Considering my next phone

[eawortman]

This is going to be wordy, but thanks ahead of time for anyone that takes the time to look over some of this. I reached a point where I am considering what my next phone will be, so I am here to ask for feedback. I am looking to replace an iPhone 4s 64GB with a newer device. I'm not at all unhappy with it or iOS, I am just considering my options. I would greatly prefer to have a phone with a good to great camera. I am here to fill in some holes in my research on Android devices, but I am not new to Android. The main phones I am looking at to run on AT&T are the Note 3, Galaxy S4, HTC One, Motorola X, the unannounced Nexus 5 and I loathe phone cases.

Note 3
I have looked at the Note 2 and was not crazy about the size or the interface, but I didn't hate it. From the videos I have seen, Samsung fixed the interface things that annoyed me about the Note 2, so that will probably not be an issue. I am mainly considering the Note 3 because I like the idea of being able to quickly jot down phone numbers, ticket numbers, and other reference material. I think the size might be beneficial for my heavy use of Evernote, reading Kindle books on the go (when I don't have my Paperwhite with me), occasional web use, and video podcasts. The size doesn't matter much either as far as phone use goes, as I talk an average of 12 minutes a month.

I can't quite tell from reading online, but what is it about the Note line that draws in so many loyal users? How well does the Note interact with Evernote? Is there anything special in it's interaction with Evernote? I can't draw artistically and hate writing other than short jots, but are there other benefits to the SPen?

HTC One
HTC One has a great screen. If I went this route I would strongly consider either going with CM or installing the Google Edition ROM. My big hesitation is the camera. I haven't seen a picture I thought was anything special from it. I am especially worried about the blown highlights I have seen from the versions running without Sense. Is it still an issue or have they fixed it in 4.3? I don't shoot in low light with a smartphone, so I don't particularly care a lot about low light performance. How happy are people with the camera other than low light? How is battery life, I haven't heard great things.

Samsung GS4
I am not crazy about the feel or build quality of the GS4, but I can partially overlook it. My big draw for the GS4, and the Note 3, is expandable storage, removable battery, and what seems to be a better all-around camera than the HTC One. I have zero interest in almost every software gimmick that Samsung uses, so I would be disabling those. I would again be considering CM or the Google Edition ROM. Has anyone here tried either of those ROMS? What has been people experiences with this phone in general?

MotoX
I really like a lot about this phone. I like the way it feels and the features it has. I don't care overly much about the customization, but I wouldn't necessarily ignore it either. My only real concern is the camera again. Some people say it's fine, others disagree. How good or bad is it really?

 

[Golfdriver97]

This is going to be wordy, but thanks ahead of time for anyone that takes the time to look over some of this. I reached a point where I am considering what my next phone will be, so I am here to ask for feedback. I am looking to replace an iPhone 4s 64GB with a newer device. I'm not at all unhappy with it or iOS, I am just considering my options. I would greatly prefer to have a phone with a good to great camera. I am here to fill in some holes in my research on Android devices, but I am not new to Android. The main phones I am looking at to run on AT&T are the Note 3, Galaxy S4, HTC One, Motorola X, the unannounced Nexus 5 and I loathe phone cases.

Note 3
I have looked at the Note 2 and was not crazy about the size or the interface, but I didn't hate it. From the videos I have seen, Samsung fixed the interface things that annoyed me about the Note 2, so that will probably not be an issue. I am mainly considering the Note 3 because I like the idea of being able to quickly jot down phone numbers, ticket numbers, and other reference material. I think the size might be beneficial for my heavy use of Evernote, reading Kindle books on the go (when I don't have my Paperwhite with me), occasional web use, and video podcasts. The size doesn't matter much either as far as phone use goes, as I talk an average of 12 minutes a month.

I can't quite tell from reading online, but what is it about the Note line that draws in so many loyal users? How well does the Note interact with Evernote? Is there anything special in it's interaction with Evernote? I can't draw artistically and hate writing other than short jots, but are there other benefits to the SPen?

HTC One
HTC One has a great screen. If I went this route I would strongly consider either going with CM or installing the Google Edition ROM. My big hesitation is the camera. I haven't seen a picture I thought was anything special from it. I am especially worried about the blown highlights I have seen from the versions running without Sense. Is it still an issue or have they fixed it in 4.3? I don't shoot in low light with a smartphone, so I don't particularly care a lot about low light performance. How happy are people with the camera other than low light? How is battery life, I haven't heard great things.

Samsung GS4
I am not crazy about the feel or build quality of the GS4, but I can partially overlook it. My big draw for the GS4, and the Note 3, is expandable storage, removable battery, and what seems to be a better all-around camera than the HTC One. I have zero interest in almost every software gimmick that Samsung uses, so I would be disabling those. I would again be considering CM or the Google Edition ROM. Has anyone here tried either of those ROMS? What has been people experiences with this phone in general?

MotoX
I really like a lot about this phone. I like the way it feels and the features it has. I don't care overly much about the customization, but I wouldn't necessarily ignore it either. My only real concern is the camera again. Some people say it's fine, others disagree. How good or bad is it really?

You have some well thought out points for each device. However, My counter question is, have you tried any of them?
Sometimes that is the biggest factor in deciding on a phone. You may hate the feel of the Note 3 and love the screen on the One.

I think the One has a good screen. Wish I could have that on my S3. For me, when I look at a phone, one factor that can be a deal breaker is a lack of an External SD card. But, that is just me.

I am interested in seeing the next Nexus. I am on Sprint, so I hope the rumors are true that the bands are compatible.

 

[eawortman]

You have some well thought out points for each device. However, My counter question is, have you tried any of them?
Sometimes that is the biggest factor in deciding on a phone. You may hate the feel of the Note 3 and love the screen on the One.

I think the One has a good screen. Wish I could have that on my S3. For me, when I look at a phone, one factor that can be a deal breaker is a lack of an External SD card. But, that is just me.

I am interested in seeing the next Nexus. I am on Sprint, so I hope the rumors are true that the bands are compatible.

I have used and touched all of them, other than the Note 3. A memory slot is very appealing to me as well.

 

[ktech11]

This is going to be wordy, but thanks ahead of time for anyone that takes the time to look over some of this. I reached a point where I am considering what my next phone will be, so I am here to ask for feedback. I am looking to replace an iPhone 4s 64GB with a newer device. I'm not at all unhappy with it or iOS, I am just considering my options. I would greatly prefer to have a phone with a good to great camera. I am here to fill in some holes in my research on Android devices, but I am not new to Android. The main phones I am looking at to run on AT&T are the Note 3, Galaxy S4, HTC One, Motorola X, the unannounced Nexus 5 and I loathe phone cases.

Note 3
I have looked at the Note 2 and was not crazy about the size or the interface, but I didn't hate it. From the videos I have seen, Samsung fixed the interface things that annoyed me about the Note 2, so that will probably not be an issue. I am mainly considering the Note 3 because I like the idea of being able to quickly jot down phone numbers, ticket numbers, and other reference material. I think the size might be beneficial for my heavy use of Evernote, reading Kindle books on the go (when I don't have my Paperwhite with me), occasional web use, and video podcasts. The size doesn't matter much either as far as phone use goes, as I talk an average of 12 minutes a month.

I can't quite tell from reading online, but what is it about the Note line that draws in so many loyal users? How well does the Note interact with Evernote? Is there anything special in it's interaction with Evernote? I can't draw artistically and hate writing other than short jots, but are there other benefits to the SPen?

HTC One
HTC One has a great screen. If I went this route I would strongly consider either going with CM or installing the Google Edition ROM. My big hesitation is the camera. I haven't seen a picture I thought was anything special from it. I am especially worried about the blown highlights I have seen from the versions running without Sense. Is it still an issue or have they fixed it in 4.3? I don't shoot in low light with a smartphone, so I don't particularly care a lot about low light performance. How happy are people with the camera other than low light? How is battery life, I haven't heard great things.

Samsung GS4
I am not crazy about the feel or build quality of the GS4, but I can partially overlook it. My big draw for the GS4, and the Note 3, is expandable storage, removable battery, and what seems to be a better all-around camera than the HTC One. I have zero interest in almost every software gimmick that Samsung uses, so I would be disabling those. I would again be considering CM or the Google Edition ROM. Has anyone here tried either of those ROMS? What has been people experiences with this phone in general?

MotoX
I really like a lot about this phone. I like the way it feels and the features it has. I don't care overly much about the customization, but I wouldn't necessarily ignore it either. My only real concern is the camera again. Some people say it's fine, others disagree. How good or bad is it really?

I can respond to a couple of questions about the HTC One and the GS4 from my experience and my wife's:

HTC One:
Battery Life: This has honestly been a really pleasant surprise. I have not had a phone with this level of battery life since I have had a smart phone. I have had both the T-Mobile variant and the VZW variant. The T-Mobile (which would be more similar to the AT&T in my opinion since it uses GSM) I would charge it, take it off the charger around 6 am, and didn't need a charge until the next day. I routinely forgot to put it on the charger until mid morning the next morning. The VZW variant, I take it off the charger around 6 am and I typically hit the 14% that triggers the power saving warning from HTC around 9 or 10 o'clock that night. What I notice is a huge difference between the two is when they need to switch between networks. On the T-Mobile variant, switching between LTE, HSPA, HSPA+, etc was seemless and seemed to have no affect on the battery. On VZW, if you are in an area that requires a lot of switching between LTE and 3g, that will kill your battery (as it does with all the VZW phones I have used). The worst battery life I had was using the GPS to map a long drive, using data to look something up and having a 30 minute conversation. That drained a lot of battery. As far as the camera goes, most of the images I have taken are indoors in low light of my kids. The shutter speed has been impressive and the Zoes are awesome. In general the images have been nice, but I almost never print them.

GS4: My wife loves this phone. She has kept the stock ROM on it and has enjoyed it in general. The removable battery and expandable storage were the big things for her on this one as well. Battery life has been good, but not as good as my HTC One. The phone is fast and snappy. Personally, I hate the TouchWiz interface, but she loves all the quick settings in the notification drawer. The camera does seem to have better image quality than the One on outdoor shots. On a side note, my sister-in-law, who is a photographer, switched from the GS4 to the One because of the indoor shooting. She said she liked both, but had better luck with the One indoors. Lastly, our experience has been that the One gets a bit better reception than the GS4 (albeit only 1 bar most times)

 

[Robert Haughton]

If you want a good camera buy a good camera. Smartphone cameras across the board suck. They are good to view on facebook and chuckle over in text messages and don't forget macro shoots and sun set pics. If you want more than this buy a digital camera if you don't it doesn't matter what high-end smartphone you buy. I'm using a HTC ONE and I love it, all around it is the best phone you can buy right now.

 

[eawortman]

I have an NEX 7, but I don't always have it with me.

 

[josuerios777]

If you want a good camera buy a good camera. Smartphone cameras across the board suck. They are good to view on facebook and chuckle over in text messages and don't forget macro shoots and sun set pics. If you want more than this buy a digital camera if you don't it doesn't matter what high-end smartphone you buy. I'm using a HTC ONE and I love it, all around it is the best phone you can buy right now.

I was about to like your comment until I read the last phrase. I completely agree with you if it's phones with custom UI. Otherwise I'd argue the gs4 Google play edition and the Moto X are good competition to it. But about the camera part... Amen, couldn't have said it better myself.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Miss Moneypenny]

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Has my Vote

I have the S4 and love it. Samsung is my favorite brand without a doubt.

I used to like HTC but? then I worked in a warranty dept for mobile phone repair and replacement and HTC is no longer my favorite brand or second favorite unfortunately. Not to say that the HTC ONE has any known issues (that I am aware of) but the HTC One X had an issue with the SIM card tray, HTC Inspire had issues with the volume keys, and on and on, etc.

So I love my S4 and I love that I was able to invest in an awesome memory card up to 64 GB, I chose 32GB for the moment but I like the choice I have. I like that I can replace the battery in a matter of seconds if it ever goes bad. Or PULL the battery out if my phone freezes or has any issues. Samsung is also really good at keeping their phones even their old phones up to date on the most current software as well.

So the s4 has my vote.

Don?t forget to consider some of these tips when choosing to buy a mobile phone as well. It sounds like you have most of your bases covered and have done your research pretty well so far but it might point out a few other things to think about.

Oh and people that have the Samsung Notes have a hard time giving them up, so don?t panic about the size. If you go with the Note you won?t want to go back to a small normal phone again.

Let us know what phone you choose Eawortman.

~ Moneypenny~