It's that time again: Smartphone upgrade!

[RAMA]

I'm upgrading the smartphone tomorrow. I pretty much had settled on the Samsung GS4, though the Note's 5.5" screen almost swayed me, and my happiness with my previous 2 HTC phones almost made me choose the beautifully made HTC One. Anyone want to take a last stab convincing me of which phone to get? T-Mobile is my carrier.

RAMA

 

[MacLeod]

I'd say go with your gut says, if you are swayed chances are sooner or later you'll wish you wnet with what you wanted.

 

[Venardhi]

Moto X or HTC One. I don't think T-Mo is getting the X just yet though.

 

[RAMA]

So apparently the Sony rep had come into the store not long before we got there, because they were pushing the Xperia, a pretty good phone. Gorilla glass, waterproof, and 5" screen, quad core 1.5 ghz cpu. I didn't really need to see the salesman's Xperia while in the shower though, but there was that. My wife chose that one. They almost swayed me because apparently my battery was water damaged from my gym sweat...but I wound up getting the GalaxyS4, and so far it's the best phone I've had or tried out. Really happy with it. In particular, the radio seems to get much better reception than my last phone. LTE has come to my area and although I'm on the outer fringes most of the time, I look forward to trying that out too.

 

[Lindley]

I like my iPhone 5 out-of-the-box, but if I ever get an Android phone I'm going to root it immediately so I can play around with it.

 

[Kirby]

So my iPhone 4 finally bit the dust. After nearly two and a half years, the poor battery was giving out. It would only hold a charge for about six hours, and the constant charging was making it worse.
I did some research and came to the conclusion that the HTC One was the way to go, but when I got to the Verizon store I pussed out and played it safe with the iPhone 5. Big mistake...
It's extremely light, and feels cheap. The battery sucks. I could have it fully charged when I go to bed, and it's at 93% when I wake up, and through minimal usage throughout the day like listening to podcasts on my commute, checking my e-mail a couple of times per day and maybe a few words with friends, and it's down to 40% by the time I get home.
Worst of all, it's the most boring phone I've owned. There is no personality or anything interesting about it. I loved my iphone 4, but the 5 was just dull.
So after a week of not liking the 5, I took advantage of Verizon's 14 day return, gladly paid the $35 restocking fee and picked up the HTC One yesterday. So far I love it! It looks great, feels great, the battery is top notch, and while I have a lot to learn, it's a very fun phone to play around with. So glad I picked it up.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

They almost swayed me because apparently my battery was water damaged from my gym sweat....

I have long bemoaned the fact that my electronic watch can survive being submerged to 150 meters, but they can't make a phone that can survive a few drops of sweat.

 

[MacLeod]

What would happen if you say dared to use it outside when it was raining?

 

[Venardhi]

They almost swayed me because apparently my battery was water damaged from my gym sweat....

I have long bemoaned the fact that my electronic watch can survive being submerged to 150 meters, but they can't make a phone that can survive a few drops of sweat.

Motorola and a few other companies do employ various protective seals and coatings and such. Sony even has a phone (and a tablet) you can use completely submerged.

 

[Tiberius]

I like my iPhone 5 out-of-the-box, but if I ever get an Android phone I'm going to root it immediately so I can play around with it.

That's the thing... You don't need to root your Android phone to play around with it. Get yourself a decent launcher, like Nova Launcher, and you have tremendous flexibility.

 

[Lindley]

I like my iPhone 5 out-of-the-box, but if I ever get an Android phone I'm going to root it immediately so I can play around with it.

That's the thing... You don't need to root your Android phone to play around with it. Get yourself a decent launcher, like Nova Launcher, and you have tremendous flexibility.

I'll have to check that out sometime. I have encountered enough things I've needed root for not to dismiss that option, though.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I like my iPhone 5 out-of-the-box, but if I ever get an Android phone I'm going to root it immediately so I can play around with it.

That's the thing... You don't need to root your Android phone to play around with it. Get yourself a decent launcher, like Nova Launcher, and you have tremendous flexibility.

Does that allow you to control things (ala Services on a PC) as well as uninstall the "uninstallable" apps?

Also, every thread I've seen about rooting also talks about replacing the OS. Is that necessary?

 

[Tiberius]

As far as I am aware, rooting does not require you to replace to OS. Rooting is merely a way to let you change settings that you aren't normally allowed to change.

And no, Nova launcher doesn't allow you to uninstall the apps that you would normally be prevented from uninstalling. it's just an app that lets you change the appearance of the homescreens and the app dock.

 

[Into Darkness]

One thing I will say for Samsungs flagship phones is you can never go wrong. Amazing phones.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I loves me my iPhone 5s. I'm glad I got it instead of the c. I'm waiting for more apps to use that fingerprint sensor!

 

[Saturn0660]

I loves me my iPhone 5s. I'm glad I got it instead of the c. I'm waiting for more apps to use that fingerprint sensor!

A 5c is nothing more then a 5 with color..

 

[Tiberius]

One thing I will say for Samsungs flagship phones is you can never go wrong. Amazing phones.

 

[RAMA]

As far as I am aware, rooting does not require you to replace to OS. Rooting is merely a way to let you change settings that you aren't normally allowed to change.

And no, Nova launcher doesn't allow you to uninstall the apps that you would normally be prevented from uninstalling. it's just an app that lets you change the appearance of the homescreens and the app dock.

I've been using the Next Launcher...really impressive.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I loves me my iPhone 5s. I'm glad I got it instead of the c. I'm waiting for more apps to use that fingerprint sensor!

Other than the fingerprint sensor, what makes the 5s worth all the extra money?

I've read that the camera is better than on the 5c. Does anyone know if the difference is actually noticeable? I'm pretty picky about the quality of photographs, and if possibly I'd like the phone to be my primary or only camera when I travel.

I was going to buy the s, but the c is on sale for $50 at Target this week, and it's awfully tempting. This will be my first iPhone.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The 5c & 5s both have 8 Mpx cameras. The Galaxy S4 has a 13 Mpx camera, which is 3 more than the Canon SLR I bought several years ago. This is great. I mean, I can't carry a regular camera everywhere I go, but my phone is always on me.

The Galaxy has a bigger screen, 16 MB of built in memory plus a micro SD slot for more RAM (up to 64MB more), a removable battery (important to me anyway).

The Iphone 5s starts at 16MB of RAM (non-expandable) and the price jumps $100 for 32MB and another $100 for 64MB.

The one positive I've heard about the 5s is that the CPU is better.


I finally rooted my Galaxy S4, and have managed to get some of the functions under control. Next, getting some of the bloatware under control as well.