HTC One (M8): Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

[madlaw1071]

We can debate metal vs plastic...it's personal preference. I am a android person and use a S4 but hands down the most gorgeous phone I've had is the iPhone 4 (glass)...i still use it as a second phone ...after 3 years its little slow but still the most beautiful phone ever made...

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I hear you . I had a white 4S with an Element Aluminum/Carbon Fiber case. It was beast.

 

[Haalcyon]

I think the sealed battery will diminish the value of used phone no matter how good it looks, feels outside. Battery can start wearing out after two years at any time. I personally wouldn't get any used phone with non-removable battery, iPhones included.

That does sound logical indeed. For some reason it appears that iPhone resale values remain pretty good despite their sealed batteries though. I've not (and won't) look it up but I wonder how the iPhone does in resale vs. the M7. Which resales for more and why?

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[thegrants82]

I think the sealed battery will diminish the value of used phone no matter how good it looks, feels outside. Battery can start wearing out after two years at any time. I personally wouldn't get any used phone with non-removable battery, iPhones included.

You could not possibly be more wrong. IPhones have the highest percentage resale value of any other smartphone and of course their batteries are sealed.

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[dkhmwilliams]

You could not possibly be more wrong. IPhones have the highest percentage resale value of any other smartphone and of course their batteries are sealed.

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I'm not 100 percent convinced that's the reason the iPhone has such a high resale value, but it's an interesting theory.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[Haalcyon]

I'm not 100 percent convinced that's the reason the iPhone has such a high resale value, but it's an interesting theory.

Sent from my Nexus 5

Please share your opinion what the reason may be. I value it.

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[dkhmwilliams]

Please share your opinion what the reason may be. I value it.

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For starters it's a high quality device. The materials are premium and the design is impressive. Up until last year there had only been one iPhone released in a year if my memory serves me correctly. And it is perhaps the most popular smartphone on the planet which I'm sure helps in the resale value. Lastly, for those who want an iOS smartphone you only have that option. If I want an Android device there are a multitude of handsets I can choose from. These are my opinions as to why the resale value is higher than most handsets.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[Haalcyon]

Makes sense as usual. Thx.

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[dkhmwilliams]

Makes sense as usual. Thx.

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I appreciate the compliment. Can't wait to return the gesture.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[B0WIE]

My original One X is plastic and I hate it. Granted, it still looks great, crisp white and very few scratches, plastic feels and looks cheap to me. I really loved the brushed metal on the M8. Best looking phone ever aside from the wood encased phone I saw last month (I forget the model).

 

[Jdroids]

You could not possibly be more wrong. IPhones have the highest percentage resale value of any other smartphone and of course their batteries are sealed.

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iPhone resale values are high just because it's Apple, simple as that. Not because of sealed battery. People tend to overlook any technical shortcomings on any device that has Apple logo on it. Besides iPhones, I don't think phones with sealed battery have high resale values. I think iPhone is exception on this. But I won't get any used phone with sealed battery regardless.

 

[worknman]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

If I remember correctly, the strategy of bashing other people's products is what made the S3 such a huge hit.
You know what, I'm surprised Samsung didn't try and patent that strategy and isn't trying to sue HTC for using it this go around.

If they were going to bash Samsung for something, why not do it over something that actually matters, like the 16gb of internal storage, and the massive amount of space the software bloat takes up?

But guess what, even if they do go bankrupt that doesn't mean they aren't right.
I'll come out and say it explicitly, the S line phones look like ugly, cheap, disgusting plastic to me. That AMOLED with those saturated colors with that crap plastic around it make it look hideous to me. At least the S4 Active looked fine, but good god do I freaking hate plastic casings.

And that's fine. Nobody's trying to convince you to buy a plastic phone. We're just tired of hearing that certain phones are of a higher quality because they're made of aluminum, since nobody has demonstrated why this is so, except for their own bias against plastic.

 

[Jdroids]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

Aluminum is actually cheap, soft metal in general. There are numerous better metals. Just because it's looking shiny, feeling good doesn't make aluminum necessarily superior than polycarbonate case technically.

 

[B0WIE]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

. We're just tired of hearing that certain phones are of a higher quality because they're made of aluminum, since nobody has demonstrated why this is so, except for their own bias against plastic.

Well, I was with you up until that point, because the statement contradicts itself. If they don't like plastic, then that means that aluminum IS higher quality to them. I'm sure if you took a public poll, you'd find it overwhelmingly in favor of a metal phone housing. Most of it has to do with appearance, some of it to do with texture, association, also cost, etc, all of which are valid arguments as to why it is thought to be better by those people. Even cost is a valid argument (diamonds vs CZ). Car interiors are higher quality when they use some aluminium instead of just plastic. You could have brushed metal interior furnishings but plastic is low-end in that field. I completely respect people's personal tastes and you should too. Just dismissing people's preference for metal as some sort of unfounded "bias" is just as bad as them saying you shouldn't like plastic.

 

[Haalcyon]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

Aluminum is actually cheap, soft metal in general. There are numerous better metals. Just because it's looking shiny, feeling good doesn't make aluminum necessarily superior than polycarbonate case technically.

I think how the MacBook Pro's aluminum is implemented and how the iPhone's aluminum is implemented are different. I think the MacBook Pro has a heavier higher quality implementation than the iPhone. The MacBooks don't seems to scratch, burr, or ding as easily as the iPhones. Don't misundestand me, I love my 5s' but would rather they have that heavier aluminum or whatever makes the MacBooks seem more durable. Yes, I'd keep the phones in a case regardless but there is a difference to me.

I would also like to see more devices use carbon fiber or Kevlar. Are they that hard to work with?

sent via the gPad 8.3

 

[madlaw1071]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

Well, I was with you up until that point, because the statement contradicts itself. If they don't like plastic, then that means that aluminum IS higher quality to them. I'm sure if you took a public poll, you'd find it overwhelmingly in favor of a metal phone housing. Most of it has to do with appearance, some of it to do with texture, association, also cost, etc, all of which are valid arguments as to why it is thought to be better by those people. Even cost is a valid argument (diamonds vs CZ). Car interiors are higher quality when they use some aluminium instead of just plastic. You could have brushed metal interior furnishings but plastic is low-end in that field. I completely respect people's personal tastes and you should too. Just dismissing people's preference for metal as some sort of unfounded "bias" is just as bad as them saying you shouldn't like plastic.

Build quality always gets confused with build materials. Mercedes arguable uses better build materials than Honda. HOWEVER, Mercedes has much lower reliability/build quality. Same can be said for the aluminum vs. plastic argument. The M8 is arguably built with better materials but that doesn't mean it is free from build quality issues(faulty camera modules, loose speaker grills, screen gaps etc.).

 

[B0WIE]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

Build quality always gets confused with build materials. Mercedes arguable uses better build materials than Honda. HOWEVER, Mercedes has much lower reliability/build quality. Same can be said for the aluminum vs. plastic argument. The M8 is arguably built with better materials but that doesn't mean it is free from build quality issues(faulty camera modules, loose speaker grills, screen gaps etc.).

Unfortunately, that doesn't have anything to do with the aluminum vs plastic subject. But, it seems you're simply trying to take a jab at the M8 again, to which I'll respond that I found the M8 to be better built than the Samsungs I tried yesterday with a wonky front button. Beyond that, they're both really well-built phones.

 

[metz65]

Droid, droid x, galaxy nexus, droid razr, s3,droid dna. Dropped em all and never had one break. I'm more interested in what a phone will do not what it's made of. Metal or plastic isn't a selling point for me.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.

 

[Jdroids]

I agree that better build material doesn't always mean better build quality. There is also cost of surface finish, treatment, etc. The total cost of housing/case would be material plus processing the shape, surface, etc. Though I don't know the cost of building M8 aluminum body, I doubt it's significantly higher than S5 or any other flagship phone with plastic body.

 

[Haalcyon]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

Unfortunately, that doesn't have anything to do with the aluminum vs plastic subject. But, it seems you're simply trying to take a jab at the M8 again, to which I'll respond that I found the M8 to be better built than the Samsungs I tried yesterday with a wonky front button. Beyond that, they're both really well-built phones.

in all fairness, I've read that folks are already saying the M8 has loose power buttons, that part of the buttons are flush while the are part is not. I haven't seen one in person yet but I will this weekend...along with an S5.

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[B0WIE]

Re: Metal vs plastic - difference in quality, or personal preference?

in all fairness, I've read that folks are already saying the M8 has loose power buttons, that part of the buttons are flush while the are part is not. I haven't seen one in person yet but I will this weekend...along with an S5.

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Oh, I'm not saying there won't be issues. I'm sure there will be. I was just replying to the other guy who keeps trolling the M8 section because what he said was absolutely counter to what I saw first-hand yesterday with two different M8s.