Samsung Galaxy S4 thread - See Mod Warning in Post #1

Kenno90 · 27-04-2013 09:04AM

Battery Life seems to be very good.

I want this phone :P

(Skip to 9:15 for Battery Comparison)

omega666 · 27-04-2013 02:01PM

rafi bomb wrote: »

The meteor website also says it has a FM radio but it doesn't full stop. Loads of articles online with samsung talking about why they didn't put a radio in it

Yup it dosent have an FM radio.
Got Mine this morning. Its a stunning phone.

27-04-2013 03:20PM

Kenno90 wrote: »

Battery Life seems to be very good.

I want this phone :P

(Skip to 9:15 for Battery Comparison)

Very scientific....the battery life is good. Better than the S3, not as good as the Note 2......which is what everyone expected.

On another note, I have the One, love it. Am due an upgrade in 2 months, and was definitely gonna get the S4, having had the S3 and Note 2. Now I dunno....reviews seem so-so, not as sure as I was.

threein99 · 27-04-2013 04:22PM

Basil3 wrote: »

Very scientific....the battery life is good. Better than the S3, not as good as the Note 2......which is what everyone expected.

On another note, I have the One, love it. Am due an upgrade in 2 months, and was definitely gonna get the S4, having had the S3 and Note 2. Now I dunno....reviews seem so-so, not as sure as I was.

Do you change phones every month?

SlickTalker · 27-04-2013 06:11PM

Just to let everyone know they are sim free regardless of network. Got mine on prepay in carphone warehouse today and got it on Vodafone but takes any sim card. Also big difference in price between Vodafone and the rest.

27-04-2013 06:22PM

threein99 wrote: »

Do you change phones every month?

Well, got a One X on contract early last year. Sold it in Oct and got an S3 second hand for the price I sold the One X, Sold the S3 in Jan and got a Note 2 for an extra €100, sold the Note 2 and got the One for an extra €130.

Guess I've spent a bit over €200 over the course of the year, but have had 4 flagships in that time

27-04-2013 06:23PM

SlickTalker wrote: »

Just to let everyone know they are sim free regardless of network. Got mine on prepay in carphone warehouse today and got it on Vodafone but takes any sim card. Also big difference in price between Vodafone and the rest.

Am only with Vodafone because of the free international calls and texts. Does anyone do anything similar on any of their plans?

Sonics2k · 27-04-2013 06:30PM

SlickTalker wrote: »

Just to let everyone know they are sim free regardless of network. Got mine on prepay in carphone warehouse today and got it on Vodafone but takes any sim card. Also big difference in price between Vodafone and the rest.

Only Vodafone ones are confirmed unlocked, Meteor ones might be.
Other networks are locked though.

Cherry_Cola · 27-04-2013 07:08PM

How much is it on Vodafone prepay? Is there Vodafone branding on the phone itself?

SlickTalker · 27-04-2013 08:48PM

Sonics2k wrote: »

Only Vodafone ones are confirmed unlocked, Meteor ones might be.
Other networks are locked though.

I'm just going by what the sales assistant said. However Vodafone are the best priced on prepay so that doesn't make a huge difference and no bloat ware either

SlickTalker · 27-04-2013 08:48PM

Cherry_Cola wrote: »

How much is it on Vodafone prepay? Is there Vodafone branding on the phone itself?

599 and no bloat ware at all.

MuppetCheck · 27-04-2013 11:34PM

Had a look at an s4 today in CPW, nice phone but don't think it would be a major upgrade from an s3, in fact I thought the s3 was nicer in the hand than the s4 too. Given the hype I was a little disappointed but that's because the s3 was such a good device and still is I suppose.

paddydriver · 28-04-2013 12:44AM

Got an S4 today on a business plan upgrade... pricey! Anyway, can confirm no FM radio; that was a curve ball I missed.

Some of the features I was hoping for have been locked out by Samsung, such as lock screen widgets etc. Work on stock 4.2 but not on Samsung 4.2. It is definitely becoming more about the Samsung than Android; everything starts with an "S-":eek:

Overall I honestly cannot justify why I did the upgrade from my S3 to this... but hey, gotta have it:D

Had a DOA too... worked for an hour and then camera died a death, nothing bring it back such as factory resets, SD format etc. Got a new one and all working OK.

Now... when is the Note 3 coming out.

karltimber · 28-04-2013 01:07AM

Whats the best way to sync contacts from a Desire to my new s4 ?
Thx

AlmightyCushion · 28-04-2013 01:16AM

karltimber wrote: »

Whats the best way to sync contacts from a Desire to my new s4 ?
Thx

They should all be saved in your google account. Once you log into that on your s4 they'll start appearing.

Cróga · 28-04-2013 03:07AM

Anyone know where in Dublin I can get a black version on Prepay? I'd like to buy one later.

irishbuzz · 28-04-2013 10:45AM

Is a 24 month contract the minimum on Vodafone bill pay for the S4?

threein99 · 28-04-2013 11:57AM

Basil3 wrote: »

Well, got a One X on contract early last year. Sold it in Oct and got an S3 second hand for the price I sold the One X, Sold the S3 in Jan and got a Note 2 for an extra €100, sold the Note 2 and got the One for an extra €130.

Guess I've spent a bit over €200 over the course of the year, but have had 4 flagships in that time

So which one most impressed you ?

28-04-2013 01:59PM

threein99 wrote: »

So which one most impressed you ?

Tough call....every phone has it's strong and weak points.

For the wow factor, I think the HTC's win hands down. They are great looking devices, with amazing screens....so from the moment you open the box, they impress you.

Note 2 is fantastic for battery life, but I found it too big, and I already have a Nexus 7 anyway. I also tried my best to use the productivity features, but I didn't think it was any better than my usual system of using notes/calendar etc on any normal Android device.

S3 to me was a let down after having the One X. The screen is terrible in comparison, certain colours don't display well, you can see pixels, black blobs on a dark screen....not good. I didn't really use any of samsung's proprietary features, smart stay didn't work well for me, S-Voice seriously struggled with my kiwi accent, whereas Google Now could understand it fine.

The One is the best phone I've had so far, and so it should be, being the latest. It's new features are actually a benefit to me. I have young kids, and have caught great photos of them using the zoe feature, the stereo speakers are actually great, even though I've never really been bothered by phone speakers in the past.

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone would regret getting any of the latest phones at the moment...especially if your current one is more than a year old. They have all improved on the weak points from the last generation, and I'm still going to get the S4 in a couple of months unless something which blows everything out of the water is announced in the meantime.

threein99 · 28-04-2013 02:04PM

Basil3 wrote: »

Tough call....every phone has it's strong and weak points.

For the wow factor, I think the HTC's win hands down. They are great looking devices, with amazing screens....so from the moment you open the box, they impress you.

Note 2 is fantastic for battery life, but I found it too big, and I already have a Nexus 7 anyway. I also tried my best to use the productivity features, but I didn't think it was any better than my usual system of using notes/calendar etc on any normal Android device.

S3 to me was a let down after having the One X. The screen is terrible in comparison, certain colours don't display well, you can see pixels, black blobs on a dark screen....not good. I didn't really use any of samsung's proprietary features, smart stay didn't work well for me, S-Voice seriously struggled with my kiwi accent, whereas Google Now could understand it fine.

The One is the best phone I've had so far, and so it should be, being the latest. It's new features are actually a benefit to me. I have young kids, and have caught great photos of them using the zoe feature, the stereo speakers are actually great, even though I've never really been bothered by phone speakers in the past.

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone would regret getting any of the latest phones at the moment...especially if your current one is more than a year old. They have all improved on the weak points from the last generation, and I'm still going to get the S4 in a couple of months unless something which blows everything out of the water is announced in the meantime.

The one is a great looking phone alright, I have an S3 since it was released last year I'm happy enough with it for another while but will definitely get whatever version of the One phone is on sale when I change phones again.

Occono · 28-04-2013 04:16PM

paddydriver wrote: »

Got an S4 today on a business plan upgrade... pricey! Anyway, can confirm no FM radio; that was a curve ball I missed.

Some of the features I was hoping for have been locked out by Samsung, such as lock screen widgets etc. Work on stock 4.2 but not on Samsung 4.2. It is definitely becoming more about the Samsung than Android; everything starts with an "S-":eek:

Overall I honestly cannot justify why I did the upgrade from my S3 to this... but hey, gotta have it:D

Had a DOA too... worked for an hour and then camera died a death, nothing bring it back such as factory resets, SD format etc. Got a new one and all working OK.

Now... when is the Note 3 coming out.

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/04/25/how-to-use-lock-screen-widgets-on-the-samsung-galaxy-s4/ Although apparently you can't actually have a LOCK screen to use them....

YellowFeather · 28-04-2013 09:30PM

I got my SGS4 on Saturday and I do really love it already. Seems to be very customiseable (should be a word), the screen is beautiful to touch and the smart scrolling is pretty good once you get accustomed to it (I use the tilting option rather than the main eye tracking one (which I haven't found to be great - but am reserving judgment 'cause maybe I just need to learn how to move my eyes better! :P)).

But (and I should have read up more before buying it), I can't believe it doesn't have a FM transmitter. Honestly, if I had known that, I would have probably gone for something else, but I just assumed it would as I had gone from the SGS2. Sure, even the SGY had a radio transmitter and that was one of the big reasons I turned from Apple.

I find the radio apps to be very hit and miss. I could listen to Newstalk or FM104 for 2 hours and just keep hearing the same 30 minutes of content 'cause it keeps skipping back. Very, very, very disappointed with such a big flaw in a phone that I was really looking forward to.

Oafley Jones · 28-04-2013 10:17PM

Don't like the feel of it, but I was leaning towards it owing to 1) Battery concerns of the One and 2) on screen menu button - hated this on my X when it launched. Lack of FM really kills it for me though, would never consider a Nexus device because of it either. Hope this doesn't follow on to the Note 3.

28-04-2013 10:25PM

To be honest, I'm amazed how many people use FM radio. I think I used it once on a Sony Ericsson I owned 10 years ago.

I bet Samsung didn't expect leaving out such an inexpensive feature would cost them, but that may end up being the case.

IncognitoMan · 28-04-2013 10:35PM

The 'tune in' app is brilliant for radio . Not sure how much data it uses. But it cant be that much?

Occono · 28-04-2013 10:37PM

It's not a question of data usage, just when you have data at at all. FM radio isn't big in the states but it's a bit more important worldwide. Still I don't think it's a huge loss, if you're buying an expensive phone you probably plan to use data a lot. It's more important with cheaper smartphones, like the Galaxy Mini I see everyone have who bought it Pay as you go.....

YellowFeather · 28-04-2013 11:13PM

Cróga wrote: »

Anyone know where in Dublin I can get a black version on Prepay? I'd like to buy one later.

Probably a bit late, but Carphone Warehouse in Dundrum had a lot of stock in black as of last Saturday.

Basil3 wrote: »

To be honest, I'm amazed how many people use FM radio. I think I used it once on a Sony Ericsson I owned 10 years ago.

I bet Samsung didn't expect leaving out such an inexpensive feature would cost them, but that may end up being the case.

I'm not pushed about data usage, but I've always had issues with the different radio apps / listening online. I'm fairly boring when it comes to radio - Newstalk and FM104 - but both their apps are terrible. FM104 is unlistenable as I can't get through half an hour before it starts skipping and looping. Newstalk is better - sometimes - but it can still decide to stop or loop at least once an hour. At least with the FM transmitter I could listen to a show from start to finish. And as for the RTE app (purely for the Joe Duffy entertainment factor :P), it's woeful altogether!

I'm trying a few different radio provider apps, but nothing is consistent. Maybe Samsung was looking at a different market when it removed the FMT, but it's needed over here.

fifth · 28-04-2013 11:46PM

Hello Androiders!

Just bought one of these on a whim, should be here this week. Currently have an iPhone 5 (which I love, for many reasons). But think I would like to try a handset with a much bigger screen and I have always had an open mind about software etc.

Build quality is a bit of a concern for me, and both my previous Android handsets were a bit disappointing (HTC Legend, Sony Xperia Play). So giving it another go with arguably the most powerful(?) model to see how it goes. I'll be keeping the iPhone to hand just in case it doesn't work out, have invested quite a bit in apps/music etc which will be a bit of a bummer to have to buy all over again.

Anything I should do with the phone out of the box - tweaking/installing things etc?

Cróga · 29-04-2013 12:19AM

hmm maybe i'll bite the bullet and go bill-pay, first time in my life. Who offers the best plan?

edit: i'll mostly be using it for the internet. I rarely make calls or send sms, haven't even bought credit in over a year.

AlmightyCushion · 29-04-2013 12:26AM

Cróga wrote: »

hmm maybe i'll bite the bullet and go bill-pay, first time in my life. Who offers the best plan?

edit: i'll mostly be using it for the internet. I rarely make calls or send sms, haven't even bought credit in over a year.

If you haven't topped up in a year why would you go bill pay. Just get it sim free and stick with pay as you go.

Samsung Galaxy S4 thread - See Mod Warning in Post #1

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