asked and was confirmed the outright version has no Telstra craps on (staff members told me so,still not quite sure), for a local Au stock with Telstra's network of stores, $840 is not too bad for this phone
HTC One M8 Outright $840 at Telstra
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webtherapist on 02/05/2014 - 11:49 files.ozbargain.com.au (287 clicks)
Last edited 02/05/2014 - 12:00 by 1 other user
Last edited 02/05/2014 - 12:00 by 1 other user
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but no 'boomsound' ;P
Has Sony improved their camera software yet? The HTC's very fast camera which also performs well in low light drove me to it. It was a 3-way battle between the Z2, M8, and S5 for me.
It has a very fast camera because it's only 4MP, and while I like my M8 in low light, it hasn't been too good on daylight where it is more brighter. Also disappointed about no OIS on the M8, would rather have that than the gimmicky duo camera
Just FYI the Z2 is a 20MP camera BUT that is ONLY in manual mode, if you leave it on default auto mode it only takes 8MP pictures.
It's the same with all phones, the Samsung S4 did that as well (13mp but defaulted to 8mp)
Sony Z series has always been superior in specs when they are released, there are some downsides to them although have not read enough on the Z2 to judge it yet, i picked the old HTC One over the Z1 and the LG G2 over it for my wife (build and battery being the issue's with the Sony)
First thing i suggest is to hold a Z series phone in your hands if possible next to a galaxy S4/5, HTC or LG G2 and see if the sheer size and weight of it is something you can live with. Although i knew how good the Z1's internals were the sheer size and up and down reviews of the battery life and build quality put me off.
But on paper your 100% right it is a superior phone.
The Z1 has amazing specs but take a look at the Z1 thread on whirlpool, it's basically plagued with people complaining about firmware and update issues. Unfortunately Sony's software hasn't caught up to their hardware quality.
yes unfortunately i noticed that pattern with Z then Z1, so i went with the HTC One which was def a lower spec'd phone on paper, but the build quality and USER reviews of the HTC def won me over.
I beg to differ. I bought a Z when it was launched last year from Telstra and the only thing that held back the updates was Telstra (always months behind the world). I zapped the stock unbranded Sony firmware on it and I have had many updates now since I purchased it.
I also have an Xperia Ultra that my wife uses that was purchased unbranded and her phone has had update after update.
Not to mention that Sony frequently updates other Apps such as the Albums, Walkman and Video players even baseband separately outside of the major firmware updates. Im not a Sony fanboibut have not been disappointed with my phone which has been running strong for 13 Months without any issue.
And the battery life is way better than the S3 that I had previously.
I dont agree about the software. I find the software to work great and a better phone than a s4 ( the only other phone I can really compare it to)
The Z is a great sized phone , unfortunately the Z1 got bigger and heavier and the Z2 is bigger again but lighter ( I know it has a bigger screen). Sony should make the bezel smaller or at least the top and bottom 5mm shorter.
I think water proof is overrated. It really only protects if you drop it in the toilet or body of water AND only if all covers are shut tightly. Most phones these days have some splash proof (HTC M8 has it too but they dont mention it)
And the best bit is, if your phone ever got water damage, it is not covered by warranty whether waterproofed or not.
Specs dont really say much of the user experience, Some phones have bigger ram/better spec, but it doesnt mean it runs smoother. It depends on the company's ability to fine tune it. In this regard HTC seems to have a good rep (although my HTC one V is plagued by the contact list bug, it is very smooth for a very low end phone except the times when it unloads the contact list… but that's another story).
And also, some people liked HTC because of HTC sense, this is what hardware specs cannot replace.
love HTC Sense and Blink Feed… i thought id hate it but its the first thing i go through every time i use my phone.
It will be covered if the flaps are all closed. The all have a moisture sensor so sony knows if you didn't haven't phone sealed.
Waterproofing is great to wash my phone clean, getting sand of it after the beach. I also use it as a waterproof radio/music player in the shower.
Hmm that's always been the price. I bought mine outright from Telstra and there's a Telstra bootup screen and a TelstraOne app.
It's $819 (free shipping) at MobileCiti for local stock btw:
http://www.mobileciti.com.au/htc-one-m8-metal-greyNot sure why they still use the same ultra pixel camera, I can understand for the M7 but that is a fail experiment, why repeat it and even worse without the OIS now.
What's wrong with 4MP?
Try cropping a 4MP image then printing it. Doesn't give you anywhere the flexibility or quality of a 22MP or even an 8MP photo would. Especially for enlargements.
How often do you crop, enlarge, and print your smartphone photos?
Nothing is wrong if this is year 2010 but in 2014, consumers expect at least 13 megapixels in flagship phones.
Yes that's what consumers expect, but what is the reasoning behind it apart from marketing?
We do?
Personally I think smartphones only need to be able to take good enough pictures to post on facebook/instagram and print out 6x4 since the majority use them for it. As long as it has good high iso / night scene features. Other filters etc can be done by app so any phone should be equivalent.
Most people would use a dedicated camera or at least something more camera orientated device (e.g. those camera phones) if they want to take a photo to blow it up. More pixels = bigger files too dont forget.
The only time is when you get caught out without your camera on something you really want to take a pic and blow it up, but dont thing that will be often. (caught without a camera when you want to take a photo should be quite common, but needing to blow it up and print it out, probably not)
But yeah, 8MP will probably be better than 4MP for practical purposes, but 22MP is just marketing…
HTC Should of done what Apple did on the 5S, 8MP and larger pixels, 4MP can be too restricting
even worse without the OIS now.
Yep. Don't know who thought it'd be a good idea to remove that when it's a feature few other flagships have.
Agreed not a deal. Just Telstra RRP.
I bought one of these a week or two ago.
The only correct comment here is the camera is unable to crop much. I also found it's not great in direct sunlight.
Otherwise, shots at night without a flash offer excellent clear images, almost no motion blur, being able to refocus a photo after taking it and excellent depth of field make this camera so much better than the others for the times you need it.
The phone is made out of metal and feels great, the iPhone compares to the build quality but the Samsung and others, well, not so much.
But this is the same price I paid from a Telstra shop, no bargain here.
Yeah it can definitely do better in direct sunlight. Highlights get overblown. The M7 had a firmware update that fixed the camera quality, hopefully the M8 gets one that fixes that problem.
I have to admit the build quality is very good vs S5, just like my old HTC One X is better than S3. But first thing I do is get a back cover and screen protector for my new phone and once you have the cover on, the build quality don't make much difference. Of course you can use your phone without a cover on, but then, when it scratch, it is very painful.
This is just advertising, can be found cheaper elsewhere as has already been pointed out.
I don't believe it will have no telstra software. Look in the apps I bet there is the telstra 24/7 app. Also if you power it up does it show a telstra logo on boot.
Pretty expensive, considering both Nokia Lumia 1020 & 1520 are way better phones
Because that's not subjective at all, is it?
It's not like the camera is cutting edge tech.
It's not like the camera is the only metric by which a phone can be judged.
And no, the camera isn't the best in class as an all-purpose shooter, nor will it give the most detail, but it does provide some of the best low-light shots going around. As I said; subjective.
The sales person has misinformed you. All Telstra handsets come branded with a Telstra boot screen and a TelstraOne app. It does not matter whether you purchased the device outright or on a plan, they are all the same. Pretty much the only phones that aren't branded are iPhones.
Sony Z2 for $759 plus delivery is a way better phone. Better Camera, more RAM, Water and Dust Proof, Bigger Battery and bigger screen. Also supports USB3 and MHL3 to output to your 4k LCD. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/142572