Review of the HTC One M9

HTC's One series held on to its gorgeous physical symmetries and solid functional design. One M9 proves true to its form and delivers high marks as a complete smartphone package – Connectivity, Camera, Storage, and Design. There are some hiccups as nothing is perfect, but it’s close.

Look, Design, Feel (9/10)

HTC One M9's opulent body colors come in subtle two-tone combinations of Silver turning rose gold by the sides, Amber gold with golden side tint, and Dark Grey with silver edge. Although still not the slim and compact unit most users prefer, One M9 feels sleek, firm, and looks luxurious enough for discerning users.The power button is positioned below the micro SD tray and volume controls by the right side. This aided most complaints about the consuming effort when the power button was placed on top. The left side has the Nano-sim slot. The top has the infrared blaster, with the stereo speaker, light sensor, and 4MP front camera (top-front). Bottom side features the 3.5mm headphone jack and micro USB port, with the 2nd stereo speaker (bottom- front). The back side boasts of 20MP camera and LED flash. The 5" screen provided ample space to view photos, files, and videos on the 1080p resolution.

Features (8/10)

Otherwise known as HTC One Hima, HTC One M9 comes packed with Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 up to Quad-core 2 Cortex-A57. Equipped with customizable themes, backdrops, and widgets, One M9 delivers endless, personalized options to users. HTC Zoe’s own social network is complimentary and allows users to share photos and videos automatically.

Music player is optimized with BoomSound. The user-familiar UI makes it easy for users to sort music, download and arrange them in folders. Top and bottom speakers are put to good use as you tinker with audio features.

Photo quality remains unmatched with the 20MP Toshiba sensor. Options for self-shot, panorama, night node, grid, macro shots and more can be utilized. The 4MP UltraPixel front camera, albeit sans auto focus, delivers decent self-shots. Video quality would be dependent on user settings. It has visible noise clarity by default.

Surfing the web using Google Chrome is swift and sync-enabled. Pre-installed apps include maps, calendar, weather, clock, with Google Now, HTC Back-up (for backing-up files, messages, stored direct to Dropbox or Google Drive), and HTC Scribble, for instant notes, drawings, diary entries.

Connectivity (8/10)

One M9, which runs on Nano-sim card, can connect via Wi-Fi, dual band, LTE, Bluetooth, micro-USB, and conveniently comes with GPS, Infrared port, and NFC. Java-enabled browsing uses HTML5. One cool feature is the GPS with built-in GLONASS support. It uses satellite for determining your location.

Your files have much room with built in storage of 32GB and an acclaimed extended memory of 2TB.

Performance (8/10)

With Android Lollipop, One M9’s browsing provides smooth, non-existent lagging. Battery is not its high point. If you start getting busy with your phone in the morning watching videos, playing, web browsing, snapping several pictures, not to mention sms and calls, One M9’s battery power will unlikely survive till night time. Unit on stand-by will extend over 2 days. Unfortunately, the unit gets too hot after prolonged browsing or gaming, similar with its predecessor, fueled with the Snapdragon chipset. Speed-wise, it is one of the fastest performing luxe phones out there.

Videos appear good enough for social media and personal use. Video noise is evident, though similar with noise found in produced images.

Value for Money (8/10)

With more yay than nay, HTC One M9 proves to be an all-around package, perfect for hardworking users who appreciate a fine gadget that matches an active lifestyle. Name it, One M9 covers all your multimedia necessities – from cam-whoring, to impromptu music party with blasting speakers, to instant sharing and networking (with provided Dropbox storage). With this much possibilities, it's no surprise it comes with higher price. Modern phones are such necessity these days which aid us in all aspects of our lives. As for HTC One M9, it is a worthy day-to-day companion. And it doesn't hurt that it counterparts your sophisticated taste as well.