I just came back from the official launch event of the HTC One M8, which they launched HTC Desire 816 and Desire 610 together. Well, I had a good time over there but my leg was aching due to standing for quite a long period despite limited seating provided. However, the event was wrapped up quite fast with their stated agenda finished half an hour earlier. So, what actually did HTC explained about during the event? Of course their main focus was on ” the best just got better” HTC One M8 that started with the video of HTC Chairwomen Cher Wang stating her gratitude to the people present for the launch event, followed by welcoming speech from the HTC Country Manager SK Wong and the Senior Marketing Director of HTC South Asia, Sirpa Ikola. Lastly the event was wrapped up by the Head of Product Portfolio of HTC South Asia, Justin Zhang who did a great job explaining about the features and outlook of the HTC One M8, Desire 816 and Desire 610.
The HTC One M8 is priced at RM2399, available in two colors – Gunmetal Grey, Glacier Silver and is already made available few days ago before launch, and some dealers have already started selling this product for quite some time. You can get it from any authorized dealers or even under Maxis, and I think there is only Brightstar now who grants warranty service as SiS was not anywhere to be mentioned or even noticeable in the event. Quick intro of the M8, powered by the Snapdragon 801 quad core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM with microSD support up to 128GB, supports Malaysia’s LTE band, Android 4.4 KitKat with Sense 6 UI, BlinkFeed, Boomsound with stereo front facing speakers, 4MP Ultrapixel camera without OIS but with Duo Camera which catches depth information much accurately and 5MP front shooter with wide lens and f2.0 aperture which enables you to take selfies like a boss. The HTC One M8 has a battery capacity of 2600mAh with talk time up to 20 hours on 3G and based on some user feedback, the battery life is better than the Samsung Galaxy S5.
The HTC Desire 816 and HTC Desire 610 both priced at RM1199 and RM999 respectively. Whats the difference between these two device? Well the Desire 816 has 5.5″ 720p display, Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.6GHz, 13MP main camera with f2.2 aperture, 5MP wide angle front camera, 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of ROM with microSD support up to 128GB,LTE connectivity, the dual Boomsound front facing speakers, and 2600mAh of battery capacity. Oh, before I forget, unfortunately the Malaysian version of the HTC Desire 816 is NOT dual sim.
HTC Desire 610 is a much lower ranged smartphone compared to the HTC Desire 816. It packs a 4.7″ 480p display,Snapdragon 400 clocked lower at 1.2GHz, 8MP main camera with f2.4 aperture and 1.3MP front facing camera, yes it has LTE as well for blazing web browsing speed, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of ROM with the same microSD support up to 128GB, and a decent battery capacity set at 2040mAh.
Do take note that all three smartphones mentioned above uses nano sim which is the same sim card used on the latest iOS variants instead of micro sim. Well this is not really a big issue as when you need LTE connectivity, you still have to head over to your mobile operator and change to the sim card that designed just for LTE, simultaneously you can get the nano sized one.
So guys, which one of these three smartphones you would choose to purchase? Would you get the HTC One M8 despite a lot of new mobile phone manufacturers coming into Malaysian market with similar specs but cheaper price? Well, I am pretty sure the quality still remains from the guys from HTC as they are well known for their built quality.