8 for Windows devices sold. It wasn't worth their time or effort to release 10 to the carriers because they didn't even want to test it. As you can see today, 10 is a failure in the consumer market (at this point) and it shows no signs of making a comeback any time soon.

People try to say it's HTC's fault, which it partly is, but Microsoft is really the one that turned their back on the users once again. Look at all the Lumias that dropped off the Win10 list after it was ready to go. MS did it to us on 6.5, then 7.5 and again on 8.1. I love Windows Phone/Mobile, but it's getting old having to buy a new handset everytime MS gets a bug up their rear about having to restart everything. Best of luck finding a Win Phone in the future that doesn't end up screwing you for updates though. It's a tried and true patter for MS ever since, well, forever - with the exception of the HTC HD2, which I think even runs Win 10 at this point.

most of those phones dropped out the 10 list were already out 3 years. You couldnt possibly think a 920 that was released in 2012 was getting a update to a new os in 2016? they had long before said those phones were guaranteed support for up to 36 months. So if u scrap those phones it wasn't many phones left out

Sent from mTalk

 

[fatclue_98]

Seriously, "root changes" is a generic term. It's not saying you need root access like Android. I could have said modifying the system files or whatever, but the fact is you need to HACK the phone to enable the APN editing. It's not something that the average joe-blow from the street is going to be able to do on their own. Sure, if you search online, find a site like this, download the developer apps from MS then reprogram your device, you can edit the APNs, but if I purchased a used M8 online, then put my T-Mobile SIM in the Verizon Phone, it won't work. That's all I was saying. Nokia offered an APN editor - HTC did not.

That is patently false. If you buy a Verizon M8 and put a T-Mobile SIM in it, it will work. The only features that will not work are MMS and Internet Sharing. Also, a registry editor is not a "hack" as it will not void your warranty. Just so you know, it's not HTC that cripples the devices, it's Verizon. The AT&T M8 has APN editing built in. The Lumia Icon is as locked down as any other Verizon phone so your argument just went up in flames. It's ok to hate on HTC, most Windows Central members do.

 

[waazzupppp]

That is patently false. If you buy a Verizon M8 and put a T-Mobile SIM in it, it will work. The only features that will not work are MMS and Internet Sharing. Also, a registry editor is not a "hack" as it will not void your warranty. Just so you know, it's not HTC that cripples the devices, it's Verizon. The AT&T M8 has APN editing built in. The Lumia Icon is as locked down as any other Verizon phone so your argument just went up in flames. It's ok to hate on HTC, most Windows Central members do.

Again, you're splitting terms - though for the record here's the definition of "HACK" for you from WIkipedia: In modern computing terminology, a kludge (or often a "hack") is a solution to a problem, doing a task, or fixing a system that is inefficient, inelegant or even unfathomable, but which nevertheless (more or less) works. - which if you ask me is exactly what editing a registry beyond the controls that VZW gives you is doing.

Now all of that said, it's not important who requested the APN access be blocked, which you are correct, it was Verizon that did, the fact is HTC or Microsoft could have opened up the APN editing software at any time. In fact, I had a chat with one of the folks at HTC about it and he said it was on the roadmap to be included in a future update. Then Verizon killed the program and the update was never released - this would have been an 8.1 update, not a 10. Still, even with the update being shelved, MS could have released the APN editor that was used with the Lumia line (which you can also gain access to by changing your device name) and letting users have that. It was a power play by Verizon to keep their phone on their network, but both HTC and MS could have fixed it up in a flash.

Face it, all three parties here just wanted to make a buck. The fact is, the phone itself, running Windows 8 or 10, is still one of the best Windows devices ever made. That was the point of the thread, and I'll try to bring it back around to that. If you had an M8, what was the biggest drawback you found in it?

 

[nate0]

For its time, it was. I owned the 929, ATIV SE, and the M8 when they came out. M8 was good on battery, and to me around the perfect size. Already had dbl tap to wake before all the others...it was ideal for where I hoped newer windows phones would aspire to, but yes it had its downfalls too..but not many.

 

[fatclue_98]

Now all of that said, it's not important who requested the APN access be blocked, which you are correct, it was Verizon that did, the fact is HTC or Microsoft could have opened up the APN editing software at any time.

You keep harping on HTC when it's Verizon to blame. I will state it one more time, The HTC M8 has APN editing available on every carrier EXCEPT Verizon. Every Nokia and Samsung sold by Verizon has this feature disabled via registry setting. Changing a DWORD setting on a Windows-based device is not a hack. I'll repeat, NOT A HACK. Most users have no idea what a registry tree is and have no business going in there which is why most Windows phones don't have any onboard registry editors since Windows Mobile 6.5. Every single Windows computer has one, you just have to know where to find it. I'm out.

 

[daveb673]

I too like the double tap to wake up. I'm still surprised iPhones don't have this feature. At least the 6 series doesn't. The camera is a bit of a bummer, as I'd like a little more MP. But, if I'd dig my good camera out that'd be a non-issue. I'd really like a slide out keyboard, but I know I'm in the minority at that. I had the HTC Kaiser for 4 years; loved that phone. That was why I went with the M8 for Windows, and because I'd tried the HTC Titan and it was pretty good with WP7.8. I'm really looking at getting a Bluetooth keyboard for a Galaxy 4. Size is close enough; with a little plastic surgery it'll fit.

 

[Kot Prada]

So, at this moment, M8 or 950 XL?

Or better to wait for Surface?