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Faux Carnival

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2010
697
2
Wow, the screen is amazing! You have got to see it in order to understand. It is the sharpest, most vivid screen I have ever seen in my life. So clear and alive. Gotta love AMOLED.
 

adder7712

macrumors 68000
Mar 9, 2009
1,923
1
Canada
Picked mine up today! I love it, the learning curve is pretty crazy coming from the Nexus 4, but like with all new phones (other than an iPhone) that's common.


I do have one question so far, one of many probably, lol. Is there a way to get rid of the "Wi-Fi Connected" thing in the notification drop down? I don't care that its connected to Wi-Fi, that's what the little icon in the status bar is for. It's messing with my 1Weather info.

Seems like a Verizon thing.

They seem to crap out phones more than the other US carriers (locked boot loaders, logos everywhere etc.)
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
Guys

When I get my S4 how do I make sure my music will go into my SD card? Do I need an SD card Adapter to get it on there?
 

Switchback666

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2012
1,600
67
SXM
Guys

When I get my S4 how do I make sure my music will go into my SD card? Do I need an SD card Adapter to get it on there?

When you connect to phone to your pc/mac you will see the sd separate from the internal memory.

----------

Insecure much?


I've got the phone, there ARE stutters and at times lag. No point denying it, its just truth. Is it VERY laggy ? No.

The lag traces are there and they tend to be random. Odd application that takes few seconds to load, or react. Transitions and animations that stutter at times.

All of these instances are down to Samsung and its Touchwiz implementation.

My friend so in terms of OS the htc One is the better choice ? I know camera is a big deal for most people (personally i couldnt care less) but what about the screen ? Wich screen do you prefer/consider better and gives more accurate colors.

Just looking at touchwiz pictures you can clearly see it have too much going on and probably thats why lag happends, UI is too cramped that damm notification panel is full of toggles, who knows how many process run in the background on the phone ? Custom rom that gs4 and im positive the experience will be top notch.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
When you connect to phone to your pc/mac you will see the sd separate from the internal memory.

----------



My friend so in terms of OS the htc One is the better choice ? I know camera is a big deal for most people (personally i couldnt care less) but what about the screen ? Wich screen do you prefer/consider better and gives more accurate colors.

Just looking at touchwiz pictures you can clearly see it have too much going on and probably thats why lag happends, UI is too cramped that damm notification panel is full of toggles, who knows how many process run in the background on the phone ? Custom rom that gs4 and im positive the experience will be top notch.

Both screens in fairness are excellent. I think the HTC in sunlight IMO is better to read, I find myself squniting to see the S4's at times, but it's not 'bad'.

As for accuracy, I'd certainly say for 'Accurate' colours i'd go with the HTC. For 'Vibrant' (often over saturated) colours then the S4. The S4 you can opt to choose more realistic colours but then I find them to be more muted than they should be.


The HTC One's auto brightness far more effective too. The S4's adapt display and auto brightness settings work but there is at times a noticeable delay in them reading the light conditions meaning at times you walk from one room into another the screen is too dim and it takes a number of seconds for it to come back.

Yeah toooooo many background processes are running on the S4, and yep the Notification toggles are actually TOO big. They take up a sizeable chunk of the notification bar. It's great they are there, but they could be more refined.

In fact I think that is the difference between the two.

HTC went away and 'refined' sense - stripping out unnecessary animation, stripping back any UI elements that could cause lag or drain. They looked at each of their apps and made those same UI changes across the board creating a uniform aesthetic experience. All it's own widgets carry on that design refinement and even the way you can tailor the lock screen maintains that design aesthetic and craftsmanship that up to now only Apple seem to have got bang on.

Samsung went down the lines of 'lets just add more' without the refinement. More means , more clutter, more jarring design choices that don't follow through the entire experience, more animations and more background processes. Widgets that juxtapose against each other, even on the home screen the spacing seems wrong with top line / grid being a little 'too' close to the top. Even the 'notification bar' now being transparent that the demonstrators all showed off proudly only works with Samsungs own wallpaper or the two standard live wallpapers. Your own pictures, wallpapers, live wallpapers result in a black standard notification bar. It's an example of the lack of refinement or care and attention to detail (on the one it's transparent not matter where your wallpaper comes from).

A simple example is the folder opening animation for a folder with say 9 apps is so protracted and unnecessary.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
When you connect to phone to your pc/mac you will see the sd separate from the internal memory.

----------



My friend so in terms of OS the htc One is the better choice ? I know camera is a big deal for most people (personally i couldnt care less) but what about the screen ? Wich screen do you prefer/consider better and gives more accurate colors.

Just looking at touchwiz pictures you can clearly see it have too much going on and probably thats why lag happends, UI is too cramped that damm notification panel is full of toggles, who knows how many process run in the background on the phone ? Custom rom that gs4 and im positive the experience will be top notch.

Thanks

Very knew to all this.
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,878
10,987
I do have one question so far, one of many probably, lol. Is there a way to get rid of the "Wi-Fi Connected" thing in the notification drop down? I don't care that its connected to Wi-Fi, that's what the little icon in the status bar is for. It's messing with my 1Weather info.

Try long pressing the wifi notification and see if a "app info" box pops up. If it does, tap it and see if there is a notification check box on that screen. If there is, uncheck it.
 

Fireblade

macrumors 65816
Jan 25, 2011
1,101
321
Italy
Even the stuff on iTunes? Ever used easy phone sync?

Ah sorry, must have missed you need something for iTunes, thought you mean files on your PC.
I am too long away from IOS, so don't know it, but I am sure you will get your answer from an other member :)
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
After many thoughts and debates I have decided on the winner for me.



I'm going to sell the S4 and keep the HTC One.

A better camera alone is NOT enough of a payoff for poorer OS GUI / Design language. The more I use the S4 the more the GUI irks me. The fact that I can change to a different launcher doesn't solve issues with dialler, calendar, contacts, music player etc.

Performance is an issue, and despite the more powerful processor the stutters are noticeable and the millisecond delays irk me more than I thought, maybe it is because of being able to use another device where there isnt the delay.

Battery life likewise is far better for my own personal usage on the HTC One, and likewise I do not want to ever become a slave to memory management (I know in theory you shouldn't need to, but theory and practice often are not the same thing) that the S4 was making me. Checking what Samsung services had started running in the background despite me not using them.....

So yeah, I've decided it's the HTC One that wins out for me, because for me in EVERY regard other than Camera it is the better device, with better UI and better performance all round.

I love the camera on the S4, but I use a phone for far more things than just photos and for that reason - there was only 'ONE' choice. (see what I did there).

That being said, it does leave the gate open for me with iOS7 and iPhone (though I suspect I wont get the 4.7" screen this year) or perhaps the next Nexus device.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,081
19,081
US
After many thoughts and debates I have decided on the winner for me.



I'm going to sell the S4 and keep the HTC One.

A better camera alone is NOT enough of a payoff for poorer OS GUI / Design language. The more I use the S4 the more the GUI irks me. The fact that I can change to a different launcher doesn't solve issues with dialler, calendar, contacts, music player etc.

Performance is an issue, and despite the more powerful processor the stutters are noticeable and the millisecond delays irk me more than I thought, maybe it is because of being able to use another device where there isnt the delay.

Battery life likewise is far better for my own personal usage on the HTC One, and likewise I do not want to ever become a slave to memory management (I know in theory you shouldn't need to, but theory and practice often are not the same thing) that the S4 was making me. Checking what Samsung services had started running in the background despite me not using them.....

So yeah, I've decided it's the HTC One that wins out for me, because for me in EVERY regard other than Camera it is the better device, with better UI and better performance all round.

I love the camera on the S4, but I use a phone for far more things than just photos and for that reason - there was only 'ONE' choice. (see what I did there).

That being said, it does leave the gate open for me with iOS7 and iPhone (though I suspect I wont get the 4.7" screen this year) or perhaps the next Nexus device.
Thanks for writing that up for for us. I could tell from some of your previous posts that you were leaning towards the HTC. Good luck with the One!
My experience has been different. I had the HTC One and now have the SG4.
I love both phones but it came down to UI and overall intuitiveness. There are great reasons to go with either phone. You really can't go wrong! :)
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
After many thoughts and debates I have decided on the winner for me.



I'm going to sell the S4 and keep the HTC One.

A better camera alone is NOT enough of a payoff for poorer OS GUI / Design language. The more I use the S4 the more the GUI irks me. The fact that I can change to a different launcher doesn't solve issues with dialler, calendar, contacts, music player etc.

Performance is an issue, and despite the more powerful processor the stutters are noticeable and the millisecond delays irk me more than I thought, maybe it is because of being able to use another device where there isnt the delay.

Battery life likewise is far better for my own personal usage on the HTC One, and likewise I do not want to ever become a slave to memory management (I know in theory you shouldn't need to, but theory and practice often are not the same thing) that the S4 was making me. Checking what Samsung services had started running in the background despite me not using them.....

So yeah, I've decided it's the HTC One that wins out for me, because for me in EVERY regard other than Camera it is the better device, with better UI and better performance all round.

I love the camera on the S4, but I use a phone for far more things than just photos and for that reason - there was only 'ONE' choice. (see what I did there).

That being said, it does leave the gate open for me with iOS7 and iPhone (though I suspect I wont get the 4.7" screen this year) or perhaps the next Nexus device.

I'm still having a hard time deciding. The camera is a BIG issue for me, I have a 1 year old and take a ton of pics and videos and like the pics to be good enough to print. I don't expect incredible results from any smartphone, but the ip5 and the note2 both have done very good jobs. I couldn't see myself carrying around a digital camera all the time and those times I don't have one I will miss a lot of picture opportunities.

Although I go back and forth I'm a bit more solidified towards the S4, although I might just bite the bullet and wait for the ip 5s. Or I can always sell the S4 in a couple of months and buy the ip 5s outright, sigh why couldn't HTC just put a freakin decent camera in?
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Thanks for writing that up for for us. I could tell from some of your previous posts that you were leaning towards the HTC. Good luck with the One!
My experience has been different. I had the HTC One and now have the SG4.
I love both phones but it came down to UI and overall intuitiveness. There are great reasons to go with either phone. You really can't go wrong! :)


Yep it is at most a toss of the coin and where your own subjective preferences lay (priority wise). Both are great phones. The camera was the holding card but it wasn't enough. The more i thought about it the more I came to realise taking a €600 phone up a mountain because it takes better shots was silly due to risk of damage and moisture, i'd be safer with a cheap digital camera (can get an excellent 16mp one for €100 these days).

I'm still having a hard time deciding. The camera is a BIG issue for me, I have a 1 year old and take a ton of pics and videos and like the pics to be good enough to print. I don't expect incredible results from any smartphone, but the ip5 and the note2 both have done very good jobs. I couldn't see myself carrying around a digital camera all the time and those times I don't have one I will miss a lot of picture opportunities.

Although I go back and forth I'm a bit more solidified towards the S4, although I might just bite the bullet and wait for the ip 5s. Or I can always sell the S4 in a couple of months and buy the ip 5s outright, sigh why couldn't HTC just put a freakin decent camera in?

I decided for the phone experience, messaging and txting the HTC one is better for me.

I will probably end up picking up a Samsung Digital Camera to stick in the car for when I'm roaming out and about. For instagram / twitter and facebook the HTC One does the job, if I'm out climbing mountains or countryside, I'll just stick the cheap digital camera in my pocket. :)


Whichever you choose your getting a great device. There is really not much in it after weighing the pros and cons of either device.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
I'm still having a hard time deciding. The camera is a BIG issue for me, I have a 1 year old and take a ton of pics and videos and like the pics to be good enough to print. I don't expect incredible results from any smartphone, but the ip5 and the note2 both have done very good jobs. I couldn't see myself carrying around a digital camera all the time and those times I don't have one I will miss a lot of picture opportunities.

Although I go back and forth I'm a bit more solidified towards the S4, although I might just bite the bullet and wait for the ip 5s. Or I can always sell the S4 in a couple of months and buy the ip 5s outright, sigh why couldn't HTC just put a freakin decent camera in?

I would say the HTC One camera is plenty decent - at least for me. Not as good as my iP5, but better than my Nexus 4.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
I would say the HTC One camera is plenty decent - at least for me. Not as good as my iP5, but better than my Nexus 4.

Good to hear. Any of you care to venture what physical size picture you can reasonably print with a picture from the One versus the S4? I don't expect poster size, but I've had good luck printing 5x7 pictures from my ip5, and occasionally I can get lucky and get a 8x10 that looks good.

I've found that really any old smartphone camera will take pictures that look good on a small screen, but the trick is to be able to print them.
 

Kashsystems

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2012
358
1
Good to hear. Any of you care to venture what physical size picture you can reasonably print with a picture from the One versus the S4? I don't expect poster size, but I've had good luck printing 5x7 pictures from my ip5, and occasionally I can get lucky and get a 8x10 that looks good.

I've found that really any old smartphone camera will take pictures that look good on a small screen, but the trick is to be able to print them.

This is going to help you out. I have printed 11x14 from my iPhone 5.

http://malektips.com/digital_photo_printing_0004.html
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
This is going to help you out. I have printed 11x14 from my iPhone 5.

http://malektips.com/digital_photo_printing_0004.html

Very nice, TY, good reading.

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/htc/htc-one/19549/htc-one-ultrapixel-camera-why-4-megapixels

Also some interesting stuff about the size of the pixels versus the amount. I've also seen some review sites showing side by side photos of the One versus other smartphones in low light and I'm very impressed, some pics which were totally dark on other phones looked decent on the One, and pics which were moderately dark looked pretty darn perfect on the One.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/120573-htc-one-camera-review

But then again some camera sites are saying the One takes inferior shots.
 
Last edited:

Chodite

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2007
586
0
Baltimore, MD
After many thoughts and debates I have decided on the winner for me.

I'm going to sell the S4 and keep the HTC One.

A better camera alone is NOT enough of a payoff for poorer OS GUI / Design language.

Congrats on coming to your conclusion. I've been following closely.

Unfortunately for me, the camera is very important to me (I've got a little one and am ALWAYS shooting pics), so I'm 90% leaning towards the S4... even though I love everything about The One, except for that damned camera. Congrats again and enjoy.
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
Well... the iPhone 5 at the Att store too under the same circumstances and it doesn't lag at all...
Duh. No one is even looking at it, let alone touching it. Everyone already knows what an iPhone is and what it does.



Michael

----------

It is good to use these high end phones but the thing that always pinched me while they are growing in terms of services and applications they are increasingly becoming battery eating monsters. It is becoming quite hard to keep up with a battery life that lasts full one day.

In general, yes. But the Note 2, the object of the post you replied to, has excellent battery life. The larger-screen phones/phablets have more room for battery. The S4 doesn't look too bad either--plus has a removable battery which can come in very handy.



Michael
 
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