HTC One owns the S4 on pocketnow.com

[madlaw1071]

You know how much I care about fashion?

For the locked down, Welcome to HTCdev strongly, strongly, strongly disagrees with you.

Blink Feed isn't just a clever buzz word. I hate skins and have found a lot of use in having that information up front. I am disappointed about the toggles, but that's a 4.1.2 v. 4.2 thing, which will be addressed in an update.

For the Apple comparison, it's only apt for superficial comparison (which you exemplify with the fashion comments). If you look at the business side of things, and Apple's work since the iPhone 4 (the last innovative iPhone, Siri be damned), Samsung and Apple are tracking each other tremendously well in almost every approach.

iPhones can be jailbroken too. The out of the box experience is now quite similar between iPhone and HTC. You get what they give you. Blinkfeed isnt even innovative. It's a less functional knock off of FlipBoard, which is 10x better as a stand alone app, let alone as incorporated into the S4.

I do agree Samsung is tracking Apple in profit and market dominance.

 

[EverNap]

Actually, HTC has become Android's Apple(without the success). They created a device that appeals to the fashion conscious and people concerned with the image their phone projects

I came into this thread to post that "Maybe Samsung is starting to face what Apple has been facing for the last few years. The continuous need to innovate and change and keep things fresh. "

I guess, once a company becomes so big and successful with their products, it's hard to keep hold of all your customers with just iterative and minor improvements. Apple did great until the iPhone 4 (and it still does great), but the same sense of 'innovation' hasn't been there. People complained about how Apple stopped innovating, and that they're resting on their laurels, and found the Galaxy phones to be something different. I think Samsung is going through the same phase now with their Galaxy phones.

 

[dmmarck]

iPhones can be jailbroken too. The out of the box experience is now quite similar between iPhone and HTC. You get what they give you. Blinkfeed isnt even innovative. It's a less functional knock off of FlipBoard, which is 10x better as a stand alone app, let alone as incorporated into the S4.

I do agree Samsung is tracking Apple in profit and market dominance.

Jailbreaking a phone is simply not as powerful as unlocking and rooting a device, particularly Nexus devices, at least at the basic levels and without considerable experience navigating Winterboard, Cydia, etc. I've traveled (extensively) down both paths (see my signature links), and feel fairly confident that an unlocked Nexus represents the ultimate level of openness and customization.

You claimed that HTC locked down Sense. I can go to that website, unlock it, and essentially go nuts. Koush, an exceptionally well respected developer and created of ClockworkMod Recovery, ROM Manager, and numerous other apps, has claimed that the One functions like a Nexus. To me, that's the very definition of being "open" IMO. Contrast that with the Samsung GS4, which Samsung confirmed will feature a locked bootloader, requiring some extra voodoo and trickery to get around it (ask Verizon GS3 users how awesomely nonfunctional a lot of early roms were after the bootloader exploit was discovered).

Blinkfeed isn't innovative. It's close to Flipboard and Windows' tiles. I use it though, so there's that. It's polished, which in and of itself impresses me (personally) greatly. These comments are probably shocking to most of my friends here, considering my history on AC and my well documented views on software and gimmicks.

 

[madlaw1071]

Jailbreaking a phone is simply not as powerful as unlocking and rooting a device, particularly Nexus devices, at least at the basic levels and without considerable experience navigating Winterboard, Cydia, etc. I've traveled (extensively) down both paths (see my signature links), and feel fairly confident that an unlocked Nexus represents the ultimate level of openness and customization.

You claimed that HTC locked down Sense. I can go to that website, unlock it, and essentially go nuts. Koush, an exceptionally well respected developer and created of ClockworkMod Recovery, ROM Manager, and numerous other apps, has claimed that the One functions like a Nexus. To me, that's the very definition of being "open" IMO. Contrast that with the Samsung GS4, which Samsung confirmed will feature a locked bootloader, requiring some extra voodoo and trickery to get around it (ask Verizon GS3 users how awesomely nonfunctional a lot of early roms were after the bootloader exploit was discovered).

Blinkfeed isn't innovative. It's close to Flipboard and Windows' tiles. I use it though, so there's that. It's polished, which in and of itself impresses me (personally) greatly. These comments are probably shocking to most of my friends here, considering my history on AC and my well documented views on software and gimmicks.

What percentage of One owners will unlock and mod their devices? We are talking about what direction the companies are taking, not what a small percentage of phone geeks like us can do with a phone. There is no disputing that HTC deliberately watered down and simplified Sense to make it appeal to the masses. THAT IS NOT A BAD thing but it's quite Apple-esque.

 

[dmmarck]

What percentage of One owners will unlock and mod their devices? We are talking about what direction the companies are taking, not what a small percentage of phone geeks like us can do with a phone. There is no disputing that HTC deliberately watered down and simplified Sense to make it appeal to the masses. THAT IS NOT A BAD thing but it's quite Apple-esque.

They followed Google's lead, which was necessary in order to move Android further. If anything, Google followed Apple--and I'm glad they did, personally.

And if you're going to bring up a point (i.e. the One being locked down), don't slow walk it when your point turns out to have no merit. Sense is not locked down, particularly when compared to Samsung and other manufacturers that ship locked bootloaders.

 

[gollum18]

IMO...The One might not have all the crazy features that the SG4 has, but it's an overall better phone. The build, the IR Blaster, the camera, less bloat, no lag, the screen and the sound is way better than the SG4. The HTC One's features that it has..such as the camera and speakers/sound is some of the features that I know, I'll use almost everyday. Unlike the features of the SG4, their just battery drainers. When I had the GS3 and the Note 2, I barely used any of those features. To me the features that Samsung implements is what I call "Show Off Features" not something you'll use every single day. And even though the HTC One has no SD Card slot, let's face it...32GB is enough for the normal user and it's $199. The S4 32GB is I believe $250 on some carriers and more on others. And lets not forget even though the S4 can take a SD Card, I don't believe you can install apps to the SD Card like you could before.

I'm waiting to see the threads people start making about the lag on the SG4, the bloatware and yes the locked bootloader...

Lol 16gb is large enough for me

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[gollum18]

They followed Google's lead, which was necessary in order to move Android further. If anything, Google followed Apple--and I'm glad they did, personally.

And if you're going to bring up a point (i.e. the One being locked down), don't slow walk it when your point turns out to have no merit. Sense is not locked down, particularly when compared to Samsung and other manufacturers that ship locked bootloaders.

You are partially right. All HTC phones ship S-ON and unless you buy it from HTC it's at your carriers discretion to unlock it or not. Since they usually include specific code that prevents an htc-dev unlock especially with verizon and att.

On a side note how do you verizon/att customers feel about your carriers backing CISPA? It seems that the only carriers that are doing the right thing are sprint and t mobile.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[madlaw1071]

They followed Google's lead, which was necessary in order to move Android further. If anything, Google followed Apple--and I'm glad they did, personally.

And if you're going to bring up a point (i.e. the One being locked down), don't slow walk it when your point turns out to have no merit. Sense is not locked down, particularly when compared to Samsung and other manufacturers that ship locked bootloaders.

Sorry, I did not mean locked down in the bootloader sense of the word. More like lack of customizations and settings tweaks.

 

[EverNap]

It seems that the only carriers that are doing the right thing are sprint and t mobile.

I agree. Also, I think the new Tmo plans are great, and are much fairer than what other carriers offer (especially AT&T which I'm on now), so if I buy an unlocked phone this summer (hopefully a new nexus device), I will jump-ship to Tmo (if they have LTE coverage in my area)

 

[dmmarck]

You are partially right. All HTC phones ship S-ON and unless you buy it from HTC it's at your carriers discretion to unlock it or not. Since they usually include specific code that prevents an htc-dev unlock especially with verizon and att.

On a side note how do you verizon/att customers feel about your carriers backing CISPA? It seems that the only carriers that are doing the right thing are sprint and t mobile.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Correct about S-ON. Although apparently, it's less cumbersome than what it meant when I had my Incredible...

So far, AT&T hasn't done or said anything officially about locking it down.

And the CISPA thing is terrible. I almost went T-Mo, but the coverage is horrific in my area. Same with Sprint. My fiancee has Sprint and she gets almost no service where we live--with both her old Blackberry and new Galaxy Nexus.

 

[dmmarck]

Sorry, I did not mean locked down in the bootloader sense of the word. More like lack of customizations and settings tweaks.

Well the customizations thing is a decent point, until you get to launchers. I'm personally driving Sense for a week or so before migrating (probably) to Action, which has become my preferred launcher. For my needs, a custom launcher will solve any and all customization wants and desires.

 

[gollum18]

Dmmarck, how does it run in sense with your experience? Any lag or stuttering.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[madlaw1071]

Well the customizations thing is a decent point, until you get to launchers. I'm personally driving Sense for a week or so before migrating (probably) to Action, which has become my preferred launcher. For my needs, a custom launcher will solve any and all customization wants and desires.

I just put Nova on and already liking it better than Sense. With Blinkfeed now gone, using Flipboard and MUCH prefer it.

 

[dmmarck]

Dmmarck, how does it run in sense with your experience? Any lag or stuttering.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

None in the least. In fact, I was joking to a few friends that the first day or so the phone was moving so fast that I would accidentally "tap" something when I meant to stop the scroll. I was used to the speed of my Galaxy Nexus/Nexus 7.

Blinkfeed has been as smooth as butter for me, and all menus, windows, etc., move at a very swift pace.

- - - Updated - - -

I just put Nova on and already liking it better than Sense. With Blinkfeed now gone, using Flipboard and MUCH prefer it.

Have you tried Action? I was hesitant at first, but it's been my go to since release. After the Chameleon debacle, I'll try anything!

 

[Russ Smith]

Dmmarck, how does it run in sense with your experience? Any lag or stuttering.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

I've had it well over a month now, no lag or stuttering once, never needed to do a hard reset either

Sent from my awesome HTC One B-)

 

[go3go]

With the S4, they wisely(IMHO), built on the success of both the S3 and Note 2 borrowing and building on each. The innovation comes from somehow increasing the screen size, doubling the resolution, increasing battery size all the while making the device smaller and lighter. Oh and sticking in an excellent 13mp camera with features up the wazoo. That is the very definition of innovation. You say they need to upgrade their manufacturing I say BS. They will crank out 70-100 million S4s and further establish themselves as THE alternative to Apple. Perhaps they will even eclipse google/android. It's a fair question as to whether that's a good thing or not.

Wikipedia:
-"Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better."

 

[dmmarck]

Wikipedia:
-"Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better."

Bingo. Thank you!

 

[lpt2569]

HTC decided that it was going to build a device with an eye towards perceptive hardware quality. That meant metal. You know how "wrong" that is? Well, look at all those Macbooks, like the one I'm typing on right now. They sell for a few reasons, including the fact they are gorgeous and crafted from metal. Some folks find inherent pleasure in touching a metal device.

How many people will put a case on the gorgeous and well-crafted metal ONE? Probably more than half the people who buy one, so as to protect that beautiful piece of hardware. How many people put covers on their Macbooks? My guess is pretty close to none, because it isn't getting thrown in and out of pockets or docks or dropped on tables or the floor of your car or on the ground. To me, I don't understand the point of covering up all that gorgeousness and craftmanship. Maybe make it more resistant from the start, like cars. Metal bumpers became plastic bumpers even on a Lexus, BMW, Rolls Royce, etc. Doesn't reduce the value of the car, simply makes it more practical in real world usage. Just my two cents. But to each their own of course.

 

[The Hustleman]

Wikipedia:
-"Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better."

Air gestures, Multiview, yeah fits the definition

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ttwiitch]

The only thing HTC one wins 100% of the time is the metal body and speakers......uh THATS IT LOL!

Sent from my Galaxy S3?