More than half of the S4s features are in the phones software value-adds. The physical hardware on the S4 isn't that great of a jump from the S3. I think a vanilla S4 wouldn't appeal to the masses if you lose all of those elements that the S4 brings to the table.
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GS4 with stock Android
- Thread starter paulsalter
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0dev
macrumors 68040
I'm in the UK. Three is excellent in the UK. I've never used them in Italy but compare the deals, if they're as great for value as they are in the UK I fully recommend it.
jrswizzle
macrumors 603
AT&T Unlimited users don't require any "hacks". Every time I upgrade they transfer it over.
And there's quite a bit of difference in network coverage area between the US and any of the European countries......costs quite a bit more for carriers to build out and maintain our networks.
At any rate, it will always be that way - more people in the US = more congestion on the network = slower overall speeds. Not really a big issue. People whine and complain about cell phone carrier prices.....it is what it is. T-Mobile's un-carrier plans will likely help drive costs down some, but we can't expect 100% coverage of our entire country with LTE speeds and not think we're gonna pay $20/month like other countries.
Too many people, too big a coverage area. Costs money.
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Cool - looking at grabbing a pre-paid sim that I can use for the 2 weeks we are there.
Would love to spend around 10 euros....being their webpages are in Italian, I have a hard time navigating 😛
0dev
macrumors 68040
I get that, but at any rate, it seems to me that there's no excuse for them to rip you off. If they're going to charge you a lot of money they should let you have more for that money. Even if you have a grandfathered plan, fact is no one else can get those anymore. Considering the prices there's no reason why not, they're just being super greedy and taking advantage of the lax telecoms regulation you have over there.
I also don't fully buy the whole "it's a big country so we need to charge more" argument. The fact it's a big country means they have more subscribers and therefore more revenue by default. Also if T-Mobile can offer better value why can't the rest of them?
Plus even when you buy a phone on a new 24 month contract you're expect to pay ~$200. That's insane. Over here if you sign a contract you can get any phone you want for free.
Google Translate man! And enjoy Italy, I've been there a few times, it's an amazing place 🙂
How is it a hack? It tooke 5 min to order my phone online without even the need to talk to anyone and its coming in the mail ready to be used as soon as Verizon releases it.
I can buy any 4g phone on craigslist and just pop my sim into it and off I go with a new phone and keep my unlimited plan
And to your some people getting speeds my phone has never seen 3g and I get the speeds I told you everywhere I go.I hit 66mb in Vegas and 50mb all the way across the country in boston
I must be living in the past where I am in the UK 🙁
Mostly only get gprs for my mobile and at home I get 2MB connection if it's a good day (and always only before 5pm)
on the plus side, it is unlimited, lol
0dev
macrumors 68040
You need to create new lines and swap crap around, it's a hack. And if I hop on a plane and walk into a Verizon shop tomorrow can I get unlimited data? No.
The bottom line remains. £15 a month prepaid for 300 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited DC-HSPDA and, in just a few months, LTE data is a far better deal than anything you can get in the US. And if you pay an extra tenner you get unlimited tethering too, so you literally don't need home broadband.
0dev
macrumors 68040
Yeah rural areas need to catch up. I think they're trying to roll out LTE in rural areas for this very reason, but there's no point at EE's prices, you want to wait for Three to do it.
Dontazemebro
macrumors 68020
jrswizzle
macrumors 603
T-mobile can do so because they've been losing customers like crazy.....lol they need to do something!
A bigger country does mean more subscribers for sure.....but its not just the population that's larger - its the area of coverage needed. I mean each of the big 3 over here covers something like 99% of the nation.....even many rural areas. The money needed to build out and maintain that vast network is likely more than needed in other smaller countries.
I'm not saying they do make a lot of money too......but the whole idea that profit is a dirty word is ridiculous to me. If I really think about it, I pay more per month for my house, my electricity, my cable, gas in my car, life insurance, home/car insurance, food, random things....etc. Being that my smartphone is a very important part of my life and has become integral in most everyone's work and everyday doings, I think the money it costs isn't all that big a deal.
Also gotta take into account average yearly salaries for each country. Sure there are some places with lower costs for cell phones where people make MORE than us in the US, but there aren't many.
Plus, you guys get screwed in other ways! lol....taxes, tariffs, etc. There's always something 😉
Dontazemebro
macrumors 68020
I'm with AT&T and even gave up my grandfathered plan because it wasn't worth it. I was getting throttled sometimes after only 1.5gb.
Hell, I much rather pay the extra 10 bucks for 1 more GB of LTE than unlimited turtle speeds.
Hell, I much rather pay the extra 10 bucks for 1 more GB of LTE than unlimited turtle speeds.
0dev
macrumors 68040
But they won't be doing it at at a loss, clearly they can make money that way even if it does mean slimmer margins. The problem in the US is lack of competition, so there's no incentive to drive down prices like there is here.
Yeah the costs are higher to maintain a network in a bigger country, but for the very reason it's a bigger country, they also have a lot more revenue to fund that kind of thing with.
Don't get me wrong, profit isn't a dirty word to me, but I see your plans and my jaw drops 😛
The average wage in the US vs. the UK is pretty similar I'd imagine. They're both developed first world countries after all.
Oh yeah, you mentioned gas before, we get screwed over royally for that over here don't you worry 😛
Hastings101
macrumors 68020
Hey now, I technically have unlimited data on AT&T... I just get throttled down to unbearable speeds if I go over the 3GB monthly limit 🙁
Tig Bitties
macrumors 603
Sounds cool, if even true, but need more details ? I doubt this will be like a "Nexus" device with updates direct from Google ?
I could see it being shipped with Android 4.3, and being stuck on 4.3 for awhile,waiting for Samsung to push the newer OS update months later. And I agree, would be sold in very limited quantities, near impossible to find. So maybe T-Mobile gets it, ok, T-Mo blows, and I would still think would be scarce and hard to get at T-Mobile stores.
And the price for such a phone ? If it's in the crazy $650 range, no way then. With the current and still fresh Nexus 4 selling for just $349, no way is this special edition S4 worth 75% more, just for LTE, and expandable storage ? LOL, that's not worthy of a 75% price increase. The Nexus 4 is no slouch, hardware wise compared to the S4, is not that much different, sure the S4 is a better device, but not night and day radically better, if anything this S4 Google Edition would be like a Nexus 4.5.
At this point, I'd just wait for the Nexus-Five, will be cheaper, and have better spec's than the S4, and run the latest Android OS.
I could see it being shipped with Android 4.3, and being stuck on 4.3 for awhile,waiting for Samsung to push the newer OS update months later. And I agree, would be sold in very limited quantities, near impossible to find. So maybe T-Mobile gets it, ok, T-Mo blows, and I would still think would be scarce and hard to get at T-Mobile stores.
And the price for such a phone ? If it's in the crazy $650 range, no way then. With the current and still fresh Nexus 4 selling for just $349, no way is this special edition S4 worth 75% more, just for LTE, and expandable storage ? LOL, that's not worthy of a 75% price increase. The Nexus 4 is no slouch, hardware wise compared to the S4, is not that much different, sure the S4 is a better device, but not night and day radically better, if anything this S4 Google Edition would be like a Nexus 4.5.
At this point, I'd just wait for the Nexus-Five, will be cheaper, and have better spec's than the S4, and run the latest Android OS.
MRU
macrumors Penryn
Yeah shame play-store sales are limited to very few countries. Basically it'll never see light of day here. 🙁 If it was - I could be tempted.
Dontazemebro
macrumors 68020
0dev
macrumors 68040
I wouldn't be so sure, although Google likes neglecting Europe they're usually not bad bringing stuff to the UK. I think they might bring it here in the near future. My biggest fear is they'll just do a direct conversion on the price and overcharge us for the hardware.
MRU
macrumors Penryn
Even when it's available in the UK, you can't order it from the Ireland store, even though google are based in Ireland for everything european. Get's quite frustrating.
0dev
macrumors 68040
That's a shame and makes little sense... silly Google. Surely it can't be too hard to get one imported from England though?
KentuckyHouse
macrumors 68030
Anybody wanna buy a LGOG, Note 2, and S3? LOL. I'm so buying one of these when they're available!
