Re: HTC ONE (M8)
Ahhh sorry, forgot to update you guys!
First thing… LOVE the feel of the phone. Sits very comfortably in my hands. The 90% metal casing, also a huge plus! Didn’t really feel slippery or anything. And the 10% plastic wasn’t bad. The power button was clicky. Didn’t bother me much, but I’d probably be using the tap to wake feature anyways.
I went in the evening, so the fluorescent lights were on inside the store, and I could test the cam in the dark/ outside.
Speed wise, Verizon 4g LTE. Processing speed wise… 
The phone was the display phone so the people before me downloaded and installed every stupid thing I could imagine, and then some. Obviously stock, nothing too magnificent.
I’ve had Samsungs for the last 6+ years, and I actually like Touchwiz… And like Tofi said up there ^, if it’s that much of an issue, it’s not hard to root/ get a different launcher. HTC Sense, it’s clean and everything it claims to be. Over all, it is what it is. Didn’t focus too much on it since I could replace I wanted, but it was quick smooth and not laggy.
Now, the camera. DUN DUN DUNNNN!!! Lol
The front facing (5 mega pixel cam) is brilliant. As long as the screen and/ or screen protector isn’t scratched, skyping/ video chatting/ etc will be much clearer and detailed. And… who wouldn’t like clearer selfies? 
The rear facing cam… In side, it was fun to test colors. I compared pictures taken with the M8 and the S3. Definitely visible difference regarding image crispness. They weren’t bad, but not as great as the s4 or now the S5. The re-focus feature on the m8 was cool, but not as accurate as others have claimed. The other camera features were also fun to play with… but I honestly think if the megapixel count was higher, it’d totally be worth it. For the quality the ultrapixel cam is throwing out, the features are sort of a waste.
Outside (low light), how ever, there was def a visible difference.. for the better. On my s3, there was loads of noise visible, especially zoomed in. But the m8’s cam took decent pictures. Again, not crisp clear, but realistically, how often will I be taking pictures in low light?
Also, video on the m8 was not impressive either. Sort of choppy if I moved too quickly. thumbs down
Battery life… A few (maybe more like 5+) years ago, I think testing battery life was more accurate. Now, every user is different. Not everyone is an “average” user, just like not everyone is a heavy user. The phone at the store is constantly plugged in to a power source, unfortunately. So I didn’t even bother paying attention to the battery usage while I was playing around with it.
I ended up walking out of the store empty handed. What held me back? Well, for 1, I use my phone to take pictues A LOT. I dont carry my camera around because it’s a clunker. So being able to whip out my phone (which I always have on me), being able to take snap a picture, and share immediately with out editing is key. I appreciate what HTC is trying to go for, and after watching the vid I posted above I was really looking forward to testing out the camera. But, again, not impressed or wowed like I’d hoped.
Also, the battery. I KNOW I KNOW!!
Almost every phone I’ve had for at least the last 4 years, I’ve either had a second battery, if not an extended battery pack. I’m constantly on my phone doing anything and everything. I use it more than I do my laptop/ pc. So… although some might say the batt is comparable to that of the s4, I don’t really like the idea of having to be plugged in or even charging every night :hinna: How snobbish, right? First world problem!! LOL
Over all, I think I was mostly in love with the hype. I felt like I needed the latest and “greatest”. And the fact that it was exclusively available with Verizon made the deal that much sweeter. I think I’m just gonna hang tight and tough it out with my little crappy phone, even if it is falling apart. 
S5, here we come!!