HTC Mail has just been released in the Google Play Store, although it’s only available for certain HTC devices as we already expected. We can now expect to get updates more frequently and with better targeting of the customers’ demands, as the company will be able to more easily collect usage information and implement it in their development work.
Among the devices which now have access to the app, we have the HTC One M7, M8 and M9, as well as the Desire 816 and 820. There are even more devices on the list, and HTC are trying to cover their entire user base as they generally have, but we wouldn’t expect to see the app continuing to support the full range of devices by the company in the future.
The great thing about having the app in the Play Store is that it’s now a regular app instead of part of the firmware, and users won’t have to download an entire OS update just to get improved functionality on some specific feature of one single app as was before. Previously, HTC had to release Android updates in order to fix problems with their mail client, and this was a common complaint among users. Installing an Android update on a regular basis isn’t exactly fun, so we can’t blame them.
Now though, users will just have to download their updates from the Play Store, just like with any regular app that they’re using. HTC have hinted that they will now be releasing those updates more rapidly as well, and as we said above, we would expect to see more active implementation of community suggestions in updates for the client.
Meanwhile, some publications have been comparing the HTC Desire 816 to another popular device in the phablet segment, the Samsung Galaxy A7. Both have some relatively good specifications and even though they’re not flagships, they’re still pretty reliable mid-range phones that have been enjoying a lot of popularity since their release.
The choice is obvious for users who’re on a tight budget, as the Desire 816 is significantly cheaper than Samsung’s offer, even though it’s not that far behind in terms of specifications. The device also supports LTE, which is pretty good for a phone in its price range, even though 4G is actually becoming quite a popular feature in most smartphones nowadays. As the support for 4G connectivity in various carriers improves, we expect to see even more phones implementing the technology as well.