The new HTC One M8 is official

Few days ago HTC introduced simultaneously in London and New York its new smartphone star, One M8, the successor to the highly awarded One that occurred in February of last year (the One M7), which was about to be sold in the countries that was out its plans, and that despite being considered one of the best smartphones of the year and be the most popular in the history of the company, failed to prevent the manufacturer had, for the first time in its history, economic losses (resulting from sold about 26 million smartphones in 2013, against 31 million in 2012).

But what matters is the new HTC One M8, which in recent weeks practically knew everything.

LOVE OF METAL

Like its predecessor, has a body made from a single piece of polished metal (95 percent of the housing is made of metal, say at HTC) but with more rounded edges to soften the fact that it is slightly larger the original One-measures 146.3 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm and weighs 160 grams. The reason: SuperLCD3 give rise to its 5-inch screen and full HD (protected by Gorilla Glass 3). It will be available in three colors: light silver the same original One, a darker version and one in gold.

It retains the excellent speakers in front (25% more powerful, according to the company), but no longer has capacitive buttons, but chooses to do virtual, like other Android OEMs. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core 2.3GHz (same as Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 ), 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB internal microSD card slot, plus LTE connectivity, 3G, Wi -Fi and Bluetooth; NFC, GPS, and infrared port for use as remote control. Has MHL connector (USB and HDMI at the same port) which is now next to the audio jack.

The battery is larger 2600 mAh against 2300 mAh (non-removable) previous model, and has an extreme power saving mode in the style of Galaxy S5 (only allows calls and SMS, and off the background data, but greatly extends the autonomy of the remaining charge in the battery, 15 hours with 5 percent of battery). It uses nanoSIM and comes with Android 4.4.2 and Sense 6, adaptation that HTC makes the user interface of Android, which includes BlinkFeed, an application that brings all the news about social networks, news and more, plus content from Foursquare, Fitbit and others. Sense 6 may be installed in the original HTC One; the company says it will provide support and upgrades for 2 years at the latest models.

The One M8 takes some ideas in other platforms by allowing gestures in escrow to activate functions such as double tap on the screen to unlock the screen and then slide its finger from one direction to activate a specific application; press the volume button on a locked phone and activates the camera landscape, etc.. It includes, according to the company, new motion sensors low power to detect the use of equipment.

THE ULTRAPIXELES STILL ALIVE

The HTC One of 2013 was remarkable for the use of a 4-megapixel main camera with a special sensor that spends twice the area recorded for each pixel (2 microns per side, or 1.5 to 1 micron in a conventional sensor; the company called ultrapixeles); the idea behind is to offer reasonable resolution photos but greater color range, sensitivity to low light, and so on.

The new One M8 follows this concept. The 5-megapixel front camera for video calls and autophotos adds two rear chambers: the main, 4 megapixels (but with a big sensor as the previous version, without optical image stabilization), and a second chamber which helps in its operation at various points, as it features a depth sensor that accelerates AF (300 milliseconds, the same as the Galaxy S5).

For example, assists in capturing a special photo that lets you change the focus once captured image (as the Lytro camera and Nokia with Windows Phone 8 Refocus using the application). It also allows you to adjust the brightness of the flash and offers greater control over the pictures capture. And it will be open for developers to create applications specific to your computer. Join filters that exploit the two cameras to have more information on the depth of field of the image, and so on.

The camera also lets you record video in slow motion and choose which parts are normal speed and which are not (like the iPhone 5S). HTC transform Zoe, its application to combine photos and videos, an online service for sharing this content.

TODAY IN THE UNITED STATES; UNKNOWN FOR ARGENTINA

The HTC One M8 goes on sale now in the U.S. with AT & T (the version that is compatible with national networks), Sprint and Verizon; AT & T will offer it at $ 200 with contract. You can also buy it unlocked for $ 649. According to the company, a total of 230 operators in over 100 countries that offer the team between now and the end of April, most before 10 April (April 11 goes on sale Samsung Galaxy S5).

The company also confirmed that there will be a version Google Play (i.e. without cosmetic changes and applications to Android 4.4.2 HTC sum). Upon its arrival in Argentina, what is known so far is that there will be developments in the country until the second half of this year. .