*** The Official Samsung Galaxy S4 Thread ***

james.miller said:
People arent discussing the sims costs presumably because it suits their arguments better. "Hey it's only £430". Great, now how are you going to use it without paying for a sim in some fashion?

If you are swapping phones constantly then the prices become more attractive
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They aren't discussing SIM prices as they have a SIM and they do swap phones regularly, buying SIM free. Therefor, the price the phone can be bought without being tied into a SIM is very important and very different to buying a new contract from a provider, with a SIM.

So, a year ago I got a regular S3 with a 2 year contract from 3. For the next 23 months, any phone I get I will need to pay for SIM free. I have had a S3 LTE, HTC One and now S4, all SIM free. I don't bother talking about SIM costs as they are irrelavent to the 3 phones I've bought. That cost is set and was part of my initial deal, not the following 3.

It really isn't that complicated.

It's almost like you're saying, if I'd decided to pay for just a £20 SIM a year ago that £430 for the device would be a good price, but as I signed a £35 contract a year ago, £430 isn't a good price.

james.miller said:
Totally agree:) It's a good deal, not saying it's bad at all, but just not as good as people are making out. It is better than other handset-only prices, that's for sure. But i said this when i preordered mine - the handset prices look very expensive next to the contract deals away.
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Then I'm really not sure what you're talking about. You can't compare the price of a phone on it's own compared to a subsidised deal from a network. You even say there, handset prices next to contract deals are expensive. THEY ARE. FROM NETWORKS THEY ARE SUBSIDISED TO PERSUADE YOU TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THEM.

At this point I don't see any point in me continuing a discussion with you about it, as you fail to grasp some simple points, but then back these points up yourself, so I'll leave it at that.
 
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stoosh said:
@Nexus I agree! HTC aren't exactly spot on when it comes to timely updates, it does drag on for a wee while! I remember you waiting for what seemed like an eternity for ICS! :eek:

I know what panel you would prefer ;)...but even if it's the same screen used in the HO you will be pleased :D
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The one S came with ICS already on the phone! :p

But yeah for one of the updates, it took a while! IIRC it was the second update, the one with the menu tweak button?? Although JB came pretty quickly, iirc it was about 3 weeks after the X.

Wouldn't say "timely updates" is the right term :p as HTC are very good for this overall and better than other manufacturers (when you take into account that they provide an update to more than one phone at a time and how stable/good the update is too), more so they just don't keep to their provided "ETA" :p Although TBF, no manufacturer is good when it comes to that, iirc Samsung have given ETA's and never met them and well look at Sony........ :o :p


Yup, hoping for that new SAMOLED panel or SLCD 3 but have a funny feeling that it will be SLCD 2, not necessarily a bad thing but since the battery isn't much bigger than the one S and the res. is being pushed to 720P, we really need that more PE display overall to at least make the battery life better than the one S.

smokedog said:
Flash is working on my Quick ICS browser.
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Strange :confused:

That is with the HTC one?? Perhaps whatever has broken it on my S is fixed with sense V5/4.1.2???
 
stoosh said:
Exactly I think kona and I will very likely flash a slimmed down version of touchwiz when the ROM's made available and apply Vertimus's JB Theme as we did on our S3 LTE.
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Spot on, it's also nice to know that we could be getting stock android as soon as it hits too.

I'm even a bit excited that your getting yours tomorrow. :D


Quick ICS doesn't work on the S4 btw folks - was my fav browser for quick controls. 4.2 TW must have broke it
 
AndyCr15 said:
At this point I don't see any point in me continuing a discussion with you about it, as you fail to grasp some simple points, but then back these points up yourself, so I'll leave it at that.
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you think I lack basic comprehension yet you replay with that trash? do me a favour! try reading what i wrote again, maybe it'll make sense this time. If it doesn't, then yeah it would be a wise move to drop it.
 
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kona786 said:
Quick ICS doesn't work on the S4 btw folks - was my fav browser for quick controls. 4.2 TW must have broke it
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After doing a bit of reading, surprisingly, the touchwiz browser is actually based on chrome! :eek: According to a benchmark, it lists the touchwiz as chrome V18 or something so that will be why quick ics etc. doesn't work.

Amazing that Samsung can do a better job and have proper text rendering than what google can do with their own browser, lol!
 
Ah good find Nexus!

Yeah Samsung finally did something right regarding software :D

So once I'm rooted I might be able to install AOSP browser and get Quick ICS back.


I hate Samsung for not including 'sliding panes' in TW. Tabbed sub menus are soo dated!
 
Nexus18 said:
After doing a bit of reading, surprisingly, the touchwiz browser is actually based on chrome! :eek: According to a benchmark, it lists the touchwiz as chrome V18 or something so that will be why quick ics etc. doesn't work.

Amazing that Samsung can do a better job and have proper text rendering than what google can do with their own browser, lol!
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there are conflicting reports on whether it is chrome based or it just uses the chrome user agent string...however, I have seen a very chrome-like feature where if you touch two links or buttons close together itll bring up a zoomed window , so it might well he chrome in disguise. I dont know though - it doesnt chrash like chrome :p
 
Yup, once you root and flash the AOSP browser, quick ICS etc. should work :)



Likewise, it just reminds me of froyo :o One thing that HTC got right with sense V5, got rid of those stupid huge tabs on the bottom of their apps and went with the sliding panes instead.
 
james.miller RE - zoomed windows - yes that must be a dead giveaway for it being chrome based. Makes sense as Android has dropped the AOSP browser since JB.
 
james.miller said:
there are conflicting reports on whether it is chrome based or it just uses the chrome user agent string...however, I have seen a very chrome-like feature where if you touch two links or buttons close together itll bring up a zoomed window , so it might well he chrome in disguise. I dont know though - it doesnt chrash like chrome :p
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Yeah seen those posts and would have thought the same but since quick ics (requires AOSP browser already installed in order to work) and flash don't work (plus what you mentioned) it does look like it is based on chrome.

haha yup! :D At least it is a good version of chrome :D :p
 
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stoosh said:
I thought the same, if it was in night mode features in the room would be enhanced but the HO didn't enhance anything in the room :( hence why the flash was fired but the HO didn't focus when the flash was fired, I'd touch to focus, then there would be a 2-3 sec delay before the flash went off and the picture would end up blurry. I never had that issue with my S3 and it took decent pictures in the dark :)

The one reason that I chose the HO over the S4 because looks wise the S3 looked too much like the S4 and there's nothing really new about the phone and you're right I won't get the wow, this is new feeling.

I made a massive mistake getting rid of my S3 LTE and would've been extremely happy with it had I kept it, in fact I don't think I would've got the S4. In fact I was contemplating getting a S3 LTE again but the improvements that the S4 offers over the S3 (hardware wise) are far too numerous.

My track history with HTC phones is not very good especially lately I had problems with the HOX, HOS and now the HO :(

I just had enough, but feel I need a phone for my daily driver that will be able to take pictures if I need to and have the confidence to use the camera and the N4 doesn't exactly inspire confidence in that respect. You hit the nail on the head when said that I should've stuck with the S3 and ditched the N4 instead, that's in my mindset almost every day.

Ah the S2, what a great phone! :) Has it got JB yet? You've done extremely well using the phone up until now, are you eyeing up any phone for it's replacement?
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Yeah camera is absolutely vital, you just cannot predict those spontaneous moments when you need it. At least with the S4 you will be in a similar position to your S3, can just pick up where you left off. Definitely would have been a bad move IMO to go back to an S3 with the S4 been available, unless you could nail a decent deal.

Yes JellyBean came out very recently for UK unlocked devices, Three have had it seemingly forever.

I was wanting a Lumia 920 before Christmas but EE got the exclusive initially so I had to can that idea. After that nothing has really piqued my interest a side from the HTC One or even the iPhone 5 (:eek:), but not quite enough to get me to go through the expense of changing. Now I'm seriously considering getting the extended battery for the S2 and waiting to see what happens next year.
 
mattyg said:
I've been busy today

Rooted my phone this morning and the installed latest firmware MD2

however I still have the damn clock not working and cant change the default ringtone for notifications.

So I've been advised to do a factory reset.

What am I going to lose if/when I do.
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MD2 firmware?
 
@Nexus My bad! I should've known that the HOS came with ICS :o
That's right it was the second update that took an age to make it over to the HOS, but as you correctly pointed out HTC are meticulous when it comes to checking firmware and it's usually bug free unlike Samsung who tend to release bug laden firmware :eek:

As for Sony we all know about their track record and lack of updates :eek:

Wasn't the SLCD2 screen used for the HOX? If so I was really impressed with it when I first feasted my eyes on it and it won't be a bad screen to use. Let's hope that HTC use some trickery to make sure that the battery is able to keep up with the screen and last at least a day during moderate - heavy use.

@kona Exactly! It'll be nice to have the choice to switch between Vanilla Android and the ROMS of our choice, it's just an added bonus :D

Ahh Cheers Mate, it's really appreciated :cool: It's a reunion of some sorts just like the good ol' days back in the S3 LTE thread ;)

I'm excited too, I can't wait to get my hands on the S4 :D

@dasyad My sentiments exactly! You never know when those spontaneous moments creep up on you and its best to be well prepared :)

In my mind it's best to start off with a clean slate and go for the S4 and pay a little extra, I did shop around a couple of months ago and for what retailers / people on Gum Tree were asking for a sim free S3 LTE I thought it was a little expensive and thought otherwise just go for the S4 instead.

The Lumia 920 is extremely tempting and it has certainly caught my attention, it really annoyed me as well when EE had that exclusive deal, I don't like EE having had an extremely bad experience with T Mobile previously. Up until recently I even thought about getting the Lumia 925 which was only announced yesterday but thought it's best to skip winmo completely.

Besides the lack of applications and me heavily invested in the Android eco system that put paid to the idea of buying a 920/925.
The HO is a great phone and no doubt you will enjoy its features especially the speakers and the camera which are fantastic.

I can't believe you contemplated getting the iphone 5 :eek: How dare you! ;):p

How is JB running on the S2? Is it a very smooth experience? Three have been amazingly fast for bringing out updates for the S2, I have to hand it to them.

I suppose it gives the S2 a new lease of life as JB brings a new look to the phone not to mention the extra features :D

I would most definitely recommend investing in the official samsung extended battery pack as it adds value to the daily usage of the S2, it's not a slow phone to begin with and it can still pretty much hold it's own against the phones of today. Plus by then when you're ready to can then upgrade to the S5 or Iphone 5S or Iphone 6 if you want! :D
 
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Pics of my silver Neo Hybrid case that I said I'd post (I hadn't forgotten, only just received the case today)

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I think it is really good, definitely worth the money but like someone said it would be even better if the edge was metallic

Opinions?
 
@stoosh

Yup, one X/XL use SLCD 2 panel, there isn't "much" difference between it and SLCD 3, obviously it is improved overall but the main difference is the power efficiency where as the SAMOLED panel on the GS 4 has vastly improved in most areas compared to the GS 3 screen.

Just have to wait and see ;)

@smokedog

I'll try installing that version later on and see, thanks :)

@azibux1

Looks great to me! :) A wee bit bulky by the looks of it but apart from, imo it is very nice looking
 
If only Chrome would sort the text scaling out grr. New beta auto hides the address bar it's nice. Samsung browser is too slow at scrolling and switching between tabs for me.
 
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