Some Questions...(first smartphone)

[GalXiOn]

Hello Guys,
Im new to the android world trying to decide what to buy as my first smartphone.
My list initially contained - iPhone 5, Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
NOW it as become - Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
yes.. chucked iPhone ...I read a lot of stuff about android articles and decided i'd give it a try ..besides i already a have a iPod Touch so i can do all my iOS stuff on that.

I have a few questions about android and android phones .. your answers to these will really help me choose what to buy.

• What is your personal choose out of the three(mentioned above)?
• Which company has better support for latest android updates?
• If i buy one the 3 phones mentioned above, how long will it be before my phone becomes unsupported ?
  (like the iphone3/3gs and the itouch 3g is no longer supported for iOS updates)
• How long will my android phone last me - in terms of battery(if the battery is not replaceable incase of Z and One)
  - in terms of speed - (do most android phones become laggy after extensive use??)

Thats pretty much it.
Thanks for reading and answering i hope my first android sticks with me for a long time

 

[badbrad17]

Hello Guys,
Im new to the android world trying to decide what to buy as my first smartphone.
My list initially contained - iPhone 5, Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
NOW it as become - Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
yes.. chucked iPhone ...I read a lot of stuff about android articles and decided i'd give it a try ..besides i already a have a iPod Touch so i can do all my iOS stuff on that.

I have a few questions about android and android phones .. your answers to these will really help me choose what to buy.

• What is your personal choose out of the three(mentioned above)?
• Which company has better support for latest android updates?
• If i buy one the 3 phones mentioned above, how long will it be before my phone becomes unsupported ?
  (like the iphone3/3gs and the itouch 3g is no longer supported for iOS updates)
• How long will my android phone last me - in terms of battery(if the battery is not replaceable incase of Z and One)
  - in terms of speed - (do most android phones become laggy after extensive use??)

Thats pretty much it.
Thanks for reading and answering i hope my first android sticks with me for a long time

I think you should consider the Nexus 4. For a few reasons.

1. It's as fast or faster than all the phones you listed because it doesn't have bloatware. This eliminates any lag.

2. It is a pure Google phone so you will get all the updates right away directly from Google. Over the air. Most other devices only get 1-2 years of updates tops. Nexus gets them for as long as the hardware can handle it. You will get a longer lifespan out of it than any other device.

4. It's cheaper, carrier free and unlocked. At $350 it's half the price of the other phones.

5. Amazing screen, beautiful design. 2gb ram with S4 chip.

If you are on an existing carrier that doesn't support the N4 then my choice would be the HTC One, but wait and see what Samsung announces tomorrow. Both would be great phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[npark2012]

Hello Guys,
Im new to the android world trying to decide what to buy as my first smartphone.
My list initially contained - iPhone 5, Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
NOW it as become - Xperia Z, HTC One,Samsung Galaxy IV.
yes.. chucked iPhone ...I read a lot of stuff about android articles and decided i'd give it a try ..besides i already a have a iPod Touch so i can do all my iOS stuff on that.

I have a few questions about android and android phones .. your answers to these will really help me choose what to buy.

• What is your personal choose out of the three(mentioned above)?
• Which company has better support for latest android updates?
• If i buy one the 3 phones mentioned above, how long will it be before my phone becomes unsupported ?
  (like the iphone3/3gs and the itouch 3g is no longer supported for iOS updates)
• How long will my android phone last me - in terms of battery(if the battery is not replaceable incase of Z and One)
  - in terms of speed - (do most android phones become laggy after extensive use??)

Thats pretty much it.
Thanks for reading and answering i hope my first android sticks with me for a long time

Which phone to get depends on if you want the latest and greatest version on Android operating system. You can get the most hardware beast phone, but if it has android 2.3 or something like that it might as well be a brick...

As to your questions:
*I personally would choose htc one, because it looks so sexy... but if you're near water a lot then i guess the Xperia....
* The only company that's better for support of latest android os is Google. But out of those 3 it would depend on the carriers and if its a 2 year contracted phone or unlocked etc.
* According to Moore's law your phone will be outdated (and most likely unsupported at that point) in about 1.5 years. But that depends on the manufacturer etc.
*
The battery will last depending on your usage. It's very very hard to say a number in this case without getting an average use of YOU personally. But most people seem to get about 4hours on average of screen time. And that also depends on how big the battery is.
*In terms of speed, I don't believe it does get laggy after extensive use.

On a side note could I suggest getting a Nexus 4? It will have the latest and greatest Android OS (currently 4.2.2, most phones are rolling out 4.1 right now) And you are guaranteed to get OS support for a very good while. More likely a lot more than 3-4 years! I would suggest getting a pure android device like a nexus 4 for a beginner, because it doesn't have any custom launchers like the touchwiz or anything like that. It's very simple to use too.

Hope that helped.

 

[GalXiOn]

Wow Quick replies! Thanks Guys!

I think you should consider the Nexus 4. For a few reasons.

1. It's as fast or faster than all the phones you listed because it doesn't have bloatware. This eliminates any lag.

hm.. I dont understand how you say that a 1.5ghz is faster than a 1.8 or a 1.9 .. or.. am i missing something?..

As to your questions:
*I personally would choose htc one, because it looks so sexy... but if you're near water a lot then i guess the Xperia....
* The only company that's better for support of latest android os is Google. But out of those 3 it would depend on the carriers and if its a 2 year contracted phone or unlocked etc.
* According to Moore's law your phone will be outdated (and most likely unsupported at that point) in about 1.5 years. But that depends on the manufacturer etc.
*
The battery will last depending on your usage. It's very very hard to say a number in this case without getting an average use of YOU personally. But most people seem to get about 4hours on average of screen time. And that also depends on how big the battery is.
*In terms of speed, I don't believe it does get laggy after extensive use.

On a side note could I suggest getting a Nexus 4? It will have the latest and greatest Android OS (currently 4.2.2, most phones are rolling out 4.1 right now) And you are guaranteed to get OS support for a very good while. More likely a lot more than 3-4 years! I would suggest getting a pure android device like a nexus 4 for a beginner, because it doesn't have any custom launchers like the touchwiz or anything like that. It's very simple to use too.

Hope that helped.

Agreed that HTC One is a beautiful looking phone.

Suppose IF.. I buy a One or a SG4 or a Z.. how long do you think that my phone will be supported ? 2 years max?.. - after that IF my phone is not supported the latest apps wont work and it will become slow... is that correct?..and now im getting really confused about android update system .. what does the carrier have to do with the updates that you get?... and also..from where i live there isnt any carrier specific phones except for iPhones..

I would get a nexus 4 but the specs,diplsy and the design of the HTC One is really pulling me towards it :-X ...but do those specs really matter?.... I am aiming to keep my phone for at least 2-2.5 years...wont the nexus hardware be really old by then?...

About the battery.. i don't really understand by "4 hours average screen time"... so i have to charge by phone an average of 2 - 3 times a day? WTH?? O_O...or maybe you meant 4 hrs of continuos video or battery intensive games and stuff like that?...
My daily/average use would be - emails.. chats.....(and other related apps) phone calls avg - 10-20mins(a day)... casual web surfing and music..maybe - videos/games.. battery wont be a problem on SG4 because of the removable battery but thats the only thing holding back the HTC One..:'(

 

[badbrad17]

Wow Quick replies! Thanks Guys!



hm.. I dont understand how you say that a 1.5ghz is faster than a 1.8 or a 1.9 .. or.. am i missing something?..


Agreed that HTC One is a beautiful looking phone.

Suppose IF.. I buy a One or a SG4 or a Z.. how long do you think that my phone will be supported ? 2 years max?.. - after that IF my phone is not supported the latest apps wont work and it will become slow... is that correct?..and now im getting really confused about android update system .. what does the carrier have to do with the updates that you get?... and also..from where i live there isnt any carrier specific phones except for iPhones..

I would get a nexus 4 but the specs,diplsy and the design of the HTC One is really pulling me towards it :-X ...but do those specs really matter?.... I am aiming to keep my phone for at least 2-2.5 years...wont the nexus hardware be really old by then?...

About the battery.. i don't really understand by "4 hours average screen time"... so i have to charge by phone an average of 2 - 3 times a day? WTH?? O_O...or maybe you meant 4 hrs of continuos video or battery intensive games and stuff like that?...
My daily/average use would be - emails.. chats.....(and other related apps) phone calls avg - 10-20mins(a day)... casual web surfing and music..maybe - videos/games.. battery wont be a problem on SG4 because of the removable battery but thats the only thing holding back the HTC One..:'(

The One and SG4 will certainly have a slightly faster processor, but the Nexus 4 can quite often out perform many faster devices because it is a very clean device software wise and because it has support directly from Google. Similar to how Apple and BlackBerry directly support and update their phones. The reason for the delay or lack of updates for some devices is due to the launcher programs and other built in software that makes those phone unique to that manufacturer. IE: the new Blink feed on the One and things like the eye scrolling feature or S pen on the Note 2. All of these added features have to be integrated with any new updates and can cause a lot of devices to be abandoned in light of the latest and greatest phone. Then add on top that carriers like Telus or Verizon also have to do testing and the process slows right down.

As for the length of use for the phone it depends a bit. Most top tier phones will get one or two updates. Samsung Galaxy S3 just got the Jellybean updates OS to ver 4.1 and I will be surprised if it gets another update any time soon. Meanwhile the Nexus 4 has already had 2 updates past that to 4.2.1 and recently 4.2.2. My Samsung GS2 is now a pretty old phone. It came with Gingerbread installed then got the Icecream Sandwich update. There is an update rolling out now for Jellybean but my phone is on Telus and it hasn't been released yet. Meanwhile the Galaxy Nexus that came out around the same time is currently running the 4.2 version of JB. HTC has been terrible at doing updates in the past and has only recently started supporting their latest flagship phones with more of a regular schedule.

Most of your apps will continue to run fine. It is to some degree a choice of what you prefer in the phone. Many people like the added features the manufacturers install.

As for battery. All of these phones will have reasonable battery life that should get you through the day. The SGS4 looks to have the largest battery at 2600mah. By on screen time we mean that in a typical day you may have your phone off your charger for 12+ hours but in that time you have normally only had the screen on for a maximum of 4 hours. This is considered good battery life for most new phones. There are some that do better and some are worse. Watching videos or playing games will eat battery faster than general communications. The Nexus 4 and One are limited for some people as they don't support removable battery or Sd cards but this is becoming less of an issue with cloud services and larger overall internal storage. I bought an Anker 5600 mAh portable charger for my Nexus 4 and it charges super fast and is small enough to carry anywhere.

The other thing to compare is the screen quality. The iPhone, HTC and Nexus 4 use LCD technology while the Samsung typically uses AMOLED. Some people prefer LCD as it tends to be more true and better in sunlight. I personally like it much better.

Hope this helps. You really can't go wrong with any of these phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[GalXiOn]

The One and SG4 will certainly have a slightly faster processor, but the Nexus 4 can quite often out perform many faster devices because it is a very clean device software wise and because it has support directly from Google. Similar to how Apple and BlackBerry directly support and update their phones. The reason for the delay or lack of updates for some devices is due to the launcher programs and other built in software that makes those phone unique to that manufacturer. IE: the new Blink feed on the One and things like the eye scrolling feature or S pen on the Note 2. All of these added features have to be integrated with any new updates and can cause a lot of devices to be abandoned in light of the latest and greatest phone. Then add on top that carriers like Telus or Verizon also have to do testing and the process slows right down.

As for the length of use for the phone it depends a bit. Most top tier phones will get one or two updates. Samsung Galaxy S3 just got the Jellybean updates OS to ver 4.1 and I will be surprised if it gets another update any time soon. Meanwhile the Nexus 4 has already had 2 updates past that to 4.2.1 and recently 4.2.2. My Samsung GS2 is now a pretty old phone. It came with Gingerbread installed then got the Icecream Sandwich update. There is an update rolling out now for Jellybean but my phone is on Telus and it hasn't been released yet. Meanwhile the Galaxy Nexus that came out around the same time is currently running the 4.2 version of JB. HTC has been terrible at doing updates in the past and has only recently started supporting their latest flagship phones with more of a regular schedule.

Most of your apps will continue to run fine. It is to some degree a choice of what you prefer in the phone. Many people like the added features the manufacturers install.

As for battery. All of these phones will have reasonable battery life that should get you through the day. The SGS4 looks to have the largest battery at 2600mah. By on screen time we mean that in a typical day you may have your phone off your charger for 12+ hours but in that time you have normally only had the screen on for a maximum of 4 hours. This is considered good battery life for most new phones. There are some that do better and some are worse. Watching videos or playing games will eat battery faster than general communications. The Nexus 4 and One are limited for some people as they don't support removable battery or Sd cards but this is becoming less of an issue with cloud services and larger overall internal storage. I bought an Anker 5600 mAh portable charger for my Nexus 4 and it charges super fast and is small enough to carry anywhere.

The other thing to compare is the screen quality. The iPhone, HTC and Nexus 4 use LCD technology while the Samsung typically uses AMOLED. Some people prefer LCD as it tends to be more true and better in sunlight. I personally like it much better.

Hope this helps. You really can't go wrong with any of these phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Thanks for the reply.
HTC One versus LG Nexus 4 | Android Central - THIS.. it made it even harder for me to choose haha ;P..
Now I am kinda leaning towards the nexus 4 mainly because of the most recent updates and the features compared to HTC One are not so bad.

One another thing is that IF I buy a non-nexus phone in a country where there are no mobile specific carriers(like AT&T or Verizon).. will I still be able to get the latest android version when the respective company (HTC or Samsung ..)releases the update?

 

[npark2012]

Thanks for the reply.
HTC One versus LG Nexus 4 | Android Central - THIS.. it made it even harder for me to choose haha ;P..
Now I am kinda leaning towards the nexus 4 mainly because of the most recent updates and the features compared to HTC One are not so bad.

One another thing is that IF I buy a non-nexus phone in a country where there are no mobile specific carriers(like AT&T or Verizon).. will I still be able to get the latest android version when the respective company (HTC or Samsung ..)releases the update?

I think so? I think all you would need is an internet connection. Unless it's censored or something...

 

[npark2012]

Wow Quick replies! Thanks Guys!



hm.. I dont understand how you say that a 1.5ghz is faster than a 1.8 or a 1.9 .. or.. am i missing something?..


Agreed that HTC One is a beautiful looking phone.

Suppose IF.. I buy a One or a SG4 or a Z.. how long do you think that my phone will be supported ? 2 years max?.. - after that IF my phone is not supported the latest apps wont work and it will become slow... is that correct?..and now im getting really confused about android update system .. what does the carrier have to do with the updates that you get?... and also..from where i live there isnt any carrier specific phones except for iPhones..

I would get a nexus 4 but the specs,diplsy and the design of the HTC One is really pulling me towards it :-X ...but do those specs really matter?.... I am aiming to keep my phone for at least 2-2.5 years...wont the nexus hardware be really old by then?...

About the battery.. i don't really understand by "4 hours average screen time"... so i have to charge by phone an average of 2 - 3 times a day? WTH?? O_O...or maybe you meant 4 hrs of continuos video or battery intensive games and stuff like that?...
My daily/average use would be - emails.. chats.....(and other related apps) phone calls avg - 10-20mins(a day)... casual web surfing and music..maybe - videos/games.. battery wont be a problem on SG4 because of the removable battery but thats the only thing holding back the HTC One..:'(

Oh dear..
Ok.. If your phone doesn't get any more updates then it will eventually become slow because as time passes newer faster better OS will arrive. Carriers restrict you on nearly everything about your phone. They make contracts with other companies and put useless apps on your phone and stuff like that. And because it's a contract, they have to follow it. And if there's a new android update, it could potential make those contract apps unable to work. So they don't upgrade your OS. If they do, it will take months to years for it to happen. Because they need to test every single app they have a contract with and see if it works. if it doesn't they have to make it work. that takes time and money and carriers don't care about your user experience on the phone so they don't care. This is why you have android fragmentation. Like a lot almost half of every android user is still on android 2.3 (gingerbread, btw all the android updates are desserts. ) and very little android owners are on 4.1 and above.


Nexus phones on the other hand are like iOS. doesn't matter what carrier you have, all the nexus device will have the same user experience of the pure android system.

LOL Yes I meant 4 hours of continous use. if you leave the phone on standby it will last 13+ hours. but if you're on it constantly without putting it on standby you will get like 2-4 hours. which is a bit of a well known issue with android but believe me, you get used to it soon. Especially if you just use it to browse web, fb, occasional 20-30 minute gaming (angry birds etc.) and texting. If you get a phone that has non removable battery i'd suggest buying an external charger, might come in handy for other devices like your ipod as well.

 

[gnr_2]

Hello Guys,
Im new to the android world trying to decide what to buy as my first smartphone... besides i already a have a iPod Touch so i can do all my iOS stuff on that.

Thats pretty much it.
Thanks for reading and answering i hope my first android sticks with me for a long time

I was in the same boat. I love my iPod Touch but didn't want an iphone. I went with a Galaxy Nexus but probably should have gotten a Samsung because lots of the basics are taken care of for you from the beginning then you can just make it better. I spent a lot of time just getting things up to par but now I love Android and how I can do anything I want with it, anything. Change the keyboard, change the icons. My fave though is that I don't need a gazillion screens or folders for apps that I only use occasionally because you don't have to have all the apps on the home screens. You have a "drawer" and if I need say, the Wells Fargo app to do a mobile deposit, I open the drawer and get it. And they are alphabetized. Leaving you space for widgets and the apps you use the most. Occasionally there will be some apps only for iOS (like the SI swimsuit issue or the free stuff at Starbucks) but then I'll just put it on my IPod.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[badbrad17]

Thanks for the reply.
HTC One versus LG Nexus 4 | Android Central - THIS.. it made it even harder for me to choose haha ;P..
Now I am kinda leaning towards the nexus 4 mainly because of the most recent updates and the features compared to HTC One are not so bad.

One another thing is that IF I buy a non-nexus phone in a country where there are no mobile specific carriers(like AT&T or Verizon).. will I still be able to get the latest android version when the respective company (HTC or Samsung ..)releases the update?

Yes you can get the updates either way. You can always unlock your phone and be carrier free.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[GalXiOn]

I was in the same boat. I love my iPod Touch but didn't want an iphone. I went with a Galaxy Nexus but probably should have gotten a Samsung because lots of the basics are taken care of for you from the beginning then you can just make it better. I spent a lot of time just getting things up to par but now I love Android and how I can do anything I want with it, anything. Change the keyboard, change the icons.

Woo! guess Im not the only one ..and Im really glad that you liked your android phone.

Yes you can get the updates either way. You can always unlock your phone and be carrier free.

Thats good enough for me.. and IF the updates are very slow and IF I REALLY want the updates.. i MIGHT jailbreak it ( or in android terms its called "root" am i correct? ) to get the latest features - but will it affect the phone's performance in any way , like slowing it down or anything?

LOL Yes I meant 4 hours of continuos use. if you leave the phone on standby it will last 13+ hours. but if you're on it constantly without putting it on standby you will get like 2-4 hours. which is a bit of a well known issue with android but believe me, you get used to it soon. Especially if you just use it to browse web, fb, occasional 20-30 minute gaming (angry birds etc.) and texting. If you get a phone that has non removable battery i'd suggest buying an external charger, might come in handy for other devices like your ipod as well.

If it can last me at least 10-12 hours on light-moderate use thats enough for me! - In some reviews I read that the HTC One gave about 13 hours with light-moderate use. but Im not sure how its applicable to every user.
Another thing Im worried about is battery cycles...as the battery gets charged and discharged it soon looses its original charge capacity - it applies to every battery , but for phones with removable batteries that is not an issue.

Now Im trying to decide between the S4 and the One....and i think it will probably be the HTC One because of the overall finish of the phone in terms of configuration and design over samsung's S4 which has almost same or even lesser config than One and in terms of design looking very dull and boring when compared to One.But lets see .. it just came out and i'll be reading more reviews about it while I wait for the official launch of both S4 and One in my country

 

[badbrad17]

Woo! guess Im not the only one ..and Im really glad that you liked your android phone.



Thats good enough for me.. and IF the updates are very slow and IF I REALLY want the updates.. i MIGHT jailbreak it ( or in android terms its called "root" am i correct? ) to get the latest features - but will it affect the phone's performance in any way , like slowing it down or anything?



If it can last me at least 10-12 hours on light-moderate use thats enough for me! - In some reviews I read that the HTC One gave about 13 hours with light-moderate use. but Im not sure how its applicable to every user.
Another thing Im worried about is battery cycles...as the battery gets charged and discharged it soon looses its original charge capacity - it applies to every battery , but for phones with removable batteries that is not an issue.

Now Im trying to decide between the S4 and the One....and i think it will probably be the HTC One because of the overall finish of the phone in terms of configuration and design over samsung's S4 which has almost same or even lesser config than One and in terms of design looking very dull and boring when compared to One.But lets see .. it just came out and i'll be reading more reviews about it while I wait for the official launch of both S4 and One in my country

Rooting won't slow it down. It's more of a way to open things up so you can use certain apps that need special access.

I got 16 hours of moderate use yesterday on my nexus 4. I would think the One or S4 would be the same.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums