Looking at the One X or the S III

[adrianf74]

Hey everyone.

I've been quite happy with my recently acquired HTC One S on Mobilicity but have become extremely discouraged by network overloads of late when I've had ZERO signal for long periods of time. It's gotten so bad that I've decided to move back to Telus in a few days. My One S was bought from somebody who was using it on Telus before I cut down my sim... but that's another story and not my queston.

I like the One S but have the option of picking up the One X for $0 on a three-year contract or the S III for $63 on a three-year contract. I know both phones are pretty much equal and have their pros and cons (have done a lot of reading).

I like the One S and the Sense UI so I've been leaning towards the One X. I've read that the One X has a battery drain issue that seems to be (for the most part) resolved but can anyone confirm that it has been? I also know the One X has a fixed battery, no SD slot but has the "nicer screen" and nicer overlay (also a better camera, etc.). I know its one major downfall next to the battery concern is that it only has 1GB of RAM which makes is very sluggish when multitasking to the point that it really can't do a good job. I also know that HTC is pretty bad when it comes to firmware upgrades (or announcing a firm time for when we can expect to move from ICS to JB). The HTC also seems to lag when it comes to custom ROMS (CM10, for instance).

The S III has a removeable battery (with larger capacity), has a memory slot, has 2GB of RAM but has a slightly duller/bluer tinged screen and the camera isn't quite as nice as the One X. The S III is expected to get a JB upgrade by month's end (I know it's already floating around) and seems to be better supported in the custom ROM department.

That said, I'm really torn. I know both devices are "good." I have the option to pick them up cheap, however, on a 3-year contract but I also know I could also just stick with my non-LTE HTC One S and wait for the "next big thing" from Google which I'm sure will be coming out in the coming months. Worst case, I pick up the S III, use it for a few months, and then sell it when Google announces their next phone.

Any thoughts?

[Ian Brantford]

One point raised in the HoFo review thread for the One X is that it seems to have a very easily scratched shell. If you aren't going to use a case for the handset, this might be a problem.

Personally, I am looking at Motorola for my next purchase of a conventional handset because their latest models are somewhat ruggedised.

[Drillbit]

The One X is basically a bigger One S with a larger, higher resolution screen. IMO both the One X and the S3 doesn't offer anything much over the One S you have now. In my opinion, I would keep the One S and wait for the next generation of Android devices.

[adrianf74]

Thanks @Ian and @Drillbit for your ideas. The only thing the One S is lacking is LTE ability which is available to me with the carrier I'm moving back to. The more I think about it, the more I think I'll just hang onto the One S for now and use it HSPA+ mode until the "next big thing" comes along.

[TC_Mits]

Twice the RAM is huge! LTE is *HUGER* ! The SD -- to help keep cloud data usage low -- and the removable battery -- flexible and for *quick* hard resets and water protection -- are both very big plus items for the SGSIII. Same for hard nav buttons that don't steal display space.

I don't like Amoled, either, but, since you plan to root and use ROMs, I've heard there are ROMs that allow fine color adjustment of OLED-type displays for much truer and less gaudy visuals, look at Trinity, for one example.

[adrianf74]

Thanks @TC_Mits for your thoughts. I thought about this a bit more and went a step further. The CyanogenMod team is supporting this phone with updates (and the One X seems to be less supported), so I used that as a tipping point. The One X _IS_ the better phone on paper but HTC seems pretty flakey when it comes to support (I know Samsung phones have a better market penetration and thus problems are fixed sooner).

Initially the One X was going to cost $0 and the S III was running $63 + tax through the carrier's web store. Today, a local store had a one day deal where the S III was $0 ($160.00 in-store credit) and the One X had a $75 gift card. I was looking at what people are selling new and used One X's for and they're going for about $100 - $120 less than the S III already. I know the S III will hold its value better than the HTC phone as well should I want to sell it in a year to year and a half and move to something else. That also made me pull the trigger on the Samsung phone as well. I also liked the feeling of it in my hand more than the One X (I know its only 2.x mm in size difference but the One X felt significantly smaller).

With the S III at $0, it was a no brainer. Now have an S III on hand. Just need to find a nice screen protector and case for it.