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I currently have a Et4g, the galaxy2. Love the camera. Battery is OK. Screen is nice.
I need to get a new phone and was debating these three and could use opinions please.
Nexus - I am fine with no SD. I like that this will get official Jelly Bean first and is google only.
SG 3 - its the latest and greatest. Nice screen. Not much of a difference over the SG2. I do not like samsung as they are very slow to update and the radios kind of suck.
HTC - I had the OG Evo and loved it. I like that this has a kickstand and the camera burst and pics interest me the most. I have a 7 month old and take lots of photos.
Chime in please.
SGS 3 is by no means the greatest even though it happens to be the latest. For DEVing you can't go wrong with the Nexus, however I'm hooked on my Evo. Fantastic hardware and it feels right. Not as much support as I wished, but it's super fast and doing what I need it to. SGS 3 was just too much plastic for me and the screen seemed overly saturated. I decided not to trade in
Bielinsk said:
I currently have a Et4g, the galaxy2. Love the camera. Battery is OK. Screen is nice.
I need to get a new phone and was debating these three and could use opinions please.
Nexus - I am fine with no SD. I like that this will get official Jelly Bean first and is google only.
SG 3 - its the latest and greatest. Nice screen. Not much of a difference over the SG2. I do not like samsung as they are very slow to update and the radios kind of suck.
HTC - I had the OG Evo and loved it. I like that this has a kickstand and the camera burst and pics interest me the most. I have a 7 month old and take lots of photos.
Chime in please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only significant difference for you is which do you like more. Touchwiz or Sense. If you are a hacker and like to root, well then flip and coin and take your pic. Either one will get you what you are looking for.
I am running Cyanogen 9 on my SG 2, just because I hate waiting for samsung.
I like Sense better than touchwiz, but typically use Go Launcher, so it doesn't matter.
Only thing I would need once in a while is Hotspot, so I would want to root, but other than that, not worried about changing roms every other week (anymore, I am in recovery)
Bielinsk said:
I currently have a Et4g, the galaxy2. Love the camera. Battery is OK. Screen is nice.
I need to get a new phone and was debating these three and could use opinions please.
Nexus - I am fine with no SD. I like that this will get official Jelly Bean first and is google only.
SG 3 - its the latest and greatest. Nice screen. Not much of a difference over the SG2. I do not like samsung as they are very slow to update and the radios kind of suck.
HTC - I had the OG Evo and loved it. I like that this has a kickstand and the camera burst and pics interest me the most. I have a 7 month old and take lots of photos.
Chime in please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have evo lte n the nexus love them both won't even try the s3 lol its basically the same as evo.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
i was in the same situation i picked the evo because it had the best build quality the other two felt cheap the evo is sturdy and has the best screen and camera out of all of them
If you want extreme hackability and tinkering, Nexus. Between Evo and S3, Evo. Has better screen, build quality imo, sense > touchwiz (although I'm running CM9). Dev is a bit slow, but I'm sure it'll pick up soon now that source has been released.
I'm currently deciding too. My phone contract ends in 2 weeks and I don't know whether to get the nexus $100 or save up for the evo 4g lte $200.
Hmm, I don't see that is supports the bluetooth MAP profile. My car uses MAP to receive text messages on the head unit and that is a feature I really really like.
Bielinsk said:
I currently have a Et4g, the galaxy2. Love the camera. Battery is OK. Screen is nice.
I need to get a new phone and was debating these three and could use opinions please.
Nexus - I am fine with no SD. I like that this will get official Jelly Bean first and is google only.
SG 3 - its the latest and greatest. Nice screen. Not much of a difference over the SG2. I do not like samsung as they are very slow to update and the radios kind of suck.
HTC - I had the OG Evo and loved it. I like that this has a kickstand and the camera burst and pics interest me the most. I have a 7 month old and take lots of photos.
Chime in please.
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Click to collapse
The S3 also has camera burst along with a great camera. Multitasking is a lot better on the S3 and the radio on it is definitely improved over the S2 but some people have experienced bad reception which sprint blames on updating their towers. Battery life is better on the S3 and having it be removable to switch out with a backup battery is nice. Both screens are nice and I like how the colors pop on the S3 but the evo is also right up there. Development will should be great on the S3 and Samsung tends to update quick if any bugs exist. I love both devices
Watch this video review comparing both devices
Evo LTE vs Galaxy S3
Sent from my evoLTE
In my experience, the Galaxy 2 sucked for Sprint, the updates took forever. Had a battery drain that raped battery within 8 hours, screen off. Could maybe get 12 if I tweaked it, but that was idle, not even using the damn thing. They took months and months to fix it. ICS just came out for it, Samsung takes a long time to update IMO. HTC seems a little better, and I like the dev community. It's easier, as Galaxy 3 has many variants, ATT, Sprint, Verizon, International, etc, and can get mixed up. It does feel nicer to hold in the hand, but I like the overall design of the evo. Benchmarks show the same basically for both phones, so it's basically how it looks to you. Samsung has some cool gestures though, they have a more human approach while HTC wants more functionality I think.
Although the gs3 has burst mode its not the same as on the LTE..its available.right away from the camera app..no going through menus etc. I also have a 7 month old and it has been awesome..for those quick moments when u don't have time to fiddle with menus..I just burst away and always get a great shot I could never of gotten b4
dude2k5 said:
In my experience, the Galaxy 2 sucked for Sprint, the updates took forever. Had a battery drain that raped battery within 8 hours, screen off. Could maybe get 12 if I tweaked it, but that was idle, not even using the damn thing. They took months and months to fix it. ICS just came out for it, Samsung takes a long time to update IMO. HTC seems a little better, and I like the dev community. It's easier, as Galaxy 3 has many variants, ATT, Sprint, Verizon, International, etc, and can get mixed up. It does feel nicer to hold in the hand, but I like the overall design of the evo. Benchmarks show the same basically for both phones, so it's basically how it looks to you. Samsung has some cool gestures though, they have a more human approach while HTC wants more functionality I think.
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Click to collapse
Updates were quite good for the E4GT and bugs were fixed while other S2 variants still had them. I'm not sure what you were running but battery life on was great on it. The only time I got crappy battery life was running an AOSP rom before source dropped but even then I still got at least 12hrs. Not that it matters but both the S3 and E4GT are on Android 4.0.4 while the evo is still running 4.0.3
Sent from my evoLTE
eao1991 said:
Updates were quite good for the E4GT and bugs were fixed while other S2 variants still had them. I'm not sure what you were running but battery life on was great on it. The only time I got crappy battery life was running an AOSP rom before source dropped but even then I still got at least 12hrs. Not that it matters but both the S3 and E4GT are on Android 4.0.4 while the evo is still running 4.0.3
Sent from my evoLTE
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Click to collapse
Odd. I tried many roms and kernels and nothing seemed to work for me. Google had results for the same issue, so maybe there were different hardware variations.
I'm going out on a limb here, but i would guess in the evolte section most people would say the evolte is the best,in the s3 section they would say the s3 is the best, etc. Do you see a pattern here? What i recommend is looking at reviews from various websites and then draw a conclusion on your own. Most people won't admit that they may have bought a turd no matter what, and that could be any phone.
woody296 said:
I'm going out on a limb here, but i would guess in the evolte section most people would say the evolte is the best,in the s3 section they would say the s3 is the best, etc. Do you see a pattern here? What i recommend is looking at reviews from various websites and then draw a conclusion on your own. Most people won't admit that they may have bought a turd no matter what, and that could be any phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is true, but in each forum you will be pointed to different strengths of each, so that is valuable information.
Evo seems to take really good action shots. Will it do that in burst mode as well? The S3 does burst, but trying to do that of someone walking, and it got all blurry in every pic.
Hello guys. I'm trying to upgrade from a Samsung Galaxy S2 to either a Samsung Galaxy S3 or to the HTC One X.
I love my S2, the only think I do not like that much, besides samsung delaying rom releases a little too much for my taste, is that battery does not lasts a full day with moderate to heavy use, it lasts about 6/8 hours, and that it gets really hot.
Both phones have been out for a while already, so on your most objetive opinion, what are the cons you wish you would have known about the S3, and what is your experience regarding battery life under moderate to heavy use, and hotness of the phone?
Do you see any other advantage of one over the other? Do you whish to have bought the other?
I know there are hundred of reviews, but i'm asking for real experience here.
Thanks.
The HTC One X is obsolete in my opinion for 3 reasons:
1. No Micro-SD card slot
2. Non-removable battery
3. Terrible battery life
For those three reasons I don't think the phone is even worth considering over the Galaxy S3. if it had a removable battery and a Micro-SD card slot I would have gotten it over the S3 though.
ComradeNF said:
The HTC One X is obsolete in my opinion for 3 reasons:
1. No Micro-SD card slot
2. Non-removable battery
3. Terrible battery life
For those three reasons I don't think the phone is even worth considering over the Galaxy S3. if it had a removable battery and a Micro-SD card slot I would have gotten it over the S3 though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to this, the S3 has a lot more development going for it, since it is multi carrier and has no locked bootloader
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I'm not sure you're gonna be able to find unbiased opinions when you're posting on the GS3 forum.
ComradeNF said:
3. Terrible battery life
For those three reasons I don't think the phone is even worth considering over the Galaxy S3. if it had a removable battery and a Micro-SD card slot I would have gotten it over the S3 though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source? The battery life on the One X is absolutely amazing. It has better battery life than the Galaxy S3 by far due to the screen.
Engadget says:
Even with LTE enabled, battery life is noticeably better on AT&T's One X than on the foreign version. This was a sticking point in our original review, so we're extremely pleased with the improvement. We recorded eight hours and 55 minutes in our video loop rundown test with the screen set to 50 percent brightness -- most folks will have little trouble getting a full day's use from the 1,800mAh cell. Call quality was decent, but LTE performance exceeded our expectations with peak speeds of 35.7Mbps down and 23.5Mbps up (!) -- the fastest results we've ever recorded on an LTE device.
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Click to collapse
And AnandTech goes even further. Stating that One X gets a whopping 9.65 hours on 3G browsing , 5.5 hours on LTE and 10.35 on WiFi.
Finally, our cellular talk time charts put the AT&T One X in the upper half of our results. Overall the AT&T One X appears to do very well across the board, but it's very strong in the 3G/LTE tests.
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Click to collapse
Edit: By comparison: The Galaxy S3 gets 8.3 hours on 3G (Versus 9.65 on the One X) and a mere 7.6 hours on WiFi, almost 3 HOURS less than the One X USA.
You call the One X battery terrible ?
ComradeNF said:
3. Terrible battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
KentuckyHouse said:
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Agreed, from someone who has both.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
I have had 2 of both, the one x has awesome battery life as many others have said. the camera on both of my one x's were way better than my first s3 but the s3 i just traded my one x for now is very good and on level with my one x. Anyone having camera issues (mainly bluring whenever its not super bright) i would say try an exchange if you can, I ran almost every rom on both s3's and that wasn't it 1st s3 was definitely a hardware issue.
One X:
Screen Looks nicer (only slightly)
Better Battery
Build Quality
S3:
More Development
SD card slot
Removable battery
more ram
More accessories (with all the carriers in the us and international versions being the same an android device is finally getting tons of options for cases/ etc)
Google Wallet, yes you have to hack it on but it works and with the new update its actually useful as you can use any cards.
Just my opinions, both are great phones but If you are big into flashing go s3.
I've said this in each of these threads thus far and ill say it again... As far as hardware the only thing the sgsiii has over one x is ram. Other then that the one x is a smidge ahead in everything else. Obviously the soc is the same so that a non issue. However development on the sgsiii is staggering at this point. Crushing the one x in that regard. We were one of the first with OFFICIAL cm10 preview builds and one of the first with OFFICIAL cm10 nightly support, the one x has neither AFAIK. Unofficial builds yes, official nope(correct me if I'm wrong there). Development was the sole reason I jumped ship from the one x to the sgsiii. And I definitely think I made the right move in that regard. Get the sgsiii, you won't be disappointed. Or get the one x, it's a kick ass phone. But I think you may get sgsiii envy. Of course everyone here will favor the sgsiii, and I noticed you made the same thread over in HTC land, there everyone will tell you the one x is better. So... These threads won't help much Imo.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
This thread should have been posted in the ANDROID GENERAL section of XDA.
KentuckyHouse said:
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
You clearly have no idea what "In my opinion" means.
The majority of people close to me who recently upgraded chose the One X over the S3. Pretty much all of them complain about the battery life constantly. Also, while I was taking a train back home with a friend, we spent the entire ride watching videos on Netflix. His battery was nearly 35% more depleted than mine was. If it matters we watched different shows but for the same amount of time.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
ComradeNF said:
You clearly have no idea what "In my opinion" means.
The majority of people close to me who recently upgraded chose the One X over the S3. Pretty much all of them complain about the battery life constantly. Also, while I was taking a train back home with a friend, we spent the entire ride watching videos on Netflix. His battery was nearly 35% more depleted than mine was. If it matters we watched different shows but for the same amount of time.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a hard time believing you have a bunch of friends who bought the One X on contract and then ALL switched to the S3 at full price just because of the battery. Also that comparison with your friend is useless. Were you guys both on 100% when you started watching the video? I highly doubt you made a note of how much his battery was at before you watched the video.
And yes, we do have an idea of what "in my opinion" means. It means you have zero facts, source and are being biased.
The One X has an infinitely superior camera in my opinion. I hate the camera on the galaxy. I'm also a big dropbox user so the ext sd isn't as huge a deal for me either. I'd have stayed One X if they had proper multitasking. It was awful on the HOX. Awful. I can't stress that enough. Awful.
soapbubble said:
The One X has an infinitely superior camera in my opinion. I hate the camera on the galaxy. I'm also a big dropbox user so the ext sd isn't as huge a deal for me either. I'd have stayed One X if they had proper multitasking. It was awful on the HOX. Awful. I can't stress that enough. Awful.
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Click to collapse
2.2 made improvements in this. I keep coming back to the HOX because even with less RAM on a stock based ROM it feels smoother, especially in the MMS app with ~5000 texts. As a test, I did an SMS Backup and Restore backup, wiped both databases clean and cleared data on the MMS apk, then restored the same backup to both. (I also did a full wipe later as well) and the HOX doesn't stutter on the least while the GS3 does, especially when trying to back out of a conversation with over 200 messages. The only way the GS3 is as good is running an AOSP based ROM. Odd I know, but it is empirical evidence based on my usage.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
soapbubble said:
The One X has an infinitely superior camera in my opinion. I hate the camera on the galaxy. I'm also a big dropbox user so the ext sd isn't as huge a deal for me either. I'd have stayed One X if they had proper multitasking. It was awful on the HOX. Awful. I can't stress that enough. Awful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Custom roms have alleviated much of the multitask issue, but I wouldn't call it a non issue quite yet. My girly has my one x and I still play around with it, soon she will be getting the white one she wanted as this happened to the Grey one:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
corythug said:
Custom roms have alleviated much of the multitask issue, but I wouldn't call it a non issue quite yet. My girly has my one x and I still play around with it, soon she will be getting the white one she wanted as this happened to the Grey one:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG What did you do? Did you ****** on top of it LOL
corythug said:
I've said this in each of these threads thus far and ill say it again... As far as hardware the only thing the sgsiii has over one x is ram. Other then that the one x is a smidge ahead in everything else. Obviously the soc is the same so that a non issue. However development on the sgsiii is staggering at this point. Crushing the one x in that regard. We were one of the first with OFFICIAL cm10 preview builds and one of the first with OFFICIAL cm10 nightly support, the one x has neither AFAIK. Unofficial builds yes, official nope(correct me if I'm wrong there). Development was the sole reason I jumped ship from the one x to the sgsiii. And I definitely think I made the right move in that regard. Get the sgsiii, you won't be disappointed. Or get the one x, it's a kick ass phone. But I think you may get sgsiii envy. Of course everyone here will favor the sgsiii, and I noticed you made the same thread over in HTC land, there everyone will tell you the one x is better. So... These threads won't help much Imo.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post deserves a darwin award.
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Let me add a number
4- LG G2- beautiful screen, what looks to be a great battery life and good camera, great speaker and edge to edge screen but will there be developers working on it to get CM or other aosp roms , and the UI looks worse than tw. Just unknown right now
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
luvtorev said:
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GS4 has been nothing but great for me.. I wouldn't trade it for ANY of the other phones I've had in the past. The experience thus far has been second to none. One man's opinion. Battery life alone is a deal maker. On the other hand the camera is pretty darn good and the physical size and feel to me is perfection. Super thin and light. Even with a case it's noticeably lighter than my Rezound was stock. To me it's a no brainer.
I have a GS4 on stock unrooted firmware. It is easily the best experience I've had with Android. The 1080 screen is nothing short of phenomenal. I wasn't sure if I would notice anything over 720 (my GS3, N2, GNex) but there's definitely something to be appreciated.
As far as battery life, I get anywhere from 4-6 hours of screen on time. About 20-23 hours of total battery life, hitting the red at about 20 - that's without the power saving mode (lower brightness, adjust screen time, under clock from 1.9GHz to 1.3GHz). Coming from a GNex I'm sure you can appreciate the nightmare that is battery life on it.
Performance wise, even with TouchWiz this phone flies. Enable Force GPU Rendering and it's about as fluid as it gets.
Long story short, you may come to miss AOSP, but with minor customization you can at least simulate the experience. I say go for it.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I love my GS4 but make sure if you want to put any Roms on it to make sure its on the mdk build and don't accept the update. Get home and root right away. Also I originally got the 16 and ended up returning for the 32 gig. I had problems with SD card unmounting so I just rather not mess with it. Both my phones shipped from there warehouse with mdk builds.
Are the aosp builds stable for the gs4? What's broken?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I'm on a very recent cm 10.1 nightly (8/07 I think). There is a call audio hanging thing, but that seems to be fixed by a phone apk that is around page 123ish of the official nightly thread. Other than that and the horrendous bluetooth stack in aosp 4.2.2, it is very stable and everything seems to work.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
luvtorev said:
Are the aosp builds stable for the gs4? What's broken?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running liquidsmooth for a few weeks now and everything works perfectly...very fast and responsive, GPS works, great battery life, awesome customization, the whole nine.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
perceptualdoor said:
I've been running liquidsmooth for a few weeks now and everything works perfectly...very fast and responsive, GPS works, great battery life, awesome customization, the whole nine.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I wanted to know. So there are no problems with GPS, camera, any FC's, battery life, data issues and or any screen flickering, right?
Thanks again for all the input. Keep chiming in
If you are not a big flasher, I say wait for the Moto X. The S4 has the developer software but is it really worth paying more for software.
CM, aokp, and other ROMs have milestones that are stable. You can also go that route.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
luvtorev said:
That is what I wanted to know. So there are no problems with GPS, camera, any FC's, battery life, data issues and or any screen flickering, right?
Thanks again for all the input. Keep chiming in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, no problems...running liquidsmooth 2.9 and it's phenomenal.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I went from the gnex to the s4 this week and a after just a few days I am in the same place as you were with your s3. The hardware improvement is fantastic and the battery life issue being gone from my life is almost worth it by itself. But I really miss the stock experience and especially the experience I had in the two weeks with 4.3, which made the gnex like a new phone again. Not being able to flash a stock rom is driving me crazy (the phone was being updated to me7 before I even left the store). I'd wait to see how the Moto X looks to you before you jump in on this one
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
ntb81 said:
I went from the gnex to the s4 this week and a after just a few days I am in the same place as you were with your s3. The hardware improvement is fantastic and the battery life issue being gone from my life is almost worth it by itself. But I really miss the stock experience and especially the experience I had in the two weeks with 4.3, which made the gnex like a new phone again. Not being able to flash a stock rom is driving me crazy (the phone was being updated to me7 before I even left the store). I'd wait to see how the Moto X looks to you before you jump in on this one
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you understand going from stock android to TW is a tough move for some. So far I am really liking the moto X from all the reviews but Im still having a hard time to pay full asking for its hardware when compared to the other high end phone, because remember I will have to buy my next phone out right or used depending on what I decide to go with. I decided and have put my note 2 on craigslist for sale. I love the note but the phone is a bit too big at times.
I'm really liking all the hardware on the LG G2 but like I said earlier I'll have to wait and see if there is going to be devs working on it. Droid Maxx may also be a good pick due to its software and huge battery. After owning a Gnex you understand how battery life on your next phone needs to be like. The GS4 sounds looks really good too, maybe I'll just do a straight up trade with the note 2 for a GS4.
leyvatron said:
If you are not a big flasher, I say wait for the Moto X. The S4 has the developer software but is it really worth paying more for software.
CM, aokp, and other ROMs have milestones that are stable. You can also go that route.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is part of my problem, I love to flash different roms and try them out. So the newer update on the GS4 breaks rooting, correct? If I'm going to go with anything else other the GS4 I'll have to wait and see what the devs will be able to root, that is also an important note to take, at least for me.
Get the Developer Edition
luvtorev said:
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the galaxy s4 dev edition straight from samsung. I have the normal verizon version and had to return it after a hard brick and they sent me the me7 updated version With the dev version you wont ever have to worry about a locked bootloader and have free reign to flash as you desire. There are sooooo many awesome roms for the device already and they just keep getting better. The sheer power of the s4 makes its possibilities pretty endless. So yeah. I suggest the dev edition s4. Hope this helps you in your quest for pure awesomeness!
Edit: if you werent aware the vruame7 update to the verizon s4 completely blocks custom recovery and an unsecure bootloader. There is no fix or workaround at this time. Root has been achieved but if you like custom roms the update is a huge downer.
luvtorev said:
This is part of my problem, I love to flash different roms and try them out. So the newer update on the GS4 breaks rooting, correct? If I'm going to go with anything else other the GS4 I'll have to wait and see what the devs will be able to root, that is also an important note to take, at least for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately for me, the way I feel about it is this.
If the boot loader isn't unlocked before 6 months of the phone release, then I am NO way selling it for a DEV Edition phone.
I would be selling the SG4, and getting the HTC One (granted it comes to VZW)
as I know that S-OFF will most likley come (basically boot loader unlock)
and if not, HTC and Verizon have a set up called HTC-Dev.
Once you purchase your phone you can go to the HTC-Dev website and unlock your phone, (voiding warranty of coarse, but I've sent them back with this plenty times)
I would rather buy a phone I can get on contract price and unlock it like with HTC, than buy the Dev Edition off contract.
The bounty is a getting higher and higher, hopefully someone will claim their well deserved pot O' gold.
Take the Galaxy S4 Google (Developer) Edition, beacuse the updates are managed by Google and not from Samsung.
So, you have always the latest update
davidebeatrici said:
Take the Galaxy S4 Google (Developer) Edition, beacuse the updates are managed by Google and not from Samsung.
So, you have always the latest update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google edition is not the same thing as the developer edition. The google edition is only available for AT&T and t-mobile. It's sold by Google, while the developer edition has Verizon bands available sold by samsung
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JaeKay said:
Google edition is not the same thing as the developer edition. The google edition is only available for AT&T and t-mobile. It's sold by Google, while the developer edition has Verizon bands available sold by samsung
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation
I have had my Gs4 for a mouth and a half and love it. The biggest difference would be its not stock android. But if your willing to root then you could flash the Google edition that Dubbsy has ported over to Verizon. Also if you don't want to worry about battery life you could buy a extended battery or an extra stock battery with a wall charger and carry that battery around. I currently run a ZeroLemon 7500 mAh extended battery and get 2 to 2 1/2 days of battery.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I had HTC Desire for nearly 3 years, and it is a great phone, but I think it is time to upgrade, because:
- it is annoyingly slow with my regular set of programs installed, even on fastest available roms
- it doesn't have kernel 3.0, and because of that JB roms have shortcomings
- a little bit too small screen for GPS navigation
- really crappy camera
- somewhat short battery life
Some time ago I had a chance to look at Galaxy S2 in person and it looked like a perfect phone (at least for 2 minutes I had it in my hands).
Somewhat bigger screen, more internal storage, kernel 3.0.
I use custom roms, so big development community is important for me. I have been spoiled by Desire as it (still) has a large one.
Galaxy S2 would cost me around 170-200 euro to get it.
Then there is S3, which looks like a better phone alltogether, even if more expensive (~350 euro).
But the doubts about that one after reading user opinions are:
- quite dark screen, worse than One X
- bad build quality
- flimsy home button
- external speaker on pair with Desire
I would welcome SGS3 owners views on the above.
My general requirements (compared to HTC Desire):
- larger screen (not necessarily much larger)
- solid build quality
- large development community
- noticeably faster CPU than Desire (Dual+ core would come in handy)
- microUSB
- good/very good camera
- good battery life
- have a good and loud external speakers for listening to podcasts
- would be nice if it had FM transmitter (not receiver) but it is not necessary
- it must by BLACK or therebout
the s3 fits each one of those requirements.....
Hi there. I was an owner of HTC Desire for 2 years. I loved that device and still have it in my drawer. I recently bought a Galaxy S3 to upadgrade my old DS. The transfer from Desire to Desire S was something logical to me back then. Almost the same device but newer software. I was searching for a new phone and I thought that one X was the only road for me. I had a chance to compare one X with SGS3 side by side. The screen on one X has more natural colors for me and I think the sound quality is better. Honesty I picked the SGS 3 cause of the community that has here in xda the removal battery the sd card slot and I think the camera quality is better. Im still new here and haven't managed to explore the hole forum but I found a lot of things and I'm amazed by the community
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There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
kangerX said:
There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the S4 i9505. Better dev support due to no exynos. Get 2nd hand
Got to be honest, if i was in your shoes, i wouldn't. Not for 350€. Would be a different thing if you had an awesome deal at hand, but if you're just getting them from a regular store, for the full price, no.
I've seen you don't require neither external sd nor an removable battery so i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise. Also, you get updates directly from google instead of waiting forever for samsung
If you're not into the nexus 4 (which isn't easy to come by for every country) you may want to take a look at the oppo find 5. Seems a fantastic phone, has even better specs than the nexus and therefore a bit more expensive. Easy to get in europe and they even throw in a few extras like NFC tags and a (flip?) cover for your phone. Also the developer openly encourages custom roms so there shouldn't be a problem having updates.
Moar ram (this is REALLY important on the S3 since 1Gb is not nearly enough for a samsung rom), no-bul**** touchwiz with a lightfast pure aosp rom (with the nexus) or anything close with the oppo and no exynos with closed sources, making custom roms not being able to be all they can. You won't get some somewhat useless bells and whistles (smart stay, camera effects, multiwindow, etc) but that can almost all be reinstated with 3rd party apps if needed. Samsung has a bad history of kind of neglecting their phones who're not flagships anymore - by this i mean they say they will update but only when convenient to them and that means waiting forever with no ETA at all. Not to mention you may get a unit with the screwed up chip which is apparently not in danger of suddently dying anymore but it's fix has been reported causing severe lag. It's not a bad phone at all, it's just there are better alternatives out there.
The S2 though is still a fantastic phone and it's probably the cheaper you'll get. It's just it's old and most likely not supported (or about to be, not sure) by samsung by now.
kaynpayn said:
i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a really good point.
I think the price points are still a little high
You should expect after September 5 or so, and then check prices for:
- i9300 unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO the best thing about it is the form factor + huge availability of ROMs; major downside = only 1 GB RAM
- i9305 unlocked new and second-hand; it fixes the problem with just 1 GB and also has LTE, but much less development and fewer ROMs to choose
- N7100 (note 2) unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO a good choice that fixes most problems with i9300 and i9305, BUT creates a new one - size; that one is a deal killer for me
- also look at the prices for note 3 (will be launchd around September 4-5) and i9505 (might drop a little, eventually the i9506 might become available).
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
impactor said:
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
S4 is way to expensive for me.
How about HTC One X?
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would be pointless is buying a exynos device paying 350 euro.. N4 / oppo find 5 great devices / or second hand i9505 / one x
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
impactor said:
S4 is way to expensive for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Oh you didn't mention the need for more than 16gb. That actually weights in a lot. The oppo finder 5 should be a good candidate then, I believe it's the best price you can get for a phone with those specs that already brings 32gb (if bought new)
If you understand and don't mind the exynos, the 16gb+sdcard lte s3 is also an option (2gb ram), not sure about prices though.
Also, for what's worth, I've compared the camera of my s3 with the n4. Didn't think it was all that different apart from effects I don't really use. Phones are cool for the casual shot (and actually take very decent ones) but if it's serious quality I'm after, nothing beats a good, dedicated camera.
Edit: oops didn't realise you couldn't spend more than 350. I still wouldn't get the s3 and would wait out for the prices to get lower. Still, if you must change your phone now, for that price point, with your requirements is probably the best bet.
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---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 PM ----------
rootSU said:
In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
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kaynpayn said:
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasnt suggesting buying from Ebay UK. It's just an example.
rootSU said:
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what is the problem with S3 cpu. S3 seems to have great support community, a lot of roms, etc. I do not really care if I have the newest subversion of Android available on my phone 5 days after the newest Android was released.
I just want it to work, and I couldn't care less if I have to wait a month, or 3 months for Android 4.3, if I have fully workin 4.2.2, with great battery life, photograps, excellent GPS, screen, and pretty great for a mobile audio quality (headphones, and speakerphone).
Considering that, would you still disadvice me an S3? I looked at prices of S4 and even 380 euro is a bit of a stretch, considering I wanted to spend 200 euro initially, and 300 for S3 is already a significant budget enlargement.
And what about HTC One X? Would that be better than S3?
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
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rootSU said:
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
impactor said:
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Cyanogen refused to release 10.1 as "stable" release. Remains nightly build forever due to lack of exynos sources and documentation. Same with 10.2
2. Touchwiz rom camera great. Since samsung didn't release camera HAL, aosp camera not very good.
3. Loads of aosp roms. None meet their own potential due to the issues mentioned above.
4. Battery life poor on aosp roms.
S3 is great of you're happy with touchwiz. Bloated and slow but good pics and great battery life. But if you know you'll be using aosp roms, its a poor choice - and im sure any aosp dev would agree with that. Yes there's lots of choice. I even use aosp all the time but it cannot exploit the devices potential.
Also a lot of devs are starting to move on now. Kernel development for aosp is down to about 3 or 4 good ones.
Im trying to be Frank and save you buying a dying devices thinking it will be as good as you think it is. I wish I had known about the exynos issue before buying. Would I have held out and bought something else? Probably not. It was the only device that met my requirement 14 months ago. That said, would I recommend it now? No.
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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!!
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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!
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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
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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.
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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.