God damn I am excited about this. Kinda because I've never had an HTC device, and this being their "ONE" last shot I want to give them a try. By the looks of it their commited to making me not regret my decision.
I had a HTC. Their battery was horrible, They Die mid day. After a law suit they removed, http links from email. HTC were bad. Hope it is fixed on this one.
The battery life on Android devices in general has been awful until fairly recently. There have always been apps that help fix this by turning off features that burn through battery when they're not in use (turning off gps/wifi when you don't need them can save hours of battery life), which almost made this tolerable. If you had an HTC device more than a year ago, you were probably dealing with this issue.
No Mr. tmas, do not pass the buck on to Android. @boruguru was talking about HTC phones. Many would confirm that HTC devices had (& still have) horrible battery (Oop! non-removable battery :) ).
Who are these people that always say that HTC has terrible battery life? I would guess they aren't HTC users. Two years ago, yes, I will agree, I needed a recharge about halfway through the day, but 3 HTC phones since then and I usually top up at the end of a day when I have 20-40% left. On top of that, have you seen the battery tests on this phone? Almost 9 hours of non-stop video. Over 16 hours of talk time. 10 full hours of constant web browsing (beating ALL other phones, including the Maxx and the Note 2).
I am using HTC One X for last 6 months....it comfortably gets me though the day...no issues at all...my usage involves an hour of calls, around 45min. gaming and again 45 min. of internet through 3G...still i will be left with 20-30% juice in the evening...i feel it's decent enough...and any one can plug-in to PC at anypoint to charge again...so now, it's not an issue...
My wife had an original HTC Nexus phone and it was amazing, lasted in near perfect condition for about 2 years when she dropped it (a bad drop on concrete) and it shattered some part inside that made the phone unreliable with calls. I was sad to have to replace it, but the product was so good that it taught me two things I didn't know beforehand: HTC makes good products, and if you're going to use Android, you absolutely must use the pure Android.
That is the one critique I have against any non-nexus phone, I'm not ever going to put myself into a situation where I have to buy a new device to get a newer rev of the operating system... ever! Don't buy into the bs that these companies put out about how they will maintain their version of Android in sync with the latest rev of what's available. And this is probably why I will never buy an HTC ONE, nor a Samsung Galaxy 3/4 and etc. Currently I'm disgustingly happy with my galaxy nexus.
The company is good though and so is their hardware.
Why do we need to give up any features? GS4 still offers replaceable battery, packs larger (and personally better) display in much thinner and lighter case.
I don't think pentile really matters when you have a 5" 1080P screen. The real issue with pentile is that it lowers the effective resolution of the screen, but once you get to the level of DPI that we're seeing it hardly makes a difference.
People said that about the Galaxy S3's 4.8" 720p screen as well; that you can't notice the pentile matrix. I own one and while it's not terribly distracting, holding it side-by-side with the OneX's LCD is night and day. I don't know how true that is at 1080p and 5" though.
GS3 has 306ppi for green and ~200ppi for red and blue, which are not that terrible but still noticeable. On the other hand GS4 has ~300ppi even for red and blue, which should be almost as good as iPhone's retina screen.
Actually that's not true in the slightest. I own a Glaaxy S3 and would happily give up the extra screen size if I could see it in sunlight, if the edges of text didn't look all fuzzy due to the pentile AMOLED, if the colours were anywhere near accurate (greens and blues look odd no matter whether you set it to natural or not) and if the refresh rate was better. We've had retina displays since the iPhone 4 in 2009. The fact that it is touted as "720p" is a complete joke when the screen itself is of such poor quality, but I suppose it fools those that simply look at specs sheets. Next to the One X and the iPhone 5 (a display with both accurate colour and retina quality) the difference is astonishing. What is more astonishing is that Samsung make decent displays, they just choose not to put them on the S3 because most people don't know what a decent display looks like.
Color accuracy and sunlight visibility is something else. However when strickly speaking about resolution, the S3 display is much better than the iPhone's. You can fit more readable content in the S3 than in the iPhone without having to scroll. Try it if you don't beleive me.
iPhone users don't need to see the screen, they just need to know they have their personal self esteem status and stupidity in tact. Plus there's always market worship. And iPhone "genius" help. Plus it's the greatest cultural excuse for that Starbucks or other coffee, and they don't want to be shunned by all the other mind numbed robots who haven't noticed and never want to that apple is now losing and has been for some time.
Believe me the stories I've heard and seen in person are amazing.
As a iPhone 5 user who is looking at testing out the HTC One, I resent every word you posted among a lot of generally well-thought-out and helpful comments. I tend to use what works for me; I'm not a slave to brand. Are you sure it's not YOUR self-esteem you're trying to shore up?
We really don't need to see the screen because we are confident in our prettiness and attractive square jaws. And you're jealous. Your own dog even thinks we're prettier, Bob. Yes, we Apple users even know you're real name. We're so secure that we intentionally made a grammatical error in the previous sentence. You can't fake that kind of confidence (imagine a charming, disarming smile with a bright flash on a corner tooth).
I think there are a million reasons Samsung chooses pentile displays...for start: Longer battery life Brighter colors (which people seem to prefer over accurate colors) Assembly line issues Cost Who knows why else?
The screen on the gs3 is far sharper than the gs2. Your numbers is misleading. Go read Brians article about s3, to the the right comparisons regardless if its pentile or not. Thats not to say you cant see pixels on s3, i think i can be far sharper, but its not like those number let us to beliewe.
AMOLED has non-matched blacks and with 1080p resolution it still gives >300ppi for red and blues, exceeding most people's eyesight. So basically even though it's pentile, it's still not worse than iPhone in terms of resolution.
I hear the GS4's screen isn't completely Pentile. There's actually 3 sub pixels per pixel like the Note 2 but they aren't the standard RGB pixels. 1 long blue sub pixel and red and green sub pixels stacked on top of each other
Pentile AMOLED at 1080P on a 5 inch display is ONLY a problem in tech spec, not in actual user experience. I normally don't look at a phone screen through a microscope, and neither should you to care about Pentile AMOLED.
I've owned a Nokia Lumia 800 that has an AMOLED Pentile display -- its HORRIBLE !
the resolution might have been the real problem (480x800 pix) - text was jagged and unreadable - some pictures looked good, others didn't ...
The problem is that you don't notice this problem when testing in the store, it gets anoying over time when you start noticing... i don't know if the SGS4 monitor has the same problems, but i bet they are there.
Well yeah, the blacks are vastly superior on Samsung's AMOLED (as you literally can't get any more black being as theres no backlight) but that's not the same thing as contrast balance. The contrast on my S3 and my S2 before it was pretty badly calibrated, and it varys a lot with each phone as my friend also has an S3 and the contrast is different (poor quality control). Contrast on the One X and iPhone 5 are better calibrated, and colours too. I'm sure it's the same with the One.
But then with AMOLED you also get better pixel response times. So theres trade-offs for both LCD and AMOLED. If Samsung just fix the colour and contrast calibration then their displays definitely have the potential to be the best as the underlying OLED tech is superior to LCD in so many ways. I don't think the colours and contrast have anything to do with OLED itself, just that Samsung do not properly calibrate their displays.
BTW the S4 has uses a new diamond shaped pentile display layout, meaning the gaps between each sub pixel are much smaller (the larger gapes caused the fuzzyness/jaggies on the S3 display and others). Meaning the S4's pentile display will look better than the S3's pentile display even if it was still the same resolution. This combined with 1080p res should make it irrelevant if it's pentile or not as i doubt you'd be able to see the difference with human eyes.
But that is what people said about the S3 when it first came out and I could see it immediately when I bought it. Coming from an iPhone the lack of quality display on the S3 is jarring. Text looks so much worse, it really ruins webpages and books.
There is certainly room for improvement here, as text imho is not sharp enough. But as explained earlier, that will probably be history now for s4. Besides, the brightness seems to have improved a good deal also. Thats perhaps more important for most people.
As you have an S3, you might want to change the color profile to neutral. There is something besides the calibration and the black/white dynamics. There is dynamics of the individual colors, and thats what makes a lively picture and real world resemblance. You better get used to oled, because its comming to all high-end phones in the future.
I have a phone with a Super AMOLED 720p screen, and I'd wish for a good quality LCD in a heartbeat. My old Desire HD's screen has far, far better colour and appearance. Only the size and sharpness is better on my new one.
AMOLED degrades, horribly, leaving a tint. Also, blacks aren't as black as you think. Turn on your AMOLED phone at night in a totally dark room, put a totally black screen up on it. It still has a faint grey glow, and infact, now you'll notice the horrible degradation of the screen - it manifests on mine as what look like "ink blots" only visible in very dark situations. Confirmed by many others around the internet.
Do not champion OLED. It's a technology leading us to planned obsolescence.
You are funny, why are you comparing AMOLED black to a dark room black? The fact is, AMOLED black is the most black u can get for phones now. I don't care if it's not more black then your coffee or your skin.
Samsung doesn't calibrate their screens at all which is why color and contrast are so bad. Compare the Nexus 10 screen with an iPad 3 or 4 screen and the difference is very noticeable. Yes I know Samsung put a slightly higher res and ppi on the Nexus 10 screen but that is not noticeable and is a spec sheet ruse for the rubes.
Read Brian Klug's review, mr retard, and discover WHY. Do I have to help you even more, troll fool who got it wrong again ? Yes of course I do... not that you want the truth... but I enjoy cramming it down your stupid throat.
Brian Klug : " I’m not complaining, this is a great tradeoff and makes sense for the resolution and size that Samsung has selected for the Note 2. Going with a PenTile RGBG layout at this size would not be desirable, instead the “S Stripe” layout runs with subpixels small enough that I can’t see them. It’s tempting to look at the 1280x800 of the Note and the 1280x720 of the Note 2 and assume it’s lower resolution, when in fact the Note 2 has more subpixels (2.05 MP vs 2.76 MP) and in spite of the size increase stays around the magical 1 arcminute subtense (1.073 arcminutes on Note 2)." http://www.anandtech.com/show/6386/samsung-galaxy-...
GO LOOK FOR YOURSELF LAZY ONE THERE ARE PHONE STORES EVERYWHERE - HAVE A LOOK.
Practically nobody uses the sd card slot or removable battery as the phone makers know. Besides, like iPhones, the HTC One comes in different memory sizes. Google has given up on memory card slots as they don't support them in the latest version of Jelly Bean and are on record as not liking non-contiguous memory. Be prepared to see hem go away as many manufacturers have already done. They aren't important to the vast majority of users.
wow!!! that is a bold statement seeing how many phones Samsung sold last year. Apple can do whatever they want 'cause they have a horde of blind followers, but on Android there is a thing called competence, and clients can choose between many brands and features. Last year Android winner (S3) was a worst phone than HTC One X in almost everything, but S3 had removable battery and microSD. Maybe you are going to blame it all on marketing, like HTC seems to be doing. They are going to need bigger brains if they really want to catch up.
To say that Samsung's success came from inclusion of MicroSD cards and removeable batteries is just as bold (and asinine).
Everyone in the industry knows that Samsung outspent HTC 6 to 1 last year with a device that was pretty darn good. It doesn't matter that the HTC is a little better than the SG3 (if it was), the fact is that everyone is ONLY talking about the Galaxy or iPhone at this point in time and hence Samsung wins...and HTC loses. It had very little to do with the actual handsets.
so let me get this straight - Samsung wins because of marketing, but APPLE, oh it wins because... well... marketing is not a consideration as to why it's crappiness was everywhere... ?
Apple's fanboys are only equaled and exceeded by AMD fanboys. Both are to a large extent marketed mindsets, though APPLE earned it seat initially.
apertotes: Because you value something, doesn't mean everyone does. I know about a dozen S3 users and none of them...NONE...use the memory slot and half of them don't know what a microSD card is! Why did they buy an S3? That leads to the marketing part of your story:
Samsung spends, literally, over a billion dollars per year advertising their smartphones. On top of that, they give incentives to phone sales people, such as monthly prizes, for moving the most S3's. You're Joe Blow phone salesman and 50% of customers know NOTHING about phones and ask you what to buy. You rationalize, "Gee...they'll be happy with any phone. I'll be happy with incentives." You tell them to buy the S3 and they trust your geeky sales knowledge and buy it. THAT is how you move more phones than anyone.
My brother owns a cell phone store. His highest sales from accessories (besides car chargers) comes from SD cards. Protector cases are next and he sells a lot of batteries as well.
Many of the devices have both a removable battery and MicroSD card slots (Android devices that is). The truth is that Samsung's product hardware isn't that unique. If great battery (that's removable) and MicroSD card slots determined success, then the Droid Maxx at Verizon would have outsold the One X at ATT...it didn't.
Nobody uses the SD card slot or removable battery? I replace my battery yearly. Hard to do with the HTC 1 or Iphone. The microSD card slot is not as necessary with a phone with 32 or 64 GB of storage but a lot of phones still come with a measely 8 or 16 GB.
Nobody? I swap batteries all the time. I don't have to worry about charging my phone when I have a freshly charged battery at hand, and I can go on a several day trip without charging if I use just 2-3 batteries(at least 2 being extended batteries)... It really sucks when I don't have access to charging and don't have an extra battery. It must suck for people who can't charge and can't change the battery.
I also can say my phone is MUCH easier to handle with an oversized extended batterry since I have such big hands. Any time I use a skinny phone made for little people I have trouble. Once I add the extended battery/cover I instantly can use the phone with one hand...
As for the SD card, yes I could conceivably live without it but O do swap cards from time to time. I prefer to have the option mainly for external content. Storing apps on the SD card is not preferable for me for this reason, but being able to have lots data accessible while offline is nice.
I don't like the grossly oversaturated screens Samsung uses. Given a choice I much prefer the HTC One screen. Whats odd is that Samsung does not use their best display technologies on their phones and tablets.
Nonsense. On a s3 you can change profile to neutral, and its far better picture for photos than their best pls screens. On the S4 you can change to rgb adobe. Satisfied?
Why is it that people who like the GS3 display never seem to notice the bluish tint inherent in these GS phones? Side by side with my HTC one x, the bluish tint is really noticeable and quite annoying
Just the prior page, your smarmy bud got corrected by two others on the screen color. Now your idiot darwin apple fanboy osx clone spews pure a troller after having been exposed as an incompetent fool, "no one cares". An appletard needs to be exposed for what they, since losing the case on FACTS means fanboyism is ever present.
If you'd like to make some factual corrections to me, please do. I always prefer the facts. I didn't name myself SpaceDriod, for instance, and that probably flew over your head.
I appreciate the compliment though, and that also probably flew over your head.
I bought a note 2 and quickly fitted it with a 32GB card which has 24 GB used. I also have a spare battery , because I want to be able to go away for a three+ day weekend and not carry a charger. I also use the pen for sketches and annotations. I rarely use it as a phone for voice calls, just sometimes for text. I sometimes make use of USB host to connect my DSLR and copy off a photo and crop scale and email it. Occasionally I show photos on a TV using MHL.
This makes the note 2 ideal for me. It might or might not be right for you.
I'd consider an HTC One if there was a 64GB version. There's been no mention of USB host yet but I'd want that. And MHL.
(In case my comment isn't clear any more because of comment tree expansion, it was a direct response to Anand, who -- as an iOS user whom I assume isn't switching -- is the "you" I mean.)
I'm an iOS user and fully intend on switching. The microSD and removable battery are non-issues for about 95% of people not in the IT profession. These are two features that in all likelihood will be phased out soon enough as technology continues its progression.
Right mr fanboy ios osx apple ... So why do you pay $400 more for 16ram ? Because itard, that's why... who would like 64GB more for $50 - OHHHH just about everyone ! ROFL - yep doesn't matter - phase out as we devolve further into Jobs worship fantasyand...
itard: " my battery died my itardphone is shot, i guess shipping to cupertino day has come again, i can't understand why buying a battery at the million mobile phone shops and being running in 5 minutes is something people want"...
Okay, just so you know, it's like retard on dummy syrum.
Do you have evidence to support your assertion, or should you be disregarded as a nut? Paid shills usually don't come across as children like Cerese does.
I'm just fighting trolling with trolling. My only evidence would be the flood of pro Samsung "fans" that deflect criticisms in tech sites across the web with the same arguments/information that I highly doubt any real person would go to the trouble of thinking of or finding out. You then often see these same "fans" on these tech sites trolling posts about their competition while simultaneously using these troll tactics to plug Samsung products.
For example on trolling the HTC One: "No removable battery like the S4"
Honestly, I've been reading tech blogs for quite some time now, and never have I encountered such trolling or shameless plugging like I have with Samsung products. I highly doubt that there's been some major shift in generational psyche that's all of a sudden caused this type of behavior.
Also, Cerese does come off as a child, but I don't think most kids really care that much about any brand, which leads me to believe he's a paid shill. Also, if you read his other comments, they contrast enough so that it's likely he's posing.
See Ne0 who claims his brother owns a cel, store and sells SD addons and batteries like mad.
Go ask yourself at a store, YOU FRIKKIN RETARD.
Nothing like the facts will do for the accusers. I got news for you, the truth has laready CRUSHED YOU, and you don't even know it. Now that's how children are, clueless. Our modern PC loser crew expects sanitized BS to be swallowed whole, and that's what you're all about, since you can't get anything correct.
Also, paid shills usually have their material prepared for them. Hence the recycling of arguments once their logic is defeated or rendered null.
"Removable battery and SD storage are the most important features on a phone" - Samsung shill "Most people don't really care about either. On top of that, in order to even take advantage of a removable battery, you need to buy an extra one that's probably gonna run you a good $50. On top of that, you'll have to constantly swap out and recharge each one. Then, if you decide to buy a dock, that's an extra $30 bucks. Very inconvenient for most people." - non-shill guy just expressing his opinion
"But, but, but removable battery's are the best!! What if you get lost in the desert and you run out of battery? What are you going to do then?? If I have my S4 I'll have my extra battery!" -Samsung shill
The most important is stretching, but also is not wanting it and no one cares, and especially is: PAYING HUNDREDS MORE FOR iSuck internal non upgradeable ram limit.
Only here does BANG FOR THE BUCK become entirely lost on you poor raped stupid goofball liars.
See you in every other thread where you scream moar ram is bettter.
I'm not you, a stupid idiot who opens the piehole and loses. I have more than one very lucrative gravy job, gravy for my massive intellect, certainly difficult for someone like you, with propensity to completely ignore reality often, and spew untruths.
Stop lying, your only job is to troll for Samsung. And if you have any other job, it most certainly does not require a firm grasp of the English language. Loser.
Thanks Anand, I really like the HTC One specifically for the camera, however the S4 has some features that I like also along with increased performance. However I do feel that when someone goes to the store and looks at the two devices, unless they just love the looks of the HTC One then they will get the S4 due to the fact that the replaceable battery and SD are easy sell points along with the larger screen and increased performance.
This is true. I don't understand the over emphasis of removable battery and microSD as a "deal breaker." If the mainstream wanted microSD and removable battery half as much as certain people seem to suggest, the iPhone wouldn't have nearly the amount of success it has had. I've also never met anyone who actually cared enough about removable battery or SD storage that it was the deciding factor in choosing a smartphone. Most people not in the IT profession are not willing to shell out the extra $50 for another battery anyway. As for the SD storage, it's only real advantage is being cheaper. Again, who, besides IT professionals carries multiple microSD cards with them so that it might actually be useful?
The 1st SD card is useful, for appletards that pay well over $50 more like $300 or $400 for the memory space a simple SD card slot provides for $50, only being INSANE explains it.
Thanks for being so deliriously appletarded bang for the buck is like TOTALLY GONE from your brain.
I mean is it even possible to lie to oneself at the level you have and be on a tech site ?
You are a paid shill, stop with your weak arguments. I don't care for Apple more than any other company. Except for Samsung which I have great disdain for because of their low brow, pathetic guerrilla marketing efforts which involved hiring sad people like you to troll these sites.
LMAO - you lost again dummy. You don't like me because I point out how stupid you are, after you spew out your stupid lies and lines.
Who cares what you the retard says, or how appleface you are, or what you personally buy, THE POINT IS THE SD CARD RAM SLOT MAKES MORE FOR LESS 100% ACCURATE PERIOD.
Only tard tard tardy tards like you, being as stupid as you are, think the general public doesn't do the SD card. Like I said, they are bonkers about it. Crazy in love with it. They feel they have power and control over the phone then. They can remove their pictures and set them aside - fill up one card and get the next. This is what PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO YOU STUPID SACK OF CRAPOLA.
and -BTW - people freaking LOVE sd cards. They love to buy them and fill them up - then keep them and use them for their picture frames and home PC's desktop screensavers - you must live in a Jobs cave.
People go nutso over mem cards - they LOVE em.
Everyone I know can replace a battery, which they do in hundreds of devices nowadays - only the appletard think it takes a TECH to replace a battery in a portable sound/mobile device.
You mean your picture frames actually have a usb sticking out from the frame? You know the usb flash drive is actually a sd card with a different case right? But sd cards and usb have seperate uses, u can't replace everything with a usb drive.
Just because u are so used to not using a sd card and pay more for extra storage, doesn't mean you can discredit / bash the usage of sd card. The only reason nexus 4 have no sd card slot is because they need to compensate for the cheap price of the phone itself, not because sd card is not important.
Yes, my digital frame has a USB port in the back where you can't see it. Because only the most incompetent manufacturers would place a USB port on the side. Most digital frames actually come with memory so that all you have to do is transfer the pictures, usually with a USB cable. I've used SD cards for a long time, they are extremely inconvenient and even the new ones aren't must faster. On top of that, if you don't properly eject them all the time, your SD card can actually get damaged over time, a major inconvenience if you plan on constantly switching them up. The SD card really isn't an important feature to me, and in my experience, most people. Even the IT guys I know don't care for SD storage. The only people that I knew that really emphasized microSD were the Blackberry people.
This dude must work for HTC or something, if so, Jayseeks, go back and tell your boss to put replaceable battery and SD cards in the next One, and shut everyone up already, sheesh. It's a completely stupid move after the misstep that is the OneX, you'd think HTC would learn from that. Or create two versions, similar cases, one with the replaceable battery and SD card, one without, it's the total volume that generates revenue right, not stick to a design principal that is completely subjective to different individuals. Stupid, stupid move on the part of HTC. You know what, if Apple put replaceable battery and SD card in their phone, i'd make the iphone a much better phone, but they Apple loses on gauging its customers. HTC on the other hand does not have a monopoly on Android phones, it's simply stupid to leave out major features when you bigger competitor have them.
Below suckyface tells us how experienced he is and addicted to SD cards, he actually loses his own argument and solidifies my points. Not like tardobrain will notice. People like the SD card, they don't want to rewrite and overwrite, and the SD card usually has a lock on it, unlike the USB thumb.
The usb thumb sticks out of their laptop and breaks off, NOT the sd card, slides in flush or worse case barely not flush( some HP's for instance).
Dummy lost and lost badly, as is the case, always.
To know for sure if a feature is a "deal breaker" you need to compare a device that has that feature with a similar device lacking said feature. When it comes to the comparison between Samsung Galaxy S and iPhone, there is a lot different than whether or not it has a removable battery or SD card slot
Exactly, so why would HTC even leave the door open for that comparison to be in favor of Samsung by not having Replaceable battery and SD card? Stupid. It'd would be such a quick decision for so many people deciding between the two phone if the One has everything S4 does and with a more beautiful design, but no HTC pushes customer to decide between the outward appearance and the practicality of having replaceable batteries and SD cards, why??
I never said that they would use them. Marketing and sales is not about features you will use, but more about features that are nice to have. If you have two phones side by side that look and feel the same then features like removable battery and SD card slots become the deciding factor. However in reality it is going to be brand recognition that gets the masses to purchase the S4 over the HTC One. Samsung had a massive marketing campaign against the iPhone 5 which could be the deciding factor. This is especially true given that the HTC One and S4 are both supposed to be available at the end of April.
I think not. Quite a few people find the removable battery and expandable storage to be desired features that influence their decision to purchase a device, amongst other factors.
To dismiss it so casually out of hand, when the most popular Android device has both and when the entire Android space is taken as a whole, a majority of devices have this features, seem to just be arrogant.
I am very familiar with the North American and European markets but in the places with the highest rates of Smart-phone growth, those features are essential and even in North America and Europe, a whole lot of people are buying and android phone with removable battery and expandable storage when they have other similarly priced options.
You may not like the idea of removable batteries and expandable storage [ your opinions and choices ] but please stop dismissing them without much evidence to back your claims.
Keep in mind that even if only 10% of the market wanted a feature, it is still significant enough for a manufacturer to include it in their flagship... and cheaper too, rather than created a similar device with/without those features for different markets.
You do not like a device? vote with your wallet and DON'T buy it, let others make their own choices
Out of the 30 million S3 phones sold last year I would bet that less than 10% of the people have ever removed the batteries or installed an SD card. This makes it a nice to have feature that some people find necessary, however for the masses it is not critical. "Quite a few people..." does not equal a requirement for everyone (maybe to just you and your friends). While the SD and replaceable battery are not critical the S4 will still outsell the HTC One due to the brand recognition of Samsung vs HTC and due to the fact that when placing the handsets side by side some people will decide function (SD and Battery) over form regardless if they will use it or not.
My original point is still the same. Marketing wins before anything else. Function over form due to fear of loss (IE. not getting something you might need later on).
Side note, people keep complaining about 16GB without SD vs 16GB with SD however the truth is you should be comparing a 32GB without SD vs a 16GB with SD since they should be similarly priced. For me since I only load apps on my phone and don't bog it down with videos or music then the 32GB or even 64GB without SD works great. The 16GB with SD is good for someone who wants to carry their music and video library around with them.
I find it interesting that someone would be arguing for the S4 and replaceable battery when I clearly stated twice that the S4 would outsell the HTC One.
Another extremely stupid and actually clueless spew by dumb dumb: " The 16GB with SD is good for someone who wants to carry their music and video library around with them. "
EVERYONE wants to do that, stupido, but the problem is 16 is not enough for music files only for most, and forget about it for video.
But then, that's the stupid crap you had to argue, so that 16 is enough in a sealed tard iphone or equivalent.
I wonder, why HTC even leave this on the table. Slap a replaceable battery and a SD slot in, and the argument is over, Samsung will have to work much harder to push those S4's, and a lot more Ones would be sold. Why leave these features out? HTC is not Apple, they can't count on repeat buyers and built-in obsolescence to boost sales when so many competitor plays in the Android eco-system, especially better known, more cash rich competitors like Samsung? I think it's a complete bone headed decision for HTC to leave these features out, and Samsung will laugh all the way to the bank.
Expanding markets are not considering the S4 and the One, so it's a moot point.
For people I the developed world or wealthy people in the developing world, form facto will matter and making a device with a removable battery will affect the form factor, especially with regards to its perceived finish and lustre.
Cheap phones with SD card upgrades have been the bane of many a friend of mine. They come to me saying, "My phone's out of storage and it will only let me install apps on the internal memory!" This is likely because SD cards are slow and use a different interface. These phones are sold as 'expandable' but really they're just expendable. I'd take a well-built HTC One over cheap feeling S4 that's gonna fall apart when I drop it and look like crap whenever I look at its washed out screen. I'm not denying that there are people out there for whom SD cards are a real feature, I just think that they get blown out of proportion. I'd take 32GB base internal storage over 16GB plus expansion any day. Different kind of NAND. Really, the question does come down to marketing, familiarity, and feel. While I'd personally prefer the hardware of the One, the S4 is an easy sell. People know it because of the S3's prolific sales and marketing. The OS is more inviting and has more saleable features (than previous Sense, at least). The One will feel super-premium, I'm sure, but I'm also concerned that it might cost a premium, when compared to its real competition - the S4. If you look at the last round, although the S3 was priced at $199 on contract, you could often pick it up for $0.01. So, the S4's cheapness will be its biggest strength. Samsung will be able to offload it in boatloads to carriers who can give it away on sales, once it's mid-term, and they will sell like hotcakes. Also, since you're selling to cheap people (most people when it comes to smartphones), they will be happy to have cheap storage and battery replacement/enhancement options. The camera will also be a tough sell. Are the sales reps gonna demo them both in store? I think not. People will just see 4MP and 13MP and the inevitable Samsung commercials highlighting the features (gimmicks?) that the phone has and will flock to it. They know the brand, they know the predecessor, and they know that 13>4 (even if they don't know that nomenclature). I'd, personally, love to see HTC destroy this round, but somehow have my doubts. Time will tell but cheap sells.
While I disagree with you on your assessment on the cheap phone with cheap SD card sh-pew, you've got a perfect prediction on samsung's low cost sales pitch because they chose to go low cost on a plastic shell and cheaper screen, but try to grab people with features like replaceable batteries and SD. If you analysis is correct, I am just baffled WHY or WHY HTC will leave the sales of their FLAGSHIP, HAILMARY model that is the ONE in the wind by not designing in key features that will put a majority of their potential customer's mind to ease. I don't care if people actual replace their battery or SD card in their phone or not, it gets people concerned about not having them, why leave their concern and decision out for the buying public? Why not nip it in the bud and win the feature comparison against the S4? By going the machined aluminum route they are already not going to win the "low cost" war, why not win the "premium" war without reservation?
well i use the SD card option (64GB mSD) and on vacation, the spare battery is very useful.
with a portable battery charger i could do without the removable batteries but not expandable storage. phones still come with 16GB versions which are 10 or less in reality. install 2 games and most of that is gone.
then add your pics and videos - where are they meant to go? the cloud? that would be fine if i had unlimited data, at a min of about 25mbit/sec and never ever ever lost signal even on a plane, or underground. since that's not going to happen in the near future i need my extra storage.
google wants to do away with the cards to make people use their google drive and then pay for extra space. simple
LOL - nice point tommo123 that's a first - google up that dropbox data charge....
No problem, the know it alls have the deepest and widest pockets of space in their skulls...
ROFL - Nice SMACKDOWN, I note the crybabies have no response, but wait for it, the responses will stream in at an extraordinary rate once the charges become an issue for the sealed tarded crew of fools.
I don't like options, I don't like expandabilty, I don't like to be free, I can't make my own choices, I am techborg, the ultratard liar, I am spew, I am thoughtless, I am a liar, and I am legion.
I don't understand why people insist on "majority of people don't use replaceable battery and SD card" or "majority of people have to have replaceable battery and SD card". My concern is for myself, and I am hating HTC for not putting replaceable battery and SD card in because if they did, it's made my choice completely simple for my next phone, it would be the HTC One. But now, I have a HTC Sensation 4G as a personal phone and a OneX as a work phone, and I am not sure I want to live with the loss of replaceable battery and SD card and is seriously considering buying the Samsung S4 as a result. It is COMPLETELY STUPID for HTC to leave that excuse on the table, oh... the camera is great, the screen is nice, and case looks great, but... NO REPLACEABLE BATTERY AND SD CARD, too bad.. Why did HTC leave that on the table while HTC could put Samsung S4 out of its misery by simply having a better physical design and more feature? Stupid decision, I'd have the phone a bit thicker to have a replaceable larger battery and SD card slot, it's already thicker than the OneX, being super think didn't help selling that the OneX, why repeat the same mistake?!
In my 5 years of time with modern smartphones, I haven't met one person who carried a spare/extra battery. Many carry power banks in their bags but I've yet to see someone with a spare battery. SD cards, yes, those mattered, but only until phones started getting 32 GB onboard memory. Pretty much nobody cares about SD cards/expandable memory if the phone has more than 16 GB memory.
But no one cares about diminishing battery performance after one year? For all of us that have to make this phone work for 2-3 years, it sure matters. The option of expanding the memory (maybe I suddenly decide to carry my entire MP3 library on a microSD for a long trip or every episode of Seinfeld) or easily giving the phone extended life with a new battery is far too advantageous.
If you are OK with losing hours of battery life as early as 8-12 months after purchasing your stylish-no-options-phone, then sure, there's no benefit for you.
Wouldn't it be nice if they could just slide a micro SD card slot into the side of the thing (the HTC One), like they did on the Samsung Jack, without dedicating the back of the thing like they've done in the S3 & S4 by making the back come off. (Yes, the back came off in the Jack too but that was the most embarrassing thing ever about owning that phone - upon dropping it.)
1. You haven't meet enough ppl that uses the same phone for more than a year. The battery degrade is so bad the phone doesn't last for an eight hour WORKING day (minimal usage).
2. I have seen ppl hold their ipad to their ears and talk on skype in starbucks. Maybe they don't mind the weight just the same as some ppl don't mind the weight of phone+power banks. But others do mind. Not to mention all the accidents happened using the phone while attached to its power banks. (My frd broke the micro usb end of her power bank... again)
3. Phone's low boot time has often been sold as a feature, yet some ppl can't bear losing the grid for that 30 seconds or less. I just don't see the necessity of keeping your phone on all the time. Don't get me wrong, power banks have their usage, but a single person carrying multiple power banks but not a single extra battery? I dunno what to say...
It is not necessarily about a spare or extra battery, but if and when the current one dies on you. It is nice to be able to purchase a replacement quickly and easily rather than returning your phone to the "service centre" or vendors shop and having to do without *your* phone for a bit as they sort you out, probably for more than it would have cost to just buy another battery.
Again, if the phone you bought's battery died, it was either so cheap, or so old, that you had ought to buy a new one. Neither the S4 nor the One are in the cheap class - they're high-end. So, if you have a dead battery in the thing, it's probably six years old. Buy a new one before 2019!
Have you seen the complaints iPhones built-in battery get? There're tons of video on youtube teaching people how to carefully dissect their Apple devices to replace simple parts such as the battery, so it is purely out of greed and spite that Apple refuse to put replaceable batteries in their devices. Should HTC follow the lead, maybe, but all the suckers are already in the Apple camp.
I agree with you on the removable battery, but the lack of an SD slot is a big deal unless the phone has 128GB of storage built in. We don't always stream our media from the Internet.
When I had phones with removable batteries, the only time I ever removed them was to do a hard reset of the phone. Most people don't want to carry around extra batteries, and even if they do, a USB battery pack is easier to carry around than a bare battery.
Most people also don't carry around spare memory cards, either. I can understand why someone might be worried about not being able to add additional storage space to a phone that only comes with 8 or even 16GB of storage, but do you really expect the average user to run out of space in a phone that comes with up to 64GB of flash? My desktop PC has only a 64GB SSD right now! Especially in the age of streaming media, memory cards are increasingly unnecessary in smartphones.
Would removable batteries and memory cards be nice to have? Sure, but they're hardly essential anymore for the vast majority of use cases.
The thing is that you can bet the 64GB model will be far too expensive. So most people will end up buying the cheapest version. If they ever need more storage, even temporarily (say on a trip), they can't. As for the battery, depending on usage you might want to replace it after 2-4 years. It would be sad to throw a perfectly working phone to the bin only because it no longer holds its charge. Even if you replace your phone before that, you old phone could still have a resale value or could be used by your grand mother who doesn't need to have the latest toy.
just plug in a usb stick with an usb otg cable or even better some companies already are starting to make usb sticks with micro usb and normal usb so you can connect it to your pc to put a movie on it and just plug it in your phone to watch the movie. The removable storage on the S4 is only used for media anyway can just aswell use an usb stick for the same things on a plane or in your hotel room to transfer your photos.
Suddenly a gankly dongle is better than a tiny sd card even in a tiny plastic container... then when you're not dongled up, you don't have to worry about how to set it or hold it, or ripping apart your charging port...
The stench of dark iphone powers is thick, I hear SJ cackling wildly from beyond the grave.
I still do not get why carrying around extra and bulky( ier ) kit is better than having as SD card slot or removable battery.
If including a removable battery or SB card slot compromised "the experience" as much as an OTG cable + USB thumb drive or External USB battery pack then I would take those arguments but as for me, I would rather a phone that is "compromised" by having removable battery and expandable storage than one where I have to connect such externally.
It's turned to it because spewing mindless trolling IDIOTS claim no one cares. That's why - the RETARD jerks won't concede the point, and new points keeps emerging shoving them further into the dated bin.
PAY for the data load to cloud, RETARD - new point by tomy123.
Now you want to BAIL on the topic because you got seriously spanked into a puddle of doggy doo doo.
Because there is no reason to dwell on those points as the ONE obviously excels in those, I am pretty sure in the Samsung S4 article, there's all this discussion about the camera and build quality of the HTC ONE, which just begs the question why HTC is so stupid not to think to design these features in to put everyone's mind to ease to start with.
You're kidding right, you don't want to carry tiny micro SD cards, but carry USB OTG cable with USB SD card readers just so you can buy a phone without a micro SD slot? I love the One's design, and curse HTC for having no brain in designing in a replaceable battery and SD slot, but the blindsightedness on One's clear short coming and the extent to compensate for it is laughable, almost as laughable as buying bluetooth keyboards for tablets.
Worth noting that the lowest storage level on the One is 32 gigs. We're far better off than the 8 gig Nexus 4, which is definitely too small. I think 32 would be quite usable without needing expansion.
Also, wait for a disassembly guide. Lots of phones aren't that difficult to pry apart and add a new battery into. Perhaps the One will be as easy to disassemble as a Surface Pro, but we can hope not!
Except now 32 is not that much, and more is better. It's only going down to smaller as each day passes.
Next, LOL - first the retards of the world don't want or use an SD storage, now they can just download the disassembly tech guide and "pry apart!" their phone it's "probably easy"....
Why should anyone need to PRY APART their phone to replace a battery, isn't that why cars don't their their wheels welded to the axles even when doing so gives a better resistance against misalignment of the wheels?
That may be why HTC is offering 32 GB standard which I think is a great idea and an ideal size. There's always going to be people who need extra or bigger batteries or want to carry a lot of offline storage, but they are simply not the majority and the iPhone is an obvious example. Plus there's some work arounds like the battery bar (I think gives 3 charges) and usb sticks.
As for replacing the battery, it should be fairly easy to do although the One has the battery behind the screen and with the unibody you will probably have to remove the screen from the front. HTC should design in a way that dosent mess up the lcd3, digitizer, glue, etc.
So ideal isn't 64 with 64 expansion ? It's now 32 because you think so. It's not 16 + a very cheap 64 for 80 in ideal and convenient. It's not a buttload of 2,4,8, and 16 you have lying around extra from camera use over the years ?
Yes, suddenly, the sea of stability is 32.... 3.2 inches is also perfect she said looking down at you 're phone.
You don't? Well that explains why actual features do not matter to you and you keep posting "nobody needs that"... you're not looking for a good phone, you are all for the cool new thing of the moment.
Exactly. A GREAT phone should last longer. The ONE and S4 are both good phones, but if I were to choose one (which is the case for most ppl), I would side with S4 because of these features.
Why do you think they have NFC out way before it gets useful and popular? Why do you think both phones have wifi ac when the majority of the routers doesn't have it? It's all about how longlasting the phone is. It might or might not be a deal breaker for you, but you can't deny the fact that it is a good feature for the general public.
No it's not. It is not about being long-lasting. The people who buy these top-tier devices will buy another, better one, in two-three years. There's no "longer lasting" top-tier phone. That's garibaldi guck.
See osx and then realize all the text goes with a jobs worshipper - which is now BTW out of fashion and a losers game, the idiots just don't realize it yet, because death of the status fantasy comes with a humiliating depression... ROFL apple down $300 per share plus - apple has been passed by appletards are in denial
Are you really gonna recoup the costs of the battery replacement on the sale of a phone that's cheap enough that the battery is ailing after two years.
You're not really stating that a phone replacement after 2 years is mandatory because some retard decided replaceable battery is not needed, that would be pathetic! I don't care how great or crappy the phone is, throwing away an entire unit of working electronics just because a single, designed to be replaceable part expires due to use is simply irresponsible and foolhardy to say the least.
I completely agree there's a HUGE need for a sleek Android, and One is IT! It's just too bad, in trying to be sleek, One has sold its soul in trying to be like iPhone, forgetting to offer the right set of features for the benefits of the consumers. I would love to get the One and not feel like sacrificing a part of my user experience because of it, because that feels dirty, all apple like, and Android should be different, NOT apple like!
OK, let's say that's the case, why would HTC, in their right mind, forget that fact (the need for replaceable battery and SD card)? They don't like large sales volume apparently. The buying decision would be so much easier for so many people if One simply has the replaceable battery and SD slot, it would be for me that's for sure.
No jaysucks wonders, and has no idea, a few pages back he said nearly no one on his word and immense experience and knowledge base. The troll is tarded, and says whatever pops into his borged gourd, forget any reality, it's Reality Bloggie spew posting.
Besides, he should be the CEO, The One, he knows and it's too bad a gigantic successful corporation doesn't listen to his brain farts which smell like rosey.
For me and everyone I know, every phone capable of hold a SD card has a SD card in it, most of them come with one, so good luck overlooking the one obvious short coming of the One. And tell your HTC one, one version 2 of the One, remember to include the replaceable battery and the SD card if HTC is still relevant by then.
Additional juice is actually essential for many. Just look at vast number of 'battery case' accessory for iPhones, which apple claim to be 'last for one full day'
And 32GB micro SD costs like $20 - which is alot cheaper than spending $100 more to get high-capacity models.
They have so far and so has every other Android phone manufacture. This is well known and obvious. But HTC is definetly lost Apple as they have lost millions making smartphones.
2. Internal storage is plenty fast for the media it holds. Movies, pictures, video...And my 64Gb sd that rate around 30-40Mb/s is good speed for the next 15 years.
internal storage is not faster and often slower than SD. class 10 is cheap, you're on the internet bro check the SD card tests in the free app areas man Now stop blowing, it's an unseemly job.
Why trust that " $COMPANY are not Apple, they probably won't do $BAD_THING " when you can guarantee that they won't fuck you over by getting some features out of the box? say expandable storage and removable battery?
I've never met anyone who actually purchased one of those battery packs on their own. 9 out of 10 people with those battery packs likely purchased it on a company account.
A USB battery pack, which usually requires you to carry a cable around and attach it to your phone and then use your phone with something hanging off it while charging is easier than simply slipping in a battery and instantly returning to a full charge?
I still don't get why ppl can't get off the grid for that 30 seconds or less. Are you saying your usb battery pack can instantly charge your battery to a full charge within that 30 seconds?
"When I had phones with removable batteries, the only time I ever removed them was to do a hard reset of the phone. Most people don't want to carry around extra batteries, and even if they do, a USB battery pack is easier to carry around than a bare battery."
I find USB battery packs a fiddle to use as they're usually a lot larger than a bare battery and they need to remain connected to the phone for quite some time. I take a spare battery when I'm away travelling as it takes a matter of seconds to swap the battery over when the original one dies and then I have a fully functional phone again without having to leave it connected to anything.
Also the other reason I prefer a removable battery is that li-ion batteries don't last forever, they're unlikely to last the two years I expect a phone to last without losing performance if not outright failing and given the reasonably poor batterylife of these devices in the first place that's a prominent issue. Neither my N900 or Galaxy Note's original batteries lasted two years but it wasn't an issue as a couple of minutes later they were up and running with another battery.
"Most people also don't carry around spare memory cards, either. I can understand why someone might be worried about not being able to add additional storage space to a phone that only comes with 8 or even 16GB of storage, but do you really expect the average user to run out of space in a phone that comes with up to 64GB of flash? My desktop PC has only a 64GB SSD right now! Especially in the age of streaming media, memory cards are increasingly unnecessary in smartphones."
With increasingly powerful phones, higher resolution onboard video and increasingly higher resolutions, I disagree - why put up with lower quality video and reduced selection rather than have the option of being able to cheaply add storage. The Note's large vibrant screen is great for watching and showing videos, yes I could delete off the 1080p video files from its own camera and have a much smaller selection of videos but for the small cost of a microSD card I prefer to keep them onboard and take advantage of the screen Plus the price companies charge for storage is usually vastly more than it would cost as a microSD card, the cost difference between a Nexus 8GB and a 16GB over here would be enough to purchase a 64GB micro SD card. It also means the phone can take advantage of increasing flash capacities over its life.
As for streaming as a viable alternative, I also disagree for quite a few reasons. Firstly it may not even be possible either due to reception not being good enough, not allowed to have wireless radios enabled or congestion in the area, secondly data caps are frequently restrictive and third the phone needs a lot more power to stream wirelessly compared to just reading it off internal memory.
Plus there no gains from not having a removable battery or expandable storage with the HTC (aside from for HTC themselves), despite the praise in this article I don't count the metal body as a plus because if it's anything like previous HTC phones and most other metal phones on the market the metal is unlikely to be particularly durable and will easily pick up scratches and chips. There's a lot of complaining about Samsung using plastics but they're light and they're durable, I've seen some original S2's that have been used without a case and dropped a few times yet they've barely a mark on them whereas Sensations from the same time period were looking fairly battered in the same conditions after a few weeks despite the praise for the Sensation's supposed industrial build quality and the cheap build quality of the S2.
The apple tards suddenly have no media - no music, no movies, no videos, no minutes and minutes of high resolution camera movies - the appletards don't like storage space, they yell at Siri to dial then they pocket their lead weight glass shatterbrick.
I guess it was all true - apple users are inherently STUPID...
You know, most smart phone live in a case anyway, so unless you're really rough on your phone, the metal vs. plastic argument isn't really a pro for S2. I love metal casing of the ONE, and still use a Sensation as a personal phone daily, it's been in a transparent TPU case and looks as new as the day it came out of the box. But I think HTC One would be the clear winner against the S4 with much little disagreement if it had the replaceable battery and SD card slots. It's simply amazing the HTC chose to handicap their LIFELINE new phone like that.
I think the major factor is really that most people don't want to pay for extra batteries. They are expensive, which is why the only people that ever buy them are IT guys who charge it to the company account.
Thanks for your purchase survey from the credit card companies you don't have, and insulting the entire human race, who can't "pay for batteries" but can pay HUNDREDS for appletard 16gb extra sealed in the shatterbrick.
Instead of accusing ppl getting paid by Samsung, why don't you explain how you keep forgetting the hundreds of dollars you paid for extra storage, whereas a sd card cost u only $30 and less than a minute to load?
The back cover coming off and the battery spewing across the floor, (the sim card(s) * or SD lesser so) ABSORB THE SHOCK of the floor strike and spread the force across a largeer area of the phone, SAVING IT FROM DAMAGE, DUMMY.
So while you're all about your brick shattering or taking a huge whomp on it's now bent forever scratched metal edge and cracked screen, other love the convenience and the SHOCK ABSORBER function.
Thank you, this has been a we love Mr Wizard lesson.
For SD cards, maybe, you can pay to get the 64GB model and think you will never have to worry about it, but Bill Gates also famously stated you will never need more than 640KB of RAM back in the DOS dates. But batteries, really, the chances for a failed battery due to abuse, power surge, or poor quality control is high, even for Apple, why leave it to chance. The issue is not having to carry a spare, the issue is how much hassle and cost it is to replace a failed battery. The same in general applies to a SD card, you may never use it, but why live in fear of running out of storage?
Sealed battery, non-expandable battery, 4MP camera will be deal breakers for many. The 'Ultrapixel' is just marketing gimmick for low resolution sensor. Yes, it will be better than SMALL low-MP sensors but I doubt they are any better than high-MP sensor with same size. 36MP D800 is almost as good as any low-MP DSLRs with the same sensor size.
ALl cell phones use the same sensor size, and Anand said right in this review it has better low light performance than any other cell phone camera he has used. Pretty much refutes both your points right there.
The total area of sensor remains unchanged whether you divide them by 4M or 8M. Low MP sensor surely look better in its native resolution, but it won't differ much from the DOWNSAMPLED image from high-MP sensor.
Like all things, that depends on where in the "pixel size" spectrum you are. At the sizes of the D800 vs 5dM3, for instance, the ability of a single pixel of the D800 to capture light is actually bound by the optics at that point, because the pixels are already big enough.
Contrast this with a 1.1um pixel and the picture changes entirely (heh). 1.1um is barely 1.5 wavelength of red light. Attenuation becomes pretty bad at that point and the optics of a wide lens itself becomes a problem due to how deep the pixel is compared to its width.
Think of it this way: 1.1um is abysmal when it comes to light attenuation. As you get to larger and larger pixels, you start getting diminishing returns on how much better light attenuates. At the D800 level, making the pixels larger won't really help that much.
"Sealed battery, non-expandable battery, 4MP camera will be deal breakers for many. The 'Ultrapixel' is just marketing gimmick for low resolution sensor. Yes, it will be better than SMALL low-MP sensors but I doubt they are any better than high-MP sensor with same size. 36MP D800 is almost as good as any low-MP DSLRs with the same sensor size."
The D800 is a good demonstration that more pixels aren't an issue, it's not just almost as good as low-MP DSLRs it currently has the top rating on DXOMark and the next cameras down (D600, RX1) are using the 24MP FX sensor which has the second highest resolution for current selling full frame cameras.
Except the D800 pixels, at 5.5um each, is not going to be constrained by optics and still has a lot of a headroom. A 1.1um pixel, at only 1.5 wavelengths of light, is really pushing it.
No, it's physics, for a given sensor size, the larger sensor pitch (distance between sites) will always give better low light noise performance all other factors being equal. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to have "all other factors" being equal, and higher performance CMOS chips in high end dSLR's always demands the price premium for that pixel density with "almost" equivalent noise performance. But you can't deny the advantage of a larger pixel pitch to low light noise performance.
I cannot go back to LCD, OLED just looks so much better, as soon as I'm using the phone in bed watching F1 or porn, I'm just distracted by the backlight on LCD panels.
I agree. I only own LCD devices (unfortunately) and despise the way blacks look in the dark. Even viewing the screen slightly on an angle makes this many times worse.
Now that the Full HD AMOLED screen can be tweaked to user preference, it should be far more difficult to complain about the S4's 'oversaturated' colors. The superior contrast and viewing angles of SAMOLED display should be hard to complain about in comparison to LCDs.
I would glady argue about oversaturated colors any day of the week lol. Blowing out an image should not be what we should be aiming for =/. At least calibrate that crap Samsung.
shatterbricks that lock up and cost way too much and are now completely outdated suck. this is how bad apple has sucked for some time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A48A4J5qpYA
'Display calibration options' and calibrating a display are not the same thing.
The manufacturer needs to make sure that each hue is actually pretty close to its intended colour, not just saturated into some theme like 'movie' aka make everything darker.
No kidding, images look so bad on their products. They charge as much as Apple for their devices, they should at least put some effort on basic things like proper sRGB color profiles.
Name a high end Android phone that isn't at least as expensive as an iPhone and the sold at cost Nexus 4 doesn't count. Not that it sin the same league anyway.
I saw an review of the HTC ONE where the review spokes person noted that HTC uses plastic as the lense material. (easy to scratch) Have you had any problems of this kind or have they switched to glass lenses on the rear camera?
For all the concerns about smartphone camera quality, why haven't there been any phones that let you shoot images in RAW format? For anyone who wants to do serious post-processing, JPEGs simply aren't good enough. You need the full dynamic range captured by the sensor.
In an academic sense, it would be good to see the RAW results from phone cameras, but I have a feeling the results would be pretty hideous. The first manufacturer to release RAW will be praised by enthusiasts, but will be mobbed by the fake-enthusiasts for the amounts of noise coming off their sensors. Which will be copious.
I find your conclusion pretty ironic. As if "enthusiasts" should prefer a phone that, according to you, looks better but the mass would prefer a phone with factual benefits (such as larger display, smaller size and larger battery). I would have said the opposite. "Mainstream" customers are those who buy phones that sucks only because they look good.
That's the applefanboy argument - which includes "the feeeeeeeeeel". If they actually use a phone they won't notice the feeeeeel after a week if that long, more likely days. At that point the harsh appletard edges cut into your hands and finger tendons before the shatterbrick breaks when dropped.
Well Samsung has extra sensors (pedometer,temp) ,removable battery and SD slot. HTC went again with no SD so we are better off with them going broke. Amusing that you think a phone with no SD, no removable battery and a shiny exterior is for enthusiasts,sounds more like something for Apple fanboys. Buying a PC because it's shiny pfff.
The whole sd and removable battery... people need some perspective on this, seriously. Most people don't do this, you do not represent the masses. Don't cry, "How dare they!" when a business is making a conscious decision to make things easier in terms of design, lowering cost (however minuscule), and allowing in thinner design, relatively, and easier to put together for them. I'd like to see Samsung make the move to Alu and still offer removable battery...
And is that a fact? I never used a case, ever. When I had Samsung plastic phones, I just swapped the back out after a year when it had enough scratches to look like a mess. Never had visible scratches on the display on any of the phones I've owned. Two metal phones and one matte polycarbonate unibody I've had in the past never needed a case anyway. Cases are for clumsy and/or messy people or those who are overly paranoid.
That's not gonna happen because you got it all wrong. Samsung did choose to make it plastic because their lack of design and stuff, in order to offer removable battery they need to have a flexible, durable back cover. So plastic IS a conclusion from design. Why would they want to move to Alu if they want to offer removable battery?
Appletards can thus declare idyllic new conclusive condition dependent absolutes, with all that training and self reinforcement ( the latter required).
There is no ideal size. If you're a tiny punk who starved as a child with shorty fingers ideal is a lot smaller. If you have crybaby nerd hands and can barely lift your frame up off the chair, smaller is better.
The HTC One looks great and clearly has a design that most people will consider more premium than the Galaxy S4. That being said, the idea of a 5" display on the GS4 (versus 4.7" on the HTC One) with the same physical dimensions has some serious appeal. Bigger screen versus more premium-feeling design - Tough decision.
In terms of the camera performance, we'll have to wait for the side-by-side camera shoot-out. What if the GS4 has better camera prowess in moderate to high light conditions, but still has reasonable (if not exceptional) low light performance? Would that not be a reasonable tradeoff?
Still, I'm rooting for HTC to make a serious comeback and keep pushing innovation and build quality forward in the Android sector.
We have seen some initial test pics from GS4, and it is magnitudes better than old 8MP and 13MP ones in terms of sharpness and noise. And it doesn't look TOO bad at indoor situation either.
Thanks for the insight about the GS4 camera quality. I currently have the GS3. I was hoping to stick with HTC when I last upgraded, based on excellent experiences with my previous phone, but Verizon passed on the HTC OneX and the HTC Droid DNA didn't show its face until nearly half a year later. I think that lack of an answer to the GS3 on Verizon caused them some significant lost sales. Hopefully the One will end up on all carriers in the US.
Yep, I understand the math perfectly well. We are talking about 13% larger screen area in the same footprint in a thinner and lighter package. That definitely adds points on Samsung's side. Is it enough to counteract the nicer look and feel of the HTC One? I'm not so sure. But it is a factor I would consider in my purchasing decision.
And thus darwin was wrong again, some species never learn and die out, a lot do in fact.
So beyond the retards in these post pages spewing that the dummies of the world will buy whatever feels good, they proclaim what feels good is what they will buy on other pages.
The feel fanboys should take a physics class. Drop the lead weight and the intertia crushes and shatters. ONLY in the cellphone area is lead weight "considered good" by the status tards. Hey guess what tards - no one is looking at your phone, no one, you don't even roll it around and look at it, you either tak on it or LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND TOTALLY IGNORE EVERYTHING BUT THE SCREEN !
This may be a stupid question, but how long can you expect the battery of a modern smartphone to last when used as a dumbphone, ie only texts and calls?
The battery will last indefinitely when the phone is in deep sleep (screen off). The only important figure is the number of hours you get during constant use
When I only use my phone (Galaxy Nexus) for texts and calls, it lasts 2 and a half days. When using it for several hours of video/games or listening to audio books, it lasts for a day to a day and a half (but I always recharge it over night if I expect it to only last half a day the next day).
I love the design and materials and HTC has to be lauded for their camera approach. But the actual pictures still don't look very exciting. The software seems *very* limited (the fake scratches in those movies are just awful), the "hub" has no RSS... looks very much like gimmicks to me.
I hate to say it, but I think the S4 will sell vastly better and I can understand it. And what will happen to HTC anyway? This phone really is a "One", but I think I would prefer to wait for the "Two" (and they should have added a kickstand which would go very well with the front-facing speakers. Which I think every smartphone should have, by the way).
Hey anand, thanks for the quick look for such an interesting phone, although I have a feeling that if HTC situation wasn't as it's there would have been just one main review. I really like HTC and can't wait to see them back with heavy duty and innovation products as before. Really like your views and I would love to see you reviewing more interesting and innovative phones, one that comes to my mind as a nice surprise is the Asus padfone 2 or even better the infinity, I think their concept is spot on shame that without a proper marketing it will always stay as a niche. Regards
Can you please address smartphone battery life? Who cares about 8.6mm thickness when the phone only lasts a few hours during actual use? The DROID RAZR MAXX set the standard with a massive 3300mAh battery in a 9mm thick phone. IMO that should be the bare minimum. Then 5050mAh in 11mm, and 6600mAh in 13mm.
There's no question a lot of people would be willing to sacrifice thinness and PPI for a larger battery. Here are some recent quotes from the comments sections of the recent HTC One article on Anandtech, and the GS4 and HTC One articles on Dailytech (all articles are dated Feb 19):
"I really hope they work on battery life...maybe this rant should be at the battery makers...damn energizer bunny."
"I think an S3 Maxx (thicker with larger battery) would be popular with a lot of people. It would have the potential to be their 2nd or 3rd most popular model. It makes sense to me. Everything else has gotten amazing and battery life has remained mostly the same."
"What I would want most is better battery life, minor improvements in video resolution, and better sound quality through the speakers. "
"I'm an extremely heavy user and my galaxy nexus can burn through its battery very quickly, its my main gripe with it. It is also one of the key features I will be looking for in my next phone. I don't need more processor speed, focus on giving me better battery life."
"need to see battery Tests."
"Well, I'm fine with 720p in a 4.7" screen but the battery is the key. If it's not at least a full day battery, then there's no point."
"That User Experience is horrible! Give me the option to double the battery size (Motorola got the idea with the MAX), I'm willing to take the size/weight consequences."
" Now, if they just improve the battery life we have a home run."
" All those updates to the tiles keep burning battery. As for the battery, it needs to be larger. Phones do not need to be so thin you can shave with them. The DO need to last all day (with all day use). I don't think this is "the" phone for me but I hope HTC uses some of these features in future phones (a max battery version would be nice)."
"All these sacrifices for silly 1080p marketing gimmick nobody will distinguish from normal distances. Maybe in one year or two, some OEM will say that PPI race is meaningless and they will give 2x battery life instead. Ironically, HTC did the same with this phone with their camera MP count."
"I'd rather have a larger battery, sane front buttons (HTC logo in the middle, whut?), microSD card, and definitely require inductive charging. I also have no interest in a 1080p screen on a phone. It's a phone. You do not need or want a 1080p screen. You may think you want it, but in reality it just adds a bunch of cost and battery drain, for a very pointless difference over 720p."
And my own comment: "Until smartphone battery life during ACTUAL usage at least DOUBLES (let's say 16 hours, to allow for human sleep/phone charging for the other 8 hours of the day), there will be LOTS room for improvement. I look forward to that day."
Listen to your readership! Help put an end to battery anxiety.
I agree that longer battery life would be nice, but I've never had battery anxiety with my current phone (galaxy S3). That's a world of difference from the previous smart phone generation. I usually put it on the charger at night with 50% to 75% battery still left. Maybe 30% if I am traveling on vacation and taking lots of photos, yelping restaurants, and navigating around town without bothering to use a car charger. Would I like two days of battery life? Sure. Do I need it? Not the vast majority of the time. And I could carry a second battery if I needed it.
1. Your personal measurements are irrelevant and inaccurate. 2. Modern phones get around 3-5 hours of screen time. The only way to reach the numbers you gave is by not using your phone. You may feel like you used it "all day", when in reality you only used it for 3-5 hours, in which case you are one of those people who does not use their phone. 3. Noone said anything about "two days" of life (although it would be nice). Just one day of constant use (as defined in my comment above) without a charge or a second battery. 3. You shouldnt have to carry a second battery to get a full day of actual usage. Plus you could only do that with a GS3 anyway. N4, XPZ, HOX/One and iPhones require you to carry a recharger pack which you must plug in while using your phone, another unnecessary inconvenience.
This all goes away if you make the phone 3mm thicker (6000mah).
I agree. But why not at least have the option, a model with expanded battery like the MAXX? Most manufacturers don't let you swap batteries in the manner you mention
That's why they give you the cheapo thin battery, you can't swap it. Take that thought back to the iphonetard rants on the prior pages that user replaceable battery is who wants it...
OF COURSE EVERYONE WANTS IT.
On Samsung, just buy the thicker mod back cover and the huge battery. Add the 64GB sd for $50. Now the all day with monster movie storage and music to spare, and personal HDR video up the wazz is ready to go.
Not really, we are not talking about power banks VS extra battery. We are talking about no need to carry around an extra piece, no plug in and use at the same time, no turning off and on the phone to switch battery. Besides, how much could that extra weight be? Barely noticable.
I was playing devil's advocate to your rant by stating the obvious (and the *very relevant* if you are a phone manufacturer): Many users are finding it easy to get through the day on a single charge with today's more power-efficient smartphones. The 3-5 hours of screen time you mention, plus long standby time, is 'adequate' for many people. Hence the design tradeoffs we are seeing from manufacturers. In a world where manufacturers are trying to have only a single flagship phone, they are looking to hit the middle 90% of users. That stinks for the 10% whose needs are not being met.
As I stated, I'd also like the option of a bigger battery to be available. But there is an obvious reason why manufacturers are making the tradeoffs they are making.
There are other good reasons to make a phone that works for longer than 4 hours. Battery life can be a selling point for the mainstream as well. Most smartphone users do complain about it. There is a huge third party market for external/extended batteries. Every manufacturer now makes the same phone with the same specs (Snapdragon, 5"), and only two, Apple and Samsung, make money (slight exaggeration). It's not like they have anything to lose by trying something different. If you took a poll asking "would you make your 2mm thicker if it gave you 1.5x battery?" I think the response would be overwhelmingly "Yes".
Razr MAXX had a very positive response. If you actually sit down and look at a Maxx - it would be possible to build one with a 5050mah battery and have it fit into a slightly modified otterbox commuter case (the smaller 15mm version). Everything fits with no increase in dimensions. t That's just a first attempt by me, and I'm no engineer. In the very near future (3-4 years) our phones will have IVB-like performance and hundreds of gigs of storage, they'll slowly replace laptops for many people. When that time comes I'd rather be able to use my device for more than 4 hours.
The umm RETARDS in this area are suffering from the childhood trauma, which they never outgrew, where their led text flipphone was a bulky wad that hurt their sidie side and tum tum and butty butt when they laid down or sat down or rolled over... the forever scarring just can't be shaken... some of them ever had to wear a belt and use a leather belt holder or their first pants bulge ever ruined their press line.
So ever since they got a boo boo with the formerly thick as a golf ball original palm helds, they've been on a rage...
Now 9mm is way too thin to complain about, but the forever scarred can't get a grip - often literally because the phones are too thin already to grip them... now that it matters, their nanny nanny boo boo matters, and that's about it.
I'm extremely proud and honored that a well-known troll supports my position. Thank you.
You're right, 9mm should be just fine. Did anyone complain about the 12.7mm HTC EVO 4G (original)? But instead of incrementally increasing capacity, they make it thinner. It's important to note that the market didn't choose this, because there were no alternative options.
You should be since I'm correct nearly 100% of the time, and have to correct the true children trolls who do not think with their borg acquired estrogen hispter spewlaid that has been crammed down their throats, did a 180 and sucked up into the tiny spongegourd they wield ineffectively.
Let's face it, with the focus group the retards win saying thin thin thin. Like I said they will continue in that clueless vein until the phone slices one of their digits off. At that point they will consider some options and perhaps make their way toward being reasonable instead of spewing hipster lines.
I wholly expect "them" to demand thinness until the sharp alu metal edges of their "feeeel" mobile phone slices a few of their fingers off. At that point, they will reconsider "thinness". Until then expect them to remain utterly insane.
HTC should of atleast gave us a removable battery, since contracts are 2 years long, the battery will be alot weaker by then. they cant lie to us anymore and say phones with removable batteries can be made thinner. the galaxy S4 is one of the thinnests phones out there. I've never heard someone say "Eww i'm not buying that phone it has a removable battery and a micro SD slot." but i have heard plenty people say the opposite.
What ? So curved back is good (battery access or not) but almost square corners is as well ?
You don't have to sacrifice a curved back for a removable battery. If you do not have a removable back, you have to sacrifice any change in shape and color.
Since you don't use a cover, you have to sacrifice your crappy looking phone back, forever scratched, faded, and spewed upon.
A removable cover is replaceable and often modded.
they can cut in a battery door, the back isn't curved that much to where a battery won't fit if a door is cut out. I never use phone cases they are useless and pointless. I always put my phone in an empty pocket and my keys and other stuff in the other. I do use a zagg screen protector, that's all you need. I never understood why people use phone cases especially the otter boxes, it makes your 9mm thick phone a 29mm phone. what are people doing with there phones.
Dropping them. Then reselling them for full value because they are in perfect condition. Otterbox commuter is around 15mm thick and I throw my phone at the ground to demonstrate how effective it is.
I hope this one does it for HTC. Their One X was arguably better than the GSIII, but sold far less units due to Samsungs massive marketing push. I hope the same isn't repeated here, as the One really appears to be the type of phone that really should have its creators rewarded, I think this may be the best looking phone out there and certainly by far the best looking Android phone out there at least. The stereo speakers on two sides are a nice touch, stereo is kind of useless (like on my iPad Mini) if both speakers are shooting in the same direction, the sound mushes together anyways. And the chassis is really nice, display is great, etc. Really my favorite phone so far.
Those are not the only two qualities that instantly make a phone objectively worse than another phone. The One X had better design and a sharper (and arguably better) screen.
It's all subjective. In tipoo's opinion it was better. In your opinion it is not. This world is big enough for more than one opinion on cell phones. Try to be a little less absolute.
Who has to be less absolute ? Tippo talked his crap, and someone pointed out why they consider it crap. Which party has to be less absolute, the one giving their opinion first or the other correcting or giving another opinion ? Maybe you get to decide, but no, instead you have a fit and demand others not counter an opinion they consider ridiculous or is in some cases not an opinion but false ?
Try to be a little less estrogen doused demanding control when differences arise - take your own advice.
Another point is, many will not take a phone without a removable cover for battery replacement and SD card slot. Others will take either, sealed or not. BOTH are welcome to do as they please and NO ONE HAS TO BE LESS ABSOLUTE.
If we heard about people who will only take a sealed phone ( we have not in this entire thread), your stupid mind may have not brain farted so badly.
I've never owned an HTC phone, but now maybe I will. In the past, friends have complained about things from random reboots to cheap plastic. I have a Galaxy S3 and planned to hang on to it for awhile but hey, at least its held its value if I decide to sell it.
And considering I never capture photo's at max resolution on ANY of my camera's (even my DSLR) I could care less it's a 4MP sensor. I usually capture at 3.1MP anyway.
Oh that's weird. you must have a tiny computer screen 1024X768. Upgrade your monitor so your old crappy DSLR can be upgraded too. Stop living in the past. 3.1 mp ? LOL You will never get hired for camera work.
I hesitate to even respond to your trolling comments (which have been all over this thread article. Where do you find the time?) but do the math. 1920x1080 is 2 mp. Therefore, for full screen viewing you don't need anything more than that. 1024x768 is .78mp.
The only time you need more is if you own a 4k television (8.3mp) and you have way too much money, or you are printing. But who prints cell phone pics? Who prints anything for that matter?
But if you must, an 8x10 can be made with a 4mp picture using 204dpi, which is ok.
You're forgetting about cropping and zooming. If I take an 8MP shot I can cut out the 75% of the image that I don't need and still get the "full" resolution of my HD screen. If I'm showing a picture to someone I tend to zoom in on the important stuff. Doing both means I might actually need th 13MP or whatever that some new phones have.
Not that MP's say much about picture quality anyway and they're getting to the point where more pixels actually means worse quality, but still, higher resolutions are not a waste just because we don't have as high a resolution displays.
I wasn't forgetting, I was making your second point. I'm all for argument for its own sake, but seriously! We agree! More pixels are not a waste if they are actually contributing, but having pinch-zoomed on my cell phone pics I have pretty serious doubts there is much extra info to be gained.
I have less to agree with Cerise though. 76 comments! Are you serious?! I really hope you are getting paid by somebody.
It's cool hearing your endorsing experience with it. On paper and theory this phone appears to be the next big thing out there and it's great hearing first-hand that at least some of that is true.
Really disappointing that this phone will not be on Verizon., I can't understand their reasoning for this unless they somehow think the DNA is an acceptable substitute. It isn't.
It would be nice if HTC did a WP8 One. Regarding removable batteries I'm still changing batteries after 18-24monthes. Not replacing my phone every year I still think it's a must.
Same thing for ultrabooks / tablets really. That's why I still haven't bought a Surface Pro or an Ultrabook. I don't want a 45min autonomy device in 2 years because I can't replace the battery.
One thing I've noticed is how much smoother and more responsive devices using Snapdragon processors are than those using Tegra. Tegra always makes for a choppy Android UI, regardless of how many cores you are running or the clock speed. Interestingly, even phones running android 2.3 on Snapdragon S2 feel smoother than my Samsung S2. Though I'm actually not sure now whether my S2 has an Exynos or an Nvidia CPU, but the gist of it is the same. My Asus Infinity has Tegra 3 and Android 4.1 and is still extremely choppy.
So, my question is whether you, or anyone else here for that matter, are under the same impression?
The SGS2 was using either the Exynos Dual Core or a TI OMAP 4430. I had the SGS2 for over a year before switching to the Galaxy Nexus. It was super smooth. Even more so after upgrading to 4.0. Maybe you are doing something to the OS that you shouldn't? :D
If Samsung made a phone that looks like this one, they would be accused of copying Apple. HTC doesn't run that risk for the virtue of being small. Something to think about, on our perverted IP laws in general.
This doesn't really look anything like any Apple devices. It's pretty clearly a different thing, especially with the different home screen.
A Galaxy S or S2 with Touchwiz looks an awful lot like an iPhone 3GS, though. Samsung has done better with the S3 and S4 in that department, to be fair.
Why should someone bother to sue someone else who's in no way a threat? While of course someone else who IS a threat will be fought by all legal means, that's just business. Don't pretent that companies in a billion dollar market should be more holy than common people (who'll happily sue for much less money anyway).
What a weird comment. Are you accusing HTC of copying Apple by saying that if Samsung made this phone they would have been accused? Do you think they are copying Apple? Do you have any thoughts on the matter or are you just prognosticating on the reaction of the internet fanboys to a hypothetical situation?
Anand did address this a little by saying that lead time on devices is pretty long. So they couldn't have started copying the iPhone 5 (which is most similar) before it was even out.
A very nice phone and a nice review Anand, but not as i expected from your anandtech.com site :) Plastic phone are so very last year, i will definitely buy this when it's come out. once you go HTC you'll never buy anything. PS: from SGS2 and HTC One X owner.
And for the non-removable battery: What do people do with these phones in two years when the battery will no longer hold a charge? Throw them away? Send them in for refurb?
Trollposts? CeriseCogburn has been on a tear trolling anyone who even slightly disagrees with the notion that microSD and removable battery are not that important.
Also, since he does not seem to have a good argument on his points that have been rebutted, it is a way for others to LEARN and decide for themselves. It's ALWAYS GOOD to have a naysayer or fan or disser, as one can then validate, invalidate, verify, or see the argument against is empty.
You should be banned too. Troll posts should stay on youtube comments. Anandtech is a step above most sites and the comments should reflect that. There is a difference from having a counter argument and just calling someone a retard.
How to contradict openly and quickly: " The One looks and feels great. The proportions are a little awkward in my hands, but I fully concede that’s going to vary from person to person."
It feels great but it feels awkward.... that's...whatever...
Loved this too: " Despite the heavy use of aluminum, I don't feel overly worried about scratching/damaging the finish. "
Yes not overly worried, but worried nonetheless. Aluminum feels like CRAP on the hands, like all other metals. They are HARSH on the hands. your finger and palm oils will eat into them and discolor them, they will rust, surface oxidation.
YET we have a bevy of retards who can't get enough of it. I submit that marketing and peer hype and group think rules the day. Luckily I'm here to point out how stupid it is. Reviewer obviously want to, but hold themselves back, we can't after all help kill a dying company... well they can't it's not "nice" nor conducive to their business.
Metal is hard on your hands, your hands are hard on metal, get a clue fanboys.
A great excuse for a company too cheap to shell out the bucks on some half decent design instead of constantly aping the efforts of others. How pathetic that Samsung should make an ad mocking the iPhone 5 for being stretched and the come out with this. Pathetic.
Two above you had to be corrected for being a stupid fanboy by Mookie. I win again. Because I don't open my piehole like an estrogen doused little 3rd grader. Try to make sure you have it correct, won't you ? FUD spreader.
A bit odd, since I've owned a Desire HD for years, and the back looks the same as the day it was made, and it always felt really nice. Dropped plenty of times..
One thing I preefr about iPhone is that, in general, all models get the latest iOS upgrades, even if a few features remain disabled (eg Siri), at least for a year or two.
Anand is entitle to his opinion about removable battery and SD card support but these are very important features that a lot of people look for, myself included. I plan to use the phone for a long while not change it every two years, thus a removable battery is a great option. What if I want a larger capacity battery for business travels?
SD card is just useful for storing more of anything. Heck go up to 128GB on my Note 2 if I wanted but 64 is holding up ok.
Why a professional person like Anand giving review would make these kinds of remarks is ludicrous not to mention incredulous. Might as well use the same line for every other reviews that's been done. I've learn to live with OC on CPU's now, I've learn to live without...
Sorry but that's just moronic for a professional reviewer to say.
We give up on things all the time! Laptops are getting sealed batteries to save size and stuff in a bigger battery, memory soldered onto the motherboard, 16x9 displays, etc.
This is especially true with features that aren't unanimously loved, like removable backs and sd cards. All he can do as a reviewer is note that he doesn't really care, and move on. Me, I don't really care. If it's a big enough internal storage, that's enough. I store things long term on my desktop and don't need to carry around massive files on my phone.
But if you want to be like all the inflammatory commenters and act like every freaking review calls into question the last 16 years of this website's excellence, then be my guest and read some other site with views that fit into your staunch opinion of how cell phones should be.
Anand made a personal statement in the comment section suggesting he's okay with not having those features. He did not disparage the features in the review itself. He has an opinion, it counts, but you don't have to take it. Just take the arrow to the knee and stop while you are ahead.
I don't care so terribly about a removable battery, assuming it lasts all day and always will. Since that's never the case it does hurt. But the lack of a micro-sd card makes it useless for me. Very saddening since otherwise it's my idea of the perfect phone. Especially like the camera.
@For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out. - Yes ...it's so hard to admit that they copied apple design. In-fact even though they made it look 100% same as iPhone, you will still find some other excuse......very charming
I agree with Brian that 4.3" screen is the sweet spot for smart phones. I would like to see a premium android phone come out with similar dimensions as the RAZR M. If a company could cram all of the One's features with a 720p 4.3" screen into a phone that size I would immediately go buy it. I'm just not sure a quad-core SoC, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of NAND would currently fit with all of the other components and leave room for a decent sized battery.
I was thinking the same thing. 1280x720 = 340ppi in 4.3 inches. Back it up with some decent hardware and I think we'd have a winner. Perhaps they could go the Nokia route with their cheap phones and make it thicker and plastic (and maybe crazy removable backs?) so we could see if people really are interested in a thicker phone with good innards. Price it like the Nexus 4, and I would snap it up in a heartbeat.
I'm just going to post two anecdotes with regards to both removable batteries and microsd storage. Let me caveat my statements by admitting I own a Galaxy Note 2 and am an advocate for both features. I was recently working with someone who had 2 iphones on Verizon simply so that he could have double the battery life. He didn't use an external charger, but instead called Verizon and deactivated and then activated the iphones when the battery died on his first phone! Ridiculous. I always carry two batteries for my phone, even though the Note 2 lasts 2 days with moderate use. I've just gotten into the habit and it's great to have the simple option if I am away from power unexpectedly.
I was also recently snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado using my Note 2 for music and a GoPro to record my runs. I had purchased a 64GB microsd for the Note 2 and a 16GB microsd (with sdcard adapter) for the GoPro. I would swap the chips and watch my runs on the gondola back up to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, the glorious huge screen (even though not fullhd) of the Note 2 and the fact I was even able to swap cards was awesome, and numerous fellow gondola riders stated the same when I did it. These incidences have only happened in the last 2 WEEKS and they perfectly demonstrate the flexibility you have with those two simple design choices.
One more thing about this mini review.. why is it every other review/preview of the One and S4 has indicated that while the One has good low-light camera performance, overall its camera is of lower quality to the S4/Z chip and S4 software? Just wondering.
To your last point: Anand did state: "In well lit outdoor scenes the One’s camera does a reasonable job (although HTC seems to have an issue with noise in these well lit scenes from whatever processing they seem to be doing)" Which shows that he thinks that in that scenario, it is only par for the job or even below par. And I don't think he has a G4 to compare with, hence no comparison to that. :)
That's all well and good, but in his S4 comparison he implies the One has better camera quality versus the S4's list of features. Better low-light quality, but arguably worse quality overall. Can we have some honesty, please?
Try listening to the podcasts and/or reading Brian's article on optics - that's what's biased Anand. He respects Brian's knowledge and understanding of optics and smartphone cameras and is likely placing some faith in Brian's assertion that the One is going in the right direction when it comes to smartphone cameras.
I'm just going to post two anecdotes with regards to both removable batteries and microsd storage. Let me caveat my statements by admitting I own a Galaxy Note 2 and am an advocate for both features. I was recently working with someone who had 2 iphones on Verizon simply so that he could have double the battery life. He didn't use an external charger, but instead called Verizon and deactivated and then activated the iphones when the battery died on his first phone! Ridiculous. I always carry two batteries for my phone, even though the Note 2 lasts 2 days with moderate use. I've just gotten into the habit and it's great to have the simple option if I am away from power unexpectedly.
I was also recently snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado using my Note 2 for music and a GoPro to record my runs. I had purchased a 64GB microsd for the Note 2 and a 16GB microsd (with sdcard adapter) for the GoPro. I would swap the chips and watch my runs on the gondola back up to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, the glorious huge screen (even though not fullhd) of the Note 2 and the fact I was even able to swap cards was awesome, and numerous fellow gondola riders stated the same when I did it. These incidences have only happened in the last 2 WEEKS and they perfectly demonstrate the flexibility you have with those two simple design choices.
One more thing about this mini review.. why is it every other review/preview of the One and S4 has indicated that while the One has good low-light camera performance, overall its camera is of lower quality to the S4/Z chip and S4 software? Just wondering.
"For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out."
I don't know about that. The champfering, in particular, seems so much an iPhone5 design cue that isn't forced by the overall design concept. But that's not what I want to discuss.
What I find interesting here is the question of how much profit HTC makes on these devices, which I suspect are crazy expensive to make. My larger thinking is based on the question of: "how is Apple competing", a question that is constantly answered on the internet by reference to what Apple was doing 18 months ago rather than what Apple is doing today, let alone next year.
At first Apple competed on the basis simply of having a smartphone that actually was a smartphone, not a piece of crap like every competitor. This persisted until Android became at least marginally viable (around 2.2 or so) at which point the competition shifted to screen quality. This was the basis of competition for two years or so until Apple's exclusivity contracts ran out, or perhaps until competitors managed to retool for retina displays. Both of these features (OS quality and screen quality) remain Apple selling points, and Apple fanatics will point out ways in which they remain superior; but their superiority is now a matter of degrees and opinion, not the qualitative difference of before.
So what's the new basis for competition. I submit that it is build quality. The iPhone5 is a truly astonishing device to hold. The iPhone1 (and 3G and 3GS) had really obvious seams and edges; even the iPhone 4 and 4S had noticeable edges. But the 5 seems like it is almost organically grown in its perfection. And so it provides an answer to the question "Why should I pay more for an iPhone".
Samsung does not (as far as I can tell) appear interested in competing along this dimension. (Whatever other people have said about SGS4, they have not raved about its build quality as something new.) This may be because they haven't had time to retool; or it may be that Samsung simply appreciate that their customers are not willing to pay for this --- there's no shame in selling a Honda Civic at Honda Civic prices, the only shame is pretending your Civic is a Mercedes.
HTC, on the other hand, seem to have decided this is a space in which they want to compete; and at least from the photos they seem to have succeeded --- I haven't seen one in real life, so don't know if there are non-obvious problems. This may make sense for them, catering to the Android-loving set who are willing to pay more (BMW to Apple's Mercedes); but it all hinges on whether they can make a profit. Apple have invested (we know this from a variety of clues) a MASSIVE amount, like billions of dollars, in tooling and in learning over the years, to get to the point where they can make an iPhone5, sell it at the price they do, and make a profit. It's not clear to me that HTC can make the economics work in the same way.
Which is a shame --- high-end competition for Apple benefits us all; but if I had to bet, my betting would be on HTC going broke over this, not on it saving HTC. I expect the end-game will be some sort of merger --- MAYBE Samsung buying HTC, but more likely either one of the Taiwan computer companies or maybe nVidia.
CNC machining has been around for decades and it does not cost that much ($2-$3 i guess) And apple havent invested anything to improve cnc technology either. Literally anyone can uae machine if they are willing to do - see nokia, htc, and even samsung (their series 9 laptop has cnc unibody)
Also apple has way higher margin than even samsung who makes most parts in house. All other OEMs uses obviously better display, larger ram, better ap, larger battery... Apple products are not BMW, they are polished civics with BMW prices.
As a photographer, I can assure you that the amount of "megapixels" is not a determining factor to image quality.....but, rather a consideration. Your eyes will do the determining! Smaller file sizes and the need for less storage, IMO, are more meaningful for this type of photography.
Nice first look. You are missing PPI for the iPhone5 in the table. :) Thanks for the metric units used! I doubt I'll be buying a smartphone in '13 (still very happy with my GNexus). But both the One and the S4 look nice. But I'd probably take an S4 over the One. Material choice is moot for me, all my smartphones get stuffed into full cover cases and I don't see them again unless I'm changing the SIM, the battery or the SD card. While I can tolerate Touchwiz I cannot stand Sense (though I'd use none in the long run). I also have less faith in HTC updating the software and the community always seems larger with Samsung devices. And I don't like that HTC locks the bootloader for non-developer devices. 32GB is great for the low-end configuration of the One. But I'd still take a 16GB S4 with mSD slot over 32GB onboard with no mSD slot. I don't use the camera on my phones for anything worth remembering a day later. So I really don't care much about either camera. SGS2 camera was very good. GNexus is fine as well. If all were equal, I'd chose the One over the S4 because of the camera though. As for screen, I like my AMOLED and I like 5". Coming from a 4.7" device, I would not upgrade to a 4.7" device if the competition was offering bigger screens. I'd take a Note2 if I was going to upgrade this year. Hell, maybe the Note3 will get me to upgrade. For me, the larger the better until ~6". I don't see myself using either Zoe or the highlights reel a lot either. What is your distinction between enthusiasts and mainstream users. You say the One is geared towards enthusiasts while the S4 is for mainstream users. Based on what features do you make that assessment? I consider myself an enthusiasts (albeit with a limited budget) but I don't think the HTC One caters to me (see my paragraph above).
I hope the One sells well for HTC. I got an email from my carrier some days ago that they were the firsts to send out HTC Ones worldwide. Seems like the people who ordered one from them will be getting it at the start of next week. :)
Wait, this little phone as an 802.11 ac radio and yet I can't buy one for my laptop? What the #$%! I want 802.11 ac module wifi module for my laptop now.
Can someone point out to me why it's so hard to include an SD Card slot? Is there some sort of patent royalty involve? Does it significantly drop battery life? "Because you don't need it" is not a strong case for excluding a feature that some folks are pretty fervent about. Many people do not need it but enough people still want it for it to be a marketable feature. Consumers are looking for the best bang for the buck, having an SD slot gives you a cheaper alternative than paying $100 for the next 32GB increment up. Listening to some of the folks on this thread, 32GB would all that you need, the manufacturers shouldn't even waste their time with the 64GB models. Is there some reason you don't want the slot? There might even be dirt cheap 128GB SD cards a year or two down the road - but you won't be able to use that unless your phone has a slot. Having extra storage allows us more ways to be creative with what we do with the devices. Why not include it?? "Oh 32GB is a loss leader, they can only make money if they sell 64GB to you. Poor manufacturers, boo hoo"... Don't give me that crap, I don't care. I am consumer. I want Bang for the Buck! I want Love me Long Time! Give it to me. Samsung teabagged HTC on the last go around - does HTC really want a repeat? Put the SD card slot in and be done with it...
Yeah, just not true. Plenty of thin phones that have micro SD. Also, mSD would be "milli SD", no such thing exists, so surely it would be µSD if we're going to use an incorrect form of "micro SD" in the first place.
Apple couldn't charge 120 more for a 64GB iPad vs. a 16GB model if it had an SD slot where you could put a 64GB card for $25.
As for the people saying to "just use the cloud" good luck trying to access your cloud storage on a train or a flight. Even having the bandwidth for 480p video outdoors is not consistent with most cell service, especially if you enter a crowded area with other cell users.
Can't wait for the release on AT&T next month. I was waiting for HTC One, but then Microsoft was giving Nokia 920 for free with 2 year contract (upgrade). I really wanted try out WP from long time ago, and was not worried since Nokia 920 is the flagship product of WindowsPhone so I got the Nokia. I use the cheapest possible data plan, 300MB for $20 which is a rip off, so I'm careful with how I use data. I looked around, and found out that it didn't even have a data usage monitor app (DataSense is missing from at&t version). Also, there's no Starbucks app, no Google Voice, bunch of bank apps missing, and no way to remove the hotmail contacts (I use google contacts) from showing up. Contacts are all duplicated because I have google contacts and hotmail contacts showing up. Sure, they are linked under one name, but eventually I had to manually clean up all the contacts in hotmail.
It's a shame to Nokia that they used "PureView" mark on the Nokia 920 because the photo quality was so-so, even compared to my Note 1 (N7000). Nokia 920 has Carl Zeiss lens, but I don't think there's any benefit. My ancient dumbphone - Sony C905 takes better pictures than this.
I returned the Nokia 920 today, and now back in the waiting line for HTC One.
Honestly 64GB would be plenty for me. Realistically why would you need anymore space than that? Unless your putting A LOT of movies or an absolute crap load of photos on your phone it doesn't really make sense. As for the removable battery, I can understand if people need or want that feature. Nearly every phone I've ever had has had a removable battery but I've never had the need to change out or replace the battery in any of them. More than likely I will be getting the HTC One because of the materials, build quality, better screen and Sense (much better than Touchwiz in my opinion). Don't get me wrong I think the SG4 is a hell of a phone I just like the HTC One better.
We're better because we have a 4MP rear Camera with bigger ccd elements? Seriously?
That is the quality of digital cameras in the '90s. Can't HTC find a way to clean up an 8MP camera?
I guess it comes down to this:
How much will it cost? If it is significantly cheaper than the SGS4, this might be a viable solution for those that want to get a little more bang for the buck. But if the cost is the same you need to step back, look at both phones and ask yourself "Which one gives me the most for my money?" and "What am I willing to give up in the name of bling?".
Reading a few pages into the comments seems to center around whining that the HTC One has no removable battery or SD card slot. But it makes me wonder... How many people actually use those features on a regular basis? If you don't, then why complain about a feature you don't really use?
Many of you are missing a very important factor. The HTC One will compete not only with Samsung, but also Apple.
I don't feel there are very many Apple users who look at the Galaxy line as a serious option, they are too far apart. Apple users are accustomed to top of the line fit and finish, Samsumg users expect the top spot on the specs chart and the largest screen.
I am an iPhone 4 user who's waiting on an Android device for the first time. I'm getting a more powerful device, a larger (not too large) screen, but I don't have to take a step back in build quality.
I don't mind the camera issues, but it would be nice to see this thing launch with the latest Android.
But you're saying you don't have the imagination to see that you could use replaceable battery and SD slots? I am just saying HTC really goofed on omitting those, having those would win them a ton of customers given the higher build quality of the HTC ONE.
Well I certainly plan on getting this phone in the next couple of weeks due to its impeccable housing body and performance. I'm willing to sacrifice the battery and SD storage to be honest. That's hard to say as a techy but I've come to find those features to be unnecessary even for me after I went that route last time. I know I can root this and throw whatever OS I want on it, so sense 5 is a non-issue; although I may give this sense a try as its slimmer.
I got tired of changing batteries and losing track of which one was charged and which one was not. I got tired of swapping around SD cards too. I just want a phone that works well, looks good (since I have to stare at the thing often) and can do what I need it to do. Speed, OS customization, and functionality are far more important to me these days.
I think most people don't care about batteries and additional SD slots. It's easy to see that today. Nexus line = no sd card. HTC is going the same route. The iPhone has already been there since its inception. Other handsets following suit or already gone that way.
I did the family test and I'm the only one in my extended family out of 50 or so smartphone users who has ever bought more batteries and sd cards. Half the family uses iphones, the other android. I'm sure if more people in my family were techies, those odds would go up for these features but people just need to stop arguing that these are critical features for the majority of users; they are not and they never be.
With that said, I know there is a small market for these features and I'm sure Samsung will be more than happy to cater to that.
I forgot to add the co-worker test. When I worked at a tech company with a group of 18 or so techies, over half of us had additional sd cards and batteries. It's clear, that the I.T industry loves more space (or pr0n I'm not sure) and juice. But then again, it could have just been a "my wang is bigger than yours" statement kind of thing too. I see the trend dying off more and more as internal space progresses.
I also witnessed two iphone switch overs and they were content not worrying about the storage/battery stuff anymore. I'm at the same point myself but I just can't bring myself to the iPhone as I got my iPad for my iOS needs.
I am glad you can let go, but why do you have to let go? I'd love to buy the ONE, but why would a product force you to let go? SD card with 64GB internal storage may not be needed, OK, I can tolerate that, but no replaceable battery? I don't need a spare to carry around, but I know one day that battery will die and I don't want to throw away my device just for a replaceable part, especially if I actually like the ONE. I still have my StarTac's, and with a new battery, they work perfectly well.
It would be nice if the comments were devoid of fanboi bravado and would focus on the device at hand. Just imagine if the One had an AMD based GPU. Cerise would have an aneurysm and the comments would have expanded to 100 pages with his trolling. As soon as this becomes available, I'm buying one and shelving the OG EVO.
The only issue I see with the One is the lack of a menu button. I can certainly live without a replaceable battery and SD slot. Never had the need in 2.5 years on an EVO 4g to use a replacement or expanded battery, but I'm not a voice whore like some people.
Im sure not many people do swap batteries, my concern is after about a year the battery will start to get weak and hold less and less a charge. since this is your average sized battery not a s big as razr maxx, alot of people will have to charge this phone everyday, some people twice to 3 times a day. batteries only last a certain amount of charges before they start to get weak. so what do we do when the battery starts to only last 60-70% as it did when it was brand new? but i will probably get this phone just because of the loud built in speakers. the new features the galaxy s4 has are just gimicky novelty items to me, nothing really useful.
I thought this is supposed to be iPhone6. Maybe it has something to with HTC and Apple's settlement pact. The separated antenna from the body looks just like the ones in iPhone4. Who cares... As long as it has good build quality and it can open the camera app very fast, then quickly be able to review and delete, I'm fine with it. My Note (N7000) with stock JellyBean is really slow at this basic task.
I wish if they do a video review, they also test how quickly and smoothly these tasks can be done. I want to see no stutter at all. I even saw Nokia 920 stuttering with loading the menus in picture review mode.
Prolly better feeling too with the curved edges. iPhone 5's are too sharp and its thinness coupled with its flatness make it unpleasant to hold without a case.
If you think that is heavy I would hate to think what you would say about the Nokia Lumia 920... I own a HTC One and it's very light and much nicer to hold than the iPhone 5.
As an Apple fan, Im really glad to see other manufacturer really pushing the highend. This just eans the iPhone 6 will need to be even better, and the cycle continues. Good for all of us!
Im also very glad to see people brave enough to stop the MP wars and realize that SnR is worth far more. You can only bruteforce performance to a point.
Anand, a couple of questions, #1. Do you think you would permanently replace your iPhone with the One? #2. Is 3D dead and #3. Do you think HTC will support the phone more than a year?
I have owned many HTC phones over the years, and the biggest problems are no updates to fix issues or give you better version of OS and they ditch supporting it quickly. Things like HTC hub go away so you can no longer get HTC widgets or themes.
I've use 6 samsungs, 1 motorola, and 2 htcs..and, battery-wise, they are all the same to me. Don't know bout how you use your android, but they way I use androids, they are no different. btw, I use one of the htc the longest, a year.
I may have missed it but I saw no mention of the IR emitter. This to me is probably the first innovative (if you can call it that) addition to smartphones since Samsung brought back the stylus in the note. This is one of those things we should have had for years. I am pretty disappointed in the review because it makes little to no mention about the poor choice of HTC to seal this phone up, does it even have a microsd slot? And also completely misses the IR emitter. I guess anand has so much money now he forgot about value and flexibility because he can carry aournd multiple phones in case a battery isn't big enough or he runs out of storage and im sure his TV is completely remote controlled by his phone independent of IR.
And just for the record I currently have an HTC evo 3d, my mom has the evo 4g lte, its not that I don't like HTC phones but they are completely killing a portion of their chance to get sales because they they don't have removable batteries and microsd slots. It seems only Samsung is smart enough to corner that market in high end devices.
And samsung are killing a big portion of their sales by releasing such an ugly device.
Like sd card + battery but don't like design => choose samsung Like design but don't need sd card and battery => choose htc Like design and battery and sd card => could try an ugly samsung and be unhappy about design and feel OR try the HTC with external battery chargers (not much bigger then a removable battery in you pocket) and usb otg for storing your extra movies and music on a usb stick
Hey all tech fans. Really chill out. Removable battery or microSD cards do have their advantages but whether it is actually a number one priority in your decision to get whichever smart phones is a personal choice. Some prefer it some don’t, some just don’t give 2 hoots about it. From my opinion and from where I am, microsd slots are useful for mid tier phones as those phones usually come with 4gb space, hence the need for microsd. If you are looking at flagship phones which are usually equipped with 16gb upwards it becomes an accessory. Is it a must have? Especially we are moving towards cloud storage. And I have seen so many users android or apple alike have not fill up their 16gb storage. For users like this, what‘s the microsd slot for if not an additional accessory? For removable batteries, I find USB chargers selling for as low as 5USD. But batteries on the other hand cost about 30USD. From my usage pattern it is much easier to just plug your phone in whenever available is easier and cheaper than swapping batteries. For short vacations, some mentioned they could go few days without the charger with 2-3 batteries. Well I would rather bring a charger and leave it at the hotel. Or a power station which is essentially a battery pack and I could use that to charge both my phone and tablet. Rather than having a few different batteries. For long term, replacing a dead battery, I am sure many of you tech fans will want to keep your devices up to date which means before the battery reached its end of life you would have change from whatever you are using to the latest which is the trend I see among many users. And last I check, selling a used set with 2 additional batteries won‘t really make much of a difference to used price. Cheers and let's appreciate what new technology brings to us and let's argue less over trivial matters.
I ordered this. I am not concerned about no removable battery or SD slot. Coming from a samsung. Probably a lot of people out there like me that are ready for a change from samsung, don't like the direction of samsung design, have never needed to swap batteries or needed more than 32 gb storage.
I saw a lot of comments saying that even if people don't need the swappable battery and sd slot, it is a marketable feature. For some, yes, but, most people have smart phones now and know if they need it or not.
so, i read this review... i'm pretty surprised. basically, you go on to talk about how much better the galaxy s4 is than the htc one, yet the htc one is the best android phone?? that doesn't make sense to me.
Those retards who think removable battery and expandable storage matters. WAKE UP! How in the world you still don't know what a cloud storage is? And please don't tell me you couldn't find a power source easily nowadays?
Hated those people who think these outdated things will determine if the phone is good or bad. This is exactly what Samsung do to market their phone in order to make the others looks bad.
hope there’s something that enables it to use Google services. I’ll soon to have one, it’s coming my way from http://www.merimobiles.com/htc-one-802w-dual-sim-a... they’re having more detailed specs. it has a removable back cover but the battery is not removable, is that a pros or cons?
I just wanted to ask, if you can change the black menu screen and apply a wallpaper on a HTC ONE like samsung and apple devices without using launcher. I am talking about the menu screen which has only black screen available
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ChronoReverse - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It's been noted that using -2 for the sharpness on HTC cameras tends to be the optimal setting. Looking forward to the full review!youwonder - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
God damn I am excited about this. Kinda because I've never had an HTC device, and this being their "ONE" last shot I want to give them a try. By the looks of it their commited to making me not regret my decision.boruguru - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I had a HTC. Their battery was horrible, They Die mid day. After a law suit they removed, http links from email. HTC were bad. Hope it is fixed on this one.tmas - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
The battery life on Android devices in general has been awful until fairly recently. There have always been apps that help fix this by turning off features that burn through battery when they're not in use (turning off gps/wifi when you don't need them can save hours of battery life), which almost made this tolerable. If you had an HTC device more than a year ago, you were probably dealing with this issue.mohnish82 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
No Mr. tmas, do not pass the buck on to Android. @boruguru was talking about HTC phones. Many would confirm that HTC devices had (& still have) horrible battery (Oop! non-removable battery :) ).Steebie - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
Who are these people that always say that HTC has terrible battery life? I would guess they aren't HTC users. Two years ago, yes, I will agree, I needed a recharge about halfway through the day, but 3 HTC phones since then and I usually top up at the end of a day when I have 20-40% left. On top of that, have you seen the battery tests on this phone? Almost 9 hours of non-stop video. Over 16 hours of talk time. 10 full hours of constant web browsing (beating ALL other phones, including the Maxx and the Note 2).dexter1 - Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - link
I am using HTC One X for last 6 months....it comfortably gets me though the day...no issues at all...my usage involves an hour of calls, around 45min. gaming and again 45 min. of internet through 3G...still i will be left with 20-30% juice in the evening...i feel it's decent enough...and any one can plug-in to PC at anypoint to charge again...so now, it's not an issue...niva - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
My wife had an original HTC Nexus phone and it was amazing, lasted in near perfect condition for about 2 years when she dropped it (a bad drop on concrete) and it shattered some part inside that made the phone unreliable with calls. I was sad to have to replace it, but the product was so good that it taught me two things I didn't know beforehand: HTC makes good products, and if you're going to use Android, you absolutely must use the pure Android.That is the one critique I have against any non-nexus phone, I'm not ever going to put myself into a situation where I have to buy a new device to get a newer rev of the operating system... ever! Don't buy into the bs that these companies put out about how they will maintain their version of Android in sync with the latest rev of what's available. And this is probably why I will never buy an HTC ONE, nor a Samsung Galaxy 3/4 and etc. Currently I'm disgustingly happy with my galaxy nexus.
The company is good though and so is their hardware.
mohnish82 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Wait until your EFS partition get's corrupted!cknobman - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Anand,So you like the One so much you are willing to give up a replaceable/removable battery and a micro SD card?
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I gave up removable batteries a while ago. Same thing on the lack of micro SD card slots :)Take care,
Anand
nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Why do we need to give up any features? GS4 still offers replaceable battery, packs larger (and personally better) display in much thinner and lighter case.Muyoso - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Pentile AMOLED is a better display to you? Wow.SodaAnt - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I don't think pentile really matters when you have a 5" 1080P screen. The real issue with pentile is that it lowers the effective resolution of the screen, but once you get to the level of DPI that we're seeing it hardly makes a difference.metafor - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
People said that about the Galaxy S3's 4.8" 720p screen as well; that you can't notice the pentile matrix. I own one and while it's not terribly distracting, holding it side-by-side with the OneX's LCD is night and day. I don't know how true that is at 1080p and 5" though.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
GS3 has 306ppi for green and ~200ppi for red and blue, which are not that terrible but still noticeable. On the other hand GS4 has ~300ppi even for red and blue, which should be almost as good as iPhone's retina screen.danbob999 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It is much better than the iPhone screen. It's the total number of pixels that count, not the density.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That is incorrect,robinthakur - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Actually that's not true in the slightest. I own a Glaaxy S3 and would happily give up the extra screen size if I could see it in sunlight, if the edges of text didn't look all fuzzy due to the pentile AMOLED, if the colours were anywhere near accurate (greens and blues look odd no matter whether you set it to natural or not) and if the refresh rate was better. We've had retina displays since the iPhone 4 in 2009. The fact that it is touted as "720p" is a complete joke when the screen itself is of such poor quality, but I suppose it fools those that simply look at specs sheets. Next to the One X and the iPhone 5 (a display with both accurate colour and retina quality) the difference is astonishing. What is more astonishing is that Samsung make decent displays, they just choose not to put them on the S3 because most people don't know what a decent display looks like.danbob999 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Color accuracy and sunlight visibility is something else. However when strickly speaking about resolution, the S3 display is much better than the iPhone's. You can fit more readable content in the S3 than in the iPhone without having to scroll. Try it if you don't beleive me.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
iPhone users don't need to see the screen, they just need to know they have their personal self esteem status and stupidity in tact. Plus there's always market worship. And iPhone "genius" help. Plus it's the greatest cultural excuse for that Starbucks or other coffee, and they don't want to be shunned by all the other mind numbed robots who haven't noticed and never want to that apple is now losing and has been for some time.Believe me the stories I've heard and seen in person are amazing.
Gathomblipoob - Wednesday, March 27, 2013 - link
As a iPhone 5 user who is looking at testing out the HTC One, I resent every word you posted among a lot of generally well-thought-out and helpful comments. I tend to use what works for me; I'm not a slave to brand. Are you sure it's not YOUR self-esteem you're trying to shore up?ex2bot - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
We really don't need to see the screen because we are confident in our prettiness and attractive square jaws. And you're jealous. Your own dog even thinks we're prettier, Bob. Yes, we Apple users even know you're real name. We're so secure that we intentionally made a grammatical error in the previous sentence. You can't fake that kind of confidence (imagine a charming, disarming smile with a bright flash on a corner tooth).Keep it real.
Bot
- not sent from my beloved iPhone
Steebie - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
I think there are a million reasons Samsung chooses pentile displays...for start:Longer battery life
Brighter colors (which people seem to prefer over accurate colors)
Assembly line issues
Cost
Who knows why else?
krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The screen on the gs3 is far sharper than the gs2. Your numbers is misleading. Go read Brians article about s3, to the the right comparisons regardless if its pentile or not.Thats not to say you cant see pixels on s3, i think i can be far sharper, but its not like those number let us to beliewe.
Steebie - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
Have you ever held a pentile screen side by side with an LCD screen? The difference in sharpness is something that can't be argued.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
AMOLED has non-matched blacks and with 1080p resolution it still gives >300ppi for red and blues, exceeding most people's eyesight. So basically even though it's pentile, it's still not worse than iPhone in terms of resolution.Thud2 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - link
Nerd1! i you have reaffirmed my trust in you! Your impartiality is confirmed! Very informed post!Thud2 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - link
looking at the One and my bosses iphone I think the One is definitely betterdv220s - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I hear the GS4's screen isn't completely Pentile. There's actually 3 sub pixels per pixel like the Note 2 but they aren't the standard RGB pixels. 1 long blue sub pixel and red and green sub pixels stacked on top of each otherDEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Pentile AMOLED at 1080P on a 5 inch display is ONLY a problem in tech spec, not in actual user experience. I normally don't look at a phone screen through a microscope, and neither should you to care about Pentile AMOLED.Montago - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I've owned a Nokia Lumia 800 that has an AMOLED Pentile display -- its HORRIBLE !the resolution might have been the real problem (480x800 pix) - text was jagged and unreadable - some pictures looked good, others didn't ...
The problem is that you don't notice this problem when testing in the store, it gets anoying over time when you start noticing... i don't know if the SGS4 monitor has the same problems, but i bet they are there.
KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Samsung puts among the worst displays in their smartphones. What are you talking about?Forget about 440 PPI making the Pentile drawbacks irrelevant, their color calibration and contrast are terrible as well.
danbob999 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
their contrasts are the best, given that blacks are perfect (no backlight)B3an - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Well yeah, the blacks are vastly superior on Samsung's AMOLED (as you literally can't get any more black being as theres no backlight) but that's not the same thing as contrast balance. The contrast on my S3 and my S2 before it was pretty badly calibrated, and it varys a lot with each phone as my friend also has an S3 and the contrast is different (poor quality control). Contrast on the One X and iPhone 5 are better calibrated, and colours too. I'm sure it's the same with the One.But then with AMOLED you also get better pixel response times. So theres trade-offs for both LCD and AMOLED. If Samsung just fix the colour and contrast calibration then their displays definitely have the potential to be the best as the underlying OLED tech is superior to LCD in so many ways. I don't think the colours and contrast have anything to do with OLED itself, just that Samsung do not properly calibrate their displays.
BTW the S4 has uses a new diamond shaped pentile display layout, meaning the gaps between each sub pixel are much smaller (the larger gapes caused the fuzzyness/jaggies on the S3 display and others). Meaning the S4's pentile display will look better than the S3's pentile display even if it was still the same resolution. This combined with 1080p res should make it irrelevant if it's pentile or not as i doubt you'd be able to see the difference with human eyes.
robinthakur - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
But that is what people said about the S3 when it first came out and I could see it immediately when I bought it. Coming from an iPhone the lack of quality display on the S3 is jarring. Text looks so much worse, it really ruins webpages and books.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There is certainly room for improvement here, as text imho is not sharp enough. But as explained earlier, that will probably be history now for s4. Besides, the brightness seems to have improved a good deal also. Thats perhaps more important for most people.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
The galaxy note 2 looks better than both of them.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
As you have an S3, you might want to change the color profile to neutral. There is something besides the calibration and the black/white dynamics. There is dynamics of the individual colors, and thats what makes a lively picture and real world resemblance.You better get used to oled, because its comming to all high-end phones in the future.
piroroadkill - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Blacks can't be more black? Nope.I have a phone with a Super AMOLED 720p screen, and I'd wish for a good quality LCD in a heartbeat. My old Desire HD's screen has far, far better colour and appearance. Only the size and sharpness is better on my new one.
AMOLED degrades, horribly, leaving a tint.
Also, blacks aren't as black as you think. Turn on your AMOLED phone at night in a totally dark room, put a totally black screen up on it. It still has a faint grey glow, and infact, now you'll notice the horrible degradation of the screen - it manifests on mine as what look like "ink blots" only visible in very dark situations. Confirmed by many others around the internet.
Do not champion OLED. It's a technology leading us to planned obsolescence.
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You are funny, why are you comparing AMOLED black to a dark room black? The fact is, AMOLED black is the most black u can get for phones now. I don't care if it's not more black then your coffee or your skin.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You don't know what contrast is.s44 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
2/10. Almost had us until you mentioned contrast.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Samsung doesn't calibrate their screens at all which is why color and contrast are so bad. Compare the Nexus 10 screen with an iPad 3 or 4 screen and the difference is very noticeable.Yes I know Samsung put a slightly higher res and ppi on the Nexus 10 screen but that is not noticeable and is a spec sheet ruse for the rubes.
robinthakur - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There are unfortunately a lot of rubes out there who seem content with poor quality screens with awful colour reproduction, I despair sometimes!krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You might want to stop buying Samsung phones then.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Galaxy Note 2 fixed all that, screen is AWESOMEjayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
says the paid Samsung shill.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Read Brian Klug's review, mr retard, and discover WHY. Do I have to help you even more, troll fool who got it wrong again ? Yes of course I do... not that you want the truth... but I enjoy cramming it down your stupid throat.Brian Klug : " I’m not complaining, this is a great tradeoff and makes sense for the resolution and size that Samsung has selected for the Note 2. Going with a PenTile RGBG layout at this size would not be desirable, instead the “S Stripe” layout runs with subpixels small enough that I can’t see them. It’s tempting to look at the 1280x800 of the Note and the 1280x720 of the Note 2 and assume it’s lower resolution, when in fact the Note 2 has more subpixels (2.05 MP vs 2.76 MP) and in spite of the size increase stays around the magical 1 arcminute subtense (1.073 arcminutes on Note 2)."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6386/samsung-galaxy-...
GO LOOK FOR YOURSELF LAZY ONE THERE ARE PHONE STORES EVERYWHERE - HAVE A LOOK.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Or tiny screens they cannot see anyway without facepalming themselves.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Practically nobody uses the sd card slot or removable battery as the phone makers know. Besides, like iPhones, the HTC One comes in different memory sizes.Google has given up on memory card slots as they don't support them in the latest version of Jelly Bean and are on record as not liking non-contiguous memory.
Be prepared to see hem go away as many manufacturers have already done. They aren't important to the vast majority of users.
apertotes - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
wow!!! that is a bold statement seeing how many phones Samsung sold last year. Apple can do whatever they want 'cause they have a horde of blind followers, but on Android there is a thing called competence, and clients can choose between many brands and features. Last year Android winner (S3) was a worst phone than HTC One X in almost everything, but S3 had removable battery and microSD. Maybe you are going to blame it all on marketing, like HTC seems to be doing. They are going to need bigger brains if they really want to catch up.casualsuede - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
To say that Samsung's success came from inclusion of MicroSD cards and removeable batteries is just as bold (and asinine).Everyone in the industry knows that Samsung outspent HTC 6 to 1 last year with a device that was pretty darn good. It doesn't matter that the HTC is a little better than the SG3 (if it was), the fact is that everyone is ONLY talking about the Galaxy or iPhone at this point in time and hence Samsung wins...and HTC loses. It had very little to do with the actual handsets.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
so let me get this straight - Samsung wins because of marketing, but APPLE, oh it wins because... well... marketing is not a consideration as to why it's crappiness was everywhere... ?Apple's fanboys are only equaled and exceeded by AMD fanboys. Both are to a large extent marketed mindsets, though APPLE earned it seat initially.
Steebie - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
apertotes: Because you value something, doesn't mean everyone does. I know about a dozen S3 users and none of them...NONE...use the memory slot and half of them don't know what a microSD card is! Why did they buy an S3? That leads to the marketing part of your story:Samsung spends, literally, over a billion dollars per year advertising their smartphones. On top of that, they give incentives to phone sales people, such as monthly prizes, for moving the most S3's. You're Joe Blow phone salesman and 50% of customers know NOTHING about phones and ask you what to buy. You rationalize, "Gee...they'll be happy with any phone. I'll be happy with incentives." You tell them to buy the S3 and they trust your geeky sales knowledge and buy it. THAT is how you move more phones than anyone.
piroroadkill - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Strange that the One X lost against the S3, then, when by all accounts the One X is a nicer device, other than the battery and the SD card.Ne0 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
My brother owns a cell phone store. His highest sales from accessories (besides car chargers) comes from SD cards. Protector cases are next and he sells a lot of batteries as well.thesavvymage - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
huh. im not an analyst or anything, but im pretty sure atleast 80% of android phones sold last year had sd slots in them.casualsuede - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Many of the devices have both a removable battery and MicroSD card slots (Android devices that is). The truth is that Samsung's product hardware isn't that unique. If great battery (that's removable) and MicroSD card slots determined success, then the Droid Maxx at Verizon would have outsold the One X at ATT...it didn't.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Droid Maxx has those goofy slightly slanted side to corners. It looks strangely retarded and distracting.BoloMKXXVIII - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Nobody uses the SD card slot or removable battery? I replace my battery yearly. Hard to do with the HTC 1 or Iphone. The microSD card slot is not as necessary with a phone with 32 or 64 GB of storage but a lot of phones still come with a measely 8 or 16 GB.jmunjr - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Nobody? I swap batteries all the time. I don't have to worry about charging my phone when I have a freshly charged battery at hand, and I can go on a several day trip without charging if I use just 2-3 batteries(at least 2 being extended batteries)... It really sucks when I don't have access to charging and don't have an extra battery. It must suck for people who can't charge and can't change the battery.I also can say my phone is MUCH easier to handle with an oversized extended batterry since I have such big hands. Any time I use a skinny phone made for little people I have trouble. Once I add the extended battery/cover I instantly can use the phone with one hand...
As for the SD card, yes I could conceivably live without it but O do swap cards from time to time. I prefer to have the option mainly for external content. Storing apps on the SD card is not preferable for me for this reason, but being able to have lots data accessible while offline is nice.
mohnish82 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I miss the SD card with my GNex while using Linux. The MTP crap doesn't work well in Linux. Had to go SSH route.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I don't like the grossly oversaturated screens Samsung uses. Given a choice I much prefer the HTC One screen. Whats odd is that Samsung does not use their best display technologies on their phones and tablets.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Nonsense. On a s3 you can change profile to neutral, and its far better picture for photos than their best pls screens. On the S4 you can change to rgb adobe. Satisfied?Ne0 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's why there's the Screen Mode option of Dynamic (if you like over saturation), Standard, Natural (what I choose), and Movie. You have options.RichPaterno - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link
Why is it that people who like the GS3 display never seem to notice the bluish tint inherent in these GS phones? Side by side with my HTC one x, the bluish tint is really noticeable and quite annoyings44 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
As I said elsewhere, HTC has designed the best Android device for iOS users who aren't going to switch anyway.This seems a poor market strategy, but if you actually ARE going to switch, that would be big.
danbob999 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
good pointflyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Yes, very good point. If you're going to switch from an iPhone, why not switch to a device with the benefits of removable battery/microsd?darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Because nobody cares about either things.Relaxin - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Uh, I totally care and not having either of those features is a deal breaker.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
darwin prefers the devolution of the iphone can u say fanboy ?jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
A paid Samsung shill calling someone a fanboy. Interesting, but mostly sad.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Just the prior page, your smarmy bud got corrected by two others on the screen color.Now your idiot darwin apple fanboy osx clone spews pure a troller after having been exposed as an incompetent fool, "no one cares".
An appletard needs to be exposed for what they, since losing the case on FACTS means fanboyism is ever present.
If you'd like to make some factual corrections to me, please do. I always prefer the facts.
I didn't name myself SpaceDriod, for instance, and that probably flew over your head.
I appreciate the compliment though, and that also probably flew over your head.
casualsuede - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
He's calling you a nobody.speculatrix - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I bought a note 2 and quickly fitted it with a 32GB card which has 24 GB used. I also have a spare battery , because I want to be able to go away for a three+ day weekend and not carry a charger.I also use the pen for sketches and annotations.
I rarely use it as a phone for voice calls, just sometimes for text.
I sometimes make use of USB host to connect my DSLR and copy off a photo and crop scale and email it.
Occasionally I show photos on a TV using MHL.
This makes the note 2 ideal for me. It might or might not be right for you.
I'd consider an HTC One if there was a 64GB version. There's been no mention of USB host yet but I'd want that. And MHL.
gobaers - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
There is a 64GB version.mohnish82 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Either you are GOD or you don't know the meaning of NOBODY.s44 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
(In case my comment isn't clear any more because of comment tree expansion, it was a direct response to Anand, who -- as an iOS user whom I assume isn't switching -- is the "you" I mean.)jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I'm an iOS user and fully intend on switching. The microSD and removable battery are non-issues for about 95% of people not in the IT profession. These are two features that in all likelihood will be phased out soon enough as technology continues its progression.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Right mr fanboy ios osx apple ...So why do you pay $400 more for 16ram ? Because itard, that's why... who would like 64GB more for $50 - OHHHH just about everyone !
ROFL - yep doesn't matter - phase out as we devolve further into Jobs worship fantasyand...
itard: " my battery died my itardphone is shot, i guess shipping to cupertino day has come again, i can't understand why buying a battery at the million mobile phone shops and being running in 5 minutes is something people want"...
Okay, just so you know, it's like retard on dummy syrum.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Says the paid Samsung shill. Get a real job, loser.JeffFlanagan - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Do you have evidence to support your assertion, or should you be disregarded as a nut?Paid shills usually don't come across as children like Cerese does.
jayseeks - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I'm just fighting trolling with trolling. My only evidence would be the flood of pro Samsung "fans" that deflect criticisms in tech sites across the web with the same arguments/information that I highly doubt any real person would go to the trouble of thinking of or finding out. You then often see these same "fans" on these tech sites trolling posts about their competition while simultaneously using these troll tactics to plug Samsung products.For example on trolling the HTC One:
"No removable battery like the S4"
Honestly, I've been reading tech blogs for quite some time now, and never have I encountered such trolling or shameless plugging like I have with Samsung products. I highly doubt that there's been some major shift in generational psyche that's all of a sudden caused this type of behavior.
Also, Cerese does come off as a child, but I don't think most kids really care that much about any brand, which leads me to believe he's a paid shill. Also, if you read his other comments, they contrast enough so that it's likely he's posing.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
See Ne0 who claims his brother owns a cel, store and sells SD addons and batteries like mad.Go ask yourself at a store, YOU FRIKKIN RETARD.
Nothing like the facts will do for the accusers. I got news for you, the truth has laready CRUSHED YOU, and you don't even know it.
Now that's how children are, clueless.
Our modern PC loser crew expects sanitized BS to be swallowed whole, and that's what you're all about, since you can't get anything correct.
jayseeks - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
You are pathetic and sad. Get a real job instead of shilling online for Samsung, loser.jayseeks - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Also, paid shills usually have their material prepared for them. Hence the recycling of arguments once their logic is defeated or rendered null."Removable battery and SD storage are the most important features on a phone" - Samsung shill
"Most people don't really care about either. On top of that, in order to even take advantage of a removable battery, you need to buy an extra one that's probably gonna run you a good $50. On top of that, you'll have to constantly swap out and recharge each one. Then, if you decide to buy a dock, that's an extra $30 bucks. Very inconvenient for most people." - non-shill guy just expressing his opinion
"But, but, but removable battery's are the best!! What if you get lost in the desert and you run out of battery? What are you going to do then?? If I have my S4 I'll have my extra battery!"
-Samsung shill
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
The most important is stretching, but also is not wanting it and no one cares, and especially is: PAYING HUNDREDS MORE FOR iSuck internal non upgradeable ram limit.Only here does BANG FOR THE BUCK become entirely lost on you poor raped stupid goofball liars.
See you in every other thread where you scream moar ram is bettter.
jayseeks - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Congratulations, you're officially an invalid.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
I'm not you, a stupid idiot who opens the piehole and loses.I have more than one very lucrative gravy job, gravy for my massive intellect, certainly difficult for someone like you, with propensity to completely ignore reality often, and spew untruths.
jayseeks - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Stop lying, your only job is to troll for Samsung. And if you have any other job, it most certainly does not require a firm grasp of the English language. Loser.othercents - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Thanks Anand, I really like the HTC One specifically for the camera, however the S4 has some features that I like also along with increased performance. However I do feel that when someone goes to the store and looks at the two devices, unless they just love the looks of the HTC One then they will get the S4 due to the fact that the replaceable battery and SD are easy sell points along with the larger screen and increased performance.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No they won't. Most people don't care and never use either.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
This is true. I don't understand the over emphasis of removable battery and microSD as a "deal breaker." If the mainstream wanted microSD and removable battery half as much as certain people seem to suggest, the iPhone wouldn't have nearly the amount of success it has had.I've also never met anyone who actually cared enough about removable battery or SD storage that it was the deciding factor in choosing a smartphone. Most people not in the IT profession are not willing to shell out the extra $50 for another battery anyway. As for the SD storage, it's only real advantage is being cheaper. Again, who, besides IT professionals carries multiple microSD cards with them so that it might actually be useful?
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The 1st SD card is useful, for appletards that pay well over $50 more like $300 or $400 for the memory space a simple SD card slot provides for $50, only being INSANE explains it.Thanks for being so deliriously appletarded bang for the buck is like TOTALLY GONE from your brain.
I mean is it even possible to lie to oneself at the level you have and be on a tech site ?
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You are a paid shill, stop with your weak arguments. I don't care for Apple more than any other company. Except for Samsung which I have great disdain for because of their low brow, pathetic guerrilla marketing efforts which involved hiring sad people like you to troll these sites.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
LMAO - you lost again dummy. You don't like me because I point out how stupid you are, after you spew out your stupid lies and lines.Who cares what you the retard says, or how appleface you are, or what you personally buy, THE POINT IS THE SD CARD RAM SLOT MAKES MORE FOR LESS 100% ACCURATE PERIOD.
Only tard tard tardy tards like you, being as stupid as you are, think the general public doesn't do the SD card.
Like I said, they are bonkers about it. Crazy in love with it. They feel they have power and control over the phone then. They can remove their pictures and set them aside - fill up one card and get the next. This is what PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO YOU STUPID SACK OF CRAPOLA.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
and -BTW - people freaking LOVE sd cards.They love to buy them and fill them up - then keep them and use them for their picture frames and home PC's desktop screensavers - you must live in a Jobs cave.
People go nutso over mem cards - they LOVE em.
Everyone I know can replace a battery, which they do in hundreds of devices nowadays - only the appletard think it takes a TECH to replace a battery in a portable sound/mobile device.
LOL - you people are crazy.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
"They love to buy them and fill them up - then keep them and use them for their picture frames and home PC's desktop screensavers"No genius, there are USB drives for that.
As for crazy, just read your comments.
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You mean your picture frames actually have a usb sticking out from the frame? You know the usb flash drive is actually a sd card with a different case right? But sd cards and usb have seperate uses, u can't replace everything with a usb drive.Just because u are so used to not using a sd card and pay more for extra storage, doesn't mean you can discredit / bash the usage of sd card. The only reason nexus 4 have no sd card slot is because they need to compensate for the cheap price of the phone itself, not because sd card is not important.
jayseeks - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Yes, my digital frame has a USB port in the back where you can't see it. Because only the most incompetent manufacturers would place a USB port on the side. Most digital frames actually come with memory so that all you have to do is transfer the pictures, usually with a USB cable. I've used SD cards for a long time, they are extremely inconvenient and even the new ones aren't must faster. On top of that, if you don't properly eject them all the time, your SD card can actually get damaged over time, a major inconvenience if you plan on constantly switching them up. The SD card really isn't an important feature to me, and in my experience, most people. Even the IT guys I know don't care for SD storage. The only people that I knew that really emphasized microSD were the Blackberry people.DEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
This dude must work for HTC or something, if so, Jayseeks, go back and tell your boss to put replaceable battery and SD cards in the next One, and shut everyone up already, sheesh. It's a completely stupid move after the misstep that is the OneX, you'd think HTC would learn from that. Or create two versions, similar cases, one with the replaceable battery and SD card, one without, it's the total volume that generates revenue right, not stick to a design principal that is completely subjective to different individuals. Stupid, stupid move on the part of HTC.You know what, if Apple put replaceable battery and SD card in their phone, i'd make the iphone a much better phone, but they Apple loses on gauging its customers. HTC on the other hand does not have a monopoly on Android phones, it's simply stupid to leave out major features when you bigger competitor have them.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Below suckyface tells us how experienced he is and addicted to SD cards, he actually loses his own argument and solidifies my points.Not like tardobrain will notice.
People like the SD card, they don't want to rewrite and overwrite, and the SD card usually has a lock on it, unlike the USB thumb.
The usb thumb sticks out of their laptop and breaks off, NOT the sd card, slides in flush or worse case barely not flush( some HP's for instance).
Dummy lost and lost badly, as is the case, always.
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
To know for sure if a feature is a "deal breaker" you need to compare a device that has that feature with a similar device lacking said feature. When it comes to the comparison between Samsung Galaxy S and iPhone, there is a lot different than whether or not it has a removable battery or SD card slotDEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Exactly, so why would HTC even leave the door open for that comparison to be in favor of Samsung by not having Replaceable battery and SD card? Stupid. It'd would be such a quick decision for so many people deciding between the two phone if the One has everything S4 does and with a more beautiful design, but no HTC pushes customer to decide between the outward appearance and the practicality of having replaceable batteries and SD cards, why??othercents - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I never said that they would use them. Marketing and sales is not about features you will use, but more about features that are nice to have. If you have two phones side by side that look and feel the same then features like removable battery and SD card slots become the deciding factor. However in reality it is going to be brand recognition that gets the masses to purchase the S4 over the HTC One. Samsung had a massive marketing campaign against the iPhone 5 which could be the deciding factor. This is especially true given that the HTC One and S4 are both supposed to be available at the end of April.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I think not. Quite a few people find the removable battery and expandable storage to be desired features that influence their decision to purchase a device, amongst other factors.To dismiss it so casually out of hand, when the most popular Android device has both and when the entire Android space is taken as a whole, a majority of devices have this features, seem to just be arrogant.
I am very familiar with the North American and European markets but in the places with the highest rates of Smart-phone growth, those features are essential and even in North America and Europe, a whole lot of people are buying and android phone with removable battery and expandable storage when they have other similarly priced options.
You may not like the idea of removable batteries and expandable storage [ your opinions and choices ] but please stop dismissing them without much evidence to back your claims.
Keep in mind that even if only 10% of the market wanted a feature, it is still significant enough for a manufacturer to include it in their flagship... and cheaper too, rather than created a similar device with/without those features for different markets.
You do not like a device? vote with your wallet and DON'T buy it, let others make their own choices
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Edit: I am *not* very familiar with the North American and European Marketsothercents - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Out of the 30 million S3 phones sold last year I would bet that less than 10% of the people have ever removed the batteries or installed an SD card. This makes it a nice to have feature that some people find necessary, however for the masses it is not critical. "Quite a few people..." does not equal a requirement for everyone (maybe to just you and your friends). While the SD and replaceable battery are not critical the S4 will still outsell the HTC One due to the brand recognition of Samsung vs HTC and due to the fact that when placing the handsets side by side some people will decide function (SD and Battery) over form regardless if they will use it or not.My original point is still the same. Marketing wins before anything else. Function over form due to fear of loss (IE. not getting something you might need later on).
Side note, people keep complaining about 16GB without SD vs 16GB with SD however the truth is you should be comparing a 32GB without SD vs a 16GB with SD since they should be similarly priced. For me since I only load apps on my phone and don't bog it down with videos or music then the 32GB or even 64GB without SD works great. The 16GB with SD is good for someone who wants to carry their music and video library around with them.
I find it interesting that someone would be arguing for the S4 and replaceable battery when I clearly stated twice that the S4 would outsell the HTC One.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Nice to know 27 million android phones never locked up once.Good for you idiot.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Another extremely stupid and actually clueless spew by dumb dumb:" The 16GB with SD is good for someone who wants to carry their music and video library around with them. "
EVERYONE wants to do that, stupido, but the problem is 16 is not enough for music files only for most, and forget about it for video.
But then, that's the stupid crap you had to argue, so that 16 is enough in a sealed tard iphone or equivalent.
DEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
I wonder, why HTC even leave this on the table. Slap a replaceable battery and a SD slot in, and the argument is over, Samsung will have to work much harder to push those S4's, and a lot more Ones would be sold. Why leave these features out?HTC is not Apple, they can't count on repeat buyers and built-in obsolescence to boost sales when so many competitor plays in the Android eco-system, especially better known, more cash rich competitors like Samsung? I think it's a complete bone headed decision for HTC to leave these features out, and Samsung will laugh all the way to the bank.
phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Expanding markets are not considering the S4 and the One, so it's a moot point.For people I the developed world or wealthy people in the developing world, form facto will matter and making a device with a removable battery will affect the form factor, especially with regards to its perceived finish and lustre.
Cheap phones with SD card upgrades have been the bane of many a friend of mine. They come to me saying, "My phone's out of storage and it will only let me install apps on the internal memory!" This is likely because SD cards are slow and use a different interface. These phones are sold as 'expandable' but really they're just expendable.
I'd take a well-built HTC One over cheap feeling S4 that's gonna fall apart when I drop it and look like crap whenever I look at its washed out screen.
I'm not denying that there are people out there for whom SD cards are a real feature, I just think that they get blown out of proportion. I'd take 32GB base internal storage over 16GB plus expansion any day. Different kind of NAND.
Really, the question does come down to marketing, familiarity, and feel.
While I'd personally prefer the hardware of the One, the S4 is an easy sell. People know it because of the S3's prolific sales and marketing. The OS is more inviting and has more saleable features (than previous Sense, at least). The One will feel super-premium, I'm sure, but I'm also concerned that it might cost a premium, when compared to its real competition - the S4. If you look at the last round, although the S3 was priced at $199 on contract, you could often pick it up for $0.01.
So, the S4's cheapness will be its biggest strength. Samsung will be able to offload it in boatloads to carriers who can give it away on sales, once it's mid-term, and they will sell like hotcakes. Also, since you're selling to cheap people (most people when it comes to smartphones), they will be happy to have cheap storage and battery replacement/enhancement options.
The camera will also be a tough sell. Are the sales reps gonna demo them both in store? I think not. People will just see 4MP and 13MP and the inevitable Samsung commercials highlighting the features (gimmicks?) that the phone has and will flock to it. They know the brand, they know the predecessor, and they know that 13>4 (even if they don't know that nomenclature).
I'd, personally, love to see HTC destroy this round, but somehow have my doubts. Time will tell but cheap sells.
DEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
While I disagree with you on your assessment on the cheap phone with cheap SD card sh-pew, you've got a perfect prediction on samsung's low cost sales pitch because they chose to go low cost on a plastic shell and cheaper screen, but try to grab people with features like replaceable batteries and SD. If you analysis is correct, I am just baffled WHY or WHY HTC will leave the sales of their FLAGSHIP, HAILMARY model that is the ONE in the wind by not designing in key features that will put a majority of their potential customer's mind to ease. I don't care if people actual replace their battery or SD card in their phone or not, it gets people concerned about not having them, why leave their concern and decision out for the buying public? Why not nip it in the bud and win the feature comparison against the S4? By going the machined aluminum route they are already not going to win the "low cost" war, why not win the "premium" war without reservation?tommo123 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
well i use the SD card option (64GB mSD) and on vacation, the spare battery is very useful.with a portable battery charger i could do without the removable batteries but not expandable storage. phones still come with 16GB versions which are 10 or less in reality. install 2 games and most of that is gone.
then add your pics and videos - where are they meant to go? the cloud? that would be fine if i had unlimited data, at a min of about 25mbit/sec and never ever ever lost signal even on a plane, or underground. since that's not going to happen in the near future i need my extra storage.
google wants to do away with the cards to make people use their google drive and then pay for extra space. simple
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
LOL - nice point tommo123 that's a first - google up that dropbox data charge....No problem, the know it alls have the deepest and widest pockets of space in their skulls...
ROFL - Nice SMACKDOWN, I note the crybabies have no response, but wait for it, the responses will stream in at an extraordinary rate once the charges become an issue for the sealed tarded crew of fools.
I don't like options, I don't like expandabilty, I don't like to be free, I can't make my own choices, I am techborg, the ultratard liar, I am spew, I am thoughtless, I am a liar, and I am legion.
DEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
I don't understand why people insist on "majority of people don't use replaceable battery and SD card" or "majority of people have to have replaceable battery and SD card". My concern is for myself, and I am hating HTC for not putting replaceable battery and SD card in because if they did, it's made my choice completely simple for my next phone, it would be the HTC One. But now, I have a HTC Sensation 4G as a personal phone and a OneX as a work phone, and I am not sure I want to live with the loss of replaceable battery and SD card and is seriously considering buying the Samsung S4 as a result.It is COMPLETELY STUPID for HTC to leave that excuse on the table, oh... the camera is great, the screen is nice, and case looks great, but... NO REPLACEABLE BATTERY AND SD CARD, too bad.. Why did HTC leave that on the table while HTC could put Samsung S4 out of its misery by simply having a better physical design and more feature? Stupid decision, I'd have the phone a bit thicker to have a replaceable larger battery and SD card slot, it's already thicker than the OneX, being super think didn't help selling that the OneX, why repeat the same mistake?!
Rits - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
In my 5 years of time with modern smartphones, I haven't met one person who carried a spare/extra battery. Many carry power banks in their bags but I've yet to see someone with a spare battery. SD cards, yes, those mattered, but only until phones started getting 32 GB onboard memory. Pretty much nobody cares about SD cards/expandable memory if the phone has more than 16 GB memory.sirelk - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
But no one cares about diminishing battery performance after one year? For all of us that have to make this phone work for 2-3 years, it sure matters. The option of expanding the memory (maybe I suddenly decide to carry my entire MP3 library on a microSD for a long trip or every episode of Seinfeld) or easily giving the phone extended life with a new battery is far too advantageous.If you are OK with losing hours of battery life as early as 8-12 months after purchasing your stylish-no-options-phone, then sure, there's no benefit for you.
phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Then why not just put a good quality battery in it. I had an iPhone 3GS and the battery never appreciably diminished over 2.5 years.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Wouldn't it be nice if they could just slide a micro SD card slot into the side of the thing (the HTC One), like they did on the Samsung Jack, without dedicating the back of the thing like they've done in the S3 & S4 by making the back come off. (Yes, the back came off in the Jack too but that was the most embarrassing thing ever about owning that phone - upon dropping it.)CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Embarrassing until the shock absorbing function of unclicking the tabs and splaying the cover and parts meant it worked once reassembled.Drop an iShatter and see what embarrassment really is.
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
1. You haven't meet enough ppl that uses the same phone for more than a year. The battery degrade is so bad the phone doesn't last for an eight hour WORKING day (minimal usage).2. I have seen ppl hold their ipad to their ears and talk on skype in starbucks. Maybe they don't mind the weight just the same as some ppl don't mind the weight of phone+power banks. But others do mind. Not to mention all the accidents happened using the phone while attached to its power banks. (My frd broke the micro usb end of her power bank... again)
3. Phone's low boot time has often been sold as a feature, yet some ppl can't bear losing the grid for that 30 seconds or less. I just don't see the necessity of keeping your phone on all the time. Don't get me wrong, power banks have their usage, but a single person carrying multiple power banks but not a single extra battery? I dunno what to say...
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
It is not necessarily about a spare or extra battery, but if and when the current one dies on you. It is nice to be able to purchase a replacement quickly and easily rather than returning your phone to the "service centre" or vendors shop and having to do without *your* phone for a bit as they sort you out, probably for more than it would have cost to just buy another battery.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Again, if the phone you bought's battery died, it was either so cheap, or so old, that you had ought to buy a new one. Neither the S4 nor the One are in the cheap class - they're high-end. So, if you have a dead battery in the thing, it's probably six years old. Buy a new one before 2019!DEECEE - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Have you seen the complaints iPhones built-in battery get? There're tons of video on youtube teaching people how to carefully dissect their Apple devices to replace simple parts such as the battery, so it is purely out of greed and spite that Apple refuse to put replaceable batteries in their devices. Should HTC follow the lead, maybe, but all the suckers are already in the Apple camp.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Anand,It looks like your site is being victimized by the beneficiaries of Samsung's guerrilla marketing initiative, aka ghost commenters/paid shills.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
So that's what, 6 times you spewed that same thing jaysucks ?Got any mindshare other than crybaby lies ?
JeffFlanagan - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I agree with you on the removable battery, but the lack of an SD slot is a big deal unless the phone has 128GB of storage built in. We don't always stream our media from the Internet.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Ya. I have disagreed with this but there is some truth here. Having good internal and the expansion without reliance on cloud would be nice.But...big BUT...would that not also sacrifice form factor? (And potentially build quality?)
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
No it wouldn't.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Just fry out your wallet with data up and down, no SD, no problem.It's good because jaysucks and dimwitOsx said so.
ChoadNamath - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
When I had phones with removable batteries, the only time I ever removed them was to do a hard reset of the phone. Most people don't want to carry around extra batteries, and even if they do, a USB battery pack is easier to carry around than a bare battery.Most people also don't carry around spare memory cards, either. I can understand why someone might be worried about not being able to add additional storage space to a phone that only comes with 8 or even 16GB of storage, but do you really expect the average user to run out of space in a phone that comes with up to 64GB of flash? My desktop PC has only a 64GB SSD right now! Especially in the age of streaming media, memory cards are increasingly unnecessary in smartphones.
Would removable batteries and memory cards be nice to have? Sure, but they're hardly essential anymore for the vast majority of use cases.
danbob999 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The thing is that you can bet the 64GB model will be far too expensive. So most people will end up buying the cheapest version. If they ever need more storage, even temporarily (say on a trip), they can't.As for the battery, depending on usage you might want to replace it after 2-4 years. It would be sad to throw a perfectly working phone to the bin only because it no longer holds its charge. Even if you replace your phone before that, you old phone could still have a resale value or could be used by your grand mother who doesn't need to have the latest toy.
SuBoX - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
just plug in a usb stick with an usb otg cable or even better some companies already are starting to make usb sticks with micro usb and normal usb so you can connect it to your pc to put a movie on it and just plug it in your phone to watch the movie. The removable storage on the S4 is only used for media anyway can just aswell use an usb stick for the same things on a plane or in your hotel room to transfer your photos.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
That requires you a) large internal memory b) copying the stuff twice c) carrying extra thingCeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Suddenly a gankly dongle is better than a tiny sd card even in a tiny plastic container... then when you're not dongled up, you don't have to worry about how to set it or hold it, or ripping apart your charging port...The stench of dark iphone powers is thick, I hear SJ cackling wildly from beyond the grave.
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I still do not get why carrying around extra and bulky( ier ) kit is better than having as SD card slot or removable battery.If including a removable battery or SB card slot compromised "the experience" as much as an OTG cable + USB thumb drive or External USB battery pack then I would take those arguments but as for me, I would rather a phone that is "compromised" by having removable battery and expandable storage than one where I have to connect such externally.
Still a matter of personal preference
phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Why has this entire discussion turned to storage and battery.Aren't there many other points to consider / discuss with regards to this phone: camera, build quality, market survivability (chance)?
Let's not forget feel and engagement.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
It's turned to it because spewing mindless trolling IDIOTS claim no one cares.That's why - the RETARD jerks won't concede the point, and new points keeps emerging shoving them further into the dated bin.
PAY for the data load to cloud, RETARD - new point by tomy123.
Now you want to BAIL on the topic because you got seriously spanked into a puddle of doggy doo doo.
ADMIT DEFEAT so we can move on.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Because there is no reason to dwell on those points as the ONE obviously excels in those, I am pretty sure in the Samsung S4 article, there's all this discussion about the camera and build quality of the HTC ONE, which just begs the question why HTC is so stupid not to think to design these features in to put everyone's mind to ease to start with.DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
You're kidding right, you don't want to carry tiny micro SD cards, but carry USB OTG cable with USB SD card readers just so you can buy a phone without a micro SD slot? I love the One's design, and curse HTC for having no brain in designing in a replaceable battery and SD slot, but the blindsightedness on One's clear short coming and the extent to compensate for it is laughable, almost as laughable as buying bluetooth keyboards for tablets.evonitzer - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Worth noting that the lowest storage level on the One is 32 gigs. We're far better off than the 8 gig Nexus 4, which is definitely too small. I think 32 would be quite usable without needing expansion.Also, wait for a disassembly guide. Lots of phones aren't that difficult to pry apart and add a new battery into. Perhaps the One will be as easy to disassemble as a Surface Pro, but we can hope not!
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Except now 32 is not that much, and more is better. It's only going down to smaller as each day passes.Next, LOL - first the retards of the world don't want or use an SD storage, now they can just download the disassembly tech guide and "pry apart!" their phone it's "probably easy"....
R O F L YOU HAVE FLOWN THE COOP.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Why should anyone need to PRY APART their phone to replace a battery, isn't that why cars don't their their wheels welded to the axles even when doing so gives a better resistance against misalignment of the wheels?AndroidDoes - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
That may be why HTC is offering 32 GB standard which I think is a great idea and an ideal size. There's always going to be people who need extra or bigger batteries or want to carry a lot of offline storage, but they are simply not the majority and the iPhone is an obvious example. Plus there's some work arounds like the battery bar (I think gives 3 charges) and usb sticks.As for replacing the battery, it should be fairly easy to do although the One has the battery behind the screen and with the unibody you will probably have to remove the screen from the front. HTC should design in a way that dosent mess up the lcd3, digitizer, glue, etc.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
So ideal isn't 64 with 64 expansion ?It's now 32 because you think so.
It's not 16 + a very cheap 64 for 80 in ideal and convenient.
It's not a buttload of 2,4,8, and 16 you have lying around extra from camera use over the years ?
Yes, suddenly, the sea of stability is 32.... 3.2 inches is also perfect she said looking down at you
're phone.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
In the US the HTC One developer edition will be $649 for 64 gigs, so it shouldn't be Apple-level expensive.Barnassey - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
That IS apple level expensiveevonitzer - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
It's $200 less than a 64 gig unlocked iPhone (850!), so Pylon's comment is fair. $200 is a significant savings, although $650 is still pretty steep.StormyParis - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It's not just that. My battery is showing signs of weakness after about 2 yrs. At least, I can change it before resale.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You keep a phone more than two years?Visual - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You don't? Well that explains why actual features do not matter to you and you keep posting "nobody needs that"... you're not looking for a good phone, you are all for the cool new thing of the moment.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
A good phone will only last you about 2 years now, so I don't see what your gripe is.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
A second battery means I can go right now, I'm mobile instantly without plugging in the phone and waiting two hours.acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Exactly. A GREAT phone should last longer. The ONE and S4 are both good phones, but if I were to choose one (which is the case for most ppl), I would side with S4 because of these features.Why do you think they have NFC out way before it gets useful and popular? Why do you think both phones have wifi ac when the majority of the routers doesn't have it? It's all about how longlasting the phone is. It might or might not be a deal breaker for you, but you can't deny the fact that it is a good feature for the general public.
phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
No it's not. It is not about being long-lasting. The people who buy these top-tier devices will buy another, better one, in two-three years. There's no "longer lasting" top-tier phone. That's garibaldi guck.DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Who told you that, the late Steve Jobs?CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
See osx and then realize all the text goes with a jobs worshipper - which is now BTW out of fashion and a losers game, the idiots just don't realize it yet, because death of the status fantasy comes with a humiliating depression...ROFL apple down $300 per share plus -
apple has been passed by
appletards are in denial
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Wow, troll much? Are you mentally deficient?CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Jay it's not a troll it's the truth. Look around you idiot.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
He breaks his iShat in clumsy or when the seizure strikes, so no, 2 years is ootq.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I do. I need a new phone at least each year for my health, and the the kids take the "old" ones. An S3 or S2 is fine for kids. So will the S4 :)phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Are you really gonna recoup the costs of the battery replacement on the sale of a phone that's cheap enough that the battery is ailing after two years.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
li-ons LOSE capacity over two years dummy. 35% is not an overestimate.You can check it also on nearly all laptops ever released, the percentage used, in windows, DUMMY.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
You're not really stating that a phone replacement after 2 years is mandatory because some retard decided replaceable battery is not needed, that would be pathetic! I don't care how great or crappy the phone is, throwing away an entire unit of working electronics just because a single, designed to be replaceable part expires due to use is simply irresponsible and foolhardy to say the least.StormyParis - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Regarding SD, I'm not always online: planes, trains, metros... even my parents' is a bit iffy.sosrandom - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Just because someone doesn't want a removable battery, SD card slot or full size sim card doesn't mean they should have to suffer with an iPhone.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Lol. Word! I actually like the iPhone but think that this is a totally valid point.You should be able to get a sleek Android device too!
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I completely agree there's a HUGE need for a sleek Android, and One is IT! It's just too bad, in trying to be sleek, One has sold its soul in trying to be like iPhone, forgetting to offer the right set of features for the benefits of the consumers. I would love to get the One and not feel like sacrificing a part of my user experience because of it, because that feels dirty, all apple like, and Android should be different, NOT apple like!jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I wonder how many people actually take the time to even load the SD card?CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
If that's called taking time, WHY do you have a smartphone to begin with ?LOL
Just get a Y2K flip dialer with text led screen man.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There are a million other things you can do with a smartphone, like surf the web, genius.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
enough people to convince Samsung to include it in their latest Flagship?phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I think that the sales of their last flagship 'convinced' Samsung to include it in their next flagship.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I.e. if it ain't broke, don't fix it (much).DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
OK, let's say that's the case, why would HTC, in their right mind, forget that fact (the need for replaceable battery and SD card)? They don't like large sales volume apparently. The buying decision would be so much easier for so many people if One simply has the replaceable battery and SD slot, it would be for me that's for sure.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
No jaysucks wonders, and has no idea, a few pages back he said nearly no one on his word and immense experience and knowledge base.The troll is tarded, and says whatever pops into his borged gourd, forget any reality, it's Reality Bloggie spew posting.
Besides, he should be the CEO, The One, he knows and it's too bad a gigantic successful corporation doesn't listen to his brain farts which smell like rosey.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
For me and everyone I know, every phone capable of hold a SD card has a SD card in it, most of them come with one, so good luck overlooking the one obvious short coming of the One. And tell your HTC one, one version 2 of the One, remember to include the replaceable battery and the SD card if HTC is still relevant by then.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Additional juice is actually essential for many.Just look at vast number of 'battery case' accessory for iPhones, which apple claim to be 'last for one full day'
And 32GB micro SD costs like $20 - which is alot cheaper than spending $100 more to get high-capacity models.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
1. HTC is not Apple. They probably won't charge $100 for the upgrade.2. Internal storage is much faster than microSD.
darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
They have so far and so has every other Android phone manufacture. This is well known and obvious.But HTC is definetly lost Apple as they have lost millions making smartphones.
Pylon757 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
1. HTC is still profitable.2. HTC offered the 64GB One X+ for $199 on contract, the same as the 16GB iPhone 5 and the 16GB GS3.
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
That one is only in select markets and some people don't want to be tied down to a carrierphillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Don't they buy a Nexus?krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
2. Internal storage is plenty fast for the media it holds. Movies, pictures, video...And my 64Gb sd that rate around 30-40Mb/s is good speed for the next 15 years.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
internal storage is not faster and often slower than SD.class 10 is cheap, you're on the internet bro
check the SD card tests in the free app areas man
Now stop blowing, it's an unseemly job.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Wow, you're definitely a low brow, paid Samsung shill or just a really, really sad person. Either way, I feel sorry for you.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
His/her point is still valid, expandable storage in the form of Class10 SD is fast enough for the tasks that most storage is used forCeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Class 4 is fast enough actually. Just jayspew doesn't really know anything.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Why trust that " $COMPANY are not Apple, they probably won't do $BAD_THING " when you can guarantee that they won't fuck you over by getting some features out of the box? say expandable storage and removable battery?phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Pylon757+1
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I've never met anyone who actually purchased one of those battery packs on their own. 9 out of 10 people with those battery packs likely purchased it on a company account.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
You don't know anyone basement dweller, or anything. Pure trollboy.SirSuperman - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
A USB battery pack, which usually requires you to carry a cable around and attach it to your phone and then use your phone with something hanging off it while charging is easier than simply slipping in a battery and instantly returning to a full charge?Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
You forgot the part about having to turn the phone off and on.acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I still don't get why ppl can't get off the grid for that 30 seconds or less. Are you saying your usb battery pack can instantly charge your battery to a full charge within that 30 seconds?Johnmcl7 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"When I had phones with removable batteries, the only time I ever removed them was to do a hard reset of the phone. Most people don't want to carry around extra batteries, and even if they do, a USB battery pack is easier to carry around than a bare battery."I find USB battery packs a fiddle to use as they're usually a lot larger than a bare battery and they need to remain connected to the phone for quite some time. I take a spare battery when I'm away travelling as it takes a matter of seconds to swap the battery over when the original one dies and then I have a fully functional phone again without having to leave it connected to anything.
Also the other reason I prefer a removable battery is that li-ion batteries don't last forever, they're unlikely to last the two years I expect a phone to last without losing performance if not outright failing and given the reasonably poor batterylife of these devices in the first place that's a prominent issue. Neither my N900 or Galaxy Note's original batteries lasted two years but it wasn't an issue as a couple of minutes later they were up and running with another battery.
"Most people also don't carry around spare memory cards, either. I can understand why someone might be worried about not being able to add additional storage space to a phone that only comes with 8 or even 16GB of storage, but do you really expect the average user to run out of space in a phone that comes with up to 64GB of flash? My desktop PC has only a 64GB SSD right now! Especially in the age of streaming media, memory cards are increasingly unnecessary in smartphones."
With increasingly powerful phones, higher resolution onboard video and increasingly higher resolutions, I disagree - why put up with lower quality video and reduced selection rather than have the option of being able to cheaply add storage. The Note's large vibrant screen is great for watching and showing videos, yes I could delete off the 1080p video files from its own camera and have a much smaller selection of videos but for the small cost of a microSD card I prefer to keep them onboard and take advantage of the screen Plus the price companies charge for storage is usually vastly more than it would cost as a microSD card, the cost difference between a Nexus 8GB and a 16GB over here would be enough to purchase a 64GB micro SD card. It also means the phone can take advantage of increasing flash capacities over its life.
As for streaming as a viable alternative, I also disagree for quite a few reasons. Firstly it may not even be possible either due to reception not being good enough, not allowed to have wireless radios enabled or congestion in the area, secondly data caps are frequently restrictive and third the phone needs a lot more power to stream wirelessly compared to just reading it off internal memory.
Plus there no gains from not having a removable battery or expandable storage with the HTC (aside from for HTC themselves), despite the praise in this article I don't count the metal body as a plus because if it's anything like previous HTC phones and most other metal phones on the market the metal is unlikely to be particularly durable and will easily pick up scratches and chips. There's a lot of complaining about Samsung using plastics but they're light and they're durable, I've seen some original S2's that have been used without a case and dropped a few times yet they've barely a mark on them whereas Sensations from the same time period were looking fairly battered in the same conditions after a few weeks despite the praise for the Sensation's supposed industrial build quality and the cheap build quality of the S2.
John
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The apple tards suddenly have no media - no music, no movies, no videos, no minutes and minutes of high resolution camera movies - the appletards don't like storage space, they yell at Siri to dial then they pocket their lead weight glass shatterbrick.I guess it was all true - apple users are inherently STUPID...
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
You know, most smart phone live in a case anyway, so unless you're really rough on your phone, the metal vs. plastic argument isn't really a pro for S2. I love metal casing of the ONE, and still use a Sensation as a personal phone daily, it's been in a transparent TPU case and looks as new as the day it came out of the box. But I think HTC One would be the clear winner against the S4 with much little disagreement if it had the replaceable battery and SD card slots. It's simply amazing the HTC chose to handicap their LIFELINE new phone like that.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I think the major factor is really that most people don't want to pay for extra batteries. They are expensive, which is why the only people that ever buy them are IT guys who charge it to the company account.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Thanks for your purchase survey from the credit card companies you don't have, and insulting the entire human race, who can't "pay for batteries" but can pay HUNDREDS for appletard 16gb extra sealed in the shatterbrick.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
How much does Samsung pay you? Is it per comment?acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Instead of accusing ppl getting paid by Samsung, why don't you explain how you keep forgetting the hundreds of dollars you paid for extra storage, whereas a sd card cost u only $30 and less than a minute to load?phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
acky2lum,Are you and CeriseCogburn the same person/bot-feed?
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
No you're mostly stupid like jaysucks, but you come out of it half the time.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Thank you, it's nice to know not everyone is a drooling reverso monkeytard liar.acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Same thing to power banks, do you actually think it costs less than an extra battery?RicGrupe - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
extra battery not needed...http://www.androidauthority.com/htc-one-battery-li...DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Really, Razr Maxx lasts longer and still has replaceable battery...phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Or when they fell out when you dropped the phone!CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
The back cover coming off and the battery spewing across the floor, (the sim card(s) * or SD lesser so) ABSORB THE SHOCK of the floor strike and spread the force across a largeer area of the phone, SAVING IT FROM DAMAGE, DUMMY.So while you're all about your brick shattering or taking a huge whomp on it's now bent forever scratched metal edge and cracked screen, other love the convenience and the SHOCK ABSORBER function.
Thank you, this has been a we love Mr Wizard lesson.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
For SD cards, maybe, you can pay to get the 64GB model and think you will never have to worry about it, but Bill Gates also famously stated you will never need more than 640KB of RAM back in the DOS dates. But batteries, really, the chances for a failed battery due to abuse, power surge, or poor quality control is high, even for Apple, why leave it to chance. The issue is not having to carry a spare, the issue is how much hassle and cost it is to replace a failed battery.The same in general applies to a SD card, you may never use it, but why live in fear of running out of storage?
nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Sealed battery, non-expandable battery, 4MP camera will be deal breakers for many.The 'Ultrapixel' is just marketing gimmick for low resolution sensor. Yes, it will be better than SMALL low-MP sensors but I doubt they are any better than high-MP sensor with same size. 36MP D800 is almost as good as any low-MP DSLRs with the same sensor size.
extide - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
ALl cell phones use the same sensor size, and Anand said right in this review it has better low light performance than any other cell phone camera he has used. Pretty much refutes both your points right there.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The total area of sensor remains unchanged whether you divide them by 4M or 8M. Low MP sensor surely look better in its native resolution, but it won't differ much from the DOWNSAMPLED image from high-MP sensor.metafor - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Like all things, that depends on where in the "pixel size" spectrum you are. At the sizes of the D800 vs 5dM3, for instance, the ability of a single pixel of the D800 to capture light is actually bound by the optics at that point, because the pixels are already big enough.Contrast this with a 1.1um pixel and the picture changes entirely (heh). 1.1um is barely 1.5 wavelength of red light. Attenuation becomes pretty bad at that point and the optics of a wide lens itself becomes a problem due to how deep the pixel is compared to its width.
Think of it this way: 1.1um is abysmal when it comes to light attenuation. As you get to larger and larger pixels, you start getting diminishing returns on how much better light attenuates. At the D800 level, making the pixels larger won't really help that much.
s44 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Read Brian's article. All sensors are *not* the same size.vulcz - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
You think Ultrapixel is a gimmick? Wait till you see Samsung's array of S-Stuff.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
VaporwareCeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
vaporware is apple stock fellaEgg - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
You are right. It will probably not be better than any high-MP sensor with the same size if they both scale down to the same resolution.That's why the HTC One has a larger sensor. 1/3" instead of 1/3.2"...
Johnmcl7 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"Sealed battery, non-expandable battery, 4MP camera will be deal breakers for many.The 'Ultrapixel' is just marketing gimmick for low resolution sensor. Yes, it will be better than SMALL low-MP sensors but I doubt they are any better than high-MP sensor with same size. 36MP D800 is almost as good as any low-MP DSLRs with the same sensor size."
The D800 is a good demonstration that more pixels aren't an issue, it's not just almost as good as low-MP DSLRs it currently has the top rating on DXOMark and the next cameras down (D600, RX1) are using the 24MP FX sensor which has the second highest resolution for current selling full frame cameras.
John
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Except the D800 pixels, at 5.5um each, is not going to be constrained by optics and still has a lot of a headroom. A 1.1um pixel, at only 1.5 wavelengths of light, is really pushing it.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No it won't Most consumers don't care.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
the 4mp camera is a deal breakerphillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Why's that?Is it the optics or just the optics of the situation?
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Spread your fingers out on the screen.DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
No, it's physics, for a given sensor size, the larger sensor pitch (distance between sites) will always give better low light noise performance all other factors being equal. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to have "all other factors" being equal, and higher performance CMOS chips in high end dSLR's always demands the price premium for that pixel density with "almost" equivalent noise performance. But you can't deny the advantage of a larger pixel pitch to low light noise performance.scaramoosh - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I cannot go back to LCD, OLED just looks so much better, as soon as I'm using the phone in bed watching F1 or porn, I'm just distracted by the backlight on LCD panels.bengildenstein - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I agree. I only own LCD devices (unfortunately) and despise the way blacks look in the dark. Even viewing the screen slightly on an angle makes this many times worse.Now that the Full HD AMOLED screen can be tweaked to user preference, it should be far more difficult to complain about the S4's 'oversaturated' colors. The superior contrast and viewing angles of SAMOLED display should be hard to complain about in comparison to LCDs.
EnzoFX - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I would glady argue about oversaturated colors any day of the week lol. Blowing out an image should not be what we should be aiming for =/. At least calibrate that crap Samsung.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
S4 has a bunch of different display calibration options.s44 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The fact that Anand doesn't know this is more proof of my point. (He's the iFan the One is built for... even though he won't switch to it.)darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The One is built for people who don't like cheap plasticky phones. Which would be most consumers. Deal with it.scaramoosh - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
For people who want to deal with cheap plastic covers instead.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
shatterbricks that lock up and cost way too much and are now completely outdated suck.this is how bad apple has sucked for some time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A48A4J5qpYA
Deal with it fanboy - enjoy it
eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Plasticky? Yes, cheap? They cost mostly the same!phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Read what calibration means.Then read the articles on this site about displays.
Then post about what Anand knows and what you think you know.
darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No it doesn't.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Go take your rubber onphillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
'Display calibration options' and calibrating a display are not the same thing.The manufacturer needs to make sure that each hue is actually pretty close to its intended colour, not just saturated into some theme like 'movie' aka make everything darker.
KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
No kidding, images look so bad on their products. They charge as much as Apple for their devices, they should at least put some effort on basic things like proper sRGB color profiles.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Name a high end Android phone that isn't at least as expensive as an iPhone and the sold at cost Nexus 4 doesn't count. Not that it sin the same league anyway.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
All of them with expandable storage, DUMMY !flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The counterpoint to this is that the S3 screen is invisible outside even in dim light, even on 100% brightness..phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
If the S4's screen is anything like the S3's it'll be a disappointment when viewed side-by-side with the LCD3 on the OneGenericuser1234 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I saw an review of the HTC ONE where the review spokes person noted that HTC uses plastic as the lense material. (easy to scratch) Have you had any problems of this kind or have they switched to glass lenses on the rear camera?extide - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Pretty much all cell phones use plastic lenses.Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Um, Apple and their sapphire lenses?uhuznaa - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Sapphire glass cover over the lenses, not the lenses itself.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
glass covers front and back of the iphone shatterbricks...LOL
crack !
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Wow, you're an invalid.tipoo - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Correct, but if I remember right wasn't there a Sony phone with all glass elements?JDG1980 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
For all the concerns about smartphone camera quality, why haven't there been any phones that let you shoot images in RAW format? For anyone who wants to do serious post-processing, JPEGs simply aren't good enough. You need the full dynamic range captured by the sensor.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Phone camera sensors don't have ANY dynamic range to speak of.That's why they are trying heavily the HDR stuff.
evonitzer - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
In an academic sense, it would be good to see the RAW results from phone cameras, but I have a feeling the results would be pretty hideous. The first manufacturer to release RAW will be praised by enthusiasts, but will be mobbed by the fake-enthusiasts for the amounts of noise coming off their sensors. Which will be copious.danbob999 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I find your conclusion pretty ironic. As if "enthusiasts" should prefer a phone that, according to you, looks better but the mass would prefer a phone with factual benefits (such as larger display, smaller size and larger battery).I would have said the opposite.
"Mainstream" customers are those who buy phones that sucks only because they look good.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's the applefanboy argument - which includes "the feeeeeeeeeel".If they actually use a phone they won't notice the feeeeeel after a week if that long, more likely days.
At that point the harsh appletard edges cut into your hands and finger tendons before the shatterbrick breaks when dropped.
jjj - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Well Samsung has extra sensors (pedometer,temp) ,removable battery and SD slot. HTC went again with no SD so we are better off with them going broke.Amusing that you think a phone with no SD, no removable battery and a shiny exterior is for enthusiasts,sounds more like something for Apple fanboys. Buying a PC because it's shiny pfff.
EnzoFX - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The whole sd and removable battery... people need some perspective on this, seriously. Most people don't do this, you do not represent the masses. Don't cry, "How dare they!" when a business is making a conscious decision to make things easier in terms of design, lowering cost (however minuscule), and allowing in thinner design, relatively, and easier to put together for them. I'd like to see Samsung make the move to Alu and still offer removable battery...nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
All alu phones will live inside a heavy case anyway.Rits - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
And is that a fact? I never used a case, ever. When I had Samsung plastic phones, I just swapped the back out after a year when it had enough scratches to look like a mess. Never had visible scratches on the display on any of the phones I've owned. Two metal phones and one matte polycarbonate unibody I've had in the past never needed a case anyway. Cases are for clumsy and/or messy people or those who are overly paranoid.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Thus you rits are so great, may we sign you up for some Olympic competition ?In the mean time, back in the real world...
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's not gonna happen because you got it all wrong. Samsung did choose to make it plastic because their lack of design and stuff, in order to offer removable battery they need to have a flexible, durable back cover. So plastic IS a conclusion from design. Why would they want to move to Alu if they want to offer removable battery?CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
iPhone moved to glass back. Why would they do that ?Well there you have it. Plenty of retards in the world.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The irony here is that the GS4 is shiny and the HTC One is matte.phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Uhhh... Ultrabook?StormyParis - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"that the ideal display size is somewhere around 4.3”"That's the issue: HTC got it perfect with the HD2, and have been flailing about since then ;-p
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
They've got the One S, though that got butchered with a terrible screen.They also have the 8X.
krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Ahh. It used to be Apple who defined what ideal is? - and it changes.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Appletards can thus declare idyllic new conclusive condition dependent absolutes, with all that training and self reinforcement ( the latter required).CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
There is no ideal size. If you're a tiny punk who starved as a child with shorty fingers ideal is a lot smaller. If you have crybaby nerd hands and can barely lift your frame up off the chair, smaller is better.However if you are a man. Oh, nevermind.
dishayu - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I'd really REALLY like to buy one if HTC can just make them available soon. :|Lord 666 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Wonder if the girl sitting on the hand got pregnant for doing soTrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The HTC One looks great and clearly has a design that most people will consider more premium than the Galaxy S4. That being said, the idea of a 5" display on the GS4 (versus 4.7" on the HTC One) with the same physical dimensions has some serious appeal. Bigger screen versus more premium-feeling design - Tough decision.In terms of the camera performance, we'll have to wait for the side-by-side camera shoot-out. What if the GS4 has better camera prowess in moderate to high light conditions, but still has reasonable (if not exceptional) low light performance? Would that not be a reasonable tradeoff?
Still, I'm rooting for HTC to make a serious comeback and keep pushing innovation and build quality forward in the Android sector.
nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
We have seen some initial test pics from GS4, and it is magnitudes better than old 8MP and 13MP ones in terms of sharpness and noise. And it doesn't look TOO bad at indoor situation either.TrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Thanks for the insight about the GS4 camera quality. I currently have the GS3. I was hoping to stick with HTC when I last upgraded, based on excellent experiences with my previous phone, but Verizon passed on the HTC OneX and the HTC Droid DNA didn't show its face until nearly half a year later. I think that lack of an answer to the GS3 on Verizon caused them some significant lost sales. Hopefully the One will end up on all carriers in the US.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
4.7 versus 5 inch has big appeal? You know these screens are measured diagonally right?TrackSmart - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Yep, I understand the math perfectly well. We are talking about 13% larger screen area in the same footprint in a thinner and lighter package. That definitely adds points on Samsung's side. Is it enough to counteract the nicer look and feel of the HTC One? I'm not so sure. But it is a factor I would consider in my purchasing decision.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
And thus darwin was wrong again, some species never learn and die out, a lot do in fact.So beyond the retards in these post pages spewing that the dummies of the world will buy whatever feels good, they proclaim what feels good is what they will buy on other pages.
Thus, they are the dummies of the world.
geniusloci - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
"Despite the heavy use of aluminum, the One doesn’t feel delicate."Should probably be rewritten.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The feel fanboys should take a physics class.Drop the lead weight and the intertia crushes and shatters.
ONLY in the cellphone area is lead weight "considered good" by the status tards.
Hey guess what tards - no one is looking at your phone, no one, you don't even roll it around and look at it, you either tak on it or LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND TOTALLY IGNORE EVERYTHING BUT THE SCREEN !
My golly, people really are retarded.
boogerlad - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
This may be a stupid question, but how long can you expect the battery of a modern smartphone to last when used as a dumbphone, ie only texts and calls?flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Calls 6-8 hours depending on the model. RAZR Maxx series up to 22 hours.Text much less since requires screen to be on 100% of the time
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It takes about 10-14 hours on my old Evo 4G with occasional calls and texts, so it should be good.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The battery will last indefinitely when the phone is in deep sleep (screen off). The only important figure is the number of hours you get during constant useDeath666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
When I only use my phone (Galaxy Nexus) for texts and calls, it lasts 2 and a half days. When using it for several hours of video/games or listening to audio books, it lasts for a day to a day and a half (but I always recharge it over night if I expect it to only last half a day the next day).phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
See Anand's iPhone 5 review.uhuznaa - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I love the design and materials and HTC has to be lauded for their camera approach. But the actual pictures still don't look very exciting. The software seems *very* limited (the fake scratches in those movies are just awful), the "hub" has no RSS... looks very much like gimmicks to me.I hate to say it, but I think the S4 will sell vastly better and I can understand it. And what will happen to HTC anyway? This phone really is a "One", but I think I would prefer to wait for the "Two" (and they should have added a kickstand which would go very well with the front-facing speakers. Which I think every smartphone should have, by the way).
ydoucare - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Please add the IR LED to the HTC One spec sheet.Chloiber - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
In the spec comparison, IR seems to be missing from the One?Miko3d - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Hey anand, thanks for the quick look for such an interesting phone, although I have a feeling that if HTC situation wasn't as it's there would have been just one main review. I really like HTC and can't wait to see them back with heavy duty and innovation products as before. Really like your views and I would love to see you reviewing more interesting and innovative phones, one that comes to my mind as a nice surprise is the Asus padfone 2 or even better the infinity, I think their concept is spot on shame that without a proper marketing it will always stay as a niche.Regards
IHateMyJob2004 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Can I assume that a Blackberry Z10 review is coming seeing how it is getting released tomorrow?darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
For all three people dumb enough to buy one?CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
See the entire US federal government, never mind sequester this is important !Barky gets the special made NSA version.
flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Can you please address smartphone battery life? Who cares about 8.6mm thickness when the phone only lasts a few hours during actual use? The DROID RAZR MAXX set the standard with a massive 3300mAh battery in a 9mm thick phone. IMO that should be the bare minimum. Then 5050mAh in 11mm, and 6600mAh in 13mm.There's no question a lot of people would be willing to sacrifice thinness and PPI for a larger battery. Here are some recent quotes from the comments sections of the recent HTC One article on Anandtech, and the GS4 and HTC One articles on Dailytech (all articles are dated Feb 19):
"I really hope they work on battery life...maybe this rant should be at the battery makers...damn energizer bunny."
"I think an S3 Maxx (thicker with larger battery) would be popular with a lot of people. It would have the potential to be their 2nd or 3rd most popular model. It makes sense to me. Everything else has gotten amazing and battery life has remained mostly the same."
"What I would want most is better battery life, minor improvements in video resolution, and better sound quality through the speakers. "
"I'm an extremely heavy user and my galaxy nexus can burn through its battery very quickly, its my main gripe with it. It is also one of the key features I will be looking for in my next phone. I don't need more processor speed, focus on giving me better battery life."
"need to see battery Tests."
"Well, I'm fine with 720p in a 4.7" screen but the battery is the key. If it's not at least a full day battery, then there's no point."
"That User Experience is horrible! Give me the option to double the battery size (Motorola got the idea with the MAX), I'm willing to take the size/weight consequences."
" Now, if they just improve the battery life we have a home run."
" All those updates to the tiles keep burning battery. As for the battery, it needs to be larger. Phones do not need to be so thin you can shave with them. The DO need to last all day (with all day use). I don't think this is "the" phone for me but I hope HTC uses some of these features in future phones (a max battery version would be nice)."
"All these sacrifices for silly 1080p marketing gimmick nobody will distinguish from normal distances. Maybe in one year or two, some OEM will say that PPI race is meaningless and they will give 2x battery life instead. Ironically, HTC did the same with this phone with their camera MP count."
"I'd rather have a larger battery, sane front buttons (HTC logo in the middle, whut?), microSD card, and definitely require inductive charging. I also have no interest in a 1080p screen on a phone. It's a phone. You do not need or want a 1080p screen. You may think you want it, but in reality it just adds a bunch of cost and battery drain, for a very pointless difference over 720p."
And my own comment:
"Until smartphone battery life during ACTUAL usage at least DOUBLES (let's say 16 hours, to allow for human sleep/phone charging for the other 8 hours of the day), there will be LOTS room for improvement. I look forward to that day."
Listen to your readership! Help put an end to battery anxiety.
TrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I agree that longer battery life would be nice, but I've never had battery anxiety with my current phone (galaxy S3). That's a world of difference from the previous smart phone generation. I usually put it on the charger at night with 50% to 75% battery still left. Maybe 30% if I am traveling on vacation and taking lots of photos, yelping restaurants, and navigating around town without bothering to use a car charger. Would I like two days of battery life? Sure. Do I need it? Not the vast majority of the time. And I could carry a second battery if I needed it.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
1. Your personal measurements are irrelevant and inaccurate.2. Modern phones get around 3-5 hours of screen time. The only way to reach the numbers you gave is by not using your phone. You may feel like you used it "all day", when in reality you only used it for 3-5 hours, in which case you are one of those people who does not use their phone.
3. Noone said anything about "two days" of life (although it would be nice). Just one day of constant use (as defined in my comment above) without a charge or a second battery.
3. You shouldnt have to carry a second battery to get a full day of actual usage. Plus you could only do that with a GS3 anyway. N4, XPZ, HOX/One and iPhones require you to carry a recharger pack which you must plug in while using your phone, another unnecessary inconvenience.
This all goes away if you make the phone 3mm thicker (6000mah).
nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Most people will prefer carrying one or two additional battery than carrying 6000mah battery every time.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I agree. But why not at least have the option, a model with expanded battery like the MAXX? Most manufacturers don't let you swap batteries in the manner you mentionCeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's why they give you the cheapo thin battery, you can't swap it.Take that thought back to the iphonetard rants on the prior pages that user replaceable battery is who wants it...
OF COURSE EVERYONE WANTS IT.
On Samsung, just buy the thicker mod back cover and the huge battery. Add the 64GB sd for $50.
Now the all day with monster movie storage and music to spare, and personal HDR video up the wazz is ready to go.
There are many reasons Samsung now dominates
acky2lum - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Not really, we are not talking about power banks VS extra battery. We are talking about no need to carry around an extra piece, no plug in and use at the same time, no turning off and on the phone to switch battery. Besides, how much could that extra weight be? Barely noticable.TrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I was playing devil's advocate to your rant by stating the obvious (and the *very relevant* if you are a phone manufacturer): Many users are finding it easy to get through the day on a single charge with today's more power-efficient smartphones. The 3-5 hours of screen time you mention, plus long standby time, is 'adequate' for many people. Hence the design tradeoffs we are seeing from manufacturers. In a world where manufacturers are trying to have only a single flagship phone, they are looking to hit the middle 90% of users. That stinks for the 10% whose needs are not being met.As I stated, I'd also like the option of a bigger battery to be available. But there is an obvious reason why manufacturers are making the tradeoffs they are making.
flyingpants1 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
There are other good reasons to make a phone that works for longer than 4 hours. Battery life can be a selling point for the mainstream as well. Most smartphone users do complain about it. There is a huge third party market for external/extended batteries. Every manufacturer now makes the same phone with the same specs (Snapdragon, 5"), and only two, Apple and Samsung, make money (slight exaggeration). It's not like they have anything to lose by trying something different. If you took a poll asking "would you make your 2mm thicker if it gave you 1.5x battery?" I think the response would be overwhelmingly "Yes".Razr MAXX had a very positive response. If you actually sit down and look at a Maxx - it would be possible to build one with a 5050mah battery and have it fit into a slightly modified otterbox commuter case (the smaller 15mm version). Everything fits with no increase in dimensions. t
That's just a first attempt by me, and I'm no engineer.
In the very near future (3-4 years) our phones will have IVB-like performance and hundreds of gigs of storage, they'll slowly replace laptops for many people. When that time comes I'd rather be able to use my device for more than 4 hours.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The umm RETARDS in this area are suffering from the childhood trauma, which they never outgrew, where their led text flipphone was a bulky wad that hurt their sidie side and tum tum and butty butt when they laid down or sat down or rolled over... the forever scarring just can't be shaken... some of them ever had to wear a belt and use a leather belt holder or their first pants bulge ever ruined their press line.So ever since they got a boo boo with the formerly thick as a golf ball original palm helds, they've been on a rage...
Now 9mm is way too thin to complain about, but the forever scarred can't get a grip - often literally because the phones are too thin already to grip them... now that it matters, their nanny nanny boo boo matters, and that's about it.
flyingpants1 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
I'm extremely proud and honored that a well-known troll supports my position. Thank you.You're right, 9mm should be just fine. Did anyone complain about the 12.7mm HTC EVO 4G (original)? But instead of incrementally increasing capacity, they make it thinner. It's important to note that the market didn't choose this, because there were no alternative options.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
You should be since I'm correct nearly 100% of the time, and have to correct the true children trolls who do not think with their borg acquired estrogen hispter spewlaid that has been crammed down their throats, did a 180 and sucked up into the tiny spongegourd they wield ineffectively.Let's face it, with the focus group the retards win saying thin thin thin.
Like I said they will continue in that clueless vein until the phone slices one of their digits off.
At that point they will consider some options and perhaps make their way toward being reasonable instead of spewing hipster lines.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I wholly expect "them" to demand thinness until the sharp alu metal edges of their "feeeel" mobile phone slices a few of their fingers off.At that point, they will reconsider "thinness". Until then expect them to remain utterly insane.
Biln3 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
HTC should of atleast gave us a removable battery, since contracts are 2 years long, the battery will be alot weaker by then. they cant lie to us anymore and say phones with removable batteries can be made thinner. the galaxy S4 is one of the thinnests phones out there.I've never heard someone say "Eww i'm not buying that phone it has a removable battery and a micro SD slot." but i have heard plenty people say the opposite.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Except you'd have to sacrifice the seamless design and the really niced curved back if you want a removable battery.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Form over function!!!!Most people put their phone in a case.
Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
1. I don't.2. The curved back makes it much more comfortable to hold, which is definitely function.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
What ? So curved back is good (battery access or not) but almost square corners is as well ?You don't have to sacrifice a curved back for a removable battery. If you do not have a removable back, you have to sacrifice any change in shape and color.
Since you don't use a cover, you have to sacrifice your crappy looking phone back, forever scratched, faded, and spewed upon.
A removable cover is replaceable and often modded.
Biln3 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
they can cut in a battery door, the back isn't curved that much to where a battery won't fit if a door is cut out. I never use phone cases they are useless and pointless. I always put my phone in an empty pocket and my keys and other stuff in the other. I do use a zagg screen protector, that's all you need. I never understood why people use phone cases especially the otter boxes, it makes your 9mm thick phone a 29mm phone. what are people doing with there phones.flyingpants1 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Dropping them. Then reselling them for full value because they are in perfect condition. Otterbox commuter is around 15mm thick and I throw my phone at the ground to demonstrate how effective it is.tipoo - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I hope this one does it for HTC. Their One X was arguably better than the GSIII, but sold far less units due to Samsungs massive marketing push. I hope the same isn't repeated here, as the One really appears to be the type of phone that really should have its creators rewarded, I think this may be the best looking phone out there and certainly by far the best looking Android phone out there at least. The stereo speakers on two sides are a nice touch, stereo is kind of useless (like on my iPad Mini) if both speakers are shooting in the same direction, the sound mushes together anyways. And the chassis is really nice, display is great, etc. Really my favorite phone so far.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
One X was NOT better - it lacked removable battery and micro SD slot.Pylon757 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Those are not the only two qualities that instantly make a phone objectively worse than another phone. The One X had better design and a sharper (and arguably better) screen.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
And weaker battery (1800mah vs. 2100mah GS3)darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Nobody cares.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Only you are nobody.piroroadkill - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Whoops! A lot of people care.eebrah - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
The sales figures BEG to differhaze4peace - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
It's all subjective. In tipoo's opinion it was better. In your opinion it is not. This world is big enough for more than one opinion on cell phones. Try to be a little less absolute.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Who has to be less absolute ? Tippo talked his crap, and someone pointed out why they consider it crap.Which party has to be less absolute, the one giving their opinion first or the other correcting or giving another opinion ?
Maybe you get to decide, but no, instead you have a fit and demand others not counter an opinion they consider ridiculous or is in some cases not an opinion but false ?
Try to be a little less estrogen doused demanding control when differences arise - take your own advice.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Another point is, many will not take a phone without a removable cover for battery replacement and SD card slot.Others will take either, sealed or not. BOTH are welcome to do as they please and NO ONE HAS TO BE LESS ABSOLUTE.
If we heard about people who will only take a sealed phone ( we have not in this entire thread), your stupid mind may have not brain farted so badly.
mwildtech - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Still waiting on the Droid DNA Review......? What happened with that?mwildtech - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
BTW Anand - Nice Picture of RDU and Video in Lafayette Village :)Samus - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I've never owned an HTC phone, but now maybe I will. In the past, friends have complained about things from random reboots to cheap plastic. I have a Galaxy S3 and planned to hang on to it for awhile but hey, at least its held its value if I decide to sell it.And considering I never capture photo's at max resolution on ANY of my camera's (even my DSLR) I could care less it's a 4MP sensor. I usually capture at 3.1MP anyway.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Oh that's weird. you must have a tiny computer screen 1024X768. Upgrade your monitor so your old crappy DSLR can be upgraded too.Stop living in the past. 3.1 mp ? LOL
You will never get hired for camera work.
evonitzer - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I hesitate to even respond to your trolling comments (which have been all over this thread article. Where do you find the time?) but do the math. 1920x1080 is 2 mp. Therefore, for full screen viewing you don't need anything more than that. 1024x768 is .78mp.The only time you need more is if you own a 4k television (8.3mp) and you have way too much money, or you are printing. But who prints cell phone pics? Who prints anything for that matter?
But if you must, an 8x10 can be made with a 4mp picture using 204dpi, which is ok.
snajk138 - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
You're forgetting about cropping and zooming. If I take an 8MP shot I can cut out the 75% of the image that I don't need and still get the "full" resolution of my HD screen. If I'm showing a picture to someone I tend to zoom in on the important stuff. Doing both means I might actually need th 13MP or whatever that some new phones have.Not that MP's say much about picture quality anyway and they're getting to the point where more pixels actually means worse quality, but still, higher resolutions are not a waste just because we don't have as high a resolution displays.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Thank you, I was going to tell DUMMY to pinch and zoon into his brain, he may find the second cell.evonitzer - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
I wasn't forgetting, I was making your second point. I'm all for argument for its own sake, but seriously! We agree! More pixels are not a waste if they are actually contributing, but having pinch-zoomed on my cell phone pics I have pretty serious doubts there is much extra info to be gained.I have less to agree with Cerise though. 76 comments! Are you serious?! I really hope you are getting paid by somebody.
pandemonium - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It's cool hearing your endorsing experience with it. On paper and theory this phone appears to be the next big thing out there and it's great hearing first-hand that at least some of that is true.Looking forward to Brian's extensive breakout!
darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Really disappointing that this phone will not be on Verizon., I can't understand their reasoning for this unless they somehow think the DNA is an acceptable substitute. It isn't.Silma - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
It would be nice if HTC did a WP8 One.Regarding removable batteries I'm still changing batteries after 18-24monthes. Not replacing my phone every year I still think it's a must.
Same thing for ultrabooks / tablets really. That's why I still haven't bought a Surface Pro or an Ultrabook. I don't want a 45min autonomy device in 2 years because I can't replace the battery.
delica - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Anand,One thing I've noticed is how much smoother and more responsive devices using Snapdragon processors are than those using Tegra. Tegra always makes for a choppy Android UI, regardless of how many cores you are running or the clock speed. Interestingly, even phones running android 2.3 on Snapdragon S2 feel smoother than my Samsung S2. Though I'm actually not sure now whether my S2 has an Exynos or an Nvidia CPU, but the gist of it is the same. My Asus Infinity has Tegra 3 and Android 4.1 and is still extremely choppy.
So, my question is whether you, or anyone else here for that matter, are under the same impression?
Death666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
The SGS2 was using either the Exynos Dual Core or a TI OMAP 4430. I had the SGS2 for over a year before switching to the Galaxy Nexus. It was super smooth. Even more so after upgrading to 4.0. Maybe you are doing something to the OS that you shouldn't? :Dlopri - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
If Samsung made a phone that looks like this one, they would be accused of copying Apple. HTC doesn't run that risk for the virtue of being small. Something to think about, on our perverted IP laws in general.A5 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
This doesn't really look anything like any Apple devices. It's pretty clearly a different thing, especially with the different home screen.A Galaxy S or S2 with Touchwiz looks an awful lot like an iPhone 3GS, though. Samsung has done better with the S3 and S4 in that department, to be fair.
uhuznaa - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Why should someone bother to sue someone else who's in no way a threat? While of course someone else who IS a threat will be fought by all legal means, that's just business. Don't pretent that companies in a billion dollar market should be more holy than common people (who'll happily sue for much less money anyway).evonitzer - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
What a weird comment. Are you accusing HTC of copying Apple by saying that if Samsung made this phone they would have been accused? Do you think they are copying Apple? Do you have any thoughts on the matter or are you just prognosticating on the reaction of the internet fanboys to a hypothetical situation?Anand did address this a little by saying that lead time on devices is pretty long. So they couldn't have started copying the iPhone 5 (which is most similar) before it was even out.
mazz7 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
A very nice phone and a nice review Anand, but not as i expected from your anandtech.com site :)Plastic phone are so very last year, i will definitely buy this when it's come out. once you go HTC you'll never buy anything. PS: from SGS2 and HTC One X owner.
Arbie - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No microSD card = no sale. Still.And for the non-removable battery: What do people do with these phones in two years when the battery will no longer hold a charge? Throw them away? Send them in for refurb?
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Oh stop it. He has a right to his opinion, he loves apple so let him vent.Why are you such an anti first amendment nazi ? Ask yourself that.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Trollposts? CeriseCogburn has been on a tear trolling anyone who even slightly disagrees with the notion that microSD and removable battery are not that important.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Oh goody, the little tattle tale told everyone... not run to Mommie... I'm sure everyone wanted to know that hadn't seen it.CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Also, since he does not seem to have a good argument on his points that have been rebutted, it is a way for others to LEARN and decide for themselves.It's ALWAYS GOOD to have a naysayer or fan or disser, as one can then validate, invalidate, verify, or see the argument against is empty.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Like yourself?haze4peace - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You should be banned too. Troll posts should stay on youtube comments. Anandtech is a step above most sites and the comments should reflect that. There is a difference from having a counter argument and just calling someone a retard.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
You two idiots don't reflect it.phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
^ Please ban above ^Thanks Anand.
Loyal Anandtech Reader.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
How to contradict openly and quickly:" The One looks and feels great. The proportions are a little awkward in my hands, but I fully concede that’s going to vary from person to person."
It feels great but it feels awkward.... that's...whatever...
Loved this too:
" Despite the heavy use of aluminum, I don't feel overly worried about scratching/damaging the finish. "
Yes not overly worried, but worried nonetheless.
Aluminum feels like CRAP on the hands, like all other metals. They are HARSH on the hands. your finger and palm oils will eat into them and discolor them, they will rust, surface oxidation.
YET we have a bevy of retards who can't get enough of it. I submit that marketing and peer hype and group think rules the day. Luckily I'm here to point out how stupid it is.
Reviewer obviously want to, but hold themselves back, we can't after all help kill a dying company... well they can't it's not "nice" nor conducive to their business.
Metal is hard on your hands, your hands are hard on metal, get a clue fanboys.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
A great excuse for a company too cheap to shell out the bucks on some half decent design instead of constantly aping the efforts of others. How pathetic that Samsung should make an ad mocking the iPhone 5 for being stretched and the come out with this. Pathetic.Mook1e - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Lol, except both the S3 and S4 bill of materials costs more than the iphone5.jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Fanboys? Look at your own comments you moron.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Two above you had to be corrected for being a stupid fanboy by Mookie.I win again. Because I don't open my piehole like an estrogen doused little 3rd grader.
Try to make sure you have it correct, won't you ? FUD spreader.
piroroadkill - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
A bit odd, since I've owned a Desire HD for years, and the back looks the same as the day it was made, and it always felt really nice. Dropped plenty of times..crimson117 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Can the HTC One be updated to Android 4.2.2?One thing I preefr about iPhone is that, in general, all models get the latest iOS upgrades, even if a few features remain disabled (eg Siri), at least for a year or two.
Despoiler - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Not until HTC releases the update. There will however be lots of ROMs for the hardware.The0ne - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Anand is entitle to his opinion about removable battery and SD card support but these are very important features that a lot of people look for, myself included. I plan to use the phone for a long while not change it every two years, thus a removable battery is a great option. What if I want a larger capacity battery for business travels?SD card is just useful for storing more of anything. Heck go up to 128GB on my Note 2 if I wanted but 64 is holding up ok.
Why a professional person like Anand giving review would make these kinds of remarks is ludicrous not to mention incredulous. Might as well use the same line for every other reviews that's been done. I've learn to live with OC on CPU's now, I've learn to live without...
Sorry but that's just moronic for a professional reviewer to say.
jayseeks - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Says the guy who probably just signed up for an account and is in all likelihood a paid Samsung shill like the rest of the Samsung supporters on here.evonitzer - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
We give up on things all the time! Laptops are getting sealed batteries to save size and stuff in a bigger battery, memory soldered onto the motherboard, 16x9 displays, etc.This is especially true with features that aren't unanimously loved, like removable backs and sd cards. All he can do as a reviewer is note that he doesn't really care, and move on. Me, I don't really care. If it's a big enough internal storage, that's enough. I store things long term on my desktop and don't need to carry around massive files on my phone.
But if you want to be like all the inflammatory commenters and act like every freaking review calls into question the last 16 years of this website's excellence, then be my guest and read some other site with views that fit into your staunch opinion of how cell phones should be.
groundhogdaze - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Anand made a personal statement in the comment section suggesting he's okay with not having those features. He did not disparage the features in the review itself. He has an opinion, it counts, but you don't have to take it. Just take the arrow to the knee and stop while you are ahead.Hrel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I don't care so terribly about a removable battery, assuming it lasts all day and always will. Since that's never the case it does hurt. But the lack of a micro-sd card makes it useless for me. Very saddening since otherwise it's my idea of the perfect phone. Especially like the camera.dotroy - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
@For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out. - Yes ...it's so hard to admit that they copied apple design. In-fact even though they made it look 100% same as iPhone, you will still find some other excuse......very charmingCrazy1 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I agree with Brian that 4.3" screen is the sweet spot for smart phones. I would like to see a premium android phone come out with similar dimensions as the RAZR M. If a company could cram all of the One's features with a 720p 4.3" screen into a phone that size I would immediately go buy it. I'm just not sure a quad-core SoC, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of NAND would currently fit with all of the other components and leave room for a decent sized battery.evonitzer - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I was thinking the same thing. 1280x720 = 340ppi in 4.3 inches. Back it up with some decent hardware and I think we'd have a winner. Perhaps they could go the Nokia route with their cheap phones and make it thicker and plastic (and maybe crazy removable backs?) so we could see if people really are interested in a thicker phone with good innards. Price it like the Nexus 4, and I would snap it up in a heartbeat.Mook1e - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I'm just going to post two anecdotes with regards to both removable batteries and microsd storage.Let me caveat my statements by admitting I own a Galaxy Note 2 and am an advocate for both features.
I was recently working with someone who had 2 iphones on Verizon simply so that he could have double the battery life. He didn't use an external charger, but instead called Verizon and deactivated and then activated the iphones when the battery died on his first phone! Ridiculous.
I always carry two batteries for my phone, even though the Note 2 lasts 2 days with moderate use. I've just gotten into the habit and it's great to have the simple option if I am away from power unexpectedly.
I was also recently snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado using my Note 2 for music and a GoPro to record my runs.
I had purchased a 64GB microsd for the Note 2 and a 16GB microsd (with sdcard adapter) for the GoPro. I would swap the chips and watch my runs on the gondola back up to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, the glorious huge screen (even though not fullhd) of the Note 2 and the fact I was even able to swap cards was awesome, and numerous fellow gondola riders stated the same when I did it.
These incidences have only happened in the last 2 WEEKS and they perfectly demonstrate the flexibility you have with those two simple design choices.
One more thing about this mini review.. why is it every other review/preview of the One and S4 has indicated that while the One has good low-light camera performance, overall its camera is of lower quality to the S4/Z chip and S4 software? Just wondering.
Death666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
To your last point: Anand did state:"In well lit outdoor scenes the One’s camera does a reasonable job (although HTC seems to have an issue with noise in these well lit scenes from whatever processing they seem to be doing)"
Which shows that he thinks that in that scenario, it is only par for the job or even below par. And I don't think he has a G4 to compare with, hence no comparison to that. :)
Mook1e - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
That's all well and good, but in his S4 comparison he implies the One has better camera quality versus the S4's list of features. Better low-light quality, but arguably worse quality overall.Can we have some honesty, please?
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Mook1e,Try listening to the podcasts and/or reading Brian's article on optics - that's what's biased Anand. He respects Brian's knowledge and understanding of optics and smartphone cameras and is likely placing some faith in Brian's assertion that the One is going in the right direction when it comes to smartphone cameras.
nerd1 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Actual sample pics says elsewise.Mook1e - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I'm just going to post two anecdotes with regards to both removable batteries and microsd storage.Let me caveat my statements by admitting I own a Galaxy Note 2 and am an advocate for both features.
I was recently working with someone who had 2 iphones on Verizon simply so that he could have double the battery life. He didn't use an external charger, but instead called Verizon and deactivated and then activated the iphones when the battery died on his first phone! Ridiculous.
I always carry two batteries for my phone, even though the Note 2 lasts 2 days with moderate use. I've just gotten into the habit and it's great to have the simple option if I am away from power unexpectedly.
I was also recently snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado using my Note 2 for music and a GoPro to record my runs.
I had purchased a 64GB microsd for the Note 2 and a 16GB microsd (with sdcard adapter) for the GoPro. I would swap the chips and watch my runs on the gondola back up to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, the glorious huge screen (even though not fullhd) of the Note 2 and the fact I was even able to swap cards was awesome, and numerous fellow gondola riders stated the same when I did it.
These incidences have only happened in the last 2 WEEKS and they perfectly demonstrate the flexibility you have with those two simple design choices.
One more thing about this mini review.. why is it every other review/preview of the One and S4 has indicated that while the One has good low-light camera performance, overall its camera is of lower quality to the S4/Z chip and S4 software? Just wondering.
name99 - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
"For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out."I don't know about that. The champfering, in particular, seems so much an iPhone5 design cue that isn't forced by the overall design concept. But that's not what I want to discuss.
What I find interesting here is the question of how much profit HTC makes on these devices, which I suspect are crazy expensive to make. My larger thinking is based on the question of: "how is Apple competing", a question that is constantly answered on the internet by reference to what Apple was doing 18 months ago rather than what Apple is doing today, let alone next year.
At first Apple competed on the basis simply of having a smartphone that actually was a smartphone, not a piece of crap like every competitor.
This persisted until Android became at least marginally viable (around 2.2 or so) at which point the competition shifted to screen quality. This was the basis of competition for two years or so until Apple's exclusivity contracts ran out, or perhaps until competitors managed to retool for retina displays.
Both of these features (OS quality and screen quality) remain Apple selling points, and Apple fanatics will point out ways in which they remain superior; but their superiority is now a matter of degrees and opinion, not the qualitative difference of before.
So what's the new basis for competition. I submit that it is build quality. The iPhone5 is a truly astonishing device to hold. The iPhone1 (and 3G and 3GS) had really obvious seams and edges; even the iPhone 4 and 4S had noticeable edges. But the 5 seems like it is almost organically grown in its perfection. And so it provides an answer to the question "Why should I pay more for an iPhone".
Samsung does not (as far as I can tell) appear interested in competing along this dimension. (Whatever other people have said about SGS4, they have not raved about its build quality as something new.) This may be because they haven't had time to retool; or it may be that Samsung simply appreciate that their customers are not willing to pay for this --- there's no shame in selling a Honda Civic at Honda Civic prices, the only shame is pretending your Civic is a Mercedes.
HTC, on the other hand, seem to have decided this is a space in which they want to compete; and at least from the photos they seem to have succeeded --- I haven't seen one in real life, so don't know if there are non-obvious problems. This may make sense for them, catering to the Android-loving set who are willing to pay more (BMW to Apple's Mercedes); but it all hinges on whether they can make a profit. Apple have invested (we know this from a variety of clues) a MASSIVE amount, like billions of dollars, in tooling and in learning over the years, to get to the point where they can make an iPhone5, sell it at the price they do, and make a profit.
It's not clear to me that HTC can make the economics work in the same way.
Which is a shame --- high-end competition for Apple benefits us all; but if I had to bet, my betting would be on HTC going broke over this, not on it saving HTC. I expect the end-game will be some sort of merger --- MAYBE Samsung buying HTC, but more likely either one of the Taiwan computer companies or maybe nVidia.
haze4peace - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Hey thanks for the insightful post.nerd1 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
CNC machining has been around for decades and it does not cost that much ($2-$3 i guess)And apple havent invested anything to improve cnc technology either. Literally anyone can uae machine if they are willing to do - see nokia, htc, and even samsung (their series 9 laptop has cnc unibody)
Also apple has way higher margin than even samsung who makes most parts in house. All other OEMs uses obviously better display, larger ram, better ap, larger battery... Apple products are not BMW, they are polished civics with BMW prices.
RicGrupe - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
As a photographer, I can assure you that the amount of "megapixels" is not a determining factor to image quality.....but, rather a consideration.Your eyes will do the determining!
Smaller file sizes and the need for less storage, IMO, are more meaningful for this type of photography.
Death666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Nice first look. You are missing PPI for the iPhone5 in the table. :) Thanks for the metric units used!I doubt I'll be buying a smartphone in '13 (still very happy with my GNexus). But both the One and the S4 look nice. But I'd probably take an S4 over the One. Material choice is moot for me, all my smartphones get stuffed into full cover cases and I don't see them again unless I'm changing the SIM, the battery or the SD card. While I can tolerate Touchwiz I cannot stand Sense (though I'd use none in the long run). I also have less faith in HTC updating the software and the community always seems larger with Samsung devices. And I don't like that HTC locks the bootloader for non-developer devices. 32GB is great for the low-end configuration of the One. But I'd still take a 16GB S4 with mSD slot over 32GB onboard with no mSD slot. I don't use the camera on my phones for anything worth remembering a day later. So I really don't care much about either camera. SGS2 camera was very good. GNexus is fine as well. If all were equal, I'd chose the One over the S4 because of the camera though. As for screen, I like my AMOLED and I like 5". Coming from a 4.7" device, I would not upgrade to a 4.7" device if the competition was offering bigger screens. I'd take a Note2 if I was going to upgrade this year. Hell, maybe the Note3 will get me to upgrade. For me, the larger the better until ~6". I don't see myself using either Zoe or the highlights reel a lot either.
What is your distinction between enthusiasts and mainstream users. You say the One is geared towards enthusiasts while the S4 is for mainstream users. Based on what features do you make that assessment? I consider myself an enthusiasts (albeit with a limited budget) but I don't think the HTC One caters to me (see my paragraph above).
I hope the One sells well for HTC.
I got an email from my carrier some days ago that they were the firsts to send out HTC Ones worldwide. Seems like the people who ordered one from them will be getting it at the start of next week. :)
Pjotr - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You don't wanna make iPhone look bad, so you omitted the DPI on the screen for it?phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
It's 306PPIGimpsUnlimited - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Wait, this little phone as an 802.11 ac radio and yet I can't buy one for my laptop? What the #$%! I want 802.11 ac module wifi module for my laptop now.groundhogdaze - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Can someone point out to me why it's so hard to include an SD Card slot? Is there some sort of patent royalty involve? Does it significantly drop battery life? "Because you don't need it" is not a strong case for excluding a feature that some folks are pretty fervent about. Many people do not need it but enough people still want it for it to be a marketable feature. Consumers are looking for the best bang for the buck, having an SD slot gives you a cheaper alternative than paying $100 for the next 32GB increment up. Listening to some of the folks on this thread, 32GB would all that you need, the manufacturers shouldn't even waste their time with the 64GB models. Is there some reason you don't want the slot? There might even be dirt cheap 128GB SD cards a year or two down the road - but you won't be able to use that unless your phone has a slot. Having extra storage allows us more ways to be creative with what we do with the devices. Why not include it?? "Oh 32GB is a loss leader, they can only make money if they sell 64GB to you. Poor manufacturers, boo hoo"... Don't give me that crap, I don't care. I am consumer. I want Bang for the Buck! I want Love me Long Time! Give it to me.Samsung teabagged HTC on the last go around - does HTC really want a repeat? Put the SD card slot in and be done with it...
tommo123 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
IMO google don't want mSD so you have to use google drive and pay them for more space for your stuffhaze4peace - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
They chose to omit mSD slot for the form factor.piroroadkill - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Yeah, just not true. Plenty of thin phones that have micro SD. Also, mSD would be "milli SD", no such thing exists, so surely it would be µSD if we're going to use an incorrect form of "micro SD" in the first place.haze4peace - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
They didn't omit it for the thinness, but for the unibody design.glugglug - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - link
SD Card slots are intentionally missing nowadays.Apple couldn't charge 120 more for a 64GB iPad vs. a 16GB model if it had an SD slot where you could put a 64GB card for $25.
As for the people saying to "just use the cloud" good luck trying to access your cloud storage on a train or a flight. Even having the bandwidth for 480p video outdoors is not consistent with most cell service, especially if you enter a crowded area with other cell users.
raj-jamaica - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
the world would be so much of a better place if 3 pests,namely...jayseeks, cerisecogburn and darwinosx areout of this blog.hp79 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Can't wait for the release on AT&T next month. I was waiting for HTC One, but then Microsoft was giving Nokia 920 for free with 2 year contract (upgrade). I really wanted try out WP from long time ago, and was not worried since Nokia 920 is the flagship product of WindowsPhone so I got the Nokia.I use the cheapest possible data plan, 300MB for $20 which is a rip off, so I'm careful with how I use data. I looked around, and found out that it didn't even have a data usage monitor app (DataSense is missing from at&t version).
Also, there's no Starbucks app, no Google Voice, bunch of bank apps missing, and no way to remove the hotmail contacts (I use google contacts) from showing up. Contacts are all duplicated because I have google contacts and hotmail contacts showing up. Sure, they are linked under one name, but eventually I had to manually clean up all the contacts in hotmail.
It's a shame to Nokia that they used "PureView" mark on the Nokia 920 because the photo quality was so-so, even compared to my Note 1 (N7000). Nokia 920 has Carl Zeiss lens, but I don't think there's any benefit. My ancient dumbphone - Sony C905 takes better pictures than this.
I returned the Nokia 920 today, and now back in the waiting line for HTC One.
Techlover30 - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Honestly 64GB would be plenty for me. Realistically why would you need anymore space than that? Unless your putting A LOT of movies or an absolute crap load of photos on your phone it doesn't really make sense. As for the removable battery, I can understand if people need or want that feature. Nearly every phone I've ever had has had a removable battery but I've never had the need to change out or replace the battery in any of them. More than likely I will be getting the HTC One because of the materials, build quality, better screen and Sense (much better than Touchwiz in my opinion). Don't get me wrong I think the SG4 is a hell of a phone I just like the HTC One better.doctorpink - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
I had a HTC Wildfire S & SGS2.... Htc wins it hands down im my opinion... even if the wildfire s was a low end device.Easier to unlock/root , easier to modify, smaller and Sense >> Touchwiz
Biln3 - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
So the htc one has ddr2 and the gs4 has ddr3 with the same SOC (here in the states). is there gonna be much of a performance difference?cyberguyz - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
We're better because we have a 4MP rear Camera with bigger ccd elements? Seriously?That is the quality of digital cameras in the '90s. Can't HTC find a way to clean up an 8MP camera?
I guess it comes down to this:
How much will it cost? If it is significantly cheaper than the SGS4, this might be a viable solution for those that want to get a little more bang for the buck. But if the cost is the same you need to step back, look at both phones and ask yourself "Which one gives me the most for my money?" and "What am I willing to give up in the name of bling?".
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Pixels are too small in 8MP and up to let in enough light for good low-light performance.phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Re: bling vs. perceived utilityDifferent consumers.
Both extreme views. Reality is that the utility between these phones is marginally different.
xenol - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Reading a few pages into the comments seems to center around whining that the HTC One has no removable battery or SD card slot. But it makes me wonder... How many people actually use those features on a regular basis? If you don't, then why complain about a feature you don't really use?Mook1e - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Read back one page and you'll see one person who used those features in the last two weeks. Me.phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
So, stop bringing it up.Let sleeping dogs lie.
half_duplex - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Many of you are missing a very important factor. The HTC One will compete not only with Samsung, but also Apple.I don't feel there are very many Apple users who look at the Galaxy line as a serious option, they are too far apart. Apple users are accustomed to top of the line fit and finish, Samsumg users expect the top spot on the specs chart and the largest screen.
I am an iPhone 4 user who's waiting on an Android device for the first time. I'm getting a more powerful device, a larger (not too large) screen, but I don't have to take a step back in build quality.
I don't mind the camera issues, but it would be nice to see this thing launch with the latest Android.
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
+1krumme - Wednesday, March 27, 2013 - link
Well you should have no problem as you are used to a smaller screen in a big, heavy and fragile chassis and old softwareDEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
But you're saying you don't have the imagination to see that you could use replaceable battery and SD slots? I am just saying HTC really goofed on omitting those, having those would win them a ton of customers given the higher build quality of the HTC ONE.brandensilva - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Well I certainly plan on getting this phone in the next couple of weeks due to its impeccable housing body and performance. I'm willing to sacrifice the battery and SD storage to be honest. That's hard to say as a techy but I've come to find those features to be unnecessary even for me after I went that route last time. I know I can root this and throw whatever OS I want on it, so sense 5 is a non-issue; although I may give this sense a try as its slimmer.I got tired of changing batteries and losing track of which one was charged and which one was not. I got tired of swapping around SD cards too. I just want a phone that works well, looks good (since I have to stare at the thing often) and can do what I need it to do. Speed, OS customization, and functionality are far more important to me these days.
I think most people don't care about batteries and additional SD slots. It's easy to see that today. Nexus line = no sd card. HTC is going the same route. The iPhone has already been there since its inception. Other handsets following suit or already gone that way.
I did the family test and I'm the only one in my extended family out of 50 or so smartphone users who has ever bought more batteries and sd cards. Half the family uses iphones, the other android. I'm sure if more people in my family were techies, those odds would go up for these features but people just need to stop arguing that these are critical features for the majority of users; they are not and they never be.
With that said, I know there is a small market for these features and I'm sure Samsung will be more than happy to cater to that.
brandensilva - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
I forgot to add the co-worker test. When I worked at a tech company with a group of 18 or so techies, over half of us had additional sd cards and batteries. It's clear, that the I.T industry loves more space (or pr0n I'm not sure) and juice. But then again, it could have just been a "my wang is bigger than yours" statement kind of thing too. I see the trend dying off more and more as internal space progresses.I also witnessed two iphone switch overs and they were content not worrying about the storage/battery stuff anymore. I'm at the same point myself but I just can't bring myself to the iPhone as I got my iPad for my iOS needs.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I am glad you can let go, but why do you have to let go? I'd love to buy the ONE, but why would a product force you to let go? SD card with 64GB internal storage may not be needed, OK, I can tolerate that, but no replaceable battery? I don't need a spare to carry around, but I know one day that battery will die and I don't want to throw away my device just for a replaceable part, especially if I actually like the ONE. I still have my StarTac's, and with a new battery, they work perfectly well.superflex - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
It would be nice if the comments were devoid of fanboi bravado and would focus on the device at hand.Just imagine if the One had an AMD based GPU. Cerise would have an aneurysm and the comments would have expanded to 100 pages with his trolling.
As soon as this becomes available, I'm buying one and shelving the OG EVO.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
AMD based GPU? I hope it's not one of those desktop version GPU's, that will run on the battery for like 1 minute?superflex - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
The only issue I see with the One is the lack of a menu button. I can certainly live without a replaceable battery and SD slot. Never had the need in 2.5 years on an EVO 4g to use a replacement or expanded battery, but I'm not a voice whore like some people.odiHnaD - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Anand,Thank you for the mini review, looks like a great device.
Kinda sad to see the trolling/bickering in the comment though, this site used to be a safe haven for intelligent and insightful comments...
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
+1Biln3 - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Im sure not many people do swap batteries, my concern is after about a year the battery will start to get weak and hold less and less a charge. since this is your average sized battery not a s big as razr maxx, alot of people will have to charge this phone everyday, some people twice to 3 times a day. batteries only last a certain amount of charges before they start to get weak. so what do we do when the battery starts to only last 60-70% as it did when it was brand new?but i will probably get this phone just because of the loud built in speakers. the new features the galaxy s4 has are just gimicky novelty items to me, nothing really useful.
Belard - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Is it just me? Or does this phone look like what the iPhone5 should have been?hp79 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
I thought this is supposed to be iPhone6. Maybe it has something to with HTC and Apple's settlement pact. The separated antenna from the body looks just like the ones in iPhone4.Who cares... As long as it has good build quality and it can open the camera app very fast, then quickly be able to review and delete, I'm fine with it. My Note (N7000) with stock JellyBean is really slow at this basic task.
I wish if they do a video review, they also test how quickly and smoothly these tasks can be done. I want to see no stutter at all. I even saw Nokia 920 stuttering with loading the menus in picture review mode.
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
Looks pimp to me.It's the iPhone's better looking Android twin.
Prolly better feeling too with the curved edges. iPhone 5's are too sharp and its thinness coupled with its flatness make it unpleasant to hold without a case.
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
But I'd take the iPhone's 112g weight over the One's 143g though.The iPhone 5 feels like a feather compared to the 140g iPhone 4S, which feels like a brick.
So, one can only conclude that the weight'll be a drawback.
daleski75 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
If you think that is heavy I would hate to think what you would say about the Nokia Lumia 920... I own a HTC One and it's very light and much nicer to hold than the iPhone 5.UltraTech79 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
As an Apple fan, Im really glad to see other manufacturer really pushing the highend. This just eans the iPhone 6 will need to be even better, and the cycle continues. Good for all of us!Im also very glad to see people brave enough to stop the MP wars and realize that SnR is worth far more. You can only bruteforce performance to a point.
dexter1 - Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - link
WOW....that's a remarkable device and happy that it impressed you guys very much...it's quite long...when can we expect full review...??
RacerCub - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
Anand, a couple of questions, #1. Do you think you would permanently replace your iPhone with the One? #2. Is 3D dead and #3. Do you think HTC will support the phone more than a year?I have owned many HTC phones over the years, and the biggest problems are no updates to fix issues or give you better version of OS and they ditch supporting it quickly. Things like HTC hub go away so you can no longer get HTC widgets or themes.
iamdluhansa - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
I've use 6 samsungs, 1 motorola, and 2 htcs..and, battery-wise, they are all the same to me. Don't know bout how you use your android, but they way I use androids, they are no different. btw, I use one of the htc the longest, a year.PubFiction - Friday, April 5, 2013 - link
I may have missed it but I saw no mention of the IR emitter. This to me is probably the first innovative (if you can call it that) addition to smartphones since Samsung brought back the stylus in the note. This is one of those things we should have had for years. I am pretty disappointed in the review because it makes little to no mention about the poor choice of HTC to seal this phone up, does it even have a microsd slot? And also completely misses the IR emitter. I guess anand has so much money now he forgot about value and flexibility because he can carry aournd multiple phones in case a battery isn't big enough or he runs out of storage and im sure his TV is completely remote controlled by his phone independent of IR.PubFiction - Friday, April 5, 2013 - link
And just for the record I currently have an HTC evo 3d, my mom has the evo 4g lte, its not that I don't like HTC phones but they are completely killing a portion of their chance to get sales because they they don't have removable batteries and microsd slots. It seems only Samsung is smart enough to corner that market in high end devices.SuBoX - Friday, April 5, 2013 - link
And samsung are killing a big portion of their sales by releasing such an ugly device.Like sd card + battery but don't like design => choose samsung
Like design but don't need sd card and battery => choose htc
Like design and battery and sd card => could try an ugly samsung and be unhappy about design and feel OR try the HTC with external battery chargers (not much bigger then a removable battery in you pocket) and usb otg for storing your extra movies and music on a usb stick
DannyOoi - Saturday, April 6, 2013 - link
Hey all tech fans. Really chill out. Removable battery or microSD cards do have their advantages but whether it is actually a number one priority in your decision to get whichever smart phones is a personal choice. Some prefer it some don’t, some just don’t give 2 hoots about it. From my opinion and from where I am, microsd slots are useful for mid tier phones as those phones usually come with 4gb space, hence the need for microsd. If you are looking at flagship phones which are usually equipped with 16gb upwards it becomes an accessory. Is it a must have? Especially we are moving towards cloud storage. And I have seen so many users android or apple alike have not fill up their 16gb storage. For users like this, what‘s the microsd slot for if not an additional accessory? For removable batteries, I find USB chargers selling for as low as 5USD. But batteries on the other hand cost about 30USD. From my usage pattern it is much easier to just plug your phone in whenever available is easier and cheaper than swapping batteries. For short vacations, some mentioned they could go few days without the charger with 2-3 batteries. Well I would rather bring a charger and leave it at the hotel. Or a power station which is essentially a battery pack and I could use that to charge both my phone and tablet. Rather than having a few different batteries. For long term, replacing a dead battery, I am sure many of you tech fans will want to keep your devices up to date which means before the battery reached its end of life you would have change from whatever you are using to the latest which is the trend I see among many users. And last I check, selling a used set with 2 additional batteries won‘t really make much of a difference to used price. Cheers and let's appreciate what new technology brings to us and let's argue less over trivial matters.RP99 - Saturday, April 6, 2013 - link
Pre-Orded. 'nough said.IsthatyouBevis - Saturday, April 6, 2013 - link
I ordered this. I am not concerned about no removable battery or SD slot. Coming from a samsung. Probably a lot of people out there like me that are ready for a change from samsung, don't like the direction of samsung design, have never needed to swap batteries or needed more than 32 gb storage.I saw a lot of comments saying that even if people don't need the swappable battery and sd slot, it is a marketable feature. For some, yes, but, most people have smart phones now and know if they need it or not.
eits - Monday, April 8, 2013 - link
so, i read this review... i'm pretty surprised. basically, you go on to talk about how much better the galaxy s4 is than the htc one, yet the htc one is the best android phone?? that doesn't make sense to me.Brizone - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - link
Those retards who think removable battery and expandable storage matters. WAKE UP! How in the world you still don't know what a cloud storage is? And please don't tell me you couldn't find a power source easily nowadays?Hated those people who think these outdated things will determine if the phone is good or bad. This is exactly what Samsung do to market their phone in order to make the others looks bad.
Aina - Tuesday, June 18, 2013 - link
hope there’s something that enables it to use Google services. I’ll soon to have one, it’s coming my way from http://www.merimobiles.com/htc-one-802w-dual-sim-a... they’re having more detailed specs. it has a removable back cover but the battery is not removable, is that a pros or cons?shubhamgupta1 - Thursday, September 19, 2013 - link
Hi Anand,I just wanted to ask, if you can change the black menu screen and apply a wallpaper on a HTC ONE like samsung and apple devices without using launcher. I am talking about the menu screen which has only black screen available