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Anyone else have second thoughts on getting a S4 now that HTC One is getting rave reviews?

Thinking about it - I visit a lot of phone forums. Every material has had complaints - plastic, aluminum, glass, carbon fiber, Kevlar.

Personally, if any of them wanted to win my heart, they'd have the outer case be some sort of rubber-like material. Something that would grip you back, be nice and bouncy and shock-absorbing on a bounce.

Only thing I've seen close is the Gz'One Commando, and I don't know how many people would be ok with a armored device right out of the box.

But I bet it would save a whole lot of people a whole lot of grief.
 
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in terms of materials, the battery back of the HTC thunderbolt had a nice soft touch semi rubber feel that i liked. if the entire back of the phone was made that way instead of just the battery cover that would have been a nice touch.

for me, i'd prefer a more durable shatter and scratch resistant screen before metal or exotic case materials. i still get the impression that most people use an aftermarket case, so the plastic vs metal angle never was important to me. especially having started off with blackberry back in the day. actually, the external carrier branding of phones is more annoying to me than case materials. the bendable screens that we've heard of sounds like it could be good progress in the screen area.
 
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Trouble with glass is that no one's figured out how to make a glass suitable for this application that can be stressed in any direction. It doesn't take a great deal of force to shatter a screen, just focused to the susceptible point and it's done.

I'd have higher hopes for a scratch-resistant plastic, but I don't know if anyone is working on that.
 
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If my judgment on that point was harsh, I apologize.

But it's still flame bait and not funny, and the converse isn't allowed over there either.

No need for a bunch of iPhone ragging when so many Android newcomers are visiting both forums trying to decide.

Android is about choice.

If people have theirs satisfied without a removable battery or sd card slot, then Android still wins. Unless you own a LOT of stock in Samsung, who cares if someone chooses another model?

We've clipped troll wings from both camps, we're equal opportunity on that. :)
I disagree that his post was flame bait.

Regarding choice, you're 100% correct, but also ironically HTC One is about "lack of choice".

People go on and on to justify lack of battery / SD card, but I don't understand why they so vehemently rage against useful features for other people.

I have never heard someone using a Note 2 or S3 complain "I hate the microSD card feature, I hate the removable battery!" Guess what, if they don't care about SD card or removable battery, they don't have to use it.

The HTC One, unfortunately limits consumer features that are potentially useful for a portion of the market (myself included).

I was on the HTC bandwagon early and often, but lately I find myself hoping HTC will make a phone that I can seriously consider. Unfortunately they keep shooting themselves in the foot by not including some features that are must haves.

Are we a small minority of the market? I don't know, but based on personal experience of friends / family, the vast whom use Samsung devices, I'd say not.
 
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People go on and on to justify lack of battery / SD card, but I don't understand why they so vehemently rage against useful features for other people.

Or vice versa and we see a lot more of that. It's so I can't read a review or an article anymore without bellyaching comments from both sides.

Your comment goes to the heart of Android being about choice. If the hermetically-sealed One isn't right for you, go with Samsung. Seems pretty fair to me. :)

(Honestly, I find myself wondering if I'll just hold off and see what the Moto X may be.)
 
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Make sure your area has 4gLTE in your area first.

I made a mistake switching from alltel to get dial up data speeds, sometimes worse.

Not trying to dissuade you, just to know what to expect :)

It don't matter I would still get it because I do move around a lot and expect to be moved again later this as I'm planning on enlisting so my current area won't affect my purchase. I'm still sold on the s4 and will be getting it soon.
 
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The one advantage of a non removable battery is that it allows for irregular battery shapes that allow them to keep devices thin. However rather than use this (outside of Motorola with the maxx phones) to have large batteries with a relatively thin phone, they put small batteries in it and make the device really thin. It's kind of frustrating to say the least.
 
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The one advantage of a non removable battery is that it allows for irregular battery shapes that allow them to keep devices thin. However rather than use this (outside of Motorola with the maxx phones) to have large batteries with a relatively thin phone, they put small batteries in it and make the device really thin. It's kind of frustrating to say the least.

Say what???
 
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Google = Nexus.... Android team HATES external storage and have been vocal through the years about it and Google wants some (all really) of the data mining and control of a big piece of cloud storage. Seems a given there will be no sd slot, but the actual device will of course show if correct or not.

Added: In Moto's defense, they wanted things like sd slot and UMS storage, but JB shut UMS out of official support and will be a big surprise if the SD slot survives. Sadly, seems some of the content providers of this blog site support the view as well, based on the One review. Not liking how a few people assume standards upon everyone else. Give folks the choice.

Until wifi is offered everywhere- read: "everywhere" and/or data caps are gone, the cloud is IMO an unfair "burden" on consumers. Give the sd slot so the consumer has the choice. That way, you can use it or not.
 
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I agree that the cloud isn't even close to an alternative, and TBH even if connectivity and throughput were adequate everywhere (internationally, in the air...) I'd probably have trust issues ;). But for me the question is more about having sufficient storage and convenience of access for backup and transfer, rather than removability per se.

The way I see it, if the device fails then any data on a removable card are safe, but anything else I need to have backed up. If the card fails, anything on it that I've not backed up is gone. So I need to think about backups either way, whether for internal storage or removable. Removable storage is desirable because it gives flexibility, and I'd much prefer the Android team to standardise support for it rather than remove it. But it's a factor rather than a deal-breaker for me.

Non-expandable and insufficient is a deal breaker though.
 
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Love the friendly arguments and talk about what phone wins you over in this thread :). I always wanted and favored the Galaxy S series. I for once started to take a second look at the HTC One, but after reading through all 3 pages I've came to the conclusion of getting the S4. I'll be selling my still out of the box condition primary phone for now iPhone 5 for it. I thought I try it out for a year and it's cool, but was missing me some Android. Jailbreaking the iPhone 5 was fun, but Android is just more dynamic for me. Then in another year I'll be able to upgrade so I'll use that for whatever comes out around then..This makes me wish Sprint still kept the yearly upgrades for Gold members.

If anything, I do wish that Samsung would come with a much more premium build and better positioning of the speakers. I never understood why companies put tiny speakers on the back where our hands would most likely cover them. They should be nicely drilled and quality speakers on the bottom like the iPhone 5 or on the front like the HTC One.

Some people will have the S4 in their hands on the 25th and mostly everyone else will have it on the 27th. I believe Magenta will get it to them on the 24. Either way it's not a long wait for anyone unless you're on Big Red. So money hungry they are...smh.
 
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Love the friendly arguments and talk about what phone wins you over in this thread :). I always wanted and favored the Galaxy S series. I for once started to take a second look at the HTC One, but after reading through all 3 pages I've came to the conclusion of getting the S4. I'll be selling my still out of the box condition primary phone for now iPhone 5 for it. I thought I try it out for a year and it's cool, but was missing me some Android. Jailbreaking the iPhone 5 was fun, but Android is just more dynamic for me. Then in another year I'll be able to upgrade so I'll use that for whatever comes out around then..This makes me wish Sprint still kept the yearly upgrades for Gold members.

If anything, I do wish that Samsung would come with a much more premium build and better positioning of the speakers. I never understood why companies put tiny speakers on the back where our hands would most likely cover them. They should be nicely drilled and quality speakers on the bottom like the iPhone 5 or on the front like the HTC One.

Some people will have the S4 in their hands on the 25th and mostly everyone else will have it on the 27th. I believe Magenta will get it to them on the 24. Either way it's not a long wait for anyone unless you're on Big Red. So money hungry they are...smh.

Just where I would head if i was deciding between 2 phones you do know that each individual fourm will have favoritism I will not past judgement until I see and can use both the one and the S4 in hand I have always had good luck with HTC phones
 
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Everyone has their own requirements and the HTC One doesn't fulfill 2 of mine; replaceable battery and SD card slot. I'm sure it's a great phone, it's certainly beautiful to look at. If it fulfilled all of my requirements, I'd grab one in a heartbeat. As it stands, I'm still waiting for the S4.

This is the only reason I'm not getting an HTC One.
 
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