Switching from Apple to Droid, and I am debating which smart phone is the best Android:

Three I am looking at: Droid Maxx (not Razr Maxx), Galaxy S4, or HTC One.

Anyone have experience with "OK Google Now" compared to Siri?

How's the voice command on S4 and HTC?

Thanks in advance.

9/3/2013 12:53:16 PM

Read through the last few pages of this thread: message_topic.aspx?topic=578787&page=193

Why are you switching? Seems like most Apple users end up going back to Apple after trying Droid, fwiw.

Personally, I'm waiting on the LG G2 which should be out in a couple weeks. I'm no expert, but I think the phones you listed are using older architecture, and if you're going to be tied to a phone for 2 years, you want to buy the latest architecture if you can.

9/3/2013 1:00:53 PM

Thank you, synapse. I currently have a 4S, and I have been very disappointed with the battery life. I've liked everything else, but battery life is a pretty big deal. I know the Maxx is a beast in that area, but I am not very knowledgeable on the systems for Android, so that's helpful about the architecture change.

I will check out the thread you posted. Thanks again.

9/3/2013 1:03:50 PM

S4 if you want/need the extra features of the samsung experience (tv remote, gesture answer/text receive, etc)
nexus 4 for $199 for a good unlocked phone with no contract if you dont need that stuff and want the latest/greatest software without annoying carrier bloatware.

9/3/2013 1:03:53 PM

@smoothcrim - Thanks. I am not as worried about the contract or bloatware. Can you tell me more about the S4's gesture answer/text receive? Do you think their software will be current in a year or 15 mos? That's the one thing I really like about Apple is that they keep even the 4, 4s, and 5 up-to-date on OS.

9/3/2013 1:10:07 PM

if battery is your main concern, get the droid maxx

9/3/2013 1:19:43 PM

Quote :

"I currently have a 4S, and I have been very disappointed with the battery life. I've liked everything else, but battery life is a pretty big deal."

Why not the iPhone 5, or waiting out for the next one (5s?)? You still haven't answered why you're switching

I'm going to make a sweeping generalization here, but most Android phones won't last as long as iPhones when it comes to battery life. That Droid Maxx may be an exception, I dunno. But as Bigman said, get that Maxx if battery life is important to you. Otherwise you may be setting yourself up for failure (though don't most carriers have a two week try out period anyway?).

9/3/2013 1:31:53 PM

9/3/2013 1:46:37 PM

Quote :

"Why not the iPhone 5, or waiting out for the next one (5s?)? You still haven't answered why you're switching "

I am not 100% sure I am switching, but exploring the possibility. I am not completely in love with my Iphone - I would never replace my Ipad, but don't feel as drawn to the smart phone. It's not that I don't like the 4S, just didn't want to rashly order the Iphone 5.

Quote :

"I'm going to make a sweeping generalization here, but most Android phones won't last as long as iPhones when it comes to battery life. That Droid Maxx may be an exception, I dunno. But as Bigman said, get that Maxx if battery life is important to you. Otherwise you may be setting yourself up for failure (though don't most carriers have a two week try out period anyway?)."

That's pretty helpful, if accurate, because I can say my Droid Razr had a HORRIBLE battery. The battery isn't the only issue for me, but it's something I am looking at...I just don't want to chunk $300 bucks for a phone with a great battery, either.

My father in-law is an engineer with Verizon, so we get a discount plan, but we also have to wait on some phones (like the newest Iphone). So, another question I am asking is how much difference will there be b/w 5 and 5s.

9/3/2013 2:10:42 PM

get a phone with a user replaceable battery, put in an extended life battery and rock on. my galaxy nexus lasts 2-3 days on a 1 year old extended battery

9/3/2013 3:11:18 PM

^ I did that with my S3 and I get 4 days of use out of it. Its awesome.

9/3/2013 3:22:28 PM

I got the moto x when it came out last week:

I think 4.7 is the perfect phone size

The battery life is phenomenal

The breathing notifications thing is cool

The twist to activate camera feature is surprisingly useful

OK, Google now has stopped me from turning on my phone to do anything not game/message related.

All in all would recommend

9/3/2013 3:32:17 PM

Quote :

"Why are you switching? Seems like most Apple users end up going back to Apple after trying Droid, fwiw."

I went from two generations of iPhone to a GS3 then Note 2 and I'm never looking back. Android is just way more robust and doing anything relatively close to what I can do on Android required too much jailbreaking and tweaking with my iPhones.

Also +1 for the user replaceable battery. I travel a lot and do a lot of backpacking/camping and I picked up 2 extra batteries and a charger for $20 on Amazon and being able to quickly swap out a battery at the airport or in the woods is key (while laughing at the folks sitting on the floor trying to get that extra 5% battery life before boarding a plane).

Also +1 for a SD slot. 64GB cards are like $50 now and throwing one of those in compared to paying a premium for more storage is great. I've got a bunch of flac/lossless music for road trips and movies/tv shows for plane/car rides. The cloud is great and all but with limited data plans and people who travel I think expandable memory will always a wanted feature. Not to mention a 720-1080p movie will eat up 50%+ of your monthly allotment on LTE.

That leaves the S4 (I think). Voice command is standard across all of them if you use Google Now.

9/3/2013 3:56:40 PM

I hope you peeps like keeping phones forever because replaceable batteries and SD card slots are going out of style fast

9/3/2013 4:33:59 PM

Quote :

"my galaxy nexus lasts 2-3 days on a 1 year old extended battery"

How big? The 2100 mAh?

I got nowhere near that, even when it was new.

9/3/2013 6:23:15 PM

^^Not at all. They're pretty essential features. I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

9/3/2013 8:35:16 PM

Quote :

"I got nowhere near that, even when it was new."

Same here. Even with the extended battery. I suppose I could install apps that cut off data access when the phone is sleeping etc [which sounds good, but ends with problems], but I still don't think I could squeeze anything approaching 2 days out of it, much less 3.

Quote :

"They're pretty essential features."

To you, not the general market...which should be obvious by the small number of flagship devices that still offer them. I mean we're not not talking about a camera here. That's an essential feature.

Also obviously as the Android software/phone hardware improves, and Android phones can go from lasting barely a day to multiple days like the iPhone, the need for replaceable batteries decreases. That's beginning to happen.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-57367017-251/its-time-to-kiss-that-removable-smartphone-battery-goodbye/


This was a point I was trying to make in the other thread:

Quote :

"Take, for instance, the Nokia Lumia 800 and forthcoming 900. When asked why the company chose to embed the battery, Jerry Hart, Nokia's senior product manager of Windows Phone, told CNET, "We have striven to deliver a beautifully crafted device, created from a single piece of polycarbonate with precision machined details." Hart added that the unibody design made possible by the embedded battery makes the phone "seamless," "extremely rigid," and "free from split lines that disrupt the feel in hand and the visual purity of the design." Slimness is absolutely part of the equation, since phones without the small grooves, nooks, and air pockets needed to make it so you can open a back cover and pull out a battery have the potential to be thinner. In fact, when you don't have to design a product around popping out its battery, you have far more options. Engineers can use batteries in shapes, sizes, and configurations that deliver the requisite charge but are impractical to remove. That, in turn, can allow the industrial designer to create phones with creative contours."

9/3/2013 9:09:02 PM

lol, in my experience, iPhones pwn Droids when it comes to battery life

9/3/2013 9:14:16 PM

^ By far, but many Droid's are closing the gap (though not nearly enough from what I've seen)

9/3/2013 9:19:47 PM

The newest droids are much better.

And for those who aren't paying attention, none of the new droids will have removable batteries or SD card slots.

9/3/2013 10:00:45 PM

Quote :

"How big? The 2100 mAh? I got nowhere near that, even when it was new."

3800mAh

I don't use apps with background data transfer besides mail and google voice. not using facebook app is huge on battery life and available memory, i just have a bookmark to m.facebook.com, same for linkedin, etc etc

[Edited on September 3, 2013 at 11:08 PM. Reason : I also disable location services at all times]

9/3/2013 11:06:37 PM

Quote :

"And for those who aren't paying attention, none of the new droids will have removable batteries or SD card slots."

Pretty sure Samsung will continue to have both. There's still a population of power users that need both features. I still prefer swapping out a battery compared to attaching a external power source. Even the best phones today won't survive a partial day of heavy use.

9/3/2013 11:15:53 PM

OK 3800 makes a bit more sense.

9/3/2013 11:20:09 PM

Then who was phone?

9/3/2013 11:33:06 PM

^^^^

Good god is this what your phone looks like? That nearly doubles the phone's size

9/4/2013 12:02:07 AM

unless you're constantly playing music or movies, the s4 normal battery lasts a full 24 hours with lots of internet texting and calls.

when i travel i put it on airplane mode and only use wifi and it lasts about 48 hours in battery saving mode.

What kind of lifestyle are you living where you can't get to a plug within 24 hours. car charger?

Why would you buy an inferior phoen like the iphone or maxx just for the few days your battery might run out?

9/4/2013 12:25:48 AM

^^ thats the exact battery I use. having a razor thin phone isn't exactly a plus for me, especially when the battery is dead.
^ for the last 5 years, my job is mostly email driven. I get probably 100 work emails a day + however many personal (I rarely check at this point). the data and battery consumption from that is pretty substantial.
I don't play any games, don't have any background apps. the only "power usage" i do is turn the phone into a hotspot for my 30 mile commute so my tablet that I use as a nav/entertainment system has a connection

9/4/2013 8:57:21 AM

The misuse of the term 'Droid' is hurting my head. Cannot believe no one else pointed this out yet.

9/4/2013 12:10:06 PM

Meh, don't sweat the small stuff d00d

9/4/2013 12:39:57 PM

How is the term 'Droid' being misused? Maybe I'm an idiot, but I thought it was an acceptable abbrevation or nickname to refer to a smartphone that runs a version of the Android operating system

9/4/2013 1:25:08 PM

I'm assuming someone's panties are in a wad because there is a phone/line of phones from Motorola called "Droid"

^ It is

9/4/2013 1:54:22 PM

I'm thinking you guys have old batteries. I get that many emails, use my phone as a hot spot, and often also stream music and mine lasts me till about 5:00. The only thing different is that I don't use my phone for navigation, but if I'm doing navigation I'd just plug my phone into a car charger.

9/4/2013 2:06:39 PM

That may have been true at one point, but motorola has been making a series of phones with the name "droid" for awhile now. In my earlier post, when I said "the newest droid phones are much better," I was specifically referring to the Motorola Droid Maxx, Ultra, and Mini, which all have 24+ hour battery life. When I said "the newer droids won't have sd card slots or removable batteries," I should have said "android phones" because motorola owns the droid name now.

And like I said, my moto x can go three days without me needing to charge it with my usage habits which are moderate at the heaviest. Mostly playing turn based games (scrabble), texting, and browsing the internet.

9/4/2013 2:09:13 PM

^ Thank you

9/4/2013 2:40:55 PM

I, too, was concerned about battery life with the S4 and was considering buying an extended battery. Then I realized the battery charges pretty fast on the stock charger....much, much better than the old T-bolt I used to have.

9/4/2013 3:48:11 PM

I love my DROID MAXX so far. The battery life is nuts, you can go days without charging. It feels really solid and never freezes.

9/4/2013 5:29:37 PM

still can't think of a practical everyday situation where you can only charge every few days. Everyone has electricity where they sleep.

9/5/2013 10:36:47 PM

^I backpack at least once a month. I use my phone for taking photos, reading, the occasional map. Even the Droid Maxx only has a 5-8 hour battery life if you're actually using it consistently.

9/5/2013 11:16:43 PM

How do you backpack AND use your phone consistently? I thought the idea of backpacking was to be one with nature, not be one with your phone.

9/6/2013 1:21:39 AM

^^ I highly doubt that the Maxx will only last 8 hours if you are in the woods with the radio off, no way in hell

9/6/2013 7:17:23 AM

The Maxx will last only about 8 hours IF YOU SPEND THE ENTIRETY OF ITS BATTERY LIFE WATCHING MOVIES WITH FULL BRIGHTNESS AND SOUND.

If you put it in airplane mode and use it to take pictures then it'll last you a freakin week.

9/6/2013 9:36:49 AM

Do they make any phones that you can read easily in direct sunlight without having the brightness cranked up?

Thats one of the things I miss about old phones

9/6/2013 11:23:09 AM

the Nokia Lumia phones are great in the sun (or at least some of the Lumia line, not sure if they all have they polarized display)

9/6/2013 11:55:58 AM

I meant a week of mixed use, occasional calls, photos, roaming, etc. I don't see what we're arguing about.

My Note 2 lasts at least 2 days with mixed use but I still want the ability to swap out the battery. I do it at least once a week.

It's a feature I use and I know plenty of people who use it. It's silly to argue against something that is useful to a portion of the population even if it's small. There's always going to be a minority of power users that use features such as expandable storage and user replaceable batteries. Just because you guys don't use them doesn't mean everyone else doesn't.

-Another good example: I have a busy day and forget to plug it in. I'm in transit and don't have immediate access to power. It takes less than 30 seconds to swap out a battery and I'm back to 100%. That convenience is essential to me. Not being able to do that would be a step back.

[Edited on September 6, 2013 at 5:30 PM. Reason : s]

9/6/2013 5:27:15 PM

I've got a WP8 and it has treated me well. It's the Nokia 920. It takes good photos, is a god phone with good reception and voice clarity. The only big issue I've had is when I get in between signals, that will drain my battery pretty quickly while it tries to sort itself out.

Nokia has released the 1020 which has gotten some really good reviews.

http://www.nokia.com/us-en/phones/phone/lumia1020/

9/7/2013 1:53:34 AM

I've had no qualms with my HTC One. It's a solid phone. I really like the aluminum build. I was somewhat concerned about the non replaceable battery and no SD Card but I've haven't really found myself wanting either.

9/7/2013 11:15:24 AM

THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

9/7/2013 1:29:02 PM