HTC Amaze or Rezound?

[MrVeda]

Finally comitted to buying the Amaze with TMobile or Rezound on Verizon. Can anyone confirm if these two phones are more or less the same except for the Carriers? Any differences in the phones themselves that would give one a better advantage?

Also looking for any feedback on the newly released WiFi calling on the Amaze - is the call quality ok and does it drain the battery?

 

[ChromeJob]

I've got a T-Mo Amaze, owned it for about 15 days. I've been alternating Wifi calling and regular, no difference seemingly in battery use,... though my wifi router is within 30', and the nearest cell tower is several hundred feet. Call quality is about the same. I just got a notice from an installed My Account app that I may need an updated SIM card (I noticed that certain 3G/4G activities fail unless I disable Wifi or turn off Wifi Calling).

On first glance, the Rezound looks like a version of the Sensation XE with Dr Dre Beats sold Europe. Both great phones. About the same. I'm a huge negative fan of Verizon, I wouldn't use them if they paid *me*. But I know some love their service, their phones, their whatever. Frankly, I think T-Mobile has a far better customer service record.

ADDENDUM:
Oh, I didn't mention that a colleague of mine had his phone cheerfully and promptly unlocked by T-Mobile after 30 days' ownership so that I could get a prepaid/pay-as-you-go SIM card during a working trip to London (much cheaper than roaming, the revenues for which you'd think a carrier would have a stranglehold on). Try *that* with Verizon.

 

[dpham00]

The Rezound has a HD (921,600 pixels) screen. The Amaze has a qHD (518,400 pixels) screen. Other than that, there isn't much difference other than what is mentioned in the posts above.

Verizon's customer service is flakey, sometimes good, other times, not so good. But I have found that if I am persistent and my demand is reasonable, that they will accommodate me, though I may have to call back a few times.

Verizon's network in terms of voice and data connectivity from what I've experienced and others in my friends and family, seem to indicate that it is the best out there. But of course, this can depend on area as well as a variety of other factors.

For full disclosure, I bought the Rezound for $50 on upgrade on bf, and have not personally seen the Amaze, just looked at the specs and pictures.

 

[ChromeJob]

I just can't get over that "ghetto cool" name, Rezound. Blech. Thank the gods it doesn't say it right on the phone.

It's a rudimentary comparison, but HTC can do a product comparison. I didn't realize, it has a much higher resolution screen, same size, so as clear and sharp as my Amaze is, this one must be comparable to the latest iPhone. The 720p HD picture might come in handy if you regularly project the phone on an HDTV via MHL HDMI.

Qualcomm dual-core (I believe) processor, not the Snapdragon. Both will probably be zippy to the user.

HTC mentions a "16GB microSD pre-installed." So it comes with an expansion card ... a $18 value. Nice, though I'll bet it's a Class 4 card (some like Class 6 or 10 for the faster write speeds that the camera will arguably benefit from. I like that I can put a 32GB microSDHC in the Amaze for more video/image capture/music. Oh, and the Rezound comes without those Monster Beats earbuds, a ... $99? ... value.

In all the Rezound is a swank package ... if you are happy with the supplied microSD card and Monster ear buds. Some like to get their own.

dpham00 is spot on, though, you should determine which network has better coverage where you are. If your home is in the sticks, T-Mobile's newly implemented Wi-fi calling capability may be a tipping point for you.

(I added a note above that T-mobile will unlock the phone for you. I can't imagine Verizon cheerfully doing this.)

 

[dpham00]

ADDENDUM:
Oh, I didn't mention that a colleague of mine had his phone cheerfully and promptly unlocked by T-Mobile after 30 days' ownership so that I could get a prepaid/pay-as-you-go SIM card during a working trip to London (much cheaper than roaming, the revenues for which you'd think a carrier would have a stranglehold on). Try *that* with Verizon.

I have had several phones unlocked from Verizon, I just called them and they gave me the unlock code. If the phone was bought at a subsidized price though, then you are still locked into the contract. I've never had Tmo, but I think Tmo works the same, in that you can't cancel prior to end of contract, or if you do, then you have to pay etf?

 

[dpham00]

I just can't get over that "ghetto cool" name, Rezound. Blech. Thank the gods it doesn't say it right on the phone.

It's a rudimentary comparison, but HTC can do a product comparison. I didn't realize, it has a much higher resolution screen, same size, so as clear and sharp as my Amaze is, this one must be comparable to the latest iPhone. The 720p HD picture might come in handy if you regularly project the phone on an HDTV via MHL HDMI.

Qualcomm dual-core (I believe) processor, not the Snapdragon. Both will probably be zippy to the user.

HTC mentions a "16GB microSD pre-installed." So it comes with an expansion card ... a $18 value. Nice, though I'll bet it's a Class 4 card (some like Class 6 or 10 for the faster write speeds that the camera will arguably benefit from. I like that I can put a 32GB microSDHC in the Amaze for more video/image capture/music. Oh, and the Rezound comes without those Monster Beats earbuds, a ... $99? ... value.

In all the Rezound is a swank package ... if you are happy with the supplied microSD card and Monster ear buds. Some like to get their own.

dpham00 is spot on, though, you should determine which network has better coverage where you are. If your home is in the sticks, T-Mobile's newly implemented Wi-fi calling capability may be a tipping point for you.

(I added a note above that T-mobile will unlock the phone for you. I can't imagine Verizon cheerfully doing this.)

The Rezound does indeed have a HD display. I don't have an Amaze, but I can certainly tell the difference in sharpness between my Thunderbolt and my Rezound on the phone itself. It is particularly evident when looking at very small print text on forums or e-mail. The Thunderbolt is 800x400, while the Amaze is 960x540, so the Amaze should be sharper than my Thunderbolt though. It really depends on the person, some people don't really notice a difference between the Thunderbolt and Rezound sharpness either, but for me, I can clearly see that very small text is fuzzy on my Thunderbolt, and sharp on my Rezound. The OP should take a look at both phones in person, while this is important to me, it may not be as important or as noticable to the OP. And the Rezound has a slightly higher ppi than the "Retina Display" of the latest iPhone 4S.

My Rezound came with a Sandisk 16gb class 4, I was able to Record 720p video smoothly on it though. The included Beats headphones are certainly a very nice pair of headphones for a bundled set, but some love Beats, others hate it. In any event, I could've sold mine on eBay and gotten the Rezound essentially for free if I had wanted to.

I think both phones are similar enough that the main concern should be the carrier - assuming you are signing a contract, you are committing yourself to 2 years, make sure that you can live with that. On Verizon, even if you bought the phone at full price, you still have to pay the same monthly fees as a subsidized phone. T-mo, I believe you can buy the phone full price, and push it to a prepaid plan. If you use a lot of data, consider the data charges as well for each carrier. Verizon doesn't offer an unlimited plan, but does offer 4gb for $30 at this time. T-mo has unlimited but i think you have a quota, and after that, you are throttled.

With regards to wifi calling, you can use GrooveIP to make free calls using Google Voice on any Android using mobile data or wifi. I have used Grooveip on my Rezound and it works okay, but voice quality wasn't that great. Definitely understandable by both parties though.

 

[going_home]

I have the Amaze.
My Plan is $60 for unlimited calling, texting and internet (with 2gb at 4g) and $15 for 5gb tethering.
It would easily cost me double that $75 on Verizon.

Check the coverage where you will be using the phone the most.

Also the Amaze does not come with headphones or a mini SD card, none.

 

[dpham00]

I have the Amaze.
My Plan is $60 for unlimited calling, texting and internet (with 2gb at 4g) and $15 for 5gb tethering.
It would easily cost me double that $75 on Verizon.

Check the coverage where you will be using the phone the most.

Also the Amaze does not come with headphones or a mini SD card, none.

I did the calcs before, and Verizon is cheaper for me, because I use a lot of data and want fast download speeds. I will be over 20gb this month at 4GLTE speeds on Verizon. I pay $30/mo for unlimited 4GLTE data, and it is not throttled, or at least I haven't noticed any throttling. Just this morning, I did a speed test at 43mbps down. And my bill is way lower on Verizon than it would ever be on T-Mobile.

But of course, cost will depend on usage. One should calculate the costs and make the decision accordingly.

 

[babydoll25]

Besides the higher res screen on the Rezound, the Amaze has different (better????) software on the camera. The Amaze is heavier also. The Rezound has a plastic like battery door, much like the DInc, the Amaze has the unibody aluminum frame that HTC is known for. (I own an Amaze and bought the Rezound for both my Dad and Husband, so I have daily access, to a Rezound) I say it comes down to coverage, price and preferences. I love my Amaze, my Dad and Husband, both LOVE the Rezound. Try them both and decide

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

 

[vsnlweb]

Besides the higher res screen on the Rezound, the Amaze has different (better????) software on the camera. The Amaze is heavier also. The Rezound has a plastic like battery door, much like the DInc, the Amaze has the unibody aluminum frame that HTC is known for. (I own an Amaze and bought the Rezound for both my Dad and Husband, so I have daily access, to a Rezound) I say it comes down to coverage, price and preferences. I love my Amaze, my Dad and Husband, both LOVE the Rezound. Try them both and decide

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

You have an amaze? Yet you post from a nexus s.... ? The ground is better when it comes to display.... There's no doubt about that.... But on three hand the amaze seems to me as a better but because it feels study, the camera is awesome, although video can sound tinny when recorded in stereo sound.... The battery life sucks, but what HTC does not have sucky battery life... These days there's not much of a leap when it comes to these newer phones... I would get the amaze and wait about two years to get another phone... Oh and it has NFC which is great....

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk

 

[ChromeJob]

I continue to have a problem with cycling electronic noise on stereo video recordings ... got a replacement phone from T-mobile after 48 hours it does it, too ... reset the first (which makes it go away for a while) and trying to see (again!) what might be causing this, before sending one back.

Based on this, and the short battery life, I wonder if the Rezound is a better phone. Or Sensation XL Beats (not sure about the name ... the 4.7" screen one)....