The HTC One (M8) is finally official and it's a gorgeous looking phone. However, should you fancy protecting it from the elements, while you might be covering up some its nicest aesthetic features, the Dot View cover is a clever and intuitive way in doing so.

Samsung and LG have smart covers for their devices, often featuring a window that displays a small segment of the screen, so you can see the most important information without having to turn on the phone, thereby saving battery life for the most basic of tasks.

HTC goes one better. It uses dots in the case cover to display an LED style effect underneath, ensuring that even less of the screen is needed to be powered and therefore saving even more charge while checking out the time, weather or message alerts.

READ: HTC One (M8) review

htc one m8 dot view cover pictures and hands on image 4

There's not really much more to it than that, but it is a lovely idea. We couldn't get more than a few cursory pictures during the phone's launch event in London, and to see it in action we had to peer through a glass case. But when we saw the phone prior to the event, we got our hands on the plastic case so can safely say that not only does it work, it feels nice in the hand.

Five colours are available - blue, green, grey, orange and a sort-of purple/pink. We're not sure of price at present be will update when we know more.