I'd buy this over a Galaxy S3, but would not replace a perfectly-good Android 4.x phone for it. I'm pretty pleased with the formfactor of my Note 2, as well as its performance in general, though I'm a bit peeved that 4.2.x has yet to be pushed to it, and I'm wary of rooting it and losing some of the pen-specific stuff.

Software is what matters and Android is STILL a POS on the issues of stability and battery life. While Apple iOS is good on these two issues, it's overpriced and outdated. I'd love to try out the new BB10.

Goog needs a total rewrite of Android from the ground up if they want to be in this for the long haul.

8 cores, 13MP, and a 1080p 5" display...for a phone. My question: WHY??? I guess Angry Birds will look that much better.

Don't get me wrong: I love the progression of technology. But there is a point of diminishing returns...

Quote:

8 cores

I think the US version is just 4 cores, but we'll have to wait and see the specs from the carrier.

8 cores is allegedly for battery life. We'll see. I am impressed with the larger capacity battery and screen in a similar-sized device.

But as others have said, it's an incremental improvement, not game-changing.

Quote:

Cellphones are now getting to where desktop computers were a couple of years ago.

My thoughts are along these lines. Everything tied to the mobile phone industry is going to need to be prepared for a huge slowdown in profits over the next couple of years. It started last year, in 2012. Predictions (and forecasts) are that profit margins will increase in the second half of 2013, but there's absolutely zero basis underlying this bald assumption. Profit margins are going to flatten and there's going to be belt tightening over the next few years. There might be some shakeout that happens as well. Prepare for some lean times ahead in the handheld industry.

I expect Google Glasses (or something similar) + eye-tracking + voice recognition to take over for a lot of young people within a couple of years. That way they won't lose the ability to re-tweet the latest insight from their favorite rapper during the time they're walking from the refrigerator to the toilet.

Google Glass is so much more than just that, but I fear it will be tempered by Ads spammed all over everything we hold dear. I can't wait to be ****ing my GF and an ad for KY or Trojan pops up on her*****. /sarcasm

Jackie Treehorn: Interactive erotic software. The wave of the future, Dude. One hundred percent electronic!
The Dude: Yeah well, I still jerk off manually.

It looks like the SIII. The HTC One looks like a really nice phone. Nice build, basically same specs as the S4. Too bad HTC doesn't understand advertising in the US? Or they just don't have the budget to do it? Maybe both.

I agree though, I don't see a lot of room for further advancement in this space. Short of a virtual key board or something.

Out of curiosity, I watched the launch. It was pretty bizarre. Bad jokes and more. Bringing out JK Shin gave the whole thing the vibe of a Tom Vu infomercial from the 80s. As for the phone, I'll pass. If you want Android, grab an unlocked Nexus 4 or Galaxy S2 on Virgin and go from there.

HTC One is the best phone on the market right IMHO. The upcoming Apple 5S is going to be a complete waste of time.

KD wrote..

Cellphones are now getting to where desktop computers were a couple of years ago. That is, there is no real point to a further "arms race" when it comes to screen resolutions or CPU power

Yup. I see no compelling reason to upgrade my year-and-a-half old GT-N7000 (original Note).

What I do find interesting is that 2-1/2 years ago, when switched from an iPhone 3GS to a 5" Dell Streak, everyone thought my new phone was absurdly large. Now with the Galaxy SIV, 5" screens are going mainstream.

-Uwe-

I want it.

The IR emitter is a nice feature so the phone can be used as a universal remote.

The new temperature / humidity features are a bit silly, but no more silly than the barometer feature already included on the S3, I guess.

The HD resolution and increased screen size (which results in a better-than-"retina" DPI) are big pluses as far as I'm concerned. I *hope* the screen is sufficiently brighter than the S3, which can not be seen in direct sunlight.

I'm disappointed by the continued focus on S-Voice. Why do they bother when Android already has a feature that does the same thing and is better?

A couple of the new camera software features might be useful. Most of the new software features are perhaps neat enough to use once just to see it in action, but I'll almost certainly disable them. Eye tracking is just too unreliable to use on a daily basis.

The eight cores for the international version are interesting. Apparently 4 are "high speed" for gaming and other processor intensive tasks, and the other 4 are just for basic system and background tasks. No idea if the 4 core US version has any such modality.

It is very unlikely that I'll be upgrading my S3 anytime in the next year though. So I want it, but I'm not gonna get it.

By the way, I watched some of the "unpacking" event, and it was just awful. I had to turn it off if was so bad. Horrible jokes, stupid skits, people were not clapping or laughing at the right times (and at times it seemed like the presenters were begging for applause or laughter). I was embarrassed for them and couldn't take it any longer.

It only took 5 years for the 'smart phone' to become a commodity and unexciting.....it took an entire generation for that to happen with PC hardware.

I still have the iPhone 4...I wasn't compelled to go out and buy a 4s or a 5. The old phone still works well for what I want do with it. The basic stuff like phone, text message, email, internet browsing, music, google maps, an occasional game. The same kind of stuff every other smart phone does probably just as well at this point.

They're all a rectangular shaped touch screen. You've seen one, you've seen'em all.

Besides, maybe lower prices, what's left to get excited about?

Maybe smart phone apps/software/services is where there might still be some excitement and innovation. Even then, every phone platform will likely have access to the same suite of apps.

I have a cheap POC and a not so cheap phone bill, as I have been holding off changing service. Glad to see a couple of endorsements of the HTC. What has a good antenna? I live on a creek and reception is fleeting. What I hear is these phones don't hold a charge for long and I want one I can use as a hotspot. Not into reading little screens. Eyeglasses and lasic eye surgery are going to be popular items for the next generation. Also, a guy I know brought up the effects of all these microwaves on us. I know I have full time wifi at home. I have a phone in my pocket most of the time. Are we poisoning ourselves with electronic radiation.

I'm a bit curious how the ubuntu mobile release is going to work out. There supposed to be releasing a full version for the galaxy nexus sometime soon. If its not a dog it could be interesting. I've got a gnex I might give it a try.

I used to love HTC, but their unwillingness to stop locking their bootloaders and refusal to release driver/kernal source has prompted me to try a different manufacturer next purchase. Samsung as of late has seemed a little more supportive..... Its a shame because I have always been an HTC guy, going all the way back to my Ipaq PDA.

Mannfm11: "What has a good antenna? "

Nokia (if you want a good deal on a touchscreen phone, look at the new 520; if you want something with qwerty buttons - still has a touchscreen as well sadly - look at their flagship phone for the 3rd World, the Asha 303, it's possible to snipe one of these SIM free for really low money if you keep your eyes peeled).

Screen vulnerability with big touch screen phones is a nightmare. Gf had a new Samsung S3 last month. Now has an S3 with a broken display and staring at stupid money to fix it (until the S4 comes out, then the replacement display price will drop like a rock e.g. iphone 4 replacement I can get on ebay now for £20).

To me most phones have gone unergonomic, impractical, and the essentials (long battery life, great RF performance, great audio rx/tx, and REAL BUTTONS) have been thrown out with the bath water, just for the pursuit of mountains of tat software called 'apps' which you have to wade through before finding out that what you really need either isn't available at all, or it utterly sucks, or it is a complete security nightmare because you have to dump your stuff into a 'Cloud', along with a fragility that seems to be at the point where if you say 'Hello who is it?" slightly too loudly, the f***ing screen breaks.

And all for an amount of money that not too many years ago, would buy you a house (in my living memory, a friends dad bought a plot and built a nice 3 bedroom detached house on it, for about the price of a new top of the range phone - the value of 6 phones even bought my smallholding)!

Well **** that for a game of soldiers.

It seems I am not the only one thinking this way amongst my friends and friends of friends. A SIM only deal with a competent cheap phone you provide yourself, seems to be the way quite a few are going (some I wouldn't have imagined have even gone with PAYG). Even my kid sister is binning the 'bling' and going with a SIM only deal when her contract ends in a couple of months (I nearly fainted when she told me).

The new Galaxy S4 looks really nice. The 5" display is attractive (guys need bigger pockets), the Quad Core is a new standard, the 13 mp camera is better than an 8 mp. As for the eye-tracking or tilt, I think the tilt is what most would want to set. The hand wave is just ok. The improved resolution is a plus.

With all that greatness, I am not due for an upgrade with Verizon until Oct 2013. I went from a tiny screen on the BB Curve, to an HTC incredible with a 3.7 display (just too small) to now an LG Spectrum 4.5" display with a dual core. It has always worked very well, so I can wait for now.

Looking forward to the $99 or less SG3, other than that, I agree its not big enough a leap.

@mortgageguy : lol +1000

actually i'm stoked that the initial response to S4 has been lukewarm , as it will hopefully next week give me an even BETTER entry point to short the***** outta AAPL (c'mon 450 !!) .