The Faceless Master
Member
your network signal bar is not good, and yeah that point about Wifi is a good one too.
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Samsung Galaxy S4 (new flagship Android phone from Samsung)
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Victory Red
Member
K i just got it. Is it going to take a day or two to build up a profile?
Takamura-San
Member
I want to go the the At&t store today or this weekend to see if they would waive the upgrade date 
shinshoryuken
Member
I want to go the the At&t store today or this weekend to see if they would waive the upgrade date
Better yet just call Att, they usually do early I upgrades with no issues.
Victory Red
Member
Here are my processes - Sorted by memory being used
I don't have maps open, not sure what the maps process is doing
and I dont know what Call Forwarding is doing
I don't have maps open, not sure what the maps process is doing
and I dont know what Call Forwarding is doing
SirMossyBloke
Member
Call forwarding is an odd one. Maps was caused by Google Now for me, that's why I turned it off.
Damn Samsung really loves that neon
Victory Red
Member
Its a 3rd party app
Could it have something to do with Google Voice? I use that for voicemail
SirMossyBloke
Member
Not sure, on my carrier call forwarding is very specific and needs to been enabled by a set of number commands in the dialing screen to literally forward calls to another number. If you aren't doing that then i'm stumped.
Victory Red
Member
the fuck is this?
I called the number (its an area code about a half hour from here.) Call cannot be completed as dialed
I called the number (its an area code about a half hour from here.) Call cannot be completed as dialed
Possible malware? Try googling the number and see if anything comes up.
Victory Red
Member
Can anyone with AT&T with Visual Voicemail setup confirm in their Battery screen that Voice Calls is taking up this much battery life?
Victory Red
Member
I kind of need to find a good wallpaper site now, need to find full HD wallpapers that look good sideways
Yup. I had the best app for my iPhone but its not available for this.
So I've been using iPhone wallpapers :/
I kind of need to find a good wallpaper site now, need to find full HD wallpapers that look good sideways
I've got quite a few full HD in this album
No problem. I was inexplicably offered Youtube partner status awhile back, think I'm going to dig through this mode and try to whip up a video if nobody has bothered to really give this a detailed look by the time VZW models ship.
The Faceless Master
Member
y'all are crazy... that is not a lot of wakelocks.
it looks to purely be bad signal combined with cellular data being on instead of wifi.
it looks to purely be bad signal combined with cellular data being on instead of wifi.
Victory Red
Member
This battery thing is really pissing me off.
How can I do a factory reset and start from scratch?
How can I do a factory reset and start from scratch?
Victory Red
Member
Then what is this "System Idle" and why is it taking up so much of my battery.
Marty Chinn
Member
I think that's AT&T voice mail. Think about it, when you're busy, or the call is answered, it goes to voice mail.
How often are you in places that have bad reception? That will kill your battery more than anything.
That's a good thing. If it was an app taking up the majority of the battery then that app would be the problem. System idle means you're phone is doing what it's supposed to. It's just you're in a weak signal area which will kill the battery on any phone. If you can connect to wifi it'll help with the battery life.
SirMossyBloke
Member
More system idle the better.
Guys,
I have Galaxy S2... I was wondering to upgrade the phone to S4 with the 100 dollar deal with ATT that is going on right now if you trade in you Galaxy S2 for it. How much is the difference from the S2 to going to this?
Can you have duel screen with camera on top and image on the bottom?
Also is the white or black version different?
Is the Qualcom good compared to Exynos on the S2?
How's the battery life on it compared to Galaxy s2?
Thanks
I have Galaxy S2... I was wondering to upgrade the phone to S4 with the 100 dollar deal with ATT that is going on right now if you trade in you Galaxy S2 for it. How much is the difference from the S2 to going to this?
Can you have duel screen with camera on top and image on the bottom?
Also is the white or black version different?
Is the Qualcom good compared to Exynos on the S2?
How's the battery life on it compared to Galaxy s2?
Thanks
even with mobile data off, if you have a bad signal, it will kill the shit out of your battery. That was like my experience has been like with the Galaxy Nexus. Perhaps other radios won't drain as badly with with the mobile data off in an environment of weak signal.
Victory Red
Member
Not on the screen thats telling me what is eating up my battery
That's a great deal. Should be a quantum leap from the S2 in terms of battery, performance, screen, camera, spec bumps.
Not sure about the dual screen thing. Pretty sure I saw that in one of the feature previews.
White and black are exactly the same specs wise.
The Snapdragon 600 (assuming you get the AT&T one) is a titan compared to that Exynos dual core A9 in the S2.
In summary its much better. Do it!
Finally played around with one earlier (my brother in laws). Mines actually at our business address, so I could collect it any time, but had a lot of work today so haven't felt the need to. Having said that, really loved what I saw and used of it.
Design and build.
First off, it actually is essentially more of the same, but I don't think it's fair to say it isn't a good degree improved. Even the design and build is imo much more refined. For a start, it feels a touch lighter, is slimmer and fits nicer in the hand. One handed use is easier with this device than on my S3. The rear texture definitely adds a new design dimension, though i do wish it was also textured to the touch. Not overly keen on the glossy back, though it doesn't feel slippery and does sit snug in the hand.
The surrounding metal looking bar is a big improvement, and feels sturdier. The edge also protrudes ahead of the screen ever so slightly which is great, and should avoid some situations where the glass would otherwise take the hit. The buttons all around are infinitely better. On the S3 the more rounded cheaper looking buttons now look precision machined, and sit super flush with the edges. They're much nicer to click too. The phone does't get hot, even after running several benchmarks, which is another positive, and really the screen takes up the bulk of the phone, which to me is yet another plus.
OS and features.
OS usage wise, everything felt nippy. No stuttering or pauses any where on the device I used. It actually felt a touch snappier than my S3 in places. Has the animation time between certain pane transitions been reduced a touch?
We played around with the translator app, and I must say it works amazingly well. Speech recognition is great, though you can type in phrases or sentences too. Fact that it allows you to output the translated sentence in a foreign language via loud speaker in a realistic sounding voice is also a great addition.
Music app has been tweaked, and looks better, though imo doesn't feel quite as polished. It actually crashed on me at one point, perhaps needs a bit of software tweaking, who knows. This was the only glitch that occurred during my time testing it, so I'll assume it was a very rare or one off glitch.
Texting, browsing, opening apps, general browsing etc seemed just as quick if not quicker, and air gestures worked surprisingly well.
One little gimmick that I absolutely LOVE is the new fairy light tracker unlock screen effect. It's nice just hovering your finger around over the screen and watching the little light hover around prettily. It's also cool when you make contact and get that lens flare type effect. Feels very high tech.
Camera
Beast. Seriously impressed. The amount of detail this thing captures for a mobile is absurd. Basically the same level of detail as the S3 only with slightly better colour accuracy and in 13mp flavour as well. No loss of detail at all which is a great feat. Usually more megapixels equals less detail on mobile phones (though the greater resolution compensates for this).
I couldn't find low light mode, but night mode seems quicker now, and the UI overall seems much improved. Everything is quicker, and the image based options are much easier to navigate and use. It seems simpler yet more refined and intuitive. Overall impressed, though I'm annoyed that the field of view/capture is much narrower in video recording over the S3. I liked the S3's balance, not too wide but not too shallow like my 4S (and now S4). helps out in party and group situations where you need to fit in more people.
Speakers and audio quality
About the same loud speaker volume as the S3, maybe a touch louder, but the sound signature is a little different. It's a touch less sharp and detailed, but sounds more natural and has ever so slightly more bass and depth. It's pretty cleverly engineered too, firstly taking off the back cover barely increases the volume, and secondly, when you're holding the phone, it's actually somewhat louder. I'm guessing the sound bounces off your hand and back out forward. I though it would be quieter being stifled by a hand, but unless your palm is completely pressed against and covering the speaker, that does not seem to be the case at all.
Using my headphones briefly, sound quality was ever so slightly different (I think), but about on par quality wise to the S3. I can't really say without proper back and forth A/B'ing, though one really impressive feature on the S4 is the hearing balance test. Essentially it plays different frequencies to each ear and you select different options until it figures out exactly how each of your ears/canals hear or receive sound, and then adapts the sound coming from each bud to suit the specific hearing of each of your ears so you get maximum sound coverage. Really advanced and impressive little feature.
Screen
Just gorgeous. Kind of makes the S3's screen look ever so slightly dated. You can't find pixels any where, and the colours, viewing angles, contrast, brightness, even white accuracy is a big improvement. It just looks much nicer and sharper, though obviously it's not a huge difference given that the S3's screen was already quite impressive. The extra real estate for no extra phone bulk or additional size in dimensions is impressive. I found movie mode to be the most accurate in colours, so left it on that for the majority of testing.
All in all, I'm very impressed with the device. Battery didn't drop much in all my testing, so that bodes well. Overall it seems to be a solid upgrade in nearly all areas, and seems to have some hidden software gems and features locked away inside it. I'm going to collect mine later tonight to get stuck in. I feel like it's one of those phones that will reward you the more you tinker and the more you invest time and intrigue. The S4 appears to have a massively well equipped arsenal of features and innovations, and whether I use them all or not, I'm certainly grateful to Samsung for including and trying these things.
So far, I'm highly impressed.
Design and build.
First off, it actually is essentially more of the same, but I don't think it's fair to say it isn't a good degree improved. Even the design and build is imo much more refined. For a start, it feels a touch lighter, is slimmer and fits nicer in the hand. One handed use is easier with this device than on my S3. The rear texture definitely adds a new design dimension, though i do wish it was also textured to the touch. Not overly keen on the glossy back, though it doesn't feel slippery and does sit snug in the hand.
The surrounding metal looking bar is a big improvement, and feels sturdier. The edge also protrudes ahead of the screen ever so slightly which is great, and should avoid some situations where the glass would otherwise take the hit. The buttons all around are infinitely better. On the S3 the more rounded cheaper looking buttons now look precision machined, and sit super flush with the edges. They're much nicer to click too. The phone does't get hot, even after running several benchmarks, which is another positive, and really the screen takes up the bulk of the phone, which to me is yet another plus.
OS and features.
OS usage wise, everything felt nippy. No stuttering or pauses any where on the device I used. It actually felt a touch snappier than my S3 in places. Has the animation time between certain pane transitions been reduced a touch?
We played around with the translator app, and I must say it works amazingly well. Speech recognition is great, though you can type in phrases or sentences too. Fact that it allows you to output the translated sentence in a foreign language via loud speaker in a realistic sounding voice is also a great addition.
Music app has been tweaked, and looks better, though imo doesn't feel quite as polished. It actually crashed on me at one point, perhaps needs a bit of software tweaking, who knows. This was the only glitch that occurred during my time testing it, so I'll assume it was a very rare or one off glitch.
Texting, browsing, opening apps, general browsing etc seemed just as quick if not quicker, and air gestures worked surprisingly well.
One little gimmick that I absolutely LOVE is the new fairy light tracker unlock screen effect. It's nice just hovering your finger around over the screen and watching the little light hover around prettily. It's also cool when you make contact and get that lens flare type effect. Feels very high tech.
Camera
Beast. Seriously impressed. The amount of detail this thing captures for a mobile is absurd. Basically the same level of detail as the S3 only with slightly better colour accuracy and in 13mp flavour as well. No loss of detail at all which is a great feat. Usually more megapixels equals less detail on mobile phones (though the greater resolution compensates for this).
I couldn't find low light mode, but night mode seems quicker now, and the UI overall seems much improved. Everything is quicker, and the image based options are much easier to navigate and use. It seems simpler yet more refined and intuitive. Overall impressed, though I'm annoyed that the field of view/capture is much narrower in video recording over the S3. I liked the S3's balance, not too wide but not too shallow like my 4S (and now S4). helps out in party and group situations where you need to fit in more people.
Speakers and audio quality
About the same loud speaker volume as the S3, maybe a touch louder, but the sound signature is a little different. It's a touch less sharp and detailed, but sounds more natural and has ever so slightly more bass and depth. It's pretty cleverly engineered too, firstly taking off the back cover barely increases the volume, and secondly, when you're holding the phone, it's actually somewhat louder. I'm guessing the sound bounces off your hand and back out forward. I though it would be quieter being stifled by a hand, but unless your palm is completely pressed against and covering the speaker, that does not seem to be the case at all.
Using my headphones briefly, sound quality was ever so slightly different (I think), but about on par quality wise to the S3. I can't really say without proper back and forth A/B'ing, though one really impressive feature on the S4 is the hearing balance test. Essentially it plays different frequencies to each ear and you select different options until it figures out exactly how each of your ears/canals hear or receive sound, and then adapts the sound coming from each bud to suit the specific hearing of each of your ears so you get maximum sound coverage. Really advanced and impressive little feature.
Screen
Just gorgeous. Kind of makes the S3's screen look ever so slightly dated. You can't find pixels any where, and the colours, viewing angles, contrast, brightness, even white accuracy is a big improvement. It just looks much nicer and sharper, though obviously it's not a huge difference given that the S3's screen was already quite impressive. The extra real estate for no extra phone bulk or additional size in dimensions is impressive. I found movie mode to be the most accurate in colours, so left it on that for the majority of testing.
All in all, I'm very impressed with the device. Battery didn't drop much in all my testing, so that bodes well. Overall it seems to be a solid upgrade in nearly all areas, and seems to have some hidden software gems and features locked away inside it. I'm going to collect mine later tonight to get stuck in. I feel like it's one of those phones that will reward you the more you tinker and the more you invest time and intrigue. The S4 appears to have a massively well equipped arsenal of features and innovations, and whether I use them all or not, I'm certainly grateful to Samsung for including and trying these things.
So far, I'm highly impressed.
shinshoryuken
Member
Starts from scratch...and factory reset it.
don't install any apps,...see how that goes.
The Faceless Master
Member
night and day. you will say 'wow!'
no. not without mods anyway...
they're different colors.
Yes.
better.
Collected my S4 earlier and have been playing around with it non stop. Honestly, just feels well ahead of its time on the software front. When you comprehend the insane hardware that goes in to these things, it's software features like multi windows, air gestures, real time live camera settings thumbnails etc that you envision would be harnessed by such power. There's so many little things that have really impressed me thus far, and most have been software related. Also screw those that say they're all gimmicks, air previews, swipe to loud speaker etc, absolutely useful and actually change the way you use your phone.
Oh, on a side note the OS has been refined across the board really, even down to the copying, pasting etc. Much easier now than with the S3.
BigEvilTurtle
Banned
That looks beautiful. Fuck, I want it now. I have to wait a few weeks. /:
One other thing, developer options are hidden by default. You need to select 'about device', followed by clicking the model number 5 times to unlock this option. I recommend it because after you do you can set transition animation scale, duration etc (there's 3 options) to 0.5x instead of the default 1.0x, this makes everything slightly snappier and quicker.
I'm looking to upgrade from my Droid Bionic and have been looking at the S3 mainly. Should I wait for the s4 or is it really not worth the extra $100?
I'm mainly looking for a phone that will be updated to the next Google OS, and once updates stop, I can unlock the bootloader and flash CM. On verizon btw
I'm mainly looking for a phone that will be updated to the next Google OS, and once updates stop, I can unlock the bootloader and flash CM. On verizon btw
I'd personally say it was worth the extra $100. Better hardware, better software, more durable (quite important), better physical design, bigger and better screen, 1080p resolution, better camera etc. It's quite a lot of extra phone for just a $100. But that's me. I know some people who couldn't care less about this sort of stuff and are perfectly fine with 2-3 year old phones. All depends on what you want out of your device.
My problem is I've had horrible luck at picking "flagship" phones.
My first droid was the droid 2, supposedly the great successor to the droid 1. Then the droid x came out and my phone was the red headed step child that was last to get updates.
So then I upgraded to the bionic, another marketed flagship device. 1 month later the RAZR comes out and I'm in the same situation as the droid 2. Last in line to get updates.
I just feel like the same thing is coming if I buy the s4 day 1, whereas I know the s3 is great.
My first droid was the droid 2, supposedly the great successor to the droid 1. Then the droid x came out and my phone was the red headed step child that was last to get updates.
So then I upgraded to the bionic, another marketed flagship device. 1 month later the RAZR comes out and I'm in the same situation as the droid 2. Last in line to get updates.
I just feel like the same thing is coming if I buy the s4 day 1, whereas I know the s3 is great.
It's actually less durable than the GSIII, the screen has gorilla glass 3, but the phone itself is less durable.
But that's a moot point. I'd say it's worth it to get over the GS3, but if you already have a GS3, not much point in an upgrade. Might as well wait and see what the new Nexus 5 is like and what the Note 3 would be like.
I don't believe that for a second. I've watched several drop tests already where it's pitted against other phones including the S3 and actually comes out on top in every one. There's things about the S4 that just make more sense. The band around the edges is stronger and more ridged, the rim also protrudes forward beyond the screen slightly (which is better for the screen in case of a drop or scrape) whilst on the S3 the front glass is fully exposed. The rear cover is also sturdier, and the battery wider and larger to hold the frame and innards together more snuggly. Add to that, as you rightly mentioned, the S4 also uses Gorilla Glass 3 (S3 uses GG2).
Doesn't matter what you believe. Numerous sites and even Square Trade that specializes in smartphone insurance have rated the GS4 as less durable than the GSIII. Durability is a number of things. The galaxy s4 is thinner, it has a larger screen, the number one thing that will break in a drop. I've already seen drop tests where the screen shatters. The camera glass is larger and more prone to breakage, etc. It's faux metal band is actually more prone to scratches than the dull paint of the GSIII.
I'm coming from the S2, my existing contract expires at the end of May and I've to find something new soon.
Get a full body invisible shield or military shield or whatever. I put one on my GS3 since day one, didn't get a single scratch. If you aren't a pro at wet application protectors though, you might want to take it to a place that does them and pay them to do it for you.
What sites? Can you link me to them? I'm genuinely curious now, since I'd be pretty shocked if the S3 came out on top.
I found this video where I'd say the S4 came out on top over the S3.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/05/iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-vs-galaxy-s4-in-torture-test/
There's also this vid, same again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNIn0BAUjv4
Edit: Watched the video and read Square Trade's break down, I don't buy it. My guess is they just want to be able to charge more for S4 warranties or simply make extended warranties seem more appealing. The S4 actually survived on more things compared to the S3, but they gave the S3 the win due to the S4 having worse "grip-ability" according to the summary. As someone who owns both phone's, I call false on that claim. The S4 is much easier to grip and sits in the hand far more firmly and snuggly. Many of the reviews and impressions have mentioned as much too.
Eh I don't want to give them the hits but you can Google it. Just Google galaxy s4 durability etc.
And Square Trade is a warranty and smartphone insurance provider. They are ruthless and money hungry and make the phones go through rigorous testing before setting prices. They know what is likely to break and what isn't.
I know the graphic is rudimentary but as you can see the gs3 scored better. And though it doesn't show is just how much, it scored somewhat higher in the tests where they both have smiley faces.
See, having less plastic and a larger glass screen is not a good thing in terms of durability. Also, another good part of the gs3 design was the fact it's backplate came up the sides and curved as opposed to a rectangular shape.
As you can see, they state it's worse than the gs3 in all areas except water resistance.
Eh I don't want to give them the hits but you can Google it. Just Google galaxy s4 durability etc.
And Square Trade is a warranty and smartphone insurance provider. They are ruthless and money hungry and make the phones go through rigorous testing before setting prices. They know what is likely to break and what isn't.
I know the graphic is rudimentary but as you can see the gs3 scored better. And though it doesn't show is just how much, it scored somewhat higher in the tests where they both have smiley faces.
See, having less plastic and a larger glass screen is not a good thing in terms of durability. Also, another good part of the gs3 design was the fact it's backplate came up the sides and curved as opposed to a rectangular shape.
As you can see, they state it's worse than the gs3 in all areas except water resistance.
See my edit above.
nib95 said:
shinshoryuken
Member
You don't buy a lot of stuff even when theres multiple site that says so..
You don't believe the s4 lags even though tech site and reviews says it does AND many people that has it say it does.
You don't believe Samsung rush the octo core and it lags more the the domestic version.
Now you don't believe an insurance company who probably did more test than anyone...
Uh what? Square Trade is one of the most transparent companies in the industry and wins tons of consumer awards for customer service and support.
Has nothing to do with charging higher prices but educating the consumer on the fact that their device is less durable than others. Otherwise why would they give the iPhone 5 such a high score? It's the highest selling phone in the industry and they're saying it's durable enough you might not want a warranty.
I also have both phones and while I tried it at the store, I'll share my thoughts but right away I could tell it was thinner and with the larger screen would be less durable. As for that graphic, it's consumer friendly. But the aside from the water resistance, it scored higher than the gs4 in almost all areas. But hey, believe what you want. I'll just advised you that numerous sites and retailers trust Square Trade to be accurate because they also don't want to lose money.
Hold on a minute, I never said the S4 didn't lag lol. I said ALL phones lag from time to time. It was your claim that the S4 lagged whilst other phones such as the S3 and Note II did not. I merely said this was simply not true, and said this as an owner of both the phone's you claimed were lag'less (admittedly I swapped my Note II for the S3).
Secondly, I've never even made a post about whether the Octo core version was rushed or not. Was it? Is it? What is the reason for you thinking this? Only thing I know is that based on comparison video's and benchmarks, the Octo core version runs smoother, faster, has slightly better battery, but slightly worse graphics performance. P.S, I'm in the UK and the only version being sold is the i9505 (1.9GHZ quad core).
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