Why HTC One Series are better than the Samsung Note Series

There is no doubt about it that the Samsung Note is a remarkable phone and especially worthwhile for people who are productive and like to multi-task. In fact, no other phone has release concepts that allow for such multi-tasking features. For example, in some versions of the Note, users may choose to draw a square on any screen they are using, then open two separate applications in that square while leaving the third application in the background. So essentially, a user could be reading an article, watching a video, and sending a message without switching back and forth between applications. Phones like the LG has come close to providing similar multi-task with drawers that stores prior functions and applications, but still cannot be compared to the usefulness of the multi-tasking features of the Note. Samsung has also done a very good job of presenting a nice feel to the note, and there is something about taking out a pen and making notes on a screen that becomes addictive to a man with a smartphone. While the note has its strengths and it is unbeaten in the ways it allows multitasking to happen, it is lacking in several regards pertinent to productivity when compared to the HTC one series.

Now wait a darn minute you might say, the HTC one isn’t a preferred device for the majority. This might be true, but that is because Samsung does a very good job at marketing and frankly, detonated “the next big thing” phenomenon in the public’s face-a move which gave them grounds to stand alongside Apple immediately. But if productivity and multitask is the Note’s claim to fame, it is still is beaten by the HTC is many aspects. We will not touch on hardware and specifications in this piece (See here for our comparison of specs for the HTC One M9 to the Note 4).

One thing that the Note does well is through the affordance of its air command menu. Taking out the pen provides the user with different menus to draw on the screen, take notes, or screen capture parts of, or the entire screen. This is a powerful feature for many users across professional industries who may need to make notes or references to documents and applications that they need for later, or that they share with others. Where this is lacking however, is that for those who are truly productive will probably use other applications that they find to be productive. Samsung gives the user an action memo, a notebook, a screen write option, and a smart select option when the pen is released. To allow true productivity, all these applications could be loaded into one app, and the user is given the option to choose the one that s/he needs by going into the app. That would free space to add the other productivity tools that users may want. After all, there is only so much that can be added to the menu. So while they do receive ratings for allowing some efficiency than most platforms currently- Samsung still lost points here for limiting the ways productivity can take place. The hardware and software features are still comparable to other devices-so this can be the only claim to fame for the Note series- The ability to multi-task and the ways it affords productivity.
The HTC on the other hand provides a different type of experience. While the HTC One series is not listed as a productivity device, it does have many subtle ways of allowing productivity that are entirely useful to the multi-tasker. For example, if necessary notes stored in the calendar can take you to another application while opening the calendar entry in the new application. Say you have a reminder in the calendar to call the bank at a particular time. You save the number for the bank and the name of the person, your account number, and maybe even the reason why you needed to call in the first place-because-you know-your forgetful. By clicking on the number within the calendar-your call app opens, you make the call, and within the call screen you can see all the details for that calendar entry without leaving that menu or switching back and forth to the calendar. A recent survey done at schools throughout New York showed that 35% of high school students, 53% of college students, and more than 80% of all professionals use their calendar for reminders daily. Maybe New Yorkers are just forgetful in general, but if you are with that crowd, HTC helps you to function effectively.

Another useful feature offered by HTC is the means of accessing information about contacts from the call screen. Approximately 46% of smartphone users store additional info aside from just the phone numbers to the profile for that contact in their phones. Some users store addresses for example, or email addresses and notes like account numbers, log-in info, and other information pertinent to that contact. While making a call, one of the options on the screen is to actually access the contact directly so that the user may view or edit the information for that contact. For forgetful New Yorkers, that means no more searching around for your security word and passphrase every time you call the credit card company. And-if you have Verizon Fios you can choose to impress the representative when you call by actually giving them your account number instead of your precious social. Everything can be stored and viewed for a particular contact while on a call- including birthdays and special events. Even if you do not live in NY you might still find this useful as almost every single company has stringent password requirements that sometimes change periodically. It is hard to remember them all without taking notes or storing them somewhere. Throughout our tests, we have not found a device with similar features. If you do, please feel free to leave us a note below.

The HTC Note option is also pretty handy as you may save notes on the fly and access them in multitasking ways afterwards. You may get a call or message and want to add details to a note. You may be in a meeting and want to scribble, take a picture or simple audio record information for later. Along with the calendar options, the note is comparable to what is being offered through the note-just without the pen and the air-view.

We have also mentioned HTC’s inclusion of a number of widgets for their clients. While this has decreased with newer models recently, HTC has a lot more functional widgets for the productive mind than Samsung has provided. Forget about being able to customize each screen differently which in itself is an advantage. There are email, messages, calendar, contacts, calculators, and other functional widgets that can be operated from the home screen that saves users time from entering the application directly. While the Note provides a limited number, users can really go above and beyond by accessing multifunction through widgets on their home screens. Flipping through messages for example, or previewing an email if you’re not sure who it’s from is afforded through widgets that saves you time in searching for particular content, or alerting someone that you opened that message. There are many other ways Widgets provide functionality and HTC has gone above and beyond in this regard.

So, in conclusion- Samsung did not get it all right with their productivity tools. HTC One’s widgets and in app functions that allow interactions and interrelations with other apps make it a more productive device than the Samsung Note. Now we know that we are about to hear it. Leave your comments below and let us know if you agree or disagree.