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HTC’s new One packs nifty features with premium finish

SINGAPORE — HTC has unveiled its latest flagship phone, the HTC One (M8), which has some excellent qualities but may not be enough of a game-changer to put the Taiwanese company back in the big league of smartphone manufacturers.

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SINGAPORE — HTC has unveiled its latest flagship phone, the HTC One (M8), which has some excellent qualities but may not be enough of a game-changer to put the Taiwanese company back in the big league of smartphone manufacturers.

Powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, the 5-inch full-HD HTC One (M8) looks like a fantastic piece of hardware. Other than the large screen, it has a full-metal body which is seamlessly constructed with round edges along the side that feels great to the touch.

The One (M8) has a premium feel lacking in many Android competitors and while some may say that a plastic back is better for the antenna, HTC claims to have been able to give users “superior network performance” with what it calls the Dynamic Antenna Tuner.

It is not only the exterior that looks good: HTC’s Sense UI, the customised Android user interface, gets an overhaul with HTC Sense 6. The flat design that is all the craze now extends to HTC’s Sense and it looks cleaner and more navigable as a result.

The company has also created new ways to interact with the device: You can double-tap the screen to turn on the home screen and double-tap to turn it off. Swiping at the lock screen will also launch different functions.

What is even cooler is HTC’s own flip cover with Dot View, which allows you to preview your notifications through the flip cover’s screen without opening it — or requiring a transparent window. It is an interesting and simple way of showing updates, but you will need to get a HTC flip cover.

Also, if your phone is in a horizontal position, pressing the volume button will instantly launch the camera app.

HTC was rather proud of the camera in the HTC One and there is even more focus on the photo-taking capabilities of its new device.

The One (M8)’s Ultrapixel Camera is able to take in 300 per cent more light, which should translate to better low-light photography. There is a dual-colour LED flash for better skin tone and the camera has very little lag, but the major difference here would be the presence of a depth sensor that allows more creative uses of the camera.

The second sensor, placed above the normal camera, takes in depth information, which it stores in the image the phone captures.

This gives you various options to manipulate the photo on the phone, from isolating the subject from the background — so you can apply different filters to it or even remove the background — to refocusing the photo after shooting with UFocus, which works almost like a Lytro camera.

HTC’s BoomSound returns in the One (M8). Tests with some YouTube videos showed that the device has clear sound that is more than satisfying for those tiny speakers.

The HTC One (M8) is expected to be launched here next week. The price is yet to be confirmed.

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