Fan Made M8 Reviews

Hello! This thread is for people who want to post their own review of the M8, so other people can read them and see what the M8 is like. Please keep questions and answers to other threads, this thread is for reviews only.
Minimum: 100 Words

Let me start off by saying that the M8 is small compared to the iPhone, it's thinner, less wide, etc... This is pretty cool if you don't want your phone mistaken as an iPhone, because i'll get into that later. I t actually took me a while to get the back off the phone, I didn't know how hard you had to push! The removable battery is definitely good, because my phone froze once when I overloaded it with applications, and I removed the battery to save it.

Calender: The calendar is just that, a calender. You can add events and set a tone you want to each event, to the nearest minute. My only complaint is that you cant set events that are over one day long, as you can only set events PER DAY.
Calendar: 7/10

Internet: I was looking forward to this and I was VERY happy when I found out that my M8 cracker worked! The internet connection depends on the quality of the wifi you're connecting to. It's better to browse in landscape, because the text is too small unless you zoom in. You can bookmark websites and set a homepage as well. Overall, a winner for me.
Internet: 8.5/10

Mail: I found the mail difficult to use, because of all the stuff you have to fill in with POP3 and all that, and i managed to check my mail OK on the internet button anyway, so, i don't really think this is the best application to me, but others might get it to waork and find use to it.
Mail: 5/10

Settings: I'll be short, because there isn't much to say about settings. You change the language, ringtone, wallpaper etc... This is where you find your wifi once you have unlocked it. Bluetooth works from here, too.
Settings: No Rating Needed

Music: The music player KICKS ASS! Honestly, this was the reason I was buying the M8 (along with it being a phone) and it has far surpassed my expectations, and more. The interface is smooth (exactly like the iPod Touch, with the letters down the side) and you can sort by artists and all songs. You can rate songs and search form it like that, and create your own playlists. There is a pretty cool equaliser to look at while you're listening and you can put in lyrics, though I havn't figured out how. The speakers are so good, you can hear it through a basic sized room at 40% (it goes upto a 100%!) My only complaint is that you can't sort by albums, which is the only chink in the armour.
Music: 9.5/10

Video: The video is pretty good, once again the sound is nice, and the screen quality is beautiful and it really feels like you could watch a movie and feel like yu are watching in the cinema. Overall, a nice video player.
Video: 8/10

Photos: I like the photo viewer, the accelerometer is very responsive, which is nice, because you do turn the photo from landscape to portrait pretty often. The zoom function works much like the iPhone's, where you flick with two fingers in differnt directions to zoom in. You can import your own photos into here over a range of different formats, but hasnt accepted ALL of the photos I have given it. But overall, I like it.
Photos: 8/10

Camera: The camera has definitely improved in recent versions, and now works extremely well in light, but some more improvements could be made for working in darkness.
Camera: 6/10

Messages: This is a pretty organised function, which organises all your text under the sender. So if you were to get two texts from Rob and 3 texts from Bryan it would just list Rob and Bryan and then you see the texts after you click on the name. This makes is much more organised. There is also a cool way to delete the messages: flick your finger across the message, from left to right. A delete button will appear. Good.
Messages: 8.5/10

Documents: This is where you will install applications once they are in your phone. It actually took me a while to realise I had to click on disk before I went looking for the application to install it! I haven't found much other use for it, but I thought files downloaded fast once I installed them, and know I know how it works I find it easy to use.
Documents: 8/10

Some Worthy Apps: I'm going to name and review a few favourite that I have downloaded (so far) on the M8. I'll list any bugs or anything that doesn't really make sense.

Balance Ball: The newest version is very good, the accelerometer is pretty responsive, and it saves which level you are at, which is what people were asking for. Most people would like this, even if they didn't speak chinese, becuase it is easy to understand and use after a while.
Balance Ball: 8.5/10

Bejewled: The touch screen works very well here, the animations are fluid, although the sounds are loud and annoying (but you can turn them off) there are different modes as well, with time in one of them. Its all in english as well.
Bejewled: 9/10

Minesweeper: I have a problem with this game. When I reveal all ten mines, the game doesn't end! You have to do something to show the computer you know where the mine is, and then a red flag appears, I don't know how to do that though. For those who want it in full screen, click on the number of bombs. Note that you can't remove bombs in full screen, and that you have to click the bottom left button to be able to click bombs again. But the first glitch annoys me most.
Minesweeper: 7/10

Tetris: A bit glitchy, but a great concept none the less. Tap the screen to rotate, use the accelerometer to move from side to side.
Tetris: 7/10

The End

What version do you use? The camera has been improved considerably in recent versions.

I don't know.. how do you find out?

Firmware version. Check it in About, under Settings.

Found it. 0.9.0.1
Thats only two behind, isnt it?

Originally Posted by Rabsi1

The 3.2 Megapixel camera was supposed to OUTDO the iPhone 2 Megapixel camera.

For the record, megapixels don't really count for crap, you could have a bajillion pixels on a cellphone camera but the end result would be nothing compared to even an older-gen DSLR. They're decent for impromptu picture taking, but don't ever expect it to replace a normal camera. The biggest weakness in a mobile phone's camera is poor lighting and fast motion.

Originally Posted by JkPwNsTeR

The biggest weakness in a mobile phone's camera is poor lighting and fast motion.

That's where the blurred bit comes in

Any reviews please? I want to see want other people think!

Originally Posted by Rabsi1

Found it. 0.9.0.1
Thats only two behind, isnt it?

0.9.0.3 firmware released yesterday, the camera fuction gets better now.

My only complaint is that you can't sort by albums

But you can play music by folder, I think that's the same as sort by albums.

Thanx Rabsi1 for this nice review.

I am going to the shop this afternoon with a chinese colleague (the second shop, also in handan lu, but open today and tomorrow too, I beleive you had yours there).

I think you have the test version, I plan to buy the official final one.
I will ask about the update of the firmware there, as well as the craker to get wifi ready

the M8 for me will bring me a great touchscreen (I have LG Viewty which is good for its camera), a nice mp3 player (to replace my 1st gen iPod), and I really hope to get decent camera result with latest firmware.

I'll let you know ASAP, when I have it if I can had some more review details about cons and pros.

Cheers,
Pierre

camera works very well, it all depends on how you use it all my pics are worth flickr posting

2.0-3.2MP in a mobile phone is more than enough. The tiny sensor, tiny lens, and the tiny distance between the two mean that anything bigger is just pure marketing BS. A 2.0MP camera with autofocus, 3x optical zoom, and a flash would be the ultimate setup for a mobile phone.

Come on guys, use this thread what is was created for. make some reviews!

I'm back with a Final version; Firmware version is 0.9.0.2, and Bluetooth is working. It was like this by default, factory made, and no sign (for the moment) of wifi.

I'll be posting a review in this seme post, to let you know more aboyt what I think, and, if I can see any difference with test version.

Pierre

Originally Posted by chengdude

A 2.0MP camera with autofocus, 3x optical zoom, and a flash would be the ultimate setup for a mobile phone.

Right now, the optics mechanism would take up a lot of space, but soon they will have a type of lens that folds light in order to magnify optically.

Ok, to make you happy, I am going to write my first impressions. I have no idea how it compares with the iPhone since I have never used one.

Calender: Option to see Day/Month/List of events. You can actually have the event occurring over one day, but the event will only appear on the start date. The entry is limited as to description, only a single sentence. No possible differentiation as to whether it's an appointment, a reminder or an anniversary.

Internet: Wifi works. I had no problem connecting to my apartment's private network. Slower to load than with my other phone. Finding the navigation of Opera rather hard on the phone (I do enjoy using it on my PC). Seems like I didn't install the Flash player correctly or it needs to be upgraded. Refresh button missing (hidden?). Internet seems stuck now. Will try again another day.

Mail:It's an application that I do not intend to use in the short term, so I cannot comment on its use.

Settings: It's now on only one 'page', and you need to scroll it up to see the whole list. I still haven't figured out what the earphone options are about -- what is an avocatoried earphone? Usage does not include battery level unfortunately, which is something I would really like.

Music/Sound: Tried a couple of mp3 songs, clear sound. I am not an expert on that thing, but it does seem to be better than the output from my other phone. Still need to read about creating playlist. Fancy equaliser but cannot adjust the bass level, which is greyed out at 0. Some games do not seem to detect the earphone? The sound still came out through the phone's external speakers.

Video: Tested a couple of avi movies, worked fine. RMVB works after installation of Real plugin. I downloaded a Naruto in MP4 format today but it said the format is not supported. I need to state that as I was moving the file under U-disk mode instead of activesync mode, there was no 'copying and converting to mobile device format' dialogue. File title should not exceed a certain length according to the message I got when transferring files under activesync mode. The sound level is restricted to a max of 80% by Meizu.

Photos: Photo viewer is as stated by Rabsi1. I only tried jpg files and it was fine.

Camera: Took a couple of pictures on the metro. Worked fine, but subject was still art. Cannot comment on moving object as untried. The picture was clear since the area was well lit. Slight delay between pressing the button and capture, but not 2sec.

Messages:Rather nice grouping of text msgs, reminds me of Google's mail. You have an option to reject anonymous SMS and not to receive MMS in the settings. As others have stated, no delivery confirmation option. Writing is a bit of a hassle because of the size of the area for the top row alphabets (upper row smaller area per alphabet, lower row larger area). People with sizeable fingers will find it rather clumsy to use. I guess that's one of the place where a stylus would be useful (yes, they've got a stylus that works with M8, I need to buy it next week). Keyboard won't move into landscape mode, so I'm stuck with guessing where my fingers are striking. A hologram of the keyed alphabet does appear on the screen but it doesn't prevent you from keying the wrong alphabet. Highlighting and copying/pasting of selected texts not possible. I have someone telling me she sent me text msg yesterday but I didn't receive them. Still under investigation.

Documents: Simplified version of 'Windows Explorer' on the phone.

Apps:I have installed 'Balance Ball', 'Chuzzle', 'Sudoku', 'Bejeweled', 'Zuma', 'LLink' and they work fine on 0.9.0.3 firmware. I haven't tried MSN. I tried QQ but have no idea how to get it to install/start up. 'Profile' doesn't work on 0.9.0.3 but 'Volume' does. I have yet to figure out how to use the Mobile Registry Editor. Also, I uninstalled some games (Dynomite, Solitaire, etc) but the folders are still in the phone. I guess you need to manually delete the folders afterwards.

Conclusion:
Satisfactory for early period since release of the phone. I'm still waiting for a proper Chi-Eng translation software (anyone knows if Pledico works on it?), possibility of copy/paste text, msg delivery confirmation. The battery seems to use up quite fast but it's probably due to the testing of apps, bluetooth, movie/gaming etc.

Let me help you with a few of your problems tilai:

Internet: Refresh button missing (hidden?).

You have to tap on the middle of the taskbar for the addressbar to come up, and there's the refresh button right next to it.

Music/Sound: Still need to read about creating playlist. Fancy equaliser but cannot adjust the bass level, which is greyed out at 0. Some games do not seem to detect the earphone? The sound still came out through the phone's external speakers.

Creating playlists is easy, just go to the first icon in music player, and select "Add Playlist" give it a name of your choice, select Save, and then find it in the list. You can adjust the bass level by pressing on the now playing icon two times.

Video: File title should not exceed a certain length according to the message I got when transferring files under activesync mode. The sound level is restricted to a max of 80% by Meizu.

Don't use activesync for copying files on your M8! Always U-disk mode. You can adjust the max volume in the Settings menu (video player).

Messages: Highlighting and copying/pasting of selected texts not possible.

It's possible. Press the .?123 button then the first icon in the top row. Adjust highlighted text with the little [ and ] marks, then hold your finger on selected text for about 1 sec (you should see a little message saying "The Chars Have Copy"). Then you can paste it with the last icon.

Apps: tried QQ but have no idea how to get it to install/start up. 'Profile' doesn't work on 0.9.0.3 but 'Volume' does. I have yet to figure out how to use the Mobile Registry Editor. Also, I uninstalled some games (Dynomite, Solitaire, etc) but the folders are still in the phone. I guess you need to manually delete the folders afterwards.

You need something called NetCF 3.5 to run all the programs correctly (download it from our software database). For the Mobile Registry Editor you have to connect your phone via activesync. Yes, sometimes you have to download a few directories (usually empty ones) for yourself.

I'm still waiting for a proper Chi-Eng translation software (anyone knows if Pledico works on it?)

Ha! Wishful thinking...PlecoDict runs on Windows Mobile & PalmOS. Their next port is to -you guessed it- iPhone Stellar program, though.

I've seen 2 dictionary softwares on the BBS, but can't really remember what they were...let me try to find it.

Originally Posted by nice2know_u

Let me help you with a few of your problems tilai:
You have to tap on the middle of the taskbar for the addressbar to come up, and there's the refresh button right next to it.

I had changed it to desktop format but can't remember the refresh button. Will check again later.

Creating playlists is easy, just go to the first icon in music player, and select "Add Playlist" give it a name of your choice, select Save, and then find it in the list. You can adjust the bass level by pressing on the now playing icon two times.

Found it, didn't know about it. However, the default settings on the equalizer has the bass greyed out on 0.

Don't use activesync for copying files on your M8! Always U-disk mode. You can adjust the max volume in the Settings menu (video player).

Correct for max volume. I always opened the video through the documents app, so I never saw that settings menu. Changed it to 100% and adjust level according to movie I watch.

It's possible. Press the .?123 button then the first icon in the top row. Adjust highlighted text with the little [ and ] marks, then hold your finger on selected text for about 1 sec (you should see a little message saying "The Chars Have Copy"). Then you can paste it with the last icon.

Thanks. I still need to pseudo-forward received sms to be able to copy/paste.

You need something called NetCF 3.5 to run all the programs correctly (download it from our software database). For the Mobile Registry Editor you have to connect your phone via activesync. Yes, sometimes you have to download a few directories (usually empty ones) for yourself.

I already installed NetCF3.5 but the QQ won't run. I think I installed it properly because the MusicRay app works. But then those with program with folder files I seem not to know what to do to install them either (such as the Chinese weather app - Edit: now working, but QQ still not working).