HTC One M8 for Windows vs Nokia Lumia Icon: Which is the best Verizon Windows Phone? Part 3 Final Comparison

By Rich W Woods

Verizon has always had a limited selection of Windows Phones. When Windows Phone 8 launched, they got the HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 822, both mid-range phones. Later, they got the Nokia Lumia 928 after the former two had left the shelves. The Lumia 928 was a variant of the Lumia 920 that came out 8 months after AT&T got the 920.

Contrary to what Nokia, HTC, or Verizon would have you believe at the time, both the HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 928 were mid-range phones. In fact, all of the original “flagship” Windows Phone 8 phones were mid-range. They used dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processors. They were slow and frustrating to use.

Then came the Nokia Lumia Icon, a beautifully designed Nokia Lumia that packed a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 20 MP camera, and a 5″ 1080p display.

HTC One M8 for Windows vs Nokia Lumia Icon: What is the Best Verizon Windows Phone? Part 2: Front Camera

By Rich W Woods

I don’t like Verizon. I also don’t like Sprint. The reason is that with either of those networks the only phones that you can use are ones that they sell. If you buy an unlocked phone, you can use it on any network in the world except Verizon and Sprint.

Because of that, the only flagship Windows Phones that can be used on Verizon are the Nokia Lumia Icon and the brand new HTC One M8 for Windows. Last time, we reviewed the rear camera. The conclusion was that the HTC One M8 for Windows would probably be better for an amateur user while the Nokia Lumia Icon would be better for a professional photographer.

Today, we will compare the front facing cameras of the HTC One M8 for Windows and the Nokia Lumia Icon. The HTC One M8 for Windows uses a 5 MP front facing camera while the Nokia Lumia Icon uses a 1.2 MP front facing camera. While 1.2 MP sounds very low when numbers like 41 MP gets thrown around, it is actually pretty standard. The iPhone 5S uses a 1.2 MP front facing camera.

If you are interested in selfies or video chatting, read on.

The HTC One M8: HTC Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play: Which Operating System should you Choose?

By Rich W Woods

Just ten days ago now, HTC made history by announcing the HTC One M8 for Windows. It is the first time in computer history that a device has been available and the customer has had a choice in operating system at the time of purchase.

Because of this landmark phone, I have been spending quite a bit of time with it, comparing the rear camera, the front camera, low light, boot time, and everything I could think of between the HTC One M8, HTC One M8 Google Play Edition, and the HTC One M8 for Windows.

HTC One M8 for Windows	HTC One M8	HTC One M8 Google Play Edition

HTC One M8 for Windows vs Nokia Lumia Icon: Which Verizon Windows Phone is the Best? Part 1

By Rich W Woods

I am not a fan of Verizon. In fact, I’m not a fan of Sprint either and it has nothing to do with the quality of their networks. It has to do with the fact that if you own an unlocked phone or if you want to buy one, you can’t use it on theirs. They use CDMA while the rest of the world uses GSM so if you have your eye on a OnePlus One, a Sony Xperia Z2, or any other unlocked phone, you are out of luck with Verizon and Sprint.

That being said, the only flagship Windows Phones that are available for Verizon are the Nokia Lumia Icon and the brand new HTC One M8 for Windows. It’s a trade-off too. The HTC One M8 has a better processor while the Nokia Lumia Icon has a superior camera.

Here we will compare the cameras of the HTC One M8 for Windows and the Nokia Lumia Icon.

HTC One M8: Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play Edition: Low Light Camera Comparison

By Rich W Woods

The HTC One M8 is the first computer in history that allows the customer to choose the operating system at the time of purchase.

While the HTC One M8 is an incredible phone with a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801 processor and a 5 MP front facing camera, there has been some disagreement as to whether the rear camera is up to par.

The HTC One M8 has dual 4.3 MP rear cameras. Since it is less megapixels than the 20 MP flagship Lumias, the 13 MP LG G3, the 16 MP Samsung Galaxy S5, the 13 MP Amazon Fire Phone, or even the 8 MP iPhone 5S, people are skeptical about a flagship phone with a 4.3 MP camera.

First, remember that a 1080p display is less than 2.1 MP and 4.3 MP is still more pixels than a 1440p display, so in order to actually see the difference between a 4.3 MP camera and one of a higher resolution, one must compare them on a 4k display.

All of that being said, I have been writing a series of articles comparing the brand new HTC One M8 for Windows to the Google Play Edition and the HTC Sense edition. You can find the links at the bottom. This one is low light.

HTC One M8 for Windows: Review

By Rich W Woods

The HTC One M8 for Windows made history upon its announcement. In the history of computers, never before has there been a device available where the consumer could choose an operating system upon purchase.

Having used numerous Windows Phones in my day, I found this one to be the most pleasing. The body of the HTC One M8 is a beautiful aluminum unibody and Windows Phone 8.1 looks like it was designed for this hardware.

HTC One M8 for Windows: What are you Really Missing without Zoe?

By Rich W Woods

HTC One M8 for Windows	HTC One M8

One of the most popular features of the HTC One M8 is Zoe. Zoe is a feature of the camera that allows the user to hold the camera button and pick a photo from a video. It is also an app that can turn your photos into a story and share them with friends. It is also not available on the HTC One for Windows.

It will undoubtedly come to the HTC One M8 for Windows as long as the phone is successful. After all, the HTC One M8 came out in March and the Zoe app didn’t even come until August. There was an app there but it always said “Coming Soon”.

But what are you really missing? We have showed that the camera on the HTC One M8 for Windows is better than the camera on the HTC One M8. I took a series of photos with Zoe on the HTC One M8 and a series of photos using Blink, a Microsoft Research app that allows users to take six photos in one shot, with the HTC One M8 for Windows. As always, I also used the Nokia Lumia 1020 as a “control group”.

HTC One M8: Windows Phone vs Sense vs Google Play: Front Camera

By Rich W Woods

One thing you may or may not know about the HTC One M8 is that it has a 5 MP front facing camera. That may not seem like a lot compared to the rear facing cameras on Nokia’s Lumia line that get up to 41 MP or Samsung’s 13 MP or even Apple’s 8 MP rear camera.

What you may not realize is that most phones have an extremely low resolution front facing camera. Nokia and Apple use a 1.2 MP front facing camera. Amazon uses a 2.1 MP front facing camera. It is amazing that no one seems to be focusing on the front facing camera of the HTC One M8.

HTC One M8: Windows Phone vs Sense vs Google Play: OS

By Rich W Woods

If there is anyone in the world that can be considered to be completely unbiased when it comes to operating systems, it’s me. The smart phones that I’ve owned for personal use are (in order) iPhone 3GS, Samsung Captivate, iPhone 4S, Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 1020, and HTC One M8. My tablets have included iPad 2, iPad Mini with Retina, iPad Air, Nexus 7 (2012), Nexus 7 (2013), Dell Venue 8 Pro, Surface RT, Surface Pro, and Surface Pro 3. My current laptops include the 2013 MacBook Air and the Acer Aspire S7. I am not an Android guy, an iPhone guy, or a Windows guy. I own every current operating system. This is my resume for impartiality.

HTC One M8: Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play: Rear Camera Comparison

By Rich W Woods

Yes, I know. I did this already. The problem is, last time I compared the cameras I just said why someone purchasing an HTC One M8 should not purchase the Google Play Edition rather than actually including it in the comparison.