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Markyboy81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2011
514
0
I wouldn't mind the bulge for a quality 1,2"(nokia 808) or 1" sensor.
If the Nokia 808 had OIS I would rush out the get one immmediately but the videos are really shaky without OIS. The Lumia 920 has OIS but mono-mics without any high frequency pickup...and a camera with ultra processed jpegs resulting in blurry details....even with firmware 1308..the one after Portico (firmware 1249).

I got rid of my galaxy s3, almost bought the s4 but got put off by price rises and delays so opted for a new 808 pureview at nearly half the price. There are some niggles, the screen's lower res does hit you but so far I have no regrets. Symbian is fast and smooth (for example contacts and dialler open much quicker than on the s3),battery life is amazing and it goes without saying that the camera is in a different league. Also, you have to hear the rich recording to believe how good it is. However, I may still pick up an s4 when the price comes down, though I won't sell the pureview.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Guys, good stuff enjoyed reading the comparison. Just to kill some un-necessary applications I would rather pick from play store some task killers to free up my phone memory.

They don't work properly as they can close services that the phone actually needs. The built in task killer can kill apps, but it is just that samsungs services begin running soon after whether you initiated them or not.

For example my S4 would routinely hover around 1.3-1.5gb used of 1.78gb available.

The HTC One has same apps open, 9 running apps and is at 650mb used. Big difference.

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.
Thank you :)



For close up and portrait shots the HTC Ones camera is good, but for landscape shooting where you are shooting hills and mountains and valleys where the detail is far off, that where more pixels always comes in better.

But either phone is a winner, it just depends on user preferences. I personally just find the aesthetics of the GUI (general user interface) more cheorent and better designed on the HTC one. To me its like Samsung asked a different design team to design each element, resulting a mish mash of designs.

I'm a graphic designer and illustrator by profession, so design language is important to me, and i find it hard to over look ever. Hence I knew it would eventually drive me potty.


IF the S4 had been running 'Stock' android there is no doubt at all. (I don't feel comfortable with flashing rome) I would be keeping it.

As it is I'm glad I got to experience the best android handsets and find one that I enjoy. Neither are perfect, but both are great phones. :) :)
 

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
While there is some small lag still present, getting rid of that Flipboard widget really helped reduce the lag spikes. I might ditch the stock weather and that S-Health widgets that were put on there out of the box to see if it improves at all.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
why not install a launcher and have the default JB experience?

A launcher does not change dialler, people, music, calendar, how system fonts, and samsung apps can still auto run in background. There is a big difference between launcher and stock.

In fact running a launcher only shows the disparity of Samsung's GUI aesthetics more.
 

2298754

Cancelled
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
Amazon also had the S4 for $168 on upgrade/new line I see it for AT&T

No updates on the 32gb yet....
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2013
2,724
1,241
I spent a little more time at AT&T during lunch today and played with the S4 again and I've got a few more observations. The speaker/ sound on the S4 is equal to the HTC One depspite the One having speakers on the sound.

Despite hating the look of the S4 (mainly the back) I think the camera and equal sound is a game changer for me. Not happy about only getting 9GB of free space but a memory card will do the trick.

Now I'm torn again on the One and S4.
 

akuma13

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2006
934
430
I spent a little more time at AT&T during lunch today and played with the S4 again and I've got a few more observations. The speaker/ sound on the S4 is equal to the HTC One depspite the One having speakers on the sound.

Despite hating the look of the S4 (mainly the back) I think the camera and equal sound is a game changer for me. Not happy about only getting 9GB of free space but a memory card will do the trick.

Now I'm torn again on the One and S4.

The speaker on the S4 is LOUD. But of course it gets muffled when laid on a soft surface (bed,pillow). The UI does lag and it's annoying on one of the fastest smartphones on the market. The screen is gorgeous! Samsung has really improved on their screen technology. I really love the S-Health feature and i hope Apple creates something similar to it.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
I spent a little more time at AT&T during lunch today and played with the S4 again and I've got a few more observations. The speaker/ sound on the S4 is equal to the HTC One depspite the One having speakers on the sound.

Despite hating the look of the S4 (mainly the back) I think the camera and equal sound is a game changer for me. Not happy about only getting 9GB of free space but a memory card will do the trick.

Now I'm torn again on the One and S4.[/QUOTE

Just have at it to decide. I felt it necessary to get the One as well to try. I hate having conversations within myself to decide but both are great phones and need to be experienced to make a decision, not me trying the One just in a store and playing with it.
 

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
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.


Just gave it a try, unfortunately it's considered the whole Settings app, so you can't remove it. Sucks, such a stupid thing to have in there.





On another note, what is a really good JB keyboard to add to the GS4? I'm not fond of either keyboard the thing comes with. Free or premium, either or.
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I picked up a S4 today after having about an hours play with one at the O2 shop. I have messed around with it for a good couple of hours now and my first impressions are favourable. As others have found there seemed to be some juddering when set up straight from the box, I also had this, after setting it up the way I will use it this seems to have stopped, nevertheless, still slightly worrying.

The screen to my eyes is absolutely gorgeous, I do know that this is due to heavy contrast, but I find it pleasing to my eye.

I also had a S3 and find the S4 a sort of step up in quality of feel, it feels more solid.

I havent had it long enough to give an informed opinion on the battery or the camera.
 

Tsuchiya

macrumors 68020
Jun 7, 2008
2,310
372
It's official, the return windows on my S4 has passed, and it's my main phone for the next 12 months :O

I'm mostly happy with it, my main issues are actually android related.

Ultimately it offers a lot of flexibility, and if you want to do something chances are it can be done.

That being said it isn't anywhere near as smooth or as polished as iOS. I've spent most of my time with the phone just setting it up how I like. With an iPhone you spend 5 minutes setting up and your good to go.

I'll keep the S4 until the 5S release and decide if I want to jump ship.
 

Tikatika

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2012
712
797
Northern California
Amazon also had the S4 for $168 on upgrade/new line I see it for AT&T

No updates on the 32gb yet....

Be careful on that. I am a Prime member and thought wow, what a great deal, eh? I've been with AT&T forever so I clicked and put it in my cart. And then lo and behold, they required that I "pick a new plan", one that includes the only texting option of $.20 per text, rather than the unlimited I have, and all the perks and goodies I've had for a long time are not even available.

That's how AT&T gives the huge discount to Amazon. Walmart is also running the exact same "deal".

Thanks but no thanks!
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
It's official, the return windows on my S4 has passed, and it's my main phone for the next 12 months :O

I'm mostly happy with it, my main issues are actually android related.

Ultimately it offers a lot of flexibility, and if you want to do something chances are it can be done.

That being said it isn't anywhere near as smooth or as polished as iOS. I've spent most of my time with the phone just setting it up how I like. With an iPhone you spend 5 minutes setting up and your good to go.

I'll keep the S4 until the 5S release and decide if I want to jump ship.

Enjoy :) my issues were more Samsung related that android or hardware related, its a lovely device. But Samsung tempered my love too much.

I picked up a S4 today after having about an hours play with one at the O2 shop. I have messed around with it for a good couple of hours now and my first impressions are favourable. As others have found there seemed to be some juddering when set up straight from the box, I also had this, after setting it up the way I will use it this seems to have stopped, nevertheless, still slightly worrying.

The screen to my eyes is absolutely gorgeous, I do know that this is due to heavy contrast, but I find it pleasing to my eye.

I also had a S3 and find the S4 a sort of step up in quality of feel, it feels more solid.

I havent had it long enough to give an informed opinion on the battery or the camera.

Yeah chances are you'll still get instances of stutter I did even after two setups ... But hey a software update might address it (though I think its too much software that's causing it in the first instance ;) ) if you want to speed up those things like folder animation go into developer options.

Developer options on JB 4.2 are hidden. Go into system settings, about and go down to build number. Hit it 7 times and developer options will be enabled...

You can then turn off some of the animations or speed them up by making them .5 instead of 1x

Camera is shockingly good in daylight :)

Enjoy :)
 

2298754

Cancelled
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
I wonder if getting rid of all the bloat improves the speed. On my note 2, I deleted everything but a few Samsung programs. All AT&T stuff is gone. It sped it up considerably
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
I wonder if getting rid of all the bloat improves the speed. On my note 2, I deleted everything but a few Samsung programs. All AT&T stuff is gone. It sped it up considerably

You have to root to do ths though, and a lot of us are a bit wary of rooting and stuff.

What would be really cool is if Google began 'insisting' manufacturers give people the option to use ASOP or their own version. Turn on the machine for first time and it asks which you would like to run and then configures based on your choice. If you decide to change your mind a factory reset brings you back to the choice once more.

That way we would get great hardware and our own choice of software.
 
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daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
Enjoy :)
Yeah chances are you'll still get instances of stutter I did even after two setups ... But hey a software update might address it (though I think its too much software that's causing it in the first instance ;) ) if you want to speed up those things like folder animation go into developer options.

Developer options on JB 4.2 are hidden. Go into system settings, about and go down to build number. Hit it 7 times and developer options will be enabled...

You can then turn off some of the animations or speed them up by making them .5 instead of 1x

Camera is shockingly good in daylight :)

Enjoy :)

Thank you.:)

I have lowered the animations etc to .5. I quite enjoy the Nova launcher which I have installed, I'm liking this phone. :)
 

RMXO

macrumors 6502a
Sep 1, 2009
875
41
What about scrolling? This reviewer has done the same as you and still has scrolling lag in the browser, both stock and Chrome, and in Facebook. Even when he launches Chrome you can see the delay in launching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j5THB-SlDrk#t=536s


No scrolling issues what so ever. I did lower animations to 0, forgot to add that.

I did my test on XDA's site since it's very long & you need to scroll to get to the bottom.

I use Apex but didn't see any lag with TW either.
 
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