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Hands-on with HTC's plastic One: Flagship features for half the price
HTC's betting big on its recently unveiled E8 by pricing it almost half as much as the similarly-specced M8 in China, so naturally, we had to check it out for the sake of curiosity. To our surprise, the plastic body was quite solid -- more so than the Desire 816 -- and felt good thanks to the ergonomic curves on the back. The design also looked better in real life than in the official renders, though only time will tell how scratch-proof that glossy body is. Slower camera and lack of TV remote feature aside, the E8 is easily a steal given the near-identical guts as the M8 (Snapdragon 801, 5-inch 1080p screen, microSD expansion and more) plus the reassuring build quality; and there's even a hilariously large limited edition packaging that doubles as a mood light -- check it out in our video after the break.
HTC's 'Vogue Edition' One (E8) is around half the cost of the M8
Just as we were getting bored of the leaks about the plastic HTC One "Vogue Edition," the company has finally decided to announce the only thing that we actually care about: its price. Well, according to the announcement in China, this dual-SIM LTE phone -- codenamed "E8" -- is launching there for CN¥2,799 or about $450 unsubsidized. That's almost half as much as the metallic M8 and, more importantly, the Samsung Galaxy S5 -- both of which pack near-identical guts as the E8. That's certainly very competitive, though not quite OnePlus-level competitive. While we wait for an actual launch date for both China and elsewhere, we've got a detailed spec sheet after the jump comparing the E8 to the M8. Enjoy!
HTC One mini 2 review: A worthy new addition to the premium One clan
HTC created what was undoubtedly one of the best smartphones of last year with the original One. That was later followed up by the One mini, which was surprising in the sense that the handset maker hadn't before attempted a slimmed-down, scaled-back version of any of its flagship devices. HTC's nemesis Samsung established this trend when it launched the Galaxy S III mini, and it inspired many discussions about the ethics of slapping the name of top-tier handsets onto lesser devices. (Sony obviously made an executive decision to avoid the "mini" epithet for its Xperia Z1 Compact, which is actually just a smaller, but equally specced version of the flagship Z1.)
Plastic HTC 'M8 Ace' aims at Galaxy S5 with same specs, lower price
HTC may have poked fun at its competitors' plastic flagship devices in recent past, but it looks like the Taiwanese company will again be offering one soon. And no, we're not talking about the Butterfly line here. According to a reliable source of ours, HTC's upcoming "M8 Ace" -- which was teased by @evleaks earlier this month (as pictured above) -- will actually feature a plastic unibody instead of aluminum. Additionally, the M8 Ace will apparently pack almost identical specs as the Galaxy S5, including a 5-inch 1080p display plus a 2.5GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC. But here's the twist: HTC's phone will be much more affordable, which could pose a huge threat to Samsung if true.
The first HTC One will get Sense 6 in US and Canada by the end of May
Sorry, HTC, we're still not going to call it the "Sixth Sense." That's the phone maker's name for Sense 6, the latest version of its Android user interface. For the uninitiated, this is the update that comes preloaded on the new HTC One (M8) but is still in the works for older devices as well. Jason Mackenzie, the President of HTC America, announced today that we can expect Sense 6 to show up on the original One by the end of May.
HTC announces the new One with depth-sensing camera and larger screen
The "all new" HTC One has been one of the worst-kept secrets of 2014, but today it's a secret no more. The Taiwanese manufacturer has taken the wraps off its latest flagship and fans of last year's model (count us among them) won't be disappointed. The phone boasts the same aluminum unibody construction as last year's model, but with more pronounced curves and even more metal this time around. A full 90 percent of the body is made of aluminum, quite a bit more than the 70 percent on the previous model. That means it's about half an ounce heavier, but it seems like a small trade-off given the incredible design and spacious 5-inch screen. That panel is still a 1080p S-LCD3 one, which means you can count on the same bright colors and deep blacks. Plus the whole front is protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass 3. Oh, and before we go any further -- the pair of capacitive buttons have been replaced with the standard trio of Android soft keys! (Phewww...)
Alleged HTC One successor leaked, may pack fingerprint reader above camera
HTC seems to be having a hard time keeping its 2014 flagships tucked behind the curtain: first the Butterfly 2, and now this. If the leakster from Baidu Tieba forum is to be believed, we're apparently looking at a blue chassis of the HTC "M8" which, according to @evleaks, will be the first device to feature HTC's upcoming Sense 6.0 interface. Combining this and the fact that the HTC One is codenamed M7, chances are the similar-looking M8 will replace said flagship device next year. While the spy shots are of low resolution, you can still spot a couple of physical changes on the M8. Most notably, there's a mysterious hole above the camera, and the leakster -- who denies being an insider -- suggests it could be for a second camera. Our money's on a fingerprint reader à la One Max, except for the adjusted position to accommodate our index finger while holding the smaller phone. The chassis' metal also extends to around the edges, thus eliminating the need of "zero gap injection" that increased production difficulty for the current HTC One. Besides, it looks rather nice in the photos. Lastly, the same person also shared a photo (posted after the break) of a gold-colored HTC One chassis, which supports an earlier leak from September. Seems like HTC's keeping this one for the holidays, but of course, the real gold version is already available if you have extra cash to burn.
HTC's exiting designers interrogated for expense fraud and stealing trade secrets (updated)
Earlier today, several top designers at HTC were arrested in Taipei under suspicion of fraudulent expense claims, as well as stealing trade secrets ahead of leaving the company to run a new mobile design firm in both Taiwan and mainland China. Five people were interrogated, with the most notable ones being Vice President of Product Design Thomas Chien (pictured above), R&D director Wu Chien Hung and design team senior manager Justin Huang (who also personally sketched out the One's design). Chien and Wu are taken into custody, whereas the others were released on bail (see video after the break). Their offices were also raided yesterday as part of the investigation.
