HTC One or S4 for high school student?

[Mello_Asian]

Hey, guys! I've posted this on the HTC thread, but I wanna see the responses from the S4's side. So this is basically a copy-and-paste post.

Hey, everyone! My contract is close to its expiration, and I was wondering what phone I should get to replace my LG Optimus S. Both the HTC One and GS4 are great phones, and I'd be very complacent to get either one of them since they are a HUGH upgrade from the Optimus S.

HTC Pros: pretty much everything; almost zero lag, good audio quality, pretty good (but not great) camera & its features, design, 32 GB memory = more music and pics.
Cons: although overall it is much better than my current phone's and is amongst the top, the HTC's 4 MP camera is kind of what holds me back at times. Also, the no menu button might slightly bother me and the phone is almost irreparable if it breaks.

S4 Pros: better simplicity, better convenience, somewhat better camera than the One's, useful Multi-Window, it looks easier to use, reparable, expandable memory and replaceable battery, S-voice task/reminder capabilities
Cons: some minor lag issues, 16GB might not be enough (but its more than my Optimus S's 2 GB lol).
(Note: those are from what I've heard/seen from reviews.)

Anyways, sorry for making this post long! Please help me out with either experiences from these phones or with any info!
So, as a high school student, I was wondering which of them would be much better/more helpful/more convenient for me in the next two years under a new contract.
Which of them would have better camera performance, overall speed (little to no lag), better browser speed & performance (with Flash support), smoother-running apps, customizability, and is overall more convenient for a high school student?

 

[smooth4lyfe]

Well I think you should go for the S4:
Well the S4 has a bigger screen, so definitely useful for typing and reading class notes
Also has a great Story Mode feature for when you graduate, you can take many pics, and even print out your own year book
Also has the ability to change the color of the LED to any color of your choosing for different apps
Also if you take a language class, you can use S-Translate to translate words for you (I wouldnt suggest using it to cheat on your test)
You can use Multi window to text or write notes while you search school topics on Wiki from the browser, or watch educational videos on YouTube

 

[Mello_Asian]

Yeah, those are all really great features. However, are the lag issues that the S4 is having all that bad? I know that either phone will be huge upgrade from my LG Optimus S (which lagged SO MUCH with the dictionary app and even force closed the browser numerous times), but I'm also looking for which is more time-efficient.

 

[PaulWog]

Storage shouldn't be an issue on the Galaxy S4. You can expand and get an additional 64GB of storage. For me, 32GB is enough (I'm using my old class 10 16GB microsd).

I personally would recommend the Galaxy S4 after having gotten it. My only gripe so far is that the signal strength isn't outstanding at all, but that could be the same for both phones. The battery life also isn't absolutely amazing, but again, should be the same for both phones... and in this case, the Galaxy S4 has a removable/upgradeable/replaceable battery, which is a big plus.

edit: No lag noticed at all by me. And I'm picky. Replacing my Galaxy S4 due to a very small almost invisible speck of dust under the screen... lol.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

Yeah, those are all really great features. However, are the lag issues that the S4 is having all that bad? I know that either phone will be huge upgrade from my LG Optimus S (which lagged SO MUCH with the dictionary app and even force closed the browser numerous times), but I'm also looking for which is more time-efficient.

There is not much lag as people say...they may be just the occasional .5 second lag when u switch between apps, but for the most part you won't experience much lag that should deter you from having the full experience of using the device

 

[Mello_Asian]

Storage shouldn't be an issue on the Galaxy S4. You can expand and get an additional 64GB of storage. For me, 32GB is enough (I'm using my old class 10 16GB microsd).

I personally would recommend the Galaxy S4 after having gotten it. My only gripe so far is that the signal strength isn't outstanding at all, but that could be the same for both phones. The battery life also isn't absolutely amazing, but again, should be the same for both phones... and in this case, the Galaxy S4 has a removable/upgradeable/replaceable battery, which is a big plus.

edit: No lag noticed at all by me. And I'm picky. Replacing my Galaxy S4 due to a very small almost invisible speck of dust under the screen... lol.

That's true, I'm not even a heavy phone user due to school so its 16GB shouldn't really be a problem. I'm pretty sure that only pictures, social networking apps, educational apps, a few games, and music will take the memory up. And since you have it, mind if I ask if the S4's stock browser support flash? I'd also like to be able to watch videos that require flash online.
And is the Multi-Window feature excellent in terms of how well it works?

 

[Mello_Asian]

There is not much lag as people say...they may be just the occasional .5 second lag when u switch between apps, but for the most part you won't experience much lag that should deter you from having the full experience of using the device

Sounds good then. Thanks for your insight!

 

[tarball]

Sounds good then. Thanks for your insight!

And will probably get fixed by a patch soon enough!