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Before I begin please let me say that his is not meant in an way to bash HTC, the Rezound, nor this community in any way. This is simply a review, if you will, comparing the two. I loved the Rezound so I wanted to give my $.02
Let's start with the physical appearance. (I'll including screen review with hardware) There are two things that are quite obvious: The GSIII is, of course, a larger screen at 4.8" with the Rez at a 4.3". The S3 seems to have a smaller bezel in comparison which is certainly made possible due to one thing I've always wanted to have: No Verizon branding on the front. The Galaxy S III simply has "SAMSUNG" resting below the main ear piece and between the LED and the sensors/camera. While the HTC Rezound has four red soft keys at the bottom, the GSIII as an oval home button and that is all you see. When the phone is on, you are greeted with a menu key on the left and back on the right, both giving a soft white glow. I've sat there for about twenty minutes trying to see any kind of outline for the keys and found none. I have to tip my hat to Samsung for making them "discrete."
The Rezound has the power button on the right corner of the top of the phone, making it very easily accessible with it's 4.3" display. The GSIII has the power button on the right side of the phone closer to the top, making it easy to hold your phone and keep your thumb either on or around the button. (The home key is a hard key, not soft, so it can be used to turn your screen on.) The volume rocker is a single piece that can be easily pushed in either direction. While the rocker on the Rezound seemed a bit low profile, the GSIII's sticks out nicely and doesn't give me an trouble.
The back of the GSIII is made of polycarbonate, giving it a nice "firm" feeling instead of the traditional cheap plastic feel. Since you hold the phone more towards the bottom, Samsung has put the speaker next to the camera, whereas the Rezound had it at the bottom. This was never a problem for me with the Rezound due to how I held it, but I no some people aren't a fan, saying it's placement was awkward. I will say that it provides a lot of noise that's clear and doesn't sound too distorted, as opposed to the Rezound where I felt like it was somewhat muted and crackly. The Rez sports a dual-LED flash while the GSIII has a single. Now, while it seems that the flash on the GSIII is brighter, I've noticed a big issue: It sits kind of "low." Because of that, when I have my flash turned on I have light spilling out at the top through the gap between the battery door and the phone. While this isn't bothersome since you can't see it from the front of the phone, it is annoying because it doesn't flow with the polished design that Samsung tried to give.
Now, hardware!
The Galaxy S III has a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU that clocks in at 1.4GHz, while the Rezound uses a Snapdragon S3 clocked in at 1.5GHz. For those that aren't too familiar with CPUs: Even though the Rez is clocked in a .1 higher, the S4 is newer and has the upper hand. The GSIII has 2GB of RAM (while the international version just has 1GB but a quad-core over dual) and the Rezound has 1GB. I've come to quickly realize it's because of how much memory Touchwiz uses. At the moment of me typing this, I have every app closed on my GSIII (minus the launcher) and I have 803MB of my RAM used. That being said, I never run into an issue of almost running out of RAM (I'll get into management later when I review software.)
Both phones use 8MP camera on the rear capable of recording in HD. However, as known, a higher MP count does not automatically mean a better camera. No matter what ROM I use, I seem to have issues getting my GSIII to focus from time to time. Even when I can get it to focus, it just seems that the Rezound takes a slightly better picture. I would post comparison shots but I no longer have my Rezound.
Now, for the screens. The Rez uses a 720p SuperLCD IPS display and packs a whopping 342DPI, making it one of the best displays out. The GSIII uses an HD Super AMOLED with a 720p resolution. While it has a smaller DPI count (320) it provides very crisp (but not as sharp compared to the Rez) images with "true" colors. I did a side-by-side comparison of a few images at full brightness and the GSIII was superior. Now, as I said though, it isn't as "crisp" as the rezound. However, unless you have the phone an inch from your eyes, you can't really tell.
On a side note, I would like to point out that the radio isn't as bad as everyone was saying it is. I've honestly noticed no difference in signal strength from my Rezound to my GSIII.
EDIT: Forgot to talk about battery life. The Rezound has a 1,620mAh battery while the GSIII has a whopping 2,100mAh. The difference is understandable given the screen size. However, I've noticed that with LTE on, screen at max brightness, and all of the motion controls and "Smart" actions, I'll get around 12 hours with a screen on of about 3 1/2 hours and be at about 25-30%. And AOSP battery life just isn't fair lol.
Software! When it boils down to it, we mainly care about our user experience and how quickly we can get things done. Since the GSIII is using newer hardware, I'll just point out features (With Sense 4, to make it fair.)
Sense 4 out of the box is customizable compared to other OEM skins. Being able to swap skins on the fly is very handy. The only issue I ever had was not being able to swap individual components (Navbars, clocks, lock rings, etc.) but still loved the fact that I could. My biggest pet peeve with Sense 4 relates to animations and the fact that they only really happen when you're using Rosie. If you use Rosie and open Messages, you get something along the lines of a flying out animation. A simple animation that's nice, but I don't know why HTC restricted it to Rosie. Stock TouchWiz implements the AOSP ICS animations that are very fluid, giving the UI a nice snappy-feel while keeping it smooth. When it comes to sharing in Sense 4, you have a lot of standard options. An example being Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Email, Picasa...but I always hated that it missed a simple one system-wide: Texting. I wasn't a fan of how it was selective about what you could share via text (such as facebook photos and photos from different websites) so I have to give this one to TouchWiz seeing as it gives you every option you can think of at all times.
While Sense 4 does provide a nice user experience with the apps included and how you can stream (just as on previous iterations), Samsung upped the ante for all other OEMs with a flood of amazing user-friendly features (possibly in response to Apple saying "You don't innovate.") Your GSIII is sitting in another room and you get a text? As soon as you come back and pick up your phone, it will vibrate to let you know you have a notification then flash a blue LED to let you know it's a text. Get a text that says "Call me?" you just swing your phone up to your ear and the phone will automatically call that person (can also be done while just viewing the contact.) You have the ability to be playing a video on your phone and just have it "popped up" in the corner of your screen so you can watch it while, say, typing an e-mail. The limitation I've noticed is it has to be a video saved on your phone. Another interesting thing I've found is being able to set the vibration pattern for a single contact or groups. You have a few stock patterns but have the option to make your own very easily. The way the S3's task manager handles things seems to be a bit more solid than others. I never notice an choking of my system. Doesn't matter much, seeing as a fresh application still loads like it had been quietly running the entire time.
In short, Sense 4 is a great UI experience compared to earlier versions of Blur, Touchwiz, and Sense itself. But Samsung really went the extra step with "Nature UX" to blow the competition out of the water. While I do understand that many don't like the color scheme of Touchwiz/Nature UX (whatever you want to call it.) but it is by far the best UI I've ever dealt with. It's smooth, VERY smooth and provides features that simply make you and your phone feel more connected.
This all being said and done, I love this phone. How it feels in my hand, the styling of it, the hardware. I haven't had a Samsung since the first Omnia running WM 6.1 and I have to say I'm more than impressed and very happy.
Thank you for this, make me more jelly lmao
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Funny thing is i went to nexus after having the rezound. Nexus was great but random service drops got me sooo annoyed. So i bought a gs3 yesterday. Little do you know a jb leak with radios comes out and i havent dropped service yet. Now my nexus is a great phone. But i might return my gs3 maybe not i like newer toys. But great review. The rez screen beats both imo tho
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Thadrow said:
Funny thing is i went to nexus after having the rezound. Nexus was great but random service drops got me sooo annoyed. So i bought a gs3 yesterday. Little do you know a jb leak with radios comes out and i havent dropped service yet. Now my nexus is a great phone. But i might return my gs3 maybe not i like newer toys. But great review. The rez screen beats both imo tho
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I turned down the Nexus and went for a GSIII. That and I heard the III had better battery life so I figured "why not?" I don't think a leak has come out for the GS3 for Jellybean. Well, one has for the T-Mobile version but not Verizon's. Glad to hear it helped you out, though. And thanks! Yeah. The viewing angle and sharpness are better, but I love color depth, so I'm sold. First time I pulled up Power Amp on my GSIII my eyes were in love haha. The main theme is black with blue trim so it looks stunning.
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least now i know what to tell people when they ask me what's a new good phone.
RoryHe said:
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least know i know what to tell people when asking me for what new phone's are good.
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Click to collapse
Maybe, but I think it goes here too. Many people are talking about the GS3, so it is good to hear what a Rezound owner thinks.
RoryHe said:
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least know i know what to tell people when asking me for what new phone's are good.
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Click to collapse
Did you see the are you switching to the gs3 thread? This could of went there but pointing out that it's relevant.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
blestsol said:
Did you see the are you switching to the gs3 thread? This could of went there but pointing out that it's relevant.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
It might be me but I don't understand what you just said.
When I get mine ill post a review in here.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
RoryHe said:
It might be me but I don't understand what you just said.
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Click to collapse
There's a popular thread talking about moving to the gs3. This thread could of just been added in that thread. I'm pointing this out to show you that the thread is relevant and people do care, even though it's the rezound forum.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
blestsol said:
There's a popular thread talking about moving to the gs3. This thread could of just been added in that thread. I'm pointing this out to show you that the thread is relevant and people do care, even though it's the rezound forum.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people just automatically think that because a thread is about a different phone that it's the worst thing in the world, even if it is to inform people. You're probably right, though. Can a mod just move the OP into that thread or should I just flag this one to be deleted and post the review in that thread?
Love the hardware... hate the software... miss my sense 4 roms.... but one glaring issue that has me contemplating selling and going bk to using my rezound as my dd is the radios are horrid.... constant data drops and slow speeds are killer on this phone... and yespecially I've tested in about 4 huge markets across t he us.... so def miss my rezound in certain aspects
Sent from my unlocked VZW Galaxy SIII
vdChild said:
Love the hardware... hate the software... miss my sense 4 roms.... but one glaring issue that has me contemplating selling and going bk to using my rezound as my dd is the radios are horrid.... constant data drops and slow speeds are killer on this phone... and yespecially I've tested in about 4 huge markets across t he us.... so def miss my rezound in certain aspects
Sent from my unlocked VZW Galaxy SIII
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Click to collapse
I just love the simplicity of TouchWiz, really lol. I can understand different tastes. Just send your S3 in to Samsung (if you have warranty.) I have great service with mine. I found out I'm pulling faster speeds, actually. I managed to hit 39.6/14.1
Glad the OP likes his new phone but I always get the feeling when I read things like this whether the person is trying to convince him or herself rather than us that they made a good purchase. Don't get me wrong, I think we all have that need especially when it comes to electronics. It's funny to see how the GNote2 blows the GS3 out of the water already so shortly after the latter's release and if the rumors are true about LG's next superphone it seems like we will only have to wait a short while before the latest Galaxies are a distant memory again. If only I was a celebrity..I'd show my face on each and every one of these new device announcements just to get the freebies.
@ all: I would just remind you a couple of things:
1st Do not try to make Mod job, if you don't like a thread just refrain yourself to post no sense words.
2nd Moderate your language, words like dbag or fag are not tollerated against another user.
Thank you.
I see ive been moderated.......oops!
Anyway, thanks for posting the review. Ive been looking at the gs3 too.
I think we all knew how this story, ahem review was going to turn out. I doubt a flagship device such as the SG3 was going to lose out in this comparison. Just the fact that its a shiny new toy wins it a few brownie points. That being said I think the rezound still holds up well after almost a year since release, and now that we have kernel source and fully functional AOSP on the near horizon our little device has never looked better
You're in denial. Switched myself and 100x faster, cool as all get out and oh the screen.: ) and stable cm 10. The rezzy was great but I must say you can't say the s3 isn't baller
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
The galaxy nexus is also a good option to switch to. The new jellybean radios are nothing short of a miracle. No data drops, crazy speeds, and great reception now. Its smoother than touchwiz especially on jellybean. New radios also improved battery a ton. They are also much more likely to exchange a defective rezound for the nexus as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
blackhand1001 said:
The galaxy nexus is also a good option to switch to. The new jellybean radios are nothing short of a miracle. No data drops, crazy speeds, and great reception now. Its smoother than touchwiz especially on jellybean. New radios also improved battery a ton.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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I gotta agree here. With the radio kinks worked out, I'm tempted to find the nearest nexus on craigslist. No way am I paying retail price.
I know there are probably a lot of these threads all ready l, but this is this is a tough decision for me. I've had a hard time finding a comparison of the two devices that goes beyond the gimmicky Samsung features and the screen. My decision really has come down to a few things.
1) Development. Reading around here it seems cyanogen himself has bought this phone and will be working on it. I have a history of Samsung phones and development has always been very active on them. It's too early for me to guess which will have more ROM availability and system stability . which brings me to the next point.
2) The battery. I always am running some flavor of AOSP and love AOKP, but in all my phones I have had system freezes that require me to pull the battery to get out of it. Not to mention misclicks into download mode which required a battery pull to get out of it. Does the One have a way to force the phone to shut off in the event of a total freeze?
3) The screen. Everyone seems to be raving over the super amoled vs superlcd. The annoying terms don't tell me anything and never have I complained about the color detail of the screen. What I care about is if the screen can get dark enough so I can use it in a dark room without blinding myself and in sunlight and see the screen.
4) the SD card I will adjust to. Its 32 GB and I've never needed more than that anyway. I'd complain about this if it were only 16GB.
Besides that I've read enough to know both are awesome phones but its a tough decision.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
I faced this decision today at Costco. Wait for the 4 or get the one. Low and behold I walked out of Costco with the one in hand for 185 on a upgrade. I've had every Samsung s1 s2 skyro s3 even had the infuse. Time for a change I think. So far so good
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
hampsterblade said:
I know there are probably a lot of these threads all ready l, but this is this is a tough decision for me. I've had a hard time finding a comparison of the two devices that goes beyond the gimmicky Samsung features and the screen. My decision really has come down to a few things.
1) Development. Reading around here it seems cyanogen himself has bought this phone and will be working on it. I have a history of Samsung phones and development has always been very active on them. It's too early for me to guess which will have more ROM availability and system stability . which brings me to the next point.
2) The battery. I always am running some flavor of AOSP and love AOKP, but in all my phones I have had system freezes that require me to pull the battery to get out of it. Not to mention misclicks into download mode which required a battery pull to get out of it. Does the One have a way to force the phone to shut off in the event of a total freeze?
3) The screen. Everyone seems to be raving over the super amoled vs superlcd. The annoying terms don't tell me anything and never have I complained about the color detail of the screen. What I care about is if the screen can get dark enough so I can use it in a dark room without blinding myself and in sunlight and see the screen.
4) the SD card I will adjust to. Its 32 GB and I've never needed more than that anyway. I'd complain about this if it were only 16GB.
Besides that I've read enough to know both are awesome phones but its a tough decision.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I'd say development is fair game for both phones. The One looks like it's going to receive quite a bit of support, while the S4 looks like it's going to sell well no matter what due to Samsung's marketing. I'd say that both phones are going to receive quite a bit of development. I'd say it's only a matter of whether you prefer Sense or TouchWiz, in case you need the option of using a stock-based rom every now and then.
2. The battery in the S4 is supposedly just slightly better, according to some reviews I've read. The One battery is not removable, but you can force a "battery pull"-like action with the phone by holding down volume up, volume down, and power at the same time for several seconds. It worked for me when I tried to use Aroma installer and it froze.
3. I'm not really sure what to tell you on this. I'd say it's a matter of preference. On one hand, the One's screen does look better, but on the other hand, it's definitely a bright screen. Not to mention if you wanted to use a smart cover-like accessory, only the S4 would work with that given the super amoled technology.
4. If you're a real junkie, the S4 probably has you covered with expandable storage. But if 32 is really enough, you can go for either phone, really. AT&T also offers the 64GB flavor in case you want to never worry about your storage.
Hope this helped.
I would take the HTC One over the S4 just cuz the premium design seems more durable and nicer looking. Plus most of the S4 apps seem a bit gimmicky to me while the HTC One seems to have less of that, though the new Sense system is still bloatware.I would root the device and go AOSP anyways.
What did it for me was the screen. The HTC One's screen out shines the S4 all the way. But every user is different you might prefer a removable battery. The simple fact that the HTC One from AT&T is the same as the international opens a wide source of ROMs and will attract more developers. Also the fact that it would appear they are not locking the bootloader. As of now they just confirmed that the S4 is locked and it took them over a month to unlock the bootloader on the S3.
I think from a development stand point the HTC One is a great addition. Something to keep in mind, you said you like the pure android feel (AOKP, AOSP, CM10.1). In the past those roms could not use the image chip in the HTC One X, there may be a chance if you get this phone and run it on AOKP you will only have a 4 MP shooter, which may be a deal breaker for you. Or they may unlock the full power of that camera and it be even better.
Both are great phones and will make you happy
htc One is Great SuperPhone
htc One is My Next Phone 100%
Thank you for all your answers. Definitely reinforces that both phones are great. I think I'll give it a few weeks so I can see how far development has come along then.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
hampsterblade said:
Thank you for all your answers. Definitely reinforces that both phones are great. I think I'll give it a few weeks so I can see how far development has come along then.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind, not only does Cyanogen himself have an HTC One, but so do a couple of other major CM devs from other phones - h8rift from the One XL (who did amazing things), and sk8erwitskil from the LG Optimus G.
Hell, there's already an early alpha for CM10.1:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2248116
Development is going to be awesome for the One. I'm sure it'll be great for the S4 too, of course, but I wouldn't worry about the One.
My view of the phones is basiclly the phone is just a shell, we decide what roms to put on it. 2gb of rams on both same with a quad core processor. Those where the driving forces behind me choosing, I wanted a solid build quality that wasn't plastic. CM10.1 is coming to both
Silellak said:
Keep in mind, not only does Cyanogen himself have an HTC One, but so do a couple of other major CM devs from other phones - h8rift from the One XL (who did amazing things), and sk8erwitskil from the LG Optimus G.
Hell, there's already an early alpha for CM10.1:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2248116
Development is going to be awesome for the One. I'm sure it'll be great for the S4 too, of course, but I wouldn't worry about the One.
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Click to collapse
Also designgears and graffixnyc have the One. Maybe not CM devs, but great devs. Sk8erwitskil did great things with the recovery for the sgs2 skyrocket.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I'm so torn. The screen for the S4 looks so much bigger and nicer but the locked bootloader and bloat on it sucks.
hampsterblade said:
I know there are probably a lot of these threads all ready l, but this is this is a tough decision for me. I've had a hard time finding a comparison of the two devices that goes beyond the gimmicky Samsung features and the screen. My decision really has come down to a few things.
1) Development. Reading around here it seems cyanogen himself has bought this phone and will be working on it. I have a history of Samsung phones and development has always been very active on them. It's too early for me to guess which will have more ROM availability and system stability . which brings me to the next point.
2) The battery. I always am running some flavor of AOSP and love AOKP, but in all my phones I have had system freezes that require me to pull the battery to get out of it. Not to mention misclicks into download mode which required a battery pull to get out of it. Does the One have a way to force the phone to shut off in the event of a total freeze?
3) The screen. Everyone seems to be raving over the super amoled vs superlcd. The annoying terms don't tell me anything and never have I complained about the color detail of the screen. What I care about is if the screen can get dark enough so I can use it in a dark room without blinding myself and in sunlight and see the screen.
4) the SD card I will adjust to. Its 32 GB and I've never needed more than that anyway. I'd complain about this if it were only 16GB.
Besides that I've read enough to know both are awesome phones but its a tough decision.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Decision ain't tough simply because you can't go wrong picking either of them
I currently have the One but it will be going back on Saturday to be exchanged for the S4. Although I like the aluminum feel and overall design of the phone some minor issues are making me jump ship... The phone gets somewhat hot after playing games like Nova 3 and modern combat 4 for a few minutes, battery life is just so so, and my phone has a small gap on the top between corner and power button (nothing huge but enough to bother me).
I like the microSD card slot (I have a new SD card it will be a waste not to use it) and on the s4 and although it's make of plastic and not aluminum like the One once they both are in a case I will forget about that issue.
It's definitely a tough decision and I hope I don't regret it later, but I also know that if I don't trade this phone in within the first 14 days I will always wondered if i missed out by not going for the s4. Anyways my thoughts
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
soritong said:
I'm so torn. The screen for the S4 looks so much bigger and nicer but the locked bootloader and bloat on it sucks.
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Click to collapse
Personally, the screen is only a part of the equation, the one is a much better looking device with superior build quality. My wife has a g3, and honestly the build quality isn't comparable.Both will be in the same ballpark performance wise, and the s4 has removable battery and as card support,I have the 64gb version, I'm not worried about storage, I do have doubts about plastic phones, and the appearance of the galaxy series of phones don't appeal to me
I love htc's build and its speakers, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. i am returning my htc one for s4, because my phone heats up a lot and my it doesn't connect to my car via usb or the aux cable(nexus 4, iphone and xperia z work fine with it).
The three dot menu is driving me madddddddddd
eav1026 said:
I currently have the One but it will be going back on Saturday to be exchanged for the S4. Although I like the aluminum feel and overall design of the phone some minor issues are making me jump ship... The phone gets somewhat hot after playing games like Nova 3 and modern combat 4 for a few minutes, battery life is just so so, and my phone has a small gap on the top between corner and power button (nothing huge but enough to bother me).
I like the microSD card slot (I have a new SD card it will be a waste not to use it) and on the s4 and although it's make of plastic and not aluminum like the One once they both are in a case I will forget about that issue.
It's definitely a tough decision and I hope I don't regret it later, but I also know that if I don't trade this phone in within the first 14 days I will always wondered if i missed out by not going for the s4. Anyways my thoughts
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, you're going to regret it and will most likely be back before you know it.
Bigjim1488 said:
The three dot menu is driving me madddddddddd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Horrible solution to w problem of htcs creation.
No one mentions the vibration on phones. Htc uses a pretty nasty vibrator motor
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
To all who are complaining about heat..
You do realize the heat is generated mainly from the processor and that the S4 has the exact same one right?
The S4 will have the same amount of heat..
soritong said:
I'm so torn. The screen for the S4 looks so much bigger and nicer but the locked bootloader and bloat on it sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen does not look bigger to me and in reality it's only .3" bigger.. It don't think the S4 screen looks nicer. It's cartoon'ish and standard Samsung over saturation..
For those of you who are thinking about going S4... check out this thread and remember, locked bootloader!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2249581
I'm wanting to switch back to the HTC One. Why did you guys choose the One over the SGS4???
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I fell in love with the One the instant I saw one. I came from the sgs 3 and the 4 was just more of the same.
Because the GS4 is laggier than the S2. And flashing roms and doing things that require LOKI was aggravating. Sense is soooo much better than touchwiz. Boomsound.
I could keep going but your just going to have to trust me. The HTC ONE is so much better of a phone.
Camera, Zoes and Highlights. Taking photos/vids of my daughter and sharing them is actually fun. The awesome screen, speakers and build are just icing on the camera cake.
It's prettier.
I went to Best Buy planning on getting the GS4. Played with it for a good 10 minutes. Felt laggy, screen was really dim, internal memory was low, although it was light and had minimum bezel...I didn't like the design patterns. So I decided to look at the HTC One...felt smooth and really responsive. The front speakers were amazing (boom sound). Camera took faster snapshots than the s4. Internal memory was all there. The build quality and design pretty much won me over. I was really surprised because I walked into the store ready to pickup the S4 but ended up walking out with the ONE.
Sent from the Hottest Phone of 2013 (HTC One)
The galaxy s4 was rushed out, it is pre-production quality right now until they get some updates rolled out. Not to mention the cat and mouse bootloader games... if I wanted to deal with that I would stick exclusively to an iPhone
More of the same with GS4
I've had a GS3 since July of last year and while I loved the phone, I couldn't justify upgrading to a GS4 cause it was just more of the same thing.. The HTC One is my first HTC phone and in my opinion, it's the perfect phone.. Storage is not an issue and it just became a problem on the GS3 as the phone would not store anything on the sd card unless I myself placed it in there..
The S4 and the One are almost a tossup in my opinion (anybody would be almost equally satisfied with either one). I went with the one because:
1.) All I care about is the "Google Edition" I'll have it on my phone as soon as its available HTC Seemed to provide the least problems here, with their unlock capabilities/HTCDev and what not.
2.) After you take away all the features you'll potentially lose in AOSP, I still have front stereo speakers and aluminum body on the One - but on the S4 I'd lose most of the selling points.
3.) Little fragmentation between carriers/international/dev editions. (Easier for others and myself to support a wider range of devices in any development efforts)
Things I miss about the S4
1.) Wireless charging capabilities (with purchase)
2.) Better button layout
Things others probably miss about the S4
1.) Battery life (not a problem here, the one makes it through the day for me - I also have plenty of opportunities to plug it in during the day if need be)
2.) Camera (I rarely use the camera on my devices)
This is from a app developer's perspective - also someone who enjoys making kernel modifications for android/desktop devices
Thanks for the info here. I will be trading in this S4 today. Hoping it is the One!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
The voices in my head told me to...
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
ealvinito said:
I'm wanting to switch back to the HTC One. Why did you guys choose the One over the SGS4???
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love them both, but the constant lag on the GS4 is what keeps driving me back to the One.
gunnyman said:
I fell in love with the One the instant I saw one. I came from the sgs 3 and the 4 was just more of the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My exact scenario and I share the same sentiment.
Plastic Samsung phone feels cheap. Nuff said.
Sent from my Nexus 7
I wanted iPhone feel and speed. But in an Android package.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Well I've always had HTC phones since my T-Mobile dash (HTC Excalibur) and I was very tempted on the s4 to be my very first non HTC smart phone but couldn't get over the styling of it. The one just looks so much better and speakers up front are a no brainer makes so much sense versus cupping your hand behind the phone to hear it... My girlfriend got a gs4 tho and it is noticeably slower... Not always but once in a while you hit menu and it takes a few seconds longer to where you think you missed the button or you hit a link and go to hit it again just as the page changes and you hit something on the next page etc.... When I use my One all day and grab her phone for something it's very noticeable. I like all her ui customizations but it seems like HTC went with a more refined bug free ui with options coming in an update where as Samsung sacrificed quality for features at launch. Both great phones tho for sure.
I had the s4 and it was super laggy before the update but was fixed with the ota. It also lacked any luster and just felt super cheap! The HTC is awesome performs well and has a great stock keyboard. Boom sound is awesome and the LCD screen on the one puts the gs4 to shame!!! The only thing I found to be better on the gs4 was battery life but it wasn't by much and not enough to convince me to keep it.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
sal1311 said:
I had the s4 and it was super laggy before the update but was fixed with the ota. It also lacked any luster and just felt super cheap! The HTC is awesome performs well and has a great stock keyboard. Boom sound is awesome and the LCD screen on the one puts the gs4 to shame!!! The only thing I found to be better on the gs4 was battery life but it wasn't by much and not enough to convince me to keep it.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lag was most definitely NOT fixed by the OTA. While slightly better, it still permeates the experience. I should know. I occasionally pop my sim back in and use it until it pisses me off and drives me back to the One.
I do NOT have a lot of widgets or applications running in the background. But I noticed that the RAM dips down below 300mb and when it does, it starts to run even worse. Compared to the One and the LG Optimus G Pro, neither of which lag at all regardless of how low the RAM gets.
Yes there is definitely lag after the ota update. I still believe it is a software issue. But I don't have to worry about it because my One runs super smooth!
Sent from the "ONE" for me
Simple question really. I was torn between the note 3 and the one max. I am still debating whether to switch from the max to the note.
I picked the Max because:
1. I am tired of touchwiz
2. I like the extra size, screen, speakers, and build quality.
3. I like HTC
4. I had the note2 and never used the stylus and found most of the added features gimmicks. I never used multi window features. I had it for the screen size.
Why am I questioning the purchase of the Max?
1. Why pay the same price for the Max when I could get the note3 and get all the added features, even if I don't use them, I would at least have the option. ( This really is the biggest reason. I never used the stylus on the note2, but all the new options make me wonder if I would find it more useful.)
2. Camera
3. The reviews online...and I have literally read and watched countless reviews before making the decision.
I don't know if HTC had plans to make added features for future updates, but off this phone becomes a bust, I am worried there won't be much,if any support for it
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk
I agree with all your positive points above. I would also add that I prefer LCD screens to amoled any day of the week. Amoled is too vivid for me. I prefer sharpness and true color. Also IMO the camera is not a negative. It may not have all the megapixels of others and unfortunately no optical image stabilization but for use indoors it is great. I can actually take a picture using the regular settings and not have the pictures come out dark. That is a benefit of the ultrapixel.
In a nutshell all the reviews have to say is how the Max uses the One chipset. They think just because it's not the newest it's not worthwhile. What's strange is these same people didn't blast the Moto X for coming out with such a crappy old chipset...
I will close out with saying now that I have used the stereo forward facing speakers of the Max I cannot stand using a single rear facing speaker phone. Why use android which is built for media consumption (all are 16:9 screens vice 4:3) if you can't hear what you are watching?!?
Jiggity Janx said:
I agree with all your positive points above. I would also add that I prefer LCD screens to amoled any day of the week. Amoled is too vivid for me. I prefer sharpness and true color. Also IMO the camera is not a negative. It may not have all the megapixels of others and unfortunately no optical image stabilization but for use indoors it is great. I can actually take a picture using the regular settings and not have the pictures come out dark. That is a benefit of the ultrapixel.
In a nutshell all the reviews have to say is how the Max uses the One chipset. They think just because it's not the newest it's not worthwhile. What's strange is these same people didn't blast the Moto X for coming out with such a crappy old chipset...
I will close out with saying now that I have used the stereo forward facing speakers of the Max I cannot stand using a single rear facing speaker phone. Why use android which is built for media consumption (all are 16:9 screens vice 4:3) if you can't hear what you are watching?!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also Agree with both of you. I choose the Max and specifically waited for it due to the screen size, the Speed(I am not worried about it not being a Snapdragon 800), the Designed and Front Speakers. Having a Fingerprint reader, NFC are great but the MicroSD card in combination of everything else made it my next device. I got it on Verizon EDGE so if something comes along in the next 6 months I have to have I can upgrade again.
Win Win.
I forgot about the sd card. Nice call. It's awesome having that extra space. And HTC did it perfectly by having a back cover that you can remove to get to the card and NOT have to hold the battery in while you do it. (I'm looking at you samsung!)
Since you asked ill be realy honest Ive had almost every phone you can think of and haven't had an HTC phone as my oficial driver since the evo 3d (had the HTC one I'll get in to details in a moment)and since the 3d I hated htc the one sucked completely don't now why they made it so bad had 3 in a month camera broke out of magic,but the one max is the solution. The note 2 was the best thing that have ever happened until now yes the HTC one max as of now is my favorite,now that I have soff it's designe,solid,battery life, screen, sound and camera(not the best but not as horrible as others say) the finger scanner works perfectly (don't now why people just don't know how to use it) I love this phone it haves everything I've always wanted
Ive been battling between these two phones and I hate to say it - but I'm almost positive I'm going with the Note 3.
I've been an HTC fan having owned the original evo for two years and now the ElteVO since launch day.
I was leaning toward the Max as I have been happy with HTC and I thought I preferred LCD to amoled, but I recently got to play with both phones at a sprint store and I was disappointed with the brightness on the Max. Plus I found it kind of boring after owning nothing but HTC for 4 years.
I'm also very disappointed with the support and development for the Max. I love rooting and trying different roms. The evo ElteVO support wasn't even strong enough to satisfy my flashing disease and that phone had alot stronger following than the Max appears to.
My biggest fears going with the note 3 are screen burn as I run full brightness and use my phone alot for work and also the GPS as in the past Samsung GPS haven't been known to be as strong as HTC.
Jack
Sent from my Sense 5 Y4 ElteVO.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the decision to get this phone. I really wanted the HTC One, just bigger. This phone was just what I was looking for.
The feeling that I should have gotten something with all the features still bugs me, but I am pretty sure that I will be keeping the phone.
I am actually happy with the camera, but still worried there won't be many updates for this phone from HTC if it doesn't end up selling well
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk
spydersilk said:
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the decision to get this phone. I really wanted the HTC One, just bigger. This phone was just what I was looking for.
The feeling that I should have gotten something with all the features still bugs me, but I am pretty sure that I will be keeping the phone.
I am actually happy with the camera, but still worried there won't be many updates for this phone from HTC if it doesn't end up selling well
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updates are coming even sense 6
Sent from my HTC Butterfly s using xda premium
Has anyone ever returned a phone? I want to keep the Max, but I just saw Verizon dropped the price to 199.99. I am within my 14 days and wasn't sure if they will reimburse me so I can keep it, or how that works
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk
Great phone the note 3 is a good phone by all means but who the hell is going to use all those gestures and features BoomSound big screen and expanded memory pull me all the way in. As stated above fingerprint works perfectly just have to know how u use it right great battery life build quality amazing HTC one max is killing the note in my eyes
Sent from my HTC0P3P7 using xda app-developers app
spydersilk said:
Has anyone ever returned a phone? I want to keep the Max, but I just saw Verizon dropped the price to 199.99. I am within my 14 days and wasn't sure if they will reimburse me so I can keep it, or how that works
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will reimburse you the difference. Make sure u go back and get your $100 back.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I used to have a few htc phones, but the evo 3d was the last one for me.
I have had 4 Samsung phones in a row, and initially I thought they were the only way to go, but, the plastic builds, the advent of Knox Security, and the fact I never used my S-pen, it was time for a change..
This phone is fantastic for what I do with it; sound blows away any other phone, screen is as clear and crisp as anything every made, and I like the aluminum housing too!
Oh, 32 gigs INTERNAL storage, when coupled with a 64 gig card is great too! Its nice to web surf and not have to stretch everything so you can see it!
No idea why so many reviewers panned this phone; fingerprint scanner works perfectly, and who care about a snapdragon 800.
There is no lag or slow down on this phone, so hopefully more folks will ignore what the stupid reviewers say, because once you try this phone, you will buy it.
I want to say that I agree with all of the positives posted here. I almost bought the note as this was not out the night i was researching and Verizon did not really tell anyone when it was coming. The next day when clicking upgrade it was there in my face. I read reviews and everyone was bashing it because the size was bigger but nothing else really changed. Then the complained about them getting rid of the unibody but then praised it for adding the sd card slot. Thats when I lost all faith in phone reviewers. They must all be secret iDevice lovers. I want to say I love this phone over my S4. It is a bit heavy when talking on it but I really do not use the phone feature much.
get yourself a decent BT headset, and you can leave the phone in your pocket!
plus, if you get the right headset. you can just push the talk button on your headset, and google will come up and ask you who you want to call, and its been 100% accurate for me so far.
Time will tell man. I have note 3 & just got a HTC one max ordered today. Will get next week. Can't wait to try it out
Sent from my N900V Dev Edition
you'll love it, unless you are really attached to the spen on the note...
wase4711 said:
you'll love it, unless you are really attached to the spen on the note...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean I dont use everyday. its nice to have occasionally but i think i can live without and i love sense and i love my htc one just wish it was bigger! and i get an sdcard so im happy about that even if it doesnt have the snapdragon 800 at least i have a fingerprint scanner hahaha
you wont notice any lag what so ever, it would have been nice to have the 800, but all that matters is actual performance, NOT specs..
plus, you can take notes with the scribble app, so if you want to, you still can
wase4711 said:
you wont notice any lag what so ever, it would have been nice to have the 800, but all that matters is actual performance, NOT specs..
plus, you can take notes with the scribble app, so if you want to, you still can
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah no pen though built in which is really nice and yeah I had zero lag on my HTC one and if the one max performs that well with a bigger screen and sdcard I'll be one happy camper!
Sent from my N900V Dev Edition
I bought 2 ones for my wife and son, and they both came from note 2's and love the htc one..neither of them used the pen much either, and they both say the one seems even faster than the note 2.
Yeah, the max is just a gigantic one, with larger screen, larger speakers, larger everything! Of course the reviewers don't like that; they think it needs some special phablet features, and that no one will just want a gigantic htc one.
I for one wanted a bigger htc one specifically, so for me, its been fantastic!
hit up Amazon for cases and SP's; Sprint wants an arm and a leg for that stuff, and for what I would have paid for one case at sprint, I got 3 cases, and 8 screen protectors!
Amazon has quite a bit of stuff for the Max already; I am still trying to find a desktop dock for it, and then I will be a happy camper!
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
I loved my S3 but the M8 is light years ahead of samsung in my opinion. It's fast and just works like it's supposed to. Keep in mind that Samsung is locking all bootloaders and I don't know about you but waiting on safestrap only to flash modded stock roms doesn't do it for me. My only complaint is that it works too well and I don't find myself looking for mods and flashing new things, which is good, but bad if you like that diversion.
I am also comparing the g3 and the m8. Att is swapping out my s5 for another phone of my choice. Both phones seem nice. I guess I need to hit the store and play with them both.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Intub8 said:
I am also comparing the g3 and the m8. Att is swapping out my s5 for another phone of my choice. Both phones seem nice. I guess I need to hit the store and play with them both.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the G 3 for three days ..did not like it....It's very laggy, heats up quickly..I rooted mine , debloated with xposed and still was slow. Another issue was wireless charging .Att&t only uses pma chargers and they make you buy their charging cover and base....no thanks.....m8 is light years better than the g3.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
A few things
1. I'm going on 2 days without charging and I'm still at 20% - Amazing
2. Just look at the back of the "new" iPhone. Look familiar? Ya, that's what I thought. The design of the M8 is revolutionary.
3. What other cell phone has 2 forward facing speakers? And they sound better that anything out there.
4. Sense 6 is probably the best Android OEM skin ever. I'm with others that say while flashing ROM's is fun and the developers are great and make amazing ROM's but I've not had a reason to unlock and flash.
5. Just go hold one in your hand. Compare it to the plastic feel of other phones. No contest.
GalaxyNotesTx said:
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Samsung S 5 Active and an HTC One M8 at the same time, the S5 for my wife as we have different needs.
The S5 camera is better, is more waterproof and I prefer the hard-buttons (home, back, menu/windows.) In every other way, the M8 is better. Even though the S5 has a faster processor, the M8 seems faster. M8 feels slimmer and nicer (than either S5 model), battery lasts nearly double the time. And I happen to really like Dot View (and the ease of turning the display off by closing it. )
And iPhone wielding coworkers fondle the M8 in ways they wouldn't touch an S5.
In most ways, though, it's just different. I really don't like the Samsung interface, and replaced it on my Tab Pro, so it's no surprise that I don't like how the S5 menus and screens are laid out. Sense/Blink is okay, but I don't need either kind of live-feed so I put Nova on it anyhow.
I think the M8 is better. Like an Audi is better than a Honda - it doesn't get you from point A to B better, but the ride is more enjoyable. But you can be happy with either one.
I hope no one minds me adding a small question to this thread, as I'm also about to buy an M8:
I've read in many places that the finish on it makes it very slippery. How true is it? Do owners usually use a case or not? It would be a shame to put a case on such a nice looking phone!
if no case - is the back cover replaceable? If after a year mine gets all scratched, can I just replace it with a new one like I do on my S3?
thanks!
Well just tried to buy m8 two different stores and lte would not light up..says no apn settings. I'm in Houston...huge lte here..Never had this problem with any other phones before..looks to be HTC issue?
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Slartibartfast_ said:
I hope no one minds me adding a small question to this thread, as I'm also about to buy an M8:
I've read in many places that the finish on it makes it very slippery. How true is it? Do owners usually use a case or not? It would be a shame to put a case on such a nice looking phone!
if no case - is the back cover replaceable? If after a year mine gets all scratched, can I just replace it with a new one like I do on my S3?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the problem with such a beautiful device. You don't want to cover it up with a case but want to protect it from everyday use. I use a thin TPU clear case at work and when I'm out but take it off when I'm home just to feel the quality of the M8. As far as slippery, yes it's a little slippery but not too bad. The back is not replacable like on a phone with a removable battery if that's what your thinking. E-bay (and I'm sure other places) have backs for sale but you'll have to take the phone apart to change it out since the phone is 90% one piece metal. Check out ifixit.com for the teardown and see if you can do it. Personally I don't think it is as bad as they say it is but I'm a mechanic and field service engineer so taking stuff apart and fixing them is what I do for a living.
---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------
GalaxyNotesTx said:
Well just tried to buy m8 two different stores and lte would not light up..says no apn settings. I'm in Houston...huge lte here..Never had this problem with any other phones before..looks to be HTC issue?
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe but I don't have that problem where I live (Washington DC area).
GalaxyNotesTx said:
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an m8 and "please don't bash me for this m8 owners" the camera is absolutely horrible. Huge letdown with the m7 then again with the m8. I had the m8 and tried to convince myself that I loved it. As far as root and s-off, the m8 is awesome. The camera is horrible and the phone is too tall. I switched to the s5 once I heard they had root and couldn't be happier. These are just my opinions.
an0ther said:
I had an m8 and "please don't bash me for this m8 owners" the camera is absolutely horrible. Huge letdown with the m7 then again with the m8. I had the m8 and tried to convince myself that I loved it. As far as root and s-off, the m8 is awesome. The camera is horrible and the phone is too tall. I switched to the s5 once I heard they had root and couldn't be happier. These are just my opinions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the camera could be better out of the box but if you play with the setting in manual mode you will get amazing results. Most users are just casual photogs so they need point and shoot and never mess with the other features. I only use my phones camera as a conveiance because when I go to events etc. I take my point and shoot and my HD camcorder. I too thought the form factor of this phone would be too big but after having it for a month or so it's really not that big feeling. It actually feels smaller than my Vivid in my pocket. We won't take your comments as a bash, at least you didn't go with the iPhone Plus.
S5 or M8?
I'm trying to decide between the S5 and the M8 also.
Sounds like everybody is generally in love with the M8 because of the look and feel. Personally, I have trouble understanding why people complain about the plastic on the Samsung phones. If you plan to use the phone naked, then the look would make a difference. I never feel comfortable using these flimsy phones without a TPU case, and once you put a case on it, you rarely see the back of the phone. To me that makes all of that lovely metal a waste.
Otherwise, the waterproof qualities of the Samsung are a plus and most people seem to think the camera is better. Also, the lack of an easily replaceable battery on the M8 is a concern for me.
It seems that Sense UI, the speakers, and the general experience of using it is the big advantage for the M8. Also unlocked bootloaders and the availability of multiple stock roms is a plus. I'm not sure which phone wins out on battery life, but the Samsung has the bigger battery.
All in all, I'm leaning toward the S5, but it's a very close call.
Do you use a case on your M8? If so, what's the advantage of the pretty back?
Just got the M8 love it...very fast , very clean ui..no junk touchwiz here.... no complaints....This phone is very nice...only second generation...M9 will be even better....S5 feels and looks like my 9 year old niece designed ...good luck!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
I too was in a position to choose between the M8 and S5 when my Galaxy Note II decided to finally give up the ghost only after 18 months of use. Despite a full restore it just kept freezing up and corrupted not only my 64 GB SD card, but also the internal memory. Because my phone is my lifeline, I couldn't afford to take any more time to try to fix it, and bought a replacement - the M8.
I have never had as many issues or physically destroyed a phone as quickly as the Note II. While I enjoyed the plastic at the beginning due to making the weight of the phone lighter, it was also more prone to scratches, cracks, abrasion marks, etc. Although I liked the Touchwiz features, I hated the FischerPrice design. Why are all of the icons huge on the screen? Nova launcher quickly became my friend.
I temporarily reverted to my Iphone 4 while shopping for a new phone. While I also hate IOS7, i did realize that I missed the feel and sturdiness of the metal chassis design. This swayed me to look at the M8 after I found out that the new model was almost all metal, unlike the M7.
I viewed the reviews and specs of both the M8 and S5. While the better camera on the S5 was definitely important, these were the factors that made me choose the M8:
1) Metal iPhone like build. I'm not too rough on my phones, but the even more plastic flimsy build of the S5 didn't seem like it would hold up any better than my Note 2 did. i also hated the new Band-Aid like design. The S5 looks like a toy.
2) Dual stereo speakers. I am a musician and DJ. Music is my life. While the volume of the Note 2 and S5 were "ok', there is no doubt that the M8 was not only superior in sound quality, but offered the rare stereo experience.
3) Camera - the M8 is adequate, but not up to par with other phones, especially the S5 and new LG. However, I weighed this against my use of the device for music. I rarely take photos or videos with my phone. Yeah, every once in a while as a spur of the moment keepsake, or to send to someone, but never to save and print, etc. I realized that the camera was the least important feature to me, so even though the S5 would win in this category, the M8 was sufficient for my needs. That being said, some of the camera features are very nice, and if you use manual mode, you can get some pretty decent shots.
4) Size - Although I liked the bigger screen on the S5, and prefer the technology, I found my Note 2 to be just a tad too big every once in a while. The slightly smaller M8 seemed to still give me the larger real estate that I wanted (compared to the minuscule iPhone 4, which I found unusable for non mobile web browsing). I was not mistaken.
5) Interface. I was very surprised with how clean the Sense 6 interface was. Although I don't use BlinkFeed (not customizable enough for me) it seems like so much more a native android experience. I don't feel like it gets in the way like TW did. I don't even use Nova anymore, simply because I love the weather clock widget. It was designed with simplicity in mind, but not to a point of making it toy like. If anything, it is elegant.
6) Internal memory. The S5 only has 16 GB of internal memory. The M8 has 32. Let's face it, there's a lot that can not be stored on an external SD card.
Other factors -
I really like the dot view case. While I thought it was gimmicky at first, I really find it helpful. The scrolling caller ID, the tap to view time/weather, the quick voice call feature, auto on/off when opening/closing the cover. Actually all very useful.
I do miss having a full RGB led notification indicator. However I'm finding it less important than I did on the Note 2.
I actually like the stock music player. I used Google Play Music on the Note, but now only use it for cloud based stuff (21K songs LOL). Otherwise I've been using the native player. I like the Music Channel feature with the scrolling lyrics.
One thing that almost made me overlook the M8 was that the M7 did not have a removable battery or SD slot. The M8 now features a micro SD slot (up to 128 GB!) so that's no longer an issue. While the M8 still does not have a removable battery, I find the battery life of the phone to be amazing. I do tend to have it on a charger most days, but yesterday I spent 14 hours at the casino. Even with constantly checking my phone, using it for several calls, texts, etc., I still had 20% at the end of the day without using power saver mode. My note would have been dead in 6-8 hours.
Even with the announcement of the New iPhone 6, I do not regret my choice of the M8. I really enjoy using this phone. YMMV, but the best thing to do would be to evaluate the features and how they fit your needs.
Both the M8 and G3 are badass phones. I have both and keep switching. Converted M8 to Dev and of course updates are like they are supposed to be. G3 no unlocked bootloader, can be a problem for some. The lag that those complain about on the G3 is virtually non-existent but sometimes can be seen. I think once LG issues an update, and they will, it won't even be a conversation anymore. I think LG is going straight to L, and will address everything at that point. Of course HTC will issue the same updates, probably faster too, but in the end, if LG fixes some of the "nagging" issues, it will be so much better.
---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 PM ----------
GalaxyNotesTx said:
Just got the M8 love it...very fast , very clean ui..no junk touchwiz here.... no complaints....This phone is very nice...only second generation...M9 will be even better....S5 feels and looks like my 9 year old niece designed ...good luck!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that's funny. I say the same about my wifes Note 3, so cartoonish.
theandies said:
I agree the camera could be better out of the box but if you play with the setting in manual mode you will get amazing results. Most users are just casual photogs so they need point and shoot and never mess with the other features. I only use my phones camera as a conveiance because when I go to events etc. I take my point and shoot and my HD camcorder. I too thought the form factor of this phone would be too big but after having it for a month or so it's really not that big feeling. It actually feels smaller than my Vivid in my pocket. We won't take your comments as a bash, at least you didn't go with the iPhone Plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any trouble with camera and I prefer the luxury finish that gives the M8 over the S5.
I was gonna open a new thread but this is what I was looking for
Used iPhone 3G > Captivate > S3 > Note 2 ----> Got bored of Android, and more so with constant rooting and roms, and a times frustrating lag and crashing. So I bought into the hype and paid 1K for an iphone 6 64GB ( was waiting from Carrier too and then sell t but wait was 6 weeks ) , used for 3 days and realized I miss the Android control and usage. I sold the iPhone for 940, lost money and ordered an M8 from my Carrier - since I know its premium finish and I simply want to root it
I have been reading about GPE but most people say the stock is best itself
Have I picked the right phone as I want to stay away from the same Rom game and needs a smooth phone
inningsdefeat500 said:
Have I picked the right phone as I want to stay away from the same Rom game and needs a smooth phone
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Only you can answer if its the right phone for you.
But what I can say, is the stock experience is smooth, snappy and won't disappoint. To be honest, I've felt like HTC has gotten very close to having a great stock ROM experience for some time now. And that is pretty much realized with Sense 6, especially combined with the hardware on the M8. I mean, there is always tweaking that can be done with custom ROMs, and whether you want a custom ROM or not completely depends on your own preferences and usage. But I really feel that we are at a point where the stock software is stable, fast and smooth, and a custom ROM is not needed to get basic functionality or to overcome lag caused by Sense (as has been the case for older devices).
That being said, I went to a custom ROM early on (second day I owned the M8) because I can't stand AT&T's bloatware and limitations (blocked tethering if not on a tethering plan). But that is really another matter. Lag and performance are not an issue on the stock software.
Also, you can't really compare the M8 with Samsung devices. I have a current Samsung tablet (Tab Pro 8.4) and it lagged and crashed on TouchWiz, and all but forced me to go AOSP (which made it much faster and more stable). So don't take the Samsung experience as being indicative of all Android devices. The M8 is simply snappy in comparison.
redpoint73 said:
Only you can answer if its the right phone for you.
But what I can say, is the stock experience is smooth, snappy and won't disappoint. To be honest, I've felt like HTC has gotten very close to having a great stock ROM experience for some time now. And that is pretty much realized with Sense 6, especially combined with the hardware on the M8. I mean, there is always tweaking that can be done with custom ROMs, and whether you want a custom ROM or not completely depends on your own preferences and usage. But I really feel that we are at a point where the stock software is stable, fast and smooth, and a custom ROM is not needed to get basic functionality or to overcome lag caused by Sense (as has been the case for older devices).
That being said, I went to a custom ROM early on (second day I owned the M8) because I can't stand AT&T's bloatware and limitations (blocked tethering if not on a tethering plan). But that is really another matter. Lag and performance are not an issue on the stock software.
Also, you can't really compare the M8 with Samsung devices. I have a current Samsung tablet (Tab Pro 8.4) and it lagged and crashed on TouchWiz, and all but forced me to go AOSP (which made it much faster and more stable). So don't take the Samsung experience as being indicative of all Android devices. The M8 is simply snappy in comparison.
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tx man, I have 8.4 Tab Pro too. Lot of the comments on this thread are so similar to my past usage with Samsung - man it feels good to be back with Android. I was SO missing the back button the iphone and unlocking with fingerprint was a bore, had to wait till it opens, keep eye on the phone to swap channels on Tune in radio whereas in droid, u can simply swipe w/o looking. Lot of other small things make the difference
I was deeply torn between an S5 and the M8. My wife actually poked fun at me for not being able to decide. They are both solid phones, but ultimately I wasn't able to give up the freedom to tinker. The S5 is locked down hard on AT&T, and while it has root, at some point it's going to be totally closed - or at least developers are going to be stuck on the last officially supported kernel until people get tired of it. There is safestrap, and I looked into it, but it sounds like people are already getting weary of development on the locked versions. Thus, there will likely never be a non-TW ROM for it. The T-mobile version isn't locked, but apparently doesn't perform as well on AT&T networks, and you would have to find a way to get one without switching carriers.
The M8, on the other hand, has a future. Even once HTC gets tired of supporting it, being able to unlock the bootloader (either officially or unofficially) and S-off means that people will be creating new ROMs for it until it, like my old Skyrocket, just get so old that no one has them anymore. That was the deciding factor for me, especially in light of the fact that I switched to Cyanogenmod a long time ago on my Skyrocket, and never looked back. So, in a way, firewater (and ultimately Sunshine) sold me on the M8.
Now, the fact is that I have come to really like Sense. Sure, it doesn't have every option I'm used to in CM, but it's a solid skin that doesn't get in the way. I opted for a full (including CID) conversion to the Developer Edition, and have stuck with it for now. Thus, the ultimate irony is that I have the ability to do whatever I like to my phone, and I'm so happy with stock that I've not installed a single alternate ROM. However, I am also happy knowing that one day I will be able to.