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kenypowa

macrumors 6502a
Oct 16, 2008
705
53
somewhere
What if Andy is instead leading the x phone initiative?

Don't think so. It is made abundantly clear that Google will keep an arm's length with Motorola. If Motorola releases X phone, it's probably sold on Motorola's website and not Google Play. Keep in mind Google doesn't want to tick off its OEM partners, such as HTC, LG, and Sony by selling Motorola phones directly by Google. If X phone is sold on Play Store, it will further dilute the Nexus line that Google spent the last several years to build up. Now it is perfect with Nexus 4, 7 and 10. Where would a X phone fit?
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,430
57
Kirkland
Kevlar back? That'd be nice, I'd even take plastic over glass or aluminium, glass breaks easily and aluminium scratches easily. And contrary to what many people on here believe, plastic can be high quality. I'm fed up of having to baby a device or wrap or in a protective case. It's a phone, it will get knocked about. It has to be durable.

I'm fed up with having fragile materials because it somehow means it's higher build quality or it "wooks pwettty'
 

HishamAkhtar

macrumors 6502a
Oct 22, 2011
510
1
I've lost a lot of faith in Google directed devices of late, but this is very interesting indeed.

I wonder what this means of the Nexus line. Will the cross over, be two separate things, will the X line take over? Many interesting things.

Quite a lot of shaking up at Google too. Andy Rubin leaving Android... Will be an interesting year.

I think the Nexus line is the same as the X phone. Remember how the Nexus colours make an X?
 

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
The rumor about customize ram among other spec cues seems over the top but color and internal storage is normal.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
Kevlar back? That'd be nice, I'd even take plastic over glass or aluminium, glass breaks easily and aluminium scratches easily. And contrary to what many people on here believe, plastic can be high quality. I'm fed up of having to baby a device or wrap or in a protective case. It's a phone, it will get knocked about. It has to be durable.

I'm fed up with having fragile materials because it somehow means it's higher build quality or it "wooks pwettty'

As far as I know, there are quite a few plastic devices to choose from....I don't understand your problem?

Oh...I see, you just want to take a jab at those of us who prefer metal and glass....

Your own fault if you're "fed up with having fragile materials" for buying phones made out of "fragile materials" when other options exist...

And I'd like to point out that my PLASTIC iPhone 5 case is scratched quite a bit....your post makes it sound like plastic is some amazing material that neither cracks, scratches or breaks....when it does all three.
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,430
57
Kirkland
As far as I know, there are quite a few plastic devices to choose from....I don't understand your problem?

Oh...I see, you just want to take a jab at those of us who prefer metal and glass....

Your own fault if you're "fed up with having fragile materials" for buying phones made out of "fragile materials" when other options exist...

And I'd like to point out that my PLASTIC iPhone 5 case is scratched quite a bit....your post makes it sound like plastic is some amazing material that neither cracks, scratches or breaks....when it does all three.

I'm referring to my old iPhone 5 which scratched stupidly easy, or my glass nexus 4 which scratches really easily, my old Lumia 900 didn't scratch, my friend abuses his HTC One X and it doesn't scratch, im not trying to say plastic can't break or scratch, I'm saying that plastic done right is much more resistant to breaks and cracks than glass, and more scratch resistant that aluminium. And my comment was aimed at people who automatically assume that plastic = low quality, while other materials automatically mean higher quality.
 

Wrathwitch

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2009
1,303
55
I'm referring to my old iPhone 5 which scratched stupidly easy, or my glass nexus 4 which scratches really easily, my old Lumia 900 didn't scratch, my friend abuses his HTC One X and it doesn't scratch, im not trying to say plastic can't break or scratch, I'm saying that plastic done right is much more resistant to breaks and cracks than glass, and more scratch resistant that aluminium. And my comment was aimed at people who automatically assume that plastic = low quality, while other materials automatically mean higher quality.

Lol! Just to play devil's advocate here, if my man offered me either a plastic ring or an aluminum one, while i would most certainly kick his ... for either, he would get his ... kicked less with the aluminum one. :)

It's not just perceptions of quality, metal has always shown to be higher quality than plastic, regardless of how high tech that plastic is. Give me a metal sword of any sort over a plastic one.
 

ugahairydawgs

macrumors 68030
Jun 10, 2010
2,959
2,457
Android geeks might love it, but without wide carrier adoption and the accompanying contract subsidy it is going to be DOA for the mainstream market. I honestly don't get what Motorola would have to gain by making it a Verizon exclusive.
 

Wrathwitch

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2009
1,303
55
Comparing materials between a sword and a cell phone. Good one.

Materials are materials. Silk is nicer than rayon no matter what device you sew it on or into or around.

Fact: (regardless of opinion) people prefer materials that are know as quality over materials that are not associated with quality. It doesn't matter WHAT the product is.

Yes it's a good plastic, yes it is modern. Yes it feels inferior to other more solid materials.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
Materials are materials. Silk is nicer than rayon no matter what device you sew it on or into or around.

Fact: (regardless of opinion) people prefer materials that are know as quality over materials that are not associated with quality. It doesn't matter WHAT the product is.

Yes it's a good plastic, yes it is modern. Yes it feels inferior to other more solid materials.

That is so untrue it is not even funny. I would much rather have a plastic water bottle than a metal one: FACT.

When I had a note 2, one of the things I enjoyed most was that it was a little cheaper. I did not have to baby it like I did with the iphone 5. Why the iphone may be higher quality, the chamfer does nick too easily.
 

Wrathwitch

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2009
1,303
55
That is so untrue it is not even funny. I would much rather have a plastic water bottle than a metal one: FACT.

When I had a note 2, one of the things I enjoyed most was that it was a little cheaper. I did not have to baby it like I did with the iphone 5. Why the iphone may be higher quality, the chamfer does nick too easily.

OK lets take this a bit further then....

Plastic or Aluminum laptop feels/seems more polished and premium?

Plastic or metal for car frames?

Plastic or metal Bicycle frames?

Plastic or metal girders for buildings?

Kevlar or plastic phone body?

Plastic or kevlar vest for police?

Face it when it comes to quality/safety people prefer more solid materials. HOWEVER, I will concede that I would much rather have a plastic child seat for my kid.

Plastic has it's place, but it has NEVER been associated with PREMIUM feel. That was what the discussion was about in the first place. Not whether the plastic is good quality of not, but the perceptions of premium. I dare you to put up a survey regarding small electronics to see what people perceive as premium and quality materials.

Sheesh, I can't even believe I answered this...

And you even admitted that you felt the iphone was better/premium quality....
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
OK lets take this a bit further then....

Plastic or Aluminum laptop feels/seems more polished and premium?

Plastic or metal for car frames?

Plastic or metal Bicycle frames?

Plastic or metal girders for buildings?

Kevlar or plastic phone body?

Plastic or kevlar vest for police?

Face it when it comes to quality/safety people prefer more solid materials. HOWEVER, I will concede that I would much rather have a plastic child seat for my kid.

Plastic has it's place, but it has NEVER been associated with PREMIUM feel. That was what the discussion was about in the first place. Not whether the plastic is good quality of not, but the perceptions of premium. I dare you to put up a survey regarding small electronics to see what people perceive as premium and quality materials.

Sheesh, I can't even believe I answered this...

And you even admitted that you felt the iphone was better/premium quality....

Yes, I agree with that but you literally said people prefer higher quality materials no matter what they are using. That is not true, I am sure there are a lot of situations where cheaper less expensive material is preferred.

I prefer a plastic, light pen over a metal one. Not b.c it is less expensive but because of the weight. There is no "fact, always true" statement when you are talking about opinions. Even if 90% of the time it works, that is not a fact, always.

this is what I was quoting "Fact: (regardless of opinion) people prefer materials that are know as quality over materials that are not associated with quality. It doesn't matter WHAT the product is."
 
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Oohara

macrumors 68040
Jun 28, 2012
3,050
2,423
Yes, I agree with that but you literally said people prefer higher quality materials no matter what they are using. That is not true, I am sure there are a lot of situations where cheaper less expensive material is preferred.

I prefer a plastic, light pen over a metal one. Not b.c it is less expensive but because of the weight. There is no "fact, always true" statement when you are talking about opinions. Even if 90% of the time it works, that is not a fact, always.

this is what I was quoting "Fact: (regardless of opinion) people prefer materials that are know as quality over materials that are not associated with quality. It doesn't matter WHAT the product is."

Yes, it's those generalizations that don't work. Metal may perhaps always feel more premium than plastic per se, but the qualification of "premium" is kind of useless unless we take into account the situation in which the material is being used. The most "premium" feeling material may not always be the most desirable one.

For instance the iPhone 5, while definitely having a very premium feel, also feels so fragile that it actually turns me off from buying it. The edge of the iPhone 4S on the other hand is also made of metal, but one that holds up much better to scratching. Both feel premium, yet in the case of the 5 that's hardly an advantage.

Also, less premium materials can be made to feel premium enough if the design is done well enough. My old iPhone 3G still feels very much premium to me, while the Galaxy S3 feels like a cheap bathing toy (in my opinion of course - it's all subjective) - and they are made of the same plastic.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
Yes, it's those generalizations that don't work. Metal may perhaps always feel more premium than plastic per se, but the qualification of "premium" is kind of useless unless we take into account the situation in which the material is being used. The most "premium" feeling material may not always be the most desirable one.

For instance the iPhone 5, while definitely having a very premium feel, also feels so fragile that it actually turns me off from buying it. The edge of the iPhone 4S on the other hand is also made of metal, but one that holds up much better to scratching. Both feel premium, yet in the case of the 5 that's hardly an advantage.

Also, less premium materials can be made to feel premium enough if the design is done well enough. My old iPhone 3G still feels very much premium to me, while the Galaxy S3 feels like a cheap bathing toy (in my opinion of course - it's all subjective) - and they are made of the same plastic.

The best part about this is - the iPhone 5 is actually much more durable in that it won't completely shatter as easily if dropped.

So then we need to look at what our definition of "durable" is.....is it scratch resistant? Or is it hard to break....

If we go by the latter, the iPhone 5 is in fact one of the more durable phones on the market according to various drop tests done - even more durable than the plastic GS3.
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
The best part about this is - the iPhone 5 is actually much more durable in that it won't completely shatter as easily if dropped.

So then we need to look at what our definition of "durable" is.....is it scratch resistant? Or is it hard to break....

If we go by the latter, the iPhone 5 is in fact one of the more durable phones on the market according to various drop tests done - even more durable than the plastic GS3.

I would rather have a completely workable phone that is scratched on the back over a shattered phone any day. Scratches on the aluminum back are purely cosmetic and do not hinder usability. But a plastic back breaking and no longer fitting properly can leave the battery and SIM exposed. I definitely prefer just about anything over plastic. The glass on my Nexus 4 isn't too bad, but it could definitely be better. I am just happy its not plastic.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
Aluminum does provide a premium feel no doubt but that's where it ends.

It's conductive so its very important the electronics within never come in contact with it. It's also important you don't touch it to a ground while holding it due to electrostatic, however I haven't heard that being an issue.

It blocks a lot of RF so when the day comes that the iPhone adopts NFC, wireless charging or any low power source transmission they will do away with it or design something of the exterior of it that's plastic.

Aluminum in electronic devices is also structurally low grade. It's nothing like cast parts you'll find on an automobile. Or an aluminum alloy you'll find in things designed for abuse, like a gun frame which I might add is still prone to cracking. That kind of stuff is transitioning to plastics like the handgun in my avatar. So just because its "aluminum" doesn't mean its an expensive high quality material. I'd say its closer to food grade like you would find in a soda can.

Also the coating on the iPhone is very very poor. There are aluminum coatings that are designed for the most vigorous torture test, used on weapons the US military carries. Other manufactures use a much higher quality coating like HTC and Motorola on aluminum. I have a can of Aluma-Hyde that cost me 8 bucks and you could probably cost 1000 iPhones with a single can and that stuff it TOUGH.

gypuzagy.jpg


Never mind a baked on Duracoat (brand) which would be virtually impossible to scratch off with anything short of a blade. So all this aluminum scratches is total BS, it DOES with a crappy coating or on an unprepped surface. These coatings are CHEAP, I do them at my house!

That said, its a great material (aluminum) for the iPhone. It doesn't have NFC or anything like that. And it feels very high quality. I prefer my iPhone 4S material but if I lost my phone I'd have no gripe replacing it with an iPhone 5.

Btw that's not a rant, just an observation from someone that deals with abusing different materials and coating them.

Edit: here's an example of a good coating versus poor.

ne6azabe.jpg


The safety (worn part center picture) was poorly prepped or had a low grade coating. It's worn out from wear from my thumb. Notice how everything else its in relatively good condition?

Matter of fact here are the slide rails. This is where there is metal on metal contact in a very violent matter at that.

y7ugavyp.jpg


Very very light wear.
 
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Dave.UK

macrumors 65816
Sep 24, 2012
1,286
481
Kent, UK
The best part about this is - the iPhone 5 is actually much more durable in that it won't completely shatter as easily if dropped.

So then we need to look at what our definition of "durable" is.....is it scratch resistant? Or is it hard to break....

If we go by the latter, the iPhone 5 is in fact one of the more durable phones on the market according to various drop tests done - even more durable than the plastic GS3.

Drop tests mean nothing, as phones fall and land in different ways thus giving different results.

----------

I would rather have a completely workable phone that is scratched on the back over a shattered phone any day. Scratches on the aluminum back are purely cosmetic and do not hinder usability. But a plastic back breaking and no longer fitting properly can leave the battery and SIM exposed. I definitely prefer just about anything over plastic. The glass on my Nexus 4 isn't too bad, but it could definitely be better. I am just happy its not plastic.

The only way for a plastic back to become that damaged would be if you took it off and snapped it in half!
I prefer plastic, my S3 is coming up to a year old, had no protection and still looks as good as they day I bought it. Few minor marks on the rear plastic panel, which I can easily replace making it look brand new.

Plastic everyday for me.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
I like that the plastic back and therefore the battery is easily replaceable should anything go wrong down the line.

I fear if and when the battery goes bad in the HTC One, I'll have to deal with HTC customer service, which I hear is far from being helpful.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
I like that the plastic back and therefore the battery is easily replaceable should anything go wrong down the line.

I fear if and when the battery goes bad in the HTC One, I'll have to deal with HTC customer service, which I hear is far from being helpful.

I had to deal with them when my 8X had to be replaced. They sent a replacement handset the next day via courier and collected the old at same time. The call to them was good, they were all helpful, but the process to log the fault and get the replacement dragged on a little, but bareable as it was just process they had to go through, but it did last less time than last time I contacted Apple about one of our iMacs (that really dragged).

I haven't had a genuinely poor customer service experience from any crowd in the last 12 months including (Brother, HTC, Sony, Apple, Humax, Sky)....

A lot of customer service experience can be down to luck, and getting a decent customer service agent. I also think the callers own 'attitude' especially to customer service agents who are foreign - plays a lot into the level of helpfulness you get out of them.
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
The only way for a plastic back to become that damaged would be if you took it off and snapped it in half!
I prefer plastic, my S3 is coming up to a year old, had no protection and still looks as good as they day I bought it. Few minor marks on the rear plastic panel, which I can easily replace making it look brand new.

Plastic everyday for me.

If only that were true. The GS4 plastic is very soft and breaks easily. It is talked about here:
http://mobile.it168.com/a2013/0313/1461/000001461394_all.shtml

http://image20.it168.com/201303_500x375/1371/c086c8994e179b53.jpg
http://image20.it168.com/201303_500x375/1371/d83dfbbf6d513f40.jpg
 

Dave.UK

macrumors 65816
Sep 24, 2012
1,286
481
Kent, UK

Sorry, My Chinese isnt really up to scratch, so couldn't read the article!

Looking at those pics though, what do you expect when you bend the back like that?! Who and why would you ever need to take the back off your phone and bend it like that?! :rolleyes:
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
Sorry, My Chinese isnt really up to scratch, so couldn't read the article!

Looking at those pics through, what do you expect when you bend the back like that?! Who and why would you ever need to take the back off your phone and bend it like that?! :rolleyes:

When you bend the back like that you expect a line going horizontally, not vertically like in the pictures :rolleyes:

And Chrome can automatically translate pages into English BTW.
 
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