hawaiian4

HI all
does anyone here have the Samsung galaxy s4 I am thinking about getting one would like to know your thoughts about this phone.

IsleOfMan

I've had mine since April on ATT. I've really enjoyed it in general. Installing the Google Phone Edition ROM made it a notably better phone. I'm currently running the 4.3 Google Edition ROM and it is far-and-away the best Android experience I've ever had. The only other phones I would consider as on-par with the S4 are the HTC One and Moto X. If I were buying today, I would probably strongly consider the Moto X for its better battery life and near-stock Android out of the box. The Active Notifications feature of the Moto X is also great, but easily mimicked on any other android phone using the DynamicNotifications app.

My only real complaint with the S4 is the back cover... its extremely slick/glossy and is a fingerprint and grease magnet. I replaced it with an aftermarket textured carbon-fiber battery cover (I don't like cases) which gives it a much better look and feel. I also use a matte screen protector, but I've used these on all my phones for several years to help fight fingerprints.

ScottC

Love mine, but switching to the Note 3 today...

kvolvo

Have a little issue with the battery life - seems to be running out quickly, but I think it's related to my screen - not the phone itself

Internaut

I'd planned to buy one outright, but decided not to. It didn't tempt me at the time, but those of you have replaced the Samsung experience with (sanctioned?) Google roms have me tempted. Out of the box, I think find the HTC One delivers a great experience (certainly prefer it to my S3).

maortega15

Since this thread is about the S4, what would be the difference between Verizon's, at&t's and Google Play's version of the S4 other than networks? My mum is considering an S4.

tkey75

The Play version comes unlocked, is a vanilla Android and doesn't have all the bloat junk that Verizon and ATT will put on their devices.

maortega15

What kind of bloat junk does Verizon and at&t put? I'm sure there are differences on the junk they put but I'd like to know what.

tkey75

I'm a Sprint guy and dispatched with those apps long ago, but I'll try and recall the vast list of crap I removed:

Sprint ID
Sprint international call helper
Sprint Zones
Sprint app store
IZAT GPS helper
Kid mode app one
kid mode app two
HTC sync
HTC backup
HTC twitter
HTC facebook
HTC linkedin
some screensharing app that didn't work
some navigation app
a variety of games I would never play

I'm sure that's only a partial list.

maortega15

I guess the Play version would be best?

tkey75

That'd be my choice, but I like the vanilla android experience. I just have no use for the above list and think the android launcher works just fine.

maortega15

Would the Note 3 come in a Play version?

tkey75

Dunno, but for the slightly more adventurous, there's always ways to make most any Android phone into a Play edition.

maortega15

You just got to delete the bs that comes with it right?!

tkey75

It's a little trickier than that. Typically those apps are tied to the rom and undeletable. The solution is to completely wipe the phone and flash a new rom. In many cases, the actual Google Play edition is available. If not, I highly recommend Cyanogen. Basically the same thing.