Anandtech's HTC One Review is up!

[s44]

lol i somehow hope this is a mistake and that Brian selected the wrong batch of phones to compare...

It's not. It's an intentional trick they do to boost the subjective impression of phones they favor.

Look at the comparison list for the iPhone 5 hotspot test vs the Galaxy S3 one -- which was months before. Yup, you guessed it. The iDevice gets the same absurdly pointless list as the One.

Then, a week after the i5 review, the Note 2 one goes up with no hotspot test whatsoever.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Isn't the One essentially a write-off if the screen gets broken? Carry one around without a case/insurance and you're nuts imo.

any phone is a write-off if the screen gets broken. The One even more so. Ok, I mean you're not totally screwed with other phones, but the typical $150 you need to repair one is pretty much annoying for most. I just don't get the attitude about cases. Some feel like they need it. Others feel like they don't. It just depends.

 

[WelshBloke]

any phone is a write-off if the screen gets broken. The One even more so. Ok, I mean you're not totally screwed with other phones, but the typical $150 you need to repair one is pretty much annoying for most. I just don't get the attitude about cases. Some feel like they need it. Others feel like they don't. It just depends.

It's pretty easy to swap out the screen on most phones. $150 is much better than buying a new phone.

 

[ponyo]

It's not. It's an intentional trick they do to boost the subjective impression of phones they favor.

Look at the comparison list for the iPhone 5 hotspot test vs the Galaxy S3 one -- which was months before. Yup, you guessed it. The iDevice gets the same absurdly pointless list as the One.

Then, a week after the i5 review, the Note 2 one goes up with no hotspot test whatsoever.

I noticed that in past reviews and it always bugged me. Great example with the iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 hotspot comparison chart.

 

[poofyhairguy]

If the SGS4 ends up significantly outselling the One the "BUILD MATERIALS MATTER!" section of nerdom is gonna flip.

 

[lopri]

Well the review you ask for is not AT style, and i perfectly agree about the weakness you describe. I prefer the info, when it as here is used together with good analysis. I i dont think you get the info without some sort of bias, a little intended but especially not intended. That would be naive. I will make my own judgement and think people can do themselves, especially the ones going to AT and reading this sort of review. If people can understand the technical talk, they can judge the rest.
Besides the reviewer is not some objective meassuring instrument, and that adds. to the above.

To that end, what do you think of the following assessment? I've just started reading the whole review page by page, and this is where I am now (pg. 4). I don't know whether this is an agreeable opinion given what I've seen elsewhere.

While some may decry the tradeoff of resolution for sensitivity and dynamic range, the reality is that we live in a world dominated by displays that are either 1080p, slightly above, or share via web-based services that dramatically downscale images for bandwidth reasons. The question is then how much resolution is really necessary given predominately electronic displays start to finish and lack of much printing or enlargement. At least for my workflow, 4 or 5 MP seems more than adequate for most sharing, especially if it’s sharp and ends up having good dynamic range, and that’s still enough resolution to downsample to 1080p and get an even sharper-looking image. There’s also a case to be made for storage requirements which are lighter and so on, but most of that is obvious. The benefits from having more sensor sensitivity are also immediate – no need to fire the distracting flash in a restaurant or at a party, shorter exposure times with less blurring, quicker follow up shots, more accurate preview, and so on.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

If the SGS4 ends up significantly outselling the One the "BUILD MATERIALS MATTER!" section of nerdom is gonna flip.

The masses don't really care about "a better product." They care about other factors that don't necessarily equate to a good product such as popularity, image, hipness. Marketing does wonder. I mean clearly based on iPhone sales, large screens don't matter and nor does true multitasking and nor does openness. If you took brand name out of it and made a user hold a HTC One versus an S4, I think the One would win.

 

[s44]

If you took brand name out of it and made a user hold a HTC One versus an S4, I think the One would win.

Only if they were off.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Only if they were off.

well i was addressing the build issue. if they were on there are other factors such as screen and software at stake... i personally would still choose the One, but that's just me. I wouldn't say it's a clear cut win for the S4

 

[krumme]

lol i somehow hope this is a mistake and that Brian selected the wrong batch of phones to compare... because you're right. other than the iphone 5 and droid dna, everything is old as dirt... LG Revolution LOL. Nexus One.

+1
Not good.
(edit but anyway go to gsmarena to get the real battery comparisons)

 

[Skurge]

any phone is a write-off if the screen gets broken. The One even more so. Ok, I mean you're not totally screwed with other phones, but the typical $150 you need to repair one is pretty much annoying for most. I just don't get the attitude about cases. Some feel like they need it. Others feel like they don't. It just depends.

Not really. Outside the US where a lot of phones are bought unlocked, $150 is nothing compared to $649 for a new phone. The iphone 5 takes 5mins to repair a cracked display. SGS3 takes longer, but no more than 20mins. The One is a complete write off. The Aluminium Uni body can get seriously deformed from a drop. Everybody hates on Plastic, but i'd have a polycarbonate phone any day of the week it will keep it's shape after a heavy drop.

 

[Red Storm]

The masses don't really care about "a better product." They care about other factors that don't necessarily equate to a good product such as popularity, image, hipness. Marketing does wonder. I mean clearly based on iPhone sales, large screens don't matter and nor does true multitasking and nor does openness. If you took brand name out of it and made a user hold a HTC One versus an S4, I think the One would win.

If you had said "better materials" like in the quote you posted I might have agreed, but you said "better product" which is way more subjective, and in my opinion, flat out wrong.

If the SGS4 ends up significantly outselling the One the "BUILD MATERIALS MATTER!" section of nerdom is gonna flip.

I don't think there's any doubt that it's going to outsell the One.

 

[ChronoReverse]

I don't think there's any doubt that it's going to outsell the One.

HTC wouldn't be able to build enough One's to even come close to what Samsung is going to sell. It's just something that Samsung has an absurdly large advantage in.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The masses don't really care about "a better product." They care about other factors that don't necessarily equate to a good product such as popularity, image, hipness. Marketing does wonder. I mean clearly based on iPhone sales, large screens don't matter and nor does true multitasking and nor does openness. If you took brand name out of it and made a user hold a HTC One versus an S4, I think the One would win.

I agree with all of this. Good points.

 

[QueBert]

Isn't the One essentially a write-off if the screen gets broken? Carry one around without a case/insurance and you're nuts imo.

How about you just practice being careful? I will sell my case-less Nexus 4 in a year and it will still look almost brand new. It's really not hard to not drop and break a phone. Well, for me any ways *shrug*

 

[ControlD]

How about you just practice being careful? I will sell my case-less Nexus 4 in a year and it will still look almost brand new. It's really not hard to not drop and break a phone. Well, for me any ways *shrug*

I'm sure almost everyone says that right up until the time that they drop and break their phone.

 

[QueBert]

I'm sure almost everyone says that right up until the time that they drop and break their phone.

If I drop and break my Nexus 4 I drop and break it. I've never dropped and broke a phone before. While it absolutely could happen, I'm not going to put a bulky, ugly case (all cases are ugly imho) for something that might one day happen. If I had that sort of thinking all along I would have had ugly cases on my phones for a decade now, without ever actually needing one.

 

[poofyhairguy]

If I drop and break my Nexus 4 I drop and break it. I've never dropped and broke a phone before. While it absolutely could happen, I'm not going to put a bulky, ugly case (all cases are ugly imho) for something that might one day happen. If I had that sort of thinking all along I would have had ugly cases on my phones for a decade now, without ever actually needing one.

You obviously aren't a clumsy person. Yay for you, nice gene pool.

Some of us are clumsy. I try hard to not drop my phone and I still do it at least once a month.

Therefore every phone I will ever have will have a case until they start making phones out of TPU and rubber. And I will take tough plastic over glass as a phone material every day of the week for this reason.

 

[WelshBloke]

If I drop and break my Nexus 4 I drop and break it. I've never dropped and broke a phone before. While it absolutely could happen, I'm not going to put a bulky, ugly case (all cases are ugly imho) for something that might one day happen. If I had that sort of thinking all along I would have had ugly cases on my phones for a decade now, without ever actually needing one.

I thought the only Android phone you'd consider was the HTC one. What changed?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

If you had said "better materials" like in the quote you posted I might have agreed, but you said "better product" which is way more subjective, and in my opinion, flat out wrong.

What I mean by that is an objectively better camera and objectively better CPU. People don't care about that. They don't buy the iPad 4 because it's got the best GPU. They don't buy the Nexus 4 because it has more RAM than any other phone.

Ainol could come up with a phone that outperforms the S4 in every way, and no one will care. Other factors are more important to the masses. It'd be nice if everyone was out for THE best phone.

 

[Silenus]

What I mean by that is an objectively better camera and objectively better CPU. People don't care about that. They don't buy the iPad 4 because it's got the best GPU. They don't buy the Nexus 4 because it has more RAM than any other phone.

Ainol could come up with a phone that outperforms the S4 in every way, and no one will care. Other factors are more important to the masses. It'd be nice if everyone was out for THE best phone.

In other words...it's marketing that matters. :/ And that of course it what Samsung (and Apple) spend billions and billions on.

 

[Skurge]

In other words...it's marketing that matters. :/ And that of course it what Samsung (and Apple) spend billions and billions on.

Billions they made by selling the best phones. They aren't where they are cause of marketing only. They had the best ones on each platform for a few cycles and they capitlised on that and they are using that advantage the gained long ago to not squander it like Nokia and HTC have done.

To be honest you can't really go wrong with either phone. It's not like one phone is terrible and the other is great. They are both great phones with pros and cons. Samsung will win out in the end cause of marketing as you say and they fact that people expect each galaxy to be one of the best if not the best phone money can buy at the time and Samsung have yet to disappoint.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Samsung may have reached the masses with marketing but they've also made it easy for the tweaking crowd that I belong to.

I couldn't believe how much easier it is than the HTC phones I was on before to root and custom ROM my Note when I first got it. No s-off crap or pulling out my microsd or weird root exploits that come out months later. Just ODIN from the day 1 and away we go.


HTC may have lost the mass market because they couldn't afford as much advertising but they've also lost a lot of the enthusiasts despite all the goodwill they've built up.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Samsung may have reached the masses with marketing but they've also made it easy for the tweaking crowd that I belong to.

I couldn't believe how much easier it is than the HTC phones I was on before to root and custom ROM my Note when I first got it. No s-off crap or pulling out my microsd or weird root exploits that come out months later. Just ODIN from the day 1 and away we go.


HTC may have lost the mass market because they couldn't afford as much advertising but they've also lost a lot of the enthusiasts despite all the goodwill they've built up.

Samsung's big success is that they made it so they are the "iPhone Alternative." Rather than being iOS vs Android, Samsung has made it so its "Apple's Current iPhone vs Samsung's current Galaxy S or Note." They have created the first Android phone line that is a brand beyond Android.

As far as the hackibility, I just don't know if I could do without that. My SGS2 is just SOOOOO easy to ROM, I never want to go back. My tablet has a locked bootloader and I will never go that route again!

 

[Skurge]

Samsung's big success is that they made it so they are the "iPhone Alternative." Rather than being iOS vs Android, Samsung has made it so its "Apple's Current iPhone vs Samsung's current Galaxy S or Note." They have created the first Android phone line that is a brand beyond Android.

As far as the hackibility, I just don't know if I could do without that. My SGS2 is just SOOOOO easy to ROM, I never want to go back. My tablet has a locked bootloader and I will never go that route again!

Yep, that's why it's either a Nexus or a Galaxy for me. I mean the SGS4 already has a root available and I'm sure it will take you 2mins to do with ODIN.