Why I ditched the iPhone 5s for an HTC One (M8)

Why I ditched the iPhone 5s for an HTC One (M8)

This review is brought to you by Pocketnow

You might remember that at the launch of the HTC One M8 I wrote an article titled "I was going to switch my iPhone 5s to an HTC One M8, but.." (http://pocketnow.com/2014/03/26/i-was...) and my arguments for avoiding the change were based on the poor camera, its lack of a fingerprint scanner, and the fact that boom sound wasn't everything. Fast forward to today, give me an HTC One M8 for a week and now my iPhone is in a drawer. Since a lot of you asked me why this happened, well watch our video to find out. 

CyanogenMod Android 4.4.4 ROM Arrives for HTC One M8

CyanogenMod Android 4.4.4 ROM

 Arrives for HTC One M8

  The CyanogenMod team has just started rolling out the first ever non-nightly release dubbed as CyanogenMod 11.0 M9 build for Xperia Z2 'sirius', Xperia Z2 tablets 'castor' and the HTC One M8.

  The latest M9 build of CM11 ROM has been successfully ported to about 50 different Android devices till date as it brings tons of new tweaks and improvements over its previous release (CM11 M8 build).

  Some of the key features and enhancements added to the CM11 M9 Snapshot build are given below 

(courtesy of the official changelog):

• Themes support for additional UI elements
• Heads Up Notifications – Bug Fixes
• Lockscreen – Allow doubletap to sleep when using secure keyguard
• Torch – Improve performance
• Safe Headset Volume – prompt when interfering with 3rd party device (Jawbone, Square, etc)
• Center clock support
• Quick Settings – respect locale changes on additional tiles
• Proximity Wake-Up support
• Spam notification filtering – Set notifications to auto-ignore based on content
• Settings Search – Additional improvements and highlighting
• Data Usage Info – Add support for CDMA devices without sim cards
• Bluetooth – Add additional A2DP profiles
• Bluetooth – Disable AVRCP 1.5 by default (fixes various car unit compatibility)
• Email – Fix saving attachments to storage for POP3 accounts
• Translations
• Account for Play Services induced wake-locks
• Fix encryption on some LG Devices
• Dialer – add support for Korean and Chinese to smart-dialer

  Interested Xperia Z2 or HTC One M8 users can go ahead and install the latest KitKat update via Cyanogenmod 11 M9 ROM, using our step-by-step guide below.

Pre-requisites

•   The Android 4.4.4 CyanogenMod 11 M9 build and the instructions given in this guide are meant for the international Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8 models only. Verify device model number by navigating to Settings > About Phone.

•   Verify that your phone has access to latest custom recovery tools such as TWRP v2.6.3.0 and higher or CWM v6.0.4.5 and above.

•   Back up data and settings using a recommended custom recovery tool, like ClockworkMod(CWM) or TWRP, as it creates a complete image of the existing phone setup. In Recovery, choose Backup and Restore and tap Backup.

•   Verify correct USB drivers for the phone are installed on the computer (download Sony Xperia Z2 USB drivers or download HTC One M8 USB drivers)

•   Ensure USB debugging mode is enabled on the phone, by navigating to Settings > Developer Options (NOTE:Tap the device's Build Number seven times to unlock or reveal the hidden Developer Options under Settings.) Then select the check box to enable USB debugging mode under Settings > Developer Options.

•   Make sure the device has at least 80% battery charge to prevent unexpected device shutdown (due to battery drain) while installing the ROM.

•   Ensure the phone's bootloader is unlocked and rooted with latest ClockworkMod (CWM) Recovery or TWRP installed.

Steps to Install Android 4.4.4 KitKat on HTC One M8 with CyanogenMod 11 M9 ROM

Step-1: Download CM11 M9 Android 4.4.4 ROM for HTC One (M8) to your computer and extract boot.img from the zip file in a separate folder. Download Google Apps as well.

Step-2: Connect and mount your HTC One (M8) USB (mass) memory on your computer with USB cable.

Step-3: Now copy the downloaded Android 4.4.4 ROM zip and Google Apps zip files to the root folder on phone's SD card.

Step-4: Copy the boot.img file to android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools directory.

Step-5: Power off your phone.

Step-6: Now boot into Bootloader/Fastboot Mode. To do so, turn ON the phone while pressing and holding the Volume Down and Power buttons.

Step-7: After booting into Fastboot mode (on your phone), navigate to android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools directory (on your computer) and open Command Prompt (hold Shift and Right-click to Open Command Prompt).

Step-8: Type the following command and press Enter:

fastboot flash boot boot.img

Step-9: Then, input the following command and press Enter:

fastboot reboot

Step-10: Follow onscreen instructions and select BOOTLOADER to enter RECOVERY.

Step-11: Once you are in ClockworkMod Recovery, perform a full data wipe by selecting "wipe data/factory reset". Hit Power button to select everything while in Recovery Mode.

Step-12: Perform a cache wipe by selecting "wipe cache partition".

Step-13: Perform a dalvik cache wipe as well to prevent boot loops or any other errors. From CWM recovery, go to 'advanced' and then select "wipe dalvik cache".

Step-14: Return to the main recovery screen and select "install zip from SD card".

Step-15: Now select "choose zip from sdcard". Using volume keys, navigate to Android 4.4.4 ROM zip file that you copied to your SD card and select it using the Power button. Confirm the installation on next screen and the installation procedure should begin.

Google Apps: Repeat the above step for installing Gapps on your phone.

Step-16: Once installation completes, choose "+++++Go Back+++++" and reboot the phone by tapping "reboot system now" in the recovery menu.

HTC One M8 will boot now and it might take about 5 minutes to to complete first boot after ROM installation. So, please be patient.

CM11 M9 based Android 4.4.4 KitKat custom ROM is now installed on your phone. Go to Settings > About phone to verify installation.

HTC One E8 Great Review

HTC One E8 

Great Review

Outside of the enhanced new camera, this reviewer feels that the new E8 is lacking the punch that the M8 provides.  HTC's One M8 is among the best-designed phones we've ever seen. It works well, it's powerful, and it's beautiful. Now, in an effort to find a way to make its best phone a little cheaper, HTC is releasing the One E8, a phone with all the trappings of the M8 except for a plastic body and a much lower price tag. The question for HTC: can it change its best phone without changing what makes it special?