HTC One and Galaxy S4 Google play edition came out today...

[ibex333]

And yet, people are unhappy?!

So I am looking at the Cnet reviews, and both basically say the same thing. Both phones are overpriced for what they are, which is stripped of all the HTC/Samsung "goodies". Such as additional camera software and some such.

But wait.. WTF?

First people were complaining about how both phones were bloated with all that extra software, and now they are complaining about the lack of it?

One of the biggest problems with the Galaxy S4 were its constant, annoying lag... and now, that lag is "hopefully", "probably" gone! So what's all the distaste about?

We no longer have useless crap like those camera features where you get to put your face into the frame or the S-Heath app, which wasn't all that great to begin with. (I used it extensively)

In the end, according to c-net, the new phones are mostly just for the "Android Maniacs". I am not a maniac at all, and yet I am seriously considering getting one.

The only thing I can agree with is the steep price tag. But then again, you are getting an unlocked phone off contract! I think that's worth the extra $$$.

Then again, getting a "Google version" of the S4 minus the more powerful hardware and the unlock is as easy as installing Cyanogen Mod on Galaxy SIII.


Anyway, what do you guys think? Are you buying the Google HTC on or the Galaxy S4? Are you excited at all about these phones?

 

[zerogear]

> CNET Reviews

You have your answer right there.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Cnet is usually the last place I go to for tech news. I did watch Engadget's brief hands on with both phones today and they seemed more upbeat.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/samsung-galaxy-s-4-google-play-edition-hands-on-video/

They noted the phones do have a smoother experience with stock Android. They only negative I heard was they aren't happy with Android's stock camera app, but did note some slight UI change in the camera app over the Nexus 4.

 

[VashHT]

Yeah CNET does terrible reviews, most other sites I've seen are saying the GE phones are smoother and faster than their skinned counterparts and of course saying stock android looks a lot better than either skin.

I'm pretty tempted to go with the HTC one GE, but I'd probably just buy the ATT 64Gb version and flash the rom/kernel from the GE model. I don't really need it unlocked so I don't care much about that, and I'm always running roms anyways so I don't care if I have to flash each update instead of getting it OTA.

 

[vshah]

bring on the roms!

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

anyone here buy yet?

 

[zerogear]

I think I will just load the stock RUU on my HTC one dev edition when that comes out.

 

[hans030390]

I think this is good news. I'm hoping someone will eventually create a ROM for my T-Mobile HTC One that does the following:

1. Stock Android 4.2 (or whatever the latest version is at the time)
2. HTC One stock/Sense camera app
3. BlinkFeed (it's great for boredom and sitting on the toilet)
4. Wi-Fi calling support. Probably the best feature of the TMo HTC One

 

[WelshBloke]

And yet, people are unhappy?!

...

But wait.. WTF?

First people were complaining about how both phones were bloated with all that extra software, and now they are complaining about the lack of it?...

I know it's weird isn't it. It's like there's multiple people with differing opinions that might be interested in these phones or something.

Personally given the choice of the two I'll stick with the skinned version and debloat it myself but I can't argue that the choice isn't great.

My ideal would be a skinned version that comes either with a minimum of manufacturer apps and the ability to download them from the play store or they make everything installed as user apps and uninstallable by non rooted users.

 

[Ravynmagi]

http://phandroid.com/2013/06/26/google-play-edition-htc-one-samsung-galaxy-s4-no-google-updates

Hmm... These phones won't get updates directly from Google after all. So we'll still be at the mercy of HTC and Samsung for the mostly stock updates.

This might change my mind a bit. I've been burned by Samsung more than once and I see HTC shipping the One with Android 4.1. So I dunno if I totally trust them to keep the Google Edition phones up to date if it's left in their hands.

 

[shortylickens]

CNET is where I start looking for info but its mostly directed at the general public.
I always dig further for better data.

 

[Trader05]

I'd really like a HTC One for the hardware but at that price i'm sticking with my Nexus 4.

 

[Remobz]

Does a smart phone exist for people who are not that tech savy or phone nerds?

People who could care less about the extra bloat and useless extra features while not paying a premium in price at the same time.

Any such phone exists for their needs?

 

[GTRagnarok]

Does a smart phone exist for people who are not that tech savy or phone nerds?

People who could care less about the extra bloat and useless extra features while not paying a premium in price at the same time.

Any such phone exists for their needs?

Nexus 4.

 

[s44]

Nexus 4.

Depends if you consider LTE and media storage a "useless extra feature".

 

[Crono]

AnandTech's review is up:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7107/...y-s-4-google-play-edition-review-nearly-nexus

I want to try flashing my AT&T HTC One with the GPE rom.
If it's at least noticeably faster in my experience I'll keep it near-stock, but I also like Sense 5, so really I doubt it's going to matter to me using either.

Does a smart phone exist for people who are not that tech savy or phone nerds?

People who could care less about the extra bloat and useless extra features while not paying a premium in price at the same time.

Any such phone exists for their needs?

Windows Phone.

Not quite as app rich as iPhone or Android, but otherwise it's an easy to use smartphone OS Even my dad has no trouble using it, and he's really not savvy with computers or technology in general. It's still a fully-featured smartphone even though it's as easy to use as iOS (possibly even easier) and can be a lot cheaper for models like the Lumia 822, Samsung ATIV S, or HTC 8X. Those phones hover in the $200 to $350 range off contract.

 

[Remobz]

AnandTech's review is up:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7107/...y-s-4-google-play-edition-review-nearly-nexus

I want to try flashing my AT&T HTC One with the GPE rom.
If it's at least noticeably faster in my experience I'll keep it near-stock, but I also like Sense 5, so really I doubt it's going to matter to me using either.



Windows Phone.

Not quite as app rich as iPhone or Android, but otherwise it's an easy to use smartphone OS Even my dad has no trouble using it, and he's really not savvy with computers or technology in general. It's still a fully-featured smartphone even though it's as easy to use as iOS (possibly even easier) and can be a lot cheaper for models like the Lumia 822, Samsung ATIV S, or HTC 8X. Those phones hover in the $200 to $350 range off contract.

Thanks.

I have to buy it at full retail price instead of contracts.

 

[Ksyder]

If I was interested in paying that much for a new phone off contract, I might bite. I'm really not a fan of rooting and rom'ing my phones. I just don't like the hundreds of pages long threads over at xda and places like that and all of the time it takes to do it.

 

[foghorn67]

Cnet is usually the last place I go to for tech news. I did watch Engadget's brief hands on with both phones today and they seemed more upbeat.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/samsung-galaxy-s-4-google-play-edition-hands-on-video/

They noted the phones do have a smoother experience with stock Android. They only negative I heard was they aren't happy with Android's stock camera app, but did note some slight UI change in the camera app over the Nexus 4.

Gawd. I should travel to each one of these places and show them what people hate to see in a video. I don't want to see hands gesturing for 5 minutes before they do anything.
Effing put them away until you do something with it. Seriously even with HuffPo budget, and some fat slob on YouTube can do a better job. The problem is fat slobs on YT have to borrow, buy or steal to get vid.

 

[foghorn67]

I wonder how much space was freed up in the S4's memory. Hopefully the size of the ROM is waaay smaller.

 

[gmaster456]

I wonder how much space was freed up in the S4's memory. Hopefully the size of the ROM is waaay smaller.

I've read it now has 12-13gb useable. Much better than the 8gb before.

 

[gmaster456]

All I wanted was the red phase beam wallpaper. My Nexus 4 is now complete.

 

[cronos]

The only thing I can agree with is the steep price tag. But then again, you are getting an unlocked phone off contract! I think that's worth the extra $$$.

This is the one thing that pisses me off about this. People complaining about the prices while they are pretty much exactly the same as their Sense/Touchwiz counterparts.

Why do people expect a huge discount? There is no 'extra $$$' involved. That's exactly the price the same hardware are being sold! It's the OS inside that's switched out. That's it.

 

[lothar]

This is the one thing that pisses me off about this. People complaining about the prices while they are pretty much exactly the same as their Sense/Touchwiz counterparts.

Why do people expect a huge discount? There is no 'extra $$$' involved. That's exactly the price the same hardware are being sold! It's the OS inside that's switched out. That's it.

Those people are probably spoiled by Nexus 4 pricing.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

http://phandroid.com/2013/06/26/google-play-edition-htc-one-samsung-galaxy-s4-no-google-updates

Hmm... These phones won't get updates directly from Google after all. So we'll still be at the mercy of HTC and Samsung for the mostly stock updates.

This might change my mind a bit. I've been burned by Samsung more than once and I see HTC shipping the One with Android 4.1. So I dunno if I totally trust them to keep the Google Edition phones up to date if it's left in their hands.

Samsung has consistently delivered the fastest android updates of all of the Android manufacturers, the US carriers just hold them up and don't bother pushing out half of the updates international Samsung models get.