HTC M8 for Windows

So when my Lumia Icon kicked it several weeks ago and had to go back to Verizon, I opted to go with the Moto X, as I'd heard plenty of disparaging comments about the camera on the M8 (both Windows and Android versions, which are hardware-identical) and no Verizon stores in the Atlanta area had a Lumia Icon in stock. So I lived with the Moto X for 12 days, all the while searching for someone who had a Lumia Icon to trade with, but to no avail. I finally was contacted by someone with an M8 for Windows and a Kindle (something I actually needed for my upcoming trip to CO), so I decided to bite the bullet and trade. Story out of the way, here's my thoughts:

There's a lot of dogging on the camera on this phone. It's an "Ultrapixel" camera, which basically means they didn't want to say it's only 4MP. But, because they knocked the megapixels down on it, it functions far, far better in low light than most any other camera. And I'll attest to that. In a room lit by nightlights, it'll pick up plenty of detail. It can see better than my eyes can in low light, which is pretty impressive for a phone camera. That's not to say it's not without grain in those shots, but where most phones would see black, it can discern detail pretty well (see the sample photos). It also has another trick up it's sleeve with that second camera on the top of the phone: Depth sensing. In a single shot, it's grabbing depth information so you can refocus after the fact, a la Lytro, and also get a really nice shallow depth of field in the photo (see the sample photos). After getting past the fact that the shots are a little soft due to the low megapixels and dual camera information, I've actually been really pleasantly surprised with some of the photos I can get out of it. It's certainly no iPhone 6 Plus or Lumia Icon (the standards in camera phones), but it works well within it's limitations. I'm a bit sad to see HTC going away from the dual-camera setup in the M9 leaks, but the rest of the world is more interested in the megapixel race. Ah well. All that said, the camera consistently gives me better shots than I was getting with the 16MP Moto X camera, which surprised me. The front facing camera is ironically higher-megapixel at 5MP and consistently produces nice, crisp selfies. Don't worry, I won't subject you to many of those, but I've gotten some great shots of the family with it (again, sample photos).

The rest of the phone is EXCELLENT. It's easily the nicest looking phone I've ever had (seriously, the design with the unibody aluminum construction along with the 5" 1080p screen is gorgeous), and the internals are just as good. Snapdragon 801 (quad-core 3.2GHz), 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, MicroSD expansion, 5MP front-facing camera, and the stereo front-facing BoomSound speakers, that are good enough for me to use in the car. The only notable absence here, in my regard, is Qi wireless charging, and I did try to hack together an external coil and case, but it ended up not working. 

I'm not going to go into the software, as I've pontificated about the virtues of Windows Phone for me versus Android and iOS other than to say I still far, far prefer it over the other OSes. The single downside is Google's insistence of not supporting it with any official apps, but HTC's BlinkFeed app actually includes support for G+, which was a very welcome surprise.

The camera could be (far) better, and I'd love wireless charging, but aside from that, I'm completely happy with this phone. Would I prefer the Lumia Icon? Absolutely, but I'm not disappointed in this phone either. Hell, even Kimberly said she'd like to have this phone, which is saying something. If I can track down a Lumia Icon at a good price, then this just might be her next phone. :)

IT'S ALIVE!!!

[Cue lighting and thunder]

Successfully modded my Moto X to have wireless charging by putting an adapter coil inside of a case and plugging it into the micro USB port on the phone. And it totally works! I'm not sure what the charging rate is, but I assume it's as good as an internal coil (which is typically slower than a wired charger anyway), and I had to fold the flat "cable" over itself to get it to fix in the case without covering the exposed Motorola "dimple", but given that the Moto X is already a very slim phone, having it in a case doesn't make it feel bulky at all. The only downside is that it takes up the charging port on my phone, so I don't really have a good option for charging when away from all of my wireless chargers, but overall, I'm super happy with the results of my little Frankenphone project. :)

An Icon Dies

This morning, I woke up to a broken phone. The physical buttons (power, volume and camera) just weren't working. I could use the power button to turn the phone off, but other than that, the buttons just weren't working. This wasn't the first time this had happened, so I did what I did a week and a half ago when it first happened; I did a factory reset. But as soon as it started restoring my info and apps, the buttons stopped working again. Something in my settings or apps, or a combo of the two, is causing the issue. Since I have no idea where to start (there are no other reports of similar issues online), and since I know it's a software issue (a factory reset fixed it before, and the power button works under certain circumstances), I decided to just take the phone back to Verizon. It was under two weeks from when I got it, so they took it back, but since the phone was discontinued back in October (despite being the best Windows Phone on the market), I had to go with a different phone. I picked up a Moto X (2014), and while I'm really happy with it, I'd still rather be on Windows Phone. I know I can pick up a Lumia Icon on Craigslist relatively inexpensively, so I might do that once Windows 10 drops.