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Why the Desire S is the best phone around at the moment!

If you look at my signature you can see how many phones I have had.
In fact I have had many more, just can't be bothered to update my signature.
So why the Desire S ?
I mean its a mid-range phone right!. No swanky dual core or 1920x1280 screen or nvidia GTX 3D chip, etc.
Well heres the thing.
There will always be people that need the latest for something, maybe a game, maybe a massive screen for browsing (like they can't browse at the office or at home) but the majority of people have two usages of a phone:
1. A Jobbing phone. A phone that is actually used to make phones calls alot of the day. Here a Nokia 6700 or lower trumps the bill!
2. An email phone that can be used to browse abit and occasionally use an app
The problem is that no phone can do both well. Simply because a phone that is too big for 1 can be too small for 2. A phone that does 2 soaks up the battery, etc, etc.
So why the Desire S ?
For many years I have been hoping for the following to come together and it has never been delivered to date:
1. Smaller/lighter device
2. Large screen, say 3.5" or bigger, that goes to the edges. In glass mind, not plastic!
3. Metal body, with quality feel and joy of ownership
4. Touch buttons. Yeah, I like real buttons more, but at the end of the day they get dirty and are mechanical and thus the weak point of the phone
5. Clear bright screen, at least 800x480
6. All the mod cons. Android 2.3 is clearly a very together OS (although WP7 and iOS are great as well)
7. Store apps on the SD card, which is replacable
8. Front facing video camera
9. FM radio (bye bye iphone)
10. Great browser, mutiple emails accounts
11. A super-large and useful list of apps
12. A battery that can get me through 1 business day and 2 weekend days
13. Good quality phone calls
Well the Desire S is it.
It ticks all the boxes.
It is compact, stylish and beautiful to hold and it works slick enough to forget things about speed.
Its a phone I can really use, it just works and fast!
No unecessary 4" screen, no weight, no silly proprietry usb connector, free cloud to store contacts and diary, reasonable battery life, enough memory internally and a replacable card.
Sure I would like double the battery life, double the cpus, but do I really need them ? no.
From the total pain of the HTC Universal through all the incarnations of WM and iOS, I feel I have finally come home
at least for another 6 months .......
PS: I can strongly recommend the "case-mate barely there" hard shell. A bit difficult to get on but protects the back and sides well without adding bulk to the phone or detracting from the shape

+1, I love HTC Build & Sense, especially when I see plastic phones with crappy UI like LG or Samsung phones! (just my personal opinion)

Got to agree 100%. Ive had every iphone and both of googles phones i do say the Desire S is like having a combination of both but even better. Althought I dont need to root the Desire S as much, as it does and looks very well, a big part of me really wants it rooted. Now that would be having my cake and eating it aswell ;-)
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

great review, but there's a question.... does the screen scratches without using the screen protector ?

nodeffect said:
great review, but there's a question.... does the screen scratches without using the screen protector ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has Gorilla Glass.... it shouldn't scratch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibs7EKrTZv8&feature=BFa&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=12
Not sure it will still work after that..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KAc_pq35w4&feature=BFa&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=14
And if you realy want to break it here is what to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYgq03_yPdk&feature=BFp&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=13

.sh4d0w. said:
It has Gorilla Glass.... it shouldn't scratch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibs7EKrTZv8&feature=BFa&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=12
Not sure it will still work after that..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KAc_pq35w4&feature=BFa&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=14
And if you realy want to break it here is what to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYgq03_yPdk&feature=BFp&list=WLAA558F5B26E101BE&index=13
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but are all gorilla glass the same? The one the droid x has, maybe have a better glass quality?

nodeffect said:
but are all gorilla glass the same? The one the droid x has, maybe have a better glass quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That i don't know...
What i know for sure is that the glass is produced by the same company,
and that Desire S is mentioned on the list of devices with gorilla glass.
http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/#featured-products

nodeffect said:
but are all gorilla glass the same? The one the droid x has, maybe have a better glass quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a video with the actual Desire S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjNm47eUXno&feature=BFp&list=WL2C734E80889271C9&index=1
No hammer but good enough for me

nodeffect said:
great review, but there's a question.... does the screen scratches without using the screen protector ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may have gorilla glass (its on their website), but can appear to scratch.
As I've read within this forum and my own phone has proven....there is a layer on top of the gorilla glass, effectively a coating which can scratch....as my has. But the scratches are tiny and only visible from certain angles and therefore don't inhibit the viewing experience.
I must also agree and echo the thoughts of @colonel it is a great phone!

.sh4d0w. said:
That i don't know...
What i know for sure is that the glass is produced by the same company,
and that Desire S is mentioned on the list of devices with gorilla glass.
http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/#featured-products
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well in the list they write desire hd got gorilla glass also, but it hasn't

colonel said:
If you look at my signature you can see how many phones I have had.
In fact I have had many more, just can't be bothered to update my signature.
So why the Desire S ?
I mean its a mid-range phone right!. No swanky dual core or 1920x1280 screen or nvidia GTX 3D chip, etc.
Well heres the thing.
There will always be people that need the latest for something, maybe a game, maybe a massive screen for browsing (like they can't browse at the office or at home) but the majority of people have two usages of a phone:
1. A Jobbing phone. A phone that is actually used to make phones calls alot of the day. Here a Nokia 6700 or lower trumps the bill!
2. An email phone that can be used to browse abit and occasionally use an app
The problem is that no phone can do both well. Simply because a phone that is too big for 1 can be too small for 2. A phone that does 2 soaks up the battery, etc, etc.
So why the Desire S ?
For many years I have been hoping for the following to come together and it has never been delivered to date:
1. Smaller/lighter device
2. Large screen, say 3.5" or bigger, that goes to the edges. In glass mind, not plastic!
3. Metal body, with quality feel and joy of ownership
4. Touch buttons. Yeah, I like real buttons more, but at the end of the day they get dirty and are mechanical and thus the weak point of the phone
5. Clear bright screen, at least 800x480
6. All the mod cons. Android 2.3 is clearly a very together OS (although WP7 and iOS are great as well)
7. Store apps on the SD card, which is replacable
8. Front facing video camera
9. FM radio (bye bye iphone)
10. Great browser, mutiple emails accounts
11. A super-large and useful list of apps
12. A battery that can get me through 1 business day and 2 weekend days
13. Good quality phone calls
Well the Desire S is it.
It ticks all the boxes.
It is compact, stylish and beautiful to hold and it works slick enough to forget things about speed.
Its a phone I can really use, it just works and fast!
No unecessary 4" screen, no weight, no silly proprietry usb connector, free cloud to store contacts and diary, reasonable battery life, enough memory internally and a replacable card.
Sure I would like double the battery life, double the cpus, but do I really need them ? no.
From the total pain of the HTC Universal through all the incarnations of WM and iOS, I feel I have finally come home
at least for another 6 months .......
PS: I can strongly recommend the "case-mate barely there" hard shell. A bit difficult to get on but protects the back and sides well without adding bulk to the phone or detracting from the shape
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice review, you are write it ticks all boxes, but most pl now a days want the brute power and force for heavy gaming, browsing etc... therefore many ppl get the sgs 2..
it's a real shame as i would like to see some big development going on here on the DS...
i've liked it since the start, so hopefully i can get one too!

Yeah, well some people, would feel awkward walking down the street, holding a big THING at the ear....(if you don't use a bluetooth headset)
If you want something purely for gaming and browsing use a laptop.
If you want a PHONE, that actualy fits in your pocket, that you can also use to check your email, social networks, browse the web on a decent sized screen, and when you get bored, play some games you can download from the market... you get--> DESIRE S

.sh4d0w. said:
Yeah, well some people, would feel awkward walking down the street, holding a big THING at the ear....(if you don't use a bluetooth headset)
If you want something purely for gaming and browsing use a laptop.
If you want a PHONE, that actualy fits in your pocket, that you can also use to check your email, social networks, browse the web on a decent sized screen, and when you get bored, play some games you can download from the market... you get--> DESIRE S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh you have a point although, i have already been used to gigantic screens over the past year! (tg01, sgs2, galaxy tab)
so how do you guys find using the 3.7 inch screen? is it sufficient for good web browsing, gaming?
i havent actually used a desire s in person yet!

olyloh6696 said:
yeh you have a point although, i have already been used to gigantic screens over the past year! (tg01, sgs2, galaxy tab)
so how do you guys find using the 3.7 inch screen? is it sufficient for good web browsing, gaming?
i havent actually used a desire s in person yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not a gamer myself, but love the phone and its size is the reason that I bought it and didn't wait for the sensation.
Find it perfectly adequate for browsing....but then I'm coming from from HTC Touch Diamond 2.

ben_pyett said:
I'm not a gamer myself, but love the phone and its size is the reason that I bought it and didn't wait for the sensation.
Find it perfectly adequate for browsing....but then I'm coming from from HTC Touch Diamond 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh... i also don't see much of an advantage of dual core when it comes to gaming..
i tested angry birds on my sgs 2 , OSF, ipod, and tab, they all run the same!
same with spiderman mayhem city.. (although a bit laggy on the OSF, but that could be because of the 600 mhz cpu)
dual core only really shines in web browsing.... it's soooooooooo buttery smooth when viewing heavy flash content.. no lag what so ever!!!
i also wouldn't really play games on the desire s , as i do most of it on the big screen (galaxy tab)

I also went for the HTC Desire S simply because it's the best phone for me atm. It's got the stable build (i'm coming from the HTC Legend, once u go aluminium...) and it's just super powerful.
People's first reaction will probably be "it's not super powerful! Tegra2 is way more powerful!". No, really, Tegra2 is too powerful. The Desire S gets 60fps in neocore where Tegra2 gets 75 or 80 perhaps? That's not a big difference, keeping the batterylife of the desire s in mind.
Also, i just tested out the srs sound enhancement. I thought my Galaxy S had decent sound (5.1 option), but holy f*ck, this must be the best sound I ever heard from a device (testing with high fidelity headphones). I've had the ipone, magic, legend and galaxy s before. I also have srs sound enhancement on my laptop, and it's very hard to spot the difference in percepted quality. Strange thing reviews haven't talked about this before.

After playing around with my girlfriends Desire S for a few days I am not liking it much tbh, yes the sense ui is cool but everything else runs slow and choppy for a 1ghz cpu adreno 205 gpu and 768mb ram, and for gaming, well, not impressed at all, my old SE X10 ran games better for some odd reason (my guess being htc sense slowing everything down)
Nice little phone for general use (and definitely a girls phone) but anything demanding you see it soon struggle.

FK1983 said:
After playing around with my girlfriends Desire S for a few days I am not liking it much tbh, yes the sense ui is cool but everything else runs slow and choppy for a 1ghz cpu adreno 205 gpu and 768mb ram, and for gaming, well, not impressed at all, my old SE X10 ran games better for some odd reason (my guess being htc sense slowing everything down)
Nice little phone for general use (and definitely a girls phone) but anything demanding you see it soon struggle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i suspect it is more to do with un-optimised software... the dhd and incredible s with the same hardware, absolutely fly with general peformance and gaming.. htc will hopefully rioll up another update

FK1983 said:
After playing around with my girlfriends Desire S for a few days I am not liking it much tbh, yes the sense ui is cool but everything else runs slow and choppy for a 1ghz cpu adreno 205 gpu and 768mb ram, and for gaming, well, not impressed at all, my old SE X10 ran games better for some odd reason (my guess being htc sense slowing everything down)
Nice little phone for general use (and definitely a girls phone) but anything demanding you see it soon struggle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the positive thoughts everyone!
in terms of your quote specifically, mine doesn't run choppy. Are you upated to 2.3.3 ?
haven't tried turning sense off but probably can.
I use the phone for phoning, emails and browsing. And some apps, but the games I like, like tower defense and stuff, run really well.
I had NOVA on my previous iphone 4. A great game to demo it but not comfortable running a full 3D shoot-em-up on such a small device for more then a few minutes.
Maybe if I was 15 again .....
Its the form factor of the Desire S which I really like.
Its just small enough to be comfortable but has a screen thats quite useable.
Look, I wouldn't want to browse on it all day. If I needed a portable browser I would take my ipad. Under 10 inches does not really cut it for long term browsing.
Which is why I think a 4" or 4.3" screen is a step too far, not a big change in browsing but a larger battery drain and an uncomfrtable phone to slip in your pocket.
Maybe the Desire S2 wil have dual core in 12 months. Wouldn't say no to that if the kept it compact, but for now this is the best of the bunch for me anyway!

For me
Desire->Desire GD->Desire S
Sofar ive not looked back.
Awesome piece of hardware (even stock)
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

Galaxy S2 or Sensation?

Which and why?

Sensation because it´s HTC

I have never used a Dual Core phone so is it MUCH faster? Is there like 0 lag in those phones? I remember my inspire couldnt play vids properly and they would lag.

I have the same question... Sensation or Galaxy S2? I'm running a T959 with Trigger, but it's time for an upgrade. Any input would be appreciated - especially comparison of speed, ease of rooting, and ease of installing custom ROMs. I use wireless tethering and GPS navigation a lot... so those 2 things are very important to me.

I really want this thread to get interesting so I'll post my two UK pennies.
I'm still deciding between these two phones. I've played with both in the shop and they're very different beasts.
The S2 is a stunning slab of a phone. It's ridiculously light and feels plasticy yet amazingly sturdy. The screen is superb. I'm coming from an AMOLED Desire (same screen as N1) and the screen is a huge step up. The WVGA res genuinely doesn't bother me in the slightest. Everything is big and clear and bright and gorgeous.
The Sensation feels a lot more solid in the hand. It's a more classy piece of hardware. It is considerably fatter and heavier than the S2 and feels like it could take some knocks. As someone who has used older versions of Sense quite a lot and not especially liked them, I found the Sensations's interface to be a big disappointment. Sense 3 felt just as slow and the earlier Sense version that ran on my Desire (before rooting/flashing). I'm sure it would be super slick with an AOSP rom. The screen is good but not a patch on the S2 IMO. The power button is impossible to reach with one hand - why HTC is still putting it on the top of the phone I have no idea.
So at this point I preferred the S2s screen (and camera by small margin from testing in the shop) and the Sensation's hardware.
In light of the court case I ordered an S2 and have now had it for 24hrs. With the exception of the lack of notification LED it's everything I'd hoped for. It's fast. Not iPhone smooth, but the closest I've seen in an Android device. Still running stock firmware.
Unlike the Sensation, it's not possible to replace the camera lens of the S2 without replacing the whole phone. The camera lens is not at all recessed and this this makes me nervous about putting it down on a flat surface. The S2 needs a case to protect it IMO whereas the HTC seems sufficiently tough to survive without one.
I'm still not 100% and still have a few days left to return the phone...
Does anyone else have experience with the two phones?

Thanks, bedeabc

orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my thoughts.

The SGSII has a much better CPU and GPU than the sensation. I don't want to get technical, but Samsung's processor is better than HTC's. I would also suggest Samsung's GPU in the SGSII over Sensation. I have had Sense and Touchwiz and Sense is very slow and a memory hog, whereas Touchwiz is light. Both phones running AOSP would be great, but I feel that the SGSII is just better as far as internal hardware goes. HTC is better at updating their devices software wise, though.

orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lowandbehold said:
Exactly my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on guys, that's lame. I too have more faith in HTC than I do Samsung but I bought the S2 because (albeit by a very small margin!) I believe that it's the better phone. That screen is just amazing. I already FAR prefer Touchwiz to any version of Sense. But obviously here I am on XDA so the root will happen tonight I hope!
biggeorgef said:
Thanks, bedeabc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Right now i think the best phone at sale is the galaxy s ii. Ports will obviously be easier to make with the sensation, but talking about stock roms, the s2 is by far the best phone:
More free ram (not only because of 1gb of ram vs 768 but because of sense 3), and in my opinion has a better processor.
I'm not a samsung fanboy, there are tons of things i could say they've done wrong, but i think the s2 is better.
And by the way, even though the sensation feels more solid, i'm no longer deciding for a phone due to this, not only because of coversbut because my sgs has resisted many falls, even one 3m fall and it fell on a pool for 1-2 sec and survived, it didn't even turn off, so just because of this i can say that even though it doesn't feel resistant, it may resist more. I've tried none of this phones, and i can only give my point of view from what i've read and my experience.
I don't know if samsung will do the same with the s2, but the s1 has been updated from 2.1 to 2.2 to 2.2.1 to 2.3.2 to 2.3.3 to 2.3.4, much more updates than most phones have had, and there have been many improvements even though the s2 is out there and the sgs hasn't been forgotten.
Back to htc and sense, I can also say that sense is really good, but it consumes a lot of ram and may feel laggy, but on other htc phones i've seen with sense 2.1, it was really fluid and i really liked it, more than touchwiz.
There is no real way of comparing this two phones in a fair way unless they're running the same rom.
No matter which phone you choose out of these two, you are going to get an amazing phone.
The decision is yours, so think carefully about which phone you think is best for you

bedeabc said:
I really want this thread to get interesting so I'll post my two UK pennies.
I'm still deciding between these two phones. I've played with both in the shop and they're very different beasts.
The S2 is a stunning slab of a phone. It's ridiculously light and feels plasticy yet amazingly sturdy. The screen is superb. I'm coming from an AMOLED Desire (same screen as N1) and the screen is a huge step up. The WVGA res genuinely doesn't bother me in the slightest. Everything is big and clear and bright and gorgeous.
The Sensation feels a lot more solid in the hand. It's a more classy piece of hardware. It is considerably fatter and heavier than the S2 and feels like it could take some knocks. As someone who has used older versions of Sense quite a lot and not especially liked them, I found the Sensations's interface to be a big disappointment. Sense 3 felt just as slow and the earlier Sense version that ran on my Desire (before rooting/flashing). I'm sure it would be super slick with an AOSP rom. The screen is good but not a patch on the S2 IMO. The power button is impossible to reach with one hand - why HTC is still putting it on the top of the phone I have no idea.
So at this point I preferred the S2s screen (and camera by small margin from testing in the shop) and the Sensation's hardware.
In light of the court case I ordered an S2 and have now had it for 24hrs. With the exception of the lack of notification LED it's everything I'd hoped for. It's fast. Not iPhone smooth, but the closest I've seen in an Android device. Still running stock firmware.
Unlike the Sensation, it's not possible to replace the camera lens of the S2 without replacing the whole phone. The camera lens is not at all recessed and this this makes me nervous about putting it down on a flat surface. The S2 needs a case to protect it IMO whereas the HTC seems sufficiently tough to survive without one.
I'm still not 100% and still have a few days left to return the phone...
Does anyone else have experience with the two phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, here's what I posted elsewhere:
I've got an O2 Sensation, colleague has a Vodafone SGS2
The sensation feels much stronger, she commented that her SGS2 felt like you could snap it if you weren't careful, and I have to agree, while you couldn't actually do that, it does feel like you could.
SGS2 is easier to hold though, the rounded smooth edges of the Sensation are just begging for it to slip and drop.
Not got a problem reaching the power button on the top of the Sensation even with my stubby fingers.
The speaker on my Sensation is much louder than her SGS2, she's complaining that she can't hear the SGS2 in her bag. I was surprised as to how quiet it was on max volume.
The SGS2 has a lovely screen, the Sensation has a very nice screen.
My Sensation has the landscape wifi issue losing a bar or 2 of signal. From what others have posted, the OTA update or a custom ROM can fix this rather than a warranty claim for a replacement back cover.
The lock screen on the Sensation is much more responsive and the ability to jump straight to certain apps from the defaul lock screen is great. She often has to swipe two or three times to unlock the SGS2 as she's not moving the lock screen image far enough.
Sensation has Sense 3, which for me wipes the floor with the SGS2 interface, I really don't get on with anything but Sense, however I know a lot of people don't like sense and prefer the stock Android interface.
Sensation has Trace keyboard. She's activated swype on her SGS2 to make typing easier as like me can't get on with the stock Android keyboard. Swype is much better at doing the job than Trace, but I prefer the HTC keyboard and type faster with my thumbs than with either Swype or Trace.
Don't know about battery life on her SGS2, but my Sensation is getting about a day out of it and that's with push mail on two accounts and a bit of browsing.
To be honest, the only thing that would make my Sensation perfect would be a replacement back panel with squarer sides and a better WIFI antenna.
If you try a Sensation and it isn't fast and smooth, then there's something wrong with it.
Likewise there could be something wrong with her phone with regards to the speaker not being as loud as mine.
They are both at the top of their league, and the decision will be down to which one suits your needs better.
If you're not sure, get it over the phone/web so you have 14 days to return it if you're not happy (in the UK that is)
Play with them as much as possible in shops, go to several shops too.

For Tmobile, is the Hercules going to be the S2, or am I just so retarded that I simply have no idea what I'm talking about? http://www.phonedog.com/2011/08/23/...-the-galaxy-s-ii-missed-its-window-in-the-us/

before i went to buy a phone
the best things were the sensation and the SGS2
i got the SGS2
1. i wanted a phone as smooth as the iphone in scrolling
2.very good flash player experience (HWA)
and from my knowledge the SGS2 is the only (partial) hardware accelerated phone out there the sensation is not as smooth as the sgs2 and not as powerful go watch some youtube vids out there
3.future proof (samsung gave free SGS2s to the CM team and currently we have nighties)
4.amoled screen (dont tell me about resolution what i want is the contrast that makes you think "is the phone on or is that my stupid black background pic"
+ colors are to die for
5.sturdy (this phone is solid as a rock if u try to twist it u wont hear a squeak at all its hard as a rock
cons with this phone
1.people who first got it experienced very bad battery life but after updates that issue went away for most people i can get 4 days with my phone
2.people get heating issue with their phones
but the heating issue was just a warm feeling for me near the camera lens
3.my biggest issue if you record video 720p and over (in doors ) the phone goes down to 10 fps for 2 seconds and then speeds up then speeds down etc - this issue is still not fixed - but out doors works perfectly
4.you can get finger prints on the screen if you dont have a screen protector
5. people are reporting volume issues when calling
you can fix this manually from what i understand (using a code)
6.there are a couple of high end games and emulators that have issues with the Samsung's powerful gpu

To be honest, using the two side by side, I noticed no difference between the smoothness of the two.
Didn't know that the SGS2 had hardware acceleration until today!
However, that's comparing UK phones. US phones appear to be borked by carriers as standard. No idea why, but there are more reports of slow phones from US carriers than UK ones, likewise with the amount of bloatware, US carriers (from what I've seen posted here) load phones up with it while in the UK (on O2 especially) they don't which is going to have an impact on performance.

xaccers said:
To be honest, using the two side by side, I noticed no difference between the smoothness of the two.
Didn't know that the SGS2 had hardware acceleration until today!
However, that's comparing UK phones. US phones appear to be borked by carriers as standard. No idea why, but there are more reports of slow phones from US carriers than UK ones, likewise with the amount of bloatware, US carriers (from what I've seen posted here) load phones up with it while in the UK (on O2 especially) they don't which is going to have an impact on performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
coudnt you notice it in the stock browser

Sensation hands down

I haven't had any experience with the Sensation, but 3 people I know have the S2 and I was playing with 1 earlier and I fell in love.
This prompted me to install 'droid on my Topaz.

joker2428 said:
Sensation hands down
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh that settles it then. I'm running out right now to buy one. Thank you so much!
Sarcasm out.

orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what the answer~

sgsII has better hardware and better design too

Lets talk about Android

I have been having numerous arguments with people regarding Android vs the rest.
We all know that Android is an operating system, that is used by many phone manufacturers - therefore it CANNOT be compared to iPhone directly and vise versa!
Same thing is about Windows OS.
What I am trying to say is that Android equipment manufacturers have to step up the game. I believe that making a new phone every other month is a BIG NO NO. Especially when the phone is not well tested.
As an example, I own myTouch 4G. First one had a washed out screen and not working Genius button. Second one had a spic of dust under the screen, but lucky for me - it had both good screen and eMMC. So I decided to keep it. Other folks have their phones die on them because of the bad eMMC chip.
Similar issue goes to the G2 (I read about bad eMMC chips). I also heard that Sensation has some issues too!
I witnessed people exchanging up to 7 phones, and yet to get a good one.
On the other hand, Samsung devices are seem to be very plastic on the touch. I did held them in hand. Yes, the screen looks gorgeous, but the phone itself feels bad in the hand.
LG is another story.
I haven't tried or read about SE phones.
You would ask, why the hell did I write this all?
I simply want to voice my opinion. I just sick to see all these phones popping out and then read that one has bad power button, another has 2 types of screen, and then get one of them. I really want to see Android rise up in class!
Heck for not having problems I could have gone with iPhone, but I am an Android fan and chose it because it can do what I need!
I believe with the resources that Samsung, HTC, LG and other have - they can do so much better!
Lets discuss what bad sides Android phones have and what can be improved. I think it is more productive topic than fighting over blindly.

The reason for Samsung's "plastic" feel is durability, you drop a metal phone then the weight is going to make it more likely to break, the plastics Samsung uses often just has the back pop off, maybe a scratch.
As for HTC, they're just not a quality company. They build devices that are pretty from afar but once you use them they often have horrid flaws. Very little quality control.

There's nowhere near the level of QC there used to be in the 'real' smartphones - Treos, Communicators, iPAQs etc.
I think they do a pretty good job, there's a fit and finish for just about every taste out there today. The target audience has changed a lot, the userbase has expanded exponentially, plus there are many more manufacturers today, all vying for a slice of the pie - price competitiveness has a lot to do with this, too.
It sucks, but these things are built to be thrown away. Why pump billions of dollars into the fit and finish of something outdated two weeks after it hits the streets? Sucks for us, but 'near enough is good enough' for the manufacturers, and fair enough in my opinion

z33dev33l said:
The reason for Samsung's "plastic" feel is durability, you drop a metal phone then the weight is going to make it more likely to break, the plastics Samsung uses often just has the back pop off, maybe a scratch.
As for HTC, they're just not a quality company. They build devices that are pretty from afar but once you use them they often have horrid flaws. Very little quality control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed about Samsung durability, I've dropped my phone on probably every surface and it is still good.
As for android there many problems with the OS. No hardware acceleration is probably big on my list. My nexus runs pretty good but I do notice lag from time to time. Stock browser is a joke to use, hella amounts of lag when viewing pics and forget about even viewing flash, so opera for me.
I hope ICS will live up to the hype, because I'm really digging the Nokia and windows mobile deal. Only time will tell...
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

I was rooting for androids latest iteration to blow at least iOS out of the water but if that leaked nexus build is a final it doesn't even look smooth on a nexus device...

Who know?Probably NOT a final build as it as no acceleration. Word is that ICS will have hardware acceleration for both the interface and browser.
We will see.It does look impressive though....
On quality:My HTC Desire is horrendous, all buttons are almost dead, that has to do with quality. On the other hand my Huawei IDEOS X5 is surprisingly good for what i paid for (hint: zero but costs about 199euros).
If you want quality go for a truly expensive and good phone like the gs2, if not buy smething cheaper.
P.S. the buttons on the iphone 4 HAVE problems.3 of my friends went to the applestore to change them.That is not good build quality imho.

Eh, I like dells build quality though they fail as a software company. Honestly though I do hope ics is more impressive than it looked in that video because that was just slow and choppy, then again I guess the default UI of android isn't what's supposed to sell android. It's the customization options available.

I have a HTC Desire HD, and in my oppinion Android+Sense is the best mobile combo. all the good things from android + an awesome HTC skin.
Company's like Samsung don't make skins for their phones. I think that they should start making them. Ans if they do that, i might buy a Samsung phone or something like that after my HTC. But if they dont start making skins, i don´t want them...

i like my desire with htc sense, also like iphone with long time battery.

z33dev33l said:
The reason for Samsung's "plastic" feel is durability, you drop a metal phone then the weight is going to make it more likely to break, the plastics Samsung uses often just has the back pop off, maybe a scratch.
As for HTC, they're just not a quality company. They build devices that are pretty from afar but once you use them they often have horrid flaws. Very little quality control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
i own HTC devices with metal... and all of them are broken, chipped so badly i have to pull out my sandy paper or file to smooth the metal back out, because the phone shell has been ripped apart after many close encounter with the floor
since i switched to Samsung the plastic design has proven that it can handle the drops much better than the metal

I got an issue with samsung and their software updates.
I've been lucky so far with HTC. Good build quality and frequently updated software.
If I need to trade off iphone quality for the freedom of Android, I will.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

There got to be some military grade glass, that will hold all kinds of abuse. My back cover of Glacier is already swinging from side to side. I really hope that this upcoming Nexus will fix all of the issues I, and many other, have with Android phones build quality.
I still do not get, where did samsung got info that 4.65" screen is good for everyone?

hmm. interesting thread, and views.
my experience hasn't been so great with samsung phones. i had a samsung moment and that thing was terrible. and apparently the gs2 is having some problems as well. users have reported problems with the screen/display having some kind of stain like color on it, and the wifi antenna has also been reported by many to be skittish.
not surprising to me. that's what happens when you push a device out based on deadlines rather than completion of thorough testing. regardless of what company is putting the phone out - HTC, samsung, LG... any of them will have problems if they don't ensure a good testing phase pre-release.
i went from the moment to the evo 3D, and the difference is night and day. and i have handled a gs2 and all i can say is i am not impressed. it feels weak and flimsy and in the end, it's still a samsung to me, with the samsung company behind it. i will never own one. but that's just me.
meanwhile, my evo 3D seems to be just a powerhouse in the performance area. i consistently hit quadrant scores over 4300 and linpack scores of 100+ and RL benchmark is completed in about 18 seconds.
there are merely a couple phones out there putting numbers like that down consistently. i know it is that fast in reality, as well, because performing tasks such as viewing, zipping, and opening pdfs from my work email are done extremely fast, and significantly faster than when the phone wasn't rooted with a custom rom/kernel.
just my opinion, but if you can't see the advantage in power and functionality in the android OS, you are not using your phone for anything other than playing games and texting.

I played this bubble game, it's fun. After a few rounds I found myself always stopped in the middle by the app ad and when I restarted the game, the previous records were all gone. Annoying!

Europa. said:
I played this bubble game, it's fun. After a few rounds I found myself always stopped in the middle by the app ad and when I restarted the game, the previous records were all gone. Annoying!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the relevance! Made my day so far

I agree with most of your arguments, but there's nothing we can do about it.
Manufacturers are still going to release one smartphone per month because people are used to buy tons of different phones to show to their friends.
More smartphones = more profit.
Doesn't matter if for the market it would be a lot better to play with only one "model" like iPhone does.
Let's hope that Google's Nexus can step up its game and be the iPhone rival.

[Q] Upgrade to which phone?

Hey guys,
I really want to upgrade my phone. Currently I have a Desire S but the screen is far to small for my needs :/
So i want to upgrade. There are 3 phones were i'm interested in: the Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus and the normal Sensation.
I really like the speed of the S2 and the hardware home button, but the resolution is incredible low on this device Against that there is the Nexus, its a bit slower from what i've heard but has a beautiful screen in my opinion. Did any of you guys know if the decrease in speed is noticeable in daily use? I really like that it is also supported directly from Google and get the updates asap.
There are also the Sensation because i like the aluminium case from HTC.
I prefer the Nexus and the S2 a bit over the Sensation. So which phone you recommend for me?
- Cheers Jahai

Jahai said:
Hey guys,
I really want to upgrade my phone. Currently I have a Desire S but the screen is far to small for my needs :/
So i want to upgrade. There are 3 phones were i'm interested in: the Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus and the normal Sensation.
I really like the speed of the S2 and the hardware home button, but the resolution is incredible low on this device Against that there is the Nexus, its a bit slower from what i've heard but has a beautiful screen in my opinion. Did any of you guys know if the decrease in speed is noticeable in daily use? I really like that it is also supported directly from Google and get the updates asap.
There are also the Sensation because i like the aluminium case from HTC.
I prefer the Nexus and the S2 a bit over the Sensation. So which phone you recommend for me?
- Cheers Jahai
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to tell you, but I think you are at the wrong place. Everyone here likes his desire s.
If you need a big screen, try galaxy note or use pc
Sent my thoughts to your head with XDA App

Jahai said:
Hey guys,
I really want to upgrade my phone. Currently I have a Desire S but the screen is far to small for my needs :/
So i want to upgrade. There are 3 phones were i'm interested in: the Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus and the normal Sensation.
I really like the speed of the S2 and the hardware home button, but the resolution is incredible low on this device Against that there is the Nexus, its a bit slower from what i've heard but has a beautiful screen in my opinion. Did any of you guys know if the decrease in speed is noticeable in daily use? I really like that it is also supported directly from Google and get the updates asap.
There are also the Sensation because i like the aluminium case from HTC.
I prefer the Nexus and the S2 a bit over the Sensation. So which phone you recommend for me?
- Cheers Jahai
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would advise you to wait for the Mobile World Congress before upgrading... you'll have many more options within a couple of months...
But if you still want to upgrade now, here's my input :
1. Sensation : ? Why would you want to consider that? It's an average phone, and from whatever time i've spent on it on my friend's phone, it's nothing to write hone about. Does anyone even remember the original Sensation anymore (Especially after the XL and the XE?)
2. The SGS2 is a very very fast phone, with great hardware, but i have two issues with it : The screen has a bluish tinge to it, and colour reproduction is inaccurate across the spectrum. Secondly, it looks like a plastic business card holder
3. The Galaxy Nexus is a lovely looking device, the form factor is very attractive. In my discussions with zeekiz (who bricked his DS and migrated to the GN) he says he loves the phone and it's not slow or anything like you mentioned. Plus, you'll be the first person to get the next Android version update (Jellybean). Thirdly, it always makes sense to go for the newer device, both for the gains in hardware, as well as company support that comes more easily and lasts longer for newer (especially) flagship phones.
Best of luck choosing your next device!!

Jahai said:
Hey guys,
I really want to upgrade my phone. Currently I have a Desire S but the screen is far to small for my needs :/
So i want to upgrade. There are 3 phones were i'm interested in: the Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus and the normal Sensation.
I really like the speed of the S2 and the hardware home button, but the resolution is incredible low on this device Against that there is the Nexus, its a bit slower from what i've heard but has a beautiful screen in my opinion. Did any of you guys know if the decrease in speed is noticeable in daily use? I really like that it is also supported directly from Google and get the updates asap.
There are also the Sensation because i like the aluminium case from HTC.
I prefer the Nexus and the S2 a bit over the Sensation. So which phone you recommend for me?
- Cheers Jahai
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a small note here, with my experiance the 3.7' of the Desire S is the largest screen size for a mobile that I can -almost- fully use with one hand, whenever you go beyond that, you may have to get used to work with both hands, and that made me drop the sensation in favor of my DS
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

I came from a HTC Sensation to the Desire S as i found the Sensation too big. Surprisingly i have found the Desire S not much slower.

I would also wait for the MWC...but if you can't wait, IMHO Sensation is a good device especially after it's rooted and equipped with the custom ICS based roms made for the XE version (with CPU at 1.5 Ghz)...i think capy's work.
Anyway you have a lot of roms to try even with ICS out there.
Regarding the SGSII it's ok if you want a plastic phone....
Galaxy Nexus has a good screen and it's not slow but i think it's a little big, you will clearly need 2 hands if you want to use it properly.

cpx07 said:
Regarding the SGSII it's ok if you want a plastic phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No-go for me... Plastic toy feeling
Sent my thoughts to your head with XDA App

eyahl said:
No-go for me... Plastic toy feeling
Sent my thoughts to your head with XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right on! Exactly my thoughts about the SGS2. It feels like a business card holder!

Wait for mwc and HTC edge if price isn't the big deal
Otherwise, i personaly would buy a sensation, the gs2 is sure a nice device, but like mentioned above the screen isn't the best and the plastic body feels weird.
The galaxy nexus isn't a device for me, there are 2 dealbreakers at my opinion, even if the resolution is better than at the gs2 the grapic chip is wors and there is no sd slot.
The update cycle is sure a point and the nfc also, but for my opinion it's a pure developer phone.
The sensation is from hardware almost the same like the sensation xe and every rom can be exchanged between those 2 devices, there is no nfc, for sure, but the gs2 also haven't got one, so this isn't a point of interest for you i think.
Also even if all of them have them same frequenzies the sensation runs at a stock speed of 1.5 ghz with an xe rom, so it got the highest frequency of those phones.
Swifted from my Desire S far away from my PC

yeah i'd wait for MWC but if not galaxy nexus for all the reasons above. It is definitely not a slow phone, especially since google probably built ICS for the nexus. The only thing i hate about the nexus phones is the fact that they're always released at awkward times. By awkward, i mean right before all the new hardware comes out. My brother has an S2 and it does have a horrible plasticky feeling. While the galaxy nexus is the same, it seems to hide it better. The white S2 is even worse! It has no grip on the back which makes it absolutely horrible to hold, not to mention a liability too.

It's been a while since I did a megga-post.....
From what I'm hearing about HTC's line-up for MWC, I hope they also announce a sensible phone. At the moment I really don't know what I'll get, as the current rumours all seem to have several problems for me.
1. Screens too big.
I have a non-upgradable 2.5" thumb. I've spoken to my network provider but they wont give me a larger one. I do not want to have to change grip or use two hands to turn screen on/off. The DS screen size is perfect. It is fine watching films on Netflix.
2. Quad core. Really?
Does anyone remember the Coca-Cola/Sprite stunt yo-yo's from the eighties? (Bear with me here, work is a little slow today and I feel a rant coming on.) They were a massive craze when I was at school. They came in two versions. "Standard" and "Pro". The Pro ones cost nearly twice as much. Why was that? It was because the Pro version had "Pro" written on the side. That was it. They were the same size and weight as the standard version. But every kid in my class practically sold a kidney to get the pro version, because to show up in the playground with the standard version stood you out for ridicule, and everyone was certain the Pro version could do better stunts. What is quad core going to give us? How often is it going to be running on more than 2 cores? Can it do better stunts? My single core phone can render web pages quickly, run any game I've asked it to, record 720p video at 30fps, and has a smooth and lag free UI. It just doesn't have "Pro" written all over it. That word seems to brain-wash kids into doling out dosh! Kids love the idea of being "Pro". Look at what every premium version of any app on the Android Marketplace is called.
3. Skinny form-factors
Leading to phones being bendy and having a non-removable battery. I like my solid aluminium DS. I've held the SGS2. It feels like a kinder surpise egg. Squeeze it too hard and I worry it'd break. Plus if we are having to have a (pro) Quad Core phone don't we need a bigger battery? Did you know the HTC Edge has a fifth core (super pro) that is a very low power companion core for when the phone is off in your pocket? Turn your phone on (without dropping it changing your grip to reach the button) and expect laptop battery life from the 40nm chip. Will it come with a Pro Charger?
4. No SD Card slot.
OK most of the phones with these also claim built-in 32GB storage which is fine for capacity, but what if I brick my phone larking about on XDA? What if it just packs in? Currently all my music/photos/documents would simply be removed and put into another phone. If it's built-in and your phone wont boot.....Are the cloud-storage sites encouraging phone manufacturers to do this?
5. Build Quality.
HTC seem to have really dropped the ball with this one. They used to be fantastic. However I know 3 people who have bought the DS since September (on my recommendation) and all of them have been back for repair at least once. One of them died for the second time two nights ago with the dreaded eMMC chip failure again! WTF? Did they replace the faulty board with another one prone with the same weakness? She also waited 6 weeks to get that phone back the first time. I feel guilty now. Also check Amazon for the reviews of the DS. Since September it's started getting a load of 1 star reviews and they all read the same. It seems I was lucky in buying my DS on it's release, before it seems HTC moved production to the local wine bar/crack house. There is no way I'm spending £450 on something I'm not confident will last a year or will take me 6 weeks to get repaired.
If HTC...no if ANYONE announce a phone that has: A screen under 4", solid build, removable battery, SD card slot, improved camera optics, decent amount of RAM, reasonable battery life and justifiable processing power, then I'll get my wallet out. Or if it comes with a free Pro Yo-Yo. They do better stunts.
Basically I want a DS with a nicer camera and bigger battery. And a sticker that says "Pro" on it.

wnp_79 said:
It's been a while since I did a megga-post.....
(Bear with me here, work is a little slow today and I feel a rant coming on.)
Basically I want a DS with a nicer camera and bigger battery. And a sticker that says "Pro" on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brilliant!
Love the rant (and i thought i was the only one with this illness)
I agree on mostly everything you've said above... especially HTC screwing up on its strengths... build quality, sub-par components, and progressively bloat-ier (i know that's not a word) Sense... Though i'd still buy an HTC instead of a Samsung, all things set aside, they do better stunts!!

Yeah. Your words seem to come right from my mind.
a desire s pro would be really cool
Sent my thoughts to your head with XDA App

If i had the choice, i'd choose the sensation in a heartbeat.
First, it has the beat build IMO. The SGS 2 is too plasticky and since it's far too thin, it feels weird in my hand. The galaxy nexus is waaaaaay to big. The sensation is perfect
Second, HTC Sense. It is just too good and i can't get a device that has no chance of getting Sense. Besides, touchwiz sucks and the stock experience on the nexus can be acieved through an AOSP ROM.
That said, the super amoled screen is quiet good ad a plus point of both sammys.
That said, i recommend you wait till MWC. Something awesome will surely come up. There is a thread, full of leaks on the two upcoming htc devices, the One X and the One S.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1476788

it has to be the htc amaze, i think its a great phone, in addition to that htc has quality in its build, as in our desire s the aluminum feel is way better than the plastic in most samsungs

Should I buy the HTC ONE S ?

Hi.
I need your help. I'm confused about that device because I read about his problems (For example: THE Sensitive button).
And about his poor battery life which can't survive for one full day..
And that I can get only 10GB of RAM, so I can't put much apps/movies/music/photos.
And I hope that it doesn't get too hot in heavy / easy use.
But I still like this model.
I'm wondering if I should buy this model or to buy Galaxy s2 / something else.
(I don't want big screen - 4.3 is enough for me P: )
- Do you recommend me to buy it or to buy something else?
- Please tell me everything you know about this model - the good and the bad
It's really important for me.

73 views but 0 replies ?
Guys please, soon I have birthday, so I don't have much time

LalyGirl said:
Hi.
I need your help. I'm confused about that device because I read about his problems (For example: THE Sensitive button).
And about his poor battery life which can't survive for one full day..
And that I can get only 10GB of RAM, so I can't put much apps/movies/music/photos.
And I hope that it doesn't get too hot in heavy / easy use.
But I still like this model.
I'm wondering if I should buy this model or to buy Galaxy s2 / something else.
(I don't want big screen - 4.3 is enough for me P: )
- Do you recommend me to buy it or to buy something else?
- Please tell me everything you know about this model - the good and the bad
It's really important for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life - User dependant. Also other factors can impact this such as signal strength, type of data used, screen brightness. Looking at the battery stats thread it seems fine, better than my HOX and that's saying something.
10GB of user space available. 4GB for system & 2GB for apps. Plenty for apps. You have 10gb available to you for music, movies, photos etc. For some this is enough for others not so much. But with the ability to sync items to cloud storage for most it shouldn't be an issue.
Heat - Can't comment, but from various reading it seems cooler than other devices.
Not got the device but comparing to let's say the SGS2 this seems to have a higher resolution screen despite having a pentile screen.
Audio - Read it has one of the cleanest outputs on a mobile device, not heard it personally but it should be fine.
CPU - The S4 is one of the best dual cores around, so much there is a shortage and pretty soon they will switch to the S3. So grab the S4 version whilst you still can. It's plenty fast and outbenches some of the quads out there.
Sense - HTC's overlay, you'll love it or hate it. I love it. Has good contact management, lovely widgets, good for social networking, and such but can be a memory hog.
Camera - HTC has done a good job on the camera front. Like my HOX I like the pictures that it takes and the burst mode is a blessing. The software is also good and easy to use.
LED - This has a notification light, albeit 2 colours only compared to some other devices but at least it has one.
To sum it up it's a good mid range device. And should serve you well. Not having the device myself I'm only giving you my thoughts from reading reviews and taking some parts of my HOX.

nikzDHD said:
Battery life - User dependant. Also other factors can impact this such as signal strength, type of data used, screen brightness. Looking at the battery stats thread it seems fine, better than my HOX and that's saying something.
10GB of user space available. 4GB for system & 2GB for apps. Plenty for apps. You have 10gb available to you for music, movies, photos etc. For some this is enough for others not so much. But with the ability to sync items to cloud storage for most it shouldn't be an issue.
Heat - Can't comment, but from various reading it seems cooler than other devices.
Not got the device but comparing to let's say the SGS2 this seems to have a higher resolution screen despite having a pentile screen.
Audio - Read it has one of the cleanest outputs on a mobile device, not heard it personally but it should be fine.
CPU - The S4 is one of the best dual cores around, so much there is a shortage and pretty soon they will switch to the S3. So grab the S4 version whilst you still can. It's plenty fast and outbenches some of the quads out there.
Sense - HTC's overlay, you'll love it or hate it. I love it. Has good contact management, lovely widgets, good for social networking, and such but can be a memory hog.
Camera - HTC has done a good job on the camera front. Like my HOX I like the pictures that it takes and the burst mode is a blessing. The software is also good and easy to use.
LED - This has a notification light, albeit 2 colours only compared to some other devices but at least it has one.
To sum it up it's a good mid range device. And should serve you well. Not having the device myself I'm only giving you my thoughts from reading reviews and taking some parts of my HOX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like your comment a lot! thank u!
By the way, If I will buy the HTC SENSATION XE and install on it the android 4, it could be better then the HTC ONE S ? Because it has better battery, and I can use memory card.

LalyGirl said:
I like your comment a lot! thank u!
By the way, If I will buy the HTC SENSATION XE and install on it the android 4, it could be better then the HTC ONE S ? Because it has better battery, and I can use memory card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say think about longer term, it's an older device. The One S is the newer device and I'd be thinking about Jelly Bean the next android version. One S being newer would more likely be quicker to get it than the XE. It'll have more support from HTC.
Looking at the specs of both phones:
HOS is faster,
HOS reportedly has better battery life,
HOS has better screen in regards to viewing angles and sunlight compared to the first generation SLCD, again this could be subjective,
HOS is thinner and ligther,
HOS has the better camera,
HOS has native Sense 4 support,
HOS has 1gb of RAM compared to XEs 768MB,
You'll enjoy either but if you can I'd opt for the HOS if storage space isn't that important to you.

LalyGirl said:
I like your comment a lot! thank u!
By the way, If I will buy the HTC SENSATION XE and install on it the android 4, it could be better then the HTC ONE S ? Because it has better battery, and I can use memory card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both the Sensation and One S and there is really no comparison, the One S is much better. I still like my Sensation but the One S is better looking and feeling, has better battery life and a nicer screen, and is much faster.
I haven't had any of the problems that people have reported here (sensitive button, poor reception etc.). Battery life has been good for me so far, and while it does warm up when you're using it heavily it's not "hot" by any means.
The lack of SD slot is not really a problem for me, but whether you can live with it depends on your usage. I've never used more than 4GB of SD card on my Sensation, so the 10GB on board is more than enough.
The only problems I would be concerned about are:
1) Chipping on the black version. I honestly think it's overblown (like most issues with all phones, only people who have problems speak up), but if you are really worried about it get the silver one. It looks even better IMO and it won't chip as the finishing process is different.
2) Getting the 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 version instead of the 1.5GHz S4. The S3 is the previous generation chip, used in the Sensation, and is slower (despite the higher clock speed, the architecture is different) and uses more power. I don't know if there's a way to tell what you're going to get beforehand, though. Only thing I can think of is if you see "1.7GHz" anywhere on or near it, stay away.

Read my one S review (and all the other posts by me in that thread as well, as I have updated some stuff like wifi speeds and battery life, last update was today, so the last post will be useful for you) in sig and also read my post here addressing your issues/questions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=27056580&postcount=7
As for the heat, only gets hot when you're charging it, but this is the same for every device, in use for games etc. mine is pretty cold to touch
There is also a video in my last post in the neowin review thread showing a thermal output test comparison between the GS 2, Razr and the S.

nikzDHD said:
I'd say think about longer term, it's an older device. The One S is the newer device and I'd be thinking about Jelly Bean the next android version. One S being newer would more likely be quicker to get it than the XE. It'll have more support from HTC.
Looking at the specs of both phones:
HOS is faster,
HOS reportedly has better battery life,
HOS has better screen in regards to viewing angles and sunlight compared to the first generation SLCD, again this could be subjective,
HOS is thinner and ligther,
HOS has the better camera,
HOS has native Sense 4 support,
HOS has 1gb of RAM compared to XEs 768MB,
You'll enjoy either but if you can I'd opt for the HOS if storage space isn't that important to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so I will stay with the one s.
And how is the speaker of the hos/hox ?
Nick L said:
I have both the Sensation and One S and there is really no comparison, the One S is much better. I still like my Sensation but the One S is better looking and feeling, has better battery life and a nicer screen, and is much faster.
I haven't had any of the problems that people have reported here (sensitive button, poor reception etc.). Battery life has been good for me so far, and while it does warm up when you're using it heavily it's not "hot" by any means.
The lack of SD slot is not really a problem for me, but whether you can live with it depends on your usage. I've never used more than 4GB of SD card on my Sensation, so the 10GB on board is more than enough.
The only problems I would be concerned about are:
1) Chipping on the black version. I honestly think it's overblown (like most issues with all phones, only people who have problems speak up), but if you are really worried about it get the silver one. It looks even better IMO and it won't chip as the finishing process is different.
2) Getting the 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 version instead of the 1.5GHz S4. The S3 is the previous generation chip, used in the Sensation, and is slower (despite the higher clock speed, the architecture is different) and uses more power. I don't know if there's a way to tell what you're going to get beforehand, though. Only thing I can think of is if you see "1.7GHz" anywhere on or near it, stay away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK U! and i don't understand you, which one is better - 1.7 GHz or 1.5GHz ?
Terminator19 said:
Read my one S review (and all the other posts by me in that thread as well, as I have updated some stuff like wifi speeds and battery life, last update was today, so the last post will be useful for you) in sig and also read my post here addressing your issues/questions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=27056580&postcount=7
As for the heat, only gets hot when you're charging it, but this is the same for every device, in use for games etc. mine is pretty cold to touch
There is also a video in my last post in the neowin review thread showing a thermal output test comparison between the GS 2, Razr and the S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you like this device as I see Good review by the way! I think that this one is good for me.
And how is the speaker?

LalyGirl said:
Ok so I will stay with the one s.
And how is the speaker of the hos/hox ?
THANK U! and i don't understand you, which one is better - 1.7 GHz or 1.5GHz ?
So you like this device as I see Good review by the way! I think that this one is good for me.
And how is the speaker?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaker for the HOX is fine, not as loud as say the SGS3 but it's consistent where as the SGS3 can be distorted on higher volumes. I prefer the ringtone sounds out of the HOX than SGS3.

Nick L said:
I have both the Sensation and One S and there is really no comparison, the One S is much better. I still like my Sensation but the One S is better looking and feeling, has better battery life and a nicer screen, and is much faster.
I haven't had any of the problems that people have reported here (sensitive button, poor reception etc.). Battery life has been good for me so far, and while it does warm up when you're using it heavily it's not "hot" by any means.
The lack of SD slot is not really a problem for me, but whether you can live with it depends on your usage. I've never used more than 4GB of SD card on my Sensation, so the 10GB on board is more than enough.
The only problems I would be concerned about are:
1) Chipping on the black version. I honestly think it's overblown (like most issues with all phones, only people who have problems speak up), but if you are really worried about it get the silver one. It looks even better IMO and it won't chip as the finishing process is different.
2) Getting the 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 version instead of the 1.5GHz S4. The S3 is the previous generation chip, used in the Sensation, and is slower (despite the higher clock speed, the architecture is different) and uses more power. I don't know if there's a way to tell what you're going to get beforehand, though. Only thing I can think of is if you see "1.7GHz" anywhere on or near it, stay away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Terminator19 said:
Read my one S review (and all the other posts by me in that thread as well, as I have updated some stuff like wifi speeds and battery life, last update was today, so the last post will be useful for you) in sig and also read my post here addressing your issues/questions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=27056580&postcount=7
As for the heat, only gets hot when you're charging it, but this is the same for every device, in use for games etc. mine is pretty cold to touch
There is also a video in my last post in the neowin review thread showing a thermal output test comparison between the GS 2, Razr and the S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nikzDHD said:
Speaker for the HOX is fine, not as loud as say the SGS3 but it's consistent where as the SGS3 can be distorted on higher volumes. I prefer the ringtone sounds out of the HOX than SGS3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok and when you use your smartphone as a cellphone (Make a call to someone), so how does the person on the other side hear you? Clean? Horrible ? Loud?

LalyGirl said:
So you like this device as I see Good review by the way! I think that this one is good for me.
And how is the speaker?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, I love it!
Thanks
Speaker is great, better than the GS 2 all round.
Here is what GSMarena had to say about the audio:
The cleanest audio output we have seen
The HTC One S performance in our audio quality test came as a really pleasant surprise to us. It appears that the Beats influence hasn't been limited to a single equalizer preset this time as the smartphone delivers the cleanest output we have seen from any device so far.
When connected to an active external amplifier, the HTC One S audio is simply flawless - volume levels are a little above average and it got excellent scores on every part of our test.
What's most impressive though is the One S retains virtually the same performance when you plug in a pair of headphones. The stereo crosstalk takes the tiniest dip of any smartphone we've seen so far, while the rest of the readings are either totally unaffected or worsen by an undetectable amount. Volume levels remain the same too, so it's arguably the most impressive overall performance to date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LalyGirl said:
Ok and when you use your smartphone as a cellphone (Make a call to someone), so how does the person on the other side hear you? Clean? Horrible ? Loud?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good! Call quality is great for me.
Loud (can adjust the volume) and clean.
You have dual mics, so any background noise is blocked out Obviously extreme noise like cars racing right beside you and loud music might not be completely blocked out and besides you won't be able to make the other person out anyway

Terminator19 said:
Yup, I love it!
Thanks
Speaker is great, better than the GS 2 all round.
Here is what GSMarena had to say about the audio:
Very good! Call quality is great for me.
Loud (can adjust the volume) and clean.
You have dual mics, so any background noise is blocked out Obviously extreme noise like cars racing right beside you and loud music might not be completely blocked out and besides you won't be able to make the other person out anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far, I see that people prefer HTS ONE S
That's nice, and now I really want it XDDDDD

I've just upgraded to this phone from the Desire S. I was thinking about getting the One X or the S3 too but I want a high end mobile phone not a mini tablet. This phone is amazing coming from a rooted desire S, its so fast and smooth I don't plan on rooting it.
My advise is to simply get this phone.

pumpernickel77 said:
I've just upgraded to this phone from the Desire S. I was thinking about getting the One X or the S3 too but I want a high end mobile phone not a mini tablet. This phone is amazing coming from a rooted desire S, its so fast and smooth I don't plan on rooting it.
My advise is to simply get this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I think I'll buy it

Jesus christ, how old are you?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA

iArtisan said:
Jesus christ, how old are you?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you asking me or someone else?

1) The battery life on this phone sucks. Expect to be getting no more than 4 hours of usage on average. The iphone 4/4s gets a solid 6 hours of usage. Thats 150% more battery life and I don't need to fiddle with the settings at all to achieve this.
2) The hardware has major design flaws. First of all the black one has that chipping problem with the paint. Well I have used my phone for less than 2 months and it looks butchered as hell. People complain about the iphone 4/4s, well I dropped a gazillion times and it still looked almost brand new when I sold it. I dropped the 1S one time! and the paint already came off. The front camera is recessed and gathers dust like crazy. It's impossible to clean it because its recessed and the dust has no where to go. Crap and dust also builds up near the top plastic cap. The speakers are also located exactly on the back of the phone. So if you put your phone on your table, you can't hear it ringing. Not only that the volume is so low. I missed tons of calls.
3) The community for this phone sucks. There is barely any activity on the fora and development for custom roms is stagnating. I mean sense is crap and there is only like 1 guy working on cm9? And correct me if I am wrong but the last version of AOKP is like from 3 weeks ago with tons of bugs. Now look at the Galaxy Nexus or the 1X fora. Or look at the SGS3 fora and that phone has not even been completely released yet. Its crazy. And this is worrying cause even sense has tons of bugs. There is for example this 3g/H switching that still hasn't been fixed as far as I know.
4) Then there is this low resolution pentile screen. Well its definitely ok and you shouldn't worry about it. But you WILL notice a huge difference if you put it next to the nexus, 1X or the iphone 4/4s and you will run in to all kinds of trouble with apps. For example while my own 720p videos looks good on this phone, youtube videos will look crap no matter how high you put the settings. There are tons of these annoying things. The screen is the reason why its not quite yet a flagship device while it could have been.
That being said I think its the best android phone on the market. Its the fastest android phone on the market. It doesn't have a cheap flimsy plastic body and it has a thin and light design. Aluminum feels really good on the hand especially when its cold. Its like 100 dollars/euro cheaper than the 1X and SGS3. I'd wait for the iphone 5 though. And if that turns out to be nothing or if the wait is too long then go ahead and purchase the 1S cause thats what I recommend out of the top3 android phones.

wilcoholic said:
1) The battery life on this phone sucks. Expect to be getting no more than 4 hours of usage on average. The iphone 4/4s gets a solid 6 hours of usage. Thats 150% more battery life and I don't need to fiddle with the settings at all to achieve this.
2) The hardware has major design flaws. First of all the black one has that chipping problem with the paint. Well I have used my phone for less than 2 months and it looks butchered as hell. People complain about the iphone 4/4s, well I dropped a gazillion times and it still looked almost brand new when I sold it. I dropped the 1S one time! and the paint already came off. The front camera is recessed and gathers dust like crazy. It's impossible to clean it because its recessed and the dust has no where to go. Crap and dust also builds up near the top plastic cap. The speakers are also located exactly on the back of the phone. So if you put your phone on your table, you can't hear it ringing. Not only that the volume is so low. I missed tons of calls.
3) The community for this phone sucks. There is barely any activity on the fora and development for custom roms is stagnating. I mean sense is crap and there is only like 1 guy working on cm9? And correct me if I am wrong but the last version of AOKP is like from 3 weeks ago with tons of bugs. Now look at the Galaxy Nexus or the 1X fora. Or look at the SGS3 fora and that phone has not even been completely released yet. Its crazy. And this is worrying cause even sense has tons of bugs. There is for example this 3g/H switching that still hasn't been fixed as far as I know.
4) Then there is this low resolution pentile screen. Well its definitely ok and you shouldn't worry about it. But you WILL notice a huge difference if you put it next to the nexus, 1X or the iphone 4/4s and you will run in to all kinds of trouble with apps. For example while my own 720p videos looks good on this phone, youtube videos will look crap no matter how high you put the settings. There are tons of these annoying things. The screen is the reason why its not quite yet a flagship device while it could have been.
That being said I think its the best android phone on the market. Its the fastest android phone on the market. It doesn't have a cheap flimsy plastic body and it has a thin and light design. Aluminum feels really good on the hand especially when its cold. Its like 100 dollars/euro cheaper than the 1X and SGS3. I'd wait for the iphone 5 though. And if that turns out to be nothing or if the wait is too long then go ahead and purchase the 1S cause thats what I recommend out of the top3 android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, So do you recommend me to buy it ??
Or should I buy the sony xperia s ??

wilcoholic said:
1) The battery life on this phone sucks. Expect to be getting no more than 4 hours of usage on average. The iphone 4/4s gets a solid 6 hours of usage. Thats 150% more battery life and I don't need to fiddle with the settings at all to achieve this.
2) The hardware has major design flaws. First of all the black one has that chipping problem with the paint. Well I have used my phone for less than 2 months and it looks butchered as hell. People complain about the iphone 4/4s, well I dropped a gazillion times and it still looked almost brand new when I sold it. I dropped the 1S one time! and the paint already came off. The front camera is recessed and gathers dust like crazy. It's impossible to clean it because its recessed and the dust has no where to go. Crap and dust also builds up near the top plastic cap. The speakers are also located exactly on the back of the phone. So if you put your phone on your table, you can't hear it ringing. Not only that the volume is so low. I missed tons of calls.
3) The community for this phone sucks. There is barely any activity on the fora and development for custom roms is stagnating. I mean sense is crap and there is only like 1 guy working on cm9? And correct me if I am wrong but the last version of AOKP is like from 3 weeks ago with tons of bugs. Now look at the Galaxy Nexus or the 1X fora. Or look at the SGS3 fora and that phone has not even been completely released yet. Its crazy. And this is worrying cause even sense has tons of bugs. There is for example this 3g/H switching that still hasn't been fixed as far as I know.
4) Then there is this low resolution pentile screen. Well its definitely ok and you shouldn't worry about it. But you WILL notice a huge difference if you put it next to the nexus, 1X or the iphone 4/4s and you will run in to all kinds of trouble with apps. For example while my own 720p videos looks good on this phone, youtube videos will look crap no matter how high you put the settings. There are tons of these annoying things. The screen is the reason why its not quite yet a flagship device while it could have been.
That being said I think its the best android phone on the market. Its the fastest android phone on the market. It doesn't have a cheap flimsy plastic body and it has a thin and light design. Aluminum feels really good on the hand especially when its cold. Its like 100 dollars/euro cheaper than the 1X and SGS3. I'd wait for the iphone 5 though. And if that turns out to be nothing or if the wait is too long then go ahead and purchase the 1S cause thats what I recommend out of the top3 android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, all of that is in YOUR opinion and from your usage only as well, plenty of people including me have had the exact opposite to you. Just because you experience problems doesn't mean that every one else will....
1. Is that on screen time your talking about? If so that is very good! (depending on usage and screen brightness) No other android phone gets anywhere near that unless the screens are set to like 0% and airplane mode enabled for a bit. Just look at my review and you will see the usage that I am getting from a single charge, now go and find me an android phone on stock ROM with a stock battery that can beat that (apart from the motorola razzr for obvious reasons). The iphone 4/4s also seem to have a problem with battery life for quite a few people, heck apple have even released a number of updates iirc to try and fix the battery drain
Plus don't forget that the iphone 4/4s doesn't have the same amount to do as an android phone.
2. The MAO issue is not a "hardware" problem, but a design fault.... Also I have had my phone since release day and still have no signs of chipping anywhere apart from inside the USB port plus HTC have addressed this now as they have got a design, which has a bevelled USB and less sharper edges. Well you were extremely lucky with your 4s then as due to the build of it and being mostly glass, the screen is almost always guaranteed to shatter when dropped......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw
It all depends on where abouts the ground impacts the mobile, you could be lucky or not so lucky with any device. If you want to be safe than sorry then a case is a necessary item for all mobiles, even the GS 2. Some devices are just more durable than others.
I have had no problems with dust getting under my screen, had my mobile since April, yes dust does gather in the front camera part, however, a quick blow and wipe with a pencil in a cloth sorts that problem out.
Emmmm what? The volume is amplified a wee bit when it is placed on the desk due to that reason, you can raise the volume as well you know or use a louder ring tone, you must be pretty deaf if you can't hear your mobile ringing......
3. The community isn't great, but it is starting to pick up now especially since the kernel source was posted, there are a few good ROMs from what I have read such as trickdroid and leedroid. Sense is crap in your opinion, many people including me love it and I for one won't be changing to a stock ICS ROM as I don't want to loose the features of sense, which IMO are better than the alternatives. The gallery, dialer, calendar, clock app are superb and not to mention the sense camera along with all the features, which you won't find on any other mobile or stock ICS ROM. Of course the galaxy nexus is going to have a damn good developing community, it's only the official/stock android phone that all the developers use to develop apps for and was the first phone to have a 720P display. The developing community here will never be as good as the the 1X or GS 3 community as they are the "flagship" devices and the phones that everyone will go for just for because of that "term"
Also the tegra chipset is apparently proving to be hard to work with for the developers with the 1X due to nvidia lack of support.
What are these bugs you speak off? I haven't had any problems with mine, super stable, super quick and smooth, multi-tasking is fine as I have disabled a lot of sense stuff and apps that I don't need and am using apex etc. instead.
If you look at my other post addressing issues you will see that I don't have the 3G/H bug, along with many other people.
The iphone is well known to have signal issues as well, not remember the 4 or 4s release where people were complaining about terrible signal, and apple said essentially "you're holding the phone the wrong way" and had to give out free bumper cases to solve the issue as it was a problem with the new antenna that they were using......
4. There is no problem with the screen, sure it ain't 720P and doesn't use RGB matrix, but it is perfectly good and better than most other mobiles screens apart from the ones you mentioned along with a couple of SE mobiles. The screen is nice and sharp still, the only areas I notice the pentile matrix is with white text on black backgrounds and some icons and even still I have to put my eyes right up to the screen. Plus the reason HTC went with with the pentile version is because the battery life is better with it than the RGB version (same reason Samsung went with pentile on the GS 3 instead of RGB). What kind of trouble have you run into with all these apps that you speak of because of the screen? What on earth are you talking about again??? Youtube videos will look crap no matter what settings you put them on??? The youtube videos look great.
Seriously, it sounds to me like you have a faulty one s if that is truly what you are experiencing.......
And after all that you still think the 1S is the best android device there is

LalyGirl said:
OK, So do you recommend me to buy it ??
Or should I buy the sony xperia s ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just buy it. It's a fine phone. These have been snapped up by many in the UK past few days due to a cheap contract deal so many more HOS users in the pipeline.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2