Samsung Galaxy S4 - Life Companion [OUT NOW]

[GranTurismo916]

That seems like a silly criticism of the iPhone. I'll bet you own a lot of stuff that is produced in China or other foreign nations where they take advantage of their labor force.

I think a lot of people just hate the iPhone because it's Apple. If you're going to hate it, hate it for the right reasons like that they charge you more money for the same features that a lot of other competing products have.

I didn't say it was totally because it's produced in China. I honestly think there's phones with better features out there. 👍

 

[shmogt]

The iphone is great for people who want things just to work. Android is pretty good but to make it great you need to customize like everything to your liking. That means a lot of learning and figuring out new things. Most people in life are stupid and lazy as hell. They don't want to do anything after they purchased. I understand that, but the problem is those same people don't care about chips and power etc either. So when a new iPhone comes out and it's basically the tiniest upgrades to things these people won't care about for the same premium price, what's the point? It becomes a total rip off. Like buying the 32gb version as opposed to the 16gb version will run you a solid $100 more. It cost apple like $7 more. A outright 64gb with tax is literally right at in the $1000 range. It's just too insane for something 99% the same as last year's version. I hear apple is making a cheaper version that will come in colors this time around but usually the cheaper version iphone was last year's iphone. Not sure it's the best decision. If they actually do it of course.

 

[Leicht]

I think the point is: when S3 cames out, it really made iPhone 4S look like a toy. Then iPhone 5 came in and regain pretty much (actually) all titles back.

This time, S4 doesn’t make iPhone 5 looks stupid. Sure, it has superior (pentile) screen, superior performance, but probably not battery or camera. It’s a “new generation” device, just like One. But, it definitely doesn’t brought that huge leap S3 did. S3 was kinda of “the Samsung’s iPhone 4”. The big leap for them. Now, they reach that level where you can only get faster processors and cameras.

Probably Tim Cook and his team will sleep better to night. It they could overcome the gap between 4S and S3, they certainly will be able to do that with 5S.

But for now, HTC One is the best hardware you can buy, period.

 

[E28]

I honestly hate the iPhone. Mostly because most are produced in CHINA.
______________________________
I have an S2. It's a great phone. I use it mostly for gaming though.

Many Galaxy S2's were made in China, probably yours too.

 

[GranTurismo916]

Many Galaxy S2's were made in China, probably yours too.

Ok, I take that back then

 

[kennylmao]

I think the point is: when S3 cames out, it really made iPhone 4S look like a toy. Then iPhone 5 came in and regain pretty much (actually) all titles back.

This time, S4 doesn’t make iPhone 5 looks stupid. Sure, it has superior (pentile) screen, superior performance, but probably not battery or camera. It’s a “new generation” device, just like One. But, it definitely doesn’t brought that huge leap S3 did. S3 was kinda of “the Samsung’s iPhone 4”. The big leap for them. Now, they reach that level where you can only get faster processors and cameras.

Probably Tim Cook and his team will sleep better to night. It they could overcome the gap between 4S and S3, they certainly will be able to do that with 5S.

But for now, HTC One is the best hardware you can buy, period.

And what titles did the iPhone 5 regain back? What titles did the iPhone 4S even had, to start with?

 

[gtone339]

Samsung Galaxy S4 - Life Companion Official website

---------------------------------------

The S4 to offer extensive display calibration adjustments

Samsung is including a new feature in the S4 called Adapt Display that offers seven automatic modes and four manual modes - to provide the optimal viewing experience.

 

[shmogt]

And what titles did the iPhone 5 regain back? What titles did the iPhone 4S even had, to start with?

Thoughts as well. S3 came out and killed the 4s. Than the iphone 5 came out and was a 4s slightly stretched with the nice addition of **** apple maps. S3 smokes it and now the S4 destroys it.

In my opinion the best iphone ever was the 3gs. A lot of people say the 4 but I think it comes second for a few reasons. The 3gs is the best iphone ever because number one it was a large improvement over the 3g. It launched all over rather than just US. To this day it is still usable with the latest software. Very impressive for a phone that's like 4yrs old. Also it felt good in your hand. When the 4 came out it looked nice with the glass and metal but having a square phone is awful. It feels like holding a brick. I hope the next iphone has some sort of curve to it so it's actually comfortable when holding it.

 

[gtone339]

Hands On With Samsung Galaxy S4 New Game Pad Accessory At New York Launch:

-------------------------------------------

Samsung’s new application WatchON:

-------------------------------------------

Hands On With Samsung Galaxy S4 Phone Entertainment Features Demo:



-------------------------------------------

Samsung Orb for Galaxy S 4 delayed until Android 5.0 update

Samsung might bring Samsung Orb from the Android 5.0 update for the Galaxy S 4.

-------------------------------------------

Infographic: The evolution of Samsung’s Galaxy S flagship:

Since the first Galaxy S device by Samsung, the S line by Samsung is one huge success.

 

[Brend]

This is looking pretty great.

 

[RTSolvalou]

A bit of pricing info:

The first Samsung Galaxy S4 pricing details are starting to emerge online, with retailer Unlocked Mobiles being among the first to confirm how much Samsung's new flagship will cost in the UK. In news that should surprise no-one, the S4 comes in at £529.98 inc. VAT (£441.65 exc. VAT), which is the same ballpark figure you'll pay for other high-enders like the HTC One or Sony Xperia Z.

If you're thinking of importing the international Galaxy S4, that means you'll be looking at around an $800 price tag before shipping. Steep, yes, but the U.S. versions should be considerably cheaper when they eventually become available.

source:http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-uk-sim-free-price-emerges-530-inc-vat

Going to be a long wait, still over a month to go before I can get it in hand

 

[gtone339]

Samsung Galaxy S 4 beats all Android smartphones in new benchmark test

Samsung even doubled the speed compared to the Apple’s iPhone 5. Samsung scored in this benchmark test 3163 points. Where the HTC One has scored 2687 points and the iPhone 5 has scored 1596 points. We have to see the fight between all these devices in real life. The iPhone 5 uses a dual-core processor and the HTC One and Galaxy S 4 uses a quad-core processor. The processor of the Galaxy S 4 is clocked on 1.9Ghz which is 200MHz higher than the HTC one.

All on all be happy the testers didn’t use Samsung’s own EXYNOS Octa-Core processor. This processor is expected to beat all current processors in one time. Samsung will sell the Galaxy S 4 with the Octa-Core processor in a couple of countries.

Galaxy S4 is a beast! Now we need to know the benchmark scores for the Exynos 5 Octa! 👍

 

[Lion-Face]

I worry for the battery life in that thing. Going to an xperia z from a xperia play, the battery life is horrible. Or at least was until I turned stamina mode on in my Z.

I haven't really heard anything about battery saving features for the s4, and based off previous galaxies, isnt a particular strong point for the samsung phones

 

[gtone339]

I worry for the battery life in that thing. Going to an xperia z from a xperia play, the battery life is horrible. Or at least was until I turned stamina mode on in my Z.

I haven't really heard anything about battery saving features for the s4, and based off previous galaxies, isnt a particular strong point for the samsung phones

Have you heard about Samsung using Exynos 5 Octa?

Click here for more info.

Here's the vid for more info about it:






--------------------------------

In other news....

Samsung Galaxy S4 rings in at $236 for bill of materials

Here's a few examples on how the two generations in the flagship Galaxy smartphone series differ:

Display: Touted to be the biggest cost increase, the S4's full HD AMOLED display with a 1,920 by 1,080 resolution costs $75 compared to $65 for the 1,280 by 720 WXGA resolution screen on the S3.

Processor: IHS reported that Samsung is "believed" to be using an Exynos 5 Octa eight-core chip with Samsung’s own 28-nanometer process. That is said to cost $30 compared to just $17.50 for the chip on the S3.
Sensors: The S4 -- which got the added benefits of humidity, temperature and IR gesture sensors -- has $16 worth of sensors compared to $12.70 for the S3.

LTE: The Galaxy S4 supports the new 4G LTE air standard and up to six global LTE bands. Thus, the wireless interface rings up at $25 -- up from just HSPA+ for $16 on the S3.

EA to bring 16 popular titles to the Galaxy S 4

According to EA vice boss Glenn Roland is the Galaxy S4 with its large 5” full HD screen and powerful hardware (Snapdragon 600 / Exynos 5 Octa) is an ideal platform for famous games are even nicer to show. EA want to bring 16 popular titles completely optimize for the Galaxy S 4.

 

[Bluntified]

The iphone is great for people who want things just to work. Android is pretty good but to make it great you need to customize like everything to your liking. That means a lot of learning and figuring out new things. Most people in life are stupid and lazy as hell. They don't want to do anything after they purchased. I understand that, but the problem is those same people don't care about chips and power etc either. So when a new iPhone comes out and it's basically the tiniest upgrades to things these people won't care about for the same premium price, what's the point? It becomes a total rip off. Like buying the 32gb version as opposed to the 16gb version will run you a solid $100 more. It cost apple like $7 more. A outright 64gb with tax is literally right at in the $1000 range. It's just too insane for something 99% the same as last year's version. I hear apple is making a cheaper version that will come in colors this time around but usually the cheaper version iphone was last year's iphone. Not sure it's the best decision. If they actually do it of course.

I would have to somewhat disagree. While some don't care about minor hardware changes, some do. In this day in age, most people look at specs first, then performance (sad but true), while they are correlated, things look nicer on paper.

I own an S3 and see that the S4 is much ahead of it. I'm not really into the whole Apple vs Samsung competition, really due to the fact that they are both headed the same path.

Apple sells you 3/4 of a device then sells you the other quarter for the same price (eg; 4 to 4s). Samsung is doomed to follow the same path, just to battle with Apple! Samsung only just released the S3 late last summer, they already have the S4!

 

[Joel]

Well, I'm looking at an LG over the S3 (and probably S4) if just because of this.

Note the reds, along with many other colors, and you'll notice they all kind of blend together on the S3 due to the saturation.

Lol I'm just going to pretend I can see any difference between the two anyway #colourblind

 

[RTSolvalou]

Wow, I saw that part of the S-Health function was checking your surroundings for your 'comfort' level, and it mentioned temperature/humidity, but I three-quarters assumed it was going to be done via location info/internet connection, not onboard sensors! very happy to find that these 2 sensors will be on the S4

 

[Lion-Face]

Have you heard about Samsung using Exynos 5 Octa?

Yes, it is only going to be available in a few markets. So the 1.9ghz quad core processor won't have the power saving benefits of the big little system. And running a similar processor to the Xperia Z, running at a higher clock speed, with an oled display...I'm not holding my breath for stunning battery performance.

As for the exynos 5, it will be interesting to see how it performs. If I understand correctly, it's going to run lower power applications on the little processor, and the more intensive programs on the high performance processor. So does that mean while I'm web browsing it will be running on the lower powered processor, saving me power, but running at a lower performance? Can't say I'm overly sold on that concept, but will wait and see.

 

[gtone339]

Yes, it is only going to be available in a few markets. So the 1.9ghz quad core processor won't have the power saving benefits of the big little system. And running a similar processor to the Xperia Z, running at a higher clock speed, with an oled display...I'm not holding my breath for stunning battery performance.

As for the exynos 5, it will be interesting to see how it performs. If I understand correctly, it's going to run lower power applications on the little processor, and the more intensive programs on the high performance processor. So does that mean while I'm web browsing it will be running on the lower powered processor, saving me power, but running at a lower performance? Can't say I'm overly sold on that concept, but will wait and see.

Yes, it will run efficiently whenever you check your email, browse the web, opening settings etc. Plus to further increase it with the 2600mah Li-ion battery. 👍

Hopefully us kiwi's can get the Exynos 5 Octa, since we had the GS3 Exynos 4 Quad(international V.) last year.

-------------------------------------

In other news....

Galaxy S 4 Manufacturing Cost Estimated, Retail Price Uncovered

 

[Omnis]

I need 8 cores with LTE. Sorry, Samsung.

 

[Moglet]

A bit of pricing info:


source:http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-uk-sim-free-price-emerges-530-inc-vat

Going to be a long wait, still over a month to go before I can get it in hand

The same price as a sim-free iPhone 5, then. Just goes to show how much more people will pay for a logo.

 

[gtone339]

Update:

Your country will get Exynos or Snapdragon variant of the Galaxy S 4, we have the answer!

List will be updated. 👍

GT-I**** = Not decided yet.
GT-I9500 = Exynos
GT-I9505 = Snapdragon
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 = Samsung to bring both versions

Africa
GT-I9500 – Afghanistan
GT-I9500 – Algeria
GT-I9500 – Egypt
GT-I9500 – Kenya
GT-I9500 – Lybia
GT-I9500 – Marocco
GT-I9500 – Nigeria

Asia / Middle East
GT-I9500 – Bangladesh
GT-I9500 – China
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Hong Kong
GT-I9500 – India
GT-I9500 – Indonesia
GT-I9500 – Iran
GT-I9500 – Iraq
GT-I**** – Israel
GT-I9500 – Kazakhstan
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Korea
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Malaysia
GT-I9500 – Nepal
GT-I9500 – Pakistan
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Philippines
GT-I9500 – Russia
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Saudi Arabia
GT-I9505 – Singapore
GT-I9500 – Sri Lanka
GT-I9500 – Taiwan
GT-I9500 – Thailand
GT-I9500 – Turkey
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – United Arab Emirates
GT-I9500 – Uzbekistan
GT-I9500 – Vietnam

Australia
GT-I9505 – Australia

Europe
GT-I9505 – Austria
GT-I9505 – Baltic
GT-I9505 – Belgium / Luxemburg
GT-I9505 – Bosnia and Herzegovina
GT-I9505 – Bulgaria
GT-I**** – Croatia
GT-I9505 – Cyprus
GT-I9505 – Czech Republic
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – France
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Germany
GT-I9505 – Greece
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Italy
GT-I9505 – Macedonia
GT-I9505 - Nordic Countries
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – Poland
GT-I9505 – Romania
GT-I9500 – Russia
GT-I9505 – Portugal
GT-I**** – Serbia
GT-I9505 – Slovakia
GT-I9505 – Slovenia
GT-I9505 – Spain
GT-I9505 – Switzerland
GT-I9505 – The Netherlands
GT-I9500 / GT-I9505 – United Kingdom
GT-I9500 – Ukraine

 

[shmogt]

I hate that they have different models. It's so difficult to buy the international version if you are in North America too.

 

[hogger129]

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but it's still huge compared to my iPhone.

 

[RTSolvalou]

No Exynos for Australia!!?
Why the hell are they shipping Exynos versions to Africa and terrorist countries?

 

[Aus GT]

Should i wait for this phone or get an S3? And will the prices on the S3 come down for plans??

 

[shmogt]

Should i wait for this phone or get an S3? And will the prices on the S3 come down for plans??

Definitely definitely wait for this phone. This one is the same thing only better in every way. However if you don't like it for whatever reason or its too expensive get the S3. They said the S3 will be a lot cheaper soon and the best part is a lot of the new features from the S4 will be updating to the S3.

 

[Ranman20]

What about the S5 is that gonna be better than S4. They are all the same phone. Just quicker. If its already quick why get a quicker one. Its a waste to just get get a new phone because of small upgrades.

 

[kennylmao]

For those people from countries getting the Snapdragon, better prepare to get more batteries. I think.

I still don't get the logic behind a 1.9 Ghz processor.

I mean, that's already quicker that what netbooks used to be!

 

[shmogt]

What about the S5 is that gonna be better than S4. They are all the same phone. Just quicker. If its already quick why get a quicker one. Its a waste to just get get a new phone because of small upgrades.

Well yes you could wait and get the next one but when that time comes you will say we'll the next one will be better. A continuous cycle and end up getting nothing lol. If you like your phone than no don't upgrade to the next version. I think there is a decent amount of added stuff to make you switch from the S3 to the S4, but all that matters is price. If they tell me it's gonna cost $400 to upgrade than no way but if they say $100 it's a lot more favorable to switch.

For those people from countries getting the Snapdragon, better prepare to get more batteries. I think.

I still don't get the logic behind a 1.9 Ghz processor.

I mean, that's already quicker that what netbooks used to be!

This is what will be interesting in the next 3 years. Dual core 2gb of ram like the current S3 was a super fast real computer 5yrs ago. Most people don't even need a computer really all they do is browse google and check facebook etc. All this power is such a waste to them. It's like all the iphone users who get the latest one than just text there friends lol. What's the point of having a crazy fast phone and doing the most minimal task? However in the next few years phones will be too fast and that is where I think everything is gonna change. I think low end computers will be phased out and everyone will have their phones hooked to monitors. Especially since full out operating systems like ubuntu are running on phones now. Shouldn't take much more to turn them into fully usable computers.