I got a chance to play around with an HTC One M9 for the last couple of days. I am a complete phone nerd, and a recognized contributor on XDA Developers where all kinds of Android phone modifications are developed and discussed, if that means anything to you. So when I get a chance to play around with a new phone I jump on it.

It is a nice phone. There is no questioning that. If you get it with a contract renewal at the subsidized price and you like it, it's a good buy. If you are paying full price, there are comparably priced phones that have some better features.

░░░░░THE GOOD░░░░░

❖ The sound - This is where the M9 outshines its competition and leaves them safely in the dust. If you use your phone for multi media like watching videos or listening to music without headphones the BoomSound system HTC packed into the M9 is a thing you are going to like. First off it's facing toward you, not away from you like almost every other smartphone ever made. The sound is vibrant and most importantly it's loud. It's not "giant boombox on your shoulder from 1984" loudbut it's "sit on my desk and listen to music while I work" loud. And it's clear sound. It doesn't sound like a tiny cell phone speaker. It sounds like a real speaker.

❖ The design - It looks slick. It's all metal. It feels heavy enough to be comfortable and strong but light enough that you're not carrying a brick in your pocket. It looks expensive and quality. You will not look like you are carrying a cheap piece of junk. It's a good looking form factor.

❖ Performance and use - It's not hard to overwork a cheap smartphone and make it run slow with a lot of response lag. But the M9 doesn't have those problems, at least not in the ways I tested it. Watching videos, web browsing, and generally just trying to cycle between apps and menus as fast as I could go didn't cause any noticeable lag in the use of the phone. It was very responsive and could keep up with what I was doing just fine. Heat build up is a common complaint about the M9, but I didn't experience that when doing normal day to day stuff. I tried Angry Birds and it handled that fine, but there are much more CPU and Graphic intensive games available that could push the device a lot harder. I don't play those kinds of games so I didn't test that. If you don't play those kinds of games, then heat build up isn't a factor. The processor can do anything from calls/email web browsing up through simple games like Angry Birds without burning itself out.

❖ Expandable Storage - Yes, please! Thank you, HTC, for keeping this feature in a smart phone. I hate the cloud. The cloud and I are not friends. I might someday find myself in the middle of the desert 100 miles from a cell tower suddenly wanting to look at pictures or listen to music on my phone. It's unlikely, but it could happen. And I'd prefer not to limit my options. In that scenario I want to have my files on my device. Not on a cloud that is completely inaccessible to me. The 32GB base model will hold quite a bit on it's own (remember that's 32GB total, including the partition for the operating system) but being able to up that to I think 128GB if I so chose makes me very happy. If expandable storage is a deal breaker on a cell phone for you, the HTC One M9 has you covered.

❖Insurance - I didn't test this, but I'm told HTC has something they call Uh Oh protection. If you break your phone in the first year they will replace it for you. It's basically insurance that the cell phone carriers will sell you, but it's included in the price of the phone. If that works as well as HTC claims it does, great. (You should look into the details of this yourself before buying. I have no idea what the fine print on this is or if it's available to everyone. I just heard about it.)

░░░░░THE BAD░░░░░

❖ The screen - "Bad" is a relative term here. It's not a really bad screen. It's a decent screen. But it's a last generation and not on par with the other top tier phone screens. The Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 have SIGNIFICANTLY better screens with better viewing angles. The M9's resolution is 1080 x 1920. That's not bad, it's the resolution my Galaxy S4 has. But my Galaxy S4 is from 2013. Ultra high definition screens on the other top tier phones have significantly higher resolution than 1080 x 1920. You might think you can't tell much of a difference after a point, but trust me the ultra high def screens even on a 5 inch screen look INSANELY good. The difference is clear. Additionally the panel is LCD technology. That means lower viewing angles and less vibrant color than you get on an LED panel. (LCD is lit by a backlight. LED IS the light.)

❖ Sense - HTC insists one putting a front end on Android to make the UI different from other Android devices. Note to HTC, stop doing that. Android is fine just the way it is from Google. It's simple. It works. Don't add a layer to it.

❖ The non removable battery - -The battery is not easily replaceable. A cell phone battery has a life of about 500 charge cycles. I tend to keep my phones for 2 years as daily users, then I keep my old phones for a variety of other purposes around the house. (My old HTC Sensation is hooked up to my stereo for use as a nice wifi streaming media player with a touchscreen UI, for example) I eventually have a need to replace batteries because I wear them out. I like being able to go on Amazon, spent $20 on a replacement battery, pop it in and be done. Additionally, even if you don't keep your phones that long, batteries fail sometimes. On the M9 I'm sure it would be covered by warranty for 12 months but it'd be a pain to take it somewhere to have it worked on should the issue come up. So no replaceable battery is a deal killer for me. This might not be an issue for you. If not, great! But be aware of the issue before making purchase decisions.

░░░░░THE NEUTRAL░░░░░

❖ Camera - It's not a bad camera. But it' snot as good as most other modern cell phone cameras. If you just want a handy camera to snap an occasional picture it's fine. If you want to document your life, you'll probably want a better camera.

░░░░░THE BOTTOM LINE░░░░░

❖ If you are getting the phone at a 'renewal price' for $200 or less and the non removable battery isn't a deal killer for you it's not a bad device. I think you'll be happy with it, especially if you want to listen to music over the speakers. There are comparably priced phones with better screens, but most of those don't have expandable storage. The HTC One M9 does. So if that's your litmus test, then the M9 might be perfect for you.

❖Ultimately you have to decide what features are important to you. If that is great sound and expandable storage, the M9 will probably make you happy.

The One M8 was HTC's flagship phone for 2014 and a huge design win. It officially positioned them among the ranks of top smartphone providers, especially for those who had overlooked the magnificent M7. Rather than implementing a complete design overhaul for the new M9, as expected despite the praise given for the M8, HTC chose a strategy based more on refinement and refocusing by keeping what worked well and making improvements as needed. Here's a brief summary of the key specs of the new HTC One M9, followed by my detailed review with personal insight into why I highly recommend this device for any smartphone user. Allow me to preface my review by clarifying that I am not reviewing the M9 based on how it compares to anything else; my feedback is directly tied to the user experience it provides.

Device specifications (simplified summary):
Size: 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61 mm
Weight: 157g
Battery: 2840 mAh
Chassis: Dual-tone metal unibody
Display: Super LCD3 5.0" 1080p, 441ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Performance: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core CPU with 3GB RAM
Storage: 32GB (21GB available); microSD expansion up to 2TB
Audio: HTC BoomSound dual front-facing stereo speakers, Dolby audio profile
Software: Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with HTC Sense 7.0
Camera: Primary 20MP, dual led flash, autofocus with 4K video; Front 4MP with 1080p video
FULL SPECS AVAILABLE AT http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-one-m9/

>BUILD/DESIGN
HTC obviously focused a lot of attention in regards to design based on how this device feels in the hand in addition to overall appearance, which exudes premium quality with its two-tone metal unibody design. The gold on silver model has a platinum finish on the back, with a jewelry-like quality to it and a brushed metal look with a gold-colored band around the edge; the gunmetal option is less "two-tone" and more of an overall charcoal gray. The outer band, which houses the physical buttons, distinctly separates the front and back. The nanoSIM tray sits alone on the top left edge of the phone and the physical buttons all rest on the right edge of the phone below the microSD slot. There are separate volume up/down buttons and a power/lock button with an etched design to help distinguish it by feel. The phone definitely has some weight to it, but this won't come as a surprise to anyone coming from its predecessors or many of the other flagship phones released in the last few years. While I wish HTC had ditched the logo bar across the bottom of the display which once housed the capacitive touch navigation buttons, I’m still very pleased with the look and feel of the M9 and I think HTC proudly stands on its own by keeping their identity with a uniquely high-end aesthetic.

>SCREEN
Just as HTC did not cave in to pressure for a more thorough overhaul of an already winning design, they also kept the trusty 1080p screen while many others are going quadHD. Personally, if for no other reason than battery life or practicality, I find it pointless for any portable media device to have resolution greater than 1080p. This is a stunning 5" full HD screen with remarkable clarity and very good color reproduction. Text is sharp and detailed so people who enjoy using Blinkfeed to its full potential for reading material are in good hands; YouTube addicts should be very pleased as well. The screen sits beneath Gorilla Glass 4, which provides ample resistance to scratching and damage from normal usage. If that's not enough peace of mind, HTC offers 1 year of Uh Oh replacement protection (see below for further information). Considering the vast availability of screen protectors and cases that provide an extra sense of security, without impeding on the magnificent design, I still recommend a small investment towards protection (especially for those with a loose grip).

>SOUND
While many users rely on earphones for audio/visual media with their phones and tablets, HTC remains in a league of their own with BoomSound. A pair of front-facing speakers, powered by Dolby Audio, creates an unparalleled and immersive experience that isn't far off the mark from many Bluetooth external speakers. BoomSound is like a home theater's center channel speaker that makes all media very enjoyable on the M9 when using it without earphones. The Dolby enhancement feature offers some options based on what type of earphones you’re using, or for listening through the integrated speakers there are two sound modes, Music and Theater, with Theater basically simulating a "surround" effect. I typically leave mine on Music as the Theater effect usually makes the audio sound a bit "hollow", however gaming apps and movies tend to benefit from it.

>CAMERA
The camera was the one universally disappointing feature of the M9’s predecessor(s), and HTC definitely took that into consideration. They moved the UltraPixel technology to the front-facing selfie shooter and upgraded the primary camera to a straight 20MP shooter with 4K video recording, dual LED flash and autofocus. I'm not a selfie addict but I've taken a couple of pics just to test out the front camera and the pics are very good, but the real victory is the improvement to the main shooter. Pics are sharp and detailed; I've taken a variety of pics in bright settings and low light and I think HTC’s efforts have made significant improvement through the hardware changes. Beyond the hardware upgrade, the software allows you to change a variety of settings and even create a custom shooter based on your preferences. With this level of control, the only disappointment should come from users who don't understand how to use the settings to optimize the main camera’s performance. I'll admit that the strength of the camera is the last priority for me when purchasing a smartphone, but even when judging harshly I’m very impressed with the detail and quality in pics taken with the M9.

>BATTERY LIFE
Obviously, battery life will depend greatly on your typical usage habits. The bulk of my usage is tied to music listening, which is fairly gentle on battery use, followed by occasional YouTube viewing, social media and gaming, then calls/texts. So far with normal use I've gotten mostly through the day but I do plug my phone in on my commute home (~40 minutes) to help recover a decent amount of battery life for the rest of the evening. I have made a few tweaks to help it along though, such as conserving CPU power in the Power Saving mode, which is always on, and turning off animations (Developer Options/Advanced). Neither setting will cause a noticeable lag in performance. I also never leave Wifi/GPS/Bluetooth on, only as needed. Let's face it…with the release of each new generation of flagship devices, we become more tethered to our phones than ever before. The need to be constantly connected demands better battery life but it also requires some common sense. A micro-USB charge/sync cable, with or without an extra wall adapter, is very inexpensive and can be used whether you’re stationary at work (desk) or mobile (car). For heavy users, the variety of charging options available exists to help you get through the day so it’s up to you to take advantage of them rather than live off the limitations of your device’s battery capacity.

>SOFTWARE
HTC uses Sense UI to optimize the user experience, and the new Sense7 with Sense Home and HTC Themes allows for a more seamless customization process than ever before. The themes app is an all-inclusive design center which puts the user in control of wallpapers, icons and fonts and a gallery of user-published themes incorporating those elements as an all-in-one makeover option. Blinkfeed remains HTC’s answer to the popular third-party news readers available from the Play Store, offering a very intuitive layout that incorporates all of your social media as well as a vast selection of news/media outlets and your favorite RSS feeds. It took me a while to appreciate Blinkfeed and Sense UI, as I’m a bit of an Android purist, but once I did a little research and explored some handy tips/tricks tutorials, I’ve embraced all that HTC’s Sense offers, especially the Themes interface. A new feature that’s also available for M7/M8 users is Sense Home, which offers location-based suggestions for most frequently used apps. Once you provide your home and work locations, a Sense Home widget will change the apps shown based on your current location.

>SUPPORT
In addition to everything the M9 has to offer, you get HTC’s new Uh Oh protection, which provides free replacement coverage for the first 12 months of ownership, or $100 towards your next phone if you don’t use it. Additionally, HTC is working diligently to close the gap in the software update process and they’re the most transparent OEM in terms of communication and customer relations, at least from my personal observations and interactions.

>FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ve had phones from Samsung and LG (and an iPhone) before my previous phone, the HTC One M7. In my humble and honest opinion, the One M9 is not only the absolute best phone I’ve ever used, but virtually impossible to beat for all that it (and HTC) offers. This is the first time since being a smartphone user that I have a device with every feature and quality I’ve wanted or seen out of every phone available. Does it have the best resolution or highest pixel density of any device available? No, but what it does have is a stunning display that will never leave you wanting more and that doesn’t drain your battery for the sake of having eye-catching specs. Does it have the BEST camera of any phone out there? No, but it takes excellent pictures, and allows enough user control that even the most demanding users can tune it to take stunning photographs far beyond what the default settings are capable of. Does it have the best sound quality? ABSOLUTELY, and that’s the undisputed truth across every review of today’s hottest flagship devices. Does HTC support their devices better than other Android OEM’s? With Uh Oh Protection and very impressive social media presence, I believe so! I’ve experienced first-hand the difference between HTC and other OEM's in regards to how they handle a variety of raised concerns and issues and HTC is far more transparent and diligent in seeking resolution. I’ve seen the way Apple and Samsung use slick advertising to entice the crowds and push sales, while HTC relies on the quality of their products and the support of their fans to help spread the word about the level of quality they admire from HTC’s lineup as well as the support they receive. Obviously, HTC is putting a lot at risk without doing more to advertise and promote its products in the same way that others do but I admire their quiet confidence. I hate being "sold" on what I should buy or being told what's "best". With so many choices available in the mobile market, it's not about labeling any one device the "best", it's about deciding which one is the best choice for you. As someone who pays attention and is very familiar with the different software interfaces and the user experience provided by many of the most recent flagship devices, I haven't seen a phone yet that offers the same balance of hardware/software and product support as the M9.

Oh, Another year 2015. Another set of phones from manufacturers! I have been hooked onto get the latest phone every year syndrome and love reviewing specifics. Disclaimer, I love Android and have been using from very early days. I will not call HTC One M9 as revolutionary, but it is slightly evolutionary. If you have an older phone more than 2 years old, absolutely get this. I like the fact that this still has microSD card slots. There are so many variants already in the market. So do check local specs.

I was very curious to try out M9 and S6 as they are most talked about now. M9 is still HD not quad HD like LG G3s. But this resolution is good enough for most common tasks. Many manufacturers are going away from microSD card slots and this is absolutely a must and is a key differentiator from iPhone. Am glad M9 has it. But the camera has let me down big time. In spite of 20 MP, my experience so far is sub optimal. I have used only couple of days and I am also using a Galaxy S6, and no doubt S6 triumps. Hence my 4 stars.

IF YOU HAVE LAST YEAR model of any phone, PLEASE DON’T upgrade. Phones are becoming so standard and power packed it makes no sense to upgrade and waste money every year. I buy and sell so many phones as it is like a hobby for me, but I stick to one phone as primary for couple of years now. My main requirements are a 128 GB microSD, good screen, battery life and performance.

In my opinion, following are key specs to consider when you buying a phone. Most of others are standard or does not matter at all. First size, weight and resolution are part of look and feel. RAM/CPU part of performance. external Storage is part of expandability. Camera is obvious! SAR (Specific Absorption Rating) is an often ignored, but I feel essential to making a buying choice. Manufacturers don’t advertise or mention SAR prominently.

phone parameters: {size, weight, resolution, ppi, RAM, ext Storage, camera, CPU, USA SAR rating}

HTC One M9: 5.69 x 2.74 x 0.38 in, 157 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 20.7 MP (rear), 4 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57

Samsung Galaxy S6: 5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 in, 138 gm, 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.1 in, 577 ppi, 3 GB RAM, NO MICROSD SLOT (bummer), Internal Storage upto 128 GB, Exynos 7420 Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57, Gorilla Glass 4, 16 MP/5MP camera, SAR 1.15 W/kg (head), 1.16 W/kg (body) NANO SIM

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: Slightly lower dimensions, 0.01 in thicker, 6 gm less weight, Same resolution, Curved Screen,

Samsung Galaxy S5: 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 in, 145 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.1 in, 432 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, MSM8974-AC Processor: Quad core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400, 0.63 W/kg (head), 0.82 W/kg (body)

HTC One M8: 5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in, 160 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 4 MP (rear), 5 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad core, 2300 MHz, Krait 400, 0.94 W/kg (head), 0.83 W/kg (body)

LG G3: 5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 in, 149 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.5 in, 538 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801. Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330, 0.39 W/kg (head), 0.48 W/kg (body) Micro SIM

LG G2: 5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 in, 143 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 in, 424 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400, 0.50 W/kg (head), 0.69 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 6: 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.60 in, 184 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.96 in, 493 ppi, 3 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450, Adreno 420, 1.47 W/kg (head), 0.93 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 5: 5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in, 130 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 in, 445 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 8 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, 0.92 W/kg (head), 1.23 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 6 PLUS: 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.288 in, 172 gm, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.5 in, 401 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A7, Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.12 W/kg (head), 1.18 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 5S: 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in, 112gm, 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A8, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.19 W/kg (head), 1.19 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 N910: 6.04 x 3.09 x 0.33 in, 176 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.7 in, 515 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto `128 GB, 16 MP/3.7MP, Exynos 5 Octa 5420, Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.37 W/kg (head), 0.88 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000: 5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 in, 168 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.7 in, 386 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto 64 GB, 13 MP/2MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 or Exynos 5433 ; Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450 or Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A57 (SM-N910C), SAR: 0.24 W/kg (head), 0.72 W/kg (body)

Nokia Lumia 1520: 6.41 x 3.36 x 0.34 in, 209gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 6.0 in, 367 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD up to 64 GB, 20 MP/1.2MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 CPU Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400, SAR: 0.59 W/kg (head), 0.24 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto G: 5.11 x 2.59 x 0.46 in, 143 gm, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 1.17 W/kg (head), 1.06 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2014: 4.91 x 2.55 x 0.48 in, 142 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.3 in, 256 ppi, 1 GB RAM, microSD upto 32 GB, 5 MP/VGA, Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.97 W/kg (head), 1.50 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2015 LTE: 5.11 x 2.63 x 0.48 in, 145 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.5 in, 245 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53

Amazon Kindle Fire: 5.5” x 2.6” x 0.35”, 160 g, 1280 x 720 pixels, 4.7”, 315 ppi, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB, no microSD, 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU, nanoSIM, SAR: 1.34 watts/kg

Given the above key specs, my suggestion to my friends is to choose 2 or 3 KEY features you require (may be large screen size, maybe less weight, maybe more CPU power) and then start nailing down the phones. Definitely and definitely go to a phone or a big box store and feel the phone. Nothing replaces that. In the end end you are using it for days and years, so the tactile feel is very important. I have used all these phones and at a high level they are all good. Few things here and there. And yes the cost. If you are in for a new smartphone and has a budget issue, GET LAST YEAR MODEL. They are as good as current year and probably half the cost!

SCREEN SIZE/RESOLUTION:
I have experimented with many phone sizes and I have come to a conclusion 5” is the best form factor for me. Your mileage may vary, but after using Note for a while, I don’t use it as a primary phone. The display is absolutely stunning with a Super LCD3 and you have to see to feel it!

ANDROID UI:
M8 has Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. User Interface hasa flatter and simpler design, as is now the trend across the industry. Once you get used to user interface you get used to it. Android is very flexible and when I show my phone to a iPhone users they are usually in awe. I recently to my friends shows the details of processes. battery usage like which process takes up more battery.

CAMERA:
Big let down. Period.

PROCESSING POWER:
Don’t bother about it. For 99% of users, this is good enough. The phone has more processing power than the rocket that went to moon first time and much more. The games are very smooth, the UI is very smooth.

NFC Tags:
Wow, this is the most underrated in all reviews. Get bunch ( I mean around 10) of NFC Tags and use in bedrooms, offices, cars, living room and customize what your phone wants to do in those areas. For example, when I enter the car most often I use a) Navigation b) Listen to Podcasts. So I program my NFC tags accordingly using apps like Trigger and tap my phone to the NFC Tag and boom, phone does both.

128 GB Micro SD card!!
This is just incredible. If you see my reviews, I have been saying having external capacity is very key.

BATTERY:
Do you really need to care for battery anymore. I don’t. Just use the phone. I have battery power banks with capacity as high as 30,000 mAh to 8000 mAh that I can charge virtually anywhere without a power supply. So this has become moot for me in past year. I would also suggest you get power banks and not really care of battery drainage. Use the phone and enjoy!

To give a sample, I tried following apps and they just worked awesome.

Amazon Mobile, Androidify, Angry Birds (multiple themes), Asphalt 8, Box, Chrome, NAVIGON (from Garmin - offline maps), Nokia HERE Maps, Google Navigation/Earth/Maps, Google Currents (nice way to read News), Google Drive, Ebay, Linkedin, Google Music, Tapatalk (awesome forum browsing app), Microsoft One Note (legacy docs, skydrive of 25 GB is good), Microsoft Office, (yes they have for Android!), Subsonic Music Streamer, TweetCaster Pro for Android (excellent twitter client), Twit.Tv, Trigger, Google Voice

Ask questions. I will be glad to answer any questions within 24 hours.

Oh, Another year 2015. Another set of phones from manufacturers! I have been hooked onto get the latest phone every year syndrome and love reviewing specifics. Disclaimer, I love Android and have been using from very early days. I will not call HTC One M9 as revolutionary, but it is slightly evolutionary. If you have an older phone more than 2 years old, absolutely get this. I like the fact that this still has microSD card slots. There are so many variants already in the market. So do check local specs.

I was very curious to try out M9 and S6 as they are most talked about now. M9 is still HD not quad HD like LG G3s. But this resolution is good enough for most common tasks. Many manufacturers are going away from microSD card slots and this is absolutely a must and is a key differentiator from iPhone. Am glad M9 has it. But the camera has let me down big time. In spite of 20 MP, my experience so far is sub optimal. I have used only couple of days and I am also using a Galaxy S6, and no doubt S6 triumps. Hence my 4 stars.

IF YOU HAVE LAST YEAR model of any phone, PLEASE DON’T upgrade. Phones are becoming so standard and power packed it makes no sense to upgrade and waste money every year. I buy and sell so many phones as it is like a hobby for me, but I stick to one phone as primary for couple of years now. My main requirements are a 128 GB microSD, good screen, battery life and performance.

In my opinion, following are key specs to consider when you buying a phone. Most of others are standard or does not matter at all. First size, weight and resolution are part of look and feel. RAM/CPU part of performance. external Storage is part of expandability. Camera is obvious! SAR (Specific Absorption Rating) is an often ignored, but I feel essential to making a buying choice. Manufacturers don’t advertise or mention SAR prominently.

phone parameters: {size, weight, resolution, ppi, RAM, ext Storage, camera, CPU, USA SAR rating}

HTC One M9: 5.69 x 2.74 x 0.38 in, 157 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 20.7 MP (rear), 4 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57

Samsung Galaxy S6: 5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 in, 138 gm, 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.1 in, 577 ppi, 3 GB RAM, NO MICROSD SLOT (bummer), Internal Storage upto 128 GB, Exynos 7420 Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57, Gorilla Glass 4, 16 MP/5MP camera, SAR 1.15 W/kg (head), 1.16 W/kg (body) NANO SIM

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: Slightly lower dimensions, 0.01 in thicker, 6 gm less weight, Same resolution, Curved Screen,

Samsung Galaxy S5: 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 in, 145 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.1 in, 432 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, MSM8974-AC Processor: Quad core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400, 0.63 W/kg (head), 0.82 W/kg (body)

HTC One M8: 5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in, 160 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 4 MP (rear), 5 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad core, 2300 MHz, Krait 400, 0.94 W/kg (head), 0.83 W/kg (body)

LG G3: 5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 in, 149 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.5 in, 538 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801. Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330, 0.39 W/kg (head), 0.48 W/kg (body) Micro SIM

LG G2: 5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 in, 143 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 in, 424 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400, 0.50 W/kg (head), 0.69 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 6: 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.60 in, 184 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.96 in, 493 ppi, 3 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450, Adreno 420, 1.47 W/kg (head), 0.93 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 5: 5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in, 130 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 in, 445 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 8 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, 0.92 W/kg (head), 1.23 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 6 PLUS: 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.288 in, 172 gm, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.5 in, 401 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A7, Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.12 W/kg (head), 1.18 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 5S: 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in, 112gm, 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A8, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.19 W/kg (head), 1.19 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 N910: 6.04 x 3.09 x 0.33 in, 176 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.7 in, 515 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto `128 GB, 16 MP/3.7MP, Exynos 5 Octa 5420, Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.37 W/kg (head), 0.88 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000: 5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 in, 168 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.7 in, 386 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto 64 GB, 13 MP/2MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 or Exynos 5433 ; Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450 or Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A57 (SM-N910C), SAR: 0.24 W/kg (head), 0.72 W/kg (body)

Nokia Lumia 1520: 6.41 x 3.36 x 0.34 in, 209gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 6.0 in, 367 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD up to 64 GB, 20 MP/1.2MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 CPU Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400, SAR: 0.59 W/kg (head), 0.24 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto G: 5.11 x 2.59 x 0.46 in, 143 gm, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 1.17 W/kg (head), 1.06 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2014: 4.91 x 2.55 x 0.48 in, 142 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.3 in, 256 ppi, 1 GB RAM, microSD upto 32 GB, 5 MP/VGA, Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.97 W/kg (head), 1.50 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2015 LTE: 5.11 x 2.63 x 0.48 in, 145 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.5 in, 245 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53

Amazon Kindle Fire: 5.5” x 2.6” x 0.35”, 160 g, 1280 x 720 pixels, 4.7”, 315 ppi, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB, no microSD, 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU, nanoSIM, SAR: 1.34 watts/kg

Given the above key specs, my suggestion to my friends is to choose 2 or 3 KEY features you require (may be large screen size, maybe less weight, maybe more CPU power) and then start nailing down the phones. Definitely and definitely go to a phone or a big box store and feel the phone. Nothing replaces that. In the end end you are using it for days and years, so the tactile feel is very important. I have used all these phones and at a high level they are all good. Few things here and there. And yes the cost. If you are in for a new smartphone and has a budget issue, GET LAST YEAR MODEL. They are as good as current year and probably half the cost!

SCREEN SIZE/RESOLUTION:
I have experimented with many phone sizes and I have come to a conclusion 5” is the best form factor for me. Your mileage may vary, but after using Note for a while, I don’t use it as a primary phone. The display is absolutely stunning with a Super LCD3 and you have to see to feel it!

ANDROID UI:
M8 has Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. User Interface hasa flatter and simpler design, as is now the trend across the industry. Once you get used to user interface you get used to it. Android is very flexible and when I show my phone to a iPhone users they are usually in awe. I recently to my friends shows the details of processes. battery usage like which process takes up more battery.

CAMERA:
Big let down. Period.

PROCESSING POWER:
Don’t bother about it. For 99% of users, this is good enough. The phone has more processing power than the rocket that went to moon first time and much more. The games are very smooth, the UI is very smooth.

NFC Tags:
Wow, this is the most underrated in all reviews. Get bunch ( I mean around 10) of NFC Tags and use in bedrooms, offices, cars, living room and customize what your phone wants to do in those areas. For example, when I enter the car most often I use a) Navigation b) Listen to Podcasts. So I program my NFC tags accordingly using apps like Trigger and tap my phone to the NFC Tag and boom, phone does both.

128 GB Micro SD card!!
This is just incredible. If you see my reviews, I have been saying having external capacity is very key.

BATTERY:
Do you really need to care for battery anymore. I don’t. Just use the phone. I have battery power banks with capacity as high as 30,000 mAh to 8000 mAh that I can charge virtually anywhere without a power supply. So this has become moot for me in past year. I would also suggest you get power banks and not really care of battery drainage. Use the phone and enjoy!

To give a sample, I tried following apps and they just worked awesome.

Amazon Mobile, Androidify, Angry Birds (multiple themes), Asphalt 8, Box, Chrome, NAVIGON (from Garmin - offline maps), Nokia HERE Maps, Google Navigation/Earth/Maps, Google Currents (nice way to read News), Google Drive, Ebay, Linkedin, Google Music, Tapatalk (awesome forum browsing app), Microsoft One Note (legacy docs, skydrive of 25 GB is good), Microsoft Office, (yes they have for Android!), Subsonic Music Streamer, TweetCaster Pro for Android (excellent twitter client), Twit.Tv, Trigger, Google Voice

Ask questions. I will be glad to answer any questions within 24 hours.

By now you've likely read dozens of in-depth reviews on this phone and maybe even watched video reviews, so I wont bore you with redundant repetition of the specs and so on. I'll assume you know all of that stuff by now and want an actual opinion from an average Joe smartphone user who's neither a technophile spechound nor a "I don't know how to use thing thing" newbie, but comfortably just the other side of center.

The phone is thin but not 'geeze I'm going to snap it in half' thin, large enough to be 'big' yet not ridiculous phablet-big, not too big to hold with one adult hand. Not too big to fit in your pants or coat/jacket pocket.

The M9 is lightweight, but not a 'cheap' lightweight, kind of a 'just right' lightweight. It's metal, so it has a good weight for its size and feels good in your hand. I came from an HTC Rezound with extended battery (and therefore larger thicker rear door) and this phone was strangely thin the first few days of use. If you're coming from another thin-type phone this likely wont feel too different. If you have large (or small) fumbly man hands, you may want a grippy case for this one.

The phone is fast. I have flipped the screens as fast as I could trying to get it to lag, but I couldn't. It comes with up to 6 home screens (previous HTC phones had 7). It comes with standard HTC widgets you may be used to, such as Calculator, People, Calendar, Email, etc (although it appears the stock Weather widget is gone unless I am blind), except they've all received a facelift. It also comes with a new one, called Blinkfeed. Blinkfeed is always the first screen to the Left of Home (swipe to the right to bring the Left screen over). Blinkfeed, which I consider simply an updated and way more user-friendly "Friendstream" from previous models, places your social media program contents (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, News) into tiled updates so you can scroll up & down and get it all on one widget, theoretically w/o having to go to your FB app or IG app, or CNN. Old habits are hard to break, I still find myself preferring Instagram on Instagram and not on Blinkfeed, but I'm trying to give it a fair go. I may just put a calculator there, who really knows.

Ringtones are all updated, as are text/email notifications. They sound much nicer, crisper, modern. The problem is, if you've been used to a certain tone- all your faves are GONE! [tear]. Time to get used to new ringtones, especially if you had assigned tones and knew across the room who just texted you.

The notification bar at the top is updated with better results when you swipe it down. It works faster, it contains more, is visually more crisp and tight, and swiping down with two fingers at once automatically opens the main settings screen such as WiFi, Airplane mode, Brightness, etc etc etc, with another gear symbol to open further settings. It has a "Glove Mode" to make the screen extra sensitive for when you're wearing gloves. Whatever you do, don't take off a glove! :)

Apps in the "app drawer" or simply the 'app screen' as I call it, can be sorted into crowded mode (4 apps wide x 5 tall like they've always been), or 3x4 mode, which is far easier on the eye in my opinion.

The back button, home button, etc at the bottom of the screen are not hard buttons like on previous HTC phones, but are actually soft keys, or on-screen buttons at the bottom of the screen, giving the appearance of hard key buttons. They can be customized too. So if you want your back arrow button on the left, the right, the center- it's your call. They've added a 'screen off' button to the mix too, which I added to the soft key row. Now I can touch the tiny button to turn the screen off instead of having to use the physical power button on the side spine. Love that. Also there's an Open Apps button there too, with one-click cancel of all previous apps. (This was done on older HTC phones by long-pressing the Home button and swiping each task off the screen one by one).

It has a zillion (approximately) other customizations, alerts, shortcuts, etc. If you want to do a certain thing or make it look a certain way, chances are it will you just need to go into a setting somewhere.

Nice bright screen. On full brightness I could easily view it bright sunshine, not sure if the 1080p resolution accounts for any of that, or if it's simply a brighter slew of LEDs, but it's decent on sunny days. A tad better than other smartphones I've owned. Slippery (in a good way) and tough Gorilla glass screen makes it easy to swipe on. I seen a video where a guy was trying to scratch the front glass with keys and a knife and couldn't. That's great. (The rest of the phone however, including the camera lens, were far less resistant to scratches.)

The phone is very pretty, ughh, I mean attractive. The silver on gold color looks classy and is a welcome change from the black I've had for years on other phones. The aluminum body is brushed so it has a visual texture to it, adding to the classiness. It has lots of 'leave out on the table for others to see' value to it. Sexy, in other words.

The camera, even though 20MP, isn't terribly crisp, even in bright sunshine and on full resolution. I don't understand this. My HTC Rezound (from 2011/2012) takes stunning bright sunlight pictures and it's "only" 8MP (I understand MP has little to do with picture clarity, but one would assume improvements wouldn't lead to a drop in quality), and despite the negative reviews of the M9's low-light abilities, I thought bright light pics would be at least comparable to HTC's older phones (Incredible, Rezound) but it really isn't, which is strange. This disappoints me a little but I don't lose sleep over it. If you're the type that insists on the best of the best, the camera will likely disappoint you too. But if you're a pro photographer, you wont be using your cell phone anyway. Cell cameras are meant for taking pics at concerts, selfies, rollercoasters, your dinner at Applebee's, the big fish you just caught, and the shopping list you left on the counter being texted to you from your significant other. Not the bridal party or Junior's 1 year pics. it doe shave a slew of goodies in the camera bag. Photobooth, Burst, "Bokeh" (pronounced bouquet, term for an in-focus subject w/ blurry background), 4K video (which ironically is a slower frame rate and therefore more choppy) and a host of on-board effects make it kind of fun to play with. It snaps pictures fast, especially if you have the 'review' feature off. Snap snap snap, no lag at all.

The charge port is now on the bottom, just right of center. Next to it, on the bottom now as well, is the headphone jack. I don't prefer either of these changes but I won't lose sleep over it. The charger plug still inserts with the prongs facing you, facing up, facing the screen of the phoneso be watchful of this when purchasing a dock. I have read reviews on docks that people have bought saying the charger prong was backwards and wouldn't fit this phone. Supposedly the soon to be released "M9+" comes with a reversible charger prong/port similar to Apple's iPhone chargers. If that matters to you then there you go.

The volume buttons are still on the right spine. The Power button is now on the right spine as well, just under the volume buttons in the center. I don't care that change either, but many people seem to prefer all of these button & port position changes. I guess I don't know what everyone else knows or I'm not doing the same things others are doing and therefore don't appreciate these changes as much.

NO replaceable battery. So, if you found yourself needing to replace your phone's battery every year or two.guess what.now you'll probably need to replace the phone. I am NOT a fan of this change. This is the biggest disappointment to me. I assume this is in an effort to make you need to get a new phone, win win for HTC and your carrier both, whether you purchase your phone outright or extend your contract to get it for a discount. Lose lose for Joe consumer who would just replace the battery when it began failing [me].

It does have an SD card slot, right spine near the top. Since the back of the phone is not removable, the SIM (left spine, top) & SD cards need inserted externally. The phone comes with a 'tool' to poke into the little hole to pop open these tiny trays to insert the cards into. The SIM card comes pre-installed, at least mine did as a Verizon upgrade.

The sounds is great. Music is loud. Not knock your socks off loud but great for a phone. BUT- and notice this- it's still a cell phone, so don't expect the world when playing music for the first time. They are the best cell phone speakers I've ever heard, but they're still cell phone speakers. The Theater mode makes it sound like a very nice spacious stereo, which is unique to cell phone speakers. Your other sound option is Music mode. Only these two options. Music mode is *slightly* louder, but less stereo effect. I really like the theater mode myself.

The battery is great, at least now while it's new. I got 16 hrs of light use yesterday (pocket most of the day, occasional email checks periodically) and it still read 52% at midnight. It's a 2840 mAh battery. To put that into perspective (if that's Greek to you), my Rezound, which I bought an extended thick battery for, had a 2750 mAh extended battery. This is better than that extended battery. Very decent for a stock battery. Sure, there'll be reviews where people complain they watched Netflix and played 1080p games on full brightness and the phone was dead by 1pm.boo hoo. It's a phone, you have to be reasonable in your expectations, and this battery does great if you're rational in what you expect and use the phone for normal average things.

It gets warm when charging, and it gets warm when you're using it heavily. And it gets warm when you're charging it AND using it heavily. So get over it. It's an electronic device with a battery, there's a lot of chemistry and physical science going on inside this metal body, you're going to feel heat from all of that. It's not hot and it won't hurt you, it is what it is.

Surely I'm forgetting many things, but I tried to hit the basics in case you're familiar with HTC phones are considering this as an upgrade.

I love the size of this phone, there isn't a lot of junk apps, the sound is awesome, but the camera is horrible! Fuzzy grainy pictures! The selfie camera on the front takes better pictures than the 20mp rear camera. HTC missed the mark when they changed up the camera. I am so disappointed and going to return it. Also, this phone gets really hot when you watch movies or use it while its on the charger.

I purchased my HTC One M9 from AT&T directly and am not in any way associated with HTC or given a product to review.

Pros:
- Great audio quality
This phone has the most exceptional speakers for any phone that I've ever used. They could be louder, but sound quality and clarity is amazing. Output through headphones also sounds great with the custom HTC Boomsound feature which dynamically adjusts the music based on what kind of headphones you have. This is one of the best parts of the phone, in my opinion, and one of the main reasons that audiophiles like myself should consider it.

- Great Screen
The screen on this phone is really good. The unit I received has a small ghosting affect on certain colors, (I bought mine on launch day, so they probably had more lax quality control then because of the demand) but otherwise it looks fantastic. Blacks are deep and dark, colors look saturated but not overly saturated like certain other phones. The screen is 1080p (Full HD) so it's clear and nothing is ever blurry, though some apps and videos are not updated to the 1080p standard so they will appear blurry.

- Call Quality/Signal Speed
Call quality is great on the AT&T network, the callers voices come in loud and clear, and thanks to the Boomsound speakers you can make the sound much louder than on other phones, which should be useful if you have hearing problems. WiFi/Cellular speed is great, my last phone was a Nexus 5 and I was consistently seeing slow downloads and uploads on WiFi and on AT&T. With this phone I have no problems with speed, everything is blazing fast and runs amazingly fast on AT&T's LTE network.

- Performance
Mixed reviews have come out about the Snapdragon 810 processor, saying that it's slower than the 805, that it brings poor battery life, and that it overheats the phone. Some of these reports are true, though not as severe, but speed is not one of them. This phone speeds through the most processor intensive games like nothing and I still haven't experienced major lag at all. Operations around the home and lock screens are smooth and fast, though one thing I have to point out is that after restarting or turning the phone off then on the processor runs slower for about 5-10 minutes before it goes back to being fast.

- Software
HTC's Sense interface for Android is pretty good. HTC is a design focused company in many aspects and designing their interface is one of them. Every aspect of the user interface is designed to be modern, beautiful, and easy to use, and I'd say they completed their goal. I especially like the Themes app, it lets you create custom skins for your phone as well as use other peoples, and the Photo Editing app, which has tons of great features to make all your photos great. Overall HTC really put a ton of work into Sense 7 and it shows.

- Design
For my last pro I'm going to talk about design. The design of this phone is amazing. Everything about it is beautiful, it honestly looks like a work of art. I take my phone out of my case just to look at it sometimes, it's absolutely stunning.

Cons:
These aren't exactly cons, but they're more meh points about the phone that could have been great.

- Battery Life
Battery life was average for me, I could make it through a day (9:00 AM to 12:00 AM) without needing a charge or energy saver, but anything longer and I had to use extreme battery saver. Battery life is ok, definitely not a dealbreaker, but it could have been better.

- Overheating
The Snapdragon processor generates a lot of heat, and the phone is generally good at dissipating it before you can feel it, but when running processor intensive games or multitasking, the back heats up. Not too much, I would guess maybe 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit, but still more than I would like.

- Camera
The camera is great in lit conditions, if there's a lot of light the picture is going to look great. When the lights go out, that's where this camera has trouble. Even in medium light conditions photos look faded and muted. The selfie camera is great though, in low light conditions pictures look almost normal, if a little blurry.

TL;DR: A great phone with exceptional audio quality, great screen, fast performance, beautiful design, but a poor camera and only average battery life.

I had the HTC M7 before, and other HTC phones for almost as long as I've had a cell phone. They just keep getting better and better I've come to appreciate and rely on HTC's complete lack of problems, and total reliability. This phone had the easiest set-up and transfer process from the old phone to new I could imagine. I remember it used to take bunch of time to make sure you got everything transferred. Not anymore. Now, you set the old phone next to the new phone (with NFC on), enter a four digit code. Wait less than five minutes, and all your apps, files, and preferences are carried over.

a single issue is Sprint specific, and then only if you use an Airave (range extender). The Airave will not work unless the phone is set on "CDMA only", of course this means no LTE internet. I've taken to switching the mode when I leave home, where I need the Airave to have reliable phone service.

Oh, Another year 2015. Another set of phones from manufacturers! I have been hooked onto get the latest phone every year syndrome and love reviewing specifics. Disclaimer, I love Android and have been using from very early days. I will not call HTC One M9 as revolutionary, but it is slightly evolutionary. If you have an older phone more than 2 years old, absolutely get this. I like the fact that this still has microSD card slots. There are so many variants already in the market. So do check local specs.

I was very curious to try out M9 and S6 as they are most talked about now. M9 is still HD not quad HD like LG G3s. But this resolution is good enough for most common tasks. Many manufacturers are going away from microSD card slots and this is absolutely a must and is a key differentiator from iPhone. Am glad M9 has it. But the camera has let me down big time. In spite of 20 MP, my experience so far is sub optimal. I have used only couple of days and I am also using a Galaxy S6, and no doubt S6 triumps. Hence my 4 stars.

IF YOU HAVE LAST YEAR model of any phone, PLEASE DON’T upgrade. Phones are becoming so standard and power packed it makes no sense to upgrade and waste money every year. I buy and sell so many phones as it is like a hobby for me, but I stick to one phone as primary for couple of years now. My main requirements are a 128 GB microSD, good screen, battery life and performance.

In my opinion, following are key specs to consider when you buying a phone. Most of others are standard or does not matter at all. First size, weight and resolution are part of look and feel. RAM/CPU part of performance. external Storage is part of expandability. Camera is obvious! SAR (Specific Absorption Rating) is an often ignored, but I feel essential to making a buying choice. Manufacturers don’t advertise or mention SAR prominently.

phone parameters: {size, weight, resolution, ppi, RAM, ext Storage, camera, CPU, USA SAR rating}

HTC One M9: 5.69 x 2.74 x 0.38 in, 157 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 20.7 MP (rear), 4 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57

Samsung Galaxy S6: 5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 in, 138 gm, 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.1 in, 577 ppi, 3 GB RAM, NO MICROSD SLOT (bummer), Internal Storage upto 128 GB, Exynos 7420 Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57, Gorilla Glass 4, 16 MP/5MP camera, SAR 1.15 W/kg (head), 1.16 W/kg (body) NANO SIM

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: Slightly lower dimensions, 0.01 in thicker, 6 gm less weight, Same resolution, Curved Screen,

Samsung Galaxy S5: 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 in, 145 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.1 in, 432 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, MSM8974-AC Processor: Quad core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400, 0.63 W/kg (head), 0.82 W/kg (body)

HTC One M8: 5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in, 160 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5 in, 441 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB!, 4 MP (rear), 5 MP(front for selfies), Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad core, 2300 MHz, Krait 400, 0.94 W/kg (head), 0.83 W/kg (body)

LG G3: 5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 in, 149 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.5 in, 538 ppi, 3 GB RAM, microSD upto 128 GB, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801. Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330, 0.39 W/kg (head), 0.48 W/kg (body) Micro SIM

LG G2: 5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 in, 143 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 in, 424 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2.1 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400, 0.50 W/kg (head), 0.69 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 6: 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.60 in, 184 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.96 in, 493 ppi, 3 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 13 MP/2 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450, Adreno 420, 1.47 W/kg (head), 0.93 W/kg (body)

Google Nexus 5: 5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in, 130 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 in, 445 ppi, 2 GB RAM, no ext Storage, 8 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, 0.92 W/kg (head), 1.23 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 6 PLUS: 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.288 in, 172 gm, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.5 in, 401 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A7, Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.12 W/kg (head), 1.18 W/kg (body)

Apple iPhone 5S: 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in, 112gm, 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 8 MP/1.2 MP, Apple A8, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), 1.19 W/kg (head), 1.19 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 N910: 6.04 x 3.09 x 0.33 in, 176 gm, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 5.7 in, 515 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto `128 GB, 16 MP/3.7MP, Exynos 5 Octa 5420, Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.37 W/kg (head), 0.88 W/kg (body)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000: 5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 in, 168 gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.7 in, 386 ppi, 3 GB RAM, micro SD upto 64 GB, 13 MP/2MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 or Exynos 5433 ; Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450 or Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A57 (SM-N910C), SAR: 0.24 W/kg (head), 0.72 W/kg (body)

Nokia Lumia 1520: 6.41 x 3.36 x 0.34 in, 209gm, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 6.0 in, 367 ppi, 2 GB RAM, microSD up to 64 GB, 20 MP/1.2MP, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 CPU Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400, SAR: 0.59 W/kg (head), 0.24 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto G: 5.11 x 2.59 x 0.46 in, 143 gm, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 in, 326 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 1.17 W/kg (head), 1.06 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2014: 4.91 x 2.55 x 0.48 in, 142 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.3 in, 256 ppi, 1 GB RAM, microSD upto 32 GB, 5 MP/VGA, Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, SAR: 0.97 W/kg (head), 1.50 W/kg (body)

Motorola Moto E 2015 LTE: 5.11 x 2.63 x 0.48 in, 145 gm, 960 x 540 pixels, 4.5 in, 245 ppi, 1 GB RAM, no ext storage, 5 MP/1.3 MP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53

Amazon Kindle Fire: 5.5” x 2.6” x 0.35”, 160 g, 1280 x 720 pixels, 4.7”, 315 ppi, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB, no microSD, 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU, nanoSIM, SAR: 1.34 watts/kg

Given the above key specs, my suggestion to my friends is to choose 2 or 3 KEY features you require (may be large screen size, maybe less weight, maybe more CPU power) and then start nailing down the phones. Definitely and definitely go to a phone or a big box store and feel the phone. Nothing replaces that. In the end end you are using it for days and years, so the tactile feel is very important. I have used all these phones and at a high level they are all good. Few things here and there. And yes the cost. If you are in for a new smartphone and has a budget issue, GET LAST YEAR MODEL. They are as good as current year and probably half the cost!

SCREEN SIZE/RESOLUTION:
I have experimented with many phone sizes and I have come to a conclusion 5” is the best form factor for me. Your mileage may vary, but after using Note for a while, I don’t use it as a primary phone. The display is absolutely stunning with a Super LCD3 and you have to see to feel it!

ANDROID UI:
M8 has Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. User Interface hasa flatter and simpler design, as is now the trend across the industry. Once you get used to user interface you get used to it. Android is very flexible and when I show my phone to a iPhone users they are usually in awe. I recently to my friends shows the details of processes. battery usage like which process takes up more battery.

CAMERA:
Big let down. Period.

PROCESSING POWER:
Don’t bother about it. For 99% of users, this is good enough. The phone has more processing power than the rocket that went to moon first time and much more. The games are very smooth, the UI is very smooth.

NFC Tags:
Wow, this is the most underrated in all reviews. Get bunch ( I mean around 10) of NFC Tags and use in bedrooms, offices, cars, living room and customize what your phone wants to do in those areas. For example, when I enter the car most often I use a) Navigation b) Listen to Podcasts. So I program my NFC tags accordingly using apps like Trigger and tap my phone to the NFC Tag and boom, phone does both.

128 GB Micro SD card!!
This is just incredible. If you see my reviews, I have been saying having external capacity is very key.

BATTERY:
Do you really need to care for battery anymore. I don’t. Just use the phone. I have battery power banks with capacity as high as 30,000 mAh to 8000 mAh that I can charge virtually anywhere without a power supply. So this has become moot for me in past year. I would also suggest you get power banks and not really care of battery drainage. Use the phone and enjoy!

To give a sample, I tried following apps and they just worked awesome.

Amazon Mobile, Androidify, Angry Birds (multiple themes), Asphalt 8, Box, Chrome, NAVIGON (from Garmin - offline maps), Nokia HERE Maps, Google Navigation/Earth/Maps, Google Currents (nice way to read News), Google Drive, Ebay, Linkedin, Google Music, Tapatalk (awesome forum browsing app), Microsoft One Note (legacy docs, skydrive of 25 GB is good), Microsoft Office, (yes they have for Android!), Subsonic Music Streamer, TweetCaster Pro for Android (excellent twitter client), Twit.Tv, Trigger, Google Voice

Ask questions. I will be glad to answer any questions within 24 hours.

I got a chance to play around with an HTC One M9 for the last couple of days. I am a complete phone nerd, and a recognized contributor on XDA Developers where all kinds of Android phone modifications are developed and discussed, if that means anything to you. So when I get a chance to play around with a new phone I jump on it.

It is a nice phone. There is no questioning that. If you get it with a contract renewal at the subsidized price and you like it, it's a good buy. If you are paying full price, there are comparably priced phones that have some better features.

░░░░░THE GOOD░░░░░

❖ The sound - This is where the M9 outshines its competition and leaves them safely in the dust. If you use your phone for multi media like watching videos or listening to music without headphones the BoomSound system HTC packed into the M9 is a thing you are going to like. First off it's facing toward you, not away from you like almost every other smartphone ever made. The sound is vibrant and most importantly it's loud. It's not "giant boombox on your shoulder from 1984" loudbut it's "sit on my desk and listen to music while I work" loud. And it's clear sound. It doesn't sound like a tiny cell phone speaker. It sounds like a real speaker.

❖ The design - It looks slick. It's all metal. It feels heavy enough to be comfortable and strong but light enough that you're not carrying a brick in your pocket. It looks expensive and quality. You will not look like you are carrying a cheap piece of junk. It's a good looking form factor.

❖ Performance and use - It's not hard to overwork a cheap smartphone and make it run slow with a lot of response lag. But the M9 doesn't have those problems, at least not in the ways I tested it. Watching videos, web browsing, and generally just trying to cycle between apps and menus as fast as I could go didn't cause any noticeable lag in the use of the phone. It was very responsive and could keep up with what I was doing just fine. Heat build up is a common complaint about the M9, but I didn't experience that when doing normal day to day stuff. I tried Angry Birds and it handled that fine, but there are much more CPU and Graphic intensive games available that could push the device a lot harder. I don't play those kinds of games so I didn't test that. If you don't play those kinds of games, then heat build up isn't a factor. The processor can do anything from calls/email web browsing up through simple games like Angry Birds without burning itself out.

❖ Expandable Storage - Yes, please! Thank you, HTC, for keeping this feature in a smart phone. I hate the cloud. The cloud and I are not friends. I might someday find myself in the middle of the desert 100 miles from a cell tower suddenly wanting to look at pictures or listen to music on my phone. It's unlikely, but it could happen. And I'd prefer not to limit my options. In that scenario I want to have my files on my device. Not on a cloud that is completely inaccessible to me. The 32GB base model will hold quite a bit on it's own (remember that's 32GB total, including the partition for the operating system) but being able to up that to I think 128GB if I so chose makes me very happy. If expandable storage is a deal breaker on a cell phone for you, the HTC One M9 has you covered.

❖Insurance - I didn't test this, but I'm told HTC has something they call Uh Oh protection. If you break your phone in the first year they will replace it for you. It's basically insurance that the cell phone carriers will sell you, but it's included in the price of the phone. If that works as well as HTC claims it does, great. (You should look into the details of this yourself before buying. I have no idea what the fine print on this is or if it's available to everyone. I just heard about it.)

░░░░░THE BAD░░░░░

❖ The screen - "Bad" is a relative term here. It's not a really bad screen. It's a decent screen. But it's a last generation and not on par with the other top tier phone screens. The Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 have SIGNIFICANTLY better screens with better viewing angles. The M9's resolution is 1080 x 1920. That's not bad, it's the resolution my Galaxy S4 has. But my Galaxy S4 is from 2013. Ultra high definition screens on the other top tier phones have significantly higher resolution than 1080 x 1920. You might think you can't tell much of a difference after a point, but trust me the ultra high def screens even on a 5 inch screen look INSANELY good. The difference is clear. Additionally the panel is LCD technology. That means lower viewing angles and less vibrant color than you get on an LED panel. (LCD is lit by a backlight. LED IS the light.)

❖ Sense - HTC insists one putting a front end on Android to make the UI different from other Android devices. Note to HTC, stop doing that. Android is fine just the way it is from Google. It's simple. It works. Don't add a layer to it.

❖ The non removable battery - -The battery is not easily replaceable. A cell phone battery has a life of about 500 charge cycles. I tend to keep my phones for 2 years as daily users, then I keep my old phones for a variety of other purposes around the house. (My old HTC Sensation is hooked up to my stereo for use as a nice wifi streaming media player with a touchscreen UI, for example) I eventually have a need to replace batteries because I wear them out. I like being able to go on Amazon, spent $20 on a replacement battery, pop it in and be done. Additionally, even if you don't keep your phones that long, batteries fail sometimes. On the M9 I'm sure it would be covered by warranty for 12 months but it'd be a pain to take it somewhere to have it worked on should the issue come up. So no replaceable battery is a deal killer for me. This might not be an issue for you. If not, great! But be aware of the issue before making purchase decisions.

░░░░░THE NEUTRAL░░░░░

❖ Camera - It's not a bad camera. But it' snot as good as most other modern cell phone cameras. If you just want a handy camera to snap an occasional picture it's fine. If you want to document your life, you'll probably want a better camera.

░░░░░THE BOTTOM LINE░░░░░

❖ If you are getting the phone at a 'renewal price' for $200 or less and the non removable battery isn't a deal killer for you it's not a bad device. I think you'll be happy with it, especially if you want to listen to music over the speakers. There are comparably priced phones with better screens, but most of those don't have expandable storage. The HTC One M9 does. So if that's your litmus test, then the M9 might be perfect for you.

❖Ultimately you have to decide what features are important to you. If that is great sound and expandable storage, the M9 will probably make you happy.