Introduction

We have a good one for you today – plastic versus metal – the Motorola Droid Turbo versus the HTC One M8 – the newest device versus a March 2014 released device.  The HTC One M8 is still HTC’s flagship device so we are obligated to compare it with the newest models in order to see how it stands up to the competition.  Possibly, a current HTC One M8 owner would like to see how their device stacks up to the newer devices…is it time to upgrade or is their current HTC One M8 still hanging in there.

Both of these devices are solidly built, but the manufacturers approached the design differently.  HTC is one of the few devices that is an all-metal design with rounded sides and curved back for an easy and comfortable experience in your hand.  Motorola approaches the Droid series with a tough plastic and Kevlar combination, although with the Turbo, you can get a ballistic nylon look and feel for the back panel.  Both the HTC One M8 and the shiny Kevlar backed Droid can be a little slippery for a good grip – the One M8 is a sexy looking phone and the Droid Turbo is more a manly looking device.

Other than being very close to the same size and weight, there are not many specs that matchup between these two devices.  The usual suspects are there on both phones – Wi-Fi, NFC capabilities, Bluetooth 4.0 and each device has a microUSB v3.0 connector for charging and data transfer.  You can get each of these on Verizon’s network and the price is $199 on a two-year contract, although the HTC One M8 is starting to see some discounting.

So please take some time to check out the detailed specifications in the chart below and see just how these two great devices truly compare.  After the specification chart we will look at both devices up close and personal, discuss the pros and cons and try to pick a winner in this comparison.

Specifications

Motorola Droid Turbo

The Motorola Droid Turbo is unlike any Droid device to hit Verizon’s lineup in the past – it looks like a Droid with its bright red or black Kevlar enforced plastic.  There is a new black ballistic nylon weave kind of deal that looks nice, but doesn’t change the fact that it is a Droid…Motorola even kept the little ‘chin’ at the bottom.  The Droid Turbo is typical Motorola build – solid, and easy to hold in the hand, if not the prettiest date at the dance.  Typically, the Droid line – Maxx, Ultra, and Mini – have not had the best specs available when the phone was built…well all of that has changed with the new Droid Turbo.

It comes with a 5.2-inch Quad HD(QHD) AMOLED with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and an unheard of 565 pixels-per-inch (PPI) – far out doing the FHD display of the HTC One M8 at 441 PPI.  Both devices have Snapdragon processors, but the Droid Turbo has the newest generation 805 quad-core model clocked at 2.7GHz rather than the juiced up 800/801 hybrid processor (MSM8974AB, rather than AC) clocked at 2.3GHz.  It also has 3GB of RAM over the One M8’s 2GB…now the Droid Turbo does not offer internal memory expansion – you get 32GB or 64GB.  The One M8 offers 16GB or 32 GB but also has room for further expansion via a microSD slot.

When it comes to cameras, the Droid series and Motorola as a whole never put that item as a top priority, but the Droid Turbo changed most of that situation with a huge 21MP main camera with auto-focus and a dual LED flash – the only item missing is there is no Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)…on either device.  The Droid Turbo has a 2MP front-facing camera (FFC) for social selfies and video chats – the One M8 does include a 5MP shooter for its FFC.  The power for the Droid Turbo comes from a mammoth 3900mAh battery, while the One M8 uses a small 2600mAh battery and BOTH are non-removable.

Both of these devices are very similar in size, as are their displays with the Droid Turbo only weighting 9 grams more.  Like I mentioned in the introduction, both devices have the basic Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and a microUSB 2.0 connector for charging and data transfer.  The Droid Turbo can also do VoLTE calling with an OTA whenever Verizon is ready.  The Droid Turbo has a large, single speaker on the front of the device, it has a nano-coating for water resistance, wireless charging built-in and comes with a Motorola Turbo Charger in the box…this will allow the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 CPU’s Quick Charge 2.0 to charge the battery up to 60-percent of capacity with only a 15-minute charge.

The Droid Turbo comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, but should receive its 5.0 Lollipop update very quickly.  It is only available on the Verizon network for a reasonable $199 on a two-year contract or $599 off-contract.

HTC One M8

When the HTC One M7 arrived on the scene in 2013, it was met with great adoration – a sleek, all-metal body, dual-front-facing stereo speakers with BoomSound and small bezels made it an instant hit.  When the new HTC One M8 came out early this year, we were expecting a refinement of the design and an upgraded camera – we got both, but not exactly what we were hoping for in the camera area.

The HTC One M8 comes with a 5-inch FHD LCD type display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 441 PPI – quite a bit down from the QHD display of the Droid Turbo with 565 PPI.  The Snapdragon in the One M8 is the older 801 model clocked at 2.3GHz with only 2GB of RAM…versus the newest Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.7GHz, found in the Droid Turbo, along with 3GB of RAM.  One spot the One M8 does shine is that it has a microSD card slot to add an additional 128GB of internal storage to it base 16GB or 32GB.

HTC went a different route than most smartphone manufacturers when it comes to a camera.  Rather than using regular megapixels, they use an UltraPixel, which is larger than a normal pixel and they put in a 4MP camera using UltraPixels.  This is basically the same camera that was in the One M7 – people begged them to make the camera better, but rather than adding more UltraPixels, they added a second camera…called a Duo Camera…not to make the picture quality better, but to add special effects or more depth to the shot.  It does have a dual-tone LED flash and auto-focus; however, there is still no OIS.  The FFC is up to 5MP, which is a nice size for social selfies and video chatting…compared to only 2MP for the Droid Turbo.

Other observations and extras over the Droid Turbo – only a 2600mAh battery powers the HTC One M8, compared to the huge 3900mAh in the Droid Turbo.  Both devices are about the same size and even with that large battery, the Droid Turbo only weighs 9 grams more.  The One M8 has the usual Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and a microUSB port for charging and data transfer.  It also sports an IR Blaster, the dual stereo front-facing BoomSound speakers, a built-in Stereo FM radio and comes with 4.4 KitKat with Sense 6 UI.  It is available on all major U.S. networks and is $199 on a two-year contract, although you can sometimes find this model discounted.

...And The Winner Is…

Summary

Okay, we had to go with the newer Motorola Droid Turbo – it just simply outclasses the HTC One M8 in almost all areas.  The HTC One M8 is definitely the better-looking device and better sounding device with it dual front-facing BoomSound speakers, but it takes more than looks and better sound to win this comparison.  One main advantage to the One M8 is that it does have a microSD Card for internal memory expansion, but after that it is all Droid Turbo.

The displays are almost the same size; however, the Droid Turbo uses the QHD and AMOLED display, the newest Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21MP camera, a huge 3900mAh battery, Nano-coating for water resistance, wireless charging and a Motorola Turbo Charger comes with the Droid Turbo for 6-8 hours of usage for only a 15-minute charge.  It is also running 4.4.4 KitKat, but you can expect quick updates with a Motorola device to the newest 5.0 Lollipop.  One downfall for many is that the Droid branded Turbo is only available on the Verizon network.  The Droid Turbo also has a great price of $199 on a two-year contract.

Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and discuss which device you would choose as the winner…as always, we would love to hear from you.