Yeah. For years now I've been CONSISTENTLY seeing Samsung ads on TV, plus elsewhere too.
Yeah in Europe Sony Mobile has a MUCH HEALTHIER attitude about making their presence known than they do here in the U.S. lol
Even Sony Mobile's ads in general are kinda boring and forgettable. The ONLY one I ever saw that I really loved was this one from last year for the X. It has some personality to it and is kinda fun too. I can't believe they never showed it on TV here even ONCE. What a waste. They need to hire a U.S. ad agency to really connect with the U.S. the way I'm SURE Samsung did.
Yes.........again, I totally agree. T-Mobile was #4 for U.S. carriers, but now not only have they overthrown Sprint, but AT&T and Verizon aren't as powerful as they once were. T-Mobile kept doing all these "Uncarrier" promos and basically forced their competitors into competing. They were aggressive, and they are slowly but STEADILY taking over. Sony and HTC should take note.
Nice. For me it's ONLY the 11/Ocean/U Vive. The Sony I'm semi-interested in seeing but at least for the foreseeable future I'm done with Sony.
Yeah I'm a lil worried too, but I also can't be mad at Samsung (I know, akg fanboy prob just dropped his drink reading this lol) for putting the big spotlight on AKG products. They really deserve more credit, and I hope Samsung will also restore their R&D budget too so they can further innovate their awesome headphones. HTC should REALLY be worried if Samsung decides to utilize Harman/Kardon and/or AKG in tuning their phones and also if they start using dedicated DACs and dedicated headphone amps. Cuz right now, that is one of HTC's GREATEST assets. We shall see.
lol you hate sony more than they deserve the hate give em a break. in the US it's likely to do with a verizon exclusive deal. It's likely they will bring volte and fingerprint in the US eventually once the contract runs out.
I believe its bulky because its built like a rock. In the independent testing, it was the only phone that didn't bend and was hard even to leave deep scratches in it.
The S7's camera is definitely worse, I have compared it side by side in a few conditions.
The battery life is acceptable but my brother got worse battery life than my HTC 10 by alot in the couple weeks he had it. And his battery was new and mine was already 3 or 4 months old.
The screen is subjective, this depends if you like AMOLED or not. For me it doesn't matter much, the 10 does have a polarized screen which I actually really like (they started this on the M9 but don't advertise it) so the screen is easy to read in the daylight. The same cannot be said for the S7 but the S7 has colors that pop alot more. Although I'm not really sure about the actual accuracy of the colors on either screen. I know that the colors on the A9 really pop and its AMOLED but I found that the colors weren't necessarily accurate when comparing to my Tuned Dell UP2414Q's (4K Pro series monitors with hand tuned color and 100% aRGB color and 98.7% SRGB color).
I rest my case on cameras (X Perf vs. S7 vs. HTC 10). lol
I agree, it's bulky-ish for a reason. lol
Yeah the battery life on my X Perf was seemingly worse than my HTC 10 is now. That's what happens when you give a 5" screen flagship phone a 2700 mAh battery. Way too low. 3000 mAh should've been the minimum.
ROFL...........the S7 was overrated piece of crap. LOL ESP for audio. OMG, it had the WORST AUDIO EVER! For both call and music, it was an epic fail. Even the S6 sounded better. Also it lagged all the time despite its 4GBs of RAM, the camera was great but NOT color accurate, the Settings menu was still complicated, etc. They finally stopped making plastic phones with the S6 so that was a step in the right direction, but I give HTC and Sony at least some credit for inspiring that decision. Apple too. lol
Oh yeah, and then there was the BAD DRIVER the S7 had for the MicroUSB-C port which caused any music I listened via the MicroUSB-C port to SKIP every 3-5 min. UNACCEPTABLE!
geez dude. Did you ever consider like replacing it? maybe you got a faulty phone. Yeah, I always tell people the s7 is overrated but everyone always tells me its the most improved phone from samsung and they have fixed many of the issues prior. Someone told me the s7 has very accurate whites reaching 67k temperature or whatever. But I highly doubt it since I've seen images of how inaccurate it is.
its crazy because literally every reviewer says how amazing the s7 is and thats it does everything well. but your experience among a few others is only proof its not what people claim it to be.
lol you hate sony more than they deserve the hate give em a break. in the US it's likely to do with a verizon exclusive deal. It's likely they will bring volte and fingerprint in the US eventually once the contract runs out.
I spent years saying how great they were even when I had a Z3 with the f'd up Stamina Mode bug that was COMPLETELY f'ing up my MMS messages and forcing me to embarrass myself and ask ppl to resend MMS messages I'd missed. Then I get the X Perf and it's like hey remember how Sony was THE KING of 2-day battery life? Sorry, not anymore. But oh, we're not gonna tell ppl that. We'll just let them figure it out for themselves. F THAT! lol
I have good reasons aertus. You've read enough of my posts to know why. lol
Mehh............likely? I'd say it's very UNLIKELY. lol They even said last year they were planning on SCALING BACK their presence in certain countries, INCLUDING the U.S. I don't hear HTC sayin' that.
Man F the Verizon deal. If Sony wasn't so STUPID with their "oh, we HAVE to release 2 Xperia flagships a year" BS which is moronic then that problem with Verizon and the Xperia Z4v eventually being cancelled would've never happened. It's cuz they have no balls aertus. At least HTC still sells its phone through U.S. carriers. Sony hasn't since 2014-2015 and not shockingly, their sales dipped big time since. Gotta keep your name in the public eye. But they don't do that here.
Nope aertus. I believe you STILL haven't read that article I asked you to the other day. So I'm gonna post it again. READ ALL THE BOLD PARTS DUDE AND STOP REPEATING FALSE INFORMATION! lol The HTC 10 has the 820, but it DOES NOT USE ITS DAC for music! The 10 comes with a DEDICATED DAC and DEDICATED HEADPHONE AMP, among other audio improvements done by HTC itself, like having its own custom audio codec that I've read OUTDOES the Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec!
Should of waited for the XZ xd. Sony always releases its flagships at IFA. Although xz now is pretty cheap below 500 I might buy it now or wait for ifa 2017
I wasn't talking about the 820 integrated dac. I'm talking about the company that manufactured the dac which I believe is qualcom itself i heard?
Should of waited for the XZ xd. Sony always releases its flagships at IFA. Although xz now is pretty cheap below 500 I might buy it now or wait for ifa 2017
I wasn't talking about the 820 integrated dac. I'm talking about the company that manufactured the dac which I believe is qualcom itself i heard?
Dude, the XZ wasn't really any better at all. SLIGHTLY better at best for battery life and also camera too vs. the XP. Part of the reason why I didn't wait is b/c Sony is so incredibly STUPID when it comes to their releases, I didn't know when the XZ was even gonna come out. They announced the XP in Feb last year, but it didn't come out 'til Mid-June?! I was SHOCKED when they released the XZ only 3 mos later globally. It's just another example of Sony Mobile's inconsistency. It's not dumb enough that they release TWO Xperia flagships a year, but then they go and release the 2nd only a few mos after the last?
I have a STRONG feeling even if I'd waited for the XZ I still would've ended up selling it for the HTC 10 down the line anyway.
I would have gotten the Z2 when it was released in Spring 2014, but it was only available unlocked, and back then I was NOT open (unlike now) to getting an unlocked phone outside my carrier (T-Mobile). T-Mobile offered the Z1s (T-Mobile version of the Z1) and later on the Z3, which I DID get. I mean, OF course the later phone is gonna be better! That only makes sense. I actually like buying new phones in spring vs. fall. It's cool when the weather's getting nice again and summer is coming to have a new phone. That's another plus for HTC b/c they always release their flagship in the spring. None of this 2 versions a year BS like Sony. Not sure when the 11/Ocean/U Vive is coming out, but so far at least HTC's been pretty consistent. This year Samsung kinda forced their hand though, but I hope the delay is SHORT at best.
That's not how I interpreted what you said. lol I have not read ANYTHING ever that says Qualcomm offers their own DEDICATED DAC before. They do have their own "audio codec" which is software I believe they put in the 820 to improve the sound. It's called the Aqstic audio codec. HTC however made their OWN custom audio codec and put it on the 10. And from what I've read, it outdoes what Aqstic can do. So the 10 has both, but from what HTC told me themselves, the 10 really only ever uses the HTC codec, not the Aqstic one. Or the Aqstic codec is just supporting the custom one.
There is no Dana, there is only ZOTL! Reviewer for The Headphone List
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Really like my HTC10. Supposed to have separate DAC and headphone amp from what I read on its dedicated thread, and it sounds really good. Don't have much need to add external amp/dac using it.
Really like my HTC10. Supposed to have separate DAC and headphone amp from what I read on its dedicated thread, and it sounds really good. Don't have much need to add external amp/dac using it.
Yes, that is 100% true. This article confirms not only that but other things too. I would DEF read it, esp the headphone section and parts in bold too!
I had compared it to my $299 Oppo HA-2, and I felt it MATCHED it, so I ended up selling off my Oppo and I just connect my headphones directly to the 10 now. Not only does it have great sound quality, but the volume output is VERY strong and MORE than adequately drives my 32-ohm AKG K551.
There is no Dana, there is only ZOTL! Reviewer for The Headphone List
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Since I got the 10, haven't bothered with the external DAC/AMP options (which are a royal pain), and am enjoying music on the go straight from the phone. Not trying to sell anyone, but I'm happy with it (and I paid full price-got it from Verizon when I returned a Samsung phone, which I disliked, so I couldn't get a deal. Getting them direct from HTC gets a discount periodically).
@doctorjazz fully agree. Got the HTC 10 for "Free" on a 24 month contract but my provider changed its terms and conditions regarding my contract and so i can walk away and keep the 10 on a rolling monthly payg.
geez dude. Did you ever consider like replacing it? maybe you got a faulty phone. Yeah, I always tell people the s7 is overrated but everyone always tells me its the most improved phone from samsung and they have fixed many of the issues prior. Someone told me the s7 has very accurate whites reaching 67k temperature or whatever. But I highly doubt it since I've seen images of how inaccurate it is.
its crazy because literally every reviewer says how amazing the s7 is and thats it does everything well. but your experience among a few others is only proof its not what people claim it to be.
@doctorjazz fully agree. Got the HTC 10 for "Free" on a 24 month contract but my provider changed its terms and conditions regarding my contract and so i can walk away and keep the 10 on a rolling monthly payg.
Yes, that is 100% true. This article confirms not only that but other things too. I would DEF read it, esp the headphone section and parts in bold too!
I had compared it to my $299 Oppo HA-2, and I felt it MATCHED it, so I ended up selling off my Oppo and I just connect my headphones directly to the 10 now. Not only does it have great sound quality, but the volume output is VERY strong and MORE than adequately drives my 32-ohm AKG K551.
Yep they do have some dedicated audio hardware in there not just Aqstic, even if they are most likely using Aqstic for the DAC.
But as I was writing in another thread, most of the DAC's these days are good regardless of the maker.
The top end TI, ESS, Cirrus/Wolfson, AKM chips are all comparable and all resolve about the same. Everything else is upto the implementation and the analog sections.
HTC does have a dedicated section of the board for the audio and they do have a dedicated headphone and speaker Amp.
In the smartphone Audio thread I feel that too many people are focused on the DAC chip itself and think that some other phones are better because they have some "dedicated DAC" but I think the proof is really in the implentation and the performance. When you benchmark an HTC 10 against a Chord Mojo (which so many people praise) or against a $1000 DAP and the 10 comes out to be as good or "almost" as good.... what other proof do you need? Why look at the specs at that point? The performance doesn't lie.
Since I got the 10, haven't bothered with the external DAC/AMP options (which are a royal pain), and am enjoying music on the go straight from the phone. Not trying to sell anyone, but I'm happy with it (and I paid full price-got it from Verizon when I returned a Samsung phone, which I disliked, so I couldn't get a deal. Getting them direct from HTC gets a discount periodically).
I had the Oppo HA-2, which is very thin and light, and so for me it really wasn't a big deal to lug it around honestly. However, having said that, I can't say I miss the inconvenience of an extra device AND an extra cable too. lol
That sux that you couldn't get a deal, but yeah, I recommend EVERYONE (living in the U.S.) buy it from HTC.com directly b/c that saves you money in other ways. Yes, not only does HTC offers discounts (I got mine for only $500 2 mos ago cuz was $100 off PLUS I found a $100 promo code as well that worked!), but by buying directly through them, you get their Uh-Oh Protection Plan too, which is essentially a "no questions asked" FREE ONE-TIME replacement of your phone ("Certified as new" or refurbished) should anything physically happen to it (broken screen, water damage) during the FIRST year. Thefts are not covered, and not sure if phone goes bad if that's covered either, so just take a hammer to the screen (MUST be the screen!) if that happens and you're good! ROFL! Also, if a part of the phone is damaged OTHER than the screen (edges, backside), it's not covered.......so just keep that hammer within reach. LOL
**Update: IF your HTC phones goes bad, Uh-Oh WILL cover it! OR, you can send it in to HTC for a FREE repair under the regular 1 year warranty. So on top of Uh-Oh, you have that 1 year warranty too! No need for the hammer on this one. lol**
So during that first year, you can cancel your phone insurance basically if you want (I did, got the Unlocked 10 in Topaz Gold) and save EVEN MORE $$ that way. Then when that year is up and if you are keeping your phone longer, you can go back to the insurance you had through your carrier, or do what I did and get private insurance through like Worth Ave Group (they cover theft too, and other things), which can be cheaper than the carrier insurance.
STILL not convinced?! lol IF you don't make a claim for a replacement phone during that first year, HTC will give you after that first year a $100 CREDIT towards future purchases via their website! So that means you can get $100 off the next HTC flagship on top of any discounts they might be offering. (Note: I just recently confirmed all statements above with HTC too, including this $100 credit one. This IS for real.)
This is the transcript from that convo to cast away any doubts lol:
Chat Transcript Tue, 20 Mar 2017 04:19:35 AEDT
Maria M. (Maria M.) HTC
Messages
You: I have 2 questions about Uh-Oh Protection
Maria M.: Hi ...........! Thank you for contacting HTC technical support. I’ll be more than glad to assist you today!
You: Hi Maria!
You: Ok.........#1: Does Uh-Oh Protection cover if the phone is damaged on the sides or back of the phone vs. the screen (I know water damage is covered, but this is physical damage you can see on the
You: outside)
You: ?
Maria M.: It only covers cracked screen.
Maria M.: And water damage.
You: Ok. Thank you for clarifying!!
You: #2: HTC still gives customers who get Uh-Oh Protection a $100 credit after 1 year IF they never make a claim for a replacement phone, correct?
Maria M.: That is correct. If you have never used the UH OH after 12 months. You can claim for the $100 credit.
Maria M.: Besides this, is there something else I can assist you with today?
You: Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!
You: Actually I do have one more..............
You: #3: If the phone just goes bad for some reason (like won't turn on anymore, etc) within that first year, does Uh-Oh cover for that too Maria?
Maria M.: Well, to be honest with you. You will receive the information for a normal repair. And we can offer you a label. Because that kind of damage are covered by the normal repair.
Maria M.: But if you want to use the UH OH for that we cannot say No.
You: what do u mean "normal repair"?
Maria M.: A normal means that you send the device to repair. We fix it, and then you receive the same device repaired.
Maria M.: It does not include a replacement.
You: I see. But the customer has to pay for that right?
Maria M.: Nope, if you purchase the device with HTC you do not have to pay for it.
You: Very interesting...........so you CAN use Uh-Oh to replace it for free, but you get a refurbished model or new??
Maria M.: It is certified as a new. That means that the device is manufactured in the Repair Center. But all the parts are new.
You: How is that different from a regular new device?
Maria M.: HTC Certified Like-New devices undergo a series of rigorous tests and inspections and are repaired, refaced, and updated with the latest software. Our HTC experts test every Certified Like-New device to make sure our customers receive the highest quality replacement phones and tablets.
Maria M.: It does not come with the original box, neither with the original accessories.
You: I C. Ok. I mean that's really the same as refurbished but ok.
You: So either you can have it replaced via Uh-Oh, OR you can send it in for a free repair. But how long is the free repair option available after you buy it??
Maria M.: The warranty for the normal repair is also 12 months.
You: Ok great!
You: And you're 100% sure about all this?
Maria M.: Yes, I am
You: Wonderful! I'm done then. Maria thank you so much!! Take care
Maria M.: You are more than welcome. It was my pleasure to assist you!
@doctorjazz fully agree. Got the HTC 10 for "Free" on a 24 month contract but my provider changed its terms and conditions regarding my contract and so i can walk away and keep the 10 on a rolling monthly payg.
HTC.com now offers a PayPal Credit option where you can make interest-free payments for up to 18 mos as well. I chose that option when I got my 10. They're trying to make it more easy (and competitive) for ppl to buy them unlocked, and it worked on me. lol Unlocked is better b/c you get extra color choices, which again was great for me as I REALLY liked the Topaz Gold 10 the best, and buying it unlocked gave me the option to buy that one, which I did.
Yep they do have some dedicated audio hardware in there not just Aqstic, even if they are most likely using Aqstic for the DAC.
But as I was writing in another thread, most of the DAC's these days are good regardless of the maker.
The top end TI, ESS, Cirrus/Wolfson, AKM chips are all comparable and all resolve about the same. Everything else is upto the implementation and the analog sections.
HTC does have a dedicated section of the board for the audio and they do have a dedicated headphone and speaker Amp.
In the smartphone Audio thread I feel that too many people are focused on the DAC chip itself and think that some other phones are better because they have some "dedicated DAC" but I think the proof is really in the implentation and the performance. When you benchmark an HTC 10 against a Chord Mojo (which so many people praise) or against a $1000 DAP and the 10 comes out to be as good or "almost" as good.... what other proof do you need? Why look at the specs at that point? The performance doesn't lie.
I read somewhere they were using the HTC custom-made codec for only streaming apps like Google Music, Spotify, etc. But HTC's Special Projects Team (one level ABOVE cust serv) looked into it for me and concluded that was NOT true, and that Aqstic is only there b/c the 820 comes with it anyway OR as a support codec for the HTC one.
Well part of it too is that the better DACs also HAPPEN to TYPICALLY come with better supporting tech and implementation too.
Yes I agree. Specs only tell you so much. It's always best to compare devices on your own. Some pro reviews will tell you the $399 Oppo PM-3 planar magnetic headphones are better than $200 (now $100) AKG K550 headphones. The Truth: It's NOT! lol The K550 has a wider and bigger soundstage, and more clarity IMO than the PM-3.
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