New Phone

[Laize]

Hi everyone, I was looking at purchasing a new phone and I cannot decide on which to get. I am unsure of Windows Phones, since I have never owned one... are they any good? I was looking at the Galaxy S4, but am unsure if it is considered to be good atm due to hype or not. Also, how is the HTC One? I have heard good things/bad things about it. Could I get some insight on that phone? Thanks


If anyone has an opinion on a different phone, please comment about it. (Btw, I am unwilling to get an iPhone, so that's out of the question)

My friend has the SGS4. The thing is like handheld sex. Except he's having it.

[Deleted]

You may want to wait around a bit. There's the "Nexus Experience" One and S4 also appearing Soon™.

That's my problem though, it's not supported in the Play Store in Belgium so the chances of us getting it are near non existent. The Nexus 4 is available (in stores) for bit over a month now I think, but at the price of €469 (which is over €100 more then normal). Wondering if it's worth it, as it's such a nice phone. (For comparison, the S4/One is €699)

[Komati]

Gonna get new phone myself in a few days, gonna get the HTC One S.
Decided I didn't need the regular One, I don't play games on my phone, mostly just surfing the interweb and listening to music and other audiofiles.

You should decide if you really need the bigger screen and HDD space before buying a top end phone, the small version of all the big brands is usually just as good in almost every aspect, and costs 400$ less.

The first small versions of top ends was too weak to run their respective OS's properly, but that was a long time ago.

[Sloth11]

All the phones out right now are good. its mainly just trying to pick out which one caters to your interests.

[nazrakin]

There are no aesthetic changes yes, except the little increase in screen size. But what I have noticed is that my iPhone 5 is a lot faster than my brother in law's iPhone 4. There really is a big difference when it comes to that.

One note though, the 3G reception is really strange sometimes. When you're standing in the middle of a big city it sometimes loses the signal, but this seems to be a known problem. So be careful ^^

iPhone hardware is amazing. The problem is strictly the staleness of iOS and how every major new feature feels so half-assed -- hell, Siri and Maps are beta ware. Apple is becoming the new Microsoft where it does as little as possible and is happy to beat its chest on flash features and 3rd party support. Meanwhile, Google continues to refine and stuff Android full of features.

I've been exclusive to the iPhone since the 3g and at this point the only thing keeping me on board is that I've spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars in itunes purchases (apps,movies,music,ect) and I don't want to lose it.

[Sorshen]

iPhone hardware is amazing. The problem is strictly the staleness of iOS and how every major new feature feels so half-assed -- hell, Siri and Maps are beta ware. Apple is becoming the new Microsoft where it does as little as possible and is happy to beat its chest on flash features and 3rd party support. Meanwhile, Google continues to refine and stuff Android full of features.

I've been exclusive to the iPhone since the 3g and at this point the only thing keeping me on board is that I've spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars in itunes purchases (apps,movies,music,ect) and I don't want to lose it.

You can play the music you purchased in iTunes on Android devices with a sync apk, the movies require a DRM removal app.

[Bakis]

I would say HTC One as much as it pain a die hard Samsung fan like myself.
S4 is lacking new useful features, it also has gimped hw specs in US/EU compared to the ones in Asia.
HTC One got just kickass reviews. S4 got really good as well but from what I gather is really a S3S like iPhone 4S.
Lumia or whatever the nokia as called is also great but more suitable for people primarily aiming to use their phone as part of their working platform.

[Masark]

I would say HTC One as much as it pain a die hard Samsung fan like myself.
S4 is lacking new useful features, it also has gimped hw specs in US/EU compared to the ones in Asia.
HTC One got just kickass reviews. S4 got really good as well but from what I gather is really a S3S like iPhone 4S.
Lumia or whatever the nokia as called is also great but more suitable for people primarily aiming to use their phone as part of their working platform.

And what new features does the One bring to the table?

Also, the One has the same gimped HW (Snapdragon 600), only gimped a little more (downclocked processor).

[Bakis]

And what new features does the One bring to the table?

Also, the One has the same gimped HW (Snapdragon 600), only gimped a little more (downclocked processor).

HTC is older hence cheaper, what S4 brings like for example eye tracking is pretty useless (when working).
S4 is great but I'm saying HTC One due to it being older and hence cheaper with all the same useful features.

[Masark]

HTC is older hence cheaper, what S4 brings like for example eye tracking is pretty useless (when working).
S4 is great but I'm saying HTC One due to it being older and hence cheaper with all the same useful features.

Older? I have a distinct feeling we're talking about different devices. The One I'm talking about only came out a month before the S4 (March and April, respectively). Age has nothing to do with the prices, both are still selling at the launch prices ($649.99 and $699.99 for the One and S4 respectively)

[Bakis]

Older? I have a distinct feeling we're talking about different devices. The One I'm talking about only came out a month before the S4 (March and April, respectively). Age has nothing to do with the prices, both are still selling at the launch prices ($649.99 and $699.99 for the One and S4 respectively)

My bad, I mixed up the release dates here they are indeed within weeks of each other.
I will still say HTC One tho but not including my faulty relase/price argument but stick to the reviews I've read.
Then again it can be questioned if the poorer reviews to S4 been/not been due to the lack of news from S3.

[Sorshen]

As you can see above, the Exynos version has slightly higher results in synthetic benchmarks, but drains the battery considerably faster. Future firmware updates might squeeze even more performance.

I'd say ... pick the one you that you enjoy the most - visually and holding it in your hand.

[Klutzington]

Eh, in a turn of events I decided to go with the HTC Windows Phone 8X.

I picked it due to the price and that I have a sweet spot for Windows phones. I love the way it looks. I am going to go with Straight Talk to go on T Mobile towers, and I will be doing the $45 every month for unlimited talk, text, and data. I could literally use 30gb of data for $45 a month. In my area the T Mobile reception is the best (in the rural part of Florida) and it has the best service sans Verzion in Orlando - where I will be moving soon due to school.

I want to thank everyone for their help in finding a phone for me. (Just so no one asks... I bought an unlocked HTC Windows Phone 8X that IS compatible with Straight Talk and WILL work).

[Masark]

I could literally use 30gb of data for $45 a month.

Don't bet on it. There're reports all over about people on straight talk's "unlimited" plans getting throttled to hell and gone after a gig and a half or so of use.

Example : http://technofyi.com/2013/05/13/stra...n-is-bullshit/

[Klutzington]

Don't bet on it. There're reports all over about people on straight talk's "unlimited" plans getting throttled to hell and gone after a gig and a half or so of use.

Example : http://technofyi.com/2013/05/13/stra...n-is-bullshit/

Well, that sucks. I guess if it happens to me I can always switch to T Mobile's service directly. They have some pretty decent plans. I just thought I could save some money w/ ST. Thanks for the info . GL to me I guess.

[Tribunal]

Well, that sucks. I guess if it happens to me I can always switch to T Mobile's service directly. They have some pretty decent plans. I just thought I could save some money w/ ST. Thanks for the info . GL to me I guess.

T-Mobile throttles their "unlimited" data too, officially they can do it after a gig I believe, but most of their internal tracking says 2g, and some have reported it kicking in even later.

Sprint is the only one with no throttling in the traditional sense (sub 5gb) but they do reserve the right to throttle those "abusing their terms" (usually equates to top 1% of useage in your area, suspected tethering without paying for it, etc) and prepaid plans have some stricter restrictions.

[Klutzington]

T-Mobile throttles their "unlimited" data too, officially they can do it after a gig I believe, but most of their internal tracking says 2g, and some have reported it kicking in even later.

Sprint is the only one with no throttling in the traditional sense (sub 5gb) but they do reserve the right to throttle those "abusing their terms" (usually equates to top 1% of useage in your area, suspected tethering without paying for it, etc) and prepaid plans have some stricter restrictions.

I read their terms of agreement... if a 5 gigabyte (as of now) limit is exceeded, they MAY reduce speeds. "In addition, if your total usage exceeds 5GB (amount is subject to change without notice; please check T-Mobile's T&Cs on www.T-Mobile.com for updates) during a billing cycle, we may reduce your data speed for the remainder of that billing cycle." That's not so bad. I doubt I could exceed 5 gigs per month due to how busy I am away from my house, where wifi is readily available.

[Tribunal]

I read their terms of agreement... if a 5 gigabyte (as of now) limit is exceeded, they MAY reduce speeds. "In addition, if your total usage exceeds 5GB (amount is subject to change without notice; please check T-Mobile's T&Cs on www.T-Mobile.com for updates) during a billing cycle, we may reduce your data speed for the remainder of that billing cycle." That's not so bad. I doubt I could exceed 5 gigs per month due to how busy I am away from my house, where wifi is readily available.

Hmmm, my in-phone tracking used to say 2gb, but now does say 5gb. It however, very plainly does say 5g and has a little meter that fills up, which to me means "can" really is pretty much "will".

We switched to T-Mobile a while back now and there was conflicting versions of the data caps in all the paperwork (although not one said "no throttling") so maybe they were in the process of changing it.

Regardless, I agree that 5gb is more than enough for most people, I don't think they should be able to advertise it as "unlimited" though.

EDIT: I should also add that we went through an authorized third party seller (not by my choice) so that was also quite likely part of the source of the conflicting info. They are mostly just commision-driven zombies.