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Which new smartphone are you waiting on?

  • Motorola X Phone

    Votes: 10 9.4%
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 3

    Votes: 9 8.5%
  • Google Nexus 5

    Votes: 14 13.2%
  • iPhone 5S

    Votes: 28 26.4%
  • Samsung Galaxy S4

    Votes: 25 23.6%
  • HTC One

    Votes: 17 16.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Total voters
    106

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
I think they are just a normal run of a mill phone, I do not think the developer moniker matters anymore. Developers I know just develop on whatever Android tablet or phone they have at their disposal.

Well I still don't think they are made for just the average smartphone user. The phone does not hold your hand like the Samsungs, iPhones, or HTCs. It take a little more work to do what you want to do. But it seems that I must be wrong on that. The nexus 4 is made for everyone. With the price everyone can get it.
 

appletoandroid

macrumors member
Jan 25, 2013
64
0
Well I still don't think they are made for just the average smartphone user. The phone does not hold your hand like the Samsungs, iPhones, or HTCs. It take a little more work to do what you want to do. But it seems that I must be wrong on that. The nexus 4 is made for everyone. With the price everyone can get it.

That's a contradiction.

Also, I don't get how it is particularly special to hold in your hand. Sure, the sides are grippy, but the back is flat and unpleasant.

With the Galaxy Nexus, Samsung at least went with a different chip set, different screen, different battery, different cellular radio, different overall look. And it was based on the GS2 not GS3. In the Nexus 4, LG simply took the Optimus G and stuck a new case on it while going backwards with the camera, storage space, and LTE. Let's not forget that the Nexus 4 should have been a progression of the Optimus G, not the same phone w/ different Android version.
 

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
That's a contradiction.

Also, I don't get how it is particularly special to hold in your hand. Sure, the sides are grippy, but the back is flat and unpleasant.

With the Galaxy Nexus, Samsung at least went with a different chip set, different screen, different battery, different cellular radio, different overall look. And it was based on the GS2 not GS3. In the Nexus 4, LG simply took the Optimus G and stuck a new case on it while going backwards with the camera, storage space, and LTE. Let's not forget that the Nexus 4 should have been a progression of the Optimus G, not the same phone w/ different Android version.

OK well I guess I am in the minority in liking the nexus 4. Which is fine I can like it and no one has to.
 

johnjefferson

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2013
136
0
all of the phones you mentioned with the addition of the 5S. Not for the phone itself, but to see what IOS 7 brings.

iOS 5 and 6 were launched in Sept and Oct with new iPhones. Why would they release iOS 7 for the 5s which is a minor upgrade? iOS 7 wont be out until the iPhone 6 in the fall.
 

Beeplance

macrumors 68000
Jul 29, 2012
1,564
500
GALAXY S4 for me. A bigger and higher resolution screen on the same form factor as the S3 makes it look really good, think I'll be getting the white color one, unless there's a new pink one coming :D

Genuinely thought there'll be more takers for the HTC One than what the poll is reflecting....
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
I'm waiting to see what other BlackBerry 10 handsets will come along in the next few months. The Q10 will drop this month and the R10 should be along soon enough.

I'd probably buy a Z10 over a Q10 because I like a full sized touchscreen, but I'd also like to have a look at the Q10. I'd buy both an S3 and a Q10 if I could afford it.
 

Twixt

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2012
471
11
Google said they are going to a more cloud based storage system with their phones. They can keep the cost down and offer a great phone. I am saying the only reason you saw a 32g version was because of Verizon. That is why I am saying you would want a carrier based phone. The One is made to meet the carriers standards and then they offer a developers edition. You will not see nexus device above 16g just want happen.

The camera thing. Sure they may very well add a better camera. I am just saying most of the people I know including me could careless about the camera on the nexus 4. I use it when I have to, but I don't depend on it. It just just fine in that way.

I am just tired of people trashing the nexus devices because it does not have big storage, or the camera is bad. Most people do not buy the nexus 4 the camera, and most people have gone to cloud based storage. What the heck do you need 32g+ for on a phone now a days?

We have different needs it seems.
I have several MS Exchange accounts and would ideally like to carry 15 GBx2 of emails with me.
Same with 10 GB+ of files i would need to have full access to. I have no interest in any cloud service as poor coverage is frequent in Europe...
On top I have 300 GB of music and i even dont count movies and series i could add

Obviously i need a unique phone for both leisure and work that could be good substitute for my laptop as often as possible.

I am far from average usage but 32 GB is what i got from my 3GS 4 years ago, i assume having 128 GB or even more now should not be too much to ask for. Also flash RAM is extremely cheap with 128 GB chips available this year...
 

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
We have different needs it seems.
I have several MS Exchange accounts and would ideally like to carry 15 GBx2 of emails with me.
Same with 10 GB+ of files i would need to have full access to. I have no interest in any cloud service as poor coverage is frequent in Europe...
On top I have 300 GB of music and i even dont count movies and series i could add

Obviously i need a unique phone for both leisure and work that could be good substitute for my laptop as often as possible.

I am far from average usage but 32 GB is what i got from my 3GS 4 years ago, i assume having 128 GB or even more now should not be too much to ask for. Also flash RAM is extremely cheap with 128 GB chips available this year...

Man I am not sure there will ever be enough GB phone to hold your needs. You are close to wanting 300gb you want to put all your music on it. I am in the US and have unlimited data so cloud base storage is great. Also I carry around my iPhone 5 around as an iPod with all my music. You are right we have much different taste and needs.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
Google said they are going to a more cloud based storage system with their phones. They can keep the cost down and offer a great phone. I am saying the only reason you saw a 32g version was because of Verizon. That is why I am saying you would want a carrier based phone. The One is made to meet the carriers standards and then they offer a developers edition. You will not see nexus device above 16g just want happen.

The camera thing. Sure they may very well add a better camera. I am just saying most of the people I know including me could careless about the camera on the nexus 4. I use it when I have to, but I don't depend on it. It just just fine in that way.

I am just tired of people trashing the nexus devices because it does not have big storage, or the camera is bad. Most people do not buy the nexus 4 the camera, and most people have gone to cloud based storage. What the heck do you need 32g+ for on a phone now a days?

I don't even know where to begin with this...

There is a 32GB Nexus device first of all. I have one right next to me. You can buy it here.

Second, to claim these phones are designed for American carriers is simply ignorant. The HTC One you reference is made by a Taiwanese company and sold all over the world. While the carriers in the US add their own branding they don't design the phones, HTC did that themselves.

Google has said it's moving to cloud based systems, this is true. But that doesn't mean there's no need for a large amount of local storage on phones today. What if you're in an area with no signal or simply a poor data connection and want to listen to music or watch a film? Or what if you simply have no unlimited data (which you should know most people in the US lack) and therefore don't want to have to pull all your media from cloud services all the time? No, even Google understands local storage is important on mobile phones right now.
 

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
I don't even know where to begin with this...

There is a 32GB Nexus device first of all. I have one right next to me. You can buy it here.

Second, to claim these phones are designed for American carriers is simply ignorant. The HTC One you reference is made by a Taiwanese company and sold all over the world. While the carriers in the US add their own branding they don't design the phones, HTC did that themselves.

Google has said it's moving to cloud based systems, this is true. But that doesn't mean there's no need for a large amount of local storage on phones today. What if you're in an area with no signal or simply a poor data connection and want to listen to music or watch a film? Or what if you simply have no unlimited data (which you should know most people in the US lack) and therefore don't want to have to pull all your media from cloud services all the time? No, even Google understands local storage is important on mobile phones right now.

When a phone like the One is made if HTC wants carriers to have the phone they have to meet certain standards of the carrier. I am not talking just about American carriers, but carriers all over the world. If the carriers don't like something they want carry the phone. That is why phones can differ between carriers. Also the international version of a phone is different from the carrier one. In the case of the S4 the carrier model is going to have the quad core and the international version will have the octocore processor.

I have change my views some on the storage thing, so we can move on from that.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
When a phone like the One is made if HTC wants carriers to have the phone they have to meet certain standards of the carrier. I am not talking just about American carriers, but carriers all over the world. If the carriers don't like something they want carry the phone. That is why phones can differ between carriers. Also the international version of a phone is different from the carrier one. In the case of the S4 the carrier model is going to have the quad core and the international version will have the octocore processor.

I have change my views some on the storage thing, so we can move on from that.

Again, not true, not outside the US anyway. The manufacturer makes the phone and the carriers take the ones that they think will sell, which usually constitutes "all the phones that are popular." Also, in most of the world there are no different versions of phones for each carrier. There is one version of each phone sold on every provider, that's it. The only difference between them will be a bit of branding. That's the case throughout the whole of Europe and pretty much the rest of the world outside of America. It's also standard in many countries to buy the phone and service completely separately, so in fact, the customer purchases the phone unlocked without any interference from the carrier at all.

Aside from Apple, pretty much phone manufacturer is not American (Samsung is Korean, HTC is Taiwanese, BlackBerry is Canadian, etc.) so they are not specifically designing their phones for US carriers. Hell, Apple isn't either, in fact Apple famously stood up to the carriers when they launched the first iPhone.

They do all make variations of their phones for different bands, because for some reason there's no standardised frequencies and cellular technology in the US as there is in Europe, and so that usually requires a different SoC, hence the US and international variations of high end phones like the S4. But that isn't changing the specs for the carriers, it's changing the specs out of necessity so they can use the right frequencies.
 

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
Again, not true, not outside the US anyway. The manufacturer makes the phone and the carriers take the ones that they think will sell, which usually constitutes "all the phones that are popular." Also, in most of the world there are no different versions of phones for each carrier. There is one version of each phone sold on every provider, that's it. The only difference between them will be a bit of branding. That's the case throughout the whole of Europe and pretty much the rest of the world outside of America. It's also standard in many countries to buy the phone and service completely separately, so in fact, the customer purchases the phone unlocked without any interference from the carrier at all.

Aside from Apple, pretty much phone manufacturer is not American (Samsung is Korean, HTC is Taiwanese, BlackBerry is Canadian, etc.) so they are not specifically designing their phones for US carriers. Hell, Apple isn't either, in fact Apple famously stood up to the carriers when they launched the first iPhone.

They do all make variations of their phones for different bands, because for some reason there's no standardised frequencies and cellular technology in the US as there is in Europe, and so that usually requires a different SoC, hence the US and international variations of high end phones like the S4. But that isn't changing the specs for the carriers, it's changing the specs out of necessity so they can use the right frequencies.

I am not saying they change the specs of the phone per carrier request. You are talking about the international version of phones when you say they have one phone in Europe. The other versions are the carrier version which is what Americans get. You don't think they have to design phones with the big carriers like Att and Verizon in mind you are crazy. The version of the HTC One that Europe gets is different than the one Att gets. Do you really think a company like HTC does not make sure their phone make the standards that Att makes? Do you know how big the smartphone market is in the US? Att has to approve the One before they will carry it. They have to add there stuff to the phone, and it has to work.

I know phone makers don't have to make a phone based only on what the carriers want, but they have meet there requires if they want them to carrier their phone. HTC, Samsung, blackberry, and Apple don't want to not sell there phones with carriers that would be huge money missed. Sure Apple made Att bend over backwards to have the iPhone, but that does not mean some things had to be to Att's liking. The iPhone now has facetime, but the Att want allow it over LTE for unlimited data user. There is nothing Apple can do about that they have to have something in the software not to allow it. Also you can't use tethering with the iPhone if you are on unlimited again an Att thing. HTC has to do the same thing. As does Samsung, and blackberry.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
I am not saying they change the specs of the phone per carrier request. You are talking about the international version of phones when you say they have one phone in Europe. The other versions are the carrier version which is what Americans get. You don't think they have to design phones with the big carriers like Att and Verizon in mind you are crazy. The version of the HTC One that Europe gets is different than the one Att gets. Do you really think a company like HTC does not make sure their phone make the standards that Att makes? Do you know how big the smartphone market is in the US? Att has to approve the One before they will carry it. They have to add there stuff to the phone, and it has to work.

Most carriers add branded apps and so on even here, but that doesn't mean the phone was "designed to their specifications", it just means they just add a bit of preinstalled crapware to the OS.

I know phone makers don't have to make a phone based only on what the carriers want, but they have meet there requires if they want them to carrier their phone. HTC, Samsung, blackberry, and Apple don't want to not sell there phones with carriers that would be huge money missed. Sure Apple made Att bend over backwards to have the iPhone, but that does not mean some things had to be to Att's liking. The iPhone now has facetime, but the Att want allow it over LTE for unlimited data user. There is nothing Apple can do about that they have to have something in the software not to allow it. Also you can't use tethering with the iPhone if you are on unlimited again an Att thing. HTC has to do the same thing. As does Samsung, and blackberry.

Those aren't things done by Apple, those are things which the software enables or disables depending on the network settings. The carriers set those of course, but again, this is not the same as the carriers designing the phones to their specifications.

My iPhone 4 can do FaceTime over 3G and it can tether on unlimited data all it wants. Because Apple has built those features into it despite the fact US carriers dislike them. What I can't do, though, is disable 3G and just use 2G networks. Why? Because my service provider, Three, only has a 3G network, so they don't allow it. Does this mean my iPhone was designed by Three? Of course not, it just means the network settings on the SIM card disable the ability to turn 3G off. Just as your AT&T SIM will disable the ability to use FaceTime over 3G and tether.

So really, what you mean by meeting the requirements of the carriers is allowing the SIM settings to work. It's not that they've had any effect on setting the features the phones have, it's that they have the ability to disable certain services as long as the phone is on their network. IMHO they shouldn't even be able to do that, but the point remains: these phones are not designed with the US carriers in mind at all. If they were, these features wouldn't even be there in the first place.
 

Twixt

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2012
471
11
Man I am not sure there will ever be enough GB phone to hold your needs. You are close to wanting 300gb you want to put all your music on it. I am in the US and have unlimited data so cloud base storage is great. Also I carry around my iPhone 5 around as an iPod with all my music. You are right we have much different taste and needs.

I have to agree with you on that 300GB being unrealistic, 128 GB would be ok as I am not listening to all my music
I also have unlimited data but 50% of the time i am still with 2.5G throughput so local storage is a must
 

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,852
1,856
Atlanta Ga
Most carriers add branded apps and so on even here, but that doesn't mean the phone was "designed to their specifications", it just means they just add a bit of preinstalled crapware to the OS.



Those aren't things done by Apple, those are things which the software enables or disables depending on the network settings. The carriers set those of course, but again, this is not the same as the carriers designing the phones to their specifications.

My iPhone 4 can do FaceTime over 3G and it can tether on unlimited data all it wants. Because Apple has built those features into it despite the fact US carriers dislike them. What I can't do, though, is disable 3G and just use 2G networks. Why? Because my service provider, Three, only has a 3G network, so they don't allow it. Does this mean my iPhone was designed by Three? Of course not, it just means the network settings on the SIM card disable the ability to turn 3G off. Just as your AT&T SIM will disable the ability to use FaceTime over 3G and tether.

So really, what you mean by meeting the requirements of the carriers is allowing the SIM settings to work. It's not that they've had any effect on setting the features the phones have, it's that they have the ability to disable certain services as long as the phone is on their network. IMHO they shouldn't even be able to do that, but the point remains: these phones are not designed with the US carriers in mind at all. If they were, these features wouldn't even be there in the first place.

I don't have the time right now, but I will go look this up and edit my at some point. There was this really good article talking about how a phone maker was sitting with At&t and letting them make sure the phone was OK with them. The smartphone has to go through all these stages before it can ever be used on a specific carrier. Again I will look this up later and post it.

I am not saying something like the HTC One was design by or specific for a carrier. What I am saying is HTC has to make sure when they do make the One that it meets network requirements for US carriers. If not then they will never allow the phone to be sold with them. HTC would never want to miss about on US sales that would kill them. Also sure Apple wanted certain things to be meet for At&t to sell the iPhone, but there are also certain things that the iPhone has to meet to for At&t to be happy.
 

WoodNUFC

macrumors 6502a
Apr 30, 2009
641
68
A Library
I played with a demo HTC One yesterday at Best Buy and fell in love with it! I have an iPhone 4 through work right now, but I'm leaving that job this summer and need a new phone. The black model of the phone is just stunning!
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
The cheaper iPhone, because i'm 15 and dont want to shell out $800 for a phone, nor do i need one. I use a phone as a phone and thats it basically. Besides there is no good 'dumb' phones out there.

How much do you think the cheaper iPhone will be? How much are you hoping it'll be? I'm just curious.

I wonder because apple still sells the iPhone 4S unlocked for $549.

They also still sell the iPhone 4 (a 2.5+ year old phone) for $450. And that's with only 8gb storage.

How much cheaper could the cheaper iPhone be? I see analysts predicting $300 or sub-$300. I find that very hard to believe. I'll predict it'll be in the $349-399 range. Maybe even $429-ish. And for 16gb. You can bet the specs will likely be lower too.

At those prices I would rather look at nexus options...
 
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