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Hello guys,
The thing is I'm wondering if still worth buying the One S nowadays, it seems to be better than todays entry level phones like LG F5, Xperia M/L, etc. It's price is realy good, it got a lot of custom ROMs, plenty of very good kernels, stable OC and everything.
Thanks already for the replies
I'm happy with mine still. It may not feel as snappy as the latest devices but if you get a good price then do go for it.
Sent with Tapatalk that ignores my privacy and tracks my activity
The HTC One S is one of the best cheap 2nd hand phones you can get IMO.
The negatives:
Terrible - almost unusable front camera. Back lens can be scratched easily since it protrudes a bit. Battery life is not the greatest but not the worse.
Lower resolution on the screen.
Positives:
Size is nearly perfect. Good camera. Excellent (but sometimes buggy) ROM support.
Last official ROM is really good.
Can get at a great price ($150).
Can get parts easily plus 3rd party larger batteries.
If the Moto G had a decent camera it would be a better buy than the HTC ONE S, but it has a terrible camera.
At $299, the vaporware OnePlus One is a good buy but for twice the price.
At around $130??? The Moto E? Is cheap but has a horrible camera and maybe no front camera.
Another option is a Nexus 4 - they seem to go around $200 or less. That would be another alternative.
It's really good for its price, I think it's the best cheap phone now you can get in the world if all you want is a decent camera and cool/unique slim design.
Yup, it blows out all new entry to med level of new phones. Don't forget it is indeed a small flagship two years before, so it's still doing good now. The hardware is all good, just make sure you get the z520e(S4 CPU), not z560e(S3 CPU).
There are some downsides like suck front camera, lower screen resolution(but you saved battery life and system will work faster on a qHD mon so it can be an advantage) and relatively slower software development because some devs already switched to other phones. But it looks like CM will continue support One S and devs here will try to give us the last upgrade - HTC 4.4.2 SixthSense later this year.
So, probably it is still safe to use it for two more years
If that's the most what you can pay for a phone .. then buy it ! You will never get anything like it with that price !
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA Free mobile app
The on-demand "related search to topic" is helpful but slightly annoying when trying to actually type a thread out (visually impaired, wondered where the text box went). But I digress.
How is the physical audio chip on this? My pockets can't afford the space of an external headphone amp (and it's too much to carry even when my person's wearing cargo pants/coat). One thing that's irked me for reviews is people gauging audio quality based off the external speaker (who listens to music on speakerphone? gah! Reviewers need slapped).
I'm moving from a Note 3 (upgraded from a Note 2, which had the unfortunate fate of someone driving/aiming for it at the roadside). Funny that for a $700 device they can't even get the audio hardware right. No matter what headset I plug into the thing, it's weak and underpowered (used included headset, used headsets from Huawei, and used some Beyerdynamic MMX102IE, all of which had zero juice or drive in said device). And people/reviewers just aww/glitter over advertised features rather than realworld use. Pretty sure the headphone jack is good on it.
Used a Huawei Ascend Mate 2 (on Wind Mobile) for two years until sister decided to pawn it off. It seems that every review site out there pretends this phone wasn't released in N.America when it was, and underrated. Funny how you can spend $300 on a cheap phone and have it perform better than a so-called "flagship" phone.
That said, the 1+ isn't going to just cost me $300 here in Canada, it'll be about ~$500 when you add taxes, brokerage; the only other retailer that I know that's selling these (NCIX) is tacking on that cost, so the phone ends up being $550 with taxes locally. So it isn't any longer a cheap phone here, it's pretty much on-par with most mid/high-end phones now if one were to buy outright.
That being said, I want to be critical of buying such devices here, is the 1+ good on audio?
Are OS bugs fixed as of yet? Have heard there were a few, but also that this phone's updated regularly.
Is the actual hardware good? Some people complain about broken buttons, is this a major issue? Does this happen with a protective case installed/would one prevent broken buttons?
Thanks for input!
I have the vmoda m100. Just moved up from the m80. Audio isn't bad but the chip used on this isn't bad. Had the note 2 as well and the audio signal was decently clean. It's not as clean here but nothing too bad. It does a good job
Sent from my OnePlusOne
This phone has a beefy JBL-tweaked Yamaha hardware audio chip and AudioFX (hardware accelerated DSP manager) to go with it. I use a OPO with Samsung Level Over and it rocks pretty hard. I enjoyed my Note 3 but this is superior in every way except the screen. You're going to love Boeffla's kernel.
osmosizzz said:
I have the vmoda m100. Just moved up from the m80. Audio isn't bad but the chip used on this isn't bad. Had the note 2 as well and the audio signal was decently clean. It's not as clean here but nothing too bad. It does a good job
Sent from my OnePlusOne
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Probably better than me Note3 then, the Note2 I noted better audio on too. Good to know.
CrashTestDroid said:
This phone has a beefy JBL-tweaked Yamaha hardware audio chip and AudioFX (hardware accelerated DSP manager) to go with it. I use a OPO with Samsung Level Over and it rocks pretty hard. I enjoyed my Note 3 but this is superior in every way except the screen. You're going to love Boeffla's kernel.
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Click to collapse
Boeffla's Kernel, or Franco Kernel? I hear a lot of praise of Franco's (probably because of that more people use it), what are the variances of both kernels (why ought I pick one over the other?). My use is going to be with stock ROM, developed third-party drivers (whether it be for the DSP/touchscreen/etc.) with Xposed framework modules (I want to flash as little as possible and think "soft"mods are less risque than whole flashing).
Doing some thinking and I think I might be more hard set on a 1+ than an AM7 since the latter would be more expensive (and then some if it has to go through customs).
volcolm said:
Probably better than me Note3 then, the Note2 I noted better audio on too. Good to know.
Boeffla's Kernel, or Franco Kernel? I hear a lot of praise of Franco's (probably because of that more people use it), what are the variances of both kernels (why ought I pick one over the other?). My use is going to be with stock ROM, developed third-party drivers (whether it be for the DSP/touchscreen/etc.) with Xposed framework modules (I want to flash as little as possible and think "soft"mods are less risque than whole flashing).
Doing some thinking and I think I might be more hard set on a 1+ than an AM7 since the latter would be more expensive (and then some if it has to go through customs).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 2 was my former best pick for audio and OPO is imho quite a bit better. If you don't want to mess around with unstable roms or crap then you'll end with Boeffla. He stays very close to stock with the same philosophy as yours, as little tweaks as needed. Franco goes a lot further in modifying and has success with it but I still prefer Boeffla for CM11S.
Alright, just price matched on NCIX and will probably hear back from them tomorrow (price is too low though so they'll adjust to compensate for customs/tax).
There are two sellers on Amazon but I don't trust it (one review states one as being a fake Chinese Android clone while the other doesn't have feedback at all). Mind you this is with Amazon.ca and not the US Amazon (no good buddies in the US so I can't import that route).
They'll probably sell it to me for $530 (actual is ~600-something with 3 year warranty), but they don't have any in stock so it'll be a bit of a wait.
Got some new earbuds to rock with also, since the last pair got destroyed in the wash (yikes). Thanks for the helpful responses everyone!
Hey all,
I've browsed GSMArena reviews and checked for phones with the best audio quality since I am getting into higher audio quality gear.
I want the phone to be less than $400, preferably as little as possible.
Currently looking at the LG G3, Note 3 and 4.
If anyone can give me some suggestions, that would be very helpful, thanks!
Kammex said:
Hey all,
I've browsed GSMArena reviews and checked for phones with the best audio quality since I am getting into higher audio quality gear.
I want the phone to be less than $400, preferably as little as possible.
Currently looking at the LG G3, Note 3 and 4.
If anyone can give me some suggestions, that would be very helpful, thanks!
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Click to collapse
Smartisan T2 has a high standard audio hardware in it but unfortunately only sells in China at the moment. But maybe you can get one from other ways. The original price is lower than $400 but since you can't buy it directly from the company I can't guarantee your final price.
Just keep the name in mind in case you come across it.
wetman_IE said:
Smartisan T2 has a high standard audio hardware in it but unfortunately only sells in China at the moment. But maybe you can get one from other ways. The original price is lower than $400 but since you can't buy it directly from the company I can't guarantee your final price.
Just keep the name in mind in case you come across it.
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Click to collapse
It looks like it has a heavy skin. I'm not a fan of small-brand Chinese phones since I'm worried about the optimization, they always have high numbers and sound good on paper but don't perform nearly as well compared to a popular phone with the same specs, but this one seems like one of the better ones so I'll keep an eye on it.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Kammex said:
It looks like it has a heavy skin. I'm not a fan of small-brand Chinese phones since I'm worried about the optimization, they always have high numbers and sound good on paper but don't perform nearly as well compared to a popular phone with the same specs, but this one seems like one of the better ones so I'll keep an eye on it.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah unfortunately you're right that's what most Chinese smartphones are like. Just, if you happen to see one, try it yourself and then judge. (Make sure you turn on the Hi-Fi mode) I'm using this phone but I'm not a music fan, so I don't know whether the quality is considered good enough for you.
Thoughts on the unveiling of the Blackberry DTEK60. Looks excellent if you ask me: Stockish Android, Front Facing Speakers Small Bezels, finger print scanner on backSnapdragon 820, decent looking battery, and above average camera.
For $500 dollars seems like a great upgrade for Moto X owners looking for a stock android device with front facing speakers.
Thoughts?
Its looks like a amazing device with such potential. But its going to be underestimated and not enough custom roms for it most likely...
thekalby said:
Thoughts on the unveiling of the Blackberry DTEK60. Looks excellent if you ask me: Stockish Android, Front Facing Speakers Small Bezels, finger print scanner on backSnapdragon 820, decent looking battery, and above average camera.
For $500 dollars seems like a great upgrade for Moto X owners looking for a stock android device with front facing speakers.
Thoughts?
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Click to collapse
To be honest I don't know if i would go to that. Not knowing the situation with blackberry and they could go down the tubes any time now, updates may be scarce. Worse than Moto or LG hahahaha. Also for that price the Xiaomi Mi* seems like a good phone, but especially the Mix
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Kir6y said:
Its looks like a amazing device with such potential. But its going to be underestimated and not enough custom roms for it most likely...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will most likely receive no third-party ROMs development. The phone will not be rootable as well. Blackberry won't let you do so, at least easily because it would go against their security prowess.
I just bought my Pure for sub-250$ so such a phone for 500 is a no go. I think something along the line of ZTE or the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix would be better (even though these phones are very hard to get our hands on).
For the money I would definitely consider an alternative other than blackberry at the moment..lack of modding or rom's would make it a boring 500+ piece of hardware .
marksedge said:
For the money I would definitely consider an alternative other than blackberry at the moment..lack of modding or rom's would make it a boring 500+ piece of hardware .
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Click to collapse
Honestly, I used to be a big custom rom guy back in the day, but Android is so great today I have no reason to root or install a custom rom. Just looking for stock android and I'm happy.
I'm curious, what specific customizations are you and others looking for today that warrants rooting and custom roms?
thekalby said:
Honestly, I used to be a big custom rom guy back in the day, but Android is so great today I have no reason to root or install a custom rom. Just looking for stock android and I'm happy.
I'm curious, what specific customizations are you and others looking for today that warrants rooting and custom roms?
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My logic was price wise ,for the same amount of money or less there's alot of options available like Nexus 5x or 6p which by black Friday should be a decent deal and even now and they run stock Andy just as good .if I was to shed out that kind of money it would be for pretty good flagship phone .The blackberrys are intriguing but for the money I would stick with Samsung /HTC /Sony and then Nexus line and as far as modding I'm not too big in it anymore but when the device hit eol and someone makes a stable Cm or paranoid/Aosp rom of current or next Andy build I would jump straight into it .
Sorry, is this post about Blackberry? That Blackberry from Canada? the death company?
500$ ...what???
Enviado desde mi XT1575 mediante Tapatalk
marksedge said:
My logic was price wise ,for the same amount of money or less there's alot of options available like Nexus 5x or 6p which by black Friday should be a decent deal and even now and they run stock Andy just as good .if I was to shed out that kind of money it would be for pretty good flagship phone .The blackberrys are intriguing but for the money I would stick with Samsung /HTC /Sony and then Nexus line and as far as modding I'm not too big in it anymore but when the device hit eol and someone makes a stable Cm or paranoid/Aosp rom of current or next Andy build I would jump straight into it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the Nexus 6p is an excellent phone, it's just too damn big for me. I can barely handle the Moto X. Looking for a 5.5 inch phone.
thekalby said:
Yeah the Nexus 6p is an excellent phone, it's just too damn big for me. I can barely handle the Moto X. Looking for a 5.5 inch phone.
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Yeah the 6p is huge but just feels and looks like a premium device .My brother has it and nephew has 5x running 7.0 just smoothly .I came from a HTC one m9 and had a nexus 5 so I definitely learned my lesson on phones that cost 500+ .If it not a game changer than I wont spend 500+ when three months done the line some other comes with something better .Heck even one plus phones are good for the money.
With phone options out there with comparable specs in the $400 range, just can't justify getting a BB. For a business wanting a secure phone, it would be a good choice but fit most users, I doubt the extra "security" would really matter. For a tinkerer, this phone is a no go.
Honestly, after having the Alcatel Idol 3, that phone looks almost identical to both the Idol 3 and the Idol 4.
I am looking to possibly get a new phone. I used to be heavily into rooting my phone back in the day with the older HTC phones. I saw that I could get an unlocked HTC U12+ for $499 on the HTC website. Is the U12+ a good phone? How is the build quality? How is the software/fireware? How often is the U12+ updated? Is it worth buying? Or should I get a different brand of phone? Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
alucke
alucke said:
I am looking to possibly get a new phone. I used to be heavily into rooting my phone back in the day with the older HTC phones. I saw that I could get an unlocked HTC U12+ for $499 on the HTC website. Is the U12+ a good phone? How is the build quality? How is the software/fireware? How often is the U12+ updated? Is it worth buying? Or should I get a different brand of phone? Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
alucke
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I think i had something like 50/60 smartphones in last 3 years, I bought mine for 220€ I'm not kidding don't know what the seller thought putting It so low but i did the best bargain of my Life and with this phone i stopped changing phones like a mad. For me this phone has everything, with pie even a good battery Life, it's not the best battery Life out there and in mine touchscreen Is sometimes i can suffering a bit from mistouch ( maybe this was the reason behind the price of mine Who know! ) But apart from this 2 aspect and updates imho can still be bought for 350/370 euros, 400 or 500 it's no. Just wanted to share my esperience but i know everyone has his priorities.
This phone has, ip68, notification led, good display qhd, Crazy good audio, 5 microphones, good form factor not too big or heavy, good battery, Crazy good cameras/videos with ois+eis and still competes with the best out there today, go and check photo tools on gsmarena, i did myself and it's there. Noone ever judge or put attention to It but a it has powerful flash too.
For capacitive buttons it's only a matter of habit, after One day or two you feel good and it's Better touch gently than try pressing like Crazy something that cannot be pressed, even with a full cover on.
One and only REAL issue is updates. Htc simply suck at updating their flagship phones. The other smaller issue is the buttons with a case in landscape mode, they can be a bit retarded. Otherwise its like SIRKRA said, cameras are insane, audio aswell