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

[EarlyMon]

screen size and quality vs speaker sound seems like a very odd trade off. i listen to a good amount of music on my phone. however, 99% of the time it's with headphones. at the gym, in the yard, at my desk at work...there's very few places i can play music without headphones (without being inconsiderate) and actually enjoy it. i can respect that the one has great speakers, but how often can you use them? the speaker function for me is pretty much only used as a hands free convenience or while on a call.

screen size vs physical size of the device speaks for itself. everything revolves around the screen.

Emphasis added because your mileage may vary.

I use my phone speaker very often and am dissatisfied nearly half the time.

If I get the One then I'll be set on that, and will pick up the JBL Flip when it suits my fancy (I'm sold on that).

If I get the SGS4 then I'll be getting the JBL Flip on the same day, no option for me on that.

Phone calls are not all about the screen, neither is enjoying music at my desk courtesy of my phone.

The trade-off that you won't use or see creates the requirement for an immediate accessory purchase for me.

No kidding - choosing the larger screen for me means often I'll have to carry and charge two devices rather than just one. And I may just do that. But just the SGS4 alone or continued use of an inadequate speaker phone on many occasions? Not my choice for my next upgrade, or it won't be an upgrade.

I use headphones as well - but at my desk or in my lab, they're inconvenient and the speaker use is inconsiderate to no one.

As I like to say, your mileage may vary.

 

[PlayfulGod]

I still rather get the N4, better bang for the buck plus not locked down. I dont care for the bs ya have to go thru unlocking a htc. And if the N4 was the same price as the s4, then it would be top choice.

 

[Slug]

screen size and quality vs speaker sound seems like a very odd trade off.

It depends on the end user's priorities. I had a customer in today to upgrade her phone to the One. Last I'd heard she was sold on the Xperia Z, but when I asked what had changed her mind the answer was "the amazing sound from those speakers - summer camping parties are going to be beastly!"

I know it's a single data point, but it illustrates nicely how something that's inconsequential to one person sells a device to another.

 

[BzB]

Emphasis added because your mileage may vary.

I use my phone speaker very often and am dissatisfied nearly half the time.

If I get the One then I'll be set on that, and will pick up the JBL Flip when it suits my fancy (I'm sold on that).

If I get the SGS4 then I'll be getting the JBL Flip on the same day, no option for me on that.

Phone calls are not all about the screen, neither is enjoying music at my desk courtesy of my phone.

The trade-off that you won't use or see creates the requirement for an immediate accessory purchase for me.

No kidding - choosing the larger screen for me means often I'll have to carry and charge two devices rather than just one. And I may just do that. But just the SGS4 alone or continued use of an inadequate speaker phone on many occasions? Not my choice for my next upgrade, or it won't be an upgrade.

I use headphones as well - but at my desk or in my lab, they're inconvenient and the speaker use is inconsiderate to no one.

As I like to say, your mileage may vary.

It depends on the end user's priorities. I had a customer in today to upgrade her phone to the One. Last I'd heard she was sold on the Xperia Z, but when I asked what had changed her mind the answer was "the amazing sound from those speakers - summer camping parties are going to be beastly!"

I know it's a single data point, but it illustrates nicely how something that's inconsequential to one person sells a device to another.

both points well made. we all have our own use cases and also what we observe others doing. my experience and observations are mostly in business or public settings where it's very uncommon to see people listening to music without headphones. what people do in their private settings is another thing.

even so, i still find it interesting that touchscreen smart phone users would say speaker quality is more important to them than screen size\quality. i forget that this may not be the sentiment on a large though.

that jbl flip does look kind of interesting. not sure i'd use it often, but looks like a nice impulse purchase. lol

 

[EarlyMon]

If you're a Sprint customer, you can snag the Flip at your accessory discount of $80, save a cool $20 off of the Amazon price.

Both screens are high quality and I think that it's still true that there is yet to be the perfect display technology despite what the blogosphere says.

That leaves size and I agree it matters when using your phone as a PDA.

I remember when we all got our 4.3" Evos on Sprint and others got the 4.3" DX on Verizon back in 2010 and people were calling us crazy for having such behemoths.

I've been very highly satisfied with my 720p 4.7" screen since I got it (and got rid of the nav bar lol), so regardless of whether one screen is better than the other, if both/either match/surpass what I have now, that's fair enough for me.

I fully expect to get flamed for this - but - the draw for me on the SGS4 screen is that it's 1080p. The 720p/Pentile screens are noticeable and somewhat unpleasant for me. I don't have magic eyes that can see dots - I do read a lot of eBooks, I've tried it on the SGS3, and the text is simply not as crisp as on my 720p LCD.

I expect no difference going from what I have (LTEvo/One X) to the One screen-wise. The resolution/clarity on mine is already at the limit of my visual acuity. It isn't on the SGS3. I expect that will be on the SGS4.

I prefer more neutral/natural colors rather than vivid. That's a preference, but it's what I already have.

And the SGS4 allows for color adjustments now, so I won't be stuck with just vivid.

Put those two screen factors together, and all else being equal, the upgrade for me screen-wise is really size only. And being happy with what I have now, the screen is just a don't care for me all around.

IOW, going from 4.7" satisfied -> 5" satisfied just isn't a driver for me.

So, I'm actually comparing the sound feature and the esoterica as well as the other standard features.

 

[Hadron]

screen size and quality vs speaker sound seems like a very odd trade off.

If it were size *and quality* I'd be more inclined to agree. But having had a good long play with the One, and admittedly only a brief look at the S4, I don't think it is. They are different, and people may legitimately have preferences, but I don't think there is an advantage in quality (and I'm speaking as someone who is currently using an AMOLED screen).

 

[mape245]

HTC One beats the Samsung Galaxy S4 - Los Angeles Gadgets | Examiner.com

I have to agree with this writer; I traded in my Galaxy S4 for the HTC One and don't regret it. I like the screen better on the HTC One. I also love the stereo speakers. Still, the Galaxy S4 is a great phone. But it's not all it was hyped up to be.

 

[Rxpert83]

HTC One's camera is 4 megapixels ... that in itself puts me off :S

Its more complex than that.

 

[Palmetto Fellow]

Not really. The market for removeable battery and SD slot account for very little of the target audience.

Both removable battery and SD slot are easily fixed:

1. Instead of carrying that spare battery around, carry an external battery that is around the same size.

2. HTC gives you 32GB out of the box instead of 16GB already. More than enough.

I always buy extended capacity batteries in the 3400-4000 mAh range. What am I going to do with my midget porn when my phone fails and I have to send it in for repair?

Removable battery and SD slot are a requirement for my business. Until such time as these two are no longer offered, I'll then cave in.

 

[Frisco]

HTC One's camera is 4 megapixels ... that in itself puts me off :S

That should not put you off.

There is much more to modern camera technology than megapixels, almost to the point that more megapixels has become a sort of pr gimmick.

Often the increase provided by larger numbers is an increase in optical noise, not an increase in picture quality, user settings be damned.

When we make our choices on smartphones, it's a great idea, imo, to research, read reviews and handle the devices in question.

The best reviews are lengthy and contain comparative photos taken with all discussed devices. You'll often notice that some smaller megapixel cameras produce better quality pix.

 

[windstrings]

Here is a good comparison between s3 & s4....htc one is really a different animal with a camera so different and fixed battery and no memory slot... Not in the running for me....

What happens when you drop it in water or it gets crushed? As long as the sd card survived you would still have all your goodies!

Sounds like an apple device with so many limitations with glitter to stimulate.

http://highonandroid.com/android-smartphones/galaxy-s4-vs-galaxy-s3-comparison/

I believe in optics.... Digital only amplifies and enhances what's brought through the optics... On the s4 the lense itself*is actually 2-3 times bigger. Not sure how that stacks against the "one".

 

[EarlyMon]

The article claims that the lens is 2 to 3 times bigger - comparing the SGS3 and SGS4 only. The article lacks.

In point of fact, the aperature is bigger, they went from F/2.6 to F/2.2, S3 to S4.

Here are the real numbers involved -

Lens specs: One vs. SGS4
focal length: 3.82 mm vs. 4.235 mm
aperature: F/2.0 vs. F/2.2
sensor diameter: 1/3.2"(*) vs. 1/3.06"

(* web articles vary as to whether the One sensor is 1/3" or 1/3.2" sensor)

Given that the equation for lens diameter = focal_length/F_number, we get:

One diameter: 1.91 mm (3.82/2.0)
SGS4 diameter: 1.925 mm (4.235/2.2)

The SGS4 lens is .015 mm larger in diameter than the One - that's much less than the width of a human hair (that's 0.100 mm).

But the SGS4 lets in less light (bigger F-stop) onto the same or slightly larger sensor (matters for total area for gathering light).

If you believe in optical relationships, the One is the clear winner, it's letting in more light from the same-sized lens.

But - those are numbers.

The lens matters. The sensor's rated electrical noise matters.

More discussion on the megapixel myth can be found in the HTC One forum - http://androidforums.com/htc-one/69...deo-talk-ultrapixel-more-tips-discussion.html

Discussion of HTC weaknesses can be found at http://androidforums.com/device-carrier-comparisons/716640-iphone-4s-htc-one-sgs4.html

Cheers!

PS - the SGS3 has a focal length of 3.7 mm, F/2.6, lens diameter is 1.423 mm

SGS4 vs. SGS3, in percent difference is - 35% larger diameter, or, 83% more area.

No way the SGS4 lens is 2 to 3 times bigger than the SGS3, the article is just pants.

 

[Hadron]

What happens when you drop it in water or it gets crushed? As long as the sd card survived you would still have all your goodies!

As long as the important data are on the card - we've all read threads where people want to recover messages, or game progress, or photos which it turns out they had on internal storage.

And what if the card fails? There's a long thread about this in the S3 forum.

If the data are important you back them up regardless. SD gives you one more chance in some circumstances, and more flexibility in other ways, but I wouldn't rely on it to keep anything that mattered to me safe (I back my card up regularly).

 

[windstrings]

So at best we are splitting hairs over the size of the lens. Smaller F stops are always nice for low light and better contrast. So it will be interesting to see final difference.

It's common knowledge that the megapixel claim on phones do not compare to regular cameras, hopefully the htc will bring things back into perspective of how it really is or else they will have mud in their eye.

 

[EarlyMon]

I don't agree that the megapixel myth loses meaning on cell phones. I just think that there's more to it all.

I tend to find that jpeg compression is a detail killer and I recommend using an app that avoids it, such as Camera JB+.

The HTC app is terribly aggressive in that regard and recent updates have addressed a bit of that as well as auto-exposure adjustment.

The only thing that we know about the lens on both phones is that they don't stack up to the Zeiss lens used in the iPhone, but the rest of the components are doing well enough to put them on par with it.

My gripe is with the reviewers.

Lens, sensor, image processing firmware and software all impact details, but they bray like donkeys in their reviews about megapixels, conveniently overlooking the minor difference between the 5 and 8 MP iPhone results.

I think that it's great that both brands are trying to up their game with the cameras.

But there's still room for improvement.

As for splitting hairs on diameter - that's literally true lol.

Cheers!

PS - Last year's One X had about the same size lens (splitting hairs) as this years, 8 MP, F/2.0, yet the SGS3 cleaned up on it with detail - until using a camera app that got rid of their over-compression. I know, I've got last year's HTC and easy access to the SGS3, I've compared them.

Same megapixels, but it was compression that made the detail differences.