HTC vs Motorola vs Samsung

[justwon1]

I'm looking for the new mobile.
I'm concerning about...

Samsung galaxy S2
HTC sensation
Motorola Atrix 4G

I'm getting confusing with those companies and mobiles.
which one have you used? and like it?
and which one can be more convenient to use?
(I'm a first user of smartphone)

additionally, what is main differences of dure-core/single-core? (is dure-core efficient? it's much expensive)
(What about Incredible S/Desire S or nexus S?)
Does any other andriod phone you like?

I'm mostly gonna use internet and not familiar with smartphone yet.
I'm gonna use it longer so I'm wondering which one is efficient compared to prices and usage.

I'm waiting for the answers of users
Thank you.

 

[Usta]

The best choice is the Galaxy S2, closely followed by Sensation (this phone is a bit heavy).
I would leave Atrix aside.

In general dual-core phones (just like in PC world) are considered to be more powerful than single cores. So, in future, you are more likely to see a bottleneck with single-cores. For example, dual-cores can record and play 1080p video, which single-cores cannot.

 

[Shocky]

Galaxy S2, best all rounder, HTC and Motarola cannot compete with the hardware in this phone, I think even Apple are going to struggle.

1st - Galaxy S2 - Cortex A9 1.2GHz/Mali 400MP
2nd - Sensation - Dual Core Scoprion 1.2GHz /Adreno 220
3rd - Atrix - Cortex A9 1GHz/ULV GeForce

The new dual core cpu's are more efficient, with the Cortex A9 each core is 30% faster at the same clockspeeds compared to previous generation Cortex A8 and uses less power.

Not sure how the new dual core scorpion cpu's compare, early benchmarks i've seen have not been great.

 

[Mostly Harmless]

My choice:
1st-HTC Sensation
2nd-Atrix
3rd- Galaxy S2

I think HTC makes the best quality phones around. The Sensation is heavy because it uses very sturdy materials (it as an aluminum frame) as compare to plastics (which aren't bad but I just think metal beats plastic). All those phones use UI overlays (HTC-Sense, Samsung-Touchwiz, Motorola-Blur) and out of all of them I think HTC's Sense 3.0 will be the best. I am not a fan of Touchwiz due to the fact that it tries so hard to be an iPhone (icons put in blocks, app draw scrolls left to right and the 4 icons on the bottom of the screen). The issue with overlays is that they usually delay the release of updates from google since it has to be tested to make sure everything works. If updates are important to you then the Nexus S might be a good option since it comes with stock android.

But if I had to pick one of those phones it would definitely be the HTC Sensation.

 

[rubiconjp]

Galaxy S2 comes with TouchWiz 4, which is reviewed to be very good. Actually Engadget said that the S2 is the best smartphone available, including the iPhone. In both software and hardware, they liked it, a lot.

Engadget review

The Atrix's LCD is very bland and absolutely pales in comparison with the others such as the SAMOLED and SAMOLED+.

 

[sonofaresiii]

Essentially, you can think of dual-cores as having TWO processors in them, and single cores as having one processor (and with computers, you'll often see higher multi-cores). So allegedly, a dual-core will run twice as fast. I doubt you'll actually be seeing speeds twice as high, but they'll be significantly faster for sure.

This has its ups and downs. I'm sure dual-cores use much more battery, and they're more expensive, so you really kind of need to ask yourself if you really need your phone to be THAT much faster. Without a doubt, someday we'll be at a point where single-core processors just don't cut it with the software that's out there. Right now, single-core is fine for me, and I imagine I'll be happy with it for at least another year.

Once you get a carrier nailed down, go into one of the stores for a while and play around with it. Test their internet speeds, see how fast they load games, etc.

My single-core droid X plays angry birds just fine

 

[Usta]

Essentially, you can think of dual-cores as having TWO processors in them, and single cores as having one processor (and with computers, you'll often see higher multi-cores). So allegedly, a dual-core will run twice as fast. I doubt you'll actually be seeing speeds twice as high, but they'll be significantly faster for sure.

I think that analogy is a bit off. Just like in PCs, dual-core CPU brings increased productivity by being able to run multiple tasks/processes at the same time. This might create an impression that the phone is fast.

I'm sure dual-cores use much more battery,

That remains to be seen. I remember seeing a chart demonstrating that dual core phones would not use more battery power, because they are able to divide tasks between 2 cores and allow them to run at lower frequency than the single core would. That would actually have a positive impact on battery usage.

 

[rubiconjp]

Dual core CPU cannot really be considered as two separate CPUs because the cores still have to share the same on-die caches (L1, L2, L3) and same on-die buses going out to memory and PCI or other device bus. Thus there could still be contention for access. Even if you have two separate CPUs with their own caches and buses, eventually there will still be contention for memory and other devices. This is hardware overhead. Thus even theoretically speaking, dual-cores or two CPUs will never bring twice the performance.

Then we have software overhead. There are also contentions for OS kernel services. Then at the application level, we have overhead within a single application and how inefficient that particular application deals with its own child processes (which also involves the kernel), and how effective it handles multi-threading. Lots of overhead here.

So having two or more cores help, but in no way performance will increase by the factor of the number of cores you have. Not even close. Theoretically speaking or not.

 

[Guamguy]

I feel the same way. Like Hamlet, I'm struggling with the internal conflict of SGS2, Atrix or Sensation. To be or not to be, that is the question.

If the heart so desires, it would be the Sensation. But one thing makes it a strike out. The device is dual band.

My unique phone requirements desires a phone that has 850 3G for the networks on this island where I live, which is under US FCC requirements. And yet, I also need 2100 band to go 3G in Asia where I often travel too. With HTC, its either a US/Canada compliant phone, which will give you 850 3G, but it won't give me 2100 3G. Or it will be to buy an Asian compliant phone, which will give me 3G in Asia, but EDGE only in the island.

In comparison, the Atrix has 850/1900 and 2100 3G. The SGSII is said to have 850/900/1900/2100.

So that leaves the two with SGSII a slight advantage with the 900 support for travel.

Atrix comes with Froyo but upgradeable to Gingerbread. SGSII already comes with Gingerbread and seems upgradeable. Winner SGSII.

Atrix however appears to be upgradeable over the air. The SGSII requires that troubleasome Kies to upgrade later. Winner Atrix. This is a big factor for me.

SGS has 4.3" Super AMOLED, but 800x480 resolution. Atrix looks like IPS with qHD, on a 4" screen. Seems tie to me here.

SGSII has 1.2 GHz processor, with MALI for GPU. Atrix has 1.0GHz Tegra2 with nVidia GPU. SGSII has edge, but close one.

Appearance wise, both look like slab phones. A tie here.

Software wise, both Blur and Touchwiz are not visually appealing, but less invasive or intrusive than HTC Sense. I do feel Samsung does a better job in graphical optimizations, which it did very well on the original Galaxy S. Edge here for the SGSII.

For hackability, this one goes to the SGSII based on previous reputation.

Sideloading issues, this one goes to the SGSII.

Business support, the Atrix has more security with its fingerprint detector. Atrix wins here.

Camera optics. Both phones look fine to me, even if the ATrix has a 5mp camera. Tie here.

For now, the Atrix is available on my island, but I don't expect the SGSII to be far away, given the carriers here love to import Samsung. We got everything here from the white or black Nexus S to the Galaxy 3 and in between, there is the Galaxy 5, Galaxy S, Ace, Captivate, Fascinate, Gem, selling with various retailers. But there is also plenty of Motorola, like Droid X, Droid 2, Droid Pro, Quench, Atrix, Defy, all with various retailers too.

Right now, its really really close

 

[Shocky]

SGS has 4.3" Super AMOLED, but 800x480 resolution. Atrix looks like IPS with qHD, on a 4" screen. Seems tie to me here.

Different screen technology, OLED is way ahead of SLCD, also the SLCD screen on the Atrix uses PenTile so even though the screen resolution is higher it had less sub pixels so it won't be as sharp as the SAMOLED Plus display.

 

[EarlyMon]

S-LCD is a brand of LCD, pretty sure the Atrix doesn't use it.

 

[Shocky]

S-LCD is a brand of LCD, pretty sure the Atrix doesn't use it.

k, replace SLCD with LCD then, doesnt really make a difference.

 

[EarlyMon]

Just want to keep the record straight.

Agree that a pentile layout on an LCD is ridiculous, but with other qHD displays on the horizon from HTC, we know those will be S-LCD, but don't know if they're moving forward or backwards yet.

 

[sonofaresiii]

I think that analogy is a bit off. Just like in PCs, dual-core CPU brings increased productivity by being able to run multiple tasks/processes at the same time. This might create an impression that the phone is fast.


That remains to be seen. I remember seeing a chart demonstrating that dual core phones would not use more battery power, because they are able to divide tasks between 2 cores and allow them to run at lower frequency than the single core would. That would actually have a positive impact on battery usage.

Yeah, I don't actually know about the battery (and in real-world use I can't see how we would be able to isolate battery power just to the processor), it just seems hard in my mind to believe a dual-core would use LESS battery power, even if it's splitting tasks.

But hey, I could be wrong (it happens from time to time).

 

[rubiconjp]

k, replace SLCD with LCD then, doesnt really make a difference.

My neighbor has the Evo. Putting it side by side with my Captivate, both displays look great. Friend has the Atrix, and its display looks absolutely lackluster next to my Captivate.

Guamguy, that's just next to an old super amoled. Next to the super amoled plus, the Atrix will even fade worse. To me the display on the Atrix is just bad, despite its qHD resolution.

 

[Shocky]

My neighbor has the Evo. Putting it side by side with my Captivate, both displays look great. Friend has the Atrix, and its display looks absolutely lackluster next to my Captivate.

Guamguy, that's just next to an old super amoled. Next to the super amoled plus, the Atrix will even fade worse. To me the display on the Atrix is just bad, despite its qHD resolution.

Yep, theres a good reason Samsung use SLCD on their budget versions of the Galaxy S and save the SAMOLED/Plus screens for there premium products, they are just that much better.

The SAMOLED isnt perfect though, it also uses pentile layout but it's small trade off for the awesome screen, thankfully SAMOLED Plus fixes that.

 

[rubiconjp]

Yeah, I don't actually know about the battery (and in real-world use I can't see how we would be able to isolate battery power just to the processor), it just seems hard in my mind to believe a dual-core would use LESS battery power, even if it's splitting tasks.

But hey, I could be wrong (it happens from time to time).

You're right if the dual-core and single-core are from the same design generation, using same fab process, running same OS and applications that do not make use of multi-core feature.

However what happens is that the multi-core CPU is usually of a later generation, using a smaller fab process, leading to lower consumption across the board. Then the OS and application also improve to take advantage of that multi-core, and you end up with a faster system, while having lower power consumption.

The last single core 1GHz CPU uses 45nm fab process, of ARM A8 generation. The new dual-cores are from ARM A9 or later version, using at most a 40nm or smaller fab process. Then we'll have Gingerbread 2.4 and Honeycomb 3.x which specifically tailored to take advantage of multi-core.

 

[EarlyMon]

^This.

Dual-core power use also discussed here - http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-3d/305679-evo-3d-speculation-specs-3.html#post2617934

Also note - the Android part is the Dalvik Virtual Machine where your apps run - below that, the OS and services are Linux.

 

[chillibean]

OK, I'm in the same situation as you.
I have looked at all options and come to the following conclusion:

HTC ruled out - Dualcore not available till june (uk) and only 1GB internal memory(?)
I love HTC but why such rubbish specs; people are right when they say spec can't touch moto or samsung. Shame!

Samsung - good spec but feel samsung are just throwing phones out and worried about future update (I know some will agree and some will disagree - read the all the posts)

Atrix - I was pretty set on this until I found out it has no Gyroscope sensor (not sure what this will impact), no support for WMA files and no Haptic feedback, all small things but I use them all on my HTC Wldfire.

If anyone can help me make a decsion as well I would appreciate it greatly!

 

[sonofaresiii]

As far as the WMA files, I imagine it won't be very hard at all to convert them to something the Atrix can read. I've also heard very good things about Samsung, that's probably where I'd start looking.
No first hand experience with either though.

 

[alostpacket]

When it comes down to it, I don't think internal storage is such a huge factor.

RAM yes, but internal storage, not as big a deal. Android was designed around more of an sdcard setup anyways. Total amount of storage and speed of the storage probably play some factor but speed at least is very difficult to tell from specs. They dont tend to say what SDcard they are shipping.

But as others have said the SGS2 has a real lead in the spec chart, you just need to consider mnfr support/updates/build quality as well.

@OP
Ultimately though, I would guess any first time smartphone buyer will be super happy with a Thunderbolt, Sensation, SGS2, Bionic or Atrix. The wow factor of just having a smartphone (and they are all very good phones) will rock your world so much you wont know what hit you anyways


If you wanna go by pure specs, and I don't recommend this (rather I recommend trying the phone in a store and seeing if you like it), look here:
HTC Sensation versus the rest of the dual-core world: smartphone spec sheet smackdown -- Engadget


Anyways the best peice of advice? Don't buy a cheap phone, that you will regret about halfway through your contract.


.

 

[substring]

Keep in mind that when you choose a phone or any electronic device, technical spec is just one of many metrics that you need to consider. Other metrics include style, elegance and taste which are very subjective.

In my humble opinion, Samsung by far is the best in marrying technical spec and elegance in a perfect harmony. HTC comes in a second (but the giant digital clock that takes up 1/3 of the home screen looks kind of stupid). Motorola is all about geeky stuff but lacks style and elegance completely. The fact that Galaxy S line of phones out-sold the other Android competitors pretty much tell you what the majority (not just the techies) of consumers want.

 

[chillibean]

So today I got to play with a Galaxy S
Very swish!
No lag, in fact super smooth. Very thin and light but a bit on the wide side (side effect of a 4.3" screen). Didn't have haptic feedback on and it didn't bother me at all (bonus for the Atrix which doesn't have it)

Orange had a dummy handset of the Atrix. Nice looking phone and a bit more of a masculine option (IMHO - wife disagrees)
Orange don't have in stock till wednesday (bet they have but aren't allowed to say lol) so I will let you know then if it runs as smooth.

I like both and have to say the sensation is totally out of the running for me (RAM killed it for me).

 

[Manbartz]

I just got my Atrix about a week ago... the SGS2 looks beastly, the specs are very impressive, and Samsung is a great company that knows how to market themselves(in almost every industry they play in).

But I have nothing but great things to say about the Atrix.
+Fingerprint scanner is very legit. Instead of having to insert a code to unlock your phone which takes 2-5 seconds, the fingerprint scanner is instant, and 99% successful. It is in a very natural and ergonomic location.
+This phone is fast. Don't know how else to say this. Phone never lags for me, multitasks like a champ, games are very smooth. Browsing on this phone is amazing.
+The LCD screen is great, though I have never held a SGS2, I'm sure the AMOLED screen is sexy.
+Battery is freaking amazing. I use my phone ALOT. I haven't had any disappointments when looking down at my Battery life indicator. I'm always very surprised at how much battery life I have left. For example, I'm at 62%, at 12h 51m of use.
+Camera is good. Not amazing. But good.
+Music sounds amazing.
+Software is bleh, but who keeps the stock launcher anyways? Motoblur was a headache for a total of 2 min before I replaced it with GoLauncherEX.
+Motorola has released 2 updates in the last 2 months(I think), these have been substantial updates that addressed most of the problems(if not all), that this phone was plagued with.

Although I'm sure the SGS2 will beat the Atrix in almost every category. Its a tad bit older. Thats how everything is. But such is life, technology is a peculiar thing.