WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:07.120 A year and a half ago, I switched to Windows Phone with the HTC8X for a month 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:12.080 to see if the platform could woo me away from iOS. Four blog videos and a month 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:15.920 later, the answer was a definite no. But Windows Phone has had a lot of time to 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:21.520 mature. So, when HTC reached out about the 1 M8 for Windows running the latest 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:25.980 8.1 version featuring Cortana voice control, I jumped at the opportunity to 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:31.199 review it. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:37.360 Cooler Master V series semi-odular power supplies feature 80 plus gold efficiency 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.960 and their gold guarantee 5-year warranty. Click now to learn more. We'll 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:45.040 kick things off positively. Hardware-wise, HTC didn't change much, 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:49.760 but I don't really feel like they had to. I love this phone. It's the 1M8, 00:00:47.680 --> 00:00:54.079 man. It's got a fast CPU, ample RAM, enough storage on board with micro SD 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:58.640 expansion if you need more front-facing boom sound speakers. their ultra pixel 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.960 camera with a two-tone flash that is designed to perform best in low light 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:08.240 scenarios. And finally, that wonderful glass and aluminum 1M series build 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.320 quality that is second to none. Anyway, if you want to know more about the 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:17.520 hardware, you should check out our original 1 M8 review where I basically say it's awesome. This video is more 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:21.200 about the software. Off the bat, Windows Phone has some advantages. It runs 00:01:19.520 --> 00:01:26.560 extraordinarily well on relatively low-end hardware. Mind you, so does 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:28.560 Android these days. It's a tiled display 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:32.799 and navigation animations are eye-catching and beautiful. Mind you, 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:36.960 what isn't these days? And finally, it works really well with Windows services 00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:41.600 like Office Mobile, One Drive, and Skype. But what doesn't these days? 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:45.600 Okay, so those weren't really advantages at all then, were they? This is going to 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:49.280 be a rough video. Setup was easy. I imported my accounts and settings from 00:01:47.119 --> 00:01:52.880 my old 8X in just a couple minutes. Also, Google account two-step validation 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:56.960 is super easy to deal with now and doesn't require app specific passwords, 00:01:54.479 --> 00:02:02.000 so that's good. But once I landed on the desktop with its live tiles, shoot, I 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:06.240 don't really know where to begin. Um, just like last time around, I started by 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:10.879 trying to find equivalents for the essential apps that I use every day, and 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:14.560 it's a real chore. The first party Facebook and Twitter apps are pretty 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:18.800 good. Instagram has a very functional beta. Speedtest.net, Flickster, and 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:22.000 WhatsApp all worked fine. Plex is available, but I'm not paying $5 for it 00:02:20.480 --> 00:02:25.920 again, so I can't comment on how good that one is. And Dropbox and Sonos 00:02:24.239 --> 00:02:30.080 services are enabled through third party apps that have some, but not all of the 00:02:28.239 --> 00:02:34.480 functionality and ease of use of the official ones on other platforms. Which 00:02:32.160 --> 00:02:39.200 leads us to the stuff that's missing. Google stuff is a nightmare. So, kiss 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:44.000 goodbye stuff like the YouTube Studio Creator app and Hangouts. And while 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:48.800 Google Play Music has a thirdparty app, this very amusing review the developer 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:53.440 left on his own app really highlights the issues with relying on these when 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:56.800 the APIs can change overnight just like that. And then in no particular order, 00:02:55.440 --> 00:03:02.959 here's some other stuff that I use every day without suitable replacements. Harmony remote control, drop cam, 00:03:01.040 --> 00:03:07.280 replacement keyboard such as Swift Key. I mean, even Apple is going to start 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:13.760 allowing third party keyboards in iOS 8. Come on, Microsoft. Speaking of which, 00:03:10.640 --> 00:03:16.000 scam apps. The only things labeled Swift 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:20.879 Key in the Windows Phone Store are straight up scams. One of which has been 00:03:18.720 --> 00:03:26.000 there for over a month without being cleaned up. For shame, Microsoft, which 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:31.040 I guess leads to a discussion about the stock keyboard. Its text prediction is 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:36.640 accurate but slow. I felt like often times it was missing keystrokes. And the 00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:38.480 thing is so huge that a I simply can't 00:03:36.640 --> 00:03:44.159 type on it without accidentally mashing B every time I go for the space bar and 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:46.879 B with autocorrect autofill predictions 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:51.680 the navigation bar and some obnoxiously huge UI elements in some places. It's 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:56.560 amazing how little of the screen you actually get to use sometimes. I guess 00:03:54.080 --> 00:04:00.480 it's got swipe style typing now but I don't care cuz I don't really use that. 00:03:58.239 --> 00:04:04.640 It needs other things to improve first. Which leads to yet another complaint. 00:04:02.239 --> 00:04:08.640 Who is this UI made for? At least TouchWiz knows it's for people whose 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:12.640 eyesight is starting to go and who aren't that familiar with phones with 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:16.320 nice, you know, loud sound effects when you mash on the gigantic buttons. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.519 Windows phone, on the other hand, doesn't really give you any indication 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:23.360 whether a button press worked other than, you know, after a little bit of 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:28.560 doing the thing. And on top of that, a single screen can have text as wide as 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:31.759 your face in headings and then like super tiny micro text that you'd have to 00:04:30.320 --> 00:04:36.960 squint at unless you have perfect vision. And on top of that, I just plain 00:04:34.960 --> 00:04:40.639 don't find it very intuitive to use. Drag down to see your notifications. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:44.720 Okay, with you so far. Click an email. All right, brings up an email. With you 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:50.800 so far. I'm looking at the email. Okay, now I'm done. Now what? Maybe if I press 00:04:47.840 --> 00:04:54.720 back, I'll land in the inbox. No, no, that just takes me away. Okay. Well, is 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:59.680 there maybe another button in case I want to look at other emails when I'm done with this one email that was in my 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:05.120 notifications? Or do I actually have to go all the way back to the desktop and 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:07.840 open the email client from there? Wow, 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:12.800 that's slow. And lots of things are slow like this. How about a quick draw speed 00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:18.000 competition to dial someone's phone number? No. T9 dialing is a big heaping 00:05:15.840 --> 00:05:22.080 wheelbarrow full of suck on top of all the other things that are slow about 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:26.560 this process. Some stuff is okay though. Quick toggles are reconfigurable in the 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:31.919 main stuff including portable hotspot sharing is here. Also, I was corrected 00:05:29.440 --> 00:05:36.639 when I said on our podcast that folder support on the desktop is still missing. 00:05:34.080 --> 00:05:40.880 You can create folders of apps, making organization quite a bit easier now. So, 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:44.320 that's good. Uh, changing ringtones lets you change without previewing at full 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:49.280 volume, which is nice. Good for parents with newborns. And I love the control 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:56.479 that you have over snoozing and dismissing notifications. Every OS needs 00:05:53.440 --> 00:05:58.560 this. Let me control how long it snoozes 00:05:56.479 --> 00:06:03.919 for. And there's more positive stuff, too. Cortana is actually quick to use 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:08.639 and seems to learn a little bit after the first time for a given task, like 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:13.039 call Ivonne. It doesn't force me to navigate unnecessarily through menus to 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:18.319 confirm things. So, for things like basic voice dialing and sending quick 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:20.080 SMS messages, it's really fast. But I 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:24.479 also think it's been oversold a little bit. While actual speech recognition for 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:27.759 me was great, there's still no support for basic system setting stuff like 00:06:26.080 --> 00:06:32.240 volume control and screen brightness. And I found it very flowbreaking to have 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.000 to press the voice button in between interactions. You know, like, "Show me 00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:39.199 where there's a sushi restaurant. Okay, here's something nearby. You can't just 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:43.039 keep talking. You have to press the button again. It is very promising for 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:49.440 the future, though, and I'm excited to see where Microsoft is taking this one because it's pretty darn mature for a 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:54.160 first attempt. Okay, so it's conclusion and more thoughts time. I think the 00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:59.280 bottom line for me here is that while in my mind HTC did a great job of 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:03.520 delivering the best enthusiast grade Windows Phone 8.1 experience they could, 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:08.080 you know, their social media feed, Blink Feed, works as a live tile. the Duo 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:13.440 camera weird depth feature and quick video and photo highlight reel features 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.080 are enabled through apps as well and 00:07:13.440 --> 00:07:20.960 they did a great job. But even if their entire company was staffed by like 00:07:18.479 --> 00:07:25.039 cowboy astronaut millionaires, there was nothing they could do to make the 00:07:22.479 --> 00:07:31.280 Windows phone ecosystem suitable for enthusiast high-end use. Nothing. Basic 00:07:29.039 --> 00:07:35.440 functionality, call people, take pictures, and video chat on Skype. All 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:39.199 this stuff works. So, I guess I could recommend it for my mom, but go any 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:44.639 further than that, and I don't understand why anyone would want it. For 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:48.560 intermediate users like my sister, she's going to be baffled by the need to use 00:07:46.479 --> 00:07:53.360 third party applications, some of which cost money, for stuff like YouTube. And 00:07:51.599 --> 00:07:57.599 then as we get into the higherend enthusiasts who are able to jump through 00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:01.440 those technical hoops, the ones that are likely to be also jumping on the trends 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:05.520 of like wearables and connected devices and stuff. And we got another deal 00:08:03.599 --> 00:08:12.319 breaker. The lack of third party developer support becomes a complete 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:14.560 nogo for Windows and it happens over and 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:18.879 over. The unofficial Pebble app does some cool stuff actually, but doesn't 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:23.280 notify of calls and texts apparently due to Microsoft policies. Deal breaker. The 00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:27.840 unofficial Drop Cam app supports new images every two and a half seconds with 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:34.000 no live video, audio, or historical video scrubbing. Deal breaker. Um, and 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:38.399 it's just on and on like that. Battery life was a very positive point with the 00:08:35.760 --> 00:08:42.399 phone often lasting me two full days or more. But I think a big part of this is 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:46.800 how inefficient to use it was and therefore how little time I actually 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:50.800 spent using it. Even stupid stuff like trying to find a draft email that I 00:08:48.640 --> 00:08:53.920 started creating on the desktop in the stock email client, which is otherwise 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:58.080 one of the better aspects of Windows Phone was just such a waste of time that 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:03.440 I would just walk to my computer if it was nearby. So, all in all, this phone 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:07.279 baffles me a little bit. It's a phone for no one. I understand that some 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:11.680 people have a thing for supporting the market underdog and are willing to work 00:09:08.959 --> 00:09:15.760 around numerous inconveniences to do it or have specific complaints about Google 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:20.800 and Apple that would cause them to want to avoid using the services of both of 00:09:18.160 --> 00:09:25.680 those companies. And for you, there's high-end Windows phones like the 1 M8 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:30.000 for Windows. For everyone else, there's stuff out there that's just plain more 00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:34.160 functional and easier to use. And in the case of the 1 M8, also exactly the same 00:09:32.800 --> 00:09:37.760 price. So, the conclusion pretty much writes 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:40.320 itself here, guys. Thanks for watching. Like the video if you liked it, dislike 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:44.720 it if you disliked it. Leave a comment letting me know if you have some thoughts on the whole Windows phone 00:09:42.800 --> 00:09:47.839 versus other platforms thing. I would love to hear from you. Uh, in the video 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:52.320 description, you'll find a support us link where you can give us a monthly contribution, buy a cool t-shirt like 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:55.120 this one that also helps support us. Or change your Amazon bookmark to one with 00:09:53.839 --> 00:10:00.080 our affiliate code so that we get a small kickback whenever you buy stuff. We really appreciate all those things. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:03.640 It helps us out a lot. Thanks again for watching and as always, don't forget to 00:10:01.680 --> 00:10:14.000 subscribe.