poll GS4 vs HTC one...both about to hit the streets,what you buying?

[badb0y]

Probably HTC One because of the following reasons:

1.) Samsung GS4 has similar design with GS3 which I hated. HTC One's design is the best design I've seen ever.
2.) Build materials - Unibody Aluminum vs Plastic, I choose aluminum. Creaking noise vs No creaking noise. I choose no creaking noise.
3.) HTC One has better speakers.
4.) Comes with 32/64 GB variants, I use no more than 16 GB lol.
5.) I charge my phone every night so I don't need a spare battery.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I see nothing wrong with his opinions about cheap plastic and the S4. This is a common complaint you see across the internet. Just because y'all rally behind Samsung doesn't mean it's not true.

I agree its a legit complaint. My sister (a current SGS2 user) is getting an iPhone 5 over the SGS4 due to build quality and materials. She has often complained that android phones are made out of plastic.

Personally I would carry around a phone that looks like fake dog crap as long as it has replaceable batteries, a Micro SD slot, a 1080p screen, and good custom ROMs. But I can also admit I am a small percentage of the market, and my sister is probably a better representation of an average user.

 

[pm]

Blahblahyoutoo, and grkm3, I would request that the two of you cease with the bickering. I don't think that Blahblahyoutoo's comment that the S4 feels too much like plastic is trolling - it's his opinion. I'm not going to issue a warning or infract for his opinion.

Grkm3, I don't have a problem with this thread - I agree with you, these are the two flagship phones for the quarter and it's fine (and actually great) to have a discussion about them today. I don't think this thread is "troll-bait" as SunnyD posted.

That said, I would request that everyone tone down the enthusiasm level in their replies. We should be able to have a rational discussion of the two most exciting phone launches of this month.

Lastly, if you have a particular issue with a specific post, please use the "!" report a post button for that user. I check the reported post list several times per day, but I don't normally read every thread in the forum, and I'm sure that what's true for me is true for other mods. If you report it, we will see it. If you comment about it in a thread, mods may stumble across it.

Thanks
Moderator PM

 

[Red Storm]

I agree its a legit complaint. My sister (a current SGS2 user) is getting an iPhone 5 over the SGS4 due to build quality and materials. She has often complained that android phones are made out of plastic.

Personally I would carry around a phone that looks like fake dog crap as long as it has replaceable batteries, a Micro SD slot, a 1080p screen, and good custom ROMs. But I can also admit I am a small percentage of the market, and my sister is probably a better representation of an average user.

Well considering how popular the Galaxy line is, I don't think plastic vs. metal matters all that much to the average user. If it did the majority of people would go out of their way to avoid it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Well considering how popular the Galaxy line is, I don't think plastic vs. metal matters all that much to the average user. If it did the majority of people would go out of their way to avoid it.

And buy what instead? The One stands out a little because it takes Android build quality to a whole new level.

It will be interesting this year when the One and SGS4 are sitting there next to each other in AT&T stores for the same price.

 

[McWatt]

I prefer the look of the aluminum but like the idea of having more plastic to reduce the risk of damage to the phone if it's dropped.

As an aside, the GSM Arena review's sunlight contrast measurement is a great idea. I'm surprised to see the GS4 win that contest despite having a lower brightness due to its better antireflective coating. My iPhone 5 gets about the same score in that metric but a complaint I have is that the autobrightness adjustment on it is awfully slow when I pull it out of my pocket. On my GS2 I could manually adjust brightness instantly with a gesture from any screen, which I thought was nicer.

I voted for the HTC One because of its looks and past experiences with GPS quality and general brokenness of Samsung vs. HTC phones, but having read the GSM Arena review I think I'll get the GS4 instead because of display, replaceable battery/storage, and better stock standby battery life. Are there any reviews out there that compare battery life while using GPS navigation?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Well considering how popular the Galaxy line is, I don't think plastic vs. metal matters all that much to the average user. If it did the majority of people would go out of their way to avoid it.

You know what irks me. People who think that metal means better build quality and better engineering. No it doesn't. The FIRST thing that my manufacturing professor says is that using metal or plastic doesn't matter in terms of quality. What matters is if it matches your specifications. Plastic is extremely tough for its weight and it is many times an extremely good choice to use. When your engineering specifications include a light weight, thinness, durability, and price, plastic is most of the time the most efficient engineering choice to use.

There is very little difference in how much engineering is required when making a phone out of metal or plastic. It's still similar amounts of CAD time and design time required.

A huge part of what we learn is to make a good design is making it so that its easy to repair. With the HTC One. They failed in this crucial category. By placing effectively "bling" (Unibody design), above good engineering, they made the phone almost impossible to repair by myself.

On my GS3, I can easliy take it apart and repair things if I needed to. Ifixit had the hardest damn time with the HTC One because of substandard engineering design. The build quality/design on the GS3 is great. All the parts fit together snugly and yet its easy to break down with a standard screwdriver.

 

[Red Storm]

And buy what instead? The One stands out a little because it takes Android build quality to a whole new level.

It will be interesting this year when the One and SGS4 are sitting there next to each other in AT&T stores for the same price.

The One isn't the first phone to hype up it's "premium build", there are Android phones on all the same carriers as the Galaxy line that people can buy if they care for non-plastic. But they don't, it seems the average person simply doesn't care.

 

[Eureka]

The aluminum body alone is going to speak volumes. Plastic might be more useful but it's utilitarian... and design matters.

Unfortunately we don't have the best of both worlds yet.

So far standby battery life is in favor of the S4 but usage battery life seems to be in favor of the HTC. Probably due to a bigger screen on the S4?

And the point of a thread like this is going to be more or less opinionated. Which means you have to accept other people's opinions too. Considering the specs are so close, it comes down to usage.

You know what irks me. People who think that metal means better build quality and better engineering. No it doesn't. The FIRST thing that my manufacturing professor says is that using metal or plastic doesn't matter in terms of quality. What matters is if it matches your specifications. Plastic is extremely tough for its weight and it is many times an extremely good choice to use. When your engineering specifications include a light weight, thinness, durability, and price, plastic is most of the time the most efficient engineering choice to use.

There is very little difference in how much engineering is required when making a phone out of metal or plastic. It's still similar amounts of CAD time and design time required.

A huge part of what we learn is to make a good design is making it so that its easy to repair. With the HTC One. They failed in this crucial category. By placing effectively "bling" (Unibody design), above good engineering, they made the phone almost impossible to repair by myself.

On my GS3, I can easliy take it apart and repair things if I needed to. Ifixit had the hardest damn time with the HTC One because of substandard engineering design. The build quality/design on the GS3 is great. All the parts fit together snugly and yet its easy to break down with a standard screwdriver.

Engineering is about margins and optimization. Which is why Samsung went with plastic.. it's cheaper and quicker to manufacture. Simple as that.

I trust Samsung's engineering a bit more than HTC's. But I do like aluminum. And the HTC is also cheaper. So what was the point of making it plastic if they're not going to pass us the savings?

 

[Shlong]

I currently have the Note 2 with flipcover, the back plastic doesn't bother me at all. From the specs of both phones I would lean towards the GS4 but I will play with both phones in the store before making a final judgement.

 

[krumme]

Probably HTC One because of the following reasons:

1.) Samsung GS4 has similar design with GS3 which I hated. HTC One's design is the best design I've seen ever.
2.) Build materials - Unibody Aluminum vs Plastic, I choose aluminum. Creaking noise vs No creaking noise. I choose no creaking noise.
3.) HTC One has better speakers.
4.) Comes with 32/64 GB variants, I use no more than 16 GB lol.
5.) I charge my phone every night so I don't need a spare battery.

1.
I dont have the s4 in hand, but from the looks of it, i would say its not similar. Initially i didnt like the s4 design, but it have grown on me, and now i just enjoy it every moment. I dont know if its because of the ergonomics, but i think its because its also a "design" meaning there is a purpose of it.
Next to the s3 the s2 looks like no design. And unfortunately it looks like the s4 is the same. Surely its practical because the bezel can be kept down to nothing. But i foresee i will miss the pepple 🙂 - lol it look like big flat piece of soap to me at a start, now i think its beautifull.

2.
I like the looks of aluminium, but just have this rational hatret for it. Its the most stupid thing for a phone. Its fragile, expensive, and hard to your hands and environment. Why not plastic when its the most obvious choice in the world 🙂

3.
Speakers is important. I think my s3 is good enough for my purpose that is for calling. If you want music, I prefer something 1000 times more heavy.

4.
I would like 32gb, but the s4 only comes with 16gb where i live 🙂, surely i will plug the 64gb 45mb/sec micro into it, and use 7 gigs of that before i get my next phone.

5.
I have an 6400ma battery for tent hiking, festivals - severe hangover - and its quite recommended. Works on your one too.

 

[grkM3]

I prefer the look of the aluminum but like the idea of having more plastic to reduce the risk of damage to the phone if it's dropped.

As an aside, the GSM Arena review's sunlight contrast measurement is a great idea. I'm surprised to see the GS4 win that contest despite having a lower brightness due to its better antireflective coating. My iPhone 5 gets about the same score in that metric but a complaint I have is that the autobrightness adjustment on it is awfully slow when I pull it out of my pocket. On my GS2 I could manually adjust brightness instantly with a gesture from any screen, which I thought was nicer.

I voted for the HTC One because of its looks and past experiences with GPS quality and general brokenness of Samsung vs. HTC phones, but having read the GSM Arena review I think I'll get the GS4 instead because of display, replaceable battery/storage, and better stock standby battery life. Are there any reviews out there that compare battery life while using GPS navigation?

lol that makes no sense!! you voted for the htc one and then say you are getting the gs4

 

[Oyeve]

And buy what instead? The One stands out a little because it takes Android build quality to a whole new level.

It will be interesting this year when the One and SGS4 are sitting there next to each other in AT&T stores for the same price.

Meh, build smuild, my reason for the HTC One is............DUAL FRONT FIRING SPEAKERS! Metal or plastic, DUAL FRONT FIRING SPEAKERS! Every phone in the world should have this. It should be standard. Who the F*** thought that putting a speaker behind a phone was wise? Hell, my ancient Samsung Behold had a front firing speaker.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

The aluminum body alone is going to speak volumes. Plastic might be more useful but it's utilitarian... and design matters.

Unfortunately we don't have the best of both worlds yet.

So far standby battery life is in favor of the S4 but usage battery life seems to be in favor of the HTC. Probably due to a bigger screen on the S4?

And the point of a thread like this is going to be more or less opinionated. Which means you have to accept other people's opinions too. Considering the specs are so close, it comes down to usage.



Engineering is about margins and optimization. Which is why Samsung went with plastic.. it's cheaper and quicker to manufacture. Simple as that.

I trust Samsung's engineering a bit more than HTC's. But I do like aluminum. And the HTC is also cheaper. So what was the point of making it plastic if they're not going to pass us the savings?

Because it fits their specifications better.

 

[dguy6789]

So what was the point of making it plastic if they're not going to pass us the savings?

Faster processor, larger and more advanced screen, larger battery that is also removable, MicroSD card, better camera all don't mean anything? Honestly seems like a heck of a lot to give up for vanity.

 

[Oyeve]

Honestly seems like a heck of a lot to give up for vanity.

I know. Its like andoid vs apple here. But its on two different android based phones! Apparently Aluminum now equals douchbaggery.

I dont care if a product is made out of particle board if it does what I want.

 

[ponyo]

AMOLED vs LCD. I voted for GS4 because of AMOLED screen. I have my phone, tablet, and laptop next to my bed. In the morning, I pickup my phone and read from it because the black background with white text on the AMOLED screen is less abrasive to my eyes than the bright LCD screen of my tablet and laptop. AMOLED is a big deal to me and that's Samsung exclusive feature.

 

[Geekbabe]

Probably neither as I just upgraded to a Note 2 fairly recently. I'll be eagerly waiting to see what the Note 3 looks like.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Meh, build smuild, my reason for the HTC One is............DUAL FRONT FIRING SPEAKERS! Metal or plastic, DUAL FRONT FIRING SPEAKERS! Every phone in the world should have this. It should be standard. Who the F*** thought that putting a speaker behind a phone was wise? Hell, my ancient Samsung Behold had a front firing speaker.

Good point. That is a real benefit of the One design.

 

[Eureka]

Because it fits their specifications better.

Their specification was for mass production at a cheap rate.

Faster processor, larger and more advanced screen, larger battery that is also removable, MicroSD card, better camera all don't mean anything? Honestly seems like a heck of a lot to give up for vanity.

Also pricing. Marginally faster processor, marginally larger screen (and I'd prefer a smaller screen if it meant a smaller size), and slightly better picture quality. For $50 more, to have cheaper plastics?

The removable battery and SD card is a nice touch, but I don't use either, so it doesn't mean anything for me. We're not getting the octo-core in the US IIRC.

 

[badb0y]

1.
I dont have the s4 in hand, but from the looks of it, i would say its not similar. Initially i didnt like the s4 design, but it have grown on me, and now i just enjoy it every moment. I dont know if its because of the ergonomics, but i think its because its also a "design" meaning there is a purpose of it.
Next to the s3 the s2 looks like no design. And unfortunately it looks like the s4 is the same. Surely its practical because the bezel can be kept down to nothing. But i foresee i will miss the pepple 🙂 - lol it look like big flat piece of soap to me at a start, now i think its beautifull.

2.
I like the looks of aluminium, but just have this rational hatret for it. Its the most stupid thing for a phone. Its fragile, expensive, and hard to your hands and environment. Why not plastic when its the most obvious choice in the world 🙂

3.
Speakers is important. I think my s3 is good enough for my purpose that is for calling. If you want music, I prefer something 1000 times more heavy.

4.
I would like 32gb, but the s4 only comes with 16gb where i live 🙂, surely i will plug the 64gb 45mb/sec micro into it, and use 7 gigs of that before i get my next phone.

5.
I have an 6400ma battery for tent hiking, festivals - severe hangover - and its quite recommended. Works on your one too.

1.) I disagree

2.) Well based on the iPhone 5 drop tests, aluminum survived a heck of a lot better than the plastic on GS3. The whole "Aluminum is fragile!" doesn't quite convince me.
3.) Personal preference but I do watch videos on my phone from time to time and I would like good quality speakers on them.
4.) This is also a matter of personal preference as I don't even max out the 16 GB on my iPhone 5. I delete all my old stuff just to keep my phones clutter free.
5.) Yep, if you travel, camp, or do any activity that would force you to be away from a plug I could see the benefits of having a removable battery. Fortunately for me I don't do anything like that so I am always home in bed with my phone charging next to me.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Their specification was for mass production at a cheap rate.



Also pricing. Marginally faster processor, marginally larger screen (and I'd prefer a smaller screen if it meant a smaller size), and slightly better picture quality. For $50 more, to have cheaper plastics?

The removable battery and SD card is a nice touch, but I don't use either, so it doesn't mean anything for me. We're not getting the octo-core in the US IIRC.

You kidding? Can you really not see why plastic is an amazing material?

Plastics are very light, have extremely good strength to weight ratio, are tough, resist scratching, cheap, easy to manipulate in manufacturing, and easy to repair and replace.

Aluminum looks nicer to certain people.

A good engineer would take plastic every time.

 

[GTRagnarok]

I don't think the stereo speakers are a big deal. They're better than the average speaker, but they can't compare to headphones which I would use for any serious listening like music and movies. In most cases, the typical phone speaker is fine for me. I'd rather have the screen take up more of the phone's area like with the S4.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't think the stereo speakers are a big deal. They're better than the average speaker, but they can't compare to headphones which I would use for any serious listening like music and movies. In most cases, the typical phone speaker is fine for me. I'd rather have the screen take up more of the phone's area like with the S4.

This. I can only think of one place where I might listen to my phone without headphones, and that's at home, but I'm still more likely to use headphones. Everywhere else I'm guaranteed to use headphones.

 

[krumme]

1.) I disagree

2.) Well based on the iPhone 5 drop tests, aluminum survived a heck of a lot better than the plastic on GS3. The whole "Aluminum is fragile!" doesn't quite convince me.
3.) Personal preference but I do watch videos on my phone from time to time and I would like good quality speakers on them.
4.) This is also a matter of personal preference as I don't even max out the 16 GB on my iPhone 5. I delete all my old stuff just to keep my phones clutter free.
5.) Yep, if you travel, camp, or do any activity that would force you to be away from a plug I could see the benefits of having a removable battery. Fortunately for me I don't do anything like that so I am always home in bed with my phone charging next to me.

1. There is difference from pictures to reality.

2. Ip5 is solid. S3 not so much from dropping, but s2 was far better. Take ip4 as the worst phone in that regard.

3. If you watch videos never ever look at a s3 or s4 or you will think your ip5 is stoneage.