For those of you who have had the phone for the full run since the Verizon release date, how have your opinions improved, worsened, or remained the same about the galaxy s4?
I have had the phone for almost a month now and been through a few roms and have been pleased for the most part. I have gripes with the keyboard and the way the camera is great sometimes and totally worse at others.
I'd say after this long, I am happy with my purchase, but not so happy to the point where I'm not looking at upcoming phones later this year as a possible replacement.
Thoughts after two months?
Sent from my SCH-I545
I came from an S3 so I wasn't expecting a whole new experience but I love my S4. The screen is amazing and it's snappy as hell. No lag. I got the 32 GB one and the fastest 64 GB SD card I could find. Unfortunately I got the update so no rom flashing for me. Oh well, I love it the way it is. I was going to wait for the HTC One but I'm happy with my purchase. I also get way better signal too. When I had my S3 I would always get 3G at work but I always have 4G on my S4. My average battery life is 18H, 49M according to GSAM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
I love my GS4. its perfect for me. Does more then i need. If there was no root i would have been happy with it the way it was but with root and CleanROM installed, i basicly can't run it out of juice in a day, besides, charging is soooo fast anyway. I was also one that never had lag even on stock unrooted so with what i have now being rooted, its even snappier then it was originally. The phone is a beast. Signal is always strong screen is amazing and its the perfect screen size.
Honestly it is an amazing device.. I had it on clean rom for weeks and loved it.. just flashed CM10.1... I am blown away by the lightning fast speed.
I had the s3 as well before this. I've had mine since launch day and love it. I do have typing issues with the keyboard sometimes. Guess I sbould look for a good replacement. I wish it had more haptic feedback though. Doesnt hardly feel like im typing on a touch screen, it's too smooth to the touch. I had htc phones before this and rooting this s4 was 50 times easier.
blwnv8 said:
I had the s3 as well before this. I've had mine since launch day and love it. I do have typing issues with the keyboard sometimes. Guess I sbould look for a good replacement. I wish it had more haptic feedback though. Doesnt hardly feel like im typing on a touch screen, it's too smooth to the touch. I had htc phones before this and rooting this s4 was 50 times easier.
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I recommend SwiftKey keyboard. It's predicting is amazing and creepy at the same time.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
williamweaver said:
I recommend SwiftKey keyboard. It's predicting is amazing and creepy at the same time.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
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Does swiftkey let you use the Google speech engine for voice to text? I have Swype+Dragon and I find the Google engine better in understanding my accent
I came from a droidx to the s4 so i am just amazed at what this phone can do. I am new to ROMs also so i am messing with this phone all day long.....
Coming from a locked down bionic, the lokid S4 is like a wet dream. ... Although, when comparing radios/signal reception, moto dominates Samsung. ..
Also Came from a locked down Bionic. After the JB upgrade that phone turned into hot garbage. The S4 is light years better!!!
reybie said:
Does swiftkey let you use the Google speech engine for voice to text? I have Swype+Dragon and I find the Google engine better in understanding my accent
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Yea it lets you use Google voice to text. SwiftKey also has SwiftKey Flow which is like Swype. SwiftKey has the best predictions of all keywords I've tried because it constantly learns what you type. It looks at your Facebook posts, Google posts and by past texts if you authorize it.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
I came from a 32gb S3 (white) to a 32gb S4 (black).
For me, it's slightly faster, the screen is noticeably better and the battery life (which was already excellent on my s3) is slightly better.
I actually like the "flat" feel of the edges compared to the S3. The camera is phenomenal.
Overall, it's a nice evolutionary step up.
Love it
Download Jelly Bean Keyboard from the dev VLLWP. It fixed every issue I had with the keyboard and more. It's free and there is little to no reason to get the paid version.
After fixing the keyboard, I have zero complaints about the phone. My battery life suffered after the update a bit but now seems to be back to normal which for this phone means I can go two days of light use with my settings the way the are before I plug it in. The only thing I have noticed is that my battery gets eaten up if I am using runkeeper and listening to music. I think it is the combo of GPS and headphones. I'll find a fix eventually. REALLY looking forward to android 5.0 on it this Fall!
I like it a lot more now that the GPS glitches in CM10.1 were resolved.
Disclaimer: I came from a Galaxy Nexus.
Waiting to see how solid the post bootloader lockdown ROMs are. The devs will eventually backport everything that does not require a firmware upgrade. But they will effectively be a port-rebase hybrid since we will not be able to run the stock ROM anymore. 4.3 will be the big test. If the moto x is unlocked like a sort of nexus device, swappa here I come.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
Should I go S4?
Hey guys, it's been a while for me since I've last posted here. Pretty much I'm curious if I should buy the S4? I obviously want the latest and greatest but at the same token, i don't want TouchWiz. It would seem the answer is to just root and flash CyanogenMod but now I'm curious if Cyanogen allows for all features, like 4g & WiFi and full camera features like 1080p recording, to be used without problem. I remember, with my original EVO 4G, I mostly ran Cyanogen but 4g didn't work for a long time and there were a couple of other things that were a problem like 1080p video recording.
Hopefully you get a sense of my question: Can I buy the S4, flash CyanogenMod and use all features of the phone? (I know the eyeball and wave sensors most likely won't work...)
Side note: I got pretty turned off to Android with the purchase of the EVO 3D (my fault, I know). So turned off in fact that the EVO 3D no longer looks like a phone. I am soo tempted to just go iPhone so I don't have to worry about this stuff anymore... I just want ANDROID or bust!
I came from the gnex. Absolutely love this thing. Obviously battery life is 10 times better. I'm in casinos all the time and I almost always have 4g.
My biggest gripe is the lack of development, not that it's the phone's fault
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:18 PM ----------
generalExpert said:
Hey guys, it's been a while for me since I've last posted here. Pretty much I'm curious if I should buy the S4? I obviously want the latest and greatest but at the same token, i don't want TouchWiz. It would seem the answer is to just root and flash CyanogenMod but now I'm curious if Cyanogen allows for all features, like 4g & WiFi and full camera features like 1080p recording, to be used without problem. I remember, with my original EVO 4G, I mostly ran Cyanogen but 4g didn't work for a long time and there were a couple of other things that were a problem like 1080p video recording.
Hopefully you get a sense of my question: Can I buy the S4, flash CyanogenMod and use all features of the phone? (I know the eyeball and wave sensors most likely won't work...)
Side note: I got pretty turned off to Android with the purchase of the EVO 3D (my fault, I know). So turned off in fact that the EVO 3D no longer looks like a phone. I am soo tempted to just go iPhone so I don't have to worry about this stuff anymore... I just want ANDROID or bust!
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I also got the 3d. I actually took my gnex back from the wife when I got iy
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
I'm curious how you mean lack of development? You have CleanROM (stopped at 1.6.5) HyberDrive, Slim Beans, Carbon, CM10.1, Liquid Smooth, Synergy, Eclipse, Google Edition port, Chameleon, PAC-man and a few others im not thinking of im sure.
I can't see a lack of development.
I am coming from the bionic. I actually liked the bionic. I love my s4 except the new update puts a huge damper on things. I was fortunate to have root still and twrp. I am running brands me7 ota so I don't have wi-fi. Once that is fixed it will be perfect for me. I so miss Motorola skin. This is my first Samsung.
Anyone having a problem with screen burn in?
Hey, so I was at best buy the other day looking at the S4 and noticed they all had various degrees of screen burn in. Now, I know these devices are on all day long but I'm curious, do any of you, under normal use, have this problem? There were numbers burnt into the screen from the clock and the top info bar...
Related
Just wanted to give my general impressions on the Note. I'm a former iPhone user and jumped to the skyrocketing in January. I'm a total noob with rooting and flashing but I'm pretty competent with the help of xda. Ended up cracking the screen on the skyrocket and purchased the note last week. I was pretty impressed with it stock for about an hour and couldn't resist rooting.
The Team objection ics rom is out of this world, Unbelievable, 0 bugs, 0 lag, everything is flawless with good battery life to boot. I believe the developer is appdroid and I'd just like to extend my thank you for creating such a piece of artwork.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
Glad you enjoy it, I find rooting is like a plastic surgery, it pleases you for some time but gotta adjust it often. I am all natural my friends, stock with go launcher running. I am more than pleased. Natural 5.3"
Send from the Noteorious BIG 5.3" Bell Canada
My girlfriend was digging the note when she saw it. It appealed to my inner nerd as well. So we went to AT&T and got a couple, she got the white, I got the blue. We are coming from sprint, and have yet to cancel our contract with them. We wanted to give the note and at&t a try before we fully jumped ship on sprint. I think I am ok with the service through at&t, so I am ok with trading sprint in for them.
The note is interesting. I don't like the default browser, it doesn't seem to zoom on web pages effectively, like it doesn't wrap text to make it readable. But I downloaded a new browser and thats fixed. The battery gets me through the work day, but with what I consider medium usage at best, it's only lasting 10 hours, which seems a little low, especially when I hear the ICS update is making the battery even worse.
I was hoping to be a little bit more wow'd by the note. But coming from an HTC evo, to the note isn't nearly the jump of going from my blackberry curve to the evo. I feel like with a phone this big I should be able to do some amazing things with it, but thus far I haven't figured out what it can really do.
It seems like a really great device, I just want to find ways to make it better or make it do more. Once I convince myself to keep the note, I know I will root it and start flashing, so I am sure that will help me scratch an itch. So I am glad to hear you are liking that rom. But I can't start scratching until I know I am keeping the phone. So I need to find ways/things to convince myself.
Mike208 - I am sure battery life will get better. My first android phone was a Samsung Captivate. In the beginning it was good for about 2.5 hours of screen time a day and made it through the day with push email. In the end I would regularly get about 3.5- 4 hours a day and come home with about 55% battery instead of 30%. In time i believe this phone will have a similar life.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
mike208 said:
I was hoping to be a little bit more wow'd by the note. But coming from an HTC evo, to the note isn't nearly the jump of going from my blackberry curve to the evo. I feel like with a phone this big I should be able to do some amazing things with it, but thus far I haven't figured out what it can really do.
It seems like a really great device, I just want to find ways to make it better or make it do more. Once I convince myself to keep the note, I know I will root it and start flashing, so I am sure that will help me scratch an itch. So I am glad to hear you are liking that rom. But I can't start scratching until I know I am keeping the phone. So I need to find ways/things to convince myself.
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Well, what more are you looking for when you got the Note? The GNex is pure Android ICS, the HTC one X selling point was the camera, The iPhone 4S was Siri, and the Note is S-Pen and Huge screen. I never owned the Evo so I dont know what its selling point was but I'd think the 4inch screen to 5.3inch with higher resolution, single core to dual core processor, S-pen, thinner, ICS leaks latest os firmware, and 4G LTE is a jump. I wish the Note could cook us breakfast too but Apple has a patent on it.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
SKyRocKeting727 said:
Well, what more are you looking for when you got the Note? The GNex is pure Android ICS, the HTC one X selling point was the camera, The iPhone 4S was Siri, and the Note is S-Pen and Huge screen. I never owned the Evo so I dont know what its selling point was but I'd think the 4inch screen to 5.3inch with higher resolution, single core to dual core, S-pen, thinner, ICS leaks latest os firmware, and 4G LTE is a jump. I wish the Note could cook us breakfast too but Apple has a patent on it.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
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Well said! I for one have discovered the joys of photography and drawing
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2
@Mike208
Just like you, I tested the Note and ATT's network before jumping from my beloved OG EVO and Sprint. Like stated in the above post, every device has a selling point. The Note's selling point is the 5.3" screen and SPen...which I absolutely love. I would suggest learning how to use the SPen and SMemo. I use these tools often and love what they provide. Also, with my short time with a custom ICS ROM, I was loving what is coming down the pipe with ICS. I only switched back to GB, because I want to wait for the source to be released. Otherwise, ICS will really give this device a boost to the top.
Last, a friend at work just got the LTEVO. I had a chance to play with it for awhile and while it is certainly a great device, I didn't feel any buyers remorse. Since I'm so used to my Note, the LTEVO actually felt a bit to small for my taste. I guess it's true about not going back to a smaller screen, lol.
At the end of the day, I love my Note and can't see me going to another device anytime soon. Oh ATT's network is as fast as they claim too. It was kind of painful to see such a great device on a subpar network...at least until Sprint gets their network running the way it should. I actually have faith in Sprint and I'm rooting for them too.
sag7392 said:
@Mike208
Just like you, I tested the Note and ATT's network before jumping from my beloved OG EVO and Sprint. Like stated in the above post, every device has a selling point. The Note's selling point is the 5.3" screen and SPen...which I absolutely love. I would suggest learning how to use the SPen and SMemo. I use these tools often and love what they provide. Also, with my short time with a custom ICS ROM, I was loving what is coming down the pipe with ICS. I only switched back to GB, because I want to wait for the source to be released. Otherwise, ICS will really give this device a boost to the top.
Last, a friend at work just got the LTEVO. I had a chance to play with it for awhile and while it is certainly a great device, I didn't feel any buyers remorse. Since I'm so used to my Note, the LTEVO actually felt a bit to small for my taste. I guess it's true about not going back to a smaller screen, lol.
At the end of the day, I love my Note and can't see me going to another device anytime soon. Oh ATT's network is as fast as they claim too. It was kind of painful to see such a great device on a subpar network...at least until Sprint gets their network running the way it should. I actually have faith in Sprint and I'm rooting for them too.
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Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I got the phone because of its size. I was originally annoyed at the way the default browser handled web pages, btu fixed that with a new browser. I shouldn't say I am not wow'd with it. Just sayign when I got my evo I played with it and played with it and played with it. I haven't really got the bug to play with the note like that. I am sure its because it's not a new OS, like the evo was for me.
Yes I do need to learn to use the S-pen and S-memo, I don't really use either. My hand writing is not so great, and even worse on this device lol. I am definitely anxious for ICS, or at least to be able to root and flash.
I think I was expecting to do more with all the screen real estate. But obviously the more widgets I add, the worse my battery is. Well I am off to play with it some and see what I can figure out.
Mike208, my friend I think you have it correct. Switching OS's will give you that desire to play and play and play. Like you, I came from a Crackberry and I played with my EVO forever it seemed. So when you update to ICS, it will give you some new things to discover.
On the wow factor was the data speeds! Not to mention the Note is fast stock. I still like to turn on my Note and marvel at the screen, lol.
I say try to learn and use every aspect of this device...it will really surprise you. Good luck and have fun!
And I didn't think you were complaining, just asking questions.
mike208 said:
I think I was expecting to do more with all the screen real estate. But obviously the more widgets I add, the worse my battery is. Well I am off to play with it some and see what I can figure out.
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When your eyeballs get as old as mine, all that screen real estate is wonderful! I don't have to zoom in nearly as far to be able to read it.
I too came from the EVO 4G, and I got that because at the time it had the biggest screen available, now the Note has (well, if you discount the Dell Streak).
My note has replaced both my EVO and my 7" Galaxy Tab (original version), now I only need to carry one device. There are compromises on both ends, but nothing I can’t live with.
I can agree stock is OK but I really wasn't wowed because I came from the ics leak on the skyrocket so I was used to ics for a few months. But the rom with all the s3 features and customizations it owns everything out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
Long time xda lurker and I think this is my first post. Replying here because I too came from sprint with my beloved original evo 4G running cm7. I keep getting offers from friends to buy my evo and I keep turning them down. I think I'm going to throw AOKP on it since it's supported.
Anyway, I live in Dallas/Fort Worth and my 4G speeds were always amazing. Having said that, the biggest wow factor for me with the move to att and the note has been the awesome data speeds. Little stuff, like d/ling a 3 meg app from the market is just ridiculously fast and comparable to my home uverse on the fastest plan.
My battery life is decent if I can keep it out of my fiance's hands and her constant playing of draw something and zombie lane.
I'm using SwiftKey Tablet Beta 3 because I love the word predictions. I was a long time swype user but it seems too inaccurate on the note. That's without the spen.
I'm using go launcher ex even though it is a laborious process finding good themes.
Haven't rooted yet because I've realized it's quite different going from an HTC phone to Samsung and wanted to get comfortable before switching.
Edit: guess this was my 2nd post
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level0 said:
I'm using SwiftKey Tablet Beta 3 because I love the word predictions. I was a long time swype user but it seems too inaccurate on the note. That's without the spen.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
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For Swype to work accurate, you need to turn off languages other than English, ( or whatever you using) in swype settings.
tonybholla said:
I can agree stock is OK but I really wasn't wowed because I came from the ics leak on the skyrocket so I was used to ics for a few months. But the rom with all the s3 features and customizations it owns everything out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
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Click to collapse
Yeah I was considering the S3 because it had some cool sounding features. So I am definitely interested in getting my root/flash on with this note. I may even take a crack at developing my own rom with this bad boy. I would love to see something like Diablos 4 Kornerz rom on the note
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1612933
gotshoaib said:
For Swype to work accurate, you need to turn off languages other than English, ( or whatever you using) in swype settings.
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That does seem to drastically help the accuracy when using Swype with my index finger. I'm going to give it a try again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
One more random thing. I thought I would try and run quadrant just for fun and after killing some background apps and ram using go taskmanager and go power master my stock unrooted note scored a 3100. Not sure if that is impressive or not but seems to be decent given other scores I've come across. Makes me look forward to ics roms even more.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Just tried an interesting experiment. Was running more quadrant tests and my score never got higher than 2500. I realized the only thing different was having swype set as default keyboard. Switched back to SwiftKey and scored 3053 on first try. Food for thought.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
level0 said:
Just tried an interesting experiment. Was running more quadrant tests and my score never got higher than 2500. I realized the only thing different was having swype set as default keyboard. Switched back to SwiftKey and scored 3053 on first try. Food for thought.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quadrant means nothing. I used to get 3000+ on my HD2 (2009 technology) which isn't even an official android device.
I have the note, and I am still within my 30 days....I have been having lots of LAG....not sure but it doesn't seem to happen to everyone. I am thinking about contacting amazon wireless for a replacement. I too am dying to root this thing as I have been running ICS on my T-Mobile G2 for several months and absolutely loved it. My battery life increased by nearly 50% and performance overall increased as well. I did have it OC'd to about 1.5Ghz (from 800Mgz stock)
I am contemplating the SG3 but, yesterday I used a friends SG2 and the 4.5 screen seemed tiny, nearly "non-functional" LOL. The SG2 is much more fluid than my SGN.
Anyone who has had lag issues ...how have you dealt with it?
Crey23 said:
I have the note, and I am still within my 30 days....I have been having lots of LAG....not sure but it doesn't seem to happen to everyone. I am thinking about contacting amazon wireless for a replacement. I too am dying to root this thing as I have been running ICS on my T-Mobile G2 for several months and absolutely loved it. My battery life increased by nearly 50% and performance overall increased as well. I did have it OC'd to about 1.5Ghz (from 800Mgz stock)
I am contemplating the SG3 but, yesterday I used a friends SG2 and the 4.5 screen seemed tiny, nearly "non-functional" LOL. The SG2 is much more fluid than my SGN.
Anyone who has had lag issues ...how have you dealt with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude.. keep the Note and put Team perfection's Objection Rom on it... you will be blown away..
Before I begin please let me say that his is not meant in an way to bash HTC, the Rezound, nor this community in any way. This is simply a review, if you will, comparing the two. I loved the Rezound so I wanted to give my $.02
Let's start with the physical appearance. (I'll including screen review with hardware) There are two things that are quite obvious: The GSIII is, of course, a larger screen at 4.8" with the Rez at a 4.3". The S3 seems to have a smaller bezel in comparison which is certainly made possible due to one thing I've always wanted to have: No Verizon branding on the front. The Galaxy S III simply has "SAMSUNG" resting below the main ear piece and between the LED and the sensors/camera. While the HTC Rezound has four red soft keys at the bottom, the GSIII as an oval home button and that is all you see. When the phone is on, you are greeted with a menu key on the left and back on the right, both giving a soft white glow. I've sat there for about twenty minutes trying to see any kind of outline for the keys and found none. I have to tip my hat to Samsung for making them "discrete."
The Rezound has the power button on the right corner of the top of the phone, making it very easily accessible with it's 4.3" display. The GSIII has the power button on the right side of the phone closer to the top, making it easy to hold your phone and keep your thumb either on or around the button. (The home key is a hard key, not soft, so it can be used to turn your screen on.) The volume rocker is a single piece that can be easily pushed in either direction. While the rocker on the Rezound seemed a bit low profile, the GSIII's sticks out nicely and doesn't give me an trouble.
The back of the GSIII is made of polycarbonate, giving it a nice "firm" feeling instead of the traditional cheap plastic feel. Since you hold the phone more towards the bottom, Samsung has put the speaker next to the camera, whereas the Rezound had it at the bottom. This was never a problem for me with the Rezound due to how I held it, but I no some people aren't a fan, saying it's placement was awkward. I will say that it provides a lot of noise that's clear and doesn't sound too distorted, as opposed to the Rezound where I felt like it was somewhat muted and crackly. The Rez sports a dual-LED flash while the GSIII has a single. Now, while it seems that the flash on the GSIII is brighter, I've noticed a big issue: It sits kind of "low." Because of that, when I have my flash turned on I have light spilling out at the top through the gap between the battery door and the phone. While this isn't bothersome since you can't see it from the front of the phone, it is annoying because it doesn't flow with the polished design that Samsung tried to give.
Now, hardware!
The Galaxy S III has a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU that clocks in at 1.4GHz, while the Rezound uses a Snapdragon S3 clocked in at 1.5GHz. For those that aren't too familiar with CPUs: Even though the Rez is clocked in a .1 higher, the S4 is newer and has the upper hand. The GSIII has 2GB of RAM (while the international version just has 1GB but a quad-core over dual) and the Rezound has 1GB. I've come to quickly realize it's because of how much memory Touchwiz uses. At the moment of me typing this, I have every app closed on my GSIII (minus the launcher) and I have 803MB of my RAM used. That being said, I never run into an issue of almost running out of RAM (I'll get into management later when I review software.)
Both phones use 8MP camera on the rear capable of recording in HD. However, as known, a higher MP count does not automatically mean a better camera. No matter what ROM I use, I seem to have issues getting my GSIII to focus from time to time. Even when I can get it to focus, it just seems that the Rezound takes a slightly better picture. I would post comparison shots but I no longer have my Rezound.
Now, for the screens. The Rez uses a 720p SuperLCD IPS display and packs a whopping 342DPI, making it one of the best displays out. The GSIII uses an HD Super AMOLED with a 720p resolution. While it has a smaller DPI count (320) it provides very crisp (but not as sharp compared to the Rez) images with "true" colors. I did a side-by-side comparison of a few images at full brightness and the GSIII was superior. Now, as I said though, it isn't as "crisp" as the rezound. However, unless you have the phone an inch from your eyes, you can't really tell.
On a side note, I would like to point out that the radio isn't as bad as everyone was saying it is. I've honestly noticed no difference in signal strength from my Rezound to my GSIII.
EDIT: Forgot to talk about battery life. The Rezound has a 1,620mAh battery while the GSIII has a whopping 2,100mAh. The difference is understandable given the screen size. However, I've noticed that with LTE on, screen at max brightness, and all of the motion controls and "Smart" actions, I'll get around 12 hours with a screen on of about 3 1/2 hours and be at about 25-30%. And AOSP battery life just isn't fair lol.
Software! When it boils down to it, we mainly care about our user experience and how quickly we can get things done. Since the GSIII is using newer hardware, I'll just point out features (With Sense 4, to make it fair.)
Sense 4 out of the box is customizable compared to other OEM skins. Being able to swap skins on the fly is very handy. The only issue I ever had was not being able to swap individual components (Navbars, clocks, lock rings, etc.) but still loved the fact that I could. My biggest pet peeve with Sense 4 relates to animations and the fact that they only really happen when you're using Rosie. If you use Rosie and open Messages, you get something along the lines of a flying out animation. A simple animation that's nice, but I don't know why HTC restricted it to Rosie. Stock TouchWiz implements the AOSP ICS animations that are very fluid, giving the UI a nice snappy-feel while keeping it smooth. When it comes to sharing in Sense 4, you have a lot of standard options. An example being Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Email, Picasa...but I always hated that it missed a simple one system-wide: Texting. I wasn't a fan of how it was selective about what you could share via text (such as facebook photos and photos from different websites) so I have to give this one to TouchWiz seeing as it gives you every option you can think of at all times.
While Sense 4 does provide a nice user experience with the apps included and how you can stream (just as on previous iterations), Samsung upped the ante for all other OEMs with a flood of amazing user-friendly features (possibly in response to Apple saying "You don't innovate.") Your GSIII is sitting in another room and you get a text? As soon as you come back and pick up your phone, it will vibrate to let you know you have a notification then flash a blue LED to let you know it's a text. Get a text that says "Call me?" you just swing your phone up to your ear and the phone will automatically call that person (can also be done while just viewing the contact.) You have the ability to be playing a video on your phone and just have it "popped up" in the corner of your screen so you can watch it while, say, typing an e-mail. The limitation I've noticed is it has to be a video saved on your phone. Another interesting thing I've found is being able to set the vibration pattern for a single contact or groups. You have a few stock patterns but have the option to make your own very easily. The way the S3's task manager handles things seems to be a bit more solid than others. I never notice an choking of my system. Doesn't matter much, seeing as a fresh application still loads like it had been quietly running the entire time.
In short, Sense 4 is a great UI experience compared to earlier versions of Blur, Touchwiz, and Sense itself. But Samsung really went the extra step with "Nature UX" to blow the competition out of the water. While I do understand that many don't like the color scheme of Touchwiz/Nature UX (whatever you want to call it.) but it is by far the best UI I've ever dealt with. It's smooth, VERY smooth and provides features that simply make you and your phone feel more connected.
This all being said and done, I love this phone. How it feels in my hand, the styling of it, the hardware. I haven't had a Samsung since the first Omnia running WM 6.1 and I have to say I'm more than impressed and very happy.
Thank you for this, make me more jelly lmao
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Funny thing is i went to nexus after having the rezound. Nexus was great but random service drops got me sooo annoyed. So i bought a gs3 yesterday. Little do you know a jb leak with radios comes out and i havent dropped service yet. Now my nexus is a great phone. But i might return my gs3 maybe not i like newer toys. But great review. The rez screen beats both imo tho
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Thadrow said:
Funny thing is i went to nexus after having the rezound. Nexus was great but random service drops got me sooo annoyed. So i bought a gs3 yesterday. Little do you know a jb leak with radios comes out and i havent dropped service yet. Now my nexus is a great phone. But i might return my gs3 maybe not i like newer toys. But great review. The rez screen beats both imo tho
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I turned down the Nexus and went for a GSIII. That and I heard the III had better battery life so I figured "why not?" I don't think a leak has come out for the GS3 for Jellybean. Well, one has for the T-Mobile version but not Verizon's. Glad to hear it helped you out, though. And thanks! Yeah. The viewing angle and sharpness are better, but I love color depth, so I'm sold. First time I pulled up Power Amp on my GSIII my eyes were in love haha. The main theme is black with blue trim so it looks stunning.
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least now i know what to tell people when they ask me what's a new good phone.
RoryHe said:
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least know i know what to tell people when asking me for what new phone's are good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe, but I think it goes here too. Many people are talking about the GS3, so it is good to hear what a Rezound owner thinks.
RoryHe said:
I think this would be more appropriate in the SIII forum possibly, if people wanted to find out more about the SIII i don't think they would go here.
edit: well at least know i know what to tell people when asking me for what new phone's are good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you see the are you switching to the gs3 thread? This could of went there but pointing out that it's relevant.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
blestsol said:
Did you see the are you switching to the gs3 thread? This could of went there but pointing out that it's relevant.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be me but I don't understand what you just said.
When I get mine ill post a review in here.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
RoryHe said:
It might be me but I don't understand what you just said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a popular thread talking about moving to the gs3. This thread could of just been added in that thread. I'm pointing this out to show you that the thread is relevant and people do care, even though it's the rezound forum.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
blestsol said:
There's a popular thread talking about moving to the gs3. This thread could of just been added in that thread. I'm pointing this out to show you that the thread is relevant and people do care, even though it's the rezound forum.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people just automatically think that because a thread is about a different phone that it's the worst thing in the world, even if it is to inform people. You're probably right, though. Can a mod just move the OP into that thread or should I just flag this one to be deleted and post the review in that thread?
Love the hardware... hate the software... miss my sense 4 roms.... but one glaring issue that has me contemplating selling and going bk to using my rezound as my dd is the radios are horrid.... constant data drops and slow speeds are killer on this phone... and yespecially I've tested in about 4 huge markets across t he us.... so def miss my rezound in certain aspects
Sent from my unlocked VZW Galaxy SIII
vdChild said:
Love the hardware... hate the software... miss my sense 4 roms.... but one glaring issue that has me contemplating selling and going bk to using my rezound as my dd is the radios are horrid.... constant data drops and slow speeds are killer on this phone... and yespecially I've tested in about 4 huge markets across t he us.... so def miss my rezound in certain aspects
Sent from my unlocked VZW Galaxy SIII
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just love the simplicity of TouchWiz, really lol. I can understand different tastes. Just send your S3 in to Samsung (if you have warranty.) I have great service with mine. I found out I'm pulling faster speeds, actually. I managed to hit 39.6/14.1
Glad the OP likes his new phone but I always get the feeling when I read things like this whether the person is trying to convince him or herself rather than us that they made a good purchase. Don't get me wrong, I think we all have that need especially when it comes to electronics. It's funny to see how the GNote2 blows the GS3 out of the water already so shortly after the latter's release and if the rumors are true about LG's next superphone it seems like we will only have to wait a short while before the latest Galaxies are a distant memory again. If only I was a celebrity..I'd show my face on each and every one of these new device announcements just to get the freebies.
@ all: I would just remind you a couple of things:
1st Do not try to make Mod job, if you don't like a thread just refrain yourself to post no sense words.
2nd Moderate your language, words like dbag or fag are not tollerated against another user.
Thank you.
I see ive been moderated.......oops!
Anyway, thanks for posting the review. Ive been looking at the gs3 too.
I think we all knew how this story, ahem review was going to turn out. I doubt a flagship device such as the SG3 was going to lose out in this comparison. Just the fact that its a shiny new toy wins it a few brownie points. That being said I think the rezound still holds up well after almost a year since release, and now that we have kernel source and fully functional AOSP on the near horizon our little device has never looked better
You're in denial. Switched myself and 100x faster, cool as all get out and oh the screen.: ) and stable cm 10. The rezzy was great but I must say you can't say the s3 isn't baller
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
The galaxy nexus is also a good option to switch to. The new jellybean radios are nothing short of a miracle. No data drops, crazy speeds, and great reception now. Its smoother than touchwiz especially on jellybean. New radios also improved battery a ton. They are also much more likely to exchange a defective rezound for the nexus as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
blackhand1001 said:
The galaxy nexus is also a good option to switch to. The new jellybean radios are nothing short of a miracle. No data drops, crazy speeds, and great reception now. Its smoother than touchwiz especially on jellybean. New radios also improved battery a ton.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gotta agree here. With the radio kinks worked out, I'm tempted to find the nearest nexus on craigslist. No way am I paying retail price.
Hey everyone. I know this has been beaten to death but I'm having hard time making a decision.
I have had an AT&T HTC One for the past week or so. I'm very happy with the phone and have had really no issues. I'm running 4.2.2 in it and am happy. Problem is I am seriously considering switching to the s4.
There are some features the s4 offers that I really like. (multi-view, flip to ignore, etc.)
I had One X switched to the s3 then to an iphone 5 but missed android so came back and got the HTC One. Like I said I like the one. The button layout doesn't bother me although I do like the physical home button on the S. The speakers are awesome and the screen is very nice.
I just don't know what to do. I still have time to swap it for an S before my 14 days expire but don't want to regret switching.
Opinions???
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
my opinion is you posted in htc one's turf so ull be getting a lot of don't bother swiching
In the same boat...I've actually got an S4 and a One right now, (the S4 goes to the wife at the end of the week) and I just can't decide if I like the S4 over the One. Both phones are fantastic, but the S4 has a few significant advantages to me that make me want to switch, but the One has other items that make me want to stay. I've got until Friday and it is just driving me nuts.
Here are my deciding factors, just in case they might help you out.
S4 Positives: a real customizable notification light, bigger screen (i also prefer OLED for the deeper blacks), side power button, camera outdoor performance, battery life is greater
One Positives: speakers (tho can be bad because even on the lowest level they are LOUD), camera speed and low light performance, build quality
So yeah...a few for each and I just have to decide which ones are most important to me.
I swapped out my One for an s4 today.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Gromet said:
I swapped out my One for an s4 today.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any regrets? I did the same and ended up buying another htc one.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
No regrets so far. Actually really liking the S4 so far. The stock keyboard seems much easier to type one compared to the one for me. Liking some of the features a lot, especially multi-view. Screen is nice. I got the 32 gig version and have a 64 gig SD card in as well so plenty of storage.
Gromet said:
No regrets so far. Actually really liking the S4 so far. The stock keyboard seems much easier to type one compared to the one for me. Liking some of the features a lot, especially multi-view. Screen is nice. I got the 32 gig version and have a 64 gig SD card in as well so plenty of storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please read through the s4 vs Htc one threads in both forums.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
I spent 2 weeks going back and forth between the 2 phones and I'm a rep for AT&T, so I got to play with them both all day. I even had the One as my work phone for a week (not allowed to root work phone). I finally made my choice to make the HTC one my personal phone based on these reasons:
1) This is the main reason, I want my top of the line phone to be snappy and as fast as the specs say it should be. The S4 has horrible lag. Now when i say this, I'm the type of person that notices the small things. But I actually felt at times that the S4 got "stuck" on things (like switching from portrait to landscape) more so than my S3.
2) Media: Can't beat the speakers. And as for the camera, sure zooming in isnt as good as the S4 BUT the pictures are a lot less blurry on moving targets. I have kids and they move. What's the point in 13 MP if I can't see their faces? I hear the S4 is better to watch videos on screen wise. I didn't notice much difference. But having the speakers face me on the One was a plus.
3) The novelty on the S4 features, like eye scroll, wore off fast. Not only that, I had to turn then off to help the phone stop lagging. After a while, I honestly felt that all I was holding was an S3 with a better screen.
3.5) Sense 5 has a different keyboard and browser from the previous versions. Not only did it feel much different from my older HTCs, but for the first time I found myself using the STOCK keyboard and browser.
4) Screen Burn in. Just Google screen burn in on S4. And seeing all the super AMOLED screens have words burn in them from being on the AT&T display wall turned me off.
5) Development community: this sealed it for me. The hardware on the One is the same in the US as it is internationally. That means more development options. Also, there were a few trolls who owned S4s (especially on the AT&T side) who were really annoying and immature. The HTC One community, both US and International are awesome. Great people here.
Now I'm not bashing the S4, and if it seems like I'm nitpicking, that's because I am. Like I said, it took me 2 weeks of constant comparing to come to these conclusions. And at the end of it all, I felt like it was the HTC One, not the S4, that I couldn't bare the thought of not having.
Hope this helps buddy!
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I have to completely agree with our ATT friend who is covered exactly the reasons why I switched to the One. Let me also add this to it.
I was an iPhone user since the iPhone 3G. I finally switched to Android with the One. Used it for about a week and loved it but saw all those S4 features and thought that's the phone. I jumped and switched and thought it is going to be great. After using the S4 for about two days I knew exactly why I didn't like Androids. It lags, the features are gimmicky and drain the battery. They don't work with all applications either.
Long story long, I switched back to HTC One and haven't had to modify or root this one because this phone is fast and responsive as it is. (I did root and install and subsequently uninstall bunch of mods)
Almost all benchmarks will tell you that S4 is faster, but unfortunstely the real world usage will reveal otherwise. I did feel that's the S4 was easier and lighter to hold.
I personally think that HTC One beats iPhone 5 (using mine as iPod now) but S4 doesn't hold a candle to either.
Sent from my HTC One
Daneshmand said:
I have to completely agree with our ATT friend who is covered exactly the reasons why I switched to the One. Let me also add this to it.
I was an iPhone user since the iPhone 3G. I finally switched to Android with the One. Used it for about a week and loved it but saw all those S4 features and thought that's the phone. I jumped and switched and thought it is going to be great. After using the S4 for about two days I knew exactly why I didn't like Androids. It lags, the features are gimmicky and drain the battery. They don't work with all applications either.
Long story long, I switched back to HTC One and haven't had to modify or root this one because this phone is fast and responsive as it is. (I did root and install and subsequently uninstall bunch of mods)
Almost all benchmarks will tell you that S4 is faster, but unfortunstely the real world usage will reveal otherwise. I did feel that's the S4 was easier and lighter to hold.
I personally think that HTC One beats iPhone 5 (using mine as iPod now) but S4 doesn't hold a candle to either.
Sent from my HTC One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it my friend. I almost succumbed to the gimmicks as well, only to find that they were the very things causing me to lean towards the One.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
One or S4 are two excellent mobilephone, i aslo want to own .but my salary could afford , so i just choose One. if you really like S4, you could buy it.
Gromet said:
I swapped out my One for an s4 today.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing and never looked back since then !
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
dbdynsty25 said:
In the same boat...I've actually got an S4 and a One right now, (the S4 goes to the wife at the end of the week) and I just can't decide if I like the S4 over the One. Both phones are fantastic, but the S4 has a few significant advantages to me that make me want to switch, but the One has other items that make me want to stay. I've got until Friday and it is just driving me nuts.
Here are my deciding factors, just in case they might help you out.
S4 Positives: a real customizable notification light, bigger screen (i also prefer OLED for the deeper blacks), side power button, camera outdoor performance, battery life is greater
One Positives: speakers (tho can be bad because even on the lowest level they are LOUD), camera speed and low light performance, build quality
So yeah...a few for each and I just have to decide which ones are most important to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll quote myself to say that after the 14 days, I still really don't have a good answer to this dilema but the HTC One and Beats pill speaker for $99 sealed it for me. I like both phones A LOT, but the slight sluggishness on the S4 is what ultimately swayed me towards the one, even before I saw the link for the deal.
I'm wanting to switch back to the HTC One. Why did you guys choose the One over the SGS4???
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I fell in love with the One the instant I saw one. I came from the sgs 3 and the 4 was just more of the same.
Because the GS4 is laggier than the S2. And flashing roms and doing things that require LOKI was aggravating. Sense is soooo much better than touchwiz. Boomsound.
I could keep going but your just going to have to trust me. The HTC ONE is so much better of a phone.
Camera, Zoes and Highlights. Taking photos/vids of my daughter and sharing them is actually fun. The awesome screen, speakers and build are just icing on the camera cake.
It's prettier.
I went to Best Buy planning on getting the GS4. Played with it for a good 10 minutes. Felt laggy, screen was really dim, internal memory was low, although it was light and had minimum bezel...I didn't like the design patterns. So I decided to look at the HTC One...felt smooth and really responsive. The front speakers were amazing (boom sound). Camera took faster snapshots than the s4. Internal memory was all there. The build quality and design pretty much won me over. I was really surprised because I walked into the store ready to pickup the S4 but ended up walking out with the ONE.
Sent from the Hottest Phone of 2013 (HTC One)
The galaxy s4 was rushed out, it is pre-production quality right now until they get some updates rolled out. Not to mention the cat and mouse bootloader games... if I wanted to deal with that I would stick exclusively to an iPhone
More of the same with GS4
I've had a GS3 since July of last year and while I loved the phone, I couldn't justify upgrading to a GS4 cause it was just more of the same thing.. The HTC One is my first HTC phone and in my opinion, it's the perfect phone.. Storage is not an issue and it just became a problem on the GS3 as the phone would not store anything on the sd card unless I myself placed it in there..
The S4 and the One are almost a tossup in my opinion (anybody would be almost equally satisfied with either one). I went with the one because:
1.) All I care about is the "Google Edition" I'll have it on my phone as soon as its available HTC Seemed to provide the least problems here, with their unlock capabilities/HTCDev and what not.
2.) After you take away all the features you'll potentially lose in AOSP, I still have front stereo speakers and aluminum body on the One - but on the S4 I'd lose most of the selling points.
3.) Little fragmentation between carriers/international/dev editions. (Easier for others and myself to support a wider range of devices in any development efforts)
Things I miss about the S4
1.) Wireless charging capabilities (with purchase)
2.) Better button layout
Things others probably miss about the S4
1.) Battery life (not a problem here, the one makes it through the day for me - I also have plenty of opportunities to plug it in during the day if need be)
2.) Camera (I rarely use the camera on my devices)
This is from a app developer's perspective - also someone who enjoys making kernel modifications for android/desktop devices
Thanks for the info here. I will be trading in this S4 today. Hoping it is the One!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
The voices in my head told me to...
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
ealvinito said:
I'm wanting to switch back to the HTC One. Why did you guys choose the One over the SGS4???
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love them both, but the constant lag on the GS4 is what keeps driving me back to the One.
gunnyman said:
I fell in love with the One the instant I saw one. I came from the sgs 3 and the 4 was just more of the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My exact scenario and I share the same sentiment.
Plastic Samsung phone feels cheap. Nuff said.
Sent from my Nexus 7
I wanted iPhone feel and speed. But in an Android package.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Well I've always had HTC phones since my T-Mobile dash (HTC Excalibur) and I was very tempted on the s4 to be my very first non HTC smart phone but couldn't get over the styling of it. The one just looks so much better and speakers up front are a no brainer makes so much sense versus cupping your hand behind the phone to hear it... My girlfriend got a gs4 tho and it is noticeably slower... Not always but once in a while you hit menu and it takes a few seconds longer to where you think you missed the button or you hit a link and go to hit it again just as the page changes and you hit something on the next page etc.... When I use my One all day and grab her phone for something it's very noticeable. I like all her ui customizations but it seems like HTC went with a more refined bug free ui with options coming in an update where as Samsung sacrificed quality for features at launch. Both great phones tho for sure.
I had the s4 and it was super laggy before the update but was fixed with the ota. It also lacked any luster and just felt super cheap! The HTC is awesome performs well and has a great stock keyboard. Boom sound is awesome and the LCD screen on the one puts the gs4 to shame!!! The only thing I found to be better on the gs4 was battery life but it wasn't by much and not enough to convince me to keep it.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
sal1311 said:
I had the s4 and it was super laggy before the update but was fixed with the ota. It also lacked any luster and just felt super cheap! The HTC is awesome performs well and has a great stock keyboard. Boom sound is awesome and the LCD screen on the one puts the gs4 to shame!!! The only thing I found to be better on the gs4 was battery life but it wasn't by much and not enough to convince me to keep it.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lag was most definitely NOT fixed by the OTA. While slightly better, it still permeates the experience. I should know. I occasionally pop my sim back in and use it until it pisses me off and drives me back to the One.
I do NOT have a lot of widgets or applications running in the background. But I noticed that the RAM dips down below 300mb and when it does, it starts to run even worse. Compared to the One and the LG Optimus G Pro, neither of which lag at all regardless of how low the RAM gets.
Yes there is definitely lag after the ota update. I still believe it is a software issue. But I don't have to worry about it because my One runs super smooth!
Sent from the "ONE" for me
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Let me add a number
4- LG G2- beautiful screen, what looks to be a great battery life and good camera, great speaker and edge to edge screen but will there be developers working on it to get CM or other aosp roms , and the UI looks worse than tw. Just unknown right now
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
luvtorev said:
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
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Click to collapse
GS4 has been nothing but great for me.. I wouldn't trade it for ANY of the other phones I've had in the past. The experience thus far has been second to none. One man's opinion. Battery life alone is a deal maker. On the other hand the camera is pretty darn good and the physical size and feel to me is perfection. Super thin and light. Even with a case it's noticeably lighter than my Rezound was stock. To me it's a no brainer.
I have a GS4 on stock unrooted firmware. It is easily the best experience I've had with Android. The 1080 screen is nothing short of phenomenal. I wasn't sure if I would notice anything over 720 (my GS3, N2, GNex) but there's definitely something to be appreciated.
As far as battery life, I get anywhere from 4-6 hours of screen on time. About 20-23 hours of total battery life, hitting the red at about 20 - that's without the power saving mode (lower brightness, adjust screen time, under clock from 1.9GHz to 1.3GHz). Coming from a GNex I'm sure you can appreciate the nightmare that is battery life on it.
Performance wise, even with TouchWiz this phone flies. Enable Force GPU Rendering and it's about as fluid as it gets.
Long story short, you may come to miss AOSP, but with minor customization you can at least simulate the experience. I say go for it.
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I love my GS4 but make sure if you want to put any Roms on it to make sure its on the mdk build and don't accept the update. Get home and root right away. Also I originally got the 16 and ended up returning for the 32 gig. I had problems with SD card unmounting so I just rather not mess with it. Both my phones shipped from there warehouse with mdk builds.
Are the aosp builds stable for the gs4? What's broken?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I'm on a very recent cm 10.1 nightly (8/07 I think). There is a call audio hanging thing, but that seems to be fixed by a phone apk that is around page 123ish of the official nightly thread. Other than that and the horrendous bluetooth stack in aosp 4.2.2, it is very stable and everything seems to work.
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luvtorev said:
Are the aosp builds stable for the gs4? What's broken?
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I've been running liquidsmooth for a few weeks now and everything works perfectly...very fast and responsive, GPS works, great battery life, awesome customization, the whole nine.
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perceptualdoor said:
I've been running liquidsmooth for a few weeks now and everything works perfectly...very fast and responsive, GPS works, great battery life, awesome customization, the whole nine.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
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That is what I wanted to know. So there are no problems with GPS, camera, any FC's, battery life, data issues and or any screen flickering, right?
Thanks again for all the input. Keep chiming in
If you are not a big flasher, I say wait for the Moto X. The S4 has the developer software but is it really worth paying more for software.
CM, aokp, and other ROMs have milestones that are stable. You can also go that route.
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luvtorev said:
That is what I wanted to know. So there are no problems with GPS, camera, any FC's, battery life, data issues and or any screen flickering, right?
Thanks again for all the input. Keep chiming in
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Nope, no problems...running liquidsmooth 2.9 and it's phenomenal.
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I went from the gnex to the s4 this week and a after just a few days I am in the same place as you were with your s3. The hardware improvement is fantastic and the battery life issue being gone from my life is almost worth it by itself. But I really miss the stock experience and especially the experience I had in the two weeks with 4.3, which made the gnex like a new phone again. Not being able to flash a stock rom is driving me crazy (the phone was being updated to me7 before I even left the store). I'd wait to see how the Moto X looks to you before you jump in on this one
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ntb81 said:
I went from the gnex to the s4 this week and a after just a few days I am in the same place as you were with your s3. The hardware improvement is fantastic and the battery life issue being gone from my life is almost worth it by itself. But I really miss the stock experience and especially the experience I had in the two weeks with 4.3, which made the gnex like a new phone again. Not being able to flash a stock rom is driving me crazy (the phone was being updated to me7 before I even left the store). I'd wait to see how the Moto X looks to you before you jump in on this one
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4
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So you understand going from stock android to TW is a tough move for some. So far I am really liking the moto X from all the reviews but Im still having a hard time to pay full asking for its hardware when compared to the other high end phone, because remember I will have to buy my next phone out right or used depending on what I decide to go with. I decided and have put my note 2 on craigslist for sale. I love the note but the phone is a bit too big at times.
I'm really liking all the hardware on the LG G2 but like I said earlier I'll have to wait and see if there is going to be devs working on it. Droid Maxx may also be a good pick due to its software and huge battery. After owning a Gnex you understand how battery life on your next phone needs to be like. The GS4 sounds looks really good too, maybe I'll just do a straight up trade with the note 2 for a GS4.
leyvatron said:
If you are not a big flasher, I say wait for the Moto X. The S4 has the developer software but is it really worth paying more for software.
CM, aokp, and other ROMs have milestones that are stable. You can also go that route.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
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This is part of my problem, I love to flash different roms and try them out. So the newer update on the GS4 breaks rooting, correct? If I'm going to go with anything else other the GS4 I'll have to wait and see what the devs will be able to root, that is also an important note to take, at least for me.
Get the Developer Edition
luvtorev said:
I would like to hear what you guys would do so read on. Here is a little background story.
So I have hadddd the galaxy nexus since it came out on verizon and love the stock feel and look. Six months ago I had a problem with my nexus and verizon sent me a GS3 which was an amazing phone compared to the nexus hardware wise. The battery was way better, the screen seem so much brighter, speaker much louder and did I say the batter was way better yet? So I kept the GS3 for about a month and a half and eneded up buying another galaxy nexus off craigs list Why you ask? Because I missed the stock experience even thou the GS3 was better in hardware I still loved the stock experience. I did flash aosp on the GS3 but there was always something that wasn't working properly and I'm sure you all know the feeling. Then about a month ago I sold the GS3, kept the Gnex and had an opportunity of buying a Note 2. Same thing here, huge batter life (lasted me about a day and a half), huge screen and loud speakers, pretty much a GS3 on steroids, and lastly it's very big so I would like something a little smaller. Here I am again finding my self using my Gnex all the time and the note 2 sitting. Why you ask? Stock experience is what I like best (my opinion). So here is what I have learned. I love stock android and I have realized that I have been flashing CM sine the HTC EVO, battery life is very important specially after owning a note 2 you get spoiled not having to look at battery percentage all day no matter how hard you use the phone, and a good camera.
Here is what I'm thinking since I'm on verizon with unlimited data:
Sell the Note 2 to get (and please tell me about your experience with the GS4)
1-Galaxy s4 (developer edition or the normal verzion phone?) - great hardware, camera, battery life? you tell me since you guys own it. And lastly how are the 4.2.2 and 4.3 rom ports to this phone since there is a GPE with same hardware, what are the problems with it if any or is it a perfect port?
2-Droid Maxx - close to stock android and great batter life, the bad side you have locked down bootloader and capacitive buttons
3-Moto X- love the form factor, close to stock android,same as droid maxx, on screen keys which I love but still dont know about batter life
In the end I am thinking about getting the GS4 due to its large batter, awsome screen and speaker and I would like to run aosp only on this phone if you guys who are running it could give me feedback on the roms out there I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
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Get the galaxy s4 dev edition straight from samsung. I have the normal verizon version and had to return it after a hard brick and they sent me the me7 updated version With the dev version you wont ever have to worry about a locked bootloader and have free reign to flash as you desire. There are sooooo many awesome roms for the device already and they just keep getting better. The sheer power of the s4 makes its possibilities pretty endless. So yeah. I suggest the dev edition s4. Hope this helps you in your quest for pure awesomeness!
Edit: if you werent aware the vruame7 update to the verizon s4 completely blocks custom recovery and an unsecure bootloader. There is no fix or workaround at this time. Root has been achieved but if you like custom roms the update is a huge downer.
luvtorev said:
This is part of my problem, I love to flash different roms and try them out. So the newer update on the GS4 breaks rooting, correct? If I'm going to go with anything else other the GS4 I'll have to wait and see what the devs will be able to root, that is also an important note to take, at least for me.
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Unfortunately for me, the way I feel about it is this.
If the boot loader isn't unlocked before 6 months of the phone release, then I am NO way selling it for a DEV Edition phone.
I would be selling the SG4, and getting the HTC One (granted it comes to VZW)
as I know that S-OFF will most likley come (basically boot loader unlock)
and if not, HTC and Verizon have a set up called HTC-Dev.
Once you purchase your phone you can go to the HTC-Dev website and unlock your phone, (voiding warranty of coarse, but I've sent them back with this plenty times)
I would rather buy a phone I can get on contract price and unlock it like with HTC, than buy the Dev Edition off contract.
The bounty is a getting higher and higher, hopefully someone will claim their well deserved pot O' gold.
Take the Galaxy S4 Google (Developer) Edition, beacuse the updates are managed by Google and not from Samsung.
So, you have always the latest update
davidebeatrici said:
Take the Galaxy S4 Google (Developer) Edition, beacuse the updates are managed by Google and not from Samsung.
So, you have always the latest update
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Google edition is not the same thing as the developer edition. The google edition is only available for AT&T and t-mobile. It's sold by Google, while the developer edition has Verizon bands available sold by samsung
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JaeKay said:
Google edition is not the same thing as the developer edition. The google edition is only available for AT&T and t-mobile. It's sold by Google, while the developer edition has Verizon bands available sold by samsung
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Thanks for the explanation
I have had my Gs4 for a mouth and a half and love it. The biggest difference would be its not stock android. But if your willing to root then you could flash the Google edition that Dubbsy has ported over to Verizon. Also if you don't want to worry about battery life you could buy a extended battery or an extra stock battery with a wall charger and carry that battery around. I currently run a ZeroLemon 7500 mAh extended battery and get 2 to 2 1/2 days of battery.
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