Hi Y'all! Considering a switch to Android if I can only decide which device!

[texasniteowl]

So yes, I am a 4 yr Apple user. The iPhone 3GS was my first Apple device and while it's been a fine device I am not a complete Apple devotee. I mean, I've stayed with the 3GS instead of upgrading for 4 yrs and only am now using a 4S since last Sunday because a family member passed it on to me. Also, I started out completely hating iTunes and only now after 4 yrs do I even grudgingly accept it. I tend to set up my hone and then go months and months without connecting back to it.

Anyway, I'm ready for a new phone.and let's face it, the 3GS screen is tiny next to what is out there now! On my visit to the AT&T store (and yes, I will be staying with AT&T as they have the best coverage in my area) the 2 devices I gravitated to (and the 2 I am still torn between!) are the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. Big shock there I am sure.

I know the switch will have a learning curve, but I've been reading and watching videos and reviews and reading "newbie guides to android" both here and at other sites. So once I can make up my mind between the two phones I'll be all ready to begin at least!

 

[roaztb33f]

Yes. There is a major learning curve on any Android device. None are the same. The HTC One and Galaxy S4 are similar in core areas, but they do have their aesthetic and functional differences. Most of the Touchwiz and Sense features are just gimmicks IMO. I would suggest toying with both at the store to make your best selection. I personally use the Galaxy S4, but that's because Verizon doesn't have the One. Not that I endorse the One, just can't make an honest assessment ATM.

I will say this though - they're almost certainly going to drop a new iPhone in the Fall. Might want to see what that's like before locking into a contract.

 

[anon(6174973)]

I suggest you play around with these two phones and see whether you like it or not. Jumping from iOS to Android is certainly quite a jump, so it might take some time to get used to it.

Like what the above poster mentioned, there is an iPhone 5S (rumored) on the way.

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[texasniteowl]

Oh, I've already spent at least an hour over the past week at the AT&T store looking at the 2 phones. And part of that of course was figuring out how to navigate at all!

I am aware that a new iPhone will be coming out but since it is an "S" release and not a 6 I have to imagine if I didn't care about getting the 5 I'm not really going to care about the new one. Plus, as mentioned, I only grudgingly use iTunes. And I still have intrinsic antipathy towards Apple's no-file-access, walled garden, can't-share-the-same-file-in-multiple-apps approach. I mean, I kept the 3GS for 4 years and it worked for me basically but I still don't really agree with the iOS underpinnings.

As for my feelings between the HTC and the Samsung, I'm going to try to put together a Pros & Cons list based on my feelings for them at the store plus video reviews and such that I've read. So I'll probably be back to post that later. At the moment, despite the hour+ time at the store I still feel pretty much 50/50 on which to get.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Oh, I've already spent at least an hour over the past week at the AT&T store looking at the 2 phones. And part of that of course was figuring out how to navigate at all!

I am aware that a new iPhone will be coming out but since it is an "S" release and not a 6 I have to imagine if I didn't care about getting the 5 I'm not really going to care about the new one. Plus, as mentioned, I only grudgingly use iTunes. And I still have intrinsic antipathy towards Apple's no-file-access, walled garden, can't-share-the-same-file-in-multiple-apps approach. I mean, I kept the 3GS for 4 years and it worked for me basically but I still don't really agree with the iOS underpinnings.

As for my feelings between the HTC and the Samsung, I'm going to try to put together a Pros & Cons list based on my feelings for them at the store plus video reviews and such that I've read. So I'll probably be back to post that later. At the moment, despite the hour+ time at the store I still feel pretty much 50/50 on which to get.

Welcome to the forums!

If I were in your place, I would probably wind up choosing the S4, for one reason. I like using external SD cards. For me, they are an inexpensive way to increase the storage capacity of my device. While you can't store apps on the SD card, you can store media files, like music and photos, leaving more room for your apps on your internal memory.

Otherwise, both phones are powerhouses, and either choice will be a good one.

 

[anon(6174973)]

Both are great devices. Personally, I owned the S4 and everything is fluid and lag free. Like the above poster mentioned, the S4 has an external SD slot which could make a huge advantage over the One. As far as I know, the S4 also have slightly better performance than the HTC One. Of course, I could be wrong though.

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[nickgalaxys4]

I have a GS4 and i have no lag works great. Love the GS4

 

[texasniteowl]

So, I'm back with my Pros/Cons/Push list. One kinda important question I haven't really seen an answer to ... Which one seems to have better reception for calls in possibly marginal areas? Anyone know of reviews or links to specific information on relative signal strength for voice calls between the two? My iPhone 3GS would often show signal strength at around -111 at home. Oh, calls usually come through, but that signal strength is getting down there relatively speaking.

Anyway, here's my rough attempt at a list:

HTC One (AT&T Subsidized)
Pros
aesthetic design / look
unlockable bootloader (still available from htcdev, right?)
audio

Cons
reports of quality control issues; sharp edges, overhangs, etc.
button layout (location of power button; for menu button, see "Push" section)


Samsung Galaxy S4 (AT&T Subsidized)
Pros
button layout; physical home button
already running 4.2.2
Samsung more reliable for pushing out updates than HTC
wider audience = more accessories & more developers/hackers??

Cons
Bloatware
locked bootloader (yes, I know about loki but that is a side step more than an unlock; possible it may be patched?)
reports of some apparently easily cracked screens


Push
Physical feel...naked, I give the nod to HTC but I will be using a case since these will be dropped in my purse, so it's more of a push
Screens...both are great. no big deal for me 4.7 vs 5".
Camera (maybe a slight pro for htc; for any more serious photos I'll always pull out my separate digital camera)
SD slot/lack of SD slot for storage: I've made it 4 yrs with only a 16gb iPhone
removeable/non-removable battery: I've made it 4 yrs on a single battery in the iPhone which is still fine
HTC menu button issue/black bar...fixed in 4.2.2 update or hack to enable logo as button
Sense UI vs. TouchWiz...I'd probably give the nod to Sense but I know other launchers are available.
SIM unlocks...available for both
GE 4.2.2...available for both (and honestly, I may not try ... at least at first)


Prices:
HTC One 32gb (AT&T via Best Buy this week): $99.99 - $50 for any working trade-in = $49.99
HTC One 64gb (AT&T): $299.99 - $100 trade-in on iPhone 3GS = $199.99
Samsung Galaxy S4 32gb (AT&T): $249.99 - $100 trade-in on iPhone 3GS = $149.99

 

[anon(6174973)]

For reception wise, it really depends heavily on your carrier. I see that you are using ATT in this case. I really can't help you much in this area because I have never used any other carrier and my country has a very limited number of carriers.

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[texasniteowl]

For reception wise, it really depends heavily on your carrier. I see that you are using ATT in this case. I really can't help you much in this area because I have never used any other carrier and my country has a very limited number of carriers.

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Thanks. I think I will just go by either Best Buy or the AT&T store and compare the signal strengths? I was doing some more reading and understand that the android phones show the actual number under Settings somewhere. And I have put my iPhone 4S into the mode where it shows signal as a number. So I can put them all side by side and compare.

I think I am leaning towards the HTC One though. I somehow feel like I *ought* to lean towards the Samsung but something keeps pulling me to the HTC.

Anyway, I will go buy the store again to pick them up again and compare signal strengths. As long as the HTC is at least as good as the iPhone then odds are I will go with the HTC as long as the one pulled out of the box doesn't have any of the edges, overhangs, non-flush glass, etc.!

 

[walterkurtz]

i just recently came from blackberry to android. i am, however, a long-time apple computer devotee. i chose the HTC ONE. i tried both the previous ONE and the GALAXY S3, last year, when my blackberry bold was giving me trouble (growing old mostly). both are great phones, as many people here and elsewhere will attest. for me, it simply boiled down to feel. the samsung felt plastic and cheap. and the interface on the samsung, for whatever reason, did not feel as intuitive to me. i have only had my ONE for a week, and i am still considering going to iphone (obviously with a life full of apple computers, the iphone will easily sync with me). but for now, i am quite pleased with the ONE. let me add that the location of the power and other buttons have not been an issue for me. i get the sense that this bothers iphone and/or previous android owners. it's all new to me, so i am adapting easily. oh, and i am using nova prime thanks to the wisdom of these forums. shoot...one more thing: no build quality issues with mine. but again i have only had this phone for a week. good luck.

 

[gollum18]

My only suggestion to you is to buy it online. While it is their job to make a sale, salesmen will often times try to sell you the most expensive device they can, even if it isn't the one you want. Some will even praise certain phones over others, particualarly the one you want to buy versus the one they want you to buy. Make the smart decision: Buy online, not from the store; you avoid all the drama that goes with it.

 

[anon(6174973)]

My only suggestion to you is to buy it online. While it is their job to make a sale, salesmen will often times try to sell you the most expensive device they can, even if it isn't the one you want. Some will even praise certain phones over others, particualarly the one you want to buy versus the one they want you to buy. Make the smart decision: Buy online, not from the store; you avoid all the drama that goes with it.

Buying online may also be cheaper, at least for me.

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[Garneth]

Personally I have the HTC One. I seriously love this device. The Blinkfeed feature is really great, as I can read what's going on in the tech world at all times of the day, and the unibody metal build has such a great feel in my hand. I just love it. Battery life is decent, I can get through pretty much the whole day using it as I normally would (sitting on my desk, use it every so often to text, email, Google+, etc), so as long as you aren't playing really graphics-intensive games nonstop for 10 hours, your battery will be fine.

Don't let people scare you about the internal storage that isn't expandable. It's 32 (or 64) GB. That's a lot of space. And you can put anything you want on that 32 (or 64) GB (minus the space taken for HTC's system files). The camera on the HTC One, while is horrible at my house and only good for telling me my house is haunted by ghosts (hint: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ht...-thing-i-noticed-about-camera-my-htc-one.html ), is absolutely stunning outdoors and in low-light. Something's just wrong with my house. It'll surely look great in yours!

HTC's Sense5 is a great UI. It's not too complex, doesn't have ridiculous amounts of bloatware and unnecessary tricks like the S-series does (for example: on the S3 and maybe the S4 if you say cheese while in camera it takes a picture? That's kinda ridiculously stupid.) I'm sure you'll really like all the effort HTC has put into Sense5.

If you have any more questions about the device, go ahead and shoot me a message. I'd be glad to answer any questions for ya

 

[texasniteowl]

OK here's the update. Tonight I went by both Best Buy and AT&T. The signals each phone was pulling side by side were essentially identical. Like -82, -84. So in the end, the phone I bought was:


Samsung Galaxy S 4, 32gb model via AT&T. They gave me $100 trade in credit for a way, way, way old iPhone 3G (8gb) model that we had laying around too. So I paid $149.99 + tax. They "changed" my plan from the "unlimited for iphone" to the "unlimited for LTE" but otherwise my plan remained intact.


I honestly don't plan to root it or use loki or anything for now. I will use it for the next two weeks and make sure I want to keep it. Then I will go forward with unlocking the iPhone 4S and selling it. And then I will make a decision on whether to sell this and buy an i9505 or not.

Now, as for signal strength at my house. A moment ago the S4 was at -105 dBm on HSPDA:11 and just went to -114 dBm 26asu LTE:14.

The iPhone 4S for comparison was hanging out between -93 and -111 dBm.

As far as data at the house goes though...it will be on wifi unless the power is out. So as long as phone calls reliably come thru I'll be fine.

So I have lots of playing around to do...but first question...for my primary account that I will associate with app purchases...is it any problem to use my personal domain that is hosted at google apps instead of my other regular gmail account?

 

[anon(6174973)]

OK here's the update. Tonight I went by both Best Buy and AT&T. The signals each phone was pulling side by side were essentially identical. Like -82, -84. So in the end, the phone I bought was:


Samsung Galaxy S 4, 32gb model via AT&T. They gave me $100 trade in credit for a way, way, way old iPhone 3G (8gb) model that we had laying around too. So I paid $149.99 + tax. They "changed" my plan from the "unlimited for iphone" to the "unlimited for LTE" but otherwise my plan remained intact.


I honestly don't plan to root it or use loki or anything for now. I will use it for the next two weeks and make sure I want to keep it. Then I will go forward with unlocking the iPhone 4S and selling it. And then I will make a decision on whether to sell this and buy an i9505 or not.

Now, as for signal strength at my house. A moment ago the S4 was at -105 dBm on HSPDA:11 and just went to -114 dBm 26asu LTE:14.

The iPhone 4S for comparison was hanging out between -93 and -111 dBm.

As far as data at the house goes though...it will be on wifi unless the power is out. So as long as phone calls reliably come thru I'll be fine.

So I have lots of playing around to do...but first question...for my primary account that I will associate with app purchases...is it any problem to use my personal domain that is hosted at google apps instead of my other regular gmail account?

I don't think there would be a problem using your own personal domain. You can give it a try.

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