Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC Evo 4G LTE Review

Currently, the fiercest rivalry between Android devices has got to be what we are seeing between Samsung and HTC.

HTC used to be a leader in the smartphone industry and had a sizable portion of the market until recently. Moreover, the Taiwanese company may have lost some of its former glory but it looks to be on its way to reclaiming it with their well-received One line of smartphones.

Samsung in the meanwhile is currently one of the number one players in the smartphone market following their astonishing success with and the popularity of their Galaxy S series of flagships.
So in this review, we look at and compare the specs and features of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC Evo 4G LTE.

Hardware

Samsung Galaxy S3

• Display: 4.8 inches Super AMOLED touchscreen
o Resolution of 720 x 1280
o Pixel density of 306 ppm

• Processing package: two versions for GSM and Sprint
o GSM uses a quad-core Cortex-A9 processor clocked at 1.4 GHz. Has 1GB of RAM
o Sprint uses a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.5 GHz. Has 2 GB of Ram
• Camera
o Rear: 8 MP with 1080 p video
o Front: 1.9 P with 720 p video
• Battery: 2,100 mAh
o Removable

HTC Evo 4G LTE

• Display: 4.7 inches Super IPS LCD2 touchscreen
o Resolution of 720 x 1280
o Pixel density of 312 ppm

• Processing package: Dual-core Snapdragon processor works at 1.5 GHz clock together with 1 GB of RAM
• Camera
o Rear: 8 MP with 1080 p video
o Front: 1.3 MP with 720 p video
• Battery: 2,000 mAh
o Non-removable

General comments:

• The HTC Evo 4G LTE feels like the heavier and more durable of the two devices
• This could be because it has metal accents that are made of aluminium
• While the Samsung Galaxy S3 has “metal accents” too, these are actually plastic coated with metal
• Moreover, the HTC Evo 4G LTE has a solid metal kickstand and a dedicated camera button

Software

• Both of these phones use Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• The Samsung Galaxy S3 has the TouchWiz 4 user interface which comes pre-loaded with new Samsung apps like S-Memo and S-Voice
• Moreover, the HTC Evo 4G LTE uses the Sense 4.0 user interface of HTC. This includes HTC’s Beats Audio software accordingly
• The Sense UI from HTC is considered easy to use and is pleasing to look at
• Furthermore, the HTC’s Sense UI allows you to easily create and access folders. While Samsung’s TouchWiz does have folders, they are a bit harder to create
• The Sense UI lacks Task Manager and can be slower to end apps that are running
• Moreover, the lock screen on the Galaxy S3 has more customizable options than those found on the HTC Evo 4G LTE

 

Display

• The display of the HTC Evo 4G LTE is around 4.7 inches and it uses Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. This display also uses IPS LCD technology
• On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S3 display is an AMOLED display and it use Gorilla Glass 2 for protection, which is thinner and stronger version of Corning glass
• Some people believe that LCD displays have the most true-to-life color and prefer this
• Other people prefer the most vivid colors of AMOLED displays. AMOLED displays also have deeper blacks and in the Samsung Galaxy S3, this works great with the dark themes of the UI

Camera

• Both of these devices use the same type of rear camera, a 8 MP

• The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a 1.9 MP front camera but we found no real difference in quality from that and the HTC Evo 4G LTE’s 1.3 MP front camera.
• Moreover, the quality of pictures and videos taken by the cameras on both devices are quite nice.

Pricing

• The GSM version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 price is $799 for unlocked and SIM-free
• However, the Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 price is $199
• The HTC Evo 4G LTE is priced at $129 under contract
• If the price is a big factor, the HTC Evo 4G LTE is a safe choice, having almost identical specs to the GS3

 

All in all, both these devices are very capable smartphones that give you a full feature spectrum. Software-wise, HTC had managed to polish the Sense UI nicely, while Samsung’s has packed their TouchWiz with a lot of good features.
Aside from some differences in software features, the major difference between the two devices seems to come in when we look at their display. While the HTC Evo 4G LTE with its HD LCD display would seem to be the most media-oriented option. However, the Samsung Galaxy S3 with its Super AMOLED technology is capable of some very rich colors and deep blacks which are also very appealing to some.

What do you think? Is it the Samsung Galaxy S3 or the HTC Evo 4G LTE for you?

JR

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