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First Reviews of Samsung Galaxy S4: Great Screen, Gimmick Features, Bad Plastic Design
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Probably enough time to not feel "duped" into buying something. By 14 days you can determine if features are effective or not.
Lord knows we have enough people fully judging a phone (on here) in a matter of minutes of usage
Thanks. Nor I, you
In the end, there are very few people who post intelligently enough that anyone would consider paying them.
If I was running Apple, I would release a cheap, plastic, 5" phone for those who want a big cheap phone, a 4" phone at the highest possible quality, and a small phone, something like the iPod Nano but as a phone, with limited features at a low price. To educate the public that iPhone 5 is the best, 5" is cheap and cheesy (but you can buy a 5" iPhone if you want), and that a _small_ phone is actually nice if you use it as a phone + music player, not as a general computer.
No idea if that would be profitable, but that's why I'm not running Apple :-(
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Samsung's Galaxy S4 is exactly like the S3 before it. Gimmicky features that don't work reliably, cheap materials, poor build quality and everything geared toward filling up a spec sheet and nothing else.
I'd rather get something like Sony's Xperia Z, HTC One or Motorola's RAZR. I don't think hardware specs matter that much anymore. Most of the apps we use aren't CPU/GPU intensive. Except for games and even then we don't really need octa cores. But sadly, Samsung focuses on hardware specs. More RAM, more cores, more megapixels, more "screen", more MHz, more gimmicky features that don't work.
I'd rather get something like Sony's Xperia Z, HTC One or Motorola's RAZR. I don't think hardware specs matter that much anymore. Most of the apps we use aren't CPU/GPU intensive. Except for games and even then we don't really need octa cores. But sadly, Samsung focuses on hardware specs. More RAM, more cores, more megapixels, more "screen", more MHz, more gimmicky features that don't work.
I'll back this up. I was just now doing a search in the App Store on my iPad, and it froze up on me for a good 5 seconds.
While some things can be better than others, nothing out there is perfect. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Maybe but facts are facts. The iPhone is primarily a PHONE... hence the name. All other functions should be secondary to it's primary function. The moment it becomes large, it loses is useablity as a phone and should be called something else.
In the end, there are very few people who post intelligently enough that anyone would consider paying them.
If I was running Apple, I would release a cheap, plastic, 5" phone for those who want a big cheap phone, a 4" phone at the highest possible quality, and a small phone, something like the iPod Nano but as a phone, with limited features at a low price. To educate the public that iPhone 5 is the best, 5" is cheap and cheesy (but you can buy a 5" iPhone if you want), and that a _small_ phone is actually nice if you use it as a phone + music player, not as a general computer.
No idea if that would be profitable, but that's why I'm not running Apple :-(
Why would you (Apple) need to make the 5" cheap? Why not simply make various phone sizes the same way you currently make phones. To intentionally skew people? Doesn't sound like a smart business model. Again- I don't think screen size itself is the issue. It's the ramifications on the app store.
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And yet I'd love to see a study on how many people use their smart phones as PHONES (as you say).
I know I don't. Not NEARLY as much as I did when I had a dumb or feature phone. So much is done with email, IM, txt, etc that actual calls have (for me and others I imagine) become secondary.
That being said - again - my experience - the iPhone (up until the 4) for ME (personally again) has had the worst radio/call experience compared to any other phones I've owned. More dropped calls, echos, digital loss, unable to complete calls, etc.
Note I didn't say the iPhone is BAD or the worst device out there. I said that of all the phones I've owned - it has performed (as a phone) less than others.
It's delusional to think the iPhone is primarily a phone. Many people rarely use the phone aspect of it.
Go to http://www.apple.com/iphone/ and you will have a hard time finding Apple themselves touting anything to do with using it as a phone.
Michael
So basically, another month, another big Android phone. Why some reviewers are so gaga with large screens is beyond me. IMO, and the opinion of nearly all my co-workers (we recently got upgraded to the new HTC with a 4.7" display), the benefits of the larger screen are greatly outweighed by the bulky size and inability to use it with one hand. Android's not-so-well thought out UI doesn't help either, like forcing users to drag an icon to the top of the screen to remove it from the home screen... You need hands the size of a pro basketball player to do that with one hand on these larger displays.
I understand peoples frustration over the gimmicky features of the device but lets face it. Gimmicks, if executed right, can help sell the device. I would consider Photobooth for Mac a Gimmick, but it showcased the fact that all Macs came with a webcam and you would not believe how many people I would see in the apple store taking pictures of themselves or "steal" my mac to take weird pictures of themselves. Same can be said about Siri. I thought of Siri as a gimmick when it first came out but then you hear of all the witty stuff siri will say and you suddenly wanna try her out. Gimmicks are still gimmicks but they do serve a purpose if executed right.
So kind of like the 4s to iphone 5 ? All features worthless and the phone feels cheap and fragile now ?
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http://www.redmondpie.com/galaxy-s4...fastest-gaming-graphics-in-smartphone-market/
Cheap plastic. Gawww....
I'm not saying this about all hardcore Apple fans, but some of you come across as the type of people who'd pay $100 for a glass of water because someone told you it came from a 10,000 year old iceberg.
"What does it taste like"?
"...hmm. *swish* *swish* *swish. Tastes pretty much like water".
"So why'd you pay $100 for it"?
"Cuz it's good water I paid a premium for. Now that I've had this, I'll never go back to tap".
I'm not saying this about all hardcore Apple fans, but some of you come across as the type of people who'd pay $100 for a glass of water because someone told you it came from a 10,000 year old iceberg.
"What does it taste like"?
"...hmm. *swish* *swish* *swish. Tastes pretty much like water".
"So why'd you pay $100 for it"?
"Cuz it's good water I paid a premium for. Now that I've had this, I'll never go back to tap".
I do think Apple is staying with the screen size for ergonomic reasons. I don't really understand the claim anyway. It is easier to build a larger phone. I always thought this is pretty obvious. It's easier to advertise ("hurr, we got the larger screen, x inches versus y inches", better specs etc), it's easier to design (the Samsung Galaxy S has 50% more volume, more space for battery, cpu, gpu, ram, heat dissipation etc) and easier to manufacture. Fitting comparable hardware into a much smaller casing is actually quite an accomplishment which really shows just how much better Apple's engineers are.
I always thought this was a very overlooked fact.
You left out the part where most people add various ingredients to the water which make the original taste moot.
IE - many people put a case on their iPhone or Android device. So as far as what the phone is made out of - how much does it really matter.
In fact - I would think thinner/lighter would rule given that you're going to add thickness and weight with a case
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Given the specs of the S3 vs S4 (size/weight/battery life/screen/etc) - I would say that Samsung has done an equally good job on the internals and taking advantage of engineering to get it all in.
I stand by my belief that a lot of Apple's delay into larger screens has more to do with disruption of their ecosystem than anything else.
The iPhone doesn't feel cheap or fragile? You can look up the drop test videos from various Android websites - they tend to show that the iPhones put up with more abuse than the Galaxy line of phones.
The iPhone 5 has LTE and a taller screen, so the upgrade from the 4S to the 5 was noticeable. The S4 doesn't seem to have much the S3 didnt.
Water flavoring is just a gimmicky feature that doesn't work reliably. I mean who wants lime in their water? It's stupid.
IE - many people put a case on their iPhone or Android device. So as far as what the phone is made out of - how much does it really matter.
In fact - I would think thinner/lighter would rule given that you're going to add thickness and weight with a case
There are people like me who decide to forego cases for portability and sleekness.
...though I do have to chuckle a bit when I see all these people talk about buying an iPhone because it's the thinnest, lightest, most compact phone on the market, then immediately slap it into an Otterbox Defender that makes it roughly the size of the larger Android phones.
"I wanted something I could easily fit in my pocket. I got that with my iPhone...which is now embedded inside this giant brick of rubber and plastic".
Delusional??? Geesh, you people will argue anything. It's called an iPhone!!! It's OK for people to use the other functions more but it certainly is delusional to think that it's primary function is NOT a phone.
Besides, last I looked you need a cell connection to do just about anything ouside of a wifi hot spot.
do any of these 1080P phones offer video in?
would be great to use one as an DVI/hdmi display in a pinch.
would be great to use one as an DVI/hdmi display in a pinch.
This is my major beef as well. As soon as I need to use two hands, the device is already handicapped. Two handed operation and larger screens are what tablets are for.