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So I know there is a never ending stream of Nexus vs Rezound threads; so I apologize if this is redundant but for those of you considering switching or moving up to a 4g phone I thought maybe my experience would be of some interest.
I have had an HTC Incredible since launch. Love it especially after rooted and CM7 was added.
And frankly I would have kept it but I was just jealous of all the 4G action and thought the Nexus was going to be so great. Waited week after week, rumor to rumor. and picked it up the morning of Launch.
Almost immediately I was disappointed. Eventually I returned it (reasons below) and but I still wanted 4G and liked the Rezound but it was so thick (at least thats what I read) so I figured I would try the Rezound expecting that I wouldnt like it and I'd go back to the Dinc.
Well I was wrong - I really like the Rezound - it isnt too thick, in fact the GN is too thin (it is really awkward to hold) and it isnt too heavy. It feels frankly amazing in the hand. The way I would sum up my experience (so far) with the Rezound is that it is a super-sized 4G Dinc. And that is no way a knock - I loved the Dinc, think Gingerbread (I use Go Launcher) is terrific and really love the phone. Obviously the camera and sound is far better, and it is much more responsive But on the negative it is locked (so far), I havent figured out yet how to remove bloatware and most odd, alot of the good games I bought are not available for Rezound. so in short great phone with a few little nits
Here is why I got rid of Nexus:
1. UI is frankly terrible. I dont know who all these reviewers are. One of the things that I loved about Android (vs iOS) is Buttons. And ICs tries to eliminate this feature. It isnt so much the soft buttons (although they arent necessary) but it is the loss of the Menu/Options button and the Search button.
Its not like they could eliminate the options button (people complain that it isnt standard enough across apps, but I never found that anyway) instead it is more or less the same button, just placed in different spots all over the UI depending on the app - so f'ing annoying.
And they got rid of the search button - why - it is a great resource and replaced it with a button to show recently running apps. Why - was holding down the home button too complicated??? And the honeycomb screenshots are god awful.
Widgets in the tray - Why? What is more intuitive than pressing the screen and holding it where you want to add something. But that isnt it. You can only slide L/R in tray to go through apps and widgets. Well when you have to go through alot of apps or widgets this requires a million swipes. On every other android version you could just scroll real fast down and up and then stop in the vicinity of the app you wanted. Alas no scrolling option - asinine. and even if you only have a few apps, the widget tray will always have a ton of screens because it gives you a useless preview of each widget and therefore only can fit a few per screen. God help your thumb when you have a widget that begins with the letter Z.
In sum ICS is a disaster IMHO and I predict that when the Kool-aid wears off, reviewers will begin to admit this. (Just like what happened with Honeycomb btw)
2. the phone feels awful - it is too wide, too thin and too slippery. I like to go sans case - except for a screen protector, and there is zero doubt in my mind that the way the phone is, it will be dropped. It is thin in all the wrong places (overall in real life not really that much thinner than the Rezound but where you hold it it just doesnt fit my hand right. One handed typing is impossible and trying it will undoubtedly result in a dropped phone. I think this is a function of the width. Rezound is just the opposite - fits perfectly. case of thickness helps (...thats what she said)
3. battery life is horrific - 5 hours! Look I am an Android guy, I know Battery life is always an issue (seems like Ios 5.0 is joining us) and I am more than willing in fact happy to keep an extra battery in my wallet. But 5 hours really - that is insane. the biggest issue is that there is no way currently to toggle 4g off. On Wifi the thing has reasonable battery life (about 12 hours) but I am used to (and Rezound seems to be same as incredible) 24hrs on Wifi only. And at least on Rezound you can do a rough hack to make it run 3G only - which gets you back to reasonable battery) On the GN - nothing; so unless you are in a wifi area alot - you are looking at unacceptable battery life. Why dont the carriers put a clean toggle on the damn phones (even the rezound isnt a clean switch)
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
6. Then there are a few other annoying things I noted.
-wifi reception is very weak (compared to other phones and devices)
-Headphone jack on bottom? USB on bottom. Both placements are bad for me.
-The back plate is cheaply made but it doesnt feel that way - the problem is that when you take it off, getting it back on makes you feel like you will break it - and likely you will (HTC system isnt much better - but it is better)
-Cant shut off the camera shutter sound
-NFC is useless (Verizons fault to be sure but still)
-taskbar notifications are so small you cant see them (I'm not old)
Anyway there maybe a few other things but I think I hit all the points.
To sum it up. I love Android and it seems that (at least with the GN) most of the Android pluses have been killed or mangled with ICS and then put into ill suited hardware. So I am going back to the Android I love in a nice solid package - Rezound.
appreciate your take on the Nexus.
As far as a 3g/4g switch, I think its more complicated than that. There are more than one choice for 3g and 4g, especially with at&t getting lte now. Canada also has at&t. It would have to be device specific for a switch to work.
Now, it would be nice for the carriers to have this as their add on though.
I pretty much agree with you review. I too came from an AMOLED Incredible.
The Nexus feels ok without a case, but far to slippery. I bought the phone with an Incipio case, and that makes the phone feel too big. I like that I can use my Incredible with one hand. Have you compared the screens side by side? I actually like the Incredible's screen more. I find that on the Nexus, even slightly tilting it, a blueish tint shows. Reading text on what should be a completely white background isn't great either.
As far as apps from the market, I've had one that's a little buggy with the task switcher, and one that took a few days to work with ICS. ICS is still new, and I'm sure it'll be a little before it gets better, but I prefer CM7 over plain ICS.
The MTP thing sucks too. This is because we don't have a real sdcard. I tried to copy mp3s to a certain folder, and they ended up in an other folder automatically. So I have to manually move them from the phone itself after.
I don't expect awesome battery life from the Nexus, or the Rezound, but I get 2 full days out of my Incredible on the stock battery.
Not only do I find reception weak compared to my Inc, but in an area with good service, 3G is about half of what my Inc could do. Only plus is wifi file tranfer seems faster. I don't have 4G coverage yet.
I've played a little more with the Rezound, and even with a case on it, it doesn't feel that much bigger than an Incredible 2.
So I might trade for a Rezound, just have to get used to SLCD.
You're making some great points about ICS here. It scares me because these changes seem pretty broad and potentially hard to fix. I guess we will have to see what CyanogenMod eventually does with it.
It seems like the soft buttons were one of your primary concerns with ICS. I wonder... because the rezound still has its 'hard' placed soft buttons, if that will take care of the issue you are seeing with ICS and the gnex. I was also concerned that the complete removal of the buttons actually a hindered the usage, it looks like it does.
I think the rezound with ICS will , by design, solve some of the problems we are seeing with the gnex and ICS. I trust that HTC will do it right.
I agree with the 'too thin' feeling. I had the droid charge before the rezound, so i know the what you are talking about. I constantly dropped the charge for the very reasons you mentioned. too slippery, too thin, the backplate always felt like it was going to break.
I think its a samsung thing to make the phones feel like that..
did you get a chance to try out the GPS, that has been the one thing that has kept me away from samsung more than anything else. Their damn GPS is essentially useless. It takes forever to lock, IF it locks at all.. There were times when I was using the charge that I could not get to the place I was trying to get too becuase the GPS would simply not cooperate (and I had that GPS fix crap too.. worthless)
I owned 4 droid charges in the 5 months or so that I had it, and -ever- -single- -one- had the problems i mentioned.
A friend of mine has the samsung captivate and has the EXACT same complaints. My neighbor has a samsung windows phone (not sure what model), and she complains of much the same thing (hard to hold, cheap feeling) and her GPS is WORSE than mine!!!
Samsung makes great screens, and thats about it. The Gnex should have been made by HTC and then Id be all over it, but as it stands now.. I stay away from samsung devices, they just dont seem to have the same solid design as HTC or even (gasp) motorola
1. ICS is not a disaster, just because it is new does not make it bad. Yes missing a search button is bad but there are already mods out there to correct this. There are two separate sections of the app drawer and if you don't like it get a new launcher, simple as that. ICS will take some getting used to as it is integrating larger Tablets with our smaller phones, things aren't going to be as similar as they were between the older OS's.
2. I actually strongly disagree here, the phone feels amazing in my hand. It is .1 inches wider than the Rezound, I find it hard to believe that that makes a huge difference. Also, the back is textured so I don't get how you think it is too slippery. Just because it doesn't fit right in YOUR hand doesn't mean the device has a terrible design.
3. Not even going into this, you cannot tell a devices battery life in the first week of owning it, it takes time to get it even'd out. Also, the Nexus's battery is almost 10% bigger (In terms of MAh) while still keeping the slimmer profile.
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
This is going to be the same thing with the Rezound when they update it to ICS. Get used to it until the Dev's start to update their apps. I understand the apps you use don't work on ICS, write the developer and tell them to get their ass in gear, as the Rezound will be getting ICS soon too.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
Can use my phone/USB card at the same time while copying stuff over. I like it. Also, it's plug and play so I don't get how it took you an hour to get it to work.
6:
6.A.Wifi is better than on my old HTC Device (Thunderbolt) but cannot compare to Rezound so you may be right.
6.B.Again another user preference, I prefer them there as it makes it easier to use the device while charging
6.C. Completely agree here, the Verizon rep almost broke my back plate off while putting it on, couldn't even watch while this was going on. Much better on HTC devices
6.D. Sure mods will take care of this
6.E. Just because YOU do not have a need for it doesn't mean other people don't. Used it probably 5 times in the 4 days of owning the device.
6.F. Fine for me, maybe you are?
Some phones just aren't for some people, glad you like your Rezound as it sounds like I am as happy as you but with my Nexus.
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
I tried the GPS once. I let it follow my random driving. It seemed to do ok. I wouldn't say the on screen buttons hinder operation, but they can be inconsistent between apps as far as placement, or if they're hidden for full screen apps. The task/recent button should be configurable in some way. If I use a lot of apps, every single app I used is in that list, even after I closed it.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not Useless GPS on the gnex, Useless GPS on samsung devices in general.
i know not all people have the same experiences with things. But you can google for Samsung GPS problems and find more articles on it than you can read.
My buddies captivate.. we can drive for 30 min across town and his phone will search for GPS signal the entire time. If we stop, and dont move for a few min, it will eventually lock, but when we start moving again, it drops.
Hes had 3 replacement captivates and they all do the same thing. I had the same exact problem with my Samsung charge, and my neighbor has the same problem with her winmo samsung phone.
Maybe the fixed it in the Gnex, I don't know. I don't have a gnex, all I do know is that all the Samsung phones I have seen and used have this problem, and it is corroborated by others all over the net.
the gnex might be a totally revolutionary device that has none of the problems of any other phone in the Samsung line. It might be that some people just have different tolerances for things that do or dont work.
for example, a friend of mine has the droid bionic, I look at his screen and it looks fuzzy and grainy and just.. ugly. He things it looks great, and cant stand the look of the rezound screen.
Really, all you can do is go with the masses for overall opinion, and then look at something yourself to make a true determination of what you do or don't like. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and nobody ever wipes good enough
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
blestsol said:
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was hostile I apologize, as I stated at the bottom (Sort of) it is his opinion and I am stating mine. Sorry to the OP, as always, different people have different opinions.
blestsol said:
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you don't like the camera??
~John
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
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Click to collapse
Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
miketoasty said:
Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
videos are actaully a good idea
I might do that lol. im bored as hell on xmass break
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, I usually have a lock before the map app finishes opening...
jmorton10 said:
you don't like the camera??
~John
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Click to collapse
Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
OK i tested signal and GPS on my Rezound vs the G - Nexus... Here are the conditions and results.
First the GPS lock...
Rezound smoked the gNex, Although I did not measure the time I woudl say the Rezound caught GPS about 15 seconds faster. Not a whole lot. And if your trip is hindering on 15 seconds then you might as well call yourself late... But the Rezound WAS faster....
Next Speedtest.net 4G transfer rate
Once again the Rezound smoked the gNex. Not sure why but the gNex was stuck at 3 to 4megabit download and 3 meg up.
The Rezound was hitting 10 to 12 down and 4 up.
All in all the connectivity on the Rezound is notably better. Just my two cents...
To make it fair I leveled the playing field before I tested:
To test the Nexus I stood right next to a 4G tower
To test the Rezound, I dug 150 deep 12 by 12 whole in my bak yard and filled it with cement... Rezound somewhere in the middle of all that cement... Connected using a remote control app...
Ok maybe thats not entirely the test circumstances...
I was actually in a VZW store and had them side by side, lol
My only other Samsung GPS experience was with the Omnia. With VZ Nav, lock was almost instant, with Google maps, lock was anywherw from 5 min to never.
blestsol said:
Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm any sample pictures? Nvm I'll just google them derp.
Go here if you want to remove the bloat.
Super easy.
http://www.theandroidsoul.com/htc-rezound-bloatware-removal-tool-─-cleantool-1-1/
---------- Post added at 07:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 AM ----------
I like my rezound way better than my nexus.
But I think, from a software point, it's too early to compare the two. This is the first time for ICS. There are going to be a lot of things that need to be ironed out. Google is going to learn a lot from the release of the Nexus. So until these little idiosyncrasies get ironed out you're bound to have some hickups on the nexus.
And sitting here with these two phones I can fully say that the nexus is more a developer phone and the rezound is more a consumers phone.
The nexus is really great for those that want to get in deep with customizing, romming modding whatever you call it. Rezound, with its super high PPI screen and Beats (whether you think its a gimmick or not) was designed for people that like to do a lot of media on their phone and watch videos without that jersey shore orange skin tone that amoleds give you.
There are some things with the nexus I don't get. Like why it doesn't have an SDCard... and why they chose to go with the camera that they did. But whatever... it's not THAT bad of a phone (cheap feeling build aside).
Once there are some more updates to ICS I think the Nexus will come into its own. And those of us that own a Rezound should be thankful ICS is getting a good run on the Nexus before we get the OTA "early next year" (yeah right HTC...)
Hey guys,
I know ill get a biased opinion here but my galaxy note just died on me and don't really want to get another as I see it as an opportunity to get something new.
The galaxy note was everything I wanted a real big screen and very quick. What I hated was the button placement of power and volume, plus I found it hard to adjust the volume without switching the phone off and vice versa. Also the fact I had no room on the bottom or sides to rest my fingers or manouver the phone, I would always accidently hit one of the capacitive buttons. And lastly the phone was very hard to use with one hand but that was expected and touch wiz is absolutely disgusting.
When I saw the one x come out I thought great I really like that phone looks good and specs are awesome. When I went to the phone shop and picked it up it didn't feel that good or even look as good as the photos. Yet as I was holding it my eyes kept peering over at a very good looking phone..the xperia s. As I was trying to examine the one x, my eyes couldn't stop looking at the xperia s. The one main downfall for me and the one x that I could see from holding the dummy phone was that i'd run into the same problem with not having enough room to rest my fingers down the bottom. I mean I can't understand what manufacturers are thinking when designing phones with capacitive buttons..I actually hate them but if they're gonna be there we need some room to where our fingers can avoid an accidental touch. With the galaxy series its worse because you can accidently hit the home button in your pocket as you pull the phone out and at the same time end up pressing the capacitive buttons...real frustrating.
Anyway I read through a few threads here namely the one regarding if anyone was dissapointed with their purchase and the one main downfall was the capacitive buttons only responding to precise touches, I for one would see that as an advantage
I guess my question is I was comparing this handset to the galaxy nexus which I hate because its only 16gb and has the same button layout as other sammy phones or the htc one x. The other thing that draws me to the xperia is not only is it damn sexier than both the others but the price here in aus is much better.
The HTC will fetch for around 650;
The nexus around the same as HTC;
And the xperia is around the 450 mark.
Huge difference, but it leads me to wonder is this Sony's top phone if so why is it so cheap? It was from my understanding, launched just this month along with the one x?
Would anyone here think I'd miss .3 of an inch in size that I'd get from the other two or is the screen/camera that much better in the other two to justify the massive price difference?
Thanks for any feedback
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1584736
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1611053&page=2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1606804
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1599273
Read this post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25140647&postcount=20
Many came from SGS2 or HTC One X to SXS and they are happy.
Read topics, there is many opinions.
Thanks for those links mate
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA
I came from the Samsung Galaxy S III and before that it was the iPhone 4, and iPhone 3g and before that Blackberry. I have been all over the place with phones and I get very excited when anyone releases the next huge phone. My main plan was to get the Galaxy S IV until it was actually revealed and I felt quite let down but what it was offering. I felt like they 'appled' things up by just making tiny upgrades just to get people to buy more of the same thing.
Then I read about the HTC One and was a bit skeptical. They were raving about the speakers and the Ultrapixel and all the other features and I just couldn't get past the fact it was HTC. My friend had the HTC One X and I saw how it lacked in updates and didn't have expandable storage or a removable battery. On my SIII I had an extended battery and would still manage to burn through it in a day of heavy usage. So even though I LOVED most of the things about the HTC One. I was scared of jumping ship and trying it.
As the weeks went on and the reviews came out I begun scouring the internet for every bit of information I could find on the HTC One. I read every review and I swear I surfed every forum and at the end of the day I was still impressed by the device and figured i could get over the lack of replaceable battery and extra space. So I made the leap and got the HTC One on AT&T.
I've had it a few days now and I'm still as impressed with this thing as I was when I was reading all the reviews on it. Everything from the 'BoomSound' to the 'Ultrapixel' camera was spot on like I read. The names of the cool features might be a marketing gimmick but they really are the things that make this phone stand out and make it unique.
BUILD QUALITY:
Do I even need to touch on this? Every review, every person who ever touched this device all same the same thing. That it truly is a sight to behold. Trying to put it up against my S III makes the S III look like a toy. This is one phone that I don't want to get a case for (and still haven't) because I think everyone needs to see the HTC One because this is how quality phones should be made. If you read the forums and some reviews they do mention there could be a slight gap around the plastic antenna band, and on mine that is also true. But it is SO tiny on mine that I don't even think it's an issue.
BLINK FEED/SENSE 5:
I have never used an HTC phone with Sense before, coming from the Galaxy S III SENSE is a HUGE step up from what Samsung had. I would often through CM10 or AOKP on my SIII just to get rid of the horrid UI on the S III. I read in reviews that blink feed was almost worthless and most people wouldn't use it and so I figured that be the case for me too...but the crazy part is, I actually DO use it! While I am sitting at work waiting for something to happen or I'm at dinner waiting to order I'm actually finding myself unlocking my phone and seeing what is going on with the world through Blink Feed. I LOVE RSS readers and being on top of things and Blink Feed helps with this without me having to even load up a third party app or anything. While Blink Feed is good they do need to open it up to allow me to import my RSS feeds and what not (like flip board, etc). Blink feed isn't perfect but I'm surprised by how much I actually use it.
On to Sense 5 I am quite impressed with it. Typically I'll throw Apex or Nova launcher on top of the UI and be done with it but after putting Nova on it for half a day I actually ended up uninstalling it. Part of it was so I could have Blink Feed back but the other part is I liked the overall look of Sense 5. It was clean and the buttons were nice. I wish I could use the Sense 5 icon for internet on instead of the look of the Chrome button since that's what I use and chrome now sticks out like a sore thumb on the dock, but I can live with that. Sense has done some nice things in the app locker section by letting you easily search for apps/hide apps and even put apps in folders. I've found that I use Blinkfeed as my main screen and the app launcher as my 'second screen'. I don't even bother swiping over any more to show more home screens.
CAMERA
The camera was the real reason I was excited about this phone. It was something different and something that sounded amazing on paper. HTC was doing something radically different and instead of going the way of the MegaPixel war, HTC was bypassing it completely. And for me, their bet has paid off. This camera will not be for everyone. For people who want amazing clear and detailed pictures then 4MP will probably not be enough. But I'm the kind of person who likes capturing the moments through out my day and sharing them with friends on FB or on G+. I like taking pictures during almost everything and the HTC One helps me with that tremendously.
Zoe mode is a nice change of pace where instead of just capturing a still pic it does the still with 3 seconds of video/sound. This allows you to then find the perfect picture in the 3 second period and edit and save that or even do things such as picking the best face from people in the photo and combining it into one, removing objects in the background, actually making peoples faces skinnier and many other tweaks. There are some options I don't think I'll ever use such as the option to make eyes bigger but I've used it to make funny pictures of my family by making them look like aliens!
The highlight reel is pretty neat and I find myself creating them and posting them to facebook. I think it was completely stupid of HTC to only include 4 themes and make it that you can't use custom music/themes but I have my fingers crossed that that functionality is coming. The highlight reel is a lot like the blink feed. It's a great start to something that can really shine, but HTC needs to get off it's butt and finish it to make it stand above the crowd.
The UI for the camera isn't very pretty or intuitive but the amount of options it offers easily makes up for it. Coming from the SIII it's pretty cool to be able to change everything about the camera settings and it allows people who take the time to learn to capture some pretty impressive shots. Even on full auto it takes good pictures but I think that one will need to learn to adjust the settings based on the situation they are in to get the best photos possible.
The lowlight shooting is hands down amazing. I was able to take a shot around 830 at night after the sun set, the cars on the road had their headlights on and the street lights on the side of the road were on, but the HTC One captured enough light to make it look like the sun was still out. It is crazy how much light this camera captures and when you're like me and love capturing photos of your kids in the house and might not always be in perfect lighting, then this phone is fantastic. Thanks to the quick capturing taking pictures of fast moving objects is also quite enjoyable. On the SIII (not so much on the iPhone) capturing moving objects would lead to very blurry photos, that isn't the case on the One.
I know this section got a bit big but I just wanted to run down some things about it. I didn't even mention the slow motion video, the hdr, the video hdr and other things such as the sequence shot. I have used the HDR pictures (there is a tweak out there on custom roms to enable front camera HDR too) and it's QUICK. The slow motion video makes the video quality really bad but it's still a fun effect. The camera is just something you need to use to be able to fully comprehend. I'll take a photo of something and show someone and they look at me like I'm crazy because they don't understand why I'm so excited about the picture. It's hard to describe just how low the lighting was in it and how awesome the One captured the photo.
BOOM SOUND/MICS:
Stupid name, awesome feature. I never understood why phones put the speakers on the back/bottom. It never made sense. The screen is on the front so why would I want the sound coming from a different location?! On the iPhones the speaker was on the bottom and on the S III it was on the back and I'd have to do this weird cupping movement with my hand to get the sound to make it around to the front of the phone just so I could actually hear what I was watching! And if I put the phone down some where then it'd get all muffled and horrible. The One does not have this problem at all. I'd say the front speakers can be on par with some netbooks/tablets if not louder. This makes watching videos/listening to music or even taking speaker calls a very good experience. It also has dual membrane mics that do a great job at making sure that you're recording sounds of things you actually want to record. Apparently the company that made them for HTC is being sued in Europe because they were supposed to wait 12 months to use them in another phone, but HTC isn't being held liable in that because HTC had no idea.
Now most of this review seems like it's all glowing and perfect for the One but it does have some issues. Things such as Blink Feed and the Highlight Reel (2 huge features HTC touted) feeling like they aren't finished. Or the fact the LED is only 2 colors (I miss being able to have the Notification LED on the S III let me know exactly what the notification was for before I even had the phone in my hand). I also know this isn't a big thing but I always feel like I'm going to scratch the phone when I set it down someplace just because of the noise it makes. Hard to describe but when you put something metal down it makes quite a bit of noise. I know it won't scratch or anything, but in my mind I can't convince myself it won't!
At the end of the day, I'm in love with the phone. It fits me and my life style perfectly and it captures why I love smart phones. I don't take pictures of my food but I spend a lot of my day capturing memories and sharing them with the people close to me. The HTC One makes doing that and keeping it organized thanks to events very easy! I would still recommend the S III to anyone that wants a great cheaper phone (specially since the price has dropped on it). But if someone asks me what the best phone in, I will say the HTC One without hesitating.
Same thing was going on with me, but I knew HTC always made high quality build phones. I took the jump from an N4 and haven't looked back. Your review was awesome and right on par with my thoughts about this phone too.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium HD app
Great little review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. I'm trying to hold off on getting the One, but I don't think I can after seeing it all over the place. The thing just looks too damn nice. I'm also really over the plastic body of the S3.
I got a question for ya though.. How is multitasking on the One? I completely hated it on the One X and even ended up returning the phone. I wouldn't even call it multitasking tbh. Dunno if you ever used the One X, but I was curious if any of the problems still persist.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
ovoxo. said:
Great little review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. I'm trying to hold off on getting the One, but I don't think I can after seeing it all over the place. The thing just looks too damn nice. I'm also really over the plastic body of the S3.
I got a question for ya though.. How is multitasking on the One? I completely hated it on the One X and even ended up returning the phone. I wouldn't even call it multitasking tbh. Dunno if you ever used the One X, but I was curious if any of the problems still persist.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
The multitasking was one of the things that turned me off about that phone. From what I heard it'd start closing things after you had one or two things open. With the One I haven't noticed anything like that and when I open my 'Open Apps' by double tapping home it is always full. Now it only shows 9 open apps at any given time. I'm not sure if it closes other apps if you get over that number or not. But if that's the case it hasn't affected my use at all. Maybe HTC wised up after the bad reviews or maybe it's because it has better memory management.
Thanks for the review robamacaf! Well written and very informative.
I have also grown tired of Samsung plastics and gimmicks. My recent devices have been HTC One X, iPhone 5, Galaxy S3, and a Galaxy Note 2.
HTC has always made nice hardware. Dare I say that even the One X had pretty good build quality when compared to the S3.
Like you, I assumed one of the 1st things I would do on the One would be to find a way to rid myself of BlinkFeed. That crazy thing happened to me as well and now I find myself using it and loving it.
Thanks for the awesome review!
Serial: FA34CW...
Not sure if I'm so anal to replace it but i notice it. What would the reason for exchange be?
most htc one do have overhang at the top front metal and a little gap, mine too!
Yep, top left. Its not that noticeable, and no LCD light bleed like some others. Thank God. Should count my blessings I guess /
GO ONE!
mettleh3d said:
Yep, top left. Its not that noticeable, and no LCD light bleed like some others. Thank God. Should count my blessings I guess /
GO ONE!
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Click to collapse
Same here, no light bleed. But the top is just about flush, and just about no air gap also. FA345W here.
J-Hop2o6 said:
Same here, no light bleed. But the top is just about flush, and just about no air gap also. FA345W here.
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Click to collapse
FA34D, slight overhang on the top right and bottom right, otherwise quite perfect. Not sure where the light leaks out of, but I don't notice any leakage; nothing as bad as the capacitive buttons leaking through to the screen on my Amaze.
Edit: had the wrong corners identified.
I've got overhang on top left, but it's so minor to me I don't care. Plus with the fact that a lot of other people are reporting the same makes me feel better. Everything else on this phone is PERFECT, and I'm OCD about this stuff. :good:
FA34DW
I have overhang on my "unit", the misses loves it
FA34EW absolutely no overhang of gaps. Second one I ordered for my wife did so I sent it back. Waiting for it to come back.
oryan_dunn said:
FA34D, slight overhang on the top right and bottom right, otherwise quite perfect. Not sure where the light leaks out of, but I don't notice any leakage; nothing as bad as the capacitive buttons leaking through to the screen on my Amaze.
Edit: had the wrong corners identified.
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Click to collapse
My FA34D had plastic that looked shoddy, large gaps between plastic and top speaker cover piece on both ends, and a gash in the speaker aluminium on the botton right. Disappointed; It's going back. Can't comment on speaker/glass since I have not taken the plastic off yet.
Just returned mine. Got a Galaxy Note 2.
The full hd screen on the htc didnt make any difference in my eyes, and the phone was getting hot and loosing battery fast.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
samomamo said:
Just returned mine. Got a Galaxy Note 2.
The full hd screen on the htc didnt make any difference in my eyes, and the phone was getting hot and loosing battery fast.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
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May i ask why did you returned your htc? Did you have any problems with the phone?
angel.mariano said:
May i ask why did you returned your htc? Did you have any problems with the phone?
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Click to collapse
Ok I love all the android phones, last year I purchased almost all the top high end phones like HTC one x, x+, GS2, 3, Nexus 4 and so on. I get tired from the phones onece I play with all the roms, so I sell them on Craigslist for little cheaper(I take the loss) and add money and buy a new phone. I own the GS3 for almost 6 months, this is the only phone I kept for that long and still love it. So when I saw what GS4 was like and the HTC I decided to get the htc one because the GS4 looked like GS3s
Anyway I tought the HD screen is going ro be a big deal and the aluminum HTC one looked like high quality, but I used it for 5 days and I faund that htc still doing garbage quality control. The phone is looong thebpower botton is very high, and i have big hands. The phone gets hot when I start using, the battery drains (I almost disabled all the apps). 2 dead pixels and so one. So decided to return and never ever get HTC, becuse every time I buy HTC all the time it has toooo many defects. Mytouch 4g, htc one x and one x+. I exchanged the one x for 5 times so I dont want to go tru that anymore.
This is my opinion. Sorry if it was long.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
samomamo said:
Ok I love all the android phones, last year I purchased almost all the top high end phones like HTC one x, x+, GS2, 3, Nexus 4 and so on. I get tired from the phones onece I play with all the roms, so I sell them on Craigslist for little cheaper(I take the loss) and add money and buy a new phone. I own the GS3 for almost 6 months, this is the only phone I kept for that long and still love it. So when I saw what GS4 was like and the HTC I decided to get the htc one because the GS4 looked like GS3s
Anyway I tought the HD screen is going ro be a big deal and the aluminum HTC one looked like high quality, but I used it for 5 days and I faund that htc still doing garbage quality control. The phone is looong thebpower botton is very high, and i have big hands. The phone gets hot when I start using, the battery drains (I almost disabled all the apps). 2 dead pixels and so one. So decided to return and never ever get HTC, becuse every time I buy HTC all the time it has toooo many defects. Mytouch 4g, htc one x and one x+. I exchanged the one x for 5 times so I dont want to go tru that anymore.
This is my opinion. Sorry if it was long.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
No problem.. I enjoyed reading your post, everybody have their own opinions... im getting the htc one next week so i wanted to hear a different opinion i think is a great phone , and i will love it .. The only htc phone i had was the hd2 and i looved that phone, actually the htc one reminds me of the hd2
samomamo said:
Ok I love all the android phones, last year I purchased almost all the top high end phones like HTC one x, x+, GS2, 3, Nexus 4 and so on. I get tired from the phones onece I play with all the roms, so I sell them on Craigslist for little cheaper(I take the loss) and add money and buy a new phone. I own the GS3 for almost 6 months, this is the only phone I kept for that long and still love it. So when I saw what GS4 was like and the HTC I decided to get the htc one because the GS4 looked like GS3s
Anyway I tought the HD screen is going ro be a big deal and the aluminum HTC one looked like high quality, but I used it for 5 days and I faund that htc still doing garbage quality control. The phone is looong thebpower botton is very high, and i have big hands. The phone gets hot when I start using, the battery drains (I almost disabled all the apps). 2 dead pixels and so one. So decided to return and never ever get HTC, becuse every time I buy HTC all the time it has toooo many defects. Mytouch 4g, htc one x and one x+. I exchanged the one x for 5 times so I dont want to go tru that anymore.
This is my opinion. Sorry if it was long.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I for one am not going to bash on someone who simply has a different liking. I have been lucky with HTC; out of my last 4 phones, I only had to exchange one (my HD2) because it was overheating. I always liked HTC build and designs.
Hey all,
I'm just posting to see how many people have noticed HTC's poor quality control for the One. I went through 4 of these before finally giving in and just returning. I visited three different best buys in order to try to find a decent One. I love the phone, the way it looks, the way it sounds. My first phone had crackling coming through the speakers and gaps all around the edges, so I returned that. My second had glue coming out around the sides of the phone and a few stuck pixels. I also want to throw in that none of the One's I saw had the top of the display glass level with the phone. It was always sticking up and my finger would run against it when pulling the notification slide down. My third had a bunch of stuck pixels and I noticed that the screen was slightly yellow. I don't know if that comes from HTC using two different suppliers for their phone displays, but I'd imagine that was the case. Final One had one stuck pixel up top in the status bar. I was okay with that stuck pixel though, it wasn't in a very noticeable area so I decided to let it go. This phone still had crackling coming through the speakers but only on youtube with beats audio turned on. I'm guessing that is just a software issue as all my Ones had experienced that. I went to watch YouTube a few days after I got the phone and during the black loading screen before a video I noticed a few more pixels had become stuck.
I downloaded a pixel test and fixer app and tested with the black screen. My One had developed at least 10 stuck pixels all over the display. I consider that a sign of the display failing. Running the stuck pixel fixer did nothing to help. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The One is the nicest, most unique idea for a phone I've ever seen. I really want a good one but I haven't been able to find a single one without issues. At bestbuy for the third one, the mobile specialist even opened their entire stock for me looking at each phone and was flabbergasted by all the issues we were finding with the phones.
So has anyone else had as many issues as I have? My builds were all from mid to late April in their build numbers. I'm just so disappointed, I want the One but am not going to pay for something that I feel isn't up the standards that it should be. I may go with the Galaxy but I just know I'll always be disappointed that I didn't get the One. I've tested the Galaxy, the speakers are obviously worse, the headphone sound isn't as crisp and the screen isn't as nice.
TL; DR: I returned four HTC Ones all due to different issues and am wondering if anyone else has had any of the same issues. I'm not trolling, I'm honestly disappointed.
This topic has been discussed countless times. Do we need another thread?
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martyagt4 said:
Yes. People should know that HTC can not make high quality phones. Gap riddled "gapless" phones. Capacitive buttons that don't work half the time (like the Nexus One.. they didn't learn? wtf..). Too much glue? Glass that isn't flush??
At best this is a $100 phone. Shame on HTC trying to charge for the junk they produce. Flagship phones should be flawless at this price point. Yes, the oddball phone will sneak through QC, but it's ridiculous already.
That being said, the insides are awesome. I absolutely looooove the battery life I get from this phone. Front facing speakers are a no brainer, and I can't believe no one did it yet.
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Were you able to find a phone with no blatant flaws? If so I'm extremely jealous...
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keving9012 said:
Were you able to find a phone with no blatant flaws? If so I'm extremely jealous...
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Mine was flawless first try
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
The top of my phone's screen is not flush with the speaker grill. Not a huge issue. I live with it. I can probably sell this phone used for $400 when the nexus 5 comes out and get that.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
my only issue is that the top of the phone there is a gap between the aluminum and the plastic, gapless my a$$ still love the phone though, came from iPhone 5, had iPhone since day 1
Yea I bought a black 32gb last week and it's literally flawless. Zero gaps and no dead pixels.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Mine has been flawless
Mines flawless. Instead of hollering about it on a forum I would take it back to att and have a Congo line of new ones and check every one of them till I see one I like
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
paniro187 said:
Mines flawless. Instead of hollering about it on a forum I would take it back to att and have a Congo line of new ones and check every one of them till I see one I like
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Mines flawless also.No gaps or dead pixels
Do you guys know the odds of getting 4 bad ones in a row are.
Not,saying it didnt happen, but, the stars wouldve had to align against you , to recieve 4 bad phones in a row,
Mine is excellent except for the left side glass isn't as flush as the right. I only notice it once in a while when dragging from the top so I can live with it.
Im curious,
After the 4 bad Ones, did you end up with a new phone
keving9012 said:
Hey all,
I'm just posting to see how many people have noticed HTC's poor quality control for the One. I went through 4 of these before finally giving in and just returning. I visited three different best buys in order to try to find a decent One. I love the phone, the way it looks, the way it sounds. My first phone had crackling coming through the speakers and gaps all around the edges, so I returned that. My second had glue coming out around the sides of the phone and a few stuck pixels. I also want to throw in that none of the One's I saw had the top of the display glass level with the phone. It was always sticking up and my finger would run against it when pulling the notification slide down. My third had a bunch of stuck pixels and I noticed that the screen was slightly yellow. I don't know if that comes from HTC using two different suppliers for their phone displays, but I'd imagine that was the case. Final One had one stuck pixel up top in the status bar. I was okay with that stuck pixel though, it wasn't in a very noticeable area so I decided to let it go. This phone still had crackling coming through the speakers but only on youtube with beats audio turned on. I'm guessing that is just a software issue as all my Ones had experienced that. I went to watch YouTube a few days after I got the phone and during the black loading screen before a video I noticed a few more pixels had become stuck.
I downloaded a pixel test and fixer app and tested with the black screen. My One had developed at least 10 stuck pixels all over the display. I consider that a sign of the display failing. Running the stuck pixel fixer did nothing to help. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The One is the nicest, most unique idea for a phone I've ever seen. I really want a good one but I haven't been able to find a single one without issues. At bestbuy for the third one, the mobile specialist even opened their entire stock for me looking at each phone and was flabbergasted by all the issues we were finding with the phones.
So has anyone else had as many issues as I have? My builds were all from mid to late April in their build numbers. I'm just so disappointed, I want the One but am not going to pay for something that I feel isn't up the standards that it should be. I may go with the Galaxy but I just know I'll always be disappointed that I didn't get the One. I've tested the Galaxy, the speakers are obviously worse, the headphone sound isn't as crisp and the screen isn't as nice.
TL; DR: I returned four HTC Ones all due to different issues and am wondering if anyone else has had any of the same issues. I'm not trolling, I'm honestly disappointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First one no wc issues
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
randalltroy said:
Im curious,
After the 4 bad Ones, did you end up with a new phone
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Click to collapse
I seriously think the stars did align against me with that phone. I just read on the forum that the black version isn't seeing as many defects as the silver? Does anyone know if this is true? I originally purchased the phone from Best Buy and they did bring out every silver One they had and the sales rep and I did find defects with all except one. That one had the stuck pixel that turned into more. So I ended up returning and going to AT&T yesterday. I asked them about the one and said I've been having problems with the quality on my last few. They said unfortunately they would only be able to open one for me and I would only be able to exchange it once if there were problems. That line kind of sounded like BS to me, especially since I saw a woman come in with a smashed iPhone and no insurance she got earlier that day that they were willing to commit insurance fraud for...So I ended up getting the S4 for now. I still think the one is a better phone and I know I'm going to regret not getting it. If the issue is truly more with the silver version I'd gladly pay the restocking fee to exchange for the One.
What really bums me out is that I wasn't even going to upgrade my phone until I saw the One. I had the S3 and was ok with it, other than my battery life being garbage. When I saw the one and started messing around with it I loved it so I got it. Then the issues came and now I have the S4, which is a good phone. Its just not very different from the S3. My girlfriend actually picked up the S3 and handed it to me as we were going to bed last night thinking it was my new phone.
Sounds like OP is trolling.
4 defective phones?
You must be looking for problems. 4 straight screens with dead pixels?
Pics, or it didn't happen.
That is to bad
We have both the HTC one and a galaxy s4 in our household.we just switched to At&t from T-Mobile, she actually started out on s3, which died after 3 days
My wife now has the s4, and I have the One, she wishes she had got one instead.
So I have got to use both pretty extensively, and I greatly prefer the One over the S4.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium HD app
I'm pretty sure you're getting screwed because exchanges are usually refurbs that haven't actually been fixed to eliminate defects
You're just getting other people's defective devices.