Too many choices... S4 vs HTC One vs LG G2 vs Note 3... (Verizon) .. Can't decide which one!

[PowerPlayGraphix]

I'm getting ready to try and upgrade my Verizon Gnex and I can't decide which one to go with. All have their pluses and minuses and I can't decide which pluses I like better than which minuses. Since Verizon probably WON'T get another Nexus device anytime soon I'm looking at the other top contenders and I'm REALLY torn as to which I like better.

HTC One: I really like the physical build quality of the One but I'm not sold on the "Ultra-Pixel" camera. Sense 5 isn't really a selling point or killer for me since I typically wind up using Nova. As fast as it is, some of the other contenders are faster. The screen on it is not bad but not outstanding either. All the ones I'm looking at are 1920 x 1080, it's just a matter of whether I like the IPS or AMOLED. Another plus on the One are the Speakers. I spend a lot of time listening to my phone at work so the stereo forward facing speakers are pretty cool.

S4: I like some of the features of the camera on this but not enough to sway the decision, It's 13mp but the video doesn't look like it's all that great. Not a fan of touchwiz but again I'll probably use Nova. It's a little faster than the One but the plastic cheap feel of it is really annoying. It seems to get overall good reviews from it's owners.

LG G2: I'll be honest, when it was announced I didn't pay it much attention but when I thought about getting a new phone, the sales guy brought it up when I started talking specs and numbers. I played with the one in the store and was really impressed with how responsive that Snapdragon 800 was. Wow. The screen was really nice as well. Of all of them, the IPS display seems to be the truest for color and best for viewing in all light levels. The LG skin isn't repulsive but it's not something that blew me away either, although their take on multitasking and the "knock-on" feature are pretty nice. The camera is a 13 mp shooter with Optical Image Stabilization that is getting some considerable praise. The biggest drawback to the G2 for me is similar to the S4, the cheap "feel" of the phone. I actually kind of like the position of the buttons being on the back but it would take some getting used to. Also, the battery life seems to be incredible on it.

Note 3: Since it's not out yet, no real world reviews yet but the specs on it look impressive. Coming with 4.3 is appealing. Being a designer and using a Wacom stylus all the time, the pressure sensitive stylus is tempting and since they've got it to a true HD resolution, it's even more so. Samsung has at least gotten rid of the smooth, shiny plastic but I'm not sure if the faux leather texture is really appealing or not. HTC one still has the best physical construction of the bunch. I've played with other Note phones and I'm not sure if I think they are too big or not.

Kind of funny, even though I'm a graphic designer and swear by Mac OS on the desktop, for me, iOS is kind of underwhelming and restrictive. I like the speed of the new 64 bit A7 that seems to be SMOKING even the newest Android phones and the new flash and camera are pretty impressive but I just don't have any desire to go over to the iPhone crowd.

If only I could get the G2 Screen and battery life with with the processor and flash of the iPhone 5s and the metal build and speakers of the One, the pressure sensitive stylus of the Note 3 while running 4.3 without any of the bloatware and goofy skins I'd be set!

 

[Thom]

Welcome to Android Forums. I moved your questions to the area where device comparisons are discussed.

... Thom

 

[Ssith]

as i've said many many times, you literally can't make a bad choice between the S4, HTC One, their respective google editions, G2, Xperia Z, the Note 3, the forthcoming nexus 5, or the iPhone 5s.

all of them are top of the line, and the only choice you really need to make between them is "which UI and form factor combination do i like the best?"

 

[jhawkkw]

Phones have gotten to the point now where there's not much difference between them. Most flagships are running the same Snapdragon processors depending on when they came out (600 or 800), have the same amount of ram(2gb except for an occasional 3gb, which is more than you need). So what it comes down to is which phone UI do I like best, or does one offer a particular feature that the other's don't.

 

[Hadron]

Honestly my best advice is to ignore spec sheets, pointless benchmarks etc. Just go to the shop, have a play and see which one you *like* best. Then buy that one and don't give it another thought.

 

[PowerPlayGraphix]

I went by at Lunch and played with with the G2, S4, Moto X & One. All exponentially smoother and faster than my current phone. I've definitely ruled out the Droid brands. I probably will stay away from the Moto X too. Really nice phone but just a little underpowered and screen is just a little lower quality than the remaining competitors.

Thanks for moving it Thom. I didn't dig enough to find the comparison area. It's definitely a far cry from the early Android days where there weren't really any phones of any quality to choose from. I just wonder how long before a 64bit chip shows up in an Android phone. Looking at the specs and real world tests with the iPhone 5 are looking really impressive.