Has sony topped samsung as the best phone maker?

[Pemalite]

VanceIX said:

A lot of people care what the outer shell looks like. If I get a $650 device, I damn well expect it to look and feel premium. The build quality was the reason I went with the original HTC One instead of the S4, and the reason I will go with the Z3 when it comes out instead of the S6. 

And trust me, the plastic on the S5 costs a lot less than the aluminum on the One or the glass and metal on the Z2. 

I am confident enough that I have more than enough self-esteem and non-care factor that someone elses opinion on whether something feels/looks good isn't going to deter me from using/buying a product that I will enjoy.

Plastic, Aka, Polycarbonate can feel as every bit as premium as metal, you just need to use a high-end Lumia with it's full-body plastic shell.
Plastic has several advantages over metal bodies, especially in regards to signal strength, metal attenuates the signal far more than plastic, that's a law in physics that you simply can't get around, you can always boost the signal strength more by throwing more electricity at the problem, but thats at the expense of battery life.

There are also plastics that "self heal" thus if you DO get a nasty, ugly scratch/dent it will heal itself.

Converesly, I don't know about anyone else, but every smartphone I have ever bought has lived inside of a cover, thus making the material and durability arguments, literally a non-issue.