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Samsung just handed all their competitors an opportunity

I agree that the One isn't revolutionary either, but please, it's hardware is far above an iPhone 5, including both the HTC and S4 sharing the same processor in some regions.

HTC made the first aluminum case over two years ago for their Windows phone. Apple got that idea from HTC, not the other way around. ;)

Both Androids represent a significant hardware step up from the iP5.
 
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I agree that the One isn't revolutionary either, but please, it's hardware is far above an iPhone 5, including both the HTC and S4 sharing the same processor in some regions.

HTC made the first aluminum case over two years ago for their Windows phone. Apple got that idea from HTC, not the other way around. ;)

Both Androids represent a significant hardware step up from the iP5.


See I look at the HTC one and see it revolutionary for a few reasons...some may agree, some won't!

Speakers on the front of a phone should have been done so long ago. Sammy and LG will just not stop putting speakers on the back of the phone for the life of them...so to me the sound on the one (hopefully) is going to just Rock!

I know metal has been done before, but it hasn't been really done right...And to me it looks like HTC has really done this right! From the looks of it and from what reviewers are saying, the one may be the best phone ever built (hardware wise).

Also its something that maybe us stock android fanatics may not welcome, but the more I look at Blink Feed, the more I say hey this can really work...Of course providing it works right and its not clunky. If I can set up say ESPN, Phandroid : ), and a few other sites I use all day and see the latest content right there live on my screen then that is a welcome thing for me...I would love to just turn on my phone and see ESPN and all my sports scores buzzing around on my screen, however I will reserve final judgment to when I'm using it.

A camera that takes great pics in low light, by jeez I've been waiting for this...Again I will have to reserve final judgment to my use.

Again this is my 2 cents....These are things I will use every single day! Those things or gimmicks as some will call them on the S4 are just things I would never use. Again just my take here folks.
 
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HTC put front facing stereo speakers on a bad phone a few years ago. It didn't sell and was ragged by the press. So they concluded that people didn't like stereo speakers rather than people not liking crappy phones. They almost got the full aluminum body last year on the LTEvo, but used plastic top and bottom covers over the antennas rather than use integral aluminum antennas in those two places.

I'm not saying that those are bad things, when it's not your first time doing things, you have a better chance of getting it right the next time around.

I think that HTC's really new hardware feature is the dual-diaphragm microphone so you can shoot live, noisy events and not get muffled sound.

I think that HTC's message is a high level of hardware integration, along with software such as Blinkfeed and the Zoe camera.

I think that Samsung's message is a high level of software integration, along with hardware refinements to support that.

My opinion on this is subject to change though. ;)
 
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They are taking a page out of Apple's playbook- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Release an incremental change and it will continue to attract 1st time users. Add on just enough so you will tempt the S3 users to upgrade to the S4.

The issue is, which has been repeated, is that innovation is slowing in the smartphone market. So I would imagine S3 owners have less of an incentive to upgrade now compared to a few years ago when there were huge changes between phones. iPhone 4S to iPhone 5, S3 to S4, and so on are just minor improvements.
 
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I agree that the One isn't revolutionary either, but please, it's hardware is far above an iPhone 5, including both the HTC and S4 sharing the same processor in some regions.

HTC made the first aluminum case over two years ago for their Windows phone. Apple got that idea from HTC, not the other way around. ;)

Both Androids represent a significant hardware step up from the iP5.
I didn't claim that HTC got the idea for an aluminum case from Apple (nor would I claim that Apple got the idea from HTC). My point was that both the iPhone5 and One have a similar upscale design and feel (reportedly... I haven't used the One yet).

But it's a trade-off. The S4's screen-area-to-weight ratio is 24% higher than the HTC One's. Its screen-area-to-thinness ratio is 33% higher. Its screen-area-to-footprint ratio is 13% higher. And that's with a higher capacity removable battery and microSD.
 
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I didn't claim that HTC got the idea for an aluminum case from Apple (nor would I claim that Apple got the idea from HTC). My point was that both the iPhone5 and One have a similar upscale design and feel (reportedly... I haven't used the One yet).

But it's a trade-off. The S4's screen-area-to-weight ratio is 24% higher than the HTC One's. Its screen-area-to-thinness ratio is 33% higher. Its screen-area-to-footprint ratio is 13% higher. And that's with a higher capacity removable battery and microSD.

Comparing the SGS4 to the One and deciding which wins - fair enough! :)

Saying that the One didn't win and comparing it to a phone with a smaller screen, almost HD, let alone 720p or 1080p, lacking stereo speakers, dual-diaphragm mics, and half the processing power as the One does, I took exception to, and apologize for putting words in your mouth about the case design. Not sure what else could have been similar, so I'm sorry about that! :)
 
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They ARE bringing something different- Other than the odd LG phone, they're the only ones still delivering a physical home key, and putting the back+menu buttons on the same sides they always have - it's everyone else who's left this party.

At least the camera has been upped, last year I thought Apple would stuff a 10mpx unit in the iphone 5 to get an edge but they didn't for some reason.

I have faith in the 2600mah battery, 2100 wasn't suitable for the S3 and 1650 not suitable for the S2, but this should be a bit more than enough.
Who cares about the battery, you can replace it about 30 seconds time, I know my S3 with that SMALL LOL battery lasts me all day plus, and if I am out and about for an extended period of time "like to listen to music and browse the web" and do by chance run out of juice "rarely", I just pop open the back and insert a fresh new battery, it's not rocket science, I payed $15 for two extra batteries on Amazon.
 
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I didn't claim that HTC got the idea for an aluminum case from Apple (nor would I claim that Apple got the idea from HTC). My point was that both the iPhone5 and One have a similar upscale design and feel (reportedly... I haven't used the One yet).

But it's a trade-off. The S4's screen-area-to-weight ratio is 24% higher than the HTC One's. Its screen-area-to-thinness ratio is 33% higher. Its screen-area-to-footprint ratio is 13% higher. And that's with a higher capacity removable battery and microSD.
Could not have said it any better myself, you forgot to mention that the S4 will ship with JB 4.2.2 and the HTC One will ship with 4.1.2 and then should see an upgrade to 4.2.2 around this time next year, LOL.
 
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Who cares about the battery, you can replace it about 30 seconds time, I know my S3 with that SMALL LOL battery lasts me all day plus, and if I am out and about for an extended period of time "like to listen to music and browse the web" and do by chance run out of juice "rarely", I just pop open the back and insert a fresh new battery, it's not rocket science, I payed $15 for two extra batteries on Amazon.

Everyone getting different battery life and having different battery needs isn't rocket science either.

Lighten up bud.
 
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Everyone getting different battery life and having different battery needs isn't rocket science either.

Lighten up bud.
Not to burst your bubble, I did not say anything offensive, yes I know everyone has different needs, we are all different with different needs, but it just does not make sense to me when someone complains about a battery that is so easy to be replaced by the end user, now if we where talking about HTC phones "recent ones like the ONE" or the Xperia Z, both great phones in their own right, then the size of the battery does matter since you can NOT replace it, again, just stating the obvious.
 
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I agree that the One isn't revolutionary either, but please, it's hardware is far above an iPhone 5, including both the HTC and S4 sharing the same processor in some regions.

HTC made the first aluminum case over two years ago for their Windows phone. Apple got that idea from HTC, not the other way around. ;)

Both Androids represent a significant hardware step up from the iP5.

LOL Apple made the first iPhone out of nearly all metal / aluminum... in 2007.

Apple - iPhone
 
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Not to burst your bubble, I did not say anything offensive, yes I know everyone has different needs, we are all different with different needs, but it just does not make sense to me when someone complains about a battery that is so easy to be replaced by the end user, now if we where talking about HTC phones "recent ones like the ONE" or the Xperia Z, both great phones in their own right, then the size of the battery does matter since you can NOT replace it, again, just stating the obvious.

I for one am really cool with having a sealed battery. No I dont want to take my case off and pop off a battery door, and then pop another battery in. I'd rather have my phone sealed without any creaks and call it a day.

The batteries that are going into phones these days are pretty much ok if you know how to really use a phone. I haven't run into bad battery life in some time, honestly because I know how to use my phone these days. The people who do run into problems are ones who have everything under the sun running and have twitter, facebook, and other social media things running along with tons of widgets, etc. It's a phone man, not a laptop. I think the battery in the one will be fine for my use, but I will leave final judgment up to when I'm actually using the phone and have put it through a marathon of usage.
 
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I for one am really cool with having a sealed battery. No I dont want to take my case off and pop off a battery door, and then pop another battery in. I'd rather have my phone sealed without any creaks and call it a day.

The batteries that are going into phones these days are pretty much ok if you know how to really use a phone. I haven't run into bad battery life in some time, honestly because I know how to use my phone these days. The people who do run into problems are ones who have everything under the sun running and have twitter, facebook, and other social media things running along with tons of widgets, etc. It's a phone man, not a laptop. I think the battery in the one will be fine for my use, but I will leave final judgment up to when I'm actually using the phone and have put it through a marathon of usage.
I am really happy for you, enjoy your new HTC One, nice phone. By the way, you lost me with the removable back cover and creaky noise, LOL.
 
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I for one am really cool with having a sealed battery. No I dont want to take my case off and pop off a battery door, and then pop another battery in. I'd rather have my phone sealed without any creaks and call it a day.

The batteries that are going into phones these days are pretty much ok if you know how to really use a phone. I haven't run into bad battery life in some time, honestly because I know how to use my phone these days. The people who do run into problems are ones who have everything under the sun running and have twitter, facebook, and other social media things running along with tons of widgets, etc. It's a phone man, not a laptop. I think the battery in the one will be fine for my use, but I will leave final judgment up to when I'm actually using the phone and have put it through a marathon of usage.

"Misusing" one's phone isn't the only reason for poor battery life.

My desk gets marginal cellular reception, you can watch it flip between 4G to 3G with a bar or two. This beats the crap out of the battery. We have almost no signal in our lab which is worse. I guess I could come up with some clever way to enable/disable 4G depending on whether I'm at my desk or not and go into airplane mode when I enter the lab, but I haven't. Therefore great battery life is important to me.

With the building I'm in, it's not uncommon for my battery to drop 10-12% while I have a 10 minute smoke break. That's take it off charge, walk outside, smoke while checking twitter (screen on) then return to my desk. If I didn't keep it on charge all the time, I'd be dead by mid afternoon. It hurts to say but the iPhone guys don't have this problem (or 4G).

I'll leave it up to you whether I know how to use my phone or not. ;)
 
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Well looks like Sammy just pulled an Apple with the S4. Samsung are not Apple, they can't afford to pull a "same old same old" because they're not the only Android maker, while Apple are the only iPhone maker.

By launching what is basically nothing more than just a spec refresh of the older GS3 with a few touchwiz gimmicks, Samsung just handed every other Android OEM, Apple, MS, and Blackberry a golden opportunity to attract buyers to something more unique and different. Both Motorola and HTC learned the hard way after their initial popularity with Android fell due to not maintaining their momentum. It seems that being the most popular Android OEM has a very short lifespan, and now it's looking like this is the beginning of the end for Samsung's turn at the top. There's already a ton of "I'm not impressed" buzz from this launch everywhere you look.

I'm actually glad this happened. Samsung haven't been going in a good direction with Android and it's time for companies who are willing to put more effort into it to balance out the marketshare.

I totally disagree with this. Samsung had made a smart move. Why fix what isn't broken? The S series is a strong point, rather than stray away from a strong point and create something so different it's confusing for people who are dropping the iphone and switching to android is madness.


The specs upgrades are HUGE, it's not a piss take like what apple has been doing, it is a totally different phone. The galaxy design has taken shape and iphone users can easily tell the difference between it and other androids so it is wise to stick to that, plus looks were an issue in the apple samsung court cases where apple made claims people were confused between a galaxy and an iphone.

Therefore it is wise to stick to a similar design to limit confusion... not that there was any to start with.

All in all the S2 was the turning point and the S3 confirmed that, the S4 is the overtaking and all it needs is specs not looks.
 
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The batteries that are going into phones these days are pretty much ok if you know how to really use a phone. I haven't run into bad battery life in some time, honestly because I know how to use my phone these days. The people who do run into problems are ones who have everything under the sun running and have twitter, facebook, and other social media things running along with tons of widgets, etc.
In my experience, that's not the case.

My friends with Android devices aren't always on Facebook/twitter/etc and neither am I. We all disable LTE in areas where coverage is spotty, toggle off the GPS, disable notifications, etc.. and we all still sometimes run out of juice with moderate usage. I work in IT, and it's common for Android users to come in to charge their phone. We have more iPhone than Android phones in the department, yet iOS users never come in needing a charge.

It's a phone man, not a laptop.
These are pocket computers, not just phones. It's ironic that you're placing blame on the users for doing too much with their Android device. To me, being able to do more was one of the reasons for getting an Android device in the first place.

The reality is that iOS is generally more efficient. The iPhone5 has 30% less screen-area and a 32% smaller battery than the S3, yet the iPhone5 lasts significantly longer. Different chipsets, AMOLED vs LCD, etc... but the iPhone5 is as fluid and responsive as the S3, if not more-so.

A big difference is of course how Android handles multitasking (iOS allow more of it than WinCE, but not as much as Android). And to be fair to the S3, it's 4 months (1/3 cycle) older than the iPhone5, but the fact remains that Android is thirsty.

I prefer Android's flexibility, features, and openness, so I accept its mediocre battery life and charge my phone on my desk at work, keep a charger handy in my car, and carry a spare battery. Maybe that'll no longer be needed with the upcoming Android devices (that'd be nice), but I'm not counting on it.
 
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Idk, I think this phone will have a strong release when it's all said and done. It may not impress some GS3 users, but a lot of people coming off 2 year contracts will view it as full of win. And maybe so much has been done to improve the devices over the last few years that the incremental gains will seem less to many consumers. Just a thought.

Exactly right. The S3 is only 10 months old, the _main_ market for the S4 is people coming off contract with an S2, an One-X or (hopefully) an iPhone 4.

Sure there are some (rich? obsessed?) people who are looking at ditching an S3 for an S4 but I doubt they'll make a big difference in the overall sales of the S4.
 
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In my experience, that's not the case.

My friends with Android devices aren't always on Facebook/twitter/etc and neither am I. We all disable LTE in areas where coverage is spotty, toggle off the GPS, disable notifications, etc.. and we all still sometimes run out of juice with moderate usage. I work in IT, and it's common for Android users to come in to charge their phone. We have more iPhone than Android phones in the department, yet iOS users never come in needing a charge.


These are pocket computers, not just phones. It's ironic that you're placing blame on the users for doing too much with their Android device. To me, being able to do more was one of the reasons for getting an Android device in the first place.

The reality is that iOS is generally more efficient. The iPhone5 has 30% less screen-area and a 32% smaller battery than the S3, yet the iPhone5 lasts significantly longer. Different chipsets, AMOLED vs LCD, etc... but the iPhone5 is as fluid and responsive as the S3, if not more-so.

A big difference is of course how Android handles multitasking (iOS allow more of it than WinCE, but not as much as Android). And to be fair to the S3, it's 4 months (1/3 cycle) older than the iPhone5, but the fact remains that Android is thirsty.

I prefer Android's flexibility, features, and openness, so I accept its mediocre battery life and charge my phone on my desk at work, keep a charger handy in my car, and carry a spare battery. Maybe that'll no longer be needed with the upcoming Android devices (that'd be nice), but I'm not counting on it.

My post was not meant to place blame on every sigle user of an Android Phone that has bad battery life. I have an iphone 5 and my battery life is pretty much the same as my nexus 4...And that's an LTE device vs an HSPA+ device. However I see tons and tons of Android users just sound off in various threads time after time on how the battery stinks and they're iphone or blackberry didn't have this problem, etc! Of course it didn't is usually my answer or thoughts, and its because your using a phone with a much bigger screen, and you may or may not have everything running, with 15 widgets on your home screens and you have your social media apps refreshing every half hr...lmao

lol, that's extreme of course, but I'm sure you catch my drift! I never turn off wifi, I never disable LTE or HSPA+ for that fact, what good is the phone if you handicap it! But I do watch how many things I have open, and kill tasks after I'm done with them and have realistic expectations for my devices. 12 to 15 hours on a single charge keeps me pretty happy for the most part. It's what I used to get on my GS3, and it's pretty much what I get on my iphone 5 and nexus 4, give or take an hour or two more depending on my usage for the day.
 
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I'm not happy with the way it looks I really thought they would do something different like the HTC One (which I really like the looks) & do a all aluminum body which is cool looking, I am glad they kept the physical home key but I wish they would have added a physical camera button. I am glad that they still kept the back cover to take off for the battery & to add a sim card I won't buy a phone that has an enclosed back cover. I have the S3 but I don't think i'll be changing to the S4.

So you got an S3, but want something like the HTC One, of which you like the looks and whatnot ... here is a thought - get one :p
 
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Funny reading posts from people with S3s saying how they won't get an S4, as this is identical to what us S2 owners said when the S3 was looming/announced early last year. :D
I can't believe it's been a year, but here we are, and I'm looking forward to this upgrade so much, especially since my s2 has been dead for about 3 months now.
 
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