New Phone

[The Jackal]

Apologies if a similar thread has been posted recently, but I don't check OT as often as I should.

I'm way overdue for an upgrade on my iPhone 3GS and I've been strongly considering making the switch to an Android. But now that the iPhone 5s is coming out this week, I have some decisions to make.

iPhone 5s
Galaxy s4
HTC One
(any others)

Any recommendations from people who have tried some/own one, or know more about the subject than I? I'm going to do some googling but figured I'd poll the community.

Edit: I mostly use my phone to check email, listen to music on the go (so the fact iphones sync with itunes is a plus), and for keeping tab of various sports via apps. Have a range of games but don't play a ton on there. I know the big benefit of Android is the open operating system, just not sure what I'd do with it. But I've heard high praise for the HTC One and s4.

[JAG]

I haven't owned an Android so I can't give you insight there, though I suspect my next phone will be one. I upgraded from a 3GS to a 5 last year and the new phone is a world better, so you're going to be pretty happy with whatever you get I suspect. I looked to see what got upgraded with the new iPhones and I was very underwhelmed, not that I intend to switch for another 2+ years or until this thing stops working. Anecdotally I've heard people who switched from iphones to Androids were happy with their decision, but I haven't dug deeply into the matter.

Not great info I know, but hope it helps.

[Lonnie]

I just switched from an iPhone 4 to a HTC One. No regrets. The 5S sounds decent, but I kinda wanted to get out of that Apple rut.

So far I'm liking it. I've found all the apps I used on the iPhone so I'm not missing out on anything. Email configuration was a breeze. I have my work email and gmail both going. Music is great since it has the beats audio with stereo speakers. I haven't tried to sync with iTunes yet, but you can easily put music on it so I don't see that being an issue. It's also nice to have all the google apps right there. The Google Now app is pretty cool, it is like a personal assistant that predicts what you need. I travel a lot and it usually has my route ready when I land in a town and I just hit navigate and it goes into GPS mode and I'm on my way.

I haven't really explored the open aspect yet, just enjoying it as it is. I may try later once I tire of the launch screen and want a different look.

[Ryan S]

The new Google Nexus phone is probably going to be announced in October, so it might be worth waiting until the announcement before you make a decision.

[sterlingice]

My wife just upgraded phones (and I'm due in January). I told that I thought we were in a great era for phones and turned her loose to play with the three you listed. She picked the HTC One and really likes it but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three.

SI

[Izulde]

I love my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, FWIW.

[The Jackal]

Thanks guys, I definitely think I'll be happy with whatever route I go, but I have a bit to think about. Someone else was praising the HTC for its sound quality also, which is a bonus, since I do use my phone to listen to music as opposed to having an ipod or something as well.

[Marc Vaughan]

I use an iPhone5 at the moment, I've also tried various Android phones and recently a Blackberry Z10.

The Blackberry was horrible - nice hardware but the software was basically bloody awful, kept freezing and crashing even doing simple things and sometimes the screen wouldn't respond.

Of the others both are really solid options - the only thing which keeps me preferring iOS is the infrastructure and the fact that I have all my music and video in iTunes already.

[The Jackal]

Yeah I had a blackberry like 5 years ago before I got the 3GS, no plans on going back to that.

[MacroGuru]

I have the Nokia 925 after going through 3 HTCs that sucked ass.

But I am Windows Phone user and hate the iPhone with a passion so you can take it for what it's worth.

[flere-imsaho]

A little tangential, but....

I've never owned a smartphone myself. I still have a flip-phone for my personal use (go ahead, laugh, but I need to charge it once every three weeks).

My first "smartphone" was given to me by work at my last job and was a Blackberry Bold. At my current job they gave me an iPhone (4s?).

I will say this: if what you're mainly doing on your smartphone is emailing a lot, the Blackberry was better (for me). It's the physical keyboard. Since it was for work, I was emailing on that thing all day and all night. But everything else about it was terrible. The software, the reception (that was probably more AT&T's fault), the battery life, etc....

For everything else, the iPhone is clearly better (I've never used Android). I can see the appeal of having a device that can do so much, so at hand. It's really convenient, even if composing emails on it makes me want to kill puppies (not really).

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

It's the physical keyboard.

Don't worry in an attempt to do away with the only advantage their devices had the Blackberry Z10 doesn't have a physical keyboard it has a VERY badly implemented virtual screen one.

There are still some Blackberry's with physical keyboard I believe (although the Z10 is their flagship now) - you can also find some Android phones with them.

[The Jackal]

The blackberry keyboard was quite taxing on my thumbs

[sterlingice]

I wish someone had the Palm Pre keyboard. Maybe HP will sell that patent and someone will pick it up.

SI

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Don't worry in an attempt to do away with the only advantage their devices had the Blackberry Z10 doesn't have a physical keyboard it has a VERY badly implemented virtual screen one.

Yeah, I saw that, and I wonder how many execs asked for their old BBs back. Although, don't they have a version of their "new" phone that still has the physical keyboard?

[sterlingice]

That's the Blackberry Q10, I believe

SI

[Scoobz0202]

What provider are you with Jackal? If Verizon the new Droid Maxx is a solid option.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

What provider are you with Jackal? If Verizon the new Droid Maxx is a solid option.

AT&T

[Chief Rum]

I have AT&T and I am going to upgrade my phone today after work.

With the iOS7 coming out tomorrow, I am leaning to returning to the iPhone (probably the 5).

I currently have the HTC Inspire (got wet on my camping trip last week), and I am due for an upgrade.

Aside from the IPhone, I have also been eyeing the Samsungs and the HTC One, but I admit, I am not looking to pay a large price to upgrade, which probably means I won't be willing to buy the newest and brightest.

I also have a grandfathered unlimited data plan with AT&T, if they still honor that, so that may play into my decision, too.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I have AT&T and I am going to upgrade my phone today after work.

With the iOS7 coming out tomorrow, I am leaning to returning to the iPhone (probably the 5).

I currently have the HTC Inspire (got wet on my camping trip last week), and I am due for an upgrade.

Aside from the IPhone, I have also been eyeing the Samsungs and the HTC One, but I admit, I am not looking to pay a large price to upgrade, which probably means I won't be willing to buy the newest and brightest.

I also have a grandfathered unlimited data plan with AT&T, if they still honor that, so that may play into my decision, too.

AT&T should honor the unlimited data plan, I've spoken to a few people that just say to call in after you upgrade and tell them you were on the plan and they'll make the switch - something about they can't do new phones on the unlimited but will honor anyone who was grandfathered in. Always good to followup with the person in-store too though.

From what the person at the store told me the other day, upgrading to the iphone 5 would cost the same amount as the HTC One, think it was $200 + the upgrade fee of like $36. Unless you go with their new plan where you pay for one year and then you can switch phones, or whatever it is, instead of committing to a full 24 months.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

AT&T should honor the unlimited data plan, I've spoken to a few people that just say to call in after you upgrade and tell them you were on the plan and they'll make the switch - something about they can't do new phones on the unlimited but will honor anyone who was grandfathered in. Always good to followup with the person in-store too though.

My post was just deleted by an errant backspace. Ugh.

Anyways - not that I've got any experience, or heard of any experience, but I'd be careful about this.

I can totally see them saying one thing before you buy the phone and trying to fuck you over once you do. Might even be worth having the employee at the AT&T store make the call to get approval BEFORE you pay for the new phone while you're standing there and then paying for the phone with the person who authorized it still on the line and having them make the switch, so if they try any funny shit you don't have to play ball.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

My post was just deleted by an errant backspace. Ugh.

Anyways - not that I've got any experience, or heard of any experience, but I'd be careful about this.

I can totally see them saying one thing before you buy the phone and trying to fuck you over once you do. Might even be worth having the employee at the AT&T store make the call to get approval BEFORE you pay for the new phone while you're standing there and then paying for the phone with the person who authorized it still on the line and having them make the switch, so if they try any funny shit you don't have to play ball.

Yeah I hear that - should get it in writing or something.

[BigPapi]

Just upgraded to the HTC One from the iPhone 4S- iPhone owner for the last 4 years and I swore I'd never go to android...But here I am. Apple has really stagnated and their stubbornness to adapt and not at least offer a smartphone with a larger screen, etc. finally pushed me over the edge with the announcement of the 5S. My biggest gripes:

Screen size, pathetic volume output (I watch a lot of movies and listen to music), and closed architecture (and all my iphones were jailbroken)- though as I have recently learned- that has it's advantages as well. Read on.

I chose the HTC One over the S4 for build quality, slightly better screen and the awesome speakers (it WILL NOT dissapoint you there). I would have preferred removable storage- but I purchased the 64GB version (for the same price as the 32GB iPhone 5S I might add) so that's no longer a problem. Removable battery isn't an issue for me after using an iPhone for 4 years. My daughters' still use my 4 year old 3GS as an iPod/movies device and it works fine.

So, after spending a month with the HTC One coming from the 4S- here are my thoughts:

Pros:

Much bigger screen- fantastic for movies, web surfing- pretty much everything. I know the pixel density is better than the 4S- but I honestly can't tell too much of a difference. Still a nice upgrade if that's your thing.

Speaker volume - Cant' say enough about this one. Seems as if there are those who don't like the Beats Audio- but either way- this thing has fantastic sound for a phone. I've actually had issues with it being too loud in some instances even on the lowest setting. The quality is very good as well up to a point. This was an irritant to me on the 4S but no more.

Flexibility - This can be overwhelming at times- and I admit finding just the right app for the job can be daunting where the iPhone offered something just as good right out of the box in many cases. Case in point is voicemail. I couldn't believe that the One didn't have a voicemail app on the phone- apparently they expect me to log in and check voice mail 1995 style? ATT offered several voicemail apps that I could not get to work- but I finally settled on YouMail and I have to say that it actually offers more than the iPhone app- though not as simple to use. Good example of the kind of thing I'm talking about as this process took a week to resolve.

Music importing was a breeze; I hate the iTunes interface- this thing sucked in all my music and located Artist and album art in a snap....Such a pain in the ass with the iPhone.

Cons:

Screen Size - Man- this thing is big! Fits in my pocket fine- but I can't do some things with one hand that I could with the 4S. To be expected- and a little ridiculous to complain- but it is at times inconvenient to have a larger phone. Still would never go back.

Play Store - This is a multifaceted issue. Almost without exception, however, I have found the IPhone version of the app to have much more polish and speed than the Android version. I expect this to change over time as Android builds user base- but the various hardware configurations and Android OS versions makes this similar to the PC/Mac problems. Good example is the MLB app- this thing rocks on the iPhone- but it's stripped down and amazingly slower on the HTC One with the Snapdragon processor. That's gotta be development related as well as having to cater to all the different hardware accelerated architectures out there.

Asphalt 8 and Real Racing 3, though, for example are better and smoother on the HTC One- so it's not all bad. The overall amount of bad quality apps and flat out scams on the Play Store aren't numerous- but coming from the Apple App Store I wasn't accustomed to this.

Android OS(JelllyBean) - From everyone I've talked to that have had android devices over several generations- JellyBean 4.2/4.3 is better than ever- but I still don't think it's as well thought out under the hood as iOS. A big part of that is just the number of options available with Android. My phone is rooted, ROM'd and Kernel'd; but this took significantly more effort on my apart to figure out than simple Jailbreaking and it's probably not even necessary on the Android platform given how open it is to begin with. It does allow you to not be a slave to manufacturer updates if they are slow or non-existent to come to market- adding lifespan to your device- but most people will hardly care. Still, it can be annoying to find out that notification sounds are controlled on using both phone settings and several different applications at the same time. It can be confusing at times.

My final conclusion is I love the android device and a lot of my misgivings are simply related to being comfortable after four years with iOS. However, if you currently own an iPhone and just want to make calls, check messages, send texts and play a game here or there I still don't think the iPhone can be beat for ease of use.

[The Jackal]

Thanks for that detailed post, very helpful

[Flasch186]

Reviews of the Iphone 5S are out of this world. I own a Galaxy S3 so im not apple fan boy.

[Subby]

Why are people even talking about the iPhone 4S? That's ancient by today's standards. Apple is giving it away for free.

[Chief Rum]

I got a Samsung Galaxy S4 last night. So far, I am enjoying it.

[BigPapi]

Originally Posted by Subby

Why are people even talking about the iPhone 4S? That's ancient by today's standards. Apple is giving it away for free.

I upgrade every other cycle- as I am sure many others do with most plans providing subsidized purchasing every 18/24 months. Maybe my math sucks but that probably means (best case scenario) that 50% of iPhone owners are likely to still own 4s's and were awaiting the 5s.....Am I missing something?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Reviews of the Iphone 5S are out of this world. I own a Galaxy S3 so im not apple fan boy.

A lot of them seem to be wowed by iOS 7, from which everything I've read is basically a 'flat' way to finally include options from Android that iOS was missing (multitasking, a sliding control panel, etc).

[Subby]

Originally Posted by BigPapi

I upgrade every other cycle- as I am sure many others do with most plans providing subsidized purchasing every 18/24 months. Maybe my math sucks but that probably means (best case scenario) that 50% of iPhone owners are likely to still own 4s's and were awaiting the 5s.....Am I missing something?

Sorry - wasn't slamming you or anything. Just pointing out that his options should be an iPhone 5s or 5c, not older iPhones.

[Subby]

BGR shows how good 5s performance is against its main rivals:

iPhone 5s Benchmarks: iPhone 5s Crushes Rivals in Performance Tests | BGR

[Arles]

Picking up my 5s this weekend. I have the 4s and really like it. My main complaint was the lack of 4G LTE service/coverage but the 5s provides that and Sprint now has coverage in Phoenix.

As a device, it's been great. The new OS is nice as well. Given the hardware increases as well, it's probably worth the extra $100 to upgrade now to the 5s.

[Subby]

Another article on the A7 chip and how it destroys the other phones. WITH GRAPHICS.

iPhone A7 Chip Benchmarks: Forget the Specs, It Blows Everything Away

[Desnudo]

I think it comes down to what you value more: responsiveness, speed, ease of use - iPhone. Big screen, can hack it - Android. Those are really the differences in a nutshell.

[CU Tiger]

im staying out of the brand wars reply.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I think it comes down to what you value more: responsiveness, speed, ease of use - iPhone. Big screen, can hack it - Android. Those are really the differences in a nutshell.

Yup. For me, the Samsung phones were the winner for the bigger screen. My wife prefers a smaller screen so her new Iphone 5s will be here by Weds.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yup. For me, the Samsung phones were the winner for the bigger screen. My wife prefers a smaller screen so her new Iphone 5s will be here by Weds.

Us old guys who like iPhones just wear their reading glasses.

[The Jackal]

I've settled on the 5s - went to get it on Friday during my lunch and there was a roped off line outside the AT&T store so I'll get it sometime this week instead.