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Whomever has a GS3, this is not the upgrade for you unless you like paying for upgrades that really aren't upgrades. Somehow I feel the upcoming iPhone has nothing to worry about.

So it's similar to to the iPhone 4 to 4S and soon to be iPhone 5 to 5 S?
 
The S4 having a pentile display again automatically makes it a inferior display to the whole competition...smh

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None of the software features they announced even remotely solve a problem I think I have. If Apple releases just one compelling feature, they'll beat this phone

Nfc/ finger print scanner with revolutionary iOS 7? That would do it
 
What's with the higher resolution screen?

Is there any reason to have more pixels, or is this just a spec bump (that makes people think the iPhone isn't as good just because its pixel density is lower)?

It actually looks better...obviously.

Even though Apple keeps on saying 326 ppi is the best, you can't argue with logic that some phones have 400+ ppi look better.

Reviewers also agree.
 
I'm the first one to jump on the Anti-PenTile bandwagon, but it's only really a problem on my S3 when I look too closely at it, and while I'll be reserving judgement for when I see the S4 in person, I don't think it'll be an issue on a 1080x1920 display.

As for colour reproduction, I like the AMOLED saturation. It makes colours pop and feel far more vibrant. When I look at a One X or an iPhone 5, the colours look too washed out to me. Also, Samsung handsets have Screen Mode options, in which you can change the display calibration to be more like an LCD.

Thanks. This is at least an opinion worth debating (which the OP failed to provide).

We have pretty much all mobiles in use in our company (as we have a, more or less, free BYOD program - we do not allow Windows Phone yet, as the OS does not support NTP yet - and reliable time syncing is mandatory in our business - and because InternetExploder can't render our Intranet pages properly, but we do allow iOS, Android and BB7+), and I did a lot of testing using all of them.

As I said before, Pen Tile displays are OK for irregular patterns (pretty much everything except for text and detailed line graphics). But the S3 does definitely not render text any way close to the iPhone models with the "Retina" displays. The text is jaggy (not only when looking from a less than usual distance, but always); not terrible by any means, but not distinctively better than on a non-"Retina" display several years ago. Of course, this also depends on the actual font. While it is not that noticeable with massive fonts (like most fatter sans serif fonts), it is fairly obvious with more fragile fonts (like normal weight Times). People mainly using a phone for photos, videos and games will likely not notice it at all. People reading a lot of blogs, books and magazines will see a clear difference. I do not mind as long as people are happy with what they have, but stating it is the same is not quite right.

The same goes for color accuracy. If somebody likes extreme colors and red faces in movies, it is not up to me to call them wrong. Still, there is only one "correct". I often use my iPhone and iPad to check and rate pictures from my DSLR before I send them to my company. I have tested several OLED screens, and they were all completely useless for this task. I am not saying everybody needs this accuracy, just that there is a clear and obvious difference. The "Screen Mode" options on Samsung's devices mainly do two things: de-saturate the screen or change the color balance / temperature. This does indeed change the impression of the image (and eventually makes it more pleasing to look at, or closer to the expectation), it does not make it more accurate. People not needing accuracy might be completely fine with that, no objection at all, but saying it is anywhere close to accuracy is just wrong.

(Disclaimer: I am not at all stating here that any iPhone or iPad would be suitable for color critical tasks, like proofing or color correction... they are not. But they give me a pretty close impression of what somebody else will see on a decent, calibrated screen. Not exact. But close. OLED can't do that. Not because they do not want to, it is a technical limitation of the panel technology.)
 
Samsung set everyone up for disappointment with all the hype around a non-event, but I remember everyone feeling disappointed last year after the G3 announcement, but heavy (and rather good) advertising got a lot of people to bite and to think of Samsung as an innovator and a cool tech company.

Unfortunately for Samsung, people will eventually catch onto that fact they're just another OEM playing the same specs game as everyone else, with little care or attention to genuinely improving the user experience; as evidenced by the lets throw every gimmick we can think of at users and see if they'll bite approach.
 
They will - and other features they mentioned that aren't hardware tied (so they said)

But as for OS - who really cares (in the general public) which version of OS it runs as long as what they buy does what the manufacturer says it does and that's what they want.

I don't buy my phone for what it might do in the future. I buy what it is advertised to do today. Any "extras" that come along are just that.

That's good that they are. Part of the reason I switched to the iPhone in the first place is that Google dropped support for the Nexus One after less than 18 months. I don't buy a phone for what it might do, either, but on the other hand, I'm more likely to stick with a phone if it gets some support.
 
My first programming class used an Apple II.

My roommate had one of the original Macs in 1984. I loved it. It inspired me.

I used a Mac II in grad school. I loved it. It inspired me.

I bought a Mac IIci in 1991. I loved it like a child.

I went away from Apple for about a decade because, well, mid-90s Apple sucked.

I bought an iMac running Jaguar in 2002 and spent an entire week awe-struck in front of it - I literally took a week off of work to learn all about it. I loved it.

I had one of the first iPhones, and it was a thing of wonder. I got the iPhone 4, and the screen amazed me.

And then... nada.

Apple has done little except bore me for years now.

I wouldn't say I'm bored by Apple, but you raise an interesting point. I've had iPhone 3GS, 4, and now 4S (not to mention Macs going back into the Powerbook days), and haven't had the same sense of wonder lately either.

Instead of saying I'm bored, I'd just say that my computer and phone have become more like appliances than pieces of amazing technology. My 4S is great -- I love it and have very few complaints, and am frequently using my girlfriend's iPhone 5, but none of those products has changed my life dramatically. In some ways it's a compliment to how refined those product categories have become, and how lucky we are as consumers to have a plethora amazing products we can take for granted (including alternatives like Windows 8 and Android).

That said, as much as Android is a great alternative, it's never enticed me as something that is awe-inspiring or life changing -- it does some things better than iOS, some things worse, but doesn't revolutionize. I'm waiting and hoping some company (Apple, Microsoft, HTC, Google, Samsung) will do that, but maybe they won't and damir00 had it right:

There's nowhere really left to go with phones.

The revolution is over.

We're at the "supply chain management" stage of the game until they are superseded by an entirely different form factor.

Right now, I'd guess Apple will be the one to do it, but they're running out of time before someone else beats them. :apple:
 
I walked into this thread, expecting to troll MacRumors for being SamsungPressReleases, then I read read this:

Drama Burst, which creates animated GIFs

Safari is 10+ years old and still chokes hard on large animated gifs or just tons of them on a page (think forums). I wonder if this will ever change.
 
Not true.

There's nowhere really left to go with phones.

The revolution is over.

I will never be happy with my phone until I can set it down flat on the table in front of me and video chat with a 3D hologram of my girlfriend (or Princess Leia).
:)

Ok just kidding.
I like my phone as it is now.

But that would be cool.
 
holy crap one feature? do you know how to count? these features are ONTOP of the S3. hell the iPhone cant even share a file over Bluetooth o wifi direct lol let alone anything to do with NFC.

Airdrop for one. A blevy of third party apps for transferring files through bluetooth or wireless.[/QUOTE]
 
Haha... care to give any facts to back this up?

AMOLED can't produce accurate colors and is lousy in daylight. Pen tile can't support proper font smoothing. But. It is "the best screen evar". And an albatross is better than an eagle?

Here why the S4 screen is the best ever especially if you compare it to iPhone:
  • Much larger size (vs. tiny iPhone)
  • Runs split-screen mode. (iPhone can't do that)
  • True HD (iPhone can't do that)
  • 1080p (iPhone can't do that)
  • Best angle views (iPhone can't do that)
  • Multiple color modes. If you like "accurate colors", pick "Normal" or "Movie" mode. Do you like punchy colors? Pick "Dynamic". (iPhone can't do multiple modes)
  • No backlight: best contrast and absolute black levels (iPhone can't do that)
  • Corning glass 3 - most scratch resistant (iPhone does not)
  • Widest color gamut
  • Lower average battery consumption
  • Thinner then backlit LCDs - more space for internals
  • 440 ppi (iPhone can't do that); the Super-retina resolution and new new type of PenTile-based array of subpixels helps your "font smoothing" . Rather than being arranged in a line, the subpixels are now ever-so-slightly skew-wiff.
 
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I always waffle back and forth on whether or not I post replies to ones like his because it seems futile. Some people just refuse to accept that people can own apple device and other tech. Or that even if they are all Apple - that everything they say has to be in some sort of corporate alignment with them.

I must have missed that requirement when signing up.

I think it's in the fine print. :D:D
 
Wait for endless threads by Galaxy fanboys proclaiming death of iPhone/IPhone getting its ass kicked yadda yadda.

The one thing worse than Apple fan boys is Android fanboys lol

Someone forgot the other Galaxy 4 features:
• doubles as a surf board/ironing board/baby change mat/sump oil change tray

I think Steve's reaction to that presentation would have been "what a pile of $h!t!"

All signing and dancing!
 
New Apple ad idea:
You have a bunch of crazed bimbo bridesmaids tapdancing in front of a band while waving their GS4's around. Pan over to Justin Long who looks at them wide-eyed, raises an iPhone up and snaps a shot of them, and then tweets "You don't see THAT everyday."

Then pan further to John Hodgman shaking his head in disbelief saying "No you don't."
 
Good point- although, his statement is going to be accurate in a couple months when Key Lime Pie gets here...

This is an interesting point to me, I'm using a 4S running iOS 5.1.1. I haven't upgraded because Apple just can't get a patch right, and they give you no ability to return to an earlier version. I was laughing during the whole maps fiasco as I continued using the original google maps. I'm well aware I can upgrade quite safely right now but knowing if I don't like it, I'm screwed just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At least *if* I can put Key Lime Pie on the GS4, I know I can always revert to JB. As far as I'm concerned *for me*, I consider android to have a much better upgrade path.

On the other hand. The original Galaxy S came out in March 2010, around the same time as the iPhone 4. In that time, a full 3 years, Apple has given us Siri and an extra 0.5" of screen (with a narrower form so it's an even smaller increase than it sounds in square inches or pixels). That's a pathetic joke. Samsung has made amazing progress while Apple is still living the past with their "greatest". My phone contract has been up since October and it wasn't worth renewing for the 5. So the GS4 is a first day pre-order for me.

Comparing this to the iPhone 5 and rumoured iPhone 5S, Apple has seen it's last quarter beating Samsung. I don't even feel good about that since I'd rather have a decent iPhone, but it doesn't exist.
 
As long as Android devices keep telling me how much better they are than iPhones, I'll stick with iPhones.

Once Android (or whoever for that matter) start saying how much DIFFERENT they are than an iPhone, I might get more interested.

You see, the success of the iPhone relied on the mere fact of doing stuff in a simpler and different way. Current Android and a-likes only try to do pretty much the same than an iPhone but in a faster or prettier way.

Most (if not all) of the "capabilities" introduced by the S4 are gimmicks. Meaning that are "cool" stuff that you'll use once to show to your friends, and then forget about.

Break paradigms, that is what the original iPhone did. What paradigm is the S4 breaking?

If I were a first time smartphone user, there are chances that I would pick an Android, BB, or Windows device. All of those are great. But since iPhone got here first, I have invested a ton on apps and the difference is not night and day. Then there is no substantial reasons to switch.

There was substantial reasons to switch from Nokia to BB back in the day. As there were for switching from BB to Apple. There is simply non for switching from one ecosystem to the other today. A 15% faster phone, when the most taxing app uses about 60% of my current iPhone 5??? An 8-core device when most humans run no more than 4 apps simultaneously on a smartphone?

This is like the get-the-most-powerful-car-out-there-fever even if it was only to drive your kids to school. The spec war is non-sense and anyone using specs to "forecast" the "imminent" demise of companies, is just plain wrong.

Nokia was producing the most powerful phones when BB took them by storm.
BB was producing the most powerful phones when Apple took them by storm.

Bottom line is, going out and about screaming like crazy about Apple demise, because they don't have the biggest, fastest phone is simply said; stupid.

It might not be prime time for Apple, there might come someone to take the throne, but I can assure you that it won't be Samsung. It won't be Samsung as long as they keep with their current philosophy of taking what works and trying to do it more powerful and cheaper. Technology world used to work like that, until a so-called Steve Jobs came and took the industry by storm.

Do you know which is the fasted consumer-available PC right now? Does it matter for the common folks? What does it makes you think that it is different in the smartphone arena? Why are some people so spoiled about specs?

PS. The S4 seems like a great phone. Not great enough to make me switch tho.
 
I think Steve's reaction to that presentation would have been "what a pile of $h!t!"

I think Steve's reaction would be to cry in dispair when he compares the S4 to his latest iPhone.

But then Steve wouldn't be stupid enough to try to sell a 2010 phone in 2013.

Take a look around you some time, iPhones are a lot harder to spot in the wild than they were a couple of years ago.
 
Airdrop for one. A blevy of third party apps for transferring files through bluetooth or wireless.
[/QUOTE]

Why should you have to rely on third party apps to do something as simple as a Bluetooth file transfer?

My old Nokia 3100 could do that, 8 years ago.
 
It's still pentile LED. iPhone 4's screen is still vastly superior.
At 440 ppi pentile would not matter at all.

Samsung has access to every mobile display technology, but Samsung uses AMOLED on its flagship phone. Why? Because Samsung considers it the best display technology.

Apple uses LCD because Apple doesn't have access to the best display technology. So Apple has to use the old tech backlit LCD which became a commodity.
 
I think Blackberry have produced the best looking phone recently - it actually looks desirable IMHO.

The Samsung stuff (physically) still looks cheap and Droid OS still looks like Win95 to me - clunky-ass icons and Weather Channel graphics.
Its obnoxious and crass.
 
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bigger screen and battery in a lighter and smaller footprint than the S3.. pretty cool.


And more useless(mostly) features that will eat that battery faster. Not cool. My s3 barely last me through the day. I usually have to use a backup battery.:(

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I think Blackberry have produced the best looking phone recently - it actually looks desirable IMHO.

But Blackberries don't look that different from iPhones on the exterior except maybe a bit bigger.
 
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