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I think I will stay with G2x after testing Sensation

I had an opportunity to borrow one from corp store rep.
Unfortunately, I am not impressed with this machine. The screen gets washed out if you watch more than 30 degrees off while G2x doesn't (it gets blue tint though).
The rep told me it gets 24xx on Quadrant, which is about same as my G2x.
Moreover, mine doesn't have much problem, so it may be wise for me to stay with G2x and wait for Samsung Hercules.

The screen size makes me want the sensation. The screen quality keeps me at the g2x
G2x with faux AOSP

Timely thread for me. I'm returning my 2nd one and was really studying that Sensation a little while ago....."Should I cut my losses and get this"? Looks pretty good, it really does, but I'm staying with the G2X.
Hopefully the third one works without the reboots. But it is so nice I think I'd likely try a fourth. This after much thought.
It definately needs replacing.....hell it disconnected w/ black screen WHILE I was talking to the T mobile rep today LOL and while it did not reboot in the night, it did lose the bookmarks.
But my daughters is still running perfectly. Not one problem.
And man, this phone is just like her. When its good, it's very very good, but when it's bad....
I really love this phone.

How often are you getting these reboots? I've had a total of 3 G2X's in my household, and none of them suffer from reboots. I had to replace mine today because of USB issues, but other than that the phones have been great.

1st locked up twice and the flashlight went on (?) and I had to pull the battery. Frankly that wasn't enough to return it but two days later was when they mysteriously disappeared fron the shelves and I had an Ick attack. It was on my 14th day and I exchanged it, just in case.
This one as I said elsewhere has been resetting in the night. Every morning I wake up to the phone wanting my sim password. I accidently activated that and like it. But seeing it tells me it has reset, which I would not notice otherwise I don't think. And I have been interupted three or four times on my calls with the phone shutting off. And it reboots randomly and frequently during the day. This is not good.
The first day (friday) it locked up with a very loud buzzing sound, not like the vibration but a loud buzz. This is my main reason for sending it back. I do believe the reboots issues will be fixed with the update.
In retospect I probably should have kept the first one. It was problem free other than the two incidents.

I really don't know which way to go.I'm a die hard invidia fan and the tegra 2 IMO will outperform the Snapdragon anytime but due to all the build issues with the G2X I just don't know where to look.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

Reviews of the Sensation coming out fast now.....this is a good one....love the brit chick
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-sensation-943466/review
the screen part: HTC has long had a problem with screen visibility in direct sunlight, and it seems that issue has continued somewhat with the Sensation. It's definitely a step up, as at medium brightness you can make out what's on the screen, but compare it to the iPhone 4's Retina Display or the Super AMOLED Plus of the Galaxy S2 and it's miles behind. However, the resolution is definitely a step forward, and the sharpness of the text is impressive.
Samsung Galaxy S2 vs HTC Sensation vs iPhone 4 Screen Comparison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UgDpwaDh78

Big toss up. Screen size is very tempting. I loved HTC built devices and the LG kinda let me down with all its kinks, but the support is nice.

I've got a solid G2X, no freezing, rebooting, and minimal screen bleed (after 1 return). The sensation looks like a great phone to me but the size of the G2X is the biggest I'll ever go. And after 2 HTC phones I'll never go back until they replace that damn speaker phone speaker with something you can actually hear.

tombaker1 said:
Reviews of the Sensation coming out fast now.....this is a good one....love the brit chick
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-sensation-943466/review
the screen part: HTC has long had a problem with screen visibility in direct sunlight, and it seems that issue has continued somewhat with the Sensation. It's definitely a step up, as at medium brightness you can make out what's on the screen, but compare it to the iPhone 4's Retina Display or the Super AMOLED Plus of the Galaxy S2 and it's miles behind. However, the resolution is definitely a step forward, and the sharpness of the text is impressive.
Samsung Galaxy S2 vs HTC Sensation vs iPhone 4 Screen Comparison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UgDpwaDh78
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty, that second link was mostly garbage. If you're going to compare 3 devices, at least do it in a common and neutral environment. It seems a bit silly to judge text clarity when you're looking at several different examples on different backgrounds and text effects.
Angle of view is also useless after a certain point. If you're viewing your phone at a 20 degree angle, it might be best to worry about untying yourself and getting away from your kidnappers first.

wasnt the screen on this thing supposed to be abit concaved? certainly didnt look that way in them pics on one of them links!

tombaker1 said:
Reviews of the Sensation coming out fast now.....this is a good one....love the brit chick
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-sensation-943466/review
the screen part: HTC has long had a problem with screen visibility in direct sunlight, and it seems that issue has continued somewhat with the Sensation. It's definitely a step up, as at medium brightness you can make out what's on the screen, but compare it to the iPhone 4's Retina Display or the Super AMOLED Plus of the Galaxy S2 and it's miles behind. However, the resolution is definitely a step forward, and the sharpness of the text is impressive.
Samsung Galaxy S2 vs HTC Sensation vs iPhone 4 Screen Comparison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UgDpwaDh78
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet another example of how HTC made such a huge profit. Cheaped out on decent hardware parts.
G2x with faux AOSP

speedbreaker said:
wasnt the screen on this thing supposed to be abit concaved? certainly didnt look that way in them pics on one of them links!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, or atleast its supposed to sit a bit inside the housing so that when you set it face down it doesn't touch the surface.

booch137 said:
I've got a solid G2X, no freezing, rebooting, and minimal screen bleed (after 1 return). The sensation looks like a great phone to me but the size of the G2X is the biggest I'll ever go. And after 2 HTC phones I'll never go back until they replace that damn speaker phone speaker with something you can actually hear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same thing, go look at the specs compared to the G2X
http://androinica.com/2011/04/t-mobile-g2x-vs-htc-sensation/ scroll down a little.
G2X Dimenions
4.90 x 2.50 x 0.40
Sensation Dimenions
4.96 x 2.57 x 0.44
and only weighs .22oz more for the aluminum feeling.
I remember reading people really liked the metal strip the G2X has, that they would avoid putting a cover on it cause it looked so nice!!! I agreed but still bought a case since I'm selling the G2X for this aluminum sexy model called a phone, haha. I just love the feel of HTC phones prefer Sense overall as well... sucks for those with all those issues and still want to keep the G2X I feel bad as I have no issues and am still selling this phone.
Good luck peeps.

mt3g said:
I thought the same thing, go look at the specs compared to the G2X
http://androinica.com/2011/04/t-mobile-g2x-vs-htc-sensation/ scroll down a little.
G2X Dimenions
4.90 x 2.50 x 0.40
Sensation Dimenions
4.96 x 2.57 x 0.44
and only weighs .22oz more for the aluminum feeling.
I remember reading people really liked the metal strip the G2X has, that they would avoid putting a cover on it cause it looked so nice!!! I agreed but still bought a case since I'm selling the G2X for this aluminum sexy model called a phone, haha. I just love the feel of HTC phones prefer Sense overall as well... sucks for those with all those issues and still want to keep the G2X I feel bad as I have no issues and am still selling this phone.
Good luck peeps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have no issues with my G2X either but I feel the Sensations aluminum body isn't enough of a upgrade over the G2x but I can tell you what is a worthy upgrade. A SGSII variant. It's still the phone to beat and is still called the best Android phone that exists. Engadget even said in the Sensation review that the SGSII was more responsive and had more power. Myriam on Engadget said it wasn't enough to get rid of her SGSII and Sense was holding it down. I think I'll pass since I won't have enough app storage available to even store 2 of my Game Loft games. It's 2011 and HTC is still giving us 1gb of app storsge.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

jrwingate6 said:
Have no issues with my G2X either but I feel the Sensations aluminum body isn't enough of a upgrade over the G2x but I can tell you what is a worthy upgrade. A SGSII variant. It's still the phone to beat and is still called the best Android phone that exists. Engadget even said in the Sensation review that the SGSII was more responsive and had more power. Myriam on Engadget said it wasn't enough to get rid of her SGSII and Sense was holding it down. I think I'll pass since I won't have enough app storage available to even store 2 of my Game Loft games. It's 2011 and HTC is still giving us 1gb of app storsge.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
ya I dont want plastic at all... and launcher pro will take care of the sense hogging down if it does slow it down... doubt it will. The Sensations resolution helps with pixels... I've seen a couple captivates, and a vibrants that had weird looks to the text stuff... Sure they are bright and vivid but clarity is awesome...
Besides that Samsung has a well bad rap when it comes to phones, lol... just saying the G2X is awesome but I prefer HTC and Sense.

Let us know how you feel when its not so great in sunlight.
G2x with faux AOSP

remember people
the sensation has most likely been sitting in boxes with those encrypted bootloaders.
and the benchmarks i see do not score 2400 on the sensation.
But it should be a decent phone, also the sensation has the mhl connection not a seperate hdmi and i hear it doesnt come with the cable. and they are hard or imposible to find.
also the mhl standard does allow charging but no hardware out at this time knows that standard so no charging while using hdmi out.
It did take 3 tries but i think i have a good g2x finallly it was dated april 30th for anyone that cares
So i would wait and see whats said once they come out.
Im sure it will be a fine phone but if you are into modding id wait and check out that bootloader first.

Sense ui eats so much ram!
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

No way would I touch a sensation after I researched it for my buyers remorse period when I bought the G2x. Glad I made the right choice in choosing a phone. I never had a problem with any of my G2x phones. I traded the first one because of the backlight but never had any reboots or issues. The second one is near flawless.
The Sensation looks like a sweet phone and all but it is just to much of a step back in too many departments coming from the G2x.
Less powerful CPU/GPU
1Gb of Storage vs 8Gb
Lower Front Cam Res
MHL HDMI Out - Power
Encrypted Bootloader (which may or may not be unlocked) (HTC said "future phones would be unlocked")
Ram Killer aka Sense
Sure you can opt to run Launcher Pro and not use Sense... but that doesn't mean that Sense just vanishes. All those graphic files have to be stored somewhere. I cooked many Sense roms to know the difference in weight between a Sense and Non-Sense rom.

With custom ROM One X better than S III?

I am about to buy a new phone in the next month or so. I have been following the new phone release and seems like HTC One X and S III are the ones I am considering. I have had galaxy S for 2 years and it is time to upgrade.
I really like the solid design of the One X, it looks better, feels sturdier, screen is better... And my question is, if I am going to put custom ROMs on my phone, why should I choose One X over the S III (international versions)? My only strong point for the S III is the bigger battery and better contrast. But some say it is faster..
I do not care about removable battery and extra storage.

azsamsancho said:
I am about to buy a new phone in the next month or so. I have been following the new phone release and seems like HTC One X and S III are the ones I am considering. I have had galaxy S for 2 years and it is time to upgrade.
I really like the solid design of the One X, it looks better, feels sturdier, screen is better... And my question is, if I am going to put custom ROMs on my phone, why should I choose One X over the S III (international versions)? My only strong point for the S III is the bigger battery and better contrast. But some say it is faster..
I do not care about removable battery and extra storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Within two months, you will get bored of the touchwiz ui. But one x has sense and if you like it, with a little modifications, and with custom roms, you will never get bored of your phone
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

I'm kind of in the same boat. I haven't held the S3 yet so I don't know how it looks/feels in the hand. The OneX feels solid and comfortable to me. I think the OneX with a Sense-less ICS ROM would be super fast and more enjoyable. I'm leaning that way with my decision.
My HTC Sensation with Virtuous Inquisition ROM has become a much better phone
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium

azsamsancho said:
I am about to buy a new phone in the next month or so. I have been following the new phone release and seems like HTC One X and S III are the ones I am considering. I have had galaxy S for 2 years and it is time to upgrade.
I really like the solid design of the One X, it looks better, feels sturdier, screen is better... And my question is, if I am going to put custom ROMs on my phone, why should I choose One X over the S III (international versions)? My only strong point for the S III is the bigger battery and better contrast. But some say it is faster..
I do not care about removable battery and extra storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for the S3. Bigger development, cm9 from people who actually build from source themselves and i would trust my life in their hands so to speak. Codeworkx and Xplowild could not get any better and really wished they supported the One X but that is not going to happen, more AOSP and AOKP roms for the S3 and you probably get the best kernel developer i know and that Gokhanmoral as well...And the list goes on. One x might be better looking but you have so much more going for the S3 which is supercurio for one releasing his app for it specially with the better sound chip for it and well i can go on..
One X is a great phone with great potential..but with all the replacements i had and with their poor service and Quality Control have left a bad taste in my mouth and will never go for HTC again...Do not get me wrong development for this phone is only just getting started..But if you are a samsung boy and loved the development on the s2 then s3 is the place to be for you..just wished i waited a bit longer
But seriously my best advice to you..Wait a few more weeks. Watch videos and watch comparisons...And then make a judgement on yourself on what you need the phone for. Sense is ten times better than TW no doubt. But like i said take your time and do your research..And if you do go for the One X make sure you get a phone which is build like a gold phone..Make sure it is perfect and solid..Then you will not regret it

Real world speed is the same. Both have minor flaws and particular strengths. For me, the s3 is less aestheticaly pleasing (read:yuk) and the screen has a pink hue on greys, I can't stand touch wiz and I dislike the unrealistic colours on amoled screens.

farnsbarns said:
Real world speed is the same. Both have minor flaws and particular strengths. For me, the s3 is less aestheticaly pleasing (read:yuk) and the screen has a pink hue on greys, I can't stand touch wiz and I dislike the unrealistic colours on amoled screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree I had a go on the one x saw sense and the shell and was like I want it! Glad I did as I dislike the look of the s3 not that it is ugly or anything hox just appeals to me more.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

I say its better even with Stock Rom

The truth is i am bored with my samsung galaxy S... so if i get the S III will be the same feeling. I always though HTC phones look sexier and simply better.. but looking at some reviews a couple of things scare me. For example, when browsing the way it redraws while zooming; multitasking when switching programs also redraws.. the small battery also does not give me great confidence..

azsamsancho said:
The truth is i am bored with my samsung galaxy S... so if i get the S III will be the same feeling. I always though HTC phones look sexier and simply better.. but looking at some reviews a couple of things scare me. For example, when browsing the way it redraws while zooming; multitasking when switching programs also redraws.. the small battery also does not give me great confidence..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then get the one x. I'm very happy with mine no problems.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

The HOX looks far better, the bluey coloured SIII looks very cheap, and to me the proportions look wrong on the front - weird angle curves, and too much bezel at top and bottom.
AMOLED provides less than realistic colours, if its anything like the SII and youre used to a properly calibrated TV/PC Monitor you'll laugh.
Having had a pentile display phone before the One X (Droid 3) no matter what the PPI youre going to notice the Pentile matrix on font and icon edges if you have the screen relatively close to your face, like when you're reading it in bed or something. Minor niggle but it annoyed me. Reading on the One X is like reading a magazine, it looks printed on.
The only positive for me is the bigger battery, but in real world usage i.e. Web Browsing itll only offer you about 40 mins more according to GSM Arena due to the high draw of the AMOLED display on white. Video life is about 4 hours longer, though. Saying that, if you have time to watch a video you'd be in a situation where you could use HTC's small battery bank to see you through it on the one x and have battery left to play with on a flight or long outing (should have a car charger so incar use wouldn't be an issue).
Regarding the above, GSMArena's battery life tests are very unscientific. The One X's display is among the brightest, and far brighter than the SII (double brightness nearly) so if the SIII is the same, the battery life at similar brightness to the One X's default levels would be negligable in texting/browsing/everyday use, again, bar video playback.
There is also the element of standing from the crowd a little - the One X is in my opinion (and many reviewers) the best looking phone to date - It matters to me to enjoy looking at something I use so often, so it helps.
Custom ROMS will come as well, its a major device with global variants so CM9 support will come I'd assume.
As far as build goes, I have sent one back but only because I'm very picky and the screen gap on the left was a tiny bit too much for my liking but I'm pretty sure 75% of the people on the replacement threads have got OCD with the number of replacements theyre having, or they use their phones punishingly. I didnt have flicker after the latest OTA either. The flex is the major issue regarding build, but my Dad's iPhone has the same thing if you press on the edges of the screens, every phone has it.
---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
azsamsancho said:
The truth is i am bored with my samsung galaxy S... so if i get the S III will be the same feeling. I always though HTC phones look sexier and simply better.. but looking at some reviews a couple of things scare me. For example, when browsing the way it redraws while zooming; multitasking when switching programs also redraws.. the small battery also does not give me great confidence..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im a fairly heavy user and the battery is great for me.
Streaming radio/and mp3 is all done with the companion core for example and with screen off the battery graph is basically flat even whilst streaming over HSPA for a good while.
I can get 4/4hr30 web browsing and if you think about it, you don't need any more than that - with any phone nowadays youre looking at an overnight charge really so it makes no odds whether that number is a bit less or a bit more.
The browser redraw is instantaneous, and looks good - the text fades and fades back as an effect rather than jerking all the text round like opera - you dont notice the time it takes.
Multitasking Fix This may be of great use - it was to me on my Droid 3 and I noticed weird settings posted on here in HTC's default Build.prop that explain IMO the memory Issues people are perceiving.
Multitasking can easily be fixed in build prop. Some of the default HTC settings baffle me. Or use RomToolbox by JRummy
Ive not rooted yet but on my D3 (512mb ram) I used dirty ratio 70% (HOX default is 0%....!) Dirty background 90% (Hox default is 30%) and vfs cache pressure 10. Hox default is 100. This makes android flush the cache less often, saving battery and eliminating stutter, keeps apps in background ram leaving you where you left off and doesn't negatively impact on battery life or degrade performance over time. I've no idea why the HOX's default settings are so aggressive - unless they thought users might get an errant app, leave it running and complain when they dont know why the battery is draining... kill OOM allocating task was also a yes.
On my Droid 3 with the above settings, I could infinitely multitask (VM Heap of 48mb - but on HOX you could easily double that for more tabs in browser etc) and my battery gained a perceived time of about an hour at least - maybe more, due to the apps always remaining open and CPU time not having to be used reopening them and redrawing the past state they were in because theyve been pushed out of RAM.
I researched the above for ages when I had my D3 (even with 512 ram Moto's settings were way less aggressive than HTC's are at default) and made sure they wouldn't cause lag over time, or loss of performance over time - as well as providing optimal battery life.
Finally!
If you're planning on keeping the phone for some time (I can't see much that can improve on this, heck I wouldnt have got rid of my D3 had i not bricked it!) HTC are very good with software updates, the best around on unbranded devices really. They've just listed devices to recieve ICS - and those included some devices that were 18 Months old with a single core processor. This would suggest to me the One X will not only get Jelly Bean, but probably the next iteration (Released end of summer/fall 2013 most likely), should the hardware requirements not change massively (although 1gb RAM and Quad Core looks pretty safe for 18 months IMO).

azsamsancho said:
The truth is i am bored with my samsung galaxy S... so if i get the S III will be the same feeling. I always though HTC phones look sexier and simply better.. but looking at some reviews a couple of things scare me. For example, when browsing the way it redraws while zooming; multitasking when switching programs also redraws.. the small battery also does not give me great confidence..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I myself am coming from a galaxy s. Not sure how much the amoled screen is worse than the s2 on the s1 in comparison. I do know,however, that this super LCD2 screen on my htc one x is a thing that's going to be difficult to leave should I ever have to decide between this phone or a super amoled phone in the future.
Browsing-wise: I think we are all going to end up using google chrome in the long run. With the updates it gets, i believe it's sooner or later going to be the browser everyone's going to replace their original browser with.
I personally use google chrome browser on my phone myself. It's much faster than other IMO. Especially loading time is amazing and super smooth.
Battery is debatable. Personally, I wish i could squeeze an hour more hour out of my phone. On a full use I easily hit the 3 hours mark screen on time(3h 10m~). Probably just like most One X owners. Depending on your phone usage though, it's safe to say that the battery life on the HTC One X on standy by is godlike Seen people go for 4 days.
The highest i have reached was 3 hours 31 minutes. I think i could have even exceeded that by now but i just don't bother anymore and plug the phone in before it depletes.
It gets me through a day with ease plus i don't know what htc is up to. As far as I know this phone still needs optimization(take what i say with a grain of salt on this part). As I have no idea if the battery is going to improve in future or not. Just my gut feeling tells me it is, but a gut feeling is just that, a gut feeling. I wish HTC would at least communicate with us users more. Really kind of disappointing on their part.
Oh well, this is the insight i'm capable of giving.
p.s: i'm not one of those users who had to send his phone in for multiple replacements. So yeah, i can understand the users who do suggest the S3 for alone that reason. Because we all just want a phone that functions and don't want to constantly have it replaced just to replace it again.
Good day!

Any possible enhancements from ROMs or Kernels for the HOX will also come out for the S3 so you're best looking at them stock vs stock and decide that way IMO.

mardon85 said:
Any possible enhancements from ROMs or Kernels for the HOX will also come out for the S3 so you're best looking at them stock vs stock and decide that way IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah! This is actually true as well. Considering the fact that SG3 has got more support. Or at least that's what I always read and i don't doubt it. Probably a customized rom for the gs3 will be running better than the one x's.

Other negatives for the HOX include quality control with the screen flex and squeeky noises at least thats what I get!
With s-on am currently locked down so am having to wait for the network provider to bring about all the fixes in the updates unless I use custom roms but then I can't change the radio etc due to s-on..... Would be great if the phone was cracked in that sense.
Also the soundchip is not that great, could be better.
Battery is bad for me due to being on older firmware so screen on time is about 2hrs and the battery is dead.....
Currently sent mine back to htc due to hardware issues.....

I would wait to see the SIII however i cant't see samsung moving away from using inferior plastic for the shell. This spoils everything.
Also, the cool software will be ported shortly therefore I can't see a reason for choosing the SIII over the HOX. It's all about feeling in the hand........

Sense is very beautiful! And i like the style of htc phones look like

I think i need to wait till S III is available near me and check it out how it feels. reviewers say it feels better than the HOX due to the curved edges...

Its a matter of choice. Both HTC and samsung stock UIs are horrible in my eyes. The main differentiating factor is the more powerful CPU in the galaxy s3, expandable memory and removable/better battery. Its downsides are the pentile display and cheap look.
Both will come with many custom ROMS so flashing a custom rom holds no advantage for the one X

If your getting the HTC ONE X over the Galaxy S3 get ready for some poor battery life

Don't know what you guys expect with battery life on the one x to be honest, I love my HOX , I can run it with several phone calls and texts, bit of browsing on here, read books daily and usually get a couple days out of the battery, yes, if you hammer it with games like riptide, then be prepared for it to eat battery, but I imagine that will be no different on any quad core phone
Sent from my Flexreaper Powered BEAST !!!

(Q) / Rant

I keep going back and fourth between my gsg3 and galaxy nexus and cannot make up my mind firmly and would like to hoping to get something going to help me weigh my options better. I love the sgs3 everything about it from stock battery life to camera size is good a bit bulky for me even though i have big hands its still something of a getting used to in width far as reaching thumb across the screen.
The nexus love the dev community in terms of selection of roms and such however sgs3 will have aosp as well as tw variants im sure in the future
both have great speed good amount of memory space available for files that is I just keep going back and fourth and cannot make up my mind on this. so any of you that may have both devices as well or put hands on both and have some valid insight and thoughts id appreciate greatly.

mikeew83 said:
I keep going back and fourth between my gsg3 and galaxy nexus and cannot make up my mind firmly and would like to hoping to get something going to help me weigh my options better. I love the sgs3 everything about it from stock battery life to camera size is good a bit bulky for me even though i have big hands its still something of a getting used to in width far as reaching thumb across the screen.
The nexus love the dev community in terms of selection of roms and such however sgs3 will have aosp as well as tw variants im sure in the future
both have great speed good amount of memory space available for files that is I just keep going back and fourth and cannot make up my mind on this. so any of you that may have both devices as well or put hands on both and have some valid insight and thoughts id appreciate greatly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from the GN to S3.. I have not yet turned back. S3 has done everything that the GN has and have done it better. Are there options that you dont like on the S3? The only thing that i didnt like on the S3 was the Messaging software. I like the one from the GN better. I ended up flashing SlimRom on it and all is well. There are a few flaws here and there, but nothing majorly noticeable.
As for size.. I agree that it is bigger. With the GN i never had a case for it, and so i was use to the slim feel. I got the S3 and was amazed that the phone was the same thickness almost. But i ended up getting an Otterbox and so i made it more bulky than i prefer. But awesomeness comes with a price. I love my S3. and will not turn back.
Good luck on making your decision.

I had the Gnex and switched to the S3
first I hated the middle button only for the first 3-days tho after that I got used to it and like it. My wife still has the Gnex and every-time I'm doing something on it I try to push the button in the middle which it obviously doesn't have.
10 quick easons why the S3 is the BIG winner for me.
1. Super AMOLED screen
2. Gorilla Glass (better agains scratches)
3. The build quality, I love the rounded screen style and color
4. it seems lighter and better to hold.
5. 1.5GHz-stock vs 1.2GHz-stock on the Gnex
6. Battery Life (I doubt it's just me, but I had the extended battery on the Gnex which was 2100mah just as the S3's stock battery but my S3 beats the Gnex ANY DAY I'm running Synergy's ROM and I get 3h screen on time with about 1-1.5h of calling time and my phone still has about 10% at the end of the day)--Opened Stock Kernel--
7. call quality
8. the build in speaker sooooo loud & even on head-phones there's a reason when you bump up your volume it says "loud music may harm your hearing if you listen to it for a long time" Beats Audio...WHO?!
9. Way better 4G connection with no dropps my Gnex always used to get on & off 4G in my Apt well with the S3 I even have 4G in the deep garage
10. It's newer and SAMSUNG's FlagShip device
Thought I throw this together quick since no one answered. OHH never-mind iSpyder was 1min quicker hahaa

galchristian said:
I had the Gnex and switched to the S3
first I hated the middle button only for the first 3-days tho after that I got used to it and like it. My wife still has the Gnex and every-time I'm doing something on it I try to push the button in the middle which it obviously doesn't have.
10 quick easons why the S3 is the BIG winner for me.
1. Super AMOLED screen
2. Gorilla Glass (better agains scratches)
3. The build quality, I love the rounded screen style and color
4. it seems lighter and better to hold.
5. 1.5GHz-stock vs 1.2GHz-stock on the Gnex
6. Battery Life (I doubt it's just me, but I had the extended battery on the Gnex which was 2100mah just as the S3's stock battery but my S3 beats the Gnex ANY DAY I'm running Synergy's ROM and I get 3h screen on time with about 1-1.5h of calling time and my phone still has about 10% at the end of the day)
7. call quality
8. the build in speaker sooooo loud & even on head-phones there's a reason when you bump up your volume it says "loud music may harm your hearing if you listen to it for a long time" Beats Audio...WHO?!
9. Way better 4G connection with no dropps my Gnex always used to get on & off 4G in my Apt well with the S3 I even have 4G in the deep garage
10. It's newer and SAMSUNG's FlagShip device
Thought I throw this together quick since no one answered. OHH never-mind iSpyder was 1min quicker hahaa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cant forget the camera quality!! I thought the GN was a bit grainy. But the S3 has given perfect shots so far. LOVE LOVE LOVE the camera.

I am so happy I got rid of the GNEX for the S3. When I first bought my S3 I still had my GNEX and when I had them side by side the GNEX just looked dated. I know people say the GNEX is so sleek with no physical buttons but up to my white S3 the GNEX was the ugly duckling.
They both have Super Amoled screens but Samsung did the S3 write with the way they tweaked it and really screwed over the GNEX users. Luckily you can tweak the GNEX screen but I still think the S3 screen spanks it. Even the blacks look better on the S3.
Camera, in good lighting situations and mostly outdoor lighting the GNEX camera looks just as good as the S3. Once the sun goes down or you go indoors you might as well pack up the GNEX's camera and wait for the sun to rise again. Low light pictures were terrible and grainy. There are phones that came out a year before the GNEX and can take much better low light pics. Samsung should have no sacrificed the picture quality for no shutter speed. I would have been happier if they just used the GS2 camera in the phone but they didn't.
Battery life. Does the GNEX even know it has a battery in it? I think sometimes when I used it no one reminded it there is something powering it and it can actual stay on for a little bit. With the 2100mAh battery I was lucky, and I mean lucky if I could hit 2 hours on on screen time over 4G. The S3 with a higher clock speed and larger screen can give me 3-4 hours on screen time over 4G over a 15 hours time frame. That is just perfect. Can't imagine myself using the phone on an average day on strictly 4G for over 4 hours on screen time.
I was also not a fan of the on-screen buttons of the GNEX. The screen was not large enough for me to be ruined with buttons. I can see it on the Note or something of that size, but for a phone I am not a fan.
Oh, and TW is pretty sweet as well. I liked it on my S2 and like it even more on the S3. I feel no need to jump onto an AOSP rom. It offers nothing more then we already have. All I need now is some fully working TW JB!
Would love to hear what it is that is keeping you using the GNEX because I can't think of anything........

Those are some long and well thought out replies. I'm another that was happy to go from the gnex to the s3. Had the unlocked BL not been leaked....it may have been a different story.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

got556 said:
Those are some long and well thought out replies. I'm another that was happy to go from the gnex to the s3. Had the unlocked BL not been leaked....it may have been a different story.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I had high hopes for the BL to get unlocked. I was about to cancel my pre-order when i found out the news. All in all, Everything worked out.

I had the Galaxy Nexus and I went through 5 of them! The first one I had overheated really badly. The second one lasted me a good six months but then it had a screen burn in issue. After that Verizon had sent me 3 crappy CLN devices and I complained and complained for them to give me a Galaxy SIII. Here is why the S3 is better.
1) Battery Life-Oh my God! The battery life on the Nexus was horrible...sometimes my phone would drop to 40% within one hour.
2)The Screen-even though the screen technology is the same...the difference are like night and day. All the problems with the Nexus's screen. Samsung ironed out with the S3's screen. Such as this grainy effect on low brightness.
3)The camera...i dont really care that the camera on the Nexus was 5mp...but the quality was just plain horrible especially in low light.
4) Signal! I get 4G in places I never got it with my Nexus
5)Call quality is waay better.
6)Sound quality- you can barely hear ANYTHING out of the loud speaker on the Nexus
7)Build quality-Both phones are made of plastic, but no matter which Nexus I had my battery door never seemed to fit correctly on any of them. Also the generic "fortified glass" on the Nexus gets scratched really easily.
8)Specs-The S4 and the 2gb of RAM make this thing blazingly fast...even faster than my Nexus was on a JellyBean ROM with project butter.
9) I cant believe Im saying this...but there are things in touchwiz that I like better than stock android such as the swiping motion to take a screenshot...however I did have to download the stock ICS keyboard because the touchwiz keyboard sucks and I installed nova launcher over the touchwiz launcher. Also, the way I figure it is the VZW Nexus isnt a true Nexus anyway, so updates arent really on the top of my list. However I do miss some of the ROMs for the Nexus. JellyBean ROMs were out right away with the Nexus and right now all we have is beta
software.
So anyway, I would highly recommend going with the Galaxy S3 or waiting for the next Nexus or Nexi

I thank everyone for there input so far I think for me the biggest thing about the s3 is I am not a fan of tw however love smemo and the camera app with smile detection and such with a 3 month old I use that a lot but as of right now seems so to speak I can't have my cake and eat it to and I prefer the nav keys on the Nexus
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

After having sense, I really have no love for tw anymore either. I do not like the on screen buttons much, I really don't get the love for them.
Throw apex or nova on the SGS and most of the tw issues are gone with the benefits of the underlying apps
Sent from my thumbs with no brain censorship

I've found TouchWiz to be more configurable and natural for me than Sense, and really don't need AOSP JellyBean at this time. I'm content to wait for Samsung's JB update.
I never owned a Galaxy Nexus but have used them and my S3 feels better in the hand for me, despite its size.
- ooofest

Most of everyone hit the nail right on the head as far as comparing the two devices... I still have my Galaxy Nexus because it is a GREAT inexpensive backup LTE phone and it is still FAST as hell!! I do like the fact that it has on screen nav buttons that can be themed in ANY way you would like depending what rom you are using... With JellyBean on the Gnex it is just as fast as far as scrolling speeds and opening and closing apps (IMO) as the SG3 is... BUT, the camera SUCKS on the Gnex and the battery life is terrible no matter what rom you are running unless you just use it a few times a day to answer calls and text. Now if you start diving into multiple apps and running some heavy games then you will KNOW that you have the SG3... The Gnex bogs down fairly quickly trying to keep up with multitasking and gaming is a no-go as far as I am concerned... I did go through about 3 Gnex's myself because of screen burn in and intermittent loss of signal but I finally got a keeper and I still flash roms on it cause I am a flashaholic! My Daily Driver is my SG3 with CleanRom & his Kernel and that combo can't be beat for me right now... I run Nova Launcher so I can swipe up to clear my running apps and do other things so that I don't have to keep hitting that damn physical home button that I have not fell in love with as of yet but it is a matter of preference as far as that goes and with all the apps out there are several ways to combat anything that you don't like on the SG3. With all that being said I am in LOVE with my SG3 and my Nexus but if I had to pick one it would def be the GS3!! :victory:

Ditch One S for Nexus 4?

I placed an order for the Nexus 4 16GB on the Play Store last week for around 380 including tax and shipping. It will still take two weeks before it ships, and now I am having second thoughts. I like my One S and am not too impressed by the Nexus 4 specs. Any personal thoughts / opinions?
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

The only things it has over the one s is double the speed/ram and stock android updated by Google, other than that the one s has a better build quality better camera
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

I've heard bad things about the N4's battery life. And I am very sceptical to any phone with a back made of glass. That said, it is really cheap for the specs it has. Snapdragon S4 Pro is pretty sexy.

Yea I'm not into the back being made of glass, the galaxy note 2 to me is the best on the market but until I get onto a new carrier which won't be for awhile I'm stuck on the one s
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Wait everyone.....
Does the HTC one S have lte technology?

cannondale0815 said:
I placed an order for the Nexus 4 16GB on the Play Store last week for around 380 including tax and shipping. It will still take two weeks before it ships, and now I am having second thoughts. I like my One S and am not too impressed by the Nexus 4 specs. Any personal thoughts / opinions?
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cannondale, it is only thanks to you that I stuck with the One S. I only had it for 2 days and thought I had bricked it until I found your post on repairing a soft brick.
My opinion is that a LG phone will never have as good a build quality as a HTC phone, also camera is way below HOS spec. I have heard that the battery life is very poor. The only current phone I would possibly swap for is the Galaxy Note 2!
Change your mind and stay with the better phone for now.

I don't know, I see all this praise over the One S, only from the owners of one, I have the Galaxy Nexus and the HTC One S unrooted stock (for now) and I always prefer to use my GNex. Bigger and better display makes a big difference for the better and the customizations and support. The HTC One S is more powerful but the freedom of the Nexus is a wonderful thing! I haven't rooted my One S yet cause I can't find a Cincinnati Bell Wireless RUU for it, I guess there isn't one. So when I use my One S I miss all the things I can do with my Nexus. I suppose I can do the same things with the HTC it just doesn't seem easy or practical. The Nexus is a developers phone and if you are a flash addict like me thats what makes Nexus users always go back to Nexus. Once you go Nexus you never go back! Lol. I loved my Nexus S and love my Galaxy Nexus even more and I am sure I would love the Nexus 4, just don't have any reason to give up on my GNex yet. So if you are happy with the development for the HTC One S then I would probably stay, I still need to root mine to find out. From what I have seen, especially since there is no RUU for my network it seems to much of a hassle.

Unfortunately the one S is a highly under rated phone, people right it off straight away before even using one for more than a few minutes (even though pretty much every expert review has spoken very highly of it and the only disadvantages they mention of it, is the screen sharpness and limited storage), you don't get to appreciate just how good it really is in 10-20 minutes of usage. IMO the only phones that are truly better overall are the:
- XL and the X+
- GS 3 and note II
- RAZR HD/MAXX
Plus having virtually no advertisements for the phone means average joes etc. will think that it mustn't be that good and therefore won't care, advertise/market the phone as good as the GS 3 and iphones and people will be interested.
The galaxy nexus display is nice, definitely sharper/clearer than the S, however, IMO it is too dull for SAMOLED panel, the one S is the best when it comes to calibration for colour settings, whites are the best I have seen on a SAMOLED screen, view ability in sunshine is far better from my usage with both. The display isn't "much" bigger due to the on screen buttons, iirc the height is pretty much the same but the galaxy nexus is a bit wider, I would have liked the screen on the S to have been a bit wider.
I was going to get the nexus 4 if HTC didn't get the JB update out by the end of this month, however, after reading reviews and loads of users comments, I will probably stay with the S till the butterfly comes out here. Seems more like a side/down grade overall:
- Mixed opinion on the screen, some say it is as good if not better than the X display, but others say the screen is washed out and poor viewing angles, which I can't stand, personally I prefer SAMOLED screens overall
- camera overall isn't as good
- build/perceived quality and design IMO isn't as good (still a lovely looking phone though)
Main advantages of the nexus 4 over the S:
- battery life once they fix the problems with the drivers/software
- nexus device so will get updates

I didn't get the N4 simply because it's too big. I have a one S with AOKP JB ROM and it works like a charm--fast internet, data, no problems with any apps I've tried. I recognize I'm probably in JB 4.1 for the life of the phone but JB finally realizes the promise of Android and I'll probably be happy with it for the next couple of years. And on eBay the one S, rooted and all, was a third cheaper than the N4.
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

I had the two phones side by side the other day, and after turning both screens on my decision was made. After being spoiled by the true blacks and rich colors of the one s screen, I couldn't stand the nexus 4 screen.
As far as the specs go, yeah, you get more processing power and ram, but do you need it yet? Does screen size outweigh screen quality? And as far as updates go, if you're rooted, you got 'em.
Sent from a baked One S
If I've helped hit the thanks button

I want to thank everyone for your sensible responses and advice. I decided to sell my Nexus 4 to a colleague. It was very, very difficult to give it away. I had only opened the box one time before, and when I opened it again to give it to him, I almost went back on the deal to keep it. But my resolve was strong
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

I have a N4 and One S. I haven't had it long enough to give a full review. I've been waiting for the successor to the Galaxy Nexus for a while and was turned of at first to hear it was produced by LG. Now that I have one I don't care who made it. He's some simple observations.
Build quality: Very Good - My phone has no creeks or blemishes it's a perfect example.
Screen: Looks great, I don't have much experience with color accuracy but the colors/brightness/clarity are good.
They did speed binning on the SOC and I also got lucky there and got a "Fast" one. I think it just means the kernel will under-volt it by 50ma vs a "Normal" chip
I flashed CM on both phones as fast as I could so there isn't really any difference in terms user experience.
I don't use any of the new 4.2 features.
While it feels thicker laying the two phones flat on a table side by side they seem the same thickness overall. The One S is slimmer in the middle of course.
HTC One S has USB OTG. The Nexus does not, I'm really bummed about that.
Speed wise they are the same to me.
Turns out the 3g/4g switching that alarmed us when the One S came out is hear to stay. It's just more honest reporting of phones connection. Both my phones drop to H when not pulling down data and switch up to H+ when there is actual through put.
I thought I would like the buttons drawn on the screen but they seem to close. I don't like it now that I have it.
That's it for now. I need a little more time to get a better feel for it.

I am getting HTC One S with S4 processor for $180 and Nexus 4 16GB for $280
which one should i choose at this price ? Help experts ....

Wait
Wait for nexus 5

Any regrets?

Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?

None! It was my biggest worry but I defnintely don't regret it. I love not having all the bloat that the S4 had. Even with a smaller battery, I'm getting better battery results than I ever did on the S4 as well. I honestly don't see a difference in the camera either.
My absolute biggest worry was losing all the space. Coming from a phone with a 64gb external sd card worried me a lot, but I finally gave in and subscribed the the Google Music service and I couldn't be happier.
Once all the ROM's fix the Sprint data issue, this phone will be even better, but I have no regrets.

Coming from an S4 too, gods I hated that phone, the bloatware, the knox (introduced after I bought it).
The battery life i find is better on my Nexus 5, seem strange but it's true, it waste very little battery power when on stand by.
The only thing I miss of the S4 is the camera. the Nexus' one is a clear step back, but I don't mind really I don't take many photos.

now i currently have an htc one with a cracked screen and i want to replace it.. Im an att user and well can get the s4 for like $150 but can always sell it buy the nexus and still have money left.. But one of the main issues i had with the HTC one is that no one! made accessories for it... like i was never able to find a waterproof cover, etc etc.. Im a bit worry that it will be the same with the nexus 5, that because it is not as popular it wont have many accessories

The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.

I like my S4 better. My S4 has better reception, I stripped off the extras I did not like. I currently have a 4.4 rom on my S4 so spare me the updates line, I unlocked it and added the TMobile band. What I hate about N5 is the body. Its a nightmare. Sharp edges where the glass meets plastic, the lens mount, power button is too high, feels cheap and feels horrible in my hand. As for price, with etf+tax+1st month, my S4 was only $30 more. Not much in savings
It's not a bad device once you get past the body, seems plenty fast, takes ok pics, battery life is ok. So it's not horrible and is starting it's life with top end hardware specs unlike the N4. It's just not for me. If it came in a similar body to the N4 or would have shaped the glass like the S3, it would have been a home run.

trendiggity said:
The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the S3? I had 2 of those and came to this. Not even comparable. The N5 destroys the S3 in EVERY way. Low light pictures, sunny day pictures, the camera is better on the N5. The S3 is supersaturated and does not reproduce color accurately at all.

I've had a n4, s4 and now have n5. Think they are all brilliant phones. I think I can certainly feel the performance on the n5 though and I really like the screen. It has such an understated no frills look about it and that really appeals to me. I loved the s4 but it was a bit blingy for my liking and I didn't feel like it was so much as a blank canvas as what the nexus 5 is if that makes sense.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Alo also trying to get into custom room and apps development... Is there any advantages on using the nexus instead of the samsung? I

SuperMiguel said:
Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.

fallingd0wn said:
I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any issues running this phone on att? and how come only tmobile and sprint got it?

My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.

fallingd0wn said:
I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is a great comment. Coming from the Sprint S4, for some reason, the dev community never really sped up like I thought it would. Sure, there were some great ROM's, but it was pretty much between a couple Touchwiz ROM's and hoping that 3minit would work, or you had AOSP based ROM's where you were happy to have working data.
While working data on Sprint with some ROM's is an early challenge, it doesn't look like it will be an issue long term (there's already a flashable fix) and we already have a wide variety of ROM's available.
I definitely don't miss Touchwiz whatsoever.

dicecuber said:
My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..

I am starting to have regrets as I'm having issues with push notifications that I can't resolve. I might end up having to return the phone for a refund. If that issue can be fixed though, then I would have no regrets at all. I think the Nexus 5 is an otherwise great phone.

SuperMiguel said:
Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny you say that, because my first S4 was water damaged in a boating incident lol. it was deemed unrepairable by 5+ cell phone repair shops. So I purchased a Note 2 afterwards. Sold that and bought another S4. I loved that device too much. My device was then stolen so I had to use a old POS non-smartphone for 2 months. I couldn't see myself spending another $600+ to buy another S4. So I jumped on buying a nexus 5. I love the Nexus 5 now. 1080p 5inch screen quad core processor 2gb ram to name a few.

I have the n4 and s4 sitting next to me currently my s4 is on sprint while my n5 is on straight talk att. And I can tell you IMO that my n5 in ALL areas is better than both devices. One area that is extremely noticeable is the all around speed and smoothness of the n5 when compared to the other phones. Also typing and touch seems a lot more responsive on this device as well. Often times I would find typing on the s4 to be choppy and laggy and often couldn't keep up. And I am running the latest official 4.3 release from sprint all stock. Tried swapping keyboards too on it and its just not the same as the n5. I do a ton of multi tasking on my phone. And this is where the n5 really shines. I can jump between texting and surfing the web and checking emails without a single hitch. And I really love that. I have owned all the major Samsung phones and after the n4 I have been pretty much hooked on nexus devices. As for the camera I actually find it on par with my s4 a lot of people talk about shutter lag but I find the shutter speed to be about the same as it is on the s4. So not much of a difference there. And in a lot of my low light shots my n5 out performed my s4. So all around I am a pretty happy camper. Oh and service on at straight talk is so much better than sprint for me. I get consistent LTE everywhere.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

From reading the more in-depth reviews the Nexus 5 screen has some of the most accurate colours on an LCD beating out iPhone models even which are known for their calibration. It however does not have as high of a contrast ratio as even the LG G2 or the saturated colours AMOLED screens are known for. That mixed with the slightly smaller usable screen space when including the Home bar on the N5 would give the S4 the brighter and more stand out screen at first glance and on store shelves.
Myself I prefer accurate colours versus over saturated ones and only use high brightness settings when being used in direct sunlight. That being said after seeing AMOLED's "completely off" black levels (and the features it can bring such as Glance support and 24/7 Daydream) no black screen on IPS can ever look as dark.

I hated how weak the s4 would feel. I was afraid to put it in my pocket becausw it would break. And i hated the screen. You could see there were 2 0arts of the screen and the digitixer was glued under a piece of plastic. While with the nexus everything is so nice. I know in 4 months I will get bored of aosp roms and miss some tw features but whatever there is time till then.

i just found out that the S4 is at a very bad spot at the moment, if you have their latest baseband you cant use custom kernels, etc.. So that may lean me more towards the s5