Thursday 23 May 2013

Technology: Samsung Galaxy S4 VS HTC One


HTC One (left) & Samsung Galaxy S4 (right)
Image from Android Central

You know this is coming, and I know this battle will eventually arrive, the Samsung Galaxy S4 VS the HTC One.

Let's not talk about which is more popular and which is doing better in the market just yet. Let's make this a fair fight and borrow some 3rd party opinions before I tell you what I think.



After watching the two videos by Erica, who happens to be the most observant tech girl I know, you can tell that both S4 and HTC One have their strength. Max, in the 3rd video, supports all Android phones.

In summary, combining the two of them, I compile a table of their preferences as such:

Model
Samsung Galaxy S4
HTC One
Screen "Niceness"The best Super AMOLED
display on any Super AMOLED
phone (441 ppi pixel density),
higher saturation, possible blue pixel
burning over time, black-clipping by
default
(can be resolved by installing the 
latest firmware update)
Winner! Super LCD3
(469 ppi pixel density), sharper
images, more natural colours, less
black-clipping
Build QualityWinner! Excellent quality control, does
not look cheap, manufactured to
precision
Poor plastic cutting, sharp edges,
white plastic might turn yellow
Scratch ResistanceWinner! Stronger Gorillas Glass 3Gorillas Glass 2
Charger & Speed
of Charing
Winner! 2.0A. Twice as fast as
HTC One
1.0A. Very slow charging,
same speed as Galaxy S2
BatteryWinner! 2600 mAh removable2300 mAh non-removable
Grip for small-hand
users
Winner! No sharp edges, according
to Max's 5-year-old daughter
Winner! But with sharp edges,
according to Erica
CamerasWinner! 13Mp sensor, captures
a lot more details
4 Mp sensor, loses lots of details.
Wider lens
Gaming / Graphics-
Intensive Performance
Winner! No jitters, no lags,
buttery smooth
Some jitters and lags.
Glove SensitivityWinner! Can use phone with gloves onCan't use phone with gloves on
Speakerless loud, back facingWinner! Front facing, stereo
BodyWinner! Flat grip, stable on flat
surface, eg. table
Curved back, unstable on flat
surface, eg. table
Screen UtilizationWinner! Screen is fully utilizedPresence of menu bar shrinks the
actual screen size
Extra Software
Package
Winner! Galaxy S4 has tonnes of both
useful and gimmicky software, which
does not slow down the phone
BlinkFeed cannot be removed,
uses data and heats up the phone
with Facebook sync
User Interface Winner! TouchWiz UI is polished,
user- friendly, caring and customizable
HTC Sense UI v5, not efficient
for real-life usage. Nova Launcher
is recommended instead.
Software Update
Frequency
Winner! High, updates are rolled out
frequently to address to issues
Much lower, updates are rolled out
less frequently to address to issues
SD Card SlotWinner! Support 64Gb microSD cardNo SD card slot

Erica complains that 4.7 inch screen on the HTC isn't 4.7 inch when using it
Image from TheAngelofmusic1989
Although Erica still chose the HTC One for its front-facing speakers and the clarity of the screen, it seems like in fact, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is in fact much better than the HTC One is many ways. Such view is also agreed by the CTIA's 2013 E-Tech Awards as Samsung wins big with HTC One coming in second place .

Still camera comparison
Image from GSMArena

GSMArena has also voted Samsung Galaxy S4 as the winner in terms of talk time, battery life,  user interface, synthetic benchmarks, still camera and low-light camera performance.

In terms of popularity, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has already sold more than 10 million phones in less than a month while the S3 took 50 days to hit that mark, and as usual, the only way for Apple to attempt to stop Samsung is to file another case of patent infringement.

Samsung Galaxy S4 announcement in New York City
Image from phandroid

In terms of marketing strategy, the HTC One was initially announced on February 19, 2013, earlier than the S4's announcement on March 14, 2013. But HTC's supply failed to produce enough phones and thus failed to provide a definite date for its launch, causing a lot of frustrations among the anticipating buyers. Samsung took advantage of this HTC chaos and began selling the S4 on April 24, 2013 on 327 networks worldwide and in 155 countries. This has definitely taken a big bite out of the pool of prospective buyers who were initially considering the HTC One.

I got the S4 from One2Free Hong Kong about a week before I got the HTC One for my friend on the 4th May. The seller, who also happens to be my friend, reported the massive frustration he received from the HTC fans. He didn't sell any HTC phones before as HTC used to make very poor phones. Adding the delay of shipment, this is definitely not looking good with the reputation and sales.

Dark and rainy days at the HTC
Image from HTC
Despite other reviews claiming that the HTC One is in fact better than the S4, it looks like the HTC One isn't selling fast enough to save the company itself. After both the HTC's chief product officer, Kouji Kodera and the HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik left the company last week, the HTC CEO Peter Chou also told other senior executives he would step down if the HTC One failed. If all the big cheeses are leaving the company, who is going to trust its products any more?

Quoting from a Digital Trend article,

"It’s impossible for difficult times like this not to affect staff morale, as evidenced by a tweet from HTC’s former manager of product strategy, whose words give us a clue to the negative atmosphere inside the company.


“To all my friends still at HTC – just quit,” Eric Lin wrote, “Leave now, it’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier, I swear."

So which phone will I choose? Needless to say, am I right?

For more video reviews, do check out the YouTube links down the Resources section below.

What do you think? Which one will you choose? Leave a message or a comment below!


Vocabulary:
jitter -- (n) the undesired deviation from true periodicity of an assumed periodic signal in electronics and telecommunications, often in relation to a reference clock source.
gimmicky -- (adj) mainly disapproving not serious or of real value that is used to attract people's attention or interest temporarily, especially to make them buy something:
patent -- (n)[C] a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention.
infringement -- (n) [C] an action that breaks a rule, law, etc.:
prospective (buyers) --(adj) people who are expected to buy something, employ someone, become a parent, etc.:
big cheese -- (n) [C] informal an important person in a company or an organization with a lot of influence:


Resources:
Galaxy S4 vs HTC One: Which One? In-Depth Comparison @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/QATGs4kzfl4

Galaxy S4: Unboxing, HTC One Comparison, Screen Quality @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/5G0twIfbwHU

HTC ONE Build Quality Issues *You having any???* @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/NwOu5oXpjVQ

Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One BLINDFOLD FEEL TEST! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDX1eKwgH-s

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One @ GSMArena.com
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=5313

Galaxy S4 vs HTC One: Outdoor Camera Test @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/5dQUaqtrC8M

HTC One Unboxing! @ HighOnAndroid.com
http://highonandroid.com/android-smartphones/htc-one-unboxing/

[SOLVED]Black Clipping/ Black Crush issue on Galaxy S 4 (GT I9500) ! :( @ Daily Mobile Forum
http://forum.dailymobile.net/index.php?topic=93375.0

Samsung Wins Big at CTIA's 2013 E-Tech Awards | News & Opinion @ PCMag.com
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419379,00.asp

The Samsung Galaxy S IV Reviews Are Great for the HTC One - Rebecca Greenfield @ The Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/04/samsung-galaxy-s-iv-reviews-are-great-htc-one/64523/

The HTC One Isn't Saving HTC from the Facebook Phone - Rebecca Greenfield @ The Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/05/htc-one-isnt-saving-htc-facebook-phone/65486/

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One: Army of two @ GSMArena
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_vs_htc_one-review-913.php

HTC One @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One

Samsung Galaxy S4 @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4

Technology: Welcome! Samsung Galaxy S4!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/03/technology-welcome-samsung-galaxy-s4.html

HTC employees told to "just quit" by former manager @ Digital Trends
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/htc-employees-told-to-just-quit-by-former-manager/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/infringement?q=infringement
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/prospective?q=prospective+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/big-cheese?q=big+cheese