Samsung Galaxy S4 versus HTC One - recommendations ?

[VladTepes]

Looking at a new (hack, spit) Telstra plan and phone.

Sick of the iphone so want to try an Android phone and these seem to be the top contenders.

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/samsung/samsung-galaxy-s4/ (http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/samsung/samsung-galaxy-s4/)

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/htc/ (http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/htc/)

Talking to the guys in the T shop, the HTC has teh advantage of edge to edge screen maming it slightly smaller - means you can reach the whoel screen with your thumb, whereas with the Samsung there's definitely a bit in the top left hand corner that's too far of a stretch !

Size aside, the Samsung seems to have more features?

I'm interested to hear from people with either of these phones - POSTIVES AND NEGATIVES.

What would you recommend and why?


I like the HTC for the speakers and the Samsung for the replaceable battery and microSD card memory expansion and I think the balance of these tips in favour of the latter.

So far.

[loanrangie]

I dont have either but my brother just bought an S4 and the screen is truly beautiful and with a 13mp camera .

[Blknight.aus]

Ive got the HTC one.

Got it on strength of battery life and the better camera software and setup

I also enjoyed the HTC's porting option which bought everything from my old phone over via WIFI, I only lost one play list and one save game

[sheerluck]

My daughter also has the HTC One, and she is very happy with it. Quality of the handset is pretty good, we live in a fringe reception area, and the battery life is still good.

Don't underestimate how important the ability to reach all areas of the screen is. ;)

[Eevo]

S4, no questions

[Homestar]

SWMBO just got the S4. Pros - it is bloody brilliant at everything and very easy to use, even for a technological dunce like me. I thought the iPhone was good until I used this, now I think the iPhone is way past it.

The only negative is the HUGE size of it. If you want to watch video or play games on it, it is good, but try putting it in your pocket...

That's the only down side I can see. It is lighter than the iPhone too.:)

Would I personally get one? - no, just too big for me, no where to put it, but if that isn't an issue, then I can highly recommend it.

[Chilly]

Hi,
I went through this a while back.
I would suggest visiting a few shops what sells these phones and talk to different people about them. Some will give you very good information. They will also ask you questions on what you will use it for and advise accordingly.

Watch out for phone reception too. Do a search on the net. I believe the HTC one gets good reviews for signal strength and battery life in poorer areas.
I liked the fact that the HTC had TWO speakers and they were on the front. S4 on the rear so harder to hear when laid down with screen up.
Just to add to the mix. The S4 has a new stable mate. The S4 Active. It is waterproof to one meter for 30 minutes. Even has software for taking pictures underwater. It has differences to the S4 but is sold at about an Equal price.
I was going to go for the HTC one because it suited my needs the best. However. I probably would now pick the S4 active because I have killed my last few phones with water.
At the end of the day both phones are good but it is down to want you want the phone for and which fits that criteria the best.

Good luck with your decision. It will be interesting to know which one you went for and why!
Chilly

[gimposarillios]

Iv got the HTC and love it. The front speakers are fantastic. Super easy to use as well.

[THE BOOGER]

I have the s4 only prob so far is no official car kit:( everything else is great:)

[VladTepes]

Like I said the more I learn the harder the decision comes. In one way it's terrible when there is no clear winner in the "which is best" argument !

I would like to use the phone as a GPS as well, if possible, and am not sure which phone would be the better option for this.

Can either of these phones run GPS software with pre-loaded maps (so they aren't constantly downloading maps from the interwebs) ?

[VladTepes]

Chilly - The active is not available on a Telstra Plan and, the T store tells me, is not likely to be any time soon.

[VladTepes]

Found these reviews and again a case of "6 of one, half a dozen of the other"

HTC One Review - Smartphones & PDA Phones (http://www.cnet.com.au/htc-one-339343384.htm)

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review - Smartphones & PDA Phones (http://www.cnet.com.au/samsung-galaxy-s4-339343663.htm)

[spudboy]

Hi Vlad - I went from an iPhone4 to a Galaxy S4. Couldn't be happier!

Covered mine with a tough case called an Otter "Defender" case (which I got from my local Testra shop):
Samsung Galaxy S4 Cases | OtterBox (http://www.otterbox.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-cases/samsung-galaxy-s4-cases,default,sc.html#seriesWrapperDefender)

GPS uses the battery much faster than with it off. I'd say the phone would run for 2 days without GPS, but only 1 day with the GPS on. Unscientific, but once or twice I've forgotten to switch the GPS off and the next morning it is completely flat.

The S4 talks nicely to Windows, if that is important to you. Syncs easily with Outlook. No need for iTunes in my life any longer (yay!).

Cheers
David

[VladTepes]

Thanks spudboy - those are compelling arguments in favour of the S4.

Has the supposedlack of brightness in the sunlight been an issue for you using the GPS ?


Does the phone / smart case allow for a car charger to be connected, so as to nopt run the battery down when in use for GPS / audo streaming etc?

[incisor]

the only problem with the S3 and 4 is screen brightness in direct sunlight.. bloody woeful compared to an iphone IMHO

that and they aren't as intuitive but the cursor control leaves the apple for dead...

otter boxes are very good but i find they interfere with ending phone calls as they seem to slow the whole hangup process up.... and it makes it very hard to hang up if you initiate the call. the armour does it more often than the defender ime

[VladTepes]

Also are there any in car kits (brackets) which can bve used with the otterbox Defender?

[spudboy]

I use a RAM Mount X-Grip in the car
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/09/330.jpg

Works well. Got it from Johnny Appleseed online for about $35-ish.

Sunlight is definitely an environment where the screen is not bright enough. You have to have it in shadow to see the screen details.

Otter case is OK for attaching power cables and speaker plugs. I can plug the phone into a USB socket in the vehicle no worries.

[VladTepes]

Thats a PITA as there is plenty of sunlight out there. The iphone I have I would describe as "pretty crap" in sunlight so I'm not sure how this could be worse !

Obviously you deal with it though as does the bloke sitting next to me I just asked !

It does, however, haveme rethinkign teh ideaof using it in an appriate mount on teh bike as a GPS - motorbikes tend to have a lot of sun on them......

[THE BOOGER]

I have my s4 set to the brightest setting but yes in direct sun you cant see the screen but is that any worse than any other phone my son has a mount and uses his s4 on the bike as you were thinking he has no problems:)

[VladTepes]

Cool - I am 95% on the Samsung I think. Maybe I ought to just go and buy it before I change my mind again !

spudboy how do you have a USB socket in the vehicle? Is it just one that fits into a 12V cig lighter socket or something else ?

[spudboy]

Yeah - something like this:
12V 24V USB Charger Twin Output Cigar Size FOR Ipad Iphone Galaxy Tablet ABR | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-24V-USB-CHARGER-TWIN-OUTPUT-CIGAR-SIZE-FOR-iPad-iPhone-Galaxy-Tablet-ABR-/390661480190?pt=Caravan_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5af53d1efe&_uhb=1)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/09/348.jpg

[VladTepes]

Cool. And out of interest howlong does it actually take to charge an S4 from flat to full ?

[VladTepes]

Also need to work oput how many Gb of data I am LIKELEY to use. I have a 1Gb plan at the moment and as far as I can recall have never used it.

What's 1Gb of data work out to when it comes to things like youtube use and so on ?

[d@rk51d3]

I find 1gig good for emails, tapatalk and web browsing at a moderate level.

Throw in Youtube, and it sucks it up very quickly.

[VladTepes]

Thanks.

Well i bought an S4 on a $60plan so $69 p/m incl the phone.


They transferred the contacts for me but now I am diving myself mad trying to work out a FREE way to transfer my photos across. Also any way to transfer all my "notes" ?

Hmmm.

[VladTepes]

I use a RAM Mount X-Grip in the car
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/09/330.jpg

Works well. Got it from Johnny Appleseed online for about $35-ish.

Sunlight is definitely an environment where the screen is not bright enough. You have to have it in shadow to see the screen details.

Otter case is OK for attaching power cables and speaker plugs. I can plug the phone into a USB socket in the vehicle no worries.

Seems to be aroud the $55 mark including the suction thing which I assume would be the only way to make it work in a Defender?

RAM Mount X-Grip | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p4634.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=RAM+Mount+X-Grip+&_sacat=0&_from=R40)

[spudboy]

Oh - yeah - I cheated and used my GPS suction mount 'cause it was the same brand as the X-Grip.... sorry about that!

[THE BOOGER]

Thanks.

Well i bought an S4 on a $60plan so $69 p/m incl the phone.


They transferred the contacts for me but now I am diving myself mad trying to work out a FREE way to transfer my photos across. Also any way to transfer all my "notes" ?

Hmmm.

Have you tried a micro sd card copy them from old phone to the card then put in the new one or use your computer:)

[spudboy]

Hey Vlad - have you discovered the free Kies utility from Samsung yet? It allows you to sync your phone to your PC. You can sync with Outlook and also your music library and photo library.

I bought an additional micro SD RAM chip (32Gb?) so I've got my photo library on it and a gazillion songs too. With the extra chip you get to choose to store things on the phone or on your chip.

HTH - David

[Shakey]

Wait a couple of weeks for the Google Nexus 5 to be released :)

[incisor]

kies .... shiver

the only thing i have ever seen that makes itunes look friendly :p

good sometimes, an abomination the rest.

the latest version seems better than the last which was atrocious compared to the one before it...

i would love to find a utility that lets you sort the screens out like itunes does...

[spudboy]

I've got Kies running on a Win8 PC syncing with Outlook 2010.

Not had a problem with it at all. The only negative thing I'd put forward is that the actual syncing of my calendar takes longer than iTunes/iPhone, but that's not a major issue for me. Takes 2 minutes instead of 1 minute. At least it syncs every time, unlike my iPhone.

It also takes a while to move photos around (if you wait for the thumb-nails to load), but I am guessing that is because I have something like 10Gb+ of photos in my library.

[incisor]

i gave up on it and use google now, much better and actually more reliable compared to kies deciding whether it wants to see the phone today or not.

drove me nuts. i thought it was the phone at first but some versions are fine and others play up so it aint the phone.

[VladTepes]

What do you mean by you use google now ?

[Shakey]

What do you mean by you use google now ?

I think he means he uses google calendar/mail to sync the calendar/etc. via exchange sync/caldav/etc rather than 'google now' which is the swipe up thing that gives you local info etc.