Galaxy Note: ATT vs International - review - AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717

Just had a chance to play with the ATT Note.
Lots of bloatware! ATT promotional stuff and apps. Garbage.
One and only major physical difference i saw was the screen border - it is not flat like the International Note (IN), has a bit of a lip.
The ATT Note UI is super fast in stock form, seems a bit faster than my heavily modded IN (root, themed launcher and custom kernel)
It did shine with the network speeds. I'm in NYC and compared two Notes next to each other. My IN got less than 1Mb on HSPA+ and ATT Note got 10+ Mb on 4G LTE.
02/23/12 - UPDATE:
As of this 2/20/12, I have both the International and ATT versions of the Note. I will post a short video review of both tomorrow.
The International is rooted of course, with Rocket Rom v21 and Abyss kernel.
The ATT version is stock.
Both have same exact set up configurations, Widget locker, Go launcher and pretty much the same number of apps installed.
Some more quick observations after playing with both for a few days:
Pros:
-LTE speed. It's amazing, compared to HSPA+ or even to WiFi! i get 11-13 Mbps down and 8-10 Mbps up in NYC where my International Note was barely getting 1 Mbps up and .8 down... In NJ i am getting 20Mbps speeds, which is faster than my WiFi at home.
-ATT version is very smooth. I cannot comment on any lag.
-Battery life is VERY much comparable! I get about 3 hours of screen on time from both devices. Seems there is a difference of opinions on this one, so lets get more input from "dual" users.
-The amount of bloatware was slightly exaggerated - there is only a handful of ATT pre-installed apps and i was able to uninstall at least one of them just like a regular user app - no root access needed.
Cons:
- Lack of Video Editor. I ported the International .apk, but the install could not complete. Could be fixable by a custom rom cook.
- Lack of FM radio. I ported the International .apk, was able to install and run the app, but there is no sound. This must be the kernel limitation, as the chip should be able to support it. Could be fixed with custom kernel.
- Lack of screen mode selection - Dynamic, Standard, Movie. (available on International Note) Could probably be solved in a custom rom
- Some funky performance of the lock screen - does not always appear as expected and i can get right to the home screen.
- Some funky performance of the wallpaper - come wallpapers dont scroll, others do. Some get grossly zoomed in when installed, others dont.
While the last two points are relatively minor, as they could be attributed to a config issue with the actual software, the first two cons can be deal breaker for some people.
The LTE speed is definitely a huge selling point that can help overlook the cons.
02/24/12 - UPDATE:
Added: a side by side video comparison of two Galaxy Notes - International HSPA+ GT-N7000 vs US AT&T 4G LTE I717:
http://youtu.be/V6Jnl1xV3i8

Thats good news. A fast stock at&t UI compared to your rooted/custom rommed one seems hard to believe though, or should I say sounds too good to be true.

I was impressed myself. Scrolling, loading apps, etc... Gonna try to run a Quadrant test on it.

Maybe Samsung has done some further tinkering to it. I know the international version was pretty laggy at first, so I'm glad the US version doesn't seem to be.
Don't care so much about the benchmarks, just how it looks, feels and performs, but please let us know how it stacks up anyway!
Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

From the videos it looks like they both have a lip. I guess it's just the band around it.
First thing I'm gonna do is put all those ATT icons in a folder then hope for root.
tefloncoated said:
Just had a chance to play with the ATT Note.
Lots of bloatware! ATT promotional stuff and apps. Garbage.
One and only major physical difference i saw was the screen border - it is not flat like the International Note (IN), has a bit of a lip.
The ATT Note UI is super fast in stock form, seems a bit faster than my heavily modded IN (root, themed launcher and custom kernel)
It did shine with the network speeds. I'm in NYC and compared two Notes next to each other. My IN got less than 1Mb on HSPA+ and ATT Note got 10+ Mb on 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

tefloncoated said:
Just had a chance to play with the ATT Note.
Lots of bloatware! ATT promotional stuff and apps. Garbage.
One and only major physical difference i saw was the screen border - it is not flat like the International Note (IN), has a bit of a lip.
The ATT Note UI is super fast in stock form, seems a bit faster than my heavily modded IN (root, themed launcher and custom kernel)
It did shine with the network speeds. I'm in NYC and compared two Notes next to each other. My IN got less than 1Mb on HSPA+ and ATT Note got 10+ Mb on 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you do a full system dump, so we could get a head start on rooting and room cooking?

i will dump the rom tomorrow when the shipment arrive tomorrow..

i own both and am running side by side comparisons. Antutu score was BETTER on the AT&T note. that surprised me. Quadrant on the AY&T was 1950 but for some reason its still higher than the international. could be that both are loaded with over 100 apps, but that is a real life situation so very relevant.
initial impressions are that the AT&T note is smoother to use! cant explain why. i have them set up identically. its simply more sfluid and responsive. i am also getitng about 35mb in manhattan on LTE.
another BIG difference is the sound. Speaker on the AT&T FAR BETTER than the international. regualr ear is about the same, perhaps a little louder on the at&T. I reckon its because the processor is designed for this network.
anyway I am very happy.

How's video performance compared to the International version?
Do you notice any of the black clipping issue while playing videos?
As described here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1344714&page=48

tefloncoated said:
Just had a chance to play with the ATT Note.
Lots of bloatware! ATT promotional stuff and apps. Garbage.
One and only major physical difference i saw was the screen border - it is not flat like the International Note (IN), has a bit of a lip.
The ATT Note UI is super fast in stock form, seems a bit faster than my heavily modded IN (root, themed launcher and custom kernel)
It did shine with the network speeds. I'm in NYC and compared two Notes next to each other. My IN got less than 1Mb on HSPA+ and ATT Note got 10+ Mb on 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can remove a lot of the AT&T bloatware, although not all of it. It's odd which programs they won't let you uninstall. It pisses me off that they always rom lock Telenav. Who the hell uses that on an Android device.
There are two applications that the International version has that the AT&T doesn't: Photo and Video editor. I really want the Video editor. I wonder why they cut these. I'm hoping someone can get the APKs off of the international version and they will work.

Video seems much worse on the at&t. On this I am really disappointed. Could be a deal killer for me. The international could take anything you threw at it. Here I have to use mx video player in software mode to make it go smoothly. More work to be done here. Anyone else found the same?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App

greyhulk said:
There are two applications that the International version has that the AT&T doesn't: Photo and Video editor. I really want the Video editor. I wonder why they cut these. I'm hoping someone can get the APKs off of the international version and they will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They also nixed the FM Radio

Too much bloatware!
I thought this phone was suppose to have 16GB of internal storage? All I see is 1.74 GB. Did all that bloatware occupied that much space?

tefloncoated said:
Just had a chance to play with the ATT Note.
Lots of bloatware! ATT promotional stuff and apps. Garbage.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only bloatware apparently that isn't unistallable is ypmobile. Literally everything else I have been able to uninstall
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium

NR017 said:
Too much bloatware!
I thought this phone was suppose to have 16GB of internal storage? All I see is 1.74 GB. Did all that bloatware occupied that much space?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The memory is allocated between apps and internal USB storage. I think like 2 GB is dedicated to Apps and the rest to in the internal USB storage. Hit the task manager and then storage to see how it is allocated.
---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------
bkeaver said:
The only bloatware apparently that isn't unistallable is ypmobile. Literally everything else I have been able to uninstall
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You were able to uninstall all the ATT apps? City ID, AP Mobile, ATT Code Scanner, ATT Navigator, ATT ready 2 go, featured apps etc?
WOW!

Wait. It doesn't have 16gb allocated to app storage?! If I only have 2gb for app storage, this phone is going back as soon as I pick it up.

kiltedthrower said:
Wait. It doesn't have 16gb allocated to app storage?! If I only have 2gb for app storage, this phone is going back as soon as I pick it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a ton of memory for apps. You can also move Apps to the SD card if you get one. The other memory is if you do not want to get a Micro SD you can store your music, photos, video etc. I probaby have 60 apps and that is less than 500 MB.

ekerbuddyeker said:
i own both and am running side by side comparisons. Antutu score was BETTER on the AT&T note. that surprised me. Quadrant on the AY&T was 1950 but for some reason its still higher than the international. could be that both are loaded with over 100 apps, but that is a real life situation so very relevant.
initial impressions are that the AT&T note is smoother to use! cant explain why. i have them set up identically. its simply more sfluid and responsive. i am also getitng about 35mb in manhattan on LTE.
another BIG difference is the sound. Speaker on the AT&T FAR BETTER than the international. regualr ear is about the same, perhaps a little louder on the at&T. I reckon its because the processor is designed for this network.
anyway I am very happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is Quadrant higher on the ATT Note if it's 1950? On stock international it's around 3600. And what score did you get on Antutu?
Sent from my GT-i9220 using Forum Runner

planoman said:
The memory is allocated between apps and internal USB storage. I think like 2 GB is dedicated to Apps and the rest to in the internal USB storage. Hit the task manager and then storage to see how it is allocated.
---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------
You were able to uninstall all the ATT apps? City ID, AP Mobile, ATT Code Scanner, ATT Navigator, ATT ready 2 go, featured apps etc?
WOW!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, 2 GB it looks like and yeah, I was able to uninstall those AT&T bloats too

kiltedthrower said:
Wait. It doesn't have 16gb allocated to app storage?! If I only have 2gb for app storage, this phone is going back as soon as I pick it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to what planoman said, I'm almost positive this is what basically every android phone has. Nothing to freak out about. Like he said, 2gb is plenty, and there's the app2sd option. If you fill 2gb with apps you have a fack-ton of apps. Haha.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

Related

[Q] Evo 4g LTE vs Galaxy S3: Developement

I just wanted to get some input about what everyone thinks about the 3rd party development concerning these two phones. I currently have, and still love, my original Evo 4g. I have it rooted with CM7 installed.
I'm on Sprint, and I love being able to use the free wifi hotspot built into CM7 without paying a ton of money to sprint. I like having emulators and playing all my old favorite games on the TV.
The difference in the screens doesn't bother me much, but I figured the extra power of the GS3 would be very beneficial with the way I use the phone. On the other hand, I've heard custom mods and development aren't near as good with the GS3.
So the main question:
Should I go for the raw power of the GS3, or the more modding and developer friendly LTEVo? I really don't want to lose my free wifi hotspot... I use it all the time and I'm not sure if I can get it with the GS3.
The free hot spot you can get when you root with any phone, so that's a non issue.
My understanding is the phones are about the same, the galaxy has more RAM it seems, but the processor is about the same. You should consider build.quality. do you like how the EVO looks and feels or the Sammy? I don't like the plastic feel of the Samsung phones myself. It's a personal choice.
Also the front buttons on the galaxy are ugly, and u like dedicated camera button on the EVO. And kickstand.
sent from my EVO LTE
You said a bunch of nothing. Also what makes you think the GS3 has more "raw power"? They both have the same chip.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Sg3 had more RAM
sent from my EVO LTE
More RAM doesn't equate to more power lol
My main reason for moving to HTC (from Samsung Epic 4G) is OEM support. Samsung could care less about upgrading phone's they've already sold. You can bet your mortgage on the Evo getting Jelly Bean before the Galaxy S III, and I'm sure we're talking a difference in months.
tjkrz said:
My main reason for moving to HTC (from Samsung Epic 4G) is OEM support. Samsung could care less about upgrading phone's they've already sold. You can bet your mortgage on the Evo getting Jelly Bean before the Galaxy S III, and I'm sure we're talking a difference in months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking the same but usually upgrades are a pain cause so many differences and carriers, I think sprint got the best track record with upgrades but maybe is because they don't have so many phones as Verizon and att, plus this time around the device is the same @ll over the us carriers so it should be easier, I'm getting the gs3 on tmobile since I already have tmobile but I'm keeping my EVO and wait for lte and the only thing that I hate about my EVO 3g doesn't cut it sometimes, when the evo came out I had not problems with 3g and that's all I used cause 4G will kill battery quick, to the op they both are great phones I think you should try the gs3 and if you prefer sense too much(even tho you said you like cm7) then get evo lte, btw development on the gs3 will be probably better then evo only because is the same phone in all major us carriers so all those developers will make roms for each on carrier and just changed radios and what not for the other carrier so it will be amazing and that was what Myn was talking about when he choose to get the GS3
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2
I laugh at anyone who chooses the Galaxy S3 because it has twice as much RAM as the Evo LTE. RAM wasn't a bottleneck in the 3D so why would it be an issue in the LTE? It was hardly a problem with the 4G. Phones simply don't utilize all that RAM. Adding more won't change anything.
Your decision should come down to maybe a handful of things. Probably the biggest knock against the Evo LTE is the battery. You have the freedom to access the S3's battery whenever you please without having to remove screws. For some people, that's a dealbreaker and they would shell out for the S3. Likewise, others would prefer the dedicated camera button.
At the end of the day, the decision is yours. I'm not really sure if I ever see myself buying a phone not made by HTC. Their products are simply amazing. I don't have anything against Samsung, it's just I love the three flagship Evos I have owned. I haven't found a reason to abandon them.
I think the question that has been asked has not yet been answered. Which phone will have more custom roms available. Or, maybe more importantly which will get a fully functional Cyanogen mod or other popular rom first?
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Im running cm9 on my Evo Lte now it's almost perfect no video camera yet. I think the SG 3 already has official cm support because Samsung already released source, HTC hasn't yet. Im pretty sure once source comes out the evo will get official support too. So to me it's which phone you like better, they're so close spec wise.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
ibleedbloo said:
I think the question that has been asked has not yet been answered. Which phone will have more custom roms available. Or, maybe more importantly which will get a fully functional Cyanogen mod or other popular rom first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was the main part of question, and it hasn't really gotten much input. (Except from jgalan14, who brought up a good point)
shook187 said:
You said a bunch of nothing. Also what makes you think the GS3 has more "raw power"? They both have the same chip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stellar said:
More RAM doesn't equate to more power lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chessmyantidrug said:
I laugh at anyone who chooses the Galaxy S3 because it has twice as much RAM as the Evo LTE. RAM wasn't a bottleneck in the 3D so why would it be an issue in the LTE? It was hardly a problem with the 4G. Phones simply don't utilize all that RAM. Adding more won't change anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I do consider more ram more power. It's not technically processing power, but if something makes it run faster, then I consider it giving it more power. Not technically correct, but it's still faster.
And no, that much more ram is not an issue when just using the phone to make calls and surf the web, or even play games from the market. But I already stated that one of the biggest things I use it for is playing on emulators. Well more ram IS needed for the later gen console emulators to run smoothly, especially when mirroring to the TV. My original 4g didn't run alot of N64 games smoothly when on the TV. You may laugh at me choosing the GS3 for more ram, but obviously you don't know anything about computer hardware if you actually paid attention to the post and still came to that conclusion.
-------------------------
I think the GS3 is going to be the better choice. The removable battery and more RAM are pretty big selling points. Not to mention the battery life on the GS3 is way better also. I'm not particularly concerned about it "feeling cheap" and I don't mind not having a camera button. I think the GS3 has some cooler camera features anyways. I will miss the kickstand though. Jgalan14 brought up a good point, hopefully the GS3 will get decent mods as well, if not I guess I can deal with it as long as I just get the free wifi hotspot from rooting. Especially since the main reason I modded was because of the Bluetooth issues keeping you from connecting Wiimotes to the Evo 4g; modding isn't necessary to connect Bluetooth controllers to the GS3. (Even tho CM7 has been awesome, so I may use Cyanogen mods again on the GS3)
Mainly, I think the GS3 will be much better at running emulators.
Now I'm just going to have to go buy one of those stupid proprietary MHL cables... that's my one big complaint about the GS3.
I can run any emulators I want on my transformer prime flawlessly. Guess how much ram it has. 1gb.
You can't even compare n64 roms running choppy on the OG evo to the new evo. Major OS update, single core 1ghz cpu vs dual core 1.5 ghz, 512mb ram compared to 1gb.
Not to say, if a ps2 emulator ever becomes mainstream it couldn't be beneficial. But haven't they also stated, that the extra gig of ram is dedicated to running touchwiz.
So you really arent getting any extra ram, your just getting some more of your 1gb free'd up because it's not running the skin. Seems silly considering the benchmarks are even favoring the evo at this point.
regalpimpin said:
I can run any emulators I want on my transformer prime flawlessly. Guess how much ram it has. 1gb.
You can't even compare n64 roms running choppy on the OG evo to the new evo. Major OS update, single core 1ghz cpu vs dual core 1.5 ghz, 512mb ram compared to 1gb.
Not to say, if a ps2 emulator ever becomes mainstream it couldn't be beneficial. But haven't they also stated, that the extra gig of ram is dedicated to running touchwiz.
So you really arent getting any extra ram, your just getting some more of your 1gb free'd up because it's not running the skin. Seems silly considering the benchmarks are even favoring the evo at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol that's a kick I'm the nuts, 2gb of ram!! AMD a small print disclaimer saying 1gb is to run touchwiz smoothly lol screw SG3
sent from my EVO LTE
nkchri2 said:
This was the main part of question, and it hasn't really gotten much input. (Except from jgalan14, who brought up a good point)
Actually I do consider more ram more power. It's not technically processing power, but if something makes it run faster, then I consider it giving it more power. Not technically correct, but it's still faster.
And no, that much more ram is not an issue when just using the phone to make calls and surf the web, or even play games from the market. But I already stated that one of the biggest things I use it for is playing on emulators. Well more ram IS needed for the later gen console emulators to run smoothly, especially when mirroring to the TV. My original 4g didn't run alot of N64 games smoothly when on the TV. You may laugh at me choosing the GS3 for more ram, but obviously you don't know anything about computer hardware if you actually paid attention to the post and still came to that conclusion.
-------------------------
I think the GS3 is going to be the better choice. The removable battery and more RAM are pretty big selling points. Not to mention the battery life on the GS3 is way better also. I'm not particularly concerned about it "feeling cheap" and I don't mind not having a camera button. I think the GS3 has some cooler camera features anyways. I will miss the kickstand though. Jgalan14 brought up a good point, hopefully the GS3 will get decent mods as well, if not I guess I can deal with it as long as I just get the free wifi hotspot from rooting. Especially since the main reason I modded was because of the Bluetooth issues keeping you from connecting Wiimotes to the Evo 4g; modding isn't necessary to connect Bluetooth controllers to the GS3. (Even tho CM7 has been awesome, so I may use Cyanogen mods again on the GS3)
Mainly, I think the GS3 will be much better at running emulators.
Now I'm just going to have to go buy one of those stupid proprietary MHL cables... that's my one big complaint about the GS3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold your horses here...
I'm getting pretty sick and tired of these "more RAM=1337 ph0ne" comments that are parroted endlessly everywhere. No Android phone has ever had 2GB of RAM before... The bottom line is that its benefits remain to be seen. From what we do know, it really shouldn't help at all (given the way Android utilizes RAM). Maybe with Android 5 or 6 (lol) down the line? Who knows.
What I do know for sure right now is that RAM it will precisely 0 effect on its emulator performance. That all comes down to developer optimization for particular chipsets. At the level Android phone emulators are currently operating (not to mention the basic systems they're emulating), RAM is the last thing that will help. Now a future PS2 emulator might be a different story, although the S4 is not nearly powerful enough to run it at anywhere near acceptable levels.
Battery life "way better" on the S3? Can I have some of what you are smoking sir? The only difference is a 100mah battery in its favor. Every review I've read so far has stated that it has, at most, equal battery life to the EVO/ATT One X. Removable battery is a nice plus though.
IMO the big difference to consider between these two phones is software, plain and simple.
How is 100mAh significantly more battery? Not to mention gsmarena battery test had the EVO at 45, the int gs3 at 43
Sent from my EVO using XDA
regalpimpin said:
I can run any emulators I want on my transformer prime flawlessly. Guess how much ram it has. 1gb.
You can't even compare n64 roms running choppy on the OG evo to the new evo. Major OS update, single core 1ghz cpu vs dual core 1.5 ghz, 512mb ram compared to 1gb.
Not to say, if a ps2 emulator ever becomes mainstream it couldn't be beneficial. But haven't they also stated, that the extra gig of ram is dedicated to running touchwiz.
So you really arent getting any extra ram, your just getting some more of your 1gb free'd up because it's not running the skin. Seems silly considering the benchmarks are even favoring the evo at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't trying to directly compare... I was just stated that for reference. As far as the extra ram being used up by touchwiz, then that just means there is one more huge reason to keep using Cyanogen like I am now. Goodbye touchwiz, hello extra 1Gb RAM!! Even if current emulators and apps can't take full advantage of the extra RAM, I think it still does make it more future proof than the LTEvo. And even if you can't unlock the other 1GB from touchwiz, it still will make the phone faster and less laggy with dedicated RAM for the UI.
As far as the benchmarks, I'm not really sure where you got that information. A link would be nice = D
I'm not a dead set fan of either phone. I have thoroughly enjoyed my original Evo. I just want to pick the better phone for how I want to use it. So far, I haven't seen anything to sway my choice towards the LTEvo. The better/removable battery and the extra RAM are pretty big.
-------------------------
So far from this post and more research, this is what I've found.
Evo 4g LTE:
- Looks like the rear facing camera is better
- Better display
- It's not all plastic
- Kickstand!
- Hardware camera button
- Doesn't rely on proprietary accessories (a la S3 MHL cable)
- Beats audio
Galaxy S3
- Extra RAM (even if it is dedicated to Touchwiz, that is just a big chunk less of the original 1GB being used for the UI, which means more free RAM)
- Same phone across all carriers, hopefully leading to more/easier 3rd party development
- More camera functions (continuous shooting / best shot)
- Removable battery
- Longer lasting battery
- 32 Gb option available
- .6 MP larger front facing camera
- Better multitasking than the LTEvo (no reloading)
- S-Voice
@nkchri2. Are you sure you understand that 1.5gb of ram sitting around doing nothing on your phone will be just as useful as 200mb or ram sitting around on your phone doing nothing? The extra ram, whether it be 100mb or 8gb's, does the exact same thing. It is just sitting there. Now if you feel you will have 100 apps open at the same time then maybe you will see the benefit. If ram even matters at all at this point, it certainly doesn't matter to the degree at which you are giving it right now
Love Divine said:
Battery life "way better" on the S3? Can I have some of what you are smoking sir? The only difference is a 100mah battery in its favor. Every review I've read so far has stated that it has, at most, equal battery life to the EVO/ATT One X. Removable battery is a nice plus though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sinfiery said:
How is 100mAh significantly more battery? Not to mention gsmarena battery test had the EVO at 45, the int gs3 at 43
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I missed the two post concerning my comments on the battery life. The S3 having a way better battery was the wrong way of putting it I guess. Yes, it's only 100mAh more, so it has a 5% larger battery. I guess the point is the S3 must be much easier on its battery. You mentioned gsmarena...
gsmarena(dot)com
/compare.php3?idPhone1=4804&idPhone2=4665
(Forum wont let me post links yet... so I had to list it that way)
This compares the two phones and lists the S3 having 2 hours and 30 minutes longer talk time the the LTEvo. I have seen a few other websites also showing a clear advantage in the battery life with video and surfing as well, I just can't find that link and gsmarena just lists talk time numbers. If I do I'll repost.
knlmwq said:
@nkchri2. Are you sure you understand that 1.5gb of ram sitting around doing nothing on your phone will be just as useful as 200mb or ram sitting around on your phone doing nothing? The extra ram, whether it be 100mb or 8gb's, does the exact same thing. It is just sitting there. Now if you feel you will have 100 apps open at the same time then maybe you will see the benefit. If ram even matters at all at this point, it certainly doesn't matter to the degree at which you are giving it right now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if it doesn't.. does it hurt to have it? Everyone just keeps posting about how the extras the GS3 has "doesn't matter". I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I posted in this forum to get information ABOUT the LTEvo, but seems like most people are just LTEvo fans that want to flame the GS3, not really comparing. Okay, well like I said, I'm not dead set on getting either, but if that stuff doesn't matter...
What does the LTEvo have to offer that the GS3 doesn't that would make me want it instead?
I made a list in a previous post but I still think I'm leaning more towards the GS3, but if anyone has something I'm missing on the LTEvo I'd love to hear it.
nkchri2 said:
Even if it doesn't.. does it hurt to have it? Everyone just keeps posting about how the extras the GS3 has "doesn't matter". I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I posted in this forum to get information ABOUT the LTEvo, but seems like most people are just LTEvo fans that want to flame the GS3, not really comparing. Okay, well like I said, I'm not dead set on getting either, but if that stuff doesn't matter...
What does the LTEvo have to offer that the GS3 doesn't that would make me want it instead?
I made a list in a previous post but I still think I'm leaning more towards the GS3, but if anyone has something I'm missing on the LTEvo I'd love to hear it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude you are in the EVOLTE forum, we are all users and fans of this phone. What do you expect? Ofcourse we will lean towards the evo more. Both are good phones, but honestly we like the evo way more otherwise we wouldnt have bought it and actively discuss and praise it. Stop trolling with the gs3 is better crap.

Multitasking is not s3's cup of tea.

Ok. I am a s3 user for last month. But disappointed on s3 multitasking capabilities. Seriously If u r playing a basic game like angry birds and if u got a call in middle after finishing call the game reload s itself. Wtf. My old lg optimus net with 512mb ram and arv6 800 mhz pro works good at these things. I was able to use uc browser, equilizer app, songs playing in background and also whats app same time on lg op net. But on s3 having quad 1gb ram it sucks. Some times it reloads equilizer app also that hardly takes 2 or 4 mb
I guess because sammy has loaded so much bloatware that leads to 650 or 700 mb ram always in use. What is the use of these specs then????? :banghead:
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Yeah, it isn't. They've really messed it up.
There's nothing that we can do about stock, though. Just move on or go for a custom ROM/kernel.
rohan_avni said:
Ok. I am a s3 user for last month. But disappointed on s3 multitasking capabilities. Seriously If u r playing a basic game like angry birds and if u got a call in middle after finishing call the game reload s itself. Wtf. My old lg optimus net with 512mb ram and arv6 800 mhz pro works good at these things. I was able to use uc browser, equilizer app, songs playing in background and also whats app same time on lg op net. But on s3 having quad 1gb ram it sucks. Some times it reloads equilizer app also that hardly takes 2 or 4 mb
I guess because sammy has loaded so much bloatware that leads to 650 or 700 mb ram always in use. What is the use of these specs then????? :banghead:
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not due to the bloatware. It's actually a problem with ICS and jellybean. They just use more ram than the older versions of android. For example, my old galaxy s could multitask amazingly well on froyo 2.2.1 but not as well on gingerbread and worse on cm10. Similarly, your lg optimus was probably on froyo of gingerbread, which inherently use less ram. Even if you disabled all the s3's bloatware, you'd only get a minor increase in multitasking capabilities. In order to multitask well on ICS or jb, you'd need 2gb of ram. Hopefully, android 5.0 will optimise ram usage and make multitasking better on 1gb ram phones.
DeadSOL said:
Yeah, it isn't. They've really messed it up.
There's nothing that we can do about stock, though. Just move on or go for a custom ROM/kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm thank u for not bashing me. I thought I might have hurt the ego of sammys fans. But really unrooted and on stock it really suck. No use of quad core and gig of ram. Any other solution than rooting???
Yup my op net is on gingerbread 2.3.4 hope that 5.0 will resolve this issue. How u ppl managing this?? Even while using xda app I just pressed home button to check new sms and in background sonsgs also playing. After replying to sms I tap on xda app and guess what it reloads. I have to find whole way to this thread.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
rohan_avni said:
Hmmm thank u for not bashing me. I thought I might have hurt the ego of sammys fans. But really unrooted and on stock it really suck. No use of quad core and gig of ram. Any other solution than rooting???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhh!!
No. Nobody would bash you for this post.
Unless you spam the forum.
I was almost bashed for that yesterday..
LOL
i think some people said MB1 - MB2 Roms has a bit better ram management maybe u can try
and the weird thing my 2 years old GS2 multitask 1000% times better than GS3 ( both on 4.1.2 ) samsung need to fix this **** for their flagship :silly::silly:
yahyoh said:
i think some people said MB1 - MB2 Roms has a bit better ram management maybe u can try
and the weird thing my 2 years old GS2 multitask 1000% times better than GS3 ( both on 4.1.2 ) samsung need to fix this **** for their flagship :silly::silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried 4.2 leak and Samsung improved memory management on it but that leak has it's own share of bugs and I'm back on 4.1 better to wait for new leak or final product.
rohan_avni said:
Hmmm thank u for not bashing me. I thought I might have hurt the ego of sammys fans. But really unrooted and on stock it really suck. No use of quad core and gig of ram. Any other solution than rooting???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no; I wouldn't bash you for this. The multitasking issue is a big thing and has been present for a long time. For example, look at my review post and look at the list of negatives: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=37700176&postcount=9061
Multitasking really, really sucks on the S3! Samsung have done an awful job.
I really hope Google can fix two major things on the next iteration of Android's OS;
1) Better RAM management (which would improve multitasking and load)
2) Giving us cloud storage for game data (it would be a huge help for those people who wipe or switch ROMs)
Hmmm really hoping that sammy will fix this annoying issue asap. I dnt want to root and install custome rom just nw. I can experiment with these things on my old lg. Its on jb cm 10 already but camera not working. But my s3 is new so will use it stock. Also afraid of sds.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Nice review mate. :thumbup:
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Well no doubt multitasking sucks on s3. I guess it's not due to jelly bean. My friend's s2 works great on jelly bean and multitasking is great on it. I guess the problem is on software side of s3. 1gb ram its more than enough for handling phones like s3.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
This has been discussed plenty and you're right, it's one of the s3's biggest flaws. The only obvious solution is the only one you can't really do - add ram. That or, you know, hope samsung takes his head out of his ass and actually fixes this since it's rather shameful, but I won't be holding my breath.
But there are workarounds, even if not perfect:
- you can use a custom aosp based rom. There're plenty to chose from. Although i haven't tried how their memory management is better than stock's many people report it is. And they usually use much less ram too and that also helps. The bad side is, since samsung didn't really deliever on the sources they promissed, any aosp rom for the s3 isn't as optimized as it could be. This translates in worse battery life, somewhat more lag than expected, aparently worse camera (from what i heard) that stock stuff... Some people don't even notice other can't live with that - up to you.
- use swap. by installing a swap-enabled kernel you're able to multitask more. This isn't the same as adding ram although it's probably as close as it gets functionality wise. What you're doing is creating a file on either the internal or the external sd that will help with your poor ram managing.
You can get more info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging if you're ineterested how stuff works. There's also plenty of info on such kernels on the "original development" thread.
There are prices to be paid though, internal and external sd's are never as fast as ram, so you'll probably feel your phone slower overall, even more if you use the external sd which is known to be even slower than the internal sd (card class is a huge factor here since it determines how fast your card is at reading and writing).
Also, since your phone will be constantly writting/reading from sd you're also reducing it's life span. If your internal sd breaks down, you'll need a new phone since the internal sd can't be replaced. If it's the external sd you can just buy another one cheap.
I did try this with an 8Gb class 6 card and a 512Mb swap. Sure it multitasked like a boss but phone was much slower all around. There are reports from people saying they don't notice any slow downs with a class 10 card though. They're rather cheap so i'll give it a try one day.
- sell it and buy the 9305 with 2Gb of ram. Or wait for the new S4. Or, if you're tired of getting shafted by samsung, go for any other brand. To be honest that xperia Z is looking mighty fine lately...
Super nice info friend. Will try other kernel but not nw. Will wait and watch what sammy is gonna do to fix these in next updates??
So many issues wid this flagship droid. Sudden death, exynos abuse, heating issues........
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Well, it sucks how the phone just kills, stops or breaks whatever you leave running either in background or when the screen turns off. And it's plainly annoying to see almost every app getting reopened after a while even if nothing significant happened. Since there's no working multitask I'd rather have what apple does for "multitasking". At least apps are reopened where they were left.
But I'm keeping it for a bit more. I guess I could sell it and get the 9305 for little more money but I'm waiting to see whatever new comes out. If nothing pleases me I can always get the 05 at any point later, probably cheaper too. There's a 4.2 rom from Samsung to the s3 just around the corner, and I'm aware this is wishful thinking but who knows...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium App
kaynpayn said:
Well, it sucks how the phone just kills, stops or breaks whatever you leave running either in background or when the screen turns off. And it's plainly annoying to see almost every app getting reopened after a while even if nothing significant happened. Since there's no working multitask I'd rather have what apple does for "multitasking". At least apps are reopened where they were left.
But I'm keeping it for a bit more. I guess I could sell it and get the 9305 for little more money but I'm waiting to see whatever new comes out. If nothing pleases me I can always get the 05 at any point later, probably cheaper too. There's a 4.2 rom from Samsung to the s3 just around the corner, and I'm aware this is wishful thinking but who knows...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked what the multitasking is like in aosp roms?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
2 pages and all of the mockery and nonsense flying all over the wall... You guys should sell your phone really, you lose couple hundreds dollar more and buy HTC or sth....save the b*tching
Solution: swap, lower the low Memory Killer value (original value is too high to keep app initial load faster, apps like system tuner or minfree manager will help), lock app logic (so that app doesn't get kill almost immediately when you use another app in between of a big app.
Reason why the galaxy s3 is so bad at multitasking is that to ensure users of less lags, less forgotten apps running in the background hogging the ram. Unfortunately android doesn't have a "pause in between" feature, but you chose it so find the d*mn mod and stop whining. I use AOSP and don't even say I defend samsung.... I just hate the nonsense...
Edit: Btw, titanium backup is only 6$ or so, buy it and freeze the crapwares if you don't use. Freeze, not uninstall so the next time you update your custom rom it won't reappear.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Actually, I believe Samsung is working on a resolution.
I was trying out the 4.2.1 stock leaked ROM, and to my surprise found that zRam was enabled (thanks to Yank, check out the discussion over on the "bestmultitaskingfix" thread).
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Not sure what is wrong with your phones
Alright, I have read a lot of threads about this issue, but it always amazes me. I am not sure what is up with your phones. I just did a quick test. I opened messaging to a certain message, opened dropbox to my camera uploads, opened xda to this thread, and opened two games (subway surf and hill climb racing). I am able to switch between them with no reloading, fairly quick goes right back to where I was. Checking my ram I am still at 706MB/832MB. After closing it all down I am at 466MB/832MB.
Not sure what I am doing differently. I am running wanamlite v5.5. I have not done anything else special.
I suggest looking a little closer at your phone. What have you done to it and what is taking your memory. Surely there is something(s) you don't really need sucking up your memory.
I know many people report this issue, but I think everyone has a different situation. I don't see how I have no issue and others do, must be some change on the users part that causes/prevents this problem.
wangdaning said:
Alright, I have read a lot of threads about this issue, but it always amazes me. I am not sure what is up with your phones. I just did a quick test. I opened messaging to a certain message, opened dropbox to my camera uploads, opened xda to this thread, and opened two games (subway surf and hill climb racing). I am able to switch between them with no reloading, fairly quick goes right back to where I was. Checking my ram I am still at 706MB/832MB. After closing it all down I am at 466MB/832MB.
Not sure what I am doing differently. I am running wanamlite v5.5. I have not done anything else special.
I suggest looking a little closer at your phone. What have you done to it and what is taking your memory. Surely there is something(s) you don't really need sucking up your memory.
I know many people report this issue, but I think everyone has a different situation. I don't see how I have no issue and others do, must be some change on the users part that causes/prevents this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hii. well try this run angry birds & subway surf same time plus songs in background & any messenger like nimbuzz then switch between apps & revert here please. also a live wallpaper. :angel:
I am just mentioning basic games. i tried running gta vc & nfs mw but both reloads after first switch.

7GB of space classified as "Other" in Storage

Hey everyone, I've encountered a little nuisance with my HTC One.
Under Storage the phone claims around 7GB is in use under "Other". However, when I plug the device into my computer via USB, I can't find any directories that are taking up this amount of space using Windows Explorer or Android Commander, which lets me down into the root of the filesystem.
FYI, I have Nova Launcher active as my primary UI, so I'm not even using Sense 5 at the moment. I know that 7GB can't just be Sense 5 + Built-in apps.
Anyone else seeing this and know what it is?
It actually probably is just Sense 5 and the AT&T bloat apps. Apparently Android along with the manufacturer's skins are pretty large now. Then add AT&T's useless apps that literally no one uses and you have 7gbs of storage being consumed. This is one of the reasons I'm going with the 64gb.
Sent from my Nexus 4
its the system partition and you cant do anything about it. mine is 16 GB.
cachookaman said:
its the system partition and you cant do anything about it. mine is 16 GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's crap. What exactly is that being used for? There's no way 16gbs of space is reasonable at all.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
That's asinine that it reserves that much storage... Completely inexcusable when you factor in the lack of an SD card. Epic fail.
I think HTC realized that since they are releasing the Chinese version WITH microSD support... >_<
At least they aren't pulling the crap they used to - like with the Inspire - saying it had 4GB of storage but then formatting it for speed, dropping it to 2GB and leaving 1.3GB or so to the end user...
Still what the hell would they reserve a quarter of the storage for?!
im guessing the extra 9 GB that are part of my "other" are the SD card data for some of the apps i have installed. but it still seems excessive.
Ugh, now we're seeing the ugly side of the HTC One. I don't think I'm going to keep mine now. I can't justify 7GB of my 32GB taken up by the system when I don't even use Sense 5 or any of the AT&T apps. Especially since I can't add more space to the phone, it's just not a good deal for me.
It's a shame too, it's a sexy device.
spectrumfox said:
Ugh, now we're seeing the ugly side of the HTC One. I don't think I'm going to keep mine now. I can't justify 7GB of my 32GB taken up by the system when I don't even use Sense 5 or any of the AT&T apps. Especially since I can't add more space to the phone, it's just not a good deal for me.
It's a shame too, it's a sexy device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty common, honestly. The S4 also has around 7gbs of storage used.
Sent from my Nexus 4
jtc276 said:
It's pretty common, honestly. The S4 also has around 7gbs of storage used.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but at least you can add an SD card to the phone to get some of that back.
spectrumfox said:
Yeah, but at least you can add an SD card to the phone to get some of that back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but have fun finding one that isn't a 16gb version. I played with both phones today. The HTC One is superior in almost every area. I wouldn't really consider the S4.
Sent from my Nexus 4
jtc276 said:
Yeah but have fun finding one that isn't a 16gb version. I played with both phones today. The HTC One is superior in almost every area. I wouldn't really consider the S4.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed :good:
jtc276 said:
Yeah but have fun finding one that isn't a 16gb version. I played with both phones today. The HTC One is superior in almost every area. I wouldn't really consider the S4.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, how is the HTC One superior?
spectrumfox said:
I'm curious, how is the HTC One superior?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera, screen, speakers, CPU......
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda app-developers app
spectrumfox said:
I'm curious, how is the HTC One superior?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Take in mind that this is from someone who was dead set on getting the S4 only a week ago. I also want to add that my non-tech-savvy iPhone-using mother was with me at the AT&T store while I was comparing phones and also agreed that the One is better.
1. The screen is smaller on the One but it has better color reproduction and, when playing the trailer for 'Star Trek Into Darkness' on both devices, produced clearer results.
2. The One's software is much more optimized and runs smoother than that on the S4. In my half an hour of constant use with both devices, the One maybe had three instances of minor lag while the S4 produced lag (sometimes major lag) every few seconds. The S4's lag was most prominent when multitasking, hitting the back button, or going home. Switching between home screens produced some stuttering but was not terrible.
3. Speaking of software, the "features" on the S4 aren't that great. Probably the most difficult thing about using the S4 was trying out the Smart features. Many of them were pretty useless such as scrolling through web pages with hand gestures. However, it did actually work and work pretty well. I also really liked having the ability to answer the phone by waving in front of the phone and seeing some general information displayed on the phone after waving my hand in front of it while it was sleeping. But that's about as useful as it gets. I could never get Eye Tracking to work. Some kid beside me finally did after nearly a minute and a half of working with it which completely defeats the purpose of using it in the first place. None of the other features really worked well either making me wonder why Samsung decided to add them to the device and bog it down in the first place.
4. Build materials are pretty bland on the S4. I'm not going to criticize them for using plastic because plastic is durable enough, but I am going to criticize them for not really differentiating the phone from the S3 in terms of look. I was, however, impressed with how they implemented the 5" screen into such a compact and usable package, but that's about it. The S4 is no looker. My mom was also not a fan of the design, thinking at first that the hyper glazed finish was some sort of case and not the actual design.
5. Sound quality through the headphones was good on both devices but better on the One due to its added amplifier. The S4 had definitely improved over the S3 and maintained a pretty loud volume. The One was slightly louder and produced more dynamic results with great highs and lows. The average person would be happy with the sound quality from either, though.
6. The general Android apps such as Texting and Email are hardly changed on the S4. For some users, this will be fine. But, personally, I hate the stock Android Messaging app. I have a Nexus 4 and have used GoSMS since the day I purchased it. I don't understand why anyone would want to view a multiple picture MMS like a slideshow instead of each photo separately. Thankfully, the One does exactly that and has a rather perfect Messaging app. Of course, you can always download GoSMS or Handcent or something from the Play store, but the fact that this won't be necessary on the One is nice.
7. This is picky, but I really liked the One's keyboard. Like, a lot. I've been a stock Android keyboard user since ICS and I didn't think that choice would change with the purchase of any new phone. But the keyboard on the One is nice. Really nice. I almost never made mistakes on the keyboard when using it. On the S4, I couldn't stop making mistakes. If you're just going to use SwiftKey or the stock Android keyboard, this probably isn't a huge deal to you. But I found it shocking that I loved the One's keyboard.
So, yeah. This is a huge post but those are my honest opinions. I was as subjective as I possibly could be and my honest opinion is that the One is the better phone.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD.
The storage space being reflected in Other is from App Data.
HTC's storage doesn't give the user a run-down of the apps that are classified as Other when you select Other.
If I go to Storage on my Galaxy Note 10.1, and push Other (on the Galaxy Note 10.1, it is classified as Miscellaneous Files), I am given a run-down of the all of the app data that is classified as Other/Miscellaneous.
The Galaxy S3 (which I switched from to get The One) has it's storage implemented in the same way on the stock ROM.
marv_in_lbc said:
The storage space being reflected in Other is from App Data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, specifically the /data/data folder.
Whoever said it's the system partition is incorrect.
BTW, when you buy a 32GB device, that means 32GB total NAND storage. On the One it's broken down like this:
/system 1GB
/cache 629MB
/data and /sdcard (share the same partition) 22GB, or 54GB on a 64GB model.
The rest goes to modems (/firmware/mdm and /firmware/q6), secure (/data/secure/data and /mnt/asec), and miscellaneous other partitions (logs, etc.)
Every device on the market is this way, the total NAND space is divided up between a variety of things and the usable /data and /sdcard space is generally 80 to 85% of the total.
It's not supposed to be like that. I've had that issue a few times on my 32gb M7. Copied my files to PC. Formatted my SD card. Copied files back. Reclaimed about 14gb each time as far as I can remember. Then after a few weeks, the issue comes back out of nowhere.
HYNK said:
It's not supposed to be like that. I've had that issue a few times on my 32gb M7. Copied my files to PC. Formatted my SD card. Copied files back. Reclaimed about 14gb each time as far as I can remember. Then after a few weeks, the issue comes back out of nowhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm the same only 7gb though. Using TWRP I make a backup on my usb-otg. Wiped everything internal and restored from usb. Worked once or twice, didn't work today though. Probably is just system files.

Should I get this or the HTC One... Honest opinion please

I currently have the Incredible 4G LTE Nd love but I need a bigger screen... I debated between both those phones... I know the HTC One comes out in the summer for us and the s4 will only be 16gb ... Is their a mod to put apps on the sd card since the s4 is limited... I know they coming with an update but we all know Verizon is bad with updates..
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
I had the HTC One before the S4 that I have now. All I will say is that as soon as the One drops on Verizon, I will be switching back. I test phones on a daily basis and the One is the best phone I've used to date. You won't be disappointed with either, but I prefer the One. Sense is much better than Touchwiz now IMO and the build quality and audio can't be beat. I prefer the screen on the One also
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I didn't buy the ONE (or wait for it) because of the reviews. You might like the HTC ONE based on if you want metal build, smaller screen (equals 468 ppi to 441 ppi in S4 slightly sharper text) and the BOOM sound (front facing speakers). With no SD expansion or removable battery, that was a deal killer for me. S4 has better specs and is already made for the AWS network for Verizon (faster LTE speeds). Also, HTC is by far the worst EVER of getting updates out for their phones (yes, even worse then Motorola at their worst)
for me S4 was the no brainer deal for me
miguel11691 said:
I currently have the Incredible 4G LTE Nd love but I need a bigger screen... I debated between both those phones... I know the HTC One comes out in the summer for us and the s4 will only be 16gb ... Is their a mod to put apps on the sd card since the s4 is limited... I know they coming with an update but we all know Verizon is bad with updates..
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you will be rooting, the only thing the One would have over the S4 is BoomSound and a nicer case. Being unable to swap SD cards or batteries would bug me. If all you need is a bigger screen and you can wait, why not wait a few more months for a Note 3 or One Max?
I had an Evo 4G before the S4 (I never rooted it), so I've got nothing against HTC. HTC doesn't seem to offer (read, foist on you) the suite of apps Samsung does. Samsung seems to be trying to push their content store to compete with Google Play, so I hope future updates don't add tons of bloat related to the Samsung app store...
I find the storage argument quite invalid. Internal storage comparison: 32gb on the One vs ~9 on the S4. I know that the S4 has expandable storage, but that only helps in terms of media (stuff that can be stored on the cloud anyways), not apps. Also, the One will no doubt be equipped with AWS technology, so that argument is invalid too if we are comparing Verizon phones. No removable battery but it makes it through a day of heavy use no problem.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Not a fan of HTC anymore. I had all the EVOs.
I'd take the S4 all day long over the One. Just a matter of personal preference.
Doesnt HTC take a lonnnnnnng ass time or never to release source? While Samsung does it on day 1, yea good luck with HTC and the handicapped Roms for it.
wahoofan5 said:
I find the storage argument quite invalid. Internal storage comparison: 32gb on the One vs ~9 on the S4. I know that the S4 has expandable storage, but that only helps in terms of media (stuff that can be stored on the cloud anyways), not apps. Also, the One will no doubt be equipped with AWS technology, so that argument is invalid too if we are comparing Verizon phones. No removable battery but it makes it through a day of heavy use no problem.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The firmware update that allows apps to be moved to SD card makes your invalid argument invalid again.
I pick the S4 for the reasons stated. No expandable memory, no removable battery, HTC has garbage update schedules, and weaker specs.
But that would require root, something the common user might not choose to do. And S4 users are currently unable to move apps to the SD card
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
It all boils down to preference. Most people want good battery life and cool apps or software. I've used both and when the One releases on Verizon I will have both and use both,
... But to answer the question I will use the S4 more since the battery does last a bit longer and it can do some pretty cool stuff, but most of all I believe there will be more customization on the S4. Lord knows I am a customization fool,. Cheers!!!
wahoofan5 said:
I find the storage argument quite invalid. Internal storage comparison: 32gb on the One vs ~9 on the S4. I know that the S4 has expandable storage, but that only helps in terms of media (stuff that can be stored on the cloud anyways), not apps. Also, the One will no doubt be equipped with AWS technology, so that argument is invalid too if we are comparing Verizon phones. No removable battery but it makes it through a day of heavy use no problem.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is certainly important if you do not want to root the S4. I bet there will be root apps that can redirect app installations to the SD card, if they don't already exist. And Samsung will probably get native full external card installation working eventually. Or they're going to see sales drop off as more and more people bump up against that limit, and scramble to fix it. Why they didn't do this in first place is beyond me - especially with such a small built-in card. Either they wanted to sell more of their own SD cards, they wanted an excuse to charge heaps more for just a little more memory, or Apple sued them into not doing it.
And batteries get old. It might need replacing. Sometimes.
I used to be a diehard htc fan since the original evo but after the one was put on hold, and the poor development and official htc support for the rezound, I doubt I'll go back. I will miss htc but they dropped the ball far too many times and I know it will happen again (maybe not for their current devices) even though they cannot afford to screw anything else up. So bottom line, do you want a pretty phone with nice sound and a slightly, yet not noticeably better screen? Or do you want a larger screen, insane amount of dev and Samsung support for years to come, and removable battery and storage?
Sent from my rooted S4 blessed with Cleanrom 1.2
wahoofan5 said:
I find the storage argument quite invalid. Internal storage comparison: 32gb on the One vs ~9 on the S4. I know that the S4 has expandable storage, but that only helps in terms of media (stuff that can be stored on the cloud anyways), not apps. Also, the One will no doubt be equipped with AWS technology, so that argument is invalid too if we are comparing Verizon phones. No removable battery but it makes it through a day of heavy use no problem.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I apologize if it seems like we are "ganging" up on you - after all, the question at hand is a fundamental example of free choice and personal preference. With that said, I did want to make one (yet to be made) point specifically pertaining to your (above) comment on validity.
You mentioned that, in your mind, one of the factors that makes the removable storage on the S4 irrelevant is cloud storage - something that the major carriers frequently, if not enthusiastically offer up as a must-have storage solution. Cloud storage really is great, especially as their capacities increase, security strengthens, and prices drop. However there is one major, often overlooked problem with using cloud storage on your cellular device - DATA. Many (many) Verizon subscribers that have managed to hold on to unlimited data (myself) find themselves playing a game of "chicken" every time they want a new device. There's only so many tricks and hoops you can jump through to keep your unlimited data - just ask the countless hordes who've recently reached their "end of the road" in terms of unlimited data (Tip: These sad-sacks are easy to spot - just look for the gently sobbing individuals solemnly mashing their "Scan For Available WiFi Networks" button), The point is, last I checked; you need some sort of internet/data connection to peruse the "Cloud" - this is all well and fine if you're still rocking "Data God Mode", but wouldn't it make you feel a whole lot better if you knew all that cherished media you spent years collecting was ALWAYS available to you? I sleep better knowing all my Seinfeld episodes are safely at hand in my Samsung 64gb Class 10 MicroSD Card.
But all kidding aside - having to rely on cloud-based storage for your files is a great way to experience full blown anxiety and frustration first hand, believe me.
To the original poster: I'm bias. Why am I bias? Because my first-ever Android smartphone was the OG HTC Droid Incredible - after a year of countless "like-new!" replacements, I bought the Droid X and swore off HTC .... However ...Stupidly, the excitement over the HTC Thunderbolt being Verizon's first 4G device was far too tempting for me and I bought the damn thing. It took almost two whole years for HTC & Verizon to update the Thunderbolt to ICE CREAM SANDWICH, despite having been released AFTER the first ICS devices were already out. Sadly, I never got to see that wonderful update on my T'Bolt ..... you see, six months (and several rage induced ulsters) after buying my T'Bolt I threw the damn thing accidentally dropped it over the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Too bad. Never again, HTC.
wahoofan5 said:
But that would require root, something the common user might not choose to do. And S4 users are currently unable to move apps to the SD card
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the update that is coming out will not require root. It's an OTA update that lets you move apps to the SD card again.
theresin said:
First of all, I apologize if it seems like we are "ganging" up on you - after all, the question at hand is a fundamental example of free choice and personal preference. With that said, I did want to make one (yet to be made) point specifically pertaining to your (above) comment on validity.
You mentioned that, in your mind, one of the factors that makes the removable storage on the S4 irrelevant is cloud storage - something that the major carriers frequently, if not enthusiastically offer up as a must-have storage solution. Cloud storage really is great, especially as their capacities increase, security strengthens, and prices drop. However there is one major, often overlooked problem with using cloud storage on your cellular device - DATA. Many (many) Verizon subscribers that have managed to hold on to unlimited data (myself) find themselves playing a game of "chicken" every time they want a new device. There's only so many tricks and hoops you can jump through to keep your unlimited data - just ask the countless hordes who've recently reached their "end of the road" in terms of unlimited data (Tip: These sad-sacks are easy to spot - just look for the gently sobbing individuals solemnly mashing their "Scan For Available WiFi Networks" button), The point is, last I checked; you need some sort of internet/data connection to peruse the "Cloud" - this is all well and fine if you're still rocking "Data God Mode", but wouldn't it make you feel a whole lot better if you knew all that cherished media you spent years collecting was ALWAYS available to you? I sleep better knowing all my Seinfeld episodes are safely at hand in my Samsung 64gb Class 10 MicroSD Card.
But all kidding aside - having to rely on cloud-based storage for your files is a great way to experience full blown anxiety and frustration first hand, believe me.
To the original poster: I'm bias. Why am I bias? Because my first-ever Android smartphone was the OG HTC Droid Incredible - after a year of countless "like-new!" replacements, I bought the Droid X and swore off HTC .... However ...Stupidly, the excitement over the HTC Thunderbolt being Verizon's first 4G device was far too tempting for me and I bought the damn thing. It took almost two whole years for HTC & Verizon to update the Thunderbolt to ICE CREAM SANDWICH, despite having been released AFTER the first ICS devices were already out. Sadly, I never got to see that wonderful update on my T'Bolt ..... you see, six months (and several rage induced ulsters) after buying my T'Bolt I threw the damn thing accidentally dropped it over the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Too bad. Never again, HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thunderbolt was released in March of 2011. The first ICS device was the Galaxy Nexus which was released November 2011. Does not invalidate your point, though. I was a 'bolt owner, too. It was out for about six months before viable LTE phones were releases (Rezound, Bionic), and even those were not all that great. It got truly usable when Liquid 3.2 was released for AOSP and SkyRaider Zeus was released for Sense. Those were a LONG time after the phone was released, though.
I view it as an early adopter thing, not an HTC thing. We are going to experience the same thing with AWS. Odds are this phone will suck for AWS...the hardware is too far out in front of the service release...no way there won't be issues that are patched around, etc.
S-off will really help get the dev work going on the One. I think it is a perfectly viable alternative to this phone really. Just a different flavor. I have never had a Samsung phone so for me, that was part of the appeal...something different.
if you really want screen size and don't mind the wait, the note 3 will be coming out this fall. 6" with 8 cores - though i don't think it's been confirmed. i'd like to get one, but the note 2's 5.5 inches is kinda pushing it for me, and i have preferred that the s4 to be 16:10 instead.
YouTube benchmarks on comparisons... You may be surprised how much slower HTC one is.
If you don't like touch wiz, there's lots of options... I use nova launcher on cube mode and love it.
While many defend it, sense does eat up processor attention.
Main advantage with HTC is reading in bright sunlight, 95 percent of my reading is indoors, metal case is nice.
I like options for different batteries, external memory, better camera, better software.... To each his own but benchmarks alone mean little if those benchmarks don't depict real life use.
If you love the best camera you can get, go S4, if you listen to music through speakers then HTC, if through headphones S4 has nice equalizing software.
I personally feel real life pictures can be boring.. I like high saturation of Hd amoled screen.
The Hd mode on the camera makes a perfect picture in crappy lighting!
The S3 has up to a 7000mah battery avail, not sure what they will come up with for the S4 but I don't like bring limited. http://zerolemon.com/
Anyway, each phone is nice, but they both have things the other doesn't.
Alan.. Sent with Galaxy S4
I own both and really like both. However, if I had to choose only one, it would be the S IV.
The main reason is battery life and how long the One takes to charge.
madsquabbles said:
if you really want screen size and don't mind the wait, the note 3 will be coming out this fall. 6" with 8 cores - though i don't think it's been confirmed. i'd like to get one, but the note 2's 5.5 inches is kinda pushing it for me, and i have preferred that the s4 to be 16:10 instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, that note 3 I have my eye on!
Alan.. Sent with Galaxy S4

LG Optimus L90 or Samsung Galaxy Light?

Just a quick question:
T-Mobile has a pretty nice deal going on, where you can purchase a combination of two smartphones (LG Optimus L90 or Samsung Galaxy Light) for a total of $100 + tax!
After hearing this sweet deal, I had to go out and purchase one of those phones, and so I went with the Samsung Galaxy Light, as my brother who will be entering his senior year of high school never had a smartphone in his life. I have heard great things about the Samsung Galaxy Light, but never looked into the LG L90 until I got home, and it looks like it is a 4.7 inch phone vs. the Samsung Galaxy Light's 4 inch screen.
My question is, after looking at the details, which phone is superior then the other? One phone would serve for my brother (he is going to download games and what not, so I figured the 1.4GHz would be superior to LG's 1.2GHz?) and the other phone would serve as a backup (always good to have one laying around!)
Would love to hear your insight on which phone you would chose and why, my brother doesn't care about what phone he gets, just wants an Android that has something he can take pictures with and download tons of apps/games. At the moment, he really is happy with the Light, but I can always switch the other phone to the LG L90, if it is worth the trip to the T-Mobile trip, of course.
BTW: Before someone suggests another phone, I really am looking for something CHEAP, and having an external MicroSD card slot really is a big deal!
Thanks!
darkgiant said:
Just a quick question:
T-Mobile has a pretty nice deal going on, where you can purchase a combination of two smartphones (LG Optimus L90 or Samsung Galaxy Light) for a total of $100 + tax!
After hearing this sweet deal, I had to go out and purchase one of those phones, and so I went with the Samsung Galaxy Light, as my brother who will be entering his senior year of high school never had a smartphone in his life. I have heard great things about the Samsung Galaxy Light, but never looked into the LG L90 until I got home, and it looks like it is a 4.7 inch phone vs. the Samsung Galaxy Light's 4 inch screen.
My question is, after looking at the details, which phone is superior then the other? One phone would serve for my brother (he is going to download games and what not, so I figured the 1.4GHz would be superior to LG's 1.2GHz?) and the other phone would serve as a backup (always good to have one laying around!)
Would love to hear your insight on which phone you would chose and why, my brother doesn't care about what phone he gets, just wants an Android that has something he can take pictures with and download tons of apps/games. At the moment, he really is happy with the Light, but I can always switch the other phone to the LG L90, if it is worth the trip to the T-Mobile trip, of course.
BTW: Before someone suggests another phone, I really am looking for something CHEAP, and having an external MicroSD card slot really is a big deal!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no issues with my L90. Quad core 1.2 ghz BTW , 4 GB internal storage ( user data ), 2 GB system storage. I think 1 GB RAM is advertised by in actuality it's a little over 800 MB. Device is pretty quick. There is a CM11 ( 4.4.4 ) ROM that's fairly stable and with most things working already available for the L90 as well. For most, myself included, the L90 is much much faster running CM11 than stock. Just my opinion tho I paid $150 for mine so if you can get one for $100 I'd climb all over it. LMAO...
Decisions decisions...
Thanks for your response!
I currently have the two Samsung Galaxy Lights... I was wondering if it is worth the extra trip to switch it for the L90's? Just curious since I didn't even look into the phone before buying it...
Sent from my SGH-T769 using XDA Free mobile app
Bump? Would love to get more insight on this!
darkgiant said:
My question is, after looking at the details, which phone is superior then the other? One phone would serve for my brother (he is going to download games and what not, so I figured the 1.4GHz would be superior to LG's 1.2GHz?) and the other phone would serve as a backup (always good to have one laying around!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Between these 2 phones, the main choice is bigger screen vs faster data. The 4.0" screen on the Light is pretty small. The status bar is cramped, the notification menu takes up a ton of space, typing is a bit iffy, and it's obviously not the best choice for watching videos or playing games. But it has LTE data.
The bigger screen on the L90 is definitely better for easier use and viewing. Pixel density is practically identical to the Light, so text won't be any clearer, but there'll be more of it. However, the L90 doesn't have LTE. Heck, it doesn't even have 42.2Mb/s HSDPA+, only 21.1Mb/s. Thankfully T-Mobile has a very good 3G network wherever they have LTE, so speeds are still pretty decent (for example, in Tucson, T-Mo's 3G speeds are better than Sprint's LTE - although that's not saying much). You could see speeds as slow as 1/3 or 1/4 those of LTE.
If you use wi-fi at home and maybe even at work, I'd go with the L90. If you want to stream music or use it as a mp3 player, and don't care as much about games/video or browsing, go with the Galaxy Light since it's smaller and has LTE.
shinobisoft said:
I think 1 GB RAM is advertised by in actuality it's a little over 800 MB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some RAM on every device is set aside for the GPU.
Planterz said:
Between these 2 phones, the main choice is bigger screen vs faster data. The 4.0" screen on the Light is pretty small. The status bar is cramped, the notification menu takes up a ton of space, typing is a bit iffy, and it's obviously not the best choice for watching videos or playing games. But it has LTE data.
The bigger screen on the L90 is definitely better for easier use and viewing. Pixel density is practically identical to the Light, so text won't be any clearer, but there'll be more of it. However, the L90 doesn't have LTE. Heck, it doesn't even have 42.2Mb/s HSDPA+, only 21.1Mb/s. Thankfully T-Mobile has a very good 3G network wherever they have LTE, so speeds are still pretty decent (for example, in Tucson, T-Mo's 3G speeds are better than Sprint's LTE - although that's not saying much). You could see speeds as slow as 1/3 or 1/4 those of LTE.
If you use wi-fi at home and maybe even at work, I'd go with the L90. If you want to stream music or use it as a mp3 player, and don't care as much about games/video or browsing, go with the Galaxy Light since it's smaller and has LTE.
Some RAM on every device is set aside for the GPU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your detailed response! Yes you are right, I am majority of the times on WiFi, and so would be my brother (whether at home, or at work). That being said, I goes the LTE doesn't make that much of a difference, or at least for me.
My brother essentially would just download multiple apps and just watch videos on YouTube and various other online sources. He also wants to game, a lot.
With all that being said, so you feel getting the L90 would be a better idea for the long run?
Thanks once again!
Sent from my SGH-T769 using XDA Free mobile app
darkgiant said:
Thanks for your detailed response! Yes you are right, I am majority of the times on WiFi, and so would be my brother (whether at home, or at work). That being said, I goes the LTE doesn't make that much of a difference, or at least for me.
My brother essentially would just download multiple apps and just watch videos on YouTube and various other online sources. He also wants to game, a lot.
With all that being said, so you feel getting the L90 would be a better idea for the long run?
Thanks once again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the L90 would probably be the better choice in this case. Bigger battery and better camera than the GL too. And the IPS-LCD screen on the L90, although not having higher pixel density, should be of better quality than the TFT screen of the GL.
A co-worker of mine was faced with the same dilemma, and is going with the L90 as well, since he'll use wi-fi at home, and the 3G speeds in Tucson are plenty for streaming music while he takes the bus across town.
Planterz said:
Yeah, the L90 would probably be the better choice in this case. Bigger battery and better camera than the GL too. And the IPS-LCD screen on the L90, although not having higher pixel density, should be of better quality than the TFT screen of the GL.
A co-worker of mine was faced with the same dilemma, and is going with the L90 as well, since he'll use wi-fi at home, and the 3G speeds in Tucson are plenty for streaming music while he takes the bus across town.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear! My original assumption was the 1.4GHz was the way to go, as I assumed it would be faster performance wise (as I was just looking for the fastest phone), but I guess the fact that the processor is not that heard of in the community may be a bit of a risk (in terms of compatiablity) versus the L90 which seems to be popular within the Android community, especially with XDA.
Thanks for your insight! Going to swap both phones first thing tomorrow!
darkgiant said:
Glad to hear! My original assumption was the 1.4GHz was the way to go, as I assumed it would be faster performance wise (as I was just looking for the fastest phone), but I guess the fact that the processor is not that heard of in the community may be a bit of a risk (in terms of compatiablity) versus the L90 which seems to be popular within the Android community, especially with XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, the extra 200MHz of the Galaxy Light's Exynos is wasted (and probably more) running the heavy TouchWiz interface. The L90 has a Snapdragon 400, which means an Adreno 305 GPU, which is superior to the Mali-400 the GL has.
I vote for L90, bigger screen, better battery and "self-healing" coating. You may choose samsung if you need performance but i think 1.2gz vs 1.4gz wont gain you any benefit except playing heavy 3d game
So it turns out that all the LG L90's are now backtracked, and there is some sort of "Restocking Fee" of $50 if I were to return both phones.
I told the sales representative that the the person never mentioned of the L90's, but she really kept on complaining that its not her fault (she was the manager). I personally have worked sales jobs as a teenager, but boy, the service at the store was complete crap.
She later goes on claiming the phones are pretty identical, with the screen size being bigger on the LG, but the processor is faster on the Samsung Galaxy Light, making it a far superior phone to the LG L90.
Apparently, if the phone is broken, unusable (OS is slow) then they can return the phone, but I dunno if using that excuse would get me any farther, to be honest.
Do you guys think its worth the hassle at this point?
Sorry but there are 3 threads devoted to discussions about devices, please repost your question in one of these three threads: The what should I buy thread or the The Device Suggestion Thread or the The Device Comparison Thread.
Thanks!
Hi Mike!

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