With the release of the Samsung S4 & HTC One, everyone was running to get their hands on it, true 4G Android Devices which honestly make the iPhone 5 look like crap and its going to have to do a lot more then just another hardware design to beat these two machines. HTC have been having a hard time getting things right with Android after Samsung took the lead as the best, but I honestly think they have a great device on their hands with the HTC One. The Samsung Galaxy S4 was a smart move by Samsung, the S3 was so successful that they just improved on it slightly in regards to the design and packed it with the best possible hardware they could put together.

There were a lot of comparison and technical reviews, but I wanted a real use review of both machines to see which fit better and for what use. I wanted to really try both phones and after almost a month of having them both I can honestly say there isn’t just one conclusion, it just depends what you want because they are both really good.

Wifi

It’s very important for a device to have a strong wifi signal capability, it has to capture it and use it. And out of all the Android brands out there, I can say that Samsung has that down, they pretty much have everyone beat. And sadly the worst out of the bunch is HTC, I had the problem with the HTC One X and with the HTC One it’s signal always weaker then the S4 and sometimes it can’t see the Access Points.

Screen

The Samsung S4 screen is huge, both screens are crisp and excellent touch interface. Honestly they are both excellent. If you want the bigger screen then the Samsung S4 is the way to go, but its a matter of preference. Both of them have amazing brightness and you can easily see them during day time.

Design

Honestly hands down the HTC One wins in this department, if Apple wants to copy anyone for their next phone then it would be the HTC One. The Samsung S4 is 80% the same as the S3 just bigger screen and an aluminum frame which I liked. The one benefit to the Samsung S4 is that it feels lighter then the HTC One, but still it looks better then the S4. One aspect that I like about the S4 is the ability to add the a MicroSD Card, that is a huge win for the S4 in my case. You don’t need that much space on your phones these days but having the ability to is a huge plus.

Above is the Samsung Galaxy S4 Shot & Below is the HTC One Shot

Camera

HTC has the Ultrapixel which is sort like a supercharged 4MP which performs better then most camera phones with higher Megapixels. The HTC has the machine gun shot which shoots multiple shots and you can choose the best or keep them all which is a great feature. The Galaxy S4 has an amazingly crisp camera, they improved on their best selling Galaxy S3. And they included all the features of the Galaxy Camera with all the different settings and mode. The HTC One has the low light shots done perfectly, this is one thing that HTC has had down. Between the two I preferred the S4 camera, but it’s just barely better. And hands down both better then Apple iPhone 5.

Above is the Samsung Galaxy S4 Shot & Below is the HTC One Shot

Battery

This takes a bit longer to figure out but both Android devices lasted a full day of abuse. Nonstop wifi use, making phone calls and sending messages, they could both take it. And I know over time I will get the Mophie battery case for the either phone, and its a matter of time the case comes out for the S4 since its selling like crazy as expected.

Interface & Feel

To be very honest you can go with either of them, this really comes down to preferences. I prefer the HTC One Sense Skin feel over the Samsung Touch Skin, since its less intrusive in this case. I always prefer getting phones from Google because its a clean installation and I can do as I please, but in this case I had to choose, and the HTC One was cleaner and crispier. I just get annoyed with Samsung trying to make things more watery with the TouchWiz Skin. Now for the Sound hands down the HTC One has amazing sound, by far much better then the S4 and it can easily blast music in a room, you wouldn’t think its a phone speaker.

What I don’t like about the Samsung S4

I really hate the keyboard, had to get the Swift Keyboard so my fingers don’t feel like they are stretching across the screen. It really made me feel like I was learning how to type for the first time. The speaker is loud but not crisp, I wish they put it up front. The air gestures aren’t really that useful, I only like the finger hover when in the gallery for a preview but the rest makes you look crazy when your staring at the screen trying to make things move, if you have an S4 you know exactly what I’m talking about.

What I don’t like about the HTC One

I hate the Blink Feed, wish there was a way to get rid of it since its taking a piece of the screen that I could use and you only have a limit of 4 screens. The Weak wifi signal is a breaker for me, I have to have good wifi on my phone.

Which One

Choosing between them is tough but I had two deciding factors which were the Wifi Signal and Camera, which in this case the S4 was the better choice even though I really like the HTC One design. I picked up the Samsung S4 LTE from Al Babtain and got the HTC One from a friend. Honestly Babtain did a great job of making the phone available all over Kuwait and quickly, the HTC One was like hunting an endangered species.

Mild-mannered businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman who has been living it up after stealing Sandy’s identity.

A comedy with a few fun nasty moments, the surprise for me is Melissa McCarthy who is great in Brides Maids and she has her own show, she looks harmless but is nasty in a very funny way. The perfect fit for this movie where Jason Bateman plays the nice guy who gets screwed over. And as things progress the movie gets funnier, an easy fun movie if your looking for a comedy this is a good one.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

Malcolm and Kisha move into their dream home, but soon learn a demon also resides there. When Kisha becomes possessed, Malcolm – determined to keep his sex life on track – turns to a priest, a psychic, and a team of ghost-busters for help.

Marlon Wayans making a comedy horror movie, I know its not a blockbuster movie or a movie you make time for, but its the right movie when you have nothing else to do and want to laugh. I laughed my ass off watching this movie, you have to watch it with a bunch of guys they will understand why. It requires zero brain activity, the best part is when he says black people don’t chase ghosts thats what white people do and it just gets funnier from there, this is as simple stupid funny movies get.

Link: IMDB
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9 Seasons, a show that nobody thought could end, but when Michael Scott left I think a lot of people who were addicted to the, show such as myself, knew it was going to end at some point. The 75-minute episode capped nine seasons with laugh-out-loud moments and tender tributes. I for one wasn’t choked up while watching the season finale at all, no really I wasn’t, ok I was. I got really worked up about this show, it has had more of an effect then you realize. I got used to seeing The Office over the weekend, used to their episodes with Jim & Dwight getting into some crazy prank or something happening in the office and they end up not doing any work at all.

The season finale was probably one of the best season finale’s I have seen, it gave closure, it gives you a glimpse into the characters that you have loved and enjoyed for so long. I don’t want to ruin for anyone but if you enjoyed this show then you have to watch it. I want to thank my wife for getting me addicted to this show, I watch Season 1-5 one go a few years back and slowly kept watching episode to episode. They really put a huge amount of effort into the season finale, everyone cared so much, and you can genuinely tell that they were all emotional at the end, which made it even harder to watch. This show really ended on a high note, something very few shows have done in the history of television, I even remember the crappy season finale of Seinfeld, after so long you expected to end well but it didn’t but The Office, couldn’t have ended any better. You feel like you know these people, like you are saying good bye to friends that you won’t be seeing any time soon, now I want to get all The Office Bobble Heads, it was an emotional ending, lets just say that. What a show!

A show that I enjoyed from the beginning and one of the most satisfying seasons I have watched yet. Ending on a very high note, and a big bang with the perfect type of build up. This show was so good that I thought of Sherlock Holmes as only this odd genius and nothing else from the movies or the original books. Surprisingly Lucy Liu played an excellent Watson, not the person you would expect to play the role which made it even better, and she was fantastic in the show, and not in her usual roles. This show is a must see with an excellent and well developed story line, it leaves you satisfied and I’m excited to see what they have planned for next season.

Link: IMDB

Passed down from Master to apprentice, The Jedi Path is an ancient training manual that has educated and enlightened generations of Jedi. Within its pages, the Jedi-intraining will discover the history and lore of the Jedi Order, the ways of the Force and how to wield it, the subtle nuances of lightsaber combat, and the dangers of the Dark Side. The only remaining copy in existence, this hallowed tome features handwritten annotated notes by Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Count Dooku, and Darth Sidious, among many others.

Right off the bat this book is for the Star Wars fan, it is so detailed and well written that you feel yourself immersed in the Jedi Universe, with notes from so many Jedi. When I first started the book it seemed like a used manual which is what it is supposed to be, explaining how you develop the Force within you to become a Jedi. As you progress you read the notes of the different Jedi and at the same time you get a feel for their mentality which. And one Jedi who became a Sith, Count Doku, his notes are clear that he is a ruthless human being with the way he used the force. As you progress you get more immersed as to the different types of Jedi and different fields. It is one detailed training manual and the origin stories as to how the Jedi developed their powers, and I do love reading Yoda’s notes, I can hear his voice in my head when I read it. A Must have for any Star Wars fan.

Link: Amazon
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The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff.

Big Bad Guy who beat the FBI is up against a Sheriff and his Country Bumpkin Squad. A simple story and honestly a fun one, when the Sheriff discovers that the big bad guy is using his town to go across the border they take matters into their own hands. And this is the type of movie you want to watch to laugh and enjoy, the perfect role of Arnold Schwarzenegger, don’t expect an oscar winnning performance and you will enjoy it. Another star of the movie is the Corvette ZR1, there are some pretty good driving scenes in the movie, and a few over the top but lots of fun, like Die Hard that was back by Mercedes, I think The Last Stand was back by GM. The type of movie that requires little to no thinking, enjoy.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

My experience with Microsoft dates back to the original CE phones back in 2003, I wanted something different and that phone was different and to configure it you needed a doctorates degree in physics. But I like the bubbles game on it, then i tried Windows 3.0 for work and that had decent integration with Microsoft exchange. But nobody did integration like Apple & Google did, so I switch to Android the moment it came out and before that I was on the SonyEricsson platform.

With the introduction of the Windows Phone 8 they are finally trying to make a decent competitor to the Apple & Android platform and right now its a few steps behind but still impressive. With Windows Phone 8 has some decent integration with Windows 8 such as auto photo updates, and the Microsoft Office Suite integrates nicely with the Windows Phone 8, especially OneNote which is probably the best note taking tool I have ever used, even better then Evernote. As well as SkyDrive integration which can sync your photos as well as your documents, trying to be a better DropBox for Windows which isn’t too bad.

The operating system itself gets a little getting used to, its like visiting somewhere for the first time, you know enough to get around but need some time to get really familiar with it. There is smooth feeling to the operating system that I like, and after 6 months of abuse the phone has not hung on me once which is great for a smart phone of this caliber.

What I Like:

• Easy to sync Google Contacts and emails with the WP8 interface, even after Google extended
• The App store is pretty decent, has some junk in it but they all started off that way, they have about 80% of the Apps that iOS & Android have.
• Music integration has been fantastic, you can load up all your iTunes playlist as well spotify which is exactly what I’m doing.
• Has some fun XBox integration so the games you play are displayed.
• It sort of between the strict Apple platform and the loose Android platform, its formed but flexible and I really like the tiles and options of the live tiles.

What I Don’t Like:

• The email display feels wrong, it just doesn’t do a good job of displaying emails no matter what email I use. I think they can do a better job with that.
• They don’t have instagram, I won’t kid myself I’m addicted to it.
• Slow to get the necessary Apps into the App Store, App Store needs some more Apps, not everyone is developing for it yet
• Better integration with Windows 8, I want it seemless, just as Android is integrated with everything Android.

Hardware:

I’m using the HTC 8X and I’m honestly loving it, its a light phone with an excellent camera. And the battery lasts over a 30 hours with a lot of abuse. Even when I was riding over 5 hours in San Diego while listening to Spotify the whole time it only lost 25% of the battery which is insane, if i did it with the Nexus 4 it would have lost 50% and with the iPhone 5 only 20% battery would be left.

My Top Apps

• TVShow – Best TV Show App I have seen, better then anything on iOS or Android
• Weather Flow – Great Weather App
• SkyDrive
• Spotify
• WhatsApp
• NextGen Reader – Fantastic RSS Reader – Displays Images and information perfectly without having to visit the site
• Flixster – For the movie fanatic
• Battery Status – Updated information on your battery
• MyTrips – For the TripIt Addicts, I use it all the time when I travel

Conclusion

Overall I’m honestly loving the windows platform. This phone got a high rating for stability and the long lasting battery and a great selection of Apps. Microsoft have a good thing, they just need to clean up their App store and integarte it with Windows 8. They really are in need of Youtube and Google Maps, there are replacements but they don’t beat out the originals. They built an excellent product I just hope they keep on improving it, and I love that when other phones run out of battery this one is still going. The success of this platform depends on the Apps available and Microsoft knows this, Blackberry failed because of this, thats why they are throwing everything they can at it and hopefully it will keep growing. They have substitute Apps for most of the major ones, but hopefully the major App developers will develop for Windows.

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When Tony Stark’s world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

Link: IMDB
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A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.

Any movie with Mark Walhberg in it I will watch without a second thought, and I’m a huge fan of The Rock, so them two in one movie made for interesting combination. From the trailers I thought it was going to be a comedic action movie with a bunch of body builders, but it turned to be an ironic type of comedy and they really got the 90s right. A slightly darker type of comedy with these guys and things start going wrong quick, I loved it, the movie was deeper and it turned out to be a little more then the trailer had to show which is great. Watch it until the end, you will find out something about the story which is surprising.

Link: IMDB
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