Stay with HTC One GPE or get a Nexus 5?

[bmolloy]

I have the HTC One GE and now the Nexus 5. They are both great phones with their own pluses and minuses.

Here are the things I think are draws:

• Both are very good looking phones, the Metal of the One is incredible, but the Stealth look of the N5 is also really nice.
• They both are fast enough that there is just no lag with anything you do.
• They both feel great in the hand, there is a little bit of weight difference, but it is so small that I don't even notice it.
• The screens on both are really incredible, the colors seem a little more muted on the N5, but it still looks great.
• Battery seems to be pretty much the same for me. Big screen phones that get used a lot just don't last more than one day without a huge battery.
• Camera: The verdict is still out, I never thought the HTC One GE camera was all that great and so far with limited use the N5 just seems OK too. I will echo the slow focus that everyone has been seeing with the N5.

Now for what is better on each phone:

HTC One

• The speakers on the One are hands down the winner. The N5 speaker is one step above terrible.
• The IR port on the One is really great and I didn't realize how much I was actually using a remote app I downloaded until it was gone.
• The lack of cases for the N5 is also a bit of a bummer, I know it is early but so far not a lot of adoption by the big case companies.

Nexus 5

• The N5 wins in the on screen buttons department. Not seeing the 3-dot black bar on the bottom of apps is refreshing
• The N5 has better outside screen visibility than the One. They both have great screens, as I mentioned, but the N5 has better visibility outside in sunlight.
• Wireless Charging is GREAT. I never did it with My N4, but now that the qi chargers have come down in price I bought 2. This really seems to keep me from every thinking about the battery because it is always full. One at home and one at work and it will be really hard to end up with a dead battery.
• Notification light on the N5 is much better. The tiny in speaker LED notification light of the One is a good solution for that phone but I like the big multi-colored N5 notification light.
• Android 4.4, I know it is coming soon to the HTC One, but I am really enjoying the differences.

I could be completely happy with either phone, but I will say that I am REALLY happy having both phones. One of the best things about having unlocked phones is you can move your sim and change it up for the day. I imagine once the new wears off on the Nexus and the One gets 4.4 I will switch it up often between the two phones selecting whichever one fits what I need to do for the day.

 

[Mikhailov]

Wow. Thanks for the info. Very detailed. It's giving me a lot to think about as I try the N5.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[Paul Rezendes]

Id like to see some head to head tests now that the we have 4.4 on the Google Edition One and the N7. So far I am loving my GPE One as much as ever. I dont see any reason to give it up yet. Its a much better built phone and is running fantastic on 4.4 as expected. I have all the features of the N7 and a nicer looking phone in my opinion.