MobilePros&Cons: July 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons - What users are saying Volume 2

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros & Cons - What users are saying Volume 2
"What are the differences between vietnam made or korean or china made onces?" "LIFE COMPANION? ONLY A FEW MONTHS COMPANION....!" "Call log is a pain. I just want to view only number of calls like incoming, outgoing, missed etc. I don't want to view messages log. In log view settings, I just mark only call view, but after sending a message, my log changes to default so that I can view all messages and calls which I sent or received. How to stop it?" "Can we write anything on its screen quickly with our fingers without disconnecting the call, if a caller dictates us a telephone no while a call is on? We can do so on some LG phones." "It brought nothing new to the table just more gimmicks." "The UI is too bloated and that hurts the user experience. This Galaxy Nexus 2 that I own is horrible in terms of lag and it stutters like crazy. Instead of belting out more phones with minor upgrades, Sammy needs to start put tons of resources in software quality." "I am not looking forward to the bloatware as I just counted 21 apps disabled on my Note 2" "I have rooted and ROM'ed in the past but that got old waiting on an update to fix some bug...so not worried about the locked boot loader as I will stay stock." "Nova cleared all my folder setup that I spent 2 nights creating.. YIKES!!" "I absolutely love the picture quality that the camera produces. While I miss the nifty Zoe and highlight features" "My wife bought this phone. She used an HTC Touch 3G before, so it was a huge step forwards. At first, it was working well. But 2 weeks later, it got software problems, which got solved after several resets. Later on, it happened again, so we sent it back. We got it back all fixed. Then after some time, again problems with network connections. We went back, got a brand new one. This works fine, except for the fact that the LED flash doesn't work!!! so it's a waste of money, how can we be that unlucky to have two times a failure product? what to do? so far it's a waste of money." "Although they know android sucks, they still want to buy them. Same with game of thrones. Everybody says "I like that" but when you ask them what they like about it, they don't know. They just copy everyone else saying they like it when its pile of dog chod." "Does having the basic set of 'quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7' for mainly UI operations (TouchWiz) affect the performance of the system? Being TouchWiz not precisely light, and that it involves several of the cool and main features of the S4, I wonder. I don't know how 'heavy' have to be a task for the system to switch to the A15 cores. For example if I open Maps or YouTube, which set of cores is likely to be in use? How good can we say (based on facts) are the set of quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7? And Does 1.2GHz sounds and can be a bit slow? what do you think? Would it be possible to deactivate the basic set of cores manually? Would this destroy battery optimizations?" "Who said metal phones dont have good reception? My nokia N8 had the best reception. Even in the elevators, I got full signal." "A phone can have metal body and still have a strong signal reception. Most of the Nokia E-Series focus on metal casing and the entire world knows that Nokia phones have the best reception. Even Nokia's cheapest phone the Nokia 1100 (flashlight phone) beat many high-end phones in terms of antenna signal reception." "Notification light is hardly visible on the white version." "I got S4 for 37000 Rs. I got one time screen replacement warranty for one year and smart view flip cover which will be delivered by Samsung within 30 days. I am from Lucknow, India." "Samsung has released 3 updates and after all three updates now phone's heating problem is solved. Phone is not getting hot while charging now." "Sound output is great on headphone, use a good headphone and you will get heavy bass and clear sound. If you want bass in video player, use Equalizer app from play store." "I am from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) paying a whooping amount of INR 41,500/- on 08th July 2013. Within a week, I suffered Mobile Network Signal Drop (NO SERVICE - ERROR SEARCHING NETWORKS) and Call Drops! I tried replacing my SIM card and trying other network provider's SIM too. But the problem persisted. I also researched the internet and came to know that many of the users have the same problem! It's definitely a handset fault. I contacted Samsung Customer Care on 16th July 2013 and they said that, as a policy they could not replace my Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 as it has crossed 7 days period after purchase (NOT TO MENTION...RIDICULOUSLY SAMSUNG INCLUDES SUNDAYS TOO, EVEN WHEN THE CUSTOMER CARE CENTERS ARE CLOSED!!). Failing to solve the issue even after updating my software, now they have provided me with the option of replacing the motherboard of Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT- I9500). My charm of buying such an high-end phone has been completely lost and left me shattered fearing any more loss after motherboard replacement! I feel cheated buying a Toy of INR 41,500/-, when Samsung cannot even provide a stable BASIC necessity. It's even more sad for me since I have still not started paying my monthly installments!. I DO NOT recommend Samsung Galaxy S4 to anyone, unless you want to waste your hard earned money." "If it has Exynos chipset, then it doesnt support 4G and Exynos octa core has overheating issue." "Why my galaxy S4 (i9500) takes longer to finish boot compared to my sis's S4? (i9500). Both stock, difference is about 10 seconds" "I have the black one with a Urban Armour Gear case on. It gives the flash less glance" "Variance is good! BUT Announcing 64gb for this phone AND not releasing is WRONG. Where is the 64gb? WHERE? Don't give me compromising statements like "Oh you can use SD slots?" NO. IF I AM RICH I should be able to afford anything samsung has to offer. NO more 16gb junks." "Im having a hard time connecting to Wi-fi. I am From the Philippines and using the free router from Pldt." "Don't worry about RAM on a 2GB DDR3. S4 is a phone with DDR3, HTC ONE and Z being DDR2 RAM phones. You always have more than 800 MB+ free. After a fresh reboot, I have 1.3-1.4GB free. So RAM is never a problem. After disabling many S apps like Slink, Samsung Push etc, the free RAM increases. The Google Play edition will have more than 1.2-1.4GB free RAM and it will be a waste of 2GB RAM as there is no way to utilise 2GB RAM." "Does the memory card make my phone work faster? When I took my phone at first day (there weren't many applications and files saved on the phone) the videos on youtube and the videos saved on the phone were opening very fast. Now that I've installed some applications and saved a lot of photos and other documents on my phone. Now it takes a little time to open videos. Is this happening because I am not using a external memory card yet?" "I ordered a SGP Ultra Oleophobic screen protector." "I currently use a Motorola Razr I which has 1GB of RAM and when I purchased it, it had 450-500 free RAM after a reboot." "I am having some issues with the AT&T 32GB S4. Call quality on Speaker is muffled to those on the other side. In the middle of conversations I can hear people but they can't hear me and calls have ended. I downloaded speedtest.net on the S4 and I ran it sitting next to the S3 16GB from AT&T and the upload speed is a bit faster. Is NOVA Launcher considered a ROOT to the device?" "Upgrading via kies has an advantage, it installs the whole new firmware instead of only the updated files. It cleans any bugs or corrupt files and hence, is like a clean install. One downside is that it installs the whole 1.5 GB firmware."

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros & Cons - What users are saying Volume 2

"What are the differences between vietnam made or korean or china made onces?"

"LIFE COMPANION? ONLY A FEW MONTHS COMPANION....!"

"Call log is a pain. I just want to view only number of calls like incoming, outgoing, missed etc. I don't want to view messages log. In log view settings, I just mark only call view, but after sending a message, my log changes to default so that I can view all messages and calls which I sent or received. How to stop it?"

"Can we write anything on its screen quickly with our fingers without disconnecting the call, if a caller dictates us a telephone no while a call is on? We can do so on some LG phones."

"It brought nothing new to the table just more gimmicks."

"The UI is too bloated and that hurts the user experience. This Galaxy Nexus 2 that I own is horrible in terms of lag and it stutters like crazy. Instead of belting out more phones with minor upgrades, Sammy needs to start put tons of resources in software quality."

"I am not looking forward to the bloatware as I just counted 21 apps disabled on my Note 2"

"I have rooted and ROM'ed in the past but that got old waiting on an update to fix some bug...so not worried about the locked boot loader as I will stay stock."

"Nova cleared all my folder setup that I spent 2 nights creating.. YIKES!!"

"I absolutely love the picture quality that the camera produces. While I miss the nifty Zoe and highlight features"

"My wife bought this phone. She used an HTC Touch 3G before, so it was a huge step forwards. At first, it was working well. But 2 weeks later, it got software problems, which got solved after several resets. Later on, it happened again, so we sent it back. We got it back all fixed. Then after some time, again problems with network connections. We went back, got a brand new one. This works fine, except for the fact that the LED flash doesn't work!!! so it's a waste of money, how can we be that unlucky to have two times a failure product? what to do? so far it's a waste of money."

"Although they know android sucks, they still want to buy them. Same with game of thrones. Everybody says "I like that" but when you ask them what they like about it, they don't know. They just copy everyone else saying they like it when its pile of dog chod."

"Does having the basic set of 'quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7' for mainly UI operations (TouchWiz) affect the performance of the system? Being TouchWiz not precisely light, and that it involves several of the cool and main features of the S4, I wonder. I don't know how 'heavy' have to be a task for the system to switch to the A15 cores. For example if I open Maps or YouTube, which set of cores is likely to be in use? How good can we say (based on facts) are the set of quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7? And Does 1.2GHz sounds and can be a bit slow? what do you think? Would it be possible to deactivate the basic set of cores manually? Would this destroy battery optimizations?"

"Who said metal phones dont have good reception? My nokia N8 had the best reception. Even in the elevators, I got full signal."

"A phone can have metal body and still have a strong signal reception. Most of the Nokia E-Series focus on metal casing and the entire world knows that Nokia phones have the best reception. Even Nokia's cheapest phone the Nokia 1100 (flashlight phone) beat many high-end phones in terms of antenna signal reception."

"Notification light is hardly visible on the white version."

"I got S4 for 37000 Rs. I got one time screen replacement warranty for one year and smart view flip cover which will be delivered by Samsung within 30 days. I am from Lucknow, India."

"Samsung has released 3 updates and after all three updates now phone's heating problem is solved. Phone is not getting hot while charging now."

"Sound output is great on headphone, use a good headphone and you will get heavy bass and clear sound. If you want bass in video player, use Equalizer app from play store."

"I am from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) paying a whooping amount of INR 41,500/- on 08th July 2013. Within a week, I suffered Mobile Network Signal Drop (NO SERVICE - ERROR SEARCHING NETWORKS) and Call Drops! I tried replacing my SIM card and trying other network provider's SIM too. But the problem persisted. I also researched the internet and came to know that many of the users have the same problem! It's definitely a handset fault. I contacted Samsung Customer Care on 16th July 2013 and they said that, as a policy they could not replace my Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 as it has crossed 7 days period after purchase (NOT TO MENTION...RIDICULOUSLY SAMSUNG INCLUDES SUNDAYS TOO, EVEN WHEN THE CUSTOMER CARE CENTERS ARE CLOSED!!). Failing to solve the issue even after updating my software, now they have provided me with the option of replacing the motherboard of Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT- I9500). My charm of buying such an high-end phone has been completely lost and left me shattered fearing any more loss after motherboard replacement! I feel cheated buying a Toy of INR 41,500/-, when Samsung cannot even provide a stable BASIC necessity. It's even more sad for me since I have still not started paying my monthly installments!. I DO NOT recommend Samsung Galaxy S4 to anyone, unless you want to waste your hard earned money."

"If it has Exynos chipset, then it doesnt support 4G and Exynos octa core has overheating issue."

"Why my galaxy S4 (i9500) takes longer to finish boot compared to my sis's S4? (i9500). Both stock, difference is about 10 seconds"

"I have the black one with a Urban Armour Gear case on. It gives the flash less glance"

"Variance is good! BUT Announcing 64gb for this phone AND not releasing is WRONG. Where is the 64gb? WHERE? Don't give me compromising statements like "Oh you can use SD slots?" NO. IF I AM RICH I should be able to afford anything samsung has to offer. NO more 16gb junks."

"Im having a hard time connecting to Wi-fi. I am From the Philippines and using the free router from Pldt."

"Don't worry about RAM on a 2GB DDR3. S4 is a phone with DDR3, HTC ONE and Z being DDR2 RAM phones. You always have more than 800 MB+ free. After a fresh reboot, I have 1.3-1.4GB free. So RAM is never a problem. After disabling many S apps like Slink, Samsung Push etc, the free RAM increases. The Google Play edition will have more than 1.2-1.4GB free RAM and it will be a waste of 2GB RAM as there is no way to utilise 2GB RAM."

"Does the memory card make my phone work faster? When I took my phone at first day (there weren't many applications and files saved on the phone) the videos on youtube and the videos saved on the phone were opening very fast. Now that I've installed some applications and saved a lot of photos and other documents on my phone. Now it takes a little time to open videos. Is this happening because I am not using a external memory card yet?"

"I ordered a SGP Ultra Oleophobic screen protector."

"I currently use a Motorola Razr I which has 1GB of RAM and when I purchased it, it had 450-500 free RAM after a reboot."

"I am having some issues with the AT&T 32GB S4. Call quality on Speaker is muffled to those on the other side. In the middle of conversations I can hear people but they can't hear me and calls have ended. I downloaded speedtest.net on the S4 and I ran it sitting next to the S3 16GB from AT&T and the upload speed is a bit faster. Is NOVA Launcher considered a ROOT to the device?"

"Upgrading via kies has an advantage, it installs the whole new firmware instead of only the updated files. It cleans any bugs or corrupt files and hence, is like a clean install. One downside is that it installs the whole 1.5 GB firmware."

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons - what users are saying Volume I

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons - What users are saying Volume I
"Coming from a Rezound, the S4 rocks. Super amoled screen is beautiful, battery life is amazing, over 3 days with light usage. The S4 is fast and lag free compared to the rezound." "This phone is pretty dang unbelievable coming from the Nexus. I thought the Nexus was fast, especially with ROMs I'd flash, but it cannot even compare." "HTC, stay away from them. Their updates are either very late or non-existent. I had the Droid Incredible and Droid Incredible 2 and will never buy HTC again after what they pulled with the DINC 2." "The auto-brightness feature for the screen sucks...needs work. The volume control and annoying warning need work. Bluetooth seems to have strange issues with connecting to some devices. Signal reception on my phone is worse compared to the S3 and my previous EVO 4G. Wife has the S3 and she always has better reception." "Had to turn off all of the 'special' Samsung features and make some tweaks to the Dev options in order to get rid of horrid lag." "I came from an EVO 4G which I really liked and so far, I see the S4 as an incremental upgrade." "S4 is a minor incremental upgrade compared to the S3." "I've had my S4 for about a month now, coming from a Motorola Atrix 4G. I love my S4. The screen size is perfect. I can use it one handed 95% of the time. The Super Amoled HD screen is just beautiful and everything is very sharp and colors look almost life like. There is some over saturation, which can be changed in the settings menu." "It can take great close ups and 4X digital zoom with great detail." "I have had some lags, but not sure if it was due to the 3rd party launcher I'm using. Doesn't happen often." "The speaker is very loud and sounds great, but lacks bass." "Since I have 9 different calendars to keep track of, the Stock calendar app is just awesome and really easy to use." "Love the earth tone color and transition affects." "My S4 is lighter and thinner than my smaller Atrix 4G. I was surprised about how light it is." "The notification bar with all the quick setting buttons, that can be customized, is really nice." "I like how the settings are broken down into 4 tabs: connections, my device, accounts and more. I ended up taking my 16GB version back for the 32 GB version because I ran out of space once I transferred everything from my Atrix 4G over. 16GB = 9GB of personal storage; 32GB = 24GB personal storage." "One thing I wish my S4 had that my Atrix 4G has, is the "USB Mass Storage" option when hooking up to a computer." "On my S4, when I'm transferring pictures to my computer to my Kodak Easy Share program, it doesn't see my S4. So I have to first transfer the pictures to a picture folder, I created on my desktop, then transfer them to the Kodak program. It's not hard, just more steps to do the same thing." "The battery life is great for me. I get on average around 12 to 14 hrs using wifi 90% of the day, bluetooth about 10%, GPS 5%, sync set for every 4 hrs for email, about 1hrs of web reading and 3 hrs on screen time using auto brightness." "I use "WatchON" more than I thought I would. Its a really cool feature. Since our remotes are not back lit, using my S4 to change channels in the dark. Schedule recordings or see what's on TV is a handy feature." "Using "Flipboard" for my news, all in one place is really nice and you can customize it to what you want to see." "I like the dual display mode too. Really helpful, but limited. I have over 245 apps and only about 10 of them are capable of using this feature." "I find the display size ideal for my usage, with it's wide range of brightness and power saving mode, the battery life I'm enjoying is just terrific. With it's high ppi rating it's even much better than my iPhone 5 display." "One of the first apps I installed was SwiftKey, the increase in speed and accuracy of texting, emails and the like is amazing. A long time Swype user and enthusiast, I finally decided to try SwiftKey and I'm so glad I did." "I had an S3 and upgraded to an S4. I also have an HTC One. At weekends when I only take one phone with me, it's usually the HTC One. It more reliably gets a fast mobile data signal where I live/work. Whilst using the S4 with a memory card, crashed and lost all my holiday pics, but that could have been the card. The S3 did that to me too...which could ...could also have been the card!" "Many of the S4 Touchwiz "clever bits" are just too clever and end up being a pain and getting turned off. On the other hand, so does HTC Sense. Both of mine have Nova running instead." "I have had my GS4, for a week now. Came from the DNA which was a nightmare for me. 4 replacements total, the 1st had the sim error all the time. Second one had a defective camera, 3rd same as second one the camera had horrible lines through it. And the last one kept giving the preparing sim error, would never get a data connection, and would randomly power on/off on its own. So far the gaaxy 4 is great, I cannot complain about a thing."

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons - What users are saying Volume I

"Coming from a Rezound, the S4 rocks. Super amoled screen is beautiful, battery life is amazing, over 3 days with light usage. The S4 is fast and lag free compared to the rezound."

"This phone is pretty dang unbelievable coming from the Nexus. I thought the Nexus was fast, especially with ROMs I'd flash, but it cannot even compare."

"HTC, stay away from them. Their updates are either very late or non-existent. I had the Droid Incredible and Droid Incredible 2 and will never buy HTC again after what they pulled with the DINC 2."

"The auto-brightness feature for the screen sucks...needs work. The volume control and annoying warning need work. Bluetooth seems to have strange issues with connecting to some devices. Signal reception on my phone is worse compared to the S3 and my previous EVO 4G. Wife has the S3 and she always has better reception."

"Had to turn off all of the 'special' Samsung features and make some tweaks to the Dev options in order to get rid of horrid lag."

"I came from an EVO 4G which I really liked and so far, I see the S4 as an incremental upgrade."

"S4 is a minor incremental upgrade compared to the S3."

"I've had my S4 for about a month now, coming from a Motorola Atrix 4G. I love my S4. The screen size is perfect. I can use it one handed 95% of the time. The Super Amoled HD screen is just beautiful and everything is very sharp and colors look almost life like. There is some over saturation, which can be changed in the settings menu."

"It can take great close ups and 4X digital zoom with great detail."

"I have had some lags, but not sure if it was due to the 3rd party launcher I'm using. Doesn't happen often."

"The speaker is very loud and sounds great, but lacks bass."

"Since I have 9 different calendars to keep track of, the Stock calendar app is just awesome and really easy to use."

"Love the earth tone color and transition affects."

"My S4 is lighter and thinner than my smaller Atrix 4G. I was surprised about how light it is."

"The notification bar with all the quick setting buttons, that can be customized, is really nice."

"I like how the settings are broken down into 4 tabs: connections, my device, accounts and more. I ended up taking my 16GB version back for the 32 GB version because I ran out of space once I transferred everything from my Atrix 4G over. 16GB = 9GB of personal storage; 32GB = 24GB personal storage."

"One thing I wish my S4 had that my Atrix 4G has, is the "USB Mass Storage" option when hooking up to a computer."

"On my S4, when I'm transferring pictures to my computer to my Kodak Easy Share program, it doesn't see my S4. So I have to first transfer the pictures to a picture folder, I created on my desktop, then transfer them to the Kodak program. It's not hard, just more steps to do the same thing."

"The battery life is great for me. I get on average around 12 to 14 hrs using wifi 90% of the day, bluetooth about 10%, GPS 5%, sync set for every 4 hrs for email, about 1hrs of web reading and 3 hrs on screen time using auto brightness."

"I use "WatchON" more than I thought I would. Its a really cool feature. Since our remotes are not back lit, using my S4 to change channels in the dark. Schedule recordings or see what's on TV is a handy feature."

"Using "Flipboard" for my news, all in one place is really nice and you can customize it to what you want to see."

"I like the dual display mode too. Really helpful, but limited. I have over 245 apps and only about 10 of them are capable of using this feature."

"I find the display size ideal for my usage, with it's wide range of brightness and power saving mode, the battery life I'm enjoying is just terrific. With it's high ppi rating it's even much better than my iPhone 5 display."

"One of the first apps I installed was SwiftKey, the increase in speed and accuracy of texting, emails and the like is amazing. A long time Swype user and enthusiast, I finally decided to try SwiftKey and I'm so glad I did."

"I had an S3 and upgraded to an S4. I also have an HTC One. At weekends when I only take one phone with me, it's usually the HTC One. It more reliably gets a fast mobile data signal where I live/work. Whilst using the S4 with a memory card, crashed and lost all my holiday pics, but that could have been the card. The S3 did that to me too...which could ...could also have been the card!"

"Many of the S4 Touchwiz "clever bits" are just too clever and end up being a pain and getting turned off. On the other hand, so does HTC Sense. Both of mine have Nova running instead."

"I have had my GS4, for a week now. Came from the DNA which was a nightmare for me. 4 replacements total, the 1st had the sim error all the time. Second one had a defective camera, 3rd same as second one the camera had horrible lines through it. And the last one kept giving the preparing sim error, would never get a data connection, and would randomly power on/off on its own. So far the gaaxy 4 is great, I cannot complain about a thing."

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons - General

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pros & Cons - General
Cons
1. Games can be moved to SDcard, but not the 1 GB+ HD variety. You are left with about 9GB of internal memory for that kind of ventures. 2. Lags in Contacts and Dialer apps. It still takes a second to open the contacts and logs even after a number of updates. Even premium apps from Playstore are dependant on stock dialer and contacts app. 3. Heats up a bit while charging. 4. After every reboot, you get about 1.3 to 1.4GB free RAM. 2GB RAM only available in paper. 5 Need to recharge it twice a day. 6. It sliped. It getting a big crack on the upper side is another story. 7. Safari browser of iOS 7 beta 2 beats the native browser. 8. Try Facebook on an iphone and on S4, there is a difference. 9. Using phone just to make calls on an average of 10-20 minutes in 24Hrs, have to charge the device after every 24Hrs. 10. Airview is not working properly. 11. Samsung is selling a 16GB version is misnews. They are selling only a 9GB (internal memory) version. 12. According to Samsung, bloatware eaten internal memory can be freed up with software optimisation. But a recent update only made some of the Galaxy S4's tweaks optional, rather than installing the lot from the off. 13. The screen is very dim compared to S3 and Note. 14. Users are jiggerd to find a mysterious function that when they take their eyes away from a plying video, it pauses for nor any apparent reason. Reportedly, they are literate, but not techliterate. 15. It heats up while playing heavy games. GangstarVegas, ModernCombat4, Batman, and Nova3 are few to name. 16. Hangs. 17. No sign whatsoever of an imminent camera update. 18. Motion blurs. 19. Note 1 beats GS4 hands down with crisp stereo effects and clarity. 20. Wi-Fi connection is horrendous if you use a D-Link router. Troublesome routers identified as the D-Link DIR-655 and DIR-855. 21. No FM radio. 22. Its plastic rear is flimsy. 23. Camera is slow. 24. Can be slow to respond when changing modes. 25. Though megarpixel count enhanced than the 8-megapixel S3, both use the same size of sensor. 26. Low-light performance is disappointing. 27. Highest brightness level (display) isn't that great and colours are oversaturated. 28. The screen goes blue-ish when the phone is tilted, colours look oversaturated unless you change the colour settings. 29. Screen blurs with fast motion. 30. Closing every battery draining gimmics, cleaning RAM and cash and keeping brightness at 10-20%, still battery sucks. 31. Playing 1080ps is not smooth in most formats like mkv, mov ect. 32. Samsung's Customer Care Service, should be improved with immediate effect. trying to chat online with a customer agent always brings a familiar "No Agents Available" message. 33. In the interface to send a query directly, cannot select model number from the drop down menu. Hillariously enough, S4 isn't listed. 34. Replacing factory defective, faulty pieces can be onerous. They might keep on sending you from one W__ section to another. 35. Updates solve problems and give life to new issues that never existed. 36. Third party, Non-OEM batteries are notorious for causing reception issues. 37. By default, the Home button is destined to bring the Svoice when tapped twice. You press Home button once to access home, but it is irresponsive. You press it twice and as destined, it brings SVoice. Now convey your Grieve. (Can open S Voice and turn off the "Open via the home key" option anyway) 38. According to Samsung service centre, its better to let the Samsung Workshops do the firmware upgrading. Upgrading firmware by Wifi or any other online means, is not up to the mark, can cause troubles. Such practices might bring incomplete new upgrade package of firmware to the phone due connectivity problems.
Pros
1. 3rd update within 1 and half month. Samsung is listening to customers. 2. A recent update fixed bugs in Gallery, contacts and logs. UI is smoother. 3. It heats up while playing heavy games. GangstarVegas, ModernCombat 4 are few to name. But after the upgrade, it is considerably reduced. 4. Samsung will make a metal version of the Galaxy S4.

The best Smartphones right now in the market as suggested by the insiders of the BusinessInsider

The best Smartphones right now in the market as suggested by the insiders of the BusinessInsider
The BusinessInsider has updated their monthly best smart phone guide. As usual, the rankings are based on the likes of design, software and hardware features, content selection, and price, making the followings "The Only Smartphones Worth Buying Right Now". So if you are trying to buy a phone these days, you better give them a smart thought. Note that, they have only considered phones that are on sale in the US at the time of their publication. [] 15. BlackBerry Q10 The Q10 is the first device to run the new refurbished BlackBerry10 operating system. It comes with a physical keyboard. Right now its not available on Sprint. Price: $200 on Verizon $200 on AT&T(pre-order) $100 down plus $20 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile. [] 14. iPhone 4S Though it celebrates its second birthday, it still manages to rank on lists. Again, its a good option if you're on a plan to have a budget phone. On the plus side, it comes with the access to the best ecosystem of apps, games, movies, and music. Price: Starts at $99 with a two-year contract on most carriers lik Sprint, Verizon, T- Mobile, and AT&T etc. $69 down on T-Mobile. [] 13. Samsung Galaxy S III Samsung's flagship from the last year. Has a slightly smaller screen, thickerbody, and fewer bells and whistles than the S4. Price: $100 or less with a two- year contract on many places inclusive of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. [] 12. The BlackBerry Z10 The Z10 is one of the first BlackBerries to run the company's new mobile operating system. Not recommended for heavy gamers and app savvy nerds. Price: $100 with a two-year contract from Verizon. $200 with a two-year contract from AT&T. $99.99 plus $18 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile. [] 11. Nokia Lumia 928 and Nokia Lumia 920 Nokia's 900-series, Lumia Windows Phones come in two variants, namely, The Lumia 920 and Lumia 928. The Lumia 920 is only available on AT&T and the Lumia 928 is only available on Verizon. Price: $100 with a two-year contract on Verizon and AT&T. [] 10. Samsung Galaxy Note II Price: $300 with a two-year contract from Verizon and AT&Twith a two-year contract. $200 with a two-year contract on Sprint. The T-Mobile version costs $170 plus $20 per month for 24 months. [] 9. LG Optimus G Pro LG's new phablet, is the best Phablet in the market right now. "Its 5.5-inch display is sharper than the Galaxy Note II's screen," BusinessInsider claims. The phone is cheaper than the Note II on most carriers. Price: $100 with a two-year contract from AT&T. [] 8. HTC Windows Phone 8x "HTC's Windows Phone 8x is the best Windows Phone you can buy today", they recommends. Price: Starts at $50on Verizon an $1 on AT&T. [] 7. HTC Droid DNA An outcome of a Verizon and HTC venture. But mind that, Verizon will soon release HTC One which is better than the Droid DNA. Price: $50 with a two-year contract from Verizon. [] 6. Samsung Galaxy S4 Price: Starts at $200 on most carriers. (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint) [] 5. Google Nexus 4 A Google and LG combined effort. There is a hitch, the Nexus 4 doesn't connect to 4G LTE networks. Price: Google sells the unlocked model starting at $299 . You can get it from T- Mobile for $20 down plus $ 17 per month for 24 months. [] 4. Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition The only downside the article registers is its hefty price tag. Google sells this phone unlocked. Price: $649and will work on T-Mobile or AT&T if you insert your SIM card. [] 3. HTC One HTC's newest flagship phone. Price: Starts at $200on AT&Tor $100 on Sprint with a two-year contract. $100 down plus $20 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile. Not yet available on Verizon. [] 2. HTC One Google Edition According to BusinessInsider folks, HTC's One's "Google Edition" is the best Android phone available. "It also means you're likely to get software updates in a timely manner, something HTC has historically struggled with," they further argues. The phone comes unlocked, unsubsidized and with a high price tag. The user doesnt have to be dependant on carrier's upgrade cycle. Price: $599 and will work on AT&T or T-Mobile if you insert your SIM card. [] 1. iPhone 5 Seems BusinessInsider likes to bet on their own turfs when it comes to smart phones. "You're guaranteed to get the best apps before anyone else, plus Apple is really good at making sure iPhones get timely software updates with new features," they reason. Price: Starts at $199 with a two-year contract (Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T). $146 plus $21 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile.

The BusinessInsider has updated their monthly best smart phone guide. As usual, the rankings are based on the likes of design, software and hardware features, content selection, and price, making the followings "The Only Smartphones Worth Buying Right Now". So if you are trying to buy a phone these days, you better give them a smart thought.

Note that, they have only considered phones that are on sale in the US at the time of their publication.

[] 15. BlackBerry Q10

The Q10 is the first device to run the new refurbished BlackBerry10 operating system. It comes with a physical keyboard. Right now its not available on Sprint.

Price: $200 on Verizon

$200 on AT&T(pre-order)

$100 down plus $20 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile.

[] 14. iPhone 4S

Though it celebrates its second birthday, it still manages to rank on lists. Again, its a good option if you're on a plan to have a budget phone. On the plus side, it comes with the access to the best ecosystem of apps, games, movies, and music.

Price: Starts at $99 with a two-year contract on most carriers lik Sprint, Verizon, T- Mobile, and AT&T etc.

$69 down on T-Mobile.

[] 13. Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung's flagship from the last year. Has a slightly smaller screen, thickerbody, and fewer bells and whistles than the S4.

Price: $100 or less with a two- year contract on many places inclusive of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

[] 12. The BlackBerry Z10

The Z10 is one of the first BlackBerries to run the company's new mobile operating system. Not recommended for heavy gamers and app savvy nerds.

Price: $100 with a two-year contract from Verizon.

$200 with a two-year contract from AT&T.

$99.99 plus $18 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile.

[] 11. Nokia Lumia 928 and Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia's 900-series, Lumia Windows Phones come in two variants, namely, The Lumia 920 and Lumia 928. The Lumia 920 is only available on AT&T and the Lumia 928 is only available on Verizon.

Price: $100 with a two-year contract on Verizon and AT&T.

[] 10. Samsung Galaxy Note II

Price: $300 with a two-year contract from Verizon and AT&Twith a two-year contract.

$200 with a two-year contract on Sprint.

The T-Mobile version costs $170 plus $20 per month for 24 months.

[] 9. LG Optimus G Pro

LG's new phablet, is the best Phablet in the market right now. "Its 5.5-inch display is sharper than the Galaxy Note II's screen," BusinessInsider claims. The phone is cheaper than the Note II on most carriers.

Price: $100 with a two-year contract from AT&T.

[] 8. HTC Windows Phone 8x

"HTC's Windows Phone 8x is the best Windows Phone you can buy today", they recommends.

Price: Starts at $50on Verizon an $1 on AT&T.

[] 7. HTC Droid DNA

An outcome of a Verizon and HTC venture. But mind that, Verizon will soon release HTC One which is better than the Droid DNA.

Price: $50 with a two-year contract from Verizon.

[] 6. Samsung Galaxy S4

Price: Starts at $200 on most carriers. (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint)

[] 5. Google Nexus 4

A Google and LG combined effort. There is a hitch, the Nexus 4 doesn't connect to 4G LTE networks.

Price: Google sells the unlocked model starting at $299 . You can get it from T- Mobile for $20 down plus $ 17 per month for 24 months.

[] 4. Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition

The only downside the article registers is its hefty price tag. Google sells this phone unlocked.

Price: $649and will work on T-Mobile or AT&T if you insert your SIM card.

[] 3. HTC One

HTC's newest flagship phone.

Price: Starts at $200on AT&Tor $100 on Sprint with a two-year contract.

$100 down plus $20 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile. Not yet available on Verizon.

[] 2. HTC One Google Edition

According to BusinessInsider folks, HTC's One's "Google Edition" is the best Android phone available. "It also means you're likely to get software updates in a timely manner, something HTC has historically struggled with," they further argues. The phone comes unlocked, unsubsidized and with a high price tag. The user doesnt have to be dependant on carrier's upgrade cycle.

Price: $599 and will work on AT&T or T-Mobile if you insert your SIM card.

[] 1. iPhone 5

Seems BusinessInsider likes to bet on their own turfs when it comes to smart phones. "You're guaranteed to get the best apps before anyone else, plus Apple is really good at making sure iPhones get timely software updates with new features," they reason.

Price: Starts at $199 with a two-year contract (Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T).

$146 plus $21 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile.

Samsung Galaxy s4 Display Pros and Cons - Cons

Display - Pros & Cons

Cons

1. The Galaxy S4 is not the first to have a 1080p full HD display. 1920 x 1080 pixels can also be found on the Sony Xperia Z and HTC One.

2. The HTC One's 1080p SuperLCD screen is best known for its color accuracy.

3. Super AMOLED, as it destined to be, shows massively contrasted and vibrant colors. Reds and Oranges just bursts out of the screen, simply colors inaccurate.

4. The blues and greens really pop.

5. A bigger screen, you have to get used to it.

6. Pentile Matrix, greenish.

7. Pentile Matrix, annoying when reading texts.

8. Who ever you are and whichever Galaxy you came from, you have to struggle with reflections under the direct sunlight.

9. Bright colors, pitch blacks, but Galaxy S4's SuperAMOLED panel struggles in bright daylight compared to LCD and IPS screens. These issues are worsened by the phone's sub par auto-brightness mode. Besides, the new Gorilla Glass causes extra reflections.

10. When it comes to Sunlight contrast ratio, Nokia 808 PureView, Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III are the real winners.

11. Whites are brighter and viewing angles are better on the One.

12. Reds are a bit too saturated. Actually, Colours are rich and bold, but little oversaturated. Its a fact that AMOLED panels, in general, are more saturated in color than LCDs.

13. Though the Galaxy S4 display isn't as bright as the iPhone 5, color accuracy seems pretty dead on arrival cause its over-saturated.

14. Though its a Full HD and an impressive boost from the 720p display of the Galaxy S3, for many tasks, you probably won't notice much of a difference.

15. The HTC One has the same resolution, but its slightly smaller screen size means its pixels are filled tighter. The One boasts 468 pixels per inch (ppi), which narrowly beats the S4's 441ppi. iPhone 5 manages 326ppi.

16. S Pen won't work on the GS4 due to the lack of Wacom digitizer.

17. Most prefer the screen on the HTC One cause it looks matte like a magazine beside being accurate in color reproduction.

18. Samsung is always troubled when it comes to screen brightness settings. S4 is no exception. The GS4 cannot set the proper brightness levels its screen should be vested with. It changes suddenly and dramatically without a prior notice. You better turn automatic brightness off.

19. AMOLEDs look best when the brightness settings are set to the highest. But at lower brightnesses, its gloomy and dull. On the other hand, higher brightness levels kill the battery levels.

20. Though Gorilla Glass 3 is durable like a King Kong, the screen protector will need a case. Keys, coins and such are the usual suspects.

21. SLCD is superior to AMOLED. If your thing is the screen, then maybe a 1080p LCD2 is the one to get.

22. A considerable amount of discolouration occures when viewed from an angle (not an issue when viewed from the front). Its a familiar situation with most AMOLEDs.

23. Its hyper sensitivity, you can even swipe wearing gloves. But it only works with lighter gloves. It wont work with a thicker pair of gloves. So you'll have to take working gloves off.

24. Its larger than its 4.8-inch predecessor. But the 5-inch GS4 display is really narrower. Its just 69.8mm wide, S3 was 70.6mm. Thus it has got more vertical screen space and skinnier bezels.

25. Nokia has showed what a brighter AMOLED can do in direct sunlight. Even in them its not a dramatic enhancement.

26. Enabling the auto brightness setting in the screen option limits the maximum brightness to under 300 nits.

27. The brightness levels of the Samsung Galaxy S4 are about on par with the other AMOLEDs, which is not very high either.

28. Wearing gloves, AirViews, AirGestures, while you're holding your finger over the screen to scroll up and down, it might be interpreted as a press.

29. Giving commands with gloves, the feature first brought by Nokia on the Lumia 920.

30. The PenTile matrix which means there are only two coloured sub-pixels per pixel instead of three. So S4 cannot be compared to LCD-based Full HD handsets, such as the HTC One. Samsung' pixel principle is too basic, is using too many of one colour of pixel, or sub-pixel which is why Galaxy smartphones have had something of a blue or green tint, or been a little low-resolution when viewed close up.

31. In the front, the screen is surrounded by a diamond pattern. A distraction, it contrasts with the pitch black of the display.

Samsung Galaxy s4 AirView & AirGesture - Pros & Cons

AirView & AirGesture - Pros & Cons
Intro
[] Personal Computing History rewritten, AirView and AirGestures let you input commands from the Air. [] In assistance with capacitive sensor (AirView) and IR sensor (AirGesture), phone detects when your finger is hovering over the screen, but not touching it. Litteraly, it turns your finger into an S Pen. All you have to do is just wave finger above the display and a preview of extended information of selected content in a form of a pop-up will be displayed or some functions are carried out without the intervene of a touch. For an instance, hovering finger over an email or a folder in the gallery app, you can see the content inside. [] AirView detects your fingers 1cm / 0.5" away from the display. [] AirGestures let you change tracks, swipe photos, answer calls, switch between tabs in the browser and scroll through a web page from giving commands to the phone by sweeping your hand over the screen. It turns the S4 into a mini-Kinect and can detect your hand up to 7cm (just under 3"). Wave a finger left and right to switch between items on open apps, Up and down for scrolls. "AirGestures" Varieties 1. With "AirJump," , by waving your hand up or down, you can do page-up and page-down scrolls. 2. AirBrowse lets you switch from one browser tab to another. Just wave your hand from side to side. 3. Relocating icons can be carried out with AirMove, such as apps and calendar appointments etc to other pages by holding them with one finger and waving your free hand left or right. With them both you can, [A] Have information previews for SMS texts, calendar entry text, videos (pointing to a spot in the timeline), S Planner events, folders and speed dial contacts. [B] Move between tracks in the music player (the next track in the music player by hovering over the next button and the previous with previous button). [C] Accept a call. [D] Move app shortcuts. [E] Magnify links in web pages. [F] Scroll web pages in the browser (vertical waves) and switch between open tabs (horizontal waves).
Pros
1. It was present in Galaxy Note 2 in a similar fashion, but on S4, no S Pen is needed. 2. Air view detects your fingers 1cm / 0.5" away from the display. So, no worries of your fingers accidentally tapping the screen when you intend to use Air View instead. 3. Believe it or Not, AirView will find its way into your daily life. 4. Works in Photo gallery, the dialer, Samsung's native browser, email client and Flipboard. Emails can be previewed (Emails show first lines of recieved messages.). and also lets you preview messages. So you can check you have the right thread rather than going in and then back again. 5. The ability to preview images from a gallery, when you have a plethora of photos in the Gallery, Air View becomes handy in navigating them all promptly. 6. The calendar pops up day's appointments. 7. In the video player, hovering over the progress bar, brings previews of the playing videos. The timeline brings up a thumbnail of that part of the video, allowing you to easily skip to the scenes you like. Most importantly, it wont disturb the main action. 8. You can see which speed dials are assigned to which number. The other way around is to press and find. 9. Effective than Smart Scroll. 10. Accurate and responsive. 11. It keeps track of swift and erratic movements and there's little lag or stuttering. 12. Nice for zooming in out of web pages. In the Browser, you are provided with a magnification window to view small text with ease. It magnifies texts in the browser. 13. Flipboard is the only third party app that supports AirView. You can open a small preview of items there. 14. In the Setting menu you can customize its performance, turn it on or off for emails, messages, video previews and web text magnifying etc. 15. Gimmicky or not, its actually usefull in the Calendar. 16. Enable the haptic feedback for AirView, it gives it a physical tangible response. It will be easier to navigate with Air View this way. A tiny laser pointer guides you on the lock screen when you are Air Viewing over it. 17. Soon it will have an SDK. Developers will be able to integrate the feature into their own apps. 18. Perfect for the busy, who make their meals on online recepes in haste, always dirt on their hands and thousand things on their minds. You can scroll the screen without touching the screen. 19. Good for regular eaters (or eating). Now dont have to feed the phone with dirty fingers or worry about "Fingers licking Good" or not before answering a call in the mid of a food session. 20. I started using it while I had something in my hand. It will find its own way to your daily life too. 21. Extremely usefull when your hands are wet. 22. Stop worrying, your Air Gesturing. 'Call accepting' is unnecessary while driving. All you have to do is wave the finger when accepting a call. I seriously wanted to write "Make sure that you are wearing a Handsfree". Nah! It goes automatuically to the speaker phone. 23. You can set a locked phone so that it recognize when you gesture toward it to pick it up. Doing that, when it's turned off, gives you a quick glance at such stuff like the time and unread e-mail count etc. 24. Can scroll through PDFs. 25. You can jump at large scales when scrolling through web pages. Read with leaps and bounds. 26. AirGestures, AirViews and SmartPauses, all in one. 27. Note that, only the native apps support them, third party apps will not work with them (even Chrome that comes preinstalled on the phone). 28. Air Gesture, debut in Note 2 with Quick Glance. A year old technology. But usability is expanded this time. 29. Hover your fingers near a contact in your address book, it reveals more details without your having to open the contact. 30. You can turn pages by waving your hand nearby.
Cons
1. To find the most effective way to use the feature, have to spend time fiddling with it. To use Air View properly, you have to master it. Practice holding finger inches away from the screen hovering it daily, if not hourly. 2. Useless in video scrolling. There you can slide finger on the screen to do the same which is easier to perform than Airviewing. 3. Air View only works in Samsung's native apps (Flipboard is an exception). 4. Not available on Gmail and Chrome (both standard apps of Jelly Bean though). 5. The screen is bit over sensitive. While you are Air Viewing the email client, info can pop out like pasta and screen can get cluttered. If you are sane enough, you will be irritated. 6. Its fiddly and nearly useless in the Samsung browser. 7. AirGesture, you have been warned! It's pretty often inaccurate. 8. When browsing photos not with Air Gestures but with physical touches (or doing anything similar) it can still lead to unnecessary "forwards" or backwards. Your finger on air might be misinterpreted as an Air Gesture. 9. Can answer calls with a wave of your finger over the screen, but limit it only to situations such as in a car. 10. Simply unpredictable! You will be taken backwards when you intend to go forward. Resetting or retrying the process will make things worse. It's hyper sensitive. 11. Often scroll backs when you're just moving your hands around. It sometimes tempted to jump as you point something out or showing someone a photo. 12. You might end up leaving both Air View and Air Gestures on, mostly, just to show off. 13. Takes effort than it should to be. 14. Most times, touching remains as the best option. 15. Delivered in the middle of a developing process. Not plenary. 16. AirView is well integrated. Air Gestures are much more difficult to reliably activate than AirView. 17. Maybe they will ever remain gimmics in your phone, though how much effort put into it building it at billion dollar labs of Samsung. 18. Most prominent of all cons is, "YOU CAN SIMPLY TOUCH THE PHONE!." You are paying couple of hundred bucks for waving a finger over an already touchable phone.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Battery - Pros & Cons

Battery - Pros & Cons
Pros
1. Battery capacity upgraded to 2,600mAh, up from 2,100mAh on the GS3. 2. A full day of moderate usage. From 8 hours to 14 or 15 hours of regular use out of the battery cells. With the screen's brightness ranging betwixt 50% and 75%, 4G switched on, and a few apps and services running in the background, you can get through a full day with moderate use. 3. Nine hours long continuous video playing at 40% to 50% brightness. 4. When the phone is not in use and is idling, it doesnt drain any considerable power. 5. Battery is removable. Can change batteries or more importantly, can pop in a more powerfull battery. On the other hand, when integrated batteries wear out and no longer holds a charge (or screen cracks, speakers fizzle out or you mess up your aux jack), you have to drop the phone. The HTC One is unrepairable. 6. 2,600mAh battery is removable. You can use a spare if you like. The spare battery will take the space of the charger. She said you dont carry both. If you actually carry one (charger), dont let her find out where you stop to refill it in the way back home. 7. If you stream HD Netflix videos constantly, mind that, it dies in about five hours during such a continuous catastrophe. 8. With Power Saving Mode, you can limit processor speed, screen power and haptic feedback. 9. You can controll display brightness directly from the notification bar. Thus the main power sucker can be controlled too easily. 10. S4 will last for seven hours during a continuous surfing period which include both text and images. Droid DNA manages for five hours and HTC One dies before five-hours. 11. Does not beat the Motorola RAZR HD. But better than the Sony Xperia Z. 12. Background syncing processes wont juice down battery like crazy. 13. To do mostly text based things like checking email accounts, social networks etc, it will give you a full day. In most cases, at the end of the day, you can manage to spare even 50% of the cells. 14. You can have your lunch. Not necessary to have the lunch and plug the phone to a socket at the same time and check out for bars. 15. The stand-by has had a substantial improvement. 16. Can be preserved avoiding 4G and keeping screen brightness down. 17. 17 hours of talk time. 18. A 30 minute music playing will drop battery by about 3% (Bluetooth headphones jacked in). 19. Streaming video over 4G for 30 continuous minutes (full brightness on), will drain down about 9% of the battery cells. 20. Downloading heavy media files, app files or games (ex: 10Mb) over 4G, will cost about 4% from the cells. 21. Camera features wont suck much. Taking couple of snaps and capturing videos of few minutes, are power efficient. 22. Apt for the regular usage of a modern citizen, starting the phone at 7am, browsing the web and tweeting for a couple of hours, two hour-long vanilla satellite navigation, Samsung's "Driving mode" turned on, he will get the last few drops of power by 5pm. A full day's considerable use of browsing, gaming, email checking reserves a bit for video playback on the way back home. 23. The battery can be wirelessly charged using a Qi standard special charging pad (sold separately) that utilizes magnetic resonance to produce a magnetic field through which power can be transferred. 24. Using the Sprint Galaxy S4 in New York City on 3G and 4G, one journalist managed to get 14 hours of normal use. It involved three hours of screen-on time, browsing and social networking over 3G, 4G and Wifi, and extensive use of the camera app. Half of that time he had the S4 set to automatic brightness. The rest of the time he manually adjusted the screen to between 50 and 75 percent brightness for improved visibility. "It's particularly impressive to see this kind of battery life given the variable network conditions we were up against on our CDMA/LTE Galaxy S4," he writes. 25. Automatic brightness.
Cons
1. Of all techs, Portable Power systems (I meant battery) evolve the slowest, the least. RAM or processing are progressing by leaps and bounds. Did I say something about S4? 2. A High Resolution 5- inch (full HD) display, a number of sensors, a plethora of advanced camera features, software gimmics and powerful processor cores will drain your battery more quickly. 3. Powered by a Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery which does not seem to be enough, as the processor is whopping eight cores. 4. The screen is the biggest culprit in the battery drain. 1080p SuperAMOLED display takes the grandest labour on the Galaxy S4's battery life (besides that, you wont notice any severe [6] battery drain in any of the bundled apps). 5. A marginal improvement in continuous video playing compared to other devices. 6. Air Gesture, Air View and Smart Scroll drain battery juice heavily. 7. Low or poor signal areas also contributes tremendously towards fast battery drainage. 8. Is not even close to RAZR MAXX HD in battery performance. Does not beat the Motorola RAZR HD. Its probably better than the Sony Xperia Z, but if you are after the battery life, go for RazrMaxxHD. 9. LTE will suck more power. 10. With heavy usage, you will have to recharge it after 6 to 8 hours. 11. Worst, "Takes" time to get it fully charged. Takes couple of hours to get a full charge. 12. The 1.6GHz Exynos 5 eight-core powered version of the phone was initially expected to hit the UK. Instead the 1.9GHz quad-core option will be shipped to British shores which lacks the battery saving enhancements promised by its eight-core sibling. 13. Heavy use with full brightness on and on 4G network - the most diabolic things turned on - it eats half of the battery within 3 hours. 14. Even the phone is used lightly, it wont make it to the night. It still needs a charge in the eve. Have to charge it every night in other words. 15. If "Heavy Use" meant 10% of the battery in fiction, you could be in the safe zone for 10 hours. But the most reported time from users for heavy usage is 5 hours. 16. You can save energy through few tricks. But If you switch off all the bells and whistles and other power suckers, what is left in your hands? Its just another Android smart phone. No longer what you paid for, S4! 17. Video playback and web browsing consumption has only been improved a bit. 18. Pack Mentality: Multiple back-up batteries, you may never use them even. When the phone is hagged and out of fashion, they will be just another pile of garbage. You cannot pop in a S4 battery into S5 or S6. 19. You get insurance with other unibody phones. If your battery goes out, they'll replace it for free. 20. Batteries usually last for 2 to 3 years. Can battery removability be an issue? 21. "I've been using cell phones for about 12 years now. Never had to replace a battery. I also have about 100 gigs of free online cloud storage," one user comments. 22. The widest selection of non-touch controls. Some of them are better than others and all of them consume battery like it's going out of fashion. 23. Integrated battery last longer because it is less affected by the environment and never really discharged. 24. Integrated batteries are more likely to be recycled with the phone than just sit in a drawer somewhere. 25. iPhone 4 replacement battery is between $8 to $15. Besides, you dont have to replace something until it breaks!.

Samsung Galaxy S4 - WatchOn Pros & Cons

WatchOn Pros & Cons - RockOn or WatchOn? (or WatchOut?)
Intro 1. WatchOn, the four-in-one power house is a universal remote control for home and office appliances (from TVs, DVDs and Blu-ray players, media streaming to airconditioners), a TV guide, an entertainment and a Netflix portal. Its a nifty control system for the entire home theater system in association with a built-in infrared port. It combines S4 with TV service providers and remotely controlls appliances. Lists Programs, channels, lets pick shows and channels simply working as a remote in the meantime. Only thing it lacks is, it doesnt have a button to controll your children. Quite similar to "Peel" but customized. It asks your zip code and piles up a number of TV service providers in your region. A large database preinstalled, thus, out of the box functions.
Pros
TV 1. A universal TV portal. It houses descriptions of shows, popularities based on votes and their comments. You can cast your own vote and have your own saying. 2. Powered by Peel. 3. The setting up process is straightforward. You can instruct WatchON on which way you get your channels, from TV, set top box or cable. Then it inquires couple of questions and set up the controller to perform the task in the proper way. 4. Some providers let you change channels with TV remote. With some others, you have to use the set-top box remote for the same purpose. Most times, same goes for the audio output. Either have to use the TV to output the sound or an AV receiver. What a mess! Interestingly, it knows the nature of the messy home setups. The app will ask about your setup and present a unified remote control interface even if you have multiple hardware remotes to control all the devices. End of excruciating home setups. 5. Very brisk at getting the right codes for devices. 6. A new design and UI is enhanced. 7. Buy a brand new Samsung Smart TV, can wirelessly mirror from the TV to the phone (transfer live video from the TV to S4) over Wi-Fi network. 8. WatchON chooses programs for you. 9. You can see a full channel list, or a curated selection of TV shows and movies. 10. A very nifty "Peel" based search and recommendations for your cable box, Netflix, Blockbuster, and some other players in the industry. Not only Google is having an Algorhythm, it calculates your up votes and down votes you cast at shows and provides a personalized guide for shows based on your preferences. Great recommendations come from WatchOn or Netflix. 11. Convenient. Changing the channel is a breez of ease. 12. Bear the traits of Peel-based apps. The experience can be familiar. 13. Setting up can take some sweat. Errors may occure. Mostly, since it tunes itself to your TV set, cable box and sound system. But from then onwards, its cheese. 14. Categories. 15. Categorized by show titles, not by channels. 16. Can set favorites. 17. Can set reminders for upcoming favourites. It will remind you when show is "Now Showing." 18. You can also set reminders for shows you want to watch. 19. It has got a plethora of content than HTC One, specially the Video Hub implanting itself with its own zone inside the app. Remote 1. Soon the remote controll world will be smart phone driven. The OEMs will deliver deep integrations to smart phone universal remote controll systems like WatchOn. 2. Devices are organized by rooms. Users can configure different rooms of their home or office with different device types allowing you to take the phone with you and still have it as a remote. 3. The remote control functionality is not demarcated to Samsung products. Recognizes products from other brands. Thus, eliminates the biggest barrier to most universal remote controls. 4. Functional and easy to set up. Can be connected to multiple entertainment systems without hassle or dazzle. 5. Get rid of messes of remotes. 6. A lock screen widget for the remote control potion of WatchOn. Can change a channel or turn the volume up or down from the lockscreen. 7. The remote control gets in in the notifications menu or on lockscreen as a widget. HTC One lacks this feature. The only phone that carry this besides S4 is Optimus G Pro.
Cons
1. The app is hard to navigate. It's good but not the best. 2. It wont connect to some Media boxes including those made by Samsung. 3. If you are trying it for the first time, mind that, it wont work properly. Give it a second try. 4. A too simple interface. Lacks more complex buttons or functions and only fewer buttons present. 5. The remote (of Galaxy S4) cannot compete with Logitech Harmony Touch. 6. WatchOn wont work with the Note 8. 7. Netflix portal wholly available. Just one hitch, those features's functionality depends on cable provider and equipment you use. 8. To get the best, out of Netelix features, you have to have a Google TV. 9. Peel dependant smart remote and listing apps debut on the HTC One and Galaxy Note 8.0. Thus, its not new. 10. At the initial steps of the setting up process, app tunes itself to your TV, cable box and sound system. So process undergoes trial and error. 11. Even when tested with a Samsung TV, TV’s inputs get mixed up. 12. Can't stream content you buy, wirelessly. Only possible way is, to a TV with a wired connection. Screen mirroring should be enabled. 13. HTC One wins in setting up process. Its mightier. Though S4 runs the process smooth, not all the functions are functional at the end of the day. You have to reset the codes.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Display - Pros & Cons

Display - Pros & Cons

Pros

1. Have you ever heard about a five inches screen that made headlines? With S4, you get one.

2. Its a 1920x1080 pixel, full HD, PenTile RGBG and 441.46 pixels per inch (441ppi) image density, 5-inch Super AMOLED backlit screen.

3. It's the same Super AMOLED technology used in other Galaxy smartphones, but this time it's been extended upto Full HD resolution, which is 1920 x 1080pixels.

4. The S4 features a high-definition Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 441 pixels per inch (ppi). Apple's iPhone 5 Retina display has a resolution of 326 ppi, thus sharper than the iPhone's 326ppi and only very slightly below the HTC One's 468ppi (though at 4.7-inch that's a smaller screen on the One).

5. The most distinguishable difference between it and the S3 is, it promptly makes the Samsung Galaxy S3 look dated and dull.

6. Although not the first phone to have a 1080p display, it is Samsung's first Full HD phone.

7. High contrast ratios on offer.

8. A new type of screen. Samsung has hooked in a mode to make the colours look more natural. This method does lower the brightness a bit. The hitch is that's already lower than the HTC One, but that extra brightness isn't required due to the contrast ratio it offers. [47]

9. It's bright, but wont burn your eyes. With most modern smart phone displays, you have to take care of your eye sight. S4 is not an eye burner or an oven but a smart phone that is selling like Hot Cakes.

10. Poor performance under direct sunlight, but not so timid under indoor light sources.

11. The screen is capable of sensing touches with gloves on. Not available on majority of phones.

12. The Blues look brighter.

13. Jet Blacks!

14. More pixels mean sharper images.

15. Different colour profiles in the settings menu.

16. Color accuracy is improved compared to early Super AMOLEDs.

17. No yellow or greenish discoloration in white areas.

18. A wider screen which means a wider keyboard and more space to type on.

19. A 1080p display and a pixel density of 441 per inch, more than required to get rid of any traits of pixelation.

20. A bigger and grand gaming experience on a smart phone.

21. A mini theater for movies.

22. HD TVs have the same resolution (whopping 5-inch display with Full HD resolution, the same amount of pixels you'd have seen on a TV).

23. The screen is super-sensitive which allows it to track your finger, even when it's hovering above, but not touching it.

24. The thin screen bezel makes it look as if the screen is coming out of the edge of the phone.

25. The air gap that fils the gap between the screen and the touch digitiser is drastically tiny. It makes it feel almost as if you're touching the colourful interface rather than the glass on top of it.

26. It's crisp and sharp. Text is crisp, colors are vibrant and blacks are deep.

27. Not even a single trace of pixelisation when having a closure look on application icons or text (no pixelated edges in the margins of the icons and text). From web pages to video, looks great. Large passages in Web pages are pleasurable to read.

28. 441 pixels per inch, text she sent is crystal clear but not the hell she means.

29. The Gorilla Glass 3 resides millimeters below the edge of the screen. This makes the screen less vulnerable than the GS3 (glass sits slightly above the edge in it). This will make your screen safer when dropped.

30. The Gorilla Glass 3 is based on a new glass composition. The third gen screen coating delivers increased impact and scratch resistance. The Galaxy S4 is actually harder to scratch than its predecessor.

31. Sony Z has same size screen. However, Sony Z's home, menu, and back buttons are part of the screen. It means the screen size is less than 5" while the S4 is realistically a jumbo 5".

32. An impressive contrast and perfect viewing angles make everything on the screen eye candy, regardless of your viewing angle.

33. An advanced capacitive touchscreen powered by Synaptics, also known as ClearPad. The all brand new "Synaptics ClearPad" detects finger from just 2cm away.

34. The ultra sensitivity makes it possible to use AirView without an S Pen, touch the screen while wearing gloves. And the good news is you can manage that extra sensitivity if you've activated the "extra sensitivity mode" in the settings.

35. S Pen doesnt work on S4s. It lacks a Wacom digitizer. But C-Pens and other capacitive styluses would do the trick.

36. The 441-pixels-per-inch resolution compensates for the weaknesses of the PenTile Matrix to a certain extent.

37. Can change the brightness from the very notification bar.

38. You can let the Auto Brightness mode to optimize the brightness for you.

39. The Auto Brightness mode even lets the user to customise the auto level. Salubrious for the battery life.

40. You are well guided through your two centimeters away finger hoverings, a light flickers under your finger.

41. High-definition images are a please to see.

42. Colours are rich and bold.

43. The resolution of the S4 display is comparable to that of the iPhone 5's Retina display.

44. A bigger screen is also better for viewing charts, portfolio list, and company snapshots.

45. Dont have to worry about the tints of the previous version.

46. Samsung making over-saturated screens is a thing of the past.

47. The color saturation is way beyond the reach of any LCD on the market. It makes even the gloomiest image appear majestically vibrant. Besides, if you are not a guy of the oversaturated look of AMOLEDs, Samsung provides you an option to slow down the saturation to more down to earth levels. There's a dedicated Adobe RGB setting that gets this done. So you can relish both of the worlds.

48. The structure of the PenTile matrix has been changed too. Now green sub-pixels are twice as many as blue and red sub-pixels, and the arrangement is changed as well. Thankfully, the 441 ppi pixel density makes sure you won't be able to spot much the hated cross-hatch pattern.

49. Its whopping 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. That's Full HD and an impressive boost from the 720p display of the Galaxy S3.

50. The touchscreen controller, a Synaptics S5000B is the chip which is responsible for the S4's super-sensitive touchscreen, which even works with gloves, is hiding behind the screen.

51. The level of color toned down from the GS3. Images match the natural color reproduction of the HTC One.

52. Screen's overall brightness and color quality is as good as on any AMOLED display, including the Galaxy Note 2.

53. It's not as high resolution as the HTC One, because it's larger with the same amount of pixels, but when viewed closely, viewer struggles to find any flaw with it.

54. Where lies the strengths of OLED? When a pixel is displaying a black image, it's completely off, thus consumes less power and looks darker. On contrary, LCD screens have a backlight to light the colours in front which means that the blacks will never be as black as found on an OLED.

55. Truly, the colours look too strong on the device thanks to the OLED technology used.