Leaving iPhone 4, looking for phones with True HD IPS Plus LCD display

[Deunan]

Hey all, former htc user that switched to an iPhone 4 but since the iPhone 5 is less than appealing, I'm looking for an android alternative. I'd say the most important thing I'm looking for besides speed is a True HD IPS Plus LCD display as I'm not a fan at all of the HD Super AMOLED display screen.

What I'm looking for is a fast phone with an True HD IPS Plus LCD display with a decent camera and room for an external SD card.

So far I've looked at the following:

-Nexus 4 (no storage option but everything else, only 16GB max

-GS3 (super AMOLED but everything else. One I tried at Verizon was laggy with no color profile switching and android v.4.04)

-LG Optimus G (everything I want but LG isn't liked and updates to android take forever apparently; camera is iffy)

Any phones i missed?
What I would like is:
-SD card storage OR a phone with at least 32GB storage. Online storage isn't an option at this time or the foreseeable future
-HD IPS screen is a must or comparable IPS type screen
-Decent camera/video
-NO LAG IF POSSIBLE

How about the Sony Xperia or HTC one X+? Are they any good?

Any suggestions welcome, but I have a feeling there isn't much left

 

[chanchan05]

HTC One X. Although the S3 you tried out was pretty behind in terms of updates. JB has been rolling outbfor international S3's with an incredible performance and smoothness boost. Although also problems with demo phones is that people tend to leave a lot of games running in the background.

 

[Ingenieur7]

Best options:

1. LG Nexus 4 - your best best option. Great screen, buttery smooth UI which is smoother than SGS3 and HTC One X and the software is excellent. No microSD.
2. Samsung Galaxy S3 - your next best option. Extremely smooth, excellent software and no lag, no bugs. Has microSD.
3. HTC One X - arguably the best screen. Not as smooth and has some bugs and hiccups which can get very annoying. No microSD
4. LG Optimus G - great screen. Smoother than HTC One X but software is bad. Has microSD.

Worst options:

Sony Xperia (heard it's very crap because of bugs and software updates are non-existent after ICS). No microSD and the camera is crap for the amount of MP it offers. Actually one of the worst cameras I've used on a phone.

 

[Deunan]

HTC One X. Although the S3 you tried out was pretty behind in terms of updates. JB has been rolling outbfor international S3's with an incredible performance and smoothness boost. Although also problems with demo phones is that people tend to leave a lot of games running in the background.

Thanks, is that the one X or the one X+ that you're suggesting?

Best options:

1. LG Nexus 4 - your best best option. Great screen, buttery smooth UI which is smoother than SGS3 and HTC One X and the software is excellent. No microSD.
2. Samsung Galaxy S3 - your next best option. Extremely smooth, excellent software and no lag, no bugs. Has microSD.
3. HTC One X - arguably the best screen. Not as smooth and has some bugs and hiccups which can get very annoying. No microSD
4. LG Optimus G - great screen. Smoother than HTC One X but software is bad. Has microSD.

Worst options:

Sony Xperia (heard it's very crap because of bugs and software updates are non-existent after ICS). No microSD and the camera is crap for the amount of MP it offers. Actually one of the worst cameras I've used on a phone.

How bad is the SW on the Optimus g? The 2 things that had me on that phone was the SD slot and screen. I'd go for a nexus 4 but the storage limitation is bad, I have no access to a pc to back anything up for quite a while but not missing any updates and android 4.2 is appealing - but storage is an issue. My 16GB iPhone is full now so storage is a must.
I could probably live with the super AMOLED screen but wouldn't like it and the blue tint to the whites and oversaturated colors would get to me after a while. If it wasn't for that screen, I'd have already gotten it.

I haven't looked into the HTC one X+ much, the last HTC phone I had (when they were new) was SLOW and the keyboard was a nightmare lol - THE reason I want to an iPhone (smoothness of OS and ease of typing more than anything else).

Thanks for the replies guys.

EDIT

I think the note 2 is the only phablet that I'd compromise on the screen for, seems to be getting stellar reviews, but holding that thing to your ear lol...I don't know. Guess it couldn't be any worse than when brick cell phones were introduced.

 

[chanchan05]

There's very little difference between the One X and One X plus, and the only thing of real note is the increase in processor speed.

Anyway, most of the lag that you MAY be seeing on high end Android phones could be attributed to the UI software. Maybe the SIII you got is in bad need of an update for the stock launcher. However you can always change the UI software into something smoother. These are called launchers on the Android Market. Heck my 2 year old Galaxy S is still as smooth and no lag on the UI after all this time, I just changed the launcher program.

I would personally pick up the SIII or the One X/X+

 

[Deunan]

There's very little difference between the One X and One X plus, and the only thing of real note is the increase in processor speed.

Anyway, most of the lag that you MAY be seeing on high end Android phones could be attributed to the UI software. Maybe the SIII you got is in bad need of an update for the stock launcher. However you can always change the UI software into something smoother. These are called launchers on the Android Market. Heck my 2 year old Galaxy S is still as smooth and no lag on the UI after all this time, I just changed the launcher program.

I would personally pick up the SIII or the One X/X+

Thanks for the reply. I did some research on the galaxy note 2 and the display seems to be changed from the RGBG pixel coloration on the GS3 to a RGB output so the blue tint to the whites seem to be aleviated. The size of the phone doesn't concern me, I think I'll try the note 2 put once it comes into Verizon in about 10 days.

 

[Ingenieur7]

Thanks for the reply. I did some research on the galaxy note 2 and the display seems to be changed from the RGBG pixel coloration on the GS3 to a RGB output so the blue tint to the whites seem to be aleviated. The size of the phone doesn't concern me, I think I'll try the note 2 put once it comes into Verizon in about 10 days.

If I were you, I'd get the Note 2.

So much better than the other phones you've listed.

• Faster Exynos 4 quad core (overclocked to 1.6GHz)
• S-Pen and functionality gives you so many more options
• The camera is fantastic with burst mode, HDR and panoramic mode
• The 5.5" Super AMOLED HD screen is excellent and does not use PenTile which means it has better color accuracy while retaining the high contrast and deep black levels of AMOLED displays.
• Extremely smooth, no lag and no bugs

It's actually surprising how fast the Note 2 actually is. The Exynos 4 quad core actually outperforms dual core Cortex-A15.

I would get the Titanium Grey Note 2. Makes it look even more premium.

 

[Deunan]

If I were you, I'd get the Note 2.

So much better than the other phones you've listed.

• Faster Exynos 4 quad core (overclocked to 1.6GHz)
• S-Pen and functionality gives you so many more options
• The camera is fantastic with burst mode, HDR and panoramic mode
• The 5.5" Super AMOLED HD screen is excellent and does not use PenTile which means it has better color accuracy while retaining the high contrast and deep black levels of AMOLED displays.
• Extremely smooth, no lag and no bugs

It's actually surprising how fast the Note 2 actually is. The Exynos 4 quad core actually outperforms dual core Cortex-A15.

I would get the Titanium Grey Note 2. Makes it look even more premium.

I did a lot of comparisons in the last few days and hands down it'll be the note 2. I'm curious what Verizon's deal will be and how much bloatware they will put on it. Is that why people 'root' their phones? I've always wondered.

Also, I wonder if android has similar apps to the iPhone. The iPhone I currently use is the first phone I actually use.

 

[Ingenieur7]

I did a lot of comparisons in the last few days and hands down it'll be the note 2. I'm curious what Verizon's deal will be and how much bloatware they will put on it. Is that why people 'root' their phones? I've always wondered.

Also, I wonder if android has similar apps to the iPhone. The iPhone I currently use is the first phone I actually use.

Great choice.

Don't worry about Verizon's bloatware. You can uninstall them using Task Manager.