Opinion on New High-end phones?

[WoodenAnts]

Hey Guys,
First off - dont hate me. this is most likely in the wrong catagory, heck i dont even know where catagories are here. Im new to forums and especially to this website.
On to my question - I am upgrading phones this coming July and am wondering what to get. I got a couple canidates:

HTC One X ​

Cuz well, this is one sick phone. i mean quadcore? thats enough power to last me the 2 year contract. The downsides for me are non removable battery and microSD card. the non removable battery is big loss for me because i am a power user, and i practically use my phone instead of a computer. So my little single core Nexus S is used for TV shows, Youtube, Gameing, Schooling, texting calling, you name it. and without being about to buy a extra battery for chuck in there then ima be attached to a charger all day long.

Galaxy Note​

5.3in screen? I want! only downside is the its "only" 1.4 dual - core. This may not hold up and still be a decent high end phone by the time the 2 year contract is up.

So i'm thinking, I was looking at rumoured phones, and im looking specifically at the Huawei Ascend D Quad XL, LG Optimus 4X HD and the ZTE Era.
oh and that other no name phone called the Galaxy s 3

So? any opinions? and yes. i will root any phone i get
Thanks for any responses even if they only say cucumber.

Edit - P.S. I live in Australia so devices may or may not come my way.

 

[IOWA]

Hey Guys,
First off - dont hate me. this is most likely in the wrong catagory, heck i dont even know where catagories are here. Im new to forums and especially to this website.
On to my question - I am upgrading phones this coming July and am wondering what to get. I got a couple canidates:

HTC One X ​

Cuz well, this is one sick phone. i mean quadcore? thats enough power to last me the 2 year contract. The downsides for me are non removable battery and microSD card. the non removable battery is big loss for me because i am a power user, and i practically use my phone instead of a computer. So my little single core Nexus S is used for TV shows, Youtube, Gameing, Schooling, texting calling, you name it. and without being about to buy a extra battery for chuck in there then ima be attached to a charger all day long.

Galaxy Note​

5.3in screen? I want! only downside is the its "only" 1.4 dual - core. This may not hold up and still be a decent high end phone by the time the 2 year contract is up.

So i'm thinking, I was looking at rumoured phones, and im looking specifically at the Huawei Ascend D Quad XL, LG Optimus 4X HD and the ZTE Era.
oh and that other no name phone called the Galaxy s 3

So? any opinions? and yes. i will root any phone i get
Thanks for any responses even if they only say cucumber.

Moved to the Android Lounge welcome aboard!

The processor in the Note is pretty darn good IMO, and non removable battery may be a dealbreaker for me and the upcoming LTEvo on Sprint (a One X variant)

 

[chanchan05]

Depends on when you plan to buy, but if you are ok on waiting for May 3, wait. Samsung is going to announce the Samsung Galaxy S3 on that date. Invites to the London Event have already been passed around.

 

[WoodenAnts]

Depends on when you plan to buy, but if you are ok on waiting for May 3, wait. Samsung is going to announce the Samsung Galaxy S3 on that date. Invites to the London Event have already been passed around.

Yea I definatly am waiting a few more months, so May 3rd shall be interesting. Any speculation for when the GS3 would come out IF it is being announced there? I've noticed that phones seem to launch very quickly once announced as apposed to, say, music albums. Altho what i'm not a fan of is having the same phone as everyone else :/ but alas, it will make it easy to root.

 

[Deleted User]

Its looking like non removable batteries and no SD card is the way of the future. Something like a TeckNet

 

[Satires]

Don't let the specs fool ya like I was fooled. Yeah, a quadcore sounds great! I the htc rezound that wasnt that great. Others loved it the rezound. I actually like the bionic much better and sold my rezound and the bionic is only a 1 gig dual core and not a 1.5 gig! lol

You said you're a power user, same here. For every smartphone I have owned I always bought an extra battery and a stand alone charger. I'm willing to bet you will find more aggravation with a phone that WILL live on the charger due to not being able to take out the batteries.

The htc phones do have a beautiful screen though.

Shop carefully and disregard the specs. What's important is your experience. Meaning, you might find a dual core phone that is more snappy than a quad. My bionic appears more snappy than the rezound I had! lol

Allow yourself time to play with different models at the store for awhile and forget about the specs.

 

[WoodenAnts]

Don't let the specs fool ya like I was fooled. Yeah, a quadcore sounds great! I the htc rezound that wasnt that great. Others loved it the rezound. I actually like the bionic much better and sold my rezound and the bionic is only a 1 gig dual core and not a 1.5 gig! lol

You said you're a power user, same here. For every smartphone I have owned I always bought an extra battery and a stand alone charger. I'm willing to bet you will find more aggravation with a phone that WILL live on the charger due to not being able to take out the batteries.

The htc phones do have a beautiful screen though.

Shop carefully and disregard the specs. What's important is your experience. Meaning, you might find a dual core phone that is more snappy than a quad. My bionic appears more snappy than the rezound I had! lol

Allow yourself time to play with different models at the store for awhile and forget about the specs.

Yes I know (looks down). That's what everyone has told me and it's not like I don't believe it or anything, but I love the fact of bragging and saying "Oh look, you got 2 cores? I got four!"

Haha but in all seriousness You are right. It's so hard to pick a phone though nowadays with Android. I don't know all the differences between types of processors, but I have heard that the GS2 has had the same benchmarks as the HTC One X. But I feel that once I add a better, light-weight rom and a faster kernel to it, it will become better. But yea, I won't be able to stand not having that extra battery to chuck in, so I guess my top pick is the Note for now.

Anyone heard of rumours about the GS3? Specs, features, removable battery or not?

 

[chanchan05]

I don't get the argument by Satires where he connects quad core and Rezound. The Rezound is dual core.

 

[ArmageddonX]

For me it would be the HTC One X. No question in my mind that it's the phone to beat this summer.

Good luck with your decision!

~ ArmyX

 

[Satires]

I don't get the argument by Satires where he connects quad core and Rezound. The Rezound is dual core.

Sorry, I wrote that while in a hurry...

My argument (Personal opinion) is that the Rezound is supposed to be this awesome phone according to the specs. I bought that Rezound and walked past the Bionic because of the Rezounds specs. I wound up with the bionic and some how it just feels snappier and performs to my needs even though the specs on the Bionic are lower.

Hence, I was suggesting to the OP to ignore the "Specs" and hype and get a phone that suits him/her.

Just because a phone has a lot of hype and high specs doesn't always mean it will suit the individual as I have learned the hard way. Hence, so what if one buys a phone with lower specs, long as it suits them.

I was comparing the Rezound as an example. Though the Rezound may have lower specs, it may just suit the OP better than a hyped quadcore.

 

[Shocky]

It's hard to get excited over the Quad Core CPU's using Cortex A9, most apps won't use the extra cores so the performance will largely go unused.

What scores higher in browsermark? a 1.2GHz Dual Core Exynos or the 1.5GHz Quad Core Tegra 3? Well they score the same and this with the default browser in ICS.

HTC One S has the better CPU but when it comes to gaming performance Tegra 3 (One X) will have the edge.

Neither of which can match the iPhone 4s gaming performance anyway, Galaxy S III should though.

 

[WoodenAnts]

I agree with Satires. My only problem is that I have no idea what phone will suite my needs the best. Thanks to you guys though I believe I have ruled out the One X simply because of the lack of removable battery. But as for processor speeds and other specs, I'm not sure. I would love a big screen because I consume lots of media on my device. 4.5 or bigger preferably. As for the processor, best it can be I suppose. Battery size doesnt concern me too much because i can always buy spare ones... what else matters in a phone? I will root so OS doesnt matter to me.
Any suggestions after the added details?

 

[Hadron]

Keep watching for the SGS3 specs?

The Huawei Ascend D Quad looks interesting - 4.5" 720p, quad core, sd slot (for sure) & removable battery (almost certain).

 

[WoodenAnts]

Keep watching for the SGS3 specs?

The Huawei Ascend D Quad looks interesting - 4.5" 720p, quad core, sd slot (for sure) & removable battery (almost certain).

Yea do you know a date for when that is released?

 

[MSUgEEk]

I will root so OS doesnt matter to me.
Any suggestions after the added details?

That statement combined with the fact you currently own a Nexus S leads me to this suggestion. Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

But but, it's a dual core and it came out months ago!

Yes, but here's why I suggest this phone:

-Phones still do not make efficient use of DUAL cores yet, much less QUAD cores. The dual cores in the Galaxy Nexus will provide plenty of juice for 2 years and probably then some.

-The screen on this phone is absolutely gorgeous for videos and gaming

-It has a removable battery and official extended batteries are released

Here's the most important factors
-This is a Samsung phone WITHOUT the locked down Samsung proprietary stuff. Go ask anyone that is into rooting that owns a Samsung product. Their phones are not quickly upgraded and the root community suffers because Samsung doesn't always release all of their drivers in a timely manner. I own a Galaxy Tab 7 Plus and the root community is dead due to this.

-This is also a NEXUS phone. This thing is wide open. Dev support is HUGE and there will be ROMS out for this thing quicker than any other phone on the market. Aside from whatever the next Nexus device is, this will be the first phone upgraded to new versions of Android thanks to the Dev community.

I HIGHLY reccommend the Galaxy Nexus for your needs. If you hadn't brought up rooting, I would have probably suggested another phone, but this is a MUST have if you are into rooting and ROMS and you will be disappointed with anything else coming from another Nexus device.

 

[WoodenAnts]

Haha thanks for your comment SVT_geek. I have considered this phone before, but something about it doesnt have the spark of a new phone to me. It feels just like my Nexus a bit too much, and not like a new phone. Of course this opinion is from 10 minutes in the store with it though. I agree with all of those points you made though, rooting options would be a breeze on that beast which is ultimatly what I love doing. I'm going to keep it in the back of my head for now though. Thanks again for your suggestion!

 

[alextop30]

I'd go with the samsung galaxy s3 - for me the impression which I have had of HTC phones since the original Evo is they do not care much for battery life - I had 3 batteries on my Evo and it still didn't last the whole day.

Now that you cannot remove the battery - well recipe for disaster on htc part. If the battery drains in 3 hours you are in the dark the other 6 if you are a regular 9-5 working person. I use to take the train to work with my Evo and let me just say that it barely lasted on the ride to work where it was plugged in and barely on the ride back. Case and point battery life and battery removal are crucial in the smart phones other than the dummy phone called IPhone since they are juice hoggs.

 

[Hadron]

Yea do you know a date for when that is released?

"Q2", which in reality probably means June or even July.

 

[WoodenAnts]

"Q2", which in reality probably means June or even July.

Hmm, that's good timing, because that's about the time when I need it. Hopefully it hits Australia at the same time, if at all. Otherwise eBay will have to be used.