Choosing a device!

[Shazamy]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to buy a new unlocked phone in the United States and just wanted some help in making the best choice.
I'm not a power user, I mostly text, browse, play games every once in awhile and take pictures. The main features I'm looking for are in descending order are:

1) Good camera
2) Battery life
3) Nice display
4) Smooth operation
5) Good esthetics

I've researched the likes of HTC One, Galaxy S4, Xperia ZL and Nexus 4.
So far I like the One the most but the Nexus 4's price point is almost too good to pass up especially compared the other candidates.
I can afford the $600 price point but would rather avoid it if I don't have to compromise too much.
I would simply like to know your opinion and suggestions, maybe other phones I haven't mentioned? Or any known issues that I may want to know about with the phones I have mentioned?
Any input would be appreciated, cheers!

 

[funkylogik]

If i had all that money, id choose either the HTC One, the Xperia Z, or most probably, (not on your list) the Note 2. Or wait a few months and see what the Note 3 is like.
Or equally if you dont care about expandable storage, wait and see what the next Nexus phone is like :thumbup:

Wish i had this kinda choice lol

 

[iTzKPanda]

Funkylogik has most of it down, but here's my $0.02:

Well, I'd assume for the devices that are currently out right now, you'd go for the Nexus 4 or HTC One so here's a comparison between them:

-The HTC One's screen is a bit better than the Nexus 4 (468ppi vs 318ppi)
-The HTC One's battery is 200mAh greater than the Nexus 4's, but the screen sizes are the same so I would imagine the battery life isn't too far off from each other.
-The HTC One has a 1.7GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 600 and the Nexus 4 has a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor so for the average user, there isn't much of a difference and both have 2GB of RAM so they run pretty smoothly.
-Also note that it's Sense 5 vs stock Android 4.2.2. So that's something to take into account.

Now the camera is where the One probably wins. Here's a couple side-by-side comparisons of the two cameras (HTC on the left, Nexus 4 on the right)

Here's the full indepth review: HTC One versus LG Nexus 4 | Android Central


If money is no issue, I'd definitely go with the HTC One.
If you would like to save a bit of cash, the Nexus 4 is still a great phone and I know many people (in real life and on these forums) who love their Nexus 4.

 

[Shazamy]

Thank you funkylogik and iTzKPanda

You're right, I have pretty much already narrowed it does to the HTC One or Nexus 4, the real question is, are the added features/specs on the One worth pretty much double the price?
I don't really think they're worth it for me, but what I would like to ask, if anyone knows, will the Nexus 4 get the next version of Android? I would think that with a quad core cpu and 2gb of ram it should, but I don't know for sure.

 

[ocnbrze]

i moved this thread to the device comparison forum, since that is what the discussion is so far.

and yes the any nexus device will always get the updates sooner then the other phones. it is one advantage that nexus will have always.

 

[shadowspawn]

I would personally go with the HTC One. If an android device is imperative for your needs, you can't really go wrong with the One.

In terms of gaming, the One is very smooth with only the most intensive of games dropping the FPS by a noticeable margin. The front facing speakers are also a plus if you don't like to game with headsets as; for one, you won't need to crank the volume up too high when you're playing and two, you won't bother everyone else in the room in front of you because the sound is coming out the back of your phone.

In terms of battery, AFAIK, there are no reputable battery cases for the Nexus 4. Considering both of them have a non-removable battery and the HTC One has mophie battery cases available, that gives the HTC One much more flexibility in that arena.

As per other candidates, the HTC Droid DNA is a factory unlocked phone that you can get relatively cheap on ebay. Depending on how important 4G is to you, that may be an option worth considering. I believe the One X + is also factory unlocked, but at the price that it's selling for, you're better off just getting the One.