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

[krumme]

A good engineer would take plastic every time.

Even the worst engineer would never consider anything else.

 

[Oyeve]

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.

True for you, but I show people videos on my phone all the time and cupping my hand around it, (my S3) or on the side (my ip5) is freaking retarded.

 

[swilli89]

And AMOLED means battery savings with a black background.

That is incorrect. SLCD screens consume less power than AMOLED.

 

[Eureka]

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.

A good engineer uses the material he needs to use. There's a reason why our products are made of metal and not plastic here.

And for this market (me), the customer demands an aluminum chassis. Which is why it's the one that engineer (Samsung product engineer) needs to choose to help make the sale. Sorry, I've used the S3 quite a bit and it never felt quite right in my hands. Hell I'd take rubber over plastic.

 

[Red Storm]

True for you, but I show people videos on my phone all the time and cupping my hand around it, (my S3) or on the side (my ip5) is freaking retarded.

Well on the Note (and S3) the menu and back buttons mean I only ever grab and hold from the other side, which means the speaker is free and uncovered.

 

[ponyo]

That is incorrect. SLCD screens consume less power than AMOLED.

Not for black background and white text.

 

[Oyeve]

Well on the Note (and S3) the menu and back buttons mean I only ever grab and hold from the other side, which means the speaker is free and uncovered.

And shooting sound out the back. You have to cup the back to hear better if showing a video. Its a bad design on all phones imo. Front facing, even if just one speaker, is much better. It can and has been done, as my old behold had it and the new One has 2. So, its all about aesthetics at this point.

 

[lopri]

I don't see much point of stereo speakers on that size of body. (Doesn't the S4 also have stereo speaker, albeit less pronounced?) I mean, unless you put the phone literally behind your head or something you won't be able to tell correct directions of sound sources from an arm's distance.

That said, sound clarity and wide range of volume without cracks are valuable.

For me, neither phone is attractive enough to replace the N4 that I have now. I say this very tentatively because I have no first hand experience of either phone, but I am liking my N4 very much - it's gorgeous, fast, and versatile. Only thing that I'm missing on this is LTE but LTE seems to be rather dictated by carriers than OEMs. My opinion may change once I experience LTE but for now I am satisfied with 5~7 Mbps down of HSPA.

But I have to say I would feel more comfortable recommending/gifting the S4, than the One or the N4, to non-techie folks around me. As a matter of fact, barring a show-stopping bug or defect, it's the first Android phone that I might feel comfortable recommending to people in my circle, majority of whom currently have iPhone 4/4S. There are enough stuff to wow them and for some the larger screen should be enough to justify switch. The S4's expected prevalence in the market gives more comfort, that any issue will be resolved quicker than other Android phones.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

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.

I guess u don't have friends that u show videos to. That's understandable.


Warning for an insulting comment
Second warning, Blahblahyoutoo. Please keep it civil. Third time won't be fun for either of us.

Moderator PM

 

[Red Storm]

I guess u don't have friends that u show videos to. That's understandable.

None that require hearing aids, yes.

 

[jpeyton]

Removeable battery and storage for the GS4 makes it the winner.

 

[olds]

True for you, but I show people videos on my phone all the time and cupping my hand around it, (my S3) or on the side (my ip5) is freaking retarded.

Oh, you're THAT guy. We have one of you at work. Always showing videos to everyone around him. I guess he thinks he's the only one with the internet.

 

[Imported]

Removeable battery and storage for the GS4 makes it the winner.

Same here.

 

[dawheat]

Frankly I don't think it's really possible to make a decision until holding both phones in store.

If I had to pick, I'd lean toward the S4 as it has a larger screen in body near the size of the One and noticeably slimmer and lighter. Expandable storage is another plus as I can buy the cheapest 16GB model and spend another $35 for a 64GB card. Rooting and loading ROMs in the US S3 was also super easy, and I'd expect the S4 to be the same.

The One is definitely superior in design, though I'm not a fan of the viewable screen to body size ratio. The front-facing speakers are a minor plus as I generally use headphones for video/music.

Battery life on both phones seem very good and address the biggest weakness IMO of the last gen flagship Android phones. I love my Note 2 so much more than the S3 - so if these phones approach battery life of the Note 2 which perfectly gets me to the end of a day of heavy usage (7am to 12:30am), then both phones are awesome.

But after getting used to the 5.5" screen of the Note 2, my next upgrade is the Note 3 or its direct competitors.

 

[McWatt]

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.

And durability. Plastic phones undergo elastic deformation in the same event that causes fracture to an aluminum phone.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

And durability. Plastic phones undergo elastic deformation in the same event that causes fracture to an aluminum phone.

you mean permanent deformation, not fracture. if you're going to fracture an aluminum phone, you'd probably cause fracture in a plastic phone too.

All this talk about build quality is just meh. People like aluminum builds for the solid feeling and high build quality. Plastic is good for being light and durable. It depends what your priorities are. Buying a metal phone doesn't mean you want something that breaks. You're just willing to put up with that possibility because you take better care of your phones, or you're flat out ok with that risk. Same with glass phones. People dont' buy the iPhone 4S because it breaks easier. While the Galaxy phones may be cheap feeling, I don't think people buy it because it feels cheap. Maybe because it feels light, or maybe that the plastic is durable in drop tests.

 

[QueBert]

can a mod just delete this?posts like this will turn this into a shit show and we know what the phones are made of and don't need this guys 2 cents

don't feed him folks lol

The SG4's imho the damn ugliest flashship phone I've ever seen. I know beauty's in the eye of the beholder, but it just looks god awful. I hate plastic phones, but I could look past that if a phone was well enough designed. But this phone's epic fails on both fronts. I know many people don't care how it looks and will still buy it, that's great. But I don't see anyone buying it because of it's look. The HTC One absolutely will sell to some people strictly off how it looks and feels in the hand. Fuck how it looks, I use my phone a lot so how it feels in my hand's important. Maybe others can, but I could never get use to my Galaxy Note creaking in my hand, it bothered me to the point I ended up selling it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The SG4's imho the damn ugliest flashship phone I've ever seen. I know beauty's in the eye of the beholder, but it just looks god awful. I hate plastic phones, but I could look past that if a phone was well enough designed. But this phone's epic fails on both fronts. I know many people don't care how it looks and will still buy it, that's great. But I don't see anyone buying it because of it's look. The HTC One absolutely will sell to some people strictly off how it looks and feels in the hand.

I'd say the S3 is uglier than the S4. The S4 is more square which makes it half decent. The S2 was flat out sexy despite being all plastic. They designed that thing right with the textured back, etc. Even a rounded phone like the GNex is decently sexy.

The One is ok. It feels great, but I think looks-wise, I liked the HTC One X series more. But yeah that's just my opinion.

 

[GTRagnarok]

I got used to the S4 look very quickly. It's a rectangle with rounded corners, whoop! Nothing special, but not ugly. Can't say the same for the S3, even to this day. It's a very good thing they gave it a black color. If it was blue like the S3, that would have been a huge turn off for me.

Interestingly, the HTC One is the only phone so far that I would choose the white/silver color over the black.

 

[Geekbabe]

I got used to the S4 look very quickly. It's a rectangle with rounded corners, whoop! Nothing special, but not ugly. Can't say the same for the S3, even to this day. It's a very good thing they gave it a black color. If it was blue like the S3, that would have been a huge turn off for me.

Interestingly, the HTC One is the only phone so far that I would choose the white/silver color over the black.

I liked my Pebble Blue S3, it was something different from my usual preference for black devices & the color grew on me enough that I ended up putting it in a matching blue case. Now I'm sporting the note 2 in titanium gray with a matching flip cover & also love it.

 

[Raduque]

That is incorrect. SLCD screens consume less power than AMOLED.

He said a "black background". AMOLED displays turn off the pixel for black. How do you get less power usage than off?