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Samsung Galaxy S4 (new flagship Android phone from Samsung)

J

javac

Member
From the UK and I should be getting it by the 1st of May, but on the Galaxy S4 page it says it'll ship in 5 days and every couple of days it jumps back, I wonder if that'll affect my pre-order. Hmmm.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
reKon said:
It's black. The back looks a little less black though because of the pattern. It didn't seem blue to me.
Click to expand...

FrankNitty said:
No it's black. Depending on how the light catches the design it kind of has a silver gun metal look to it but you can tell its black.

I wish I had of stuck with black now. Either way you cannot go wrong both look great. Though after seeing them to me imho black has a more premium look to it
Click to expand...

Ahh okay. Thanks guys.

I am kind of glad I went with black, I mean it was something different to white (my S3) and it was the only colour unique to the S4 too so I figure there will be less confusion about WHAT phone it is.

I feel like it blends better with the faux metal sides too.
 
F

FrankNitty

Member
that is one of the reasons I wish I stuck with black. The metal trim and black look good together. Not to take away from the white at all because it looks nice also. but as for a premium look black takes it.
 
F

FrankNitty

Member
AT&T had S4 as of yesterday for general sale. For pre orders they started shipping in the 23rd I think. Ppl had them as soon as the 25th.

As for your data plan it depends on if you have to upgrade your plan for 4G. If you have to upgrade I don't think they let you keep it.
 
V

Victory Red

Member
Alright, went out for a night of drinking/dancing/debauchery last night and here are some impressions.

- The camera, with flash, in a dark club works phenomenal, simply amazing photos...... as long as everyone is standing still and posing for the picture.
- Action shots are impossible with this phone, they ALWAYS come out blurry. This is a big bummer for me
- Selfies are near impossible. I was a master with my iPhone at extending my arm out and hitting the flash button to get me and my friends in the shot. Everything on this phone is a screen, and whatever isn't a screen has buttons. There isn't anywhere to hold as I extend my arm out one-handed. This is a big bummer for me.

So overall not a good experience taking this out for fun/drinking/dancing.

Outside of that I'm really enjoying the phone, I love the customizable nature of everything but things do seam to get frustrating and difficult to figure out but I know its going to take time.

On another note, my girlfriend is returning her S4. She really just cannot get the hang of this operating system and is getting overwhelmed very quickly. She manhandles her phone, she's always hitting the softkeys, pressing the middle button a million times like a weirdo, getting lost in menus and open apps. This phone just isn't for her, so she's going back to her iPhone 5.
 
M

Menelaus

Banned
Victory Red said:
my girlfriend is returning her S4. She really just cannot get the hang of this operating system and is getting overwhelmed very quickly. She manhandles her phone, she's always hitting the softkeys, pressing the middle button a million times like a weirdo, getting lost in menus and open apps.
Click to expand...

I2E7WKi.png


Also, am I the only person in the world that takes iPhone selfies with the volume button? Everyone always looks at me like I'm a wizard when I do that.
 
G

.GqueB.

Banned
Victory Red said:
Alright, went out for a night of drinking/dancing/debauchery last night and here are some impressions.

- The camera, with flash, in a dark club works phenomenal, simply amazing photos...... as long as everyone is standing still and posing for the picture.
- Action shots are impossible with this phone, they ALWAYS come out blurry. This is a big bummer for me
- Selfies are near impossible. I was a master with my iPhone at extending my arm out and hitting the flash button to get me and my friends in the shot. Everything on this phone is a screen, and whatever isn't a screen has buttons. There isn't anywhere to hold as I extend my arm out one-handed. This is a big bummer for me.

So overall not a good experience taking this out for fun/drinking/dancing.

Outside of that I'm really enjoying the phone, I love the customizable nature of everything but things do seam to get frustrating and difficult to figure out but I know its going to take time.

On another note, my girlfriend is returning her S4. She really just cannot get the hang of this operating system and is getting overwhelmed very quickly. She manhandles her phone, she's always hitting the softkeys, pressing the middle button a million times like a weirdo, getting lost in menus and open apps. This phone just isn't for her, so she's going back to her iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

I love how those have a name now. My girlfriend said that to me this weekend and I was like "...what on earth did you just say to me?"
 
Genesis Knight

Genesis Knight

Member
Case overload. No idea what kind to buy. Just want something that doesn't add a ton of bulk or cover up features (speaker, etc) and will protect against basic drops.

Spigen NeoHybrid?
Spigen SlimArmor?
Otterbox?
ZAGG?

LOL why so many?
 
O

outunderthestars

Banned
Finally got to try one today at a Best Buy. Having not looked at phones since the iphone 4 launched I was amazed at how fast and powerful the S4 was.

I will probably end up getting one this summer. :D
 
G

.GqueB.

Banned
outunderthestars said:
Finally got to try one today at a Best Buy. Having not looked at phones since the iphone 4 launched I was amazed at how fast and powerful the S4 was.

I will probably end up getting one this summer. :D
Click to expand...

The phones actually function at your Best Buy? The two I went to were some lame ass units with a printed screen under the glass. And on the HTC One, the speaker holes weren't even holes, just gray dots. Fuggin bullcrap.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
My issue with the flip cases is that they are hard to use with the phone when using the camera, I hate the way it just hangs there and how you have to fold it back if you want to use your phone like it's a phone rather than a small book.

But that's just me (oh and it makes the S3 thicker, at least)
 
C

chidrock

Member
.GqueB. said:
The phones actually function at your Best Buy? The two I went to were some lame ass units with a printed screen under the glass. And on the HTC One, the speaker holes weren't even holes, just gray dots. Fuggin bullcrap.
Click to expand...

The ones I stopped at today pulled the same shenanigans...

Curious to see what form iPhone users think of the transition. I had actually gone to an AT&T store to preorder the s4, but wound up going from my iPhone 4 to the 5 because of the size. (I played around with the s3 for a half hour and even had the clerk disconnect it to see how it fit in the pocket, but I missed the comfort of using only one hand) The s4 is still calling out to me though...
 
B

Boogalogist

Member
Victory Red said:
my girlfriend is returning her S4. She really just cannot get the hang of this operating system and is getting overwhelmed very quickly. She manhandles her phone, she's always hitting the softkeys, pressing the middle button a million times like a weirdo, getting lost in menus and open apps. This phone just isn't for her, so she's going back to her iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

Boo this...my wife went from the iPhone 4 to the S3. Got used to it after a week. After a week, she picked up her old iPhone to retrieve some old data from there and ended up trying to press the "back" button. She's like "eh? why can't I go back?"...then realised there's no back button on an iPhone.

Give you a week or so, man! And make sure you guide her the whole way!
 
V

Victory Red

Member
Boogalogist said:
Boo this...my wife went from the iPhone 4 to the S3. Got used to it after a week. After a week, she picked up her old iPhone to retrieve some old data from there and ended up trying to press the "back" button. She's like "eh? why can't I go back?"...then realised there's no back button on an iPhone.

Give you a week or so, man! And make sure you guide her the whole way!
Click to expand...

I was just about to take her iPhone 5 out if it's shipping box and load her back up on it she says "wait"

She gonna keep it now. Women.
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
Victory Red said:
- Selfies are near impossible. I was a master with my iPhone at extending my arm out and hitting the flash button to get me and my friends in the shot. Everything on this phone is a screen, and whatever isn't a screen has buttons. There isn't anywhere to hold as I extend my arm out one-handed. This is a big bummer for me.
Click to expand...
Remember you can use voice commands or the volume rocker to take pictures.



Victory Red said:
On another note, my girlfriend is returning her S4. She really just cannot get the hang of this operating system and is getting overwhelmed very quickly. She manhandles her phone, she's always hitting the softkeys, pressing the middle button a million times like a weirdo, getting lost in menus and open apps. This phone just isn't for her, so she's going back to her iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
How long did she last? Edit: oh...
 
O

outunderthestars

Banned
.GqueB. said:
The phones actually function at your Best Buy? The two I went to were some lame ass units with a printed screen under the glass. And on the HTC One, the speaker holes weren't even holes, just gray dots. Fuggin bullcrap.
Click to expand...

My local Best Buy had 8-10 units live and working. They had a few in various cases including the magnetic one.

It was an entire mini Samsung Store within a store, sort of like the Apple ones.

Samsung-mini-store-best-buy-458x257.jpeg



The phone really blew me away! That screen is damn amazing.
 
R

reKon

Banned
Question: even though apps and music download to the internal storage, most apps can be moved to the SD card to run from right? Could anyone elaborate on their experience with this? I'd really rather not want to do this work around because I do not want to have a lot of issues. Thanks.
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
reKon said:
Question: even though apps and music download to the internal storage, most apps can be moved to the SD card to run from right? Could anyone elaborate on their experience with this? I'd really rather not want to do this work around because I do not want to have a lot of issues. Thanks.
Click to expand...

no, you can't move apps to SD. well, not without root anyway.
 
S

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Schlep said:
Same thing over by me, complete with a sales person greeting, "Welcome to Samsung!"
Click to expand...


... wait, really? That's pretty cool. I'm an Apple guy; but I'm loving this competition.

The S4 looks damn nice - crazy specs, for sure.
 
M

MarkusRJR

Member
Can you use a prepaid credit card to purchase apps and games on android? I'm keep wanting to move over to android but I don't have a credit card. :(
 
O

outunderthestars

Banned
Skel1ingt0n said:
... wait, really? That's pretty cool. I'm an Apple guy; but I'm loving this competition.

The S4 looks damn nice - crazy specs, for sure.
Click to expand...

The Samsung mini-store was really well done. They had a bunch of laptops, phones, tablets, and their weird mobile camera. I really enjoyed the experience and I am glad to see someone giving Apple a run for their money.

(currently own two ipads and an iphone)
 
O

otapnam

Member
gonna goto the ATT store in a day or 2 when i get a chance. Hoping the sales rep will give it to me even though my upgrade eligiblity date is may 8

*fingers crossed
 
F

Fletcher

Member
otapnam said:
gonna goto the ATT store in a day or 2 when i get a chance. Hoping the sales rep will give it to me even though my upgrade eligiblity date is may 8

*fingers crossed
Click to expand...

You should be able to upgrade on the first of the month. That's what an att rep told me, at least.
 
B

BigJonsson

Member
.GqueB. said:
I love how those have a name now. My girlfriend said that to me this weekend and I was like "...what on earth did you just say to me?"
Click to expand...


Was there a meeting in the past couple weeks or something, several girls on my Twitter and Facebook have been calling them selfies all of the sudden
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
GT-I9500 Exynos Octa version benchmarks! spoiler: yes, it's faster.


Samsung GALAXY S4 Unboxing [Exynos OCTA], out of the box BENCHMARKS, Apps, Storage, RAM & Specs
Quadrant: 12789
NenaMark: 60.0 fps
AnTuTu: 28112



Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Quadrant Score - 12890

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Antutu Benchmark - 28269

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Geekbench 2 Score - 3566

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - GLBenchmark 2.5 HD
Egypt HD: 39 fps
Egypt HD offscreen: 41 fps

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - GLbenchmark 2.7 HD
T-Rex HD Offscreen: 13 fps
T-Rex HD Onscreen: 12 fps

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Epic Citadel
High Performance: 59.8 fps
High Quality: 59.3 fps

Samung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Sunspider Javascript Test - Chrome Browser - 781.5 ms

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Sunspider Javascript Test - Android Browser - 646.0 ms

Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa Core - Rightware Browser Mark 2.0 - 2745


BONUS CONTENT: iPhone 5 vs Xperia Z vs HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Note 2 - Geekbench 2 scores
 
S

sun-drop

Member
had a play with both the black and white one today.

impressed. i was wondering how it would feel in hand in comparison to my S3 but it really felt light as hell. good stuff.


i mean the thing is ... as the screen gets bigger and the edges get thinner .... it's all about the display.

i really don't get the plastic hate ... there is fuck all phone left apart from the screen .. it's great
 
M

Madness

Member
sun-drop said:
had a play with both the black and white one today.

impressed. i was wondering how it would feel in hand in comparison to my S3 but it really felt light as hell. good stuff.


i mean the thing is ... as the screen gets bigger and the edges get thinner .... it's all about the display.

i really don't get the plastic hate ... there is fuck all phone left apart from the screen .. it's great
Click to expand...

I was a big proponent on polycarbonate plastic, until I held the HTC one. There is just something about it that screams quality. Feels so much better in hand. I want to see how this 'ruggedized' S4 Samsung has planned will feel. Here's hoping they finally decide to drop polycarbonate.

It's hard to explain, I once had a Sony camera point and shoot that had titanium coating on the outside. Even with a pair of keys, I couldn't scratch it at all. And yet, due to the cost, they now use polycarbonate plastic as well.

But that's neither here nor there.
 
S

Schlep

Member
T-Mobile's help twitter says that it is being released today but keeps telling everyone they don't know the time. This is gonna be a long night of waking up every hour until they put it up. Gnight until 5 CDT. Ugh.
 
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