| Samsung Galaxy S4 Variation Saga- Differences between Exynos and Snapdragon, Samsung Galaxy GT-I9500 and GT-I9505 and other major versions recently emerged like Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy S4 Korean version, Galaxy S4 Active, and Samsung Galaxy S4 Advanced (LTE-A) etc |
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| Hub - Pros & Cons | |||
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Pros
| 1. Samsung's online media content empire, TheHub lets you buy (and in some instances sample) Books, games, music, digital magazines and online newspapers etc. 2. Samsung has integrated all hubs (Hubs like Music, Game and Book which previously existed in different locations) into one mighty warrior Hub. What triggers your mind? Sorrow, passion, cheating, beating and lying all built into one entity? You can even replace your own Hubby with it. 3. Free music samples. You can see a preview of a song which lasts for 30 seconds, before buying any solo titles. A relief when you buy boring "White" labels from YankeeYork. Do they still produce music? 4. You can buy individual tracks or whole albums. 5. Vested with a "Windows Mobile Tile" like image centered interface. Its the only piece that differs from the rest of the UI. 6. You can buy or pre taste Premium games. It lets you try the games before buying them. 7. Social games present. 8. Some Gameloft and EA titles are exclusively available which are not available on the Google Play Store otherwise. 9. WatchON app is built right into the Hub. Nice and Wonderful. 10. Swipes present, which will let you get through a hell lot of content in no time. 11. The home screen (of the Hub) suggests media for you. After all, you are a buyer, right? 12. MusicHub is utilized with search, charts and lists of new releases. 13. Some premium and exclusive apps available. 14. Buy one and take one home free. With the advent of the Hub, you get under two roofs when it comes to buying entertainment, in a more clear sense, you get two official app stores, two video stores and two music stores. Here comes the "Hubs" and Google Play is staring at the corner. 15. Hub is totally redesigned, an impressive work and a look. 16. Prices seem not right. 17. You can access content you buy on Hub from other Samsung's devices like TVs, tablets or phones. 18. A considerably large library of music, TV and movies. 19. Hub is integrated. Now you can sign in with one ID and pay with a single payment system for media and content. 20. Unlike other regions, U.S. gets a special kind of favour. They get the largest selection of content. 21. Samsung is an Innovator . You may see other integrations it will do in the future (in the days to come which will roll in as upgrades maybe) to the Hub in accordance with other products they build in home labs like TVs and Blu-ray players etc.
| Cons
| 1. The Hubs are comparatively less populated than other Dictators like itunes, mighty Google Play, Amazon and Nook (specially when eBooks on Amazon and Nook are taken into consideration). But surely more titles will catch on like fire in the following months. 2. After Smartphones, comes the Restrictions! If you want to watch bought movies on other big screens, a HomeSync device is required (connected via an HDMI cable with HDCP). Neither you can use AnyCast to port movies into Samsung TVs nor stream video connecting to a TV using AllShare. Its a pity. You buy the ticket but you cannot enter the theatre. But "HTC Watch" is an exception here. It lets you do that even for cheaper prices. 3. For its hefty high price tags and restrictions, its not the best place yet for buying Entertainment. 4. Samsung currently - I think due to wide usage - is having licensing issues with major movie studios. 5. Netflix in the VideoHub for streaming? Nah! 6. eBooks are more expensive on the Hub than Amazon (and maybe anywhere else). 7. "Sociability" is absolutely gone in the Hub. You have to find a way around to socialize the Hub. A pros or con? 8. Pretty old stuff are often categorized as “new releases” in some Hub home pages. 9. The games dept caters you with only few noteworthy titles. Titles are nearly sparse. 10. Availability of Movie, TV and music content is country dependant. |
Samsung Galaxy S4 Build (hardware)- Pros |
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Pros
| Weight and Measures 1. 136.6mm tall, the exact height of S3. Width is 69.8mm and density measures at 7.9mm, they are smaller than its older sibling, 0.8mm narrower and 0.7mm thinner. 2. Weights at 4.6 ounces (130 grams), three grams (0.11 ounce) lighter than S3. A featherweight champion. 3. Plastic makes it light. It weights only at 4.59-ounce. For a comparison, HTC One is 5.04-ounce. 4. How weight matters? Its 130g, HTC One is 144g and Xperia Z weights at 145g. Though not a big difference, it will be felt when you watch videos for lengthy sessions or surf for hours. 5. Even how slim flat or light it is, it sports, a higher capacity battery. 6. Its smaller, lighter and thinner than the previous but the screen is bigger. 7. Where it stands against the iPhone 5? 30% larger and 17% heavier. Build 8. Samsung chose plastic, production cost was cut and doing good at Mass Production. The consumer benefits. It will ultimately felt by the pocket. 9. The back cover lies flat on the faux-chrome edge, less curves. 10. The Back panel, "Bends it like Becham", easy to peel it off. 11. Removable backside, you can hook a flipcover or Sview cover, more importantly, replace the battery. 12. Aluminium cases (found in the likes of HTC One, iPhone 5 etc) can be easily dented and prone to scratches. Thats not the case with Polycarbonate. 13. Polycarbonate (or plastic unibody or whatever), unlike metal bodies, absorbes shock waves. Good for interior components. 14. Its not mere plastic, but polycarbonate. Its lightweight and durable. The case wont break or crack when you drop it. 15. Wireless charging, coming soon. The company is reportedly planning to sell an optional back cover with this capability built-in. 16. Verizon's version of the GS4 will be launched with the Wireless Charging option. The Bezel 17. The Bezel is "0". Just non existant. Instead, you get more screen and it almost fills the front. 18. Less bezel but device's size remains the same. and makes the S4 is no bigger than the S3. Interestingly, it adds extra 0.2-inches to the screen. Look and Feel 19. It doesn't look premium and besides all this cheap plastic, not premium look sighs, it feels comfortable to handle than the HTC One. 20. Bigger and manageable. 21. Faux-metal trim, a pleasure to see, it adds color. 22. Look? Premium? Most premium looks will end in plastic covers. 23. Feels durable despite its cheap materials. Grip 24. A firm trim, slips unlikely. 25. A good grip. 26. Though its glossy and somewhat slippery, you can wrap a whole hand around it. 27. Straight edges, more surface to grip. 28. Its slippery (in certain instances) but wont too easily slip through your hands. Controls, Buttons and Ports 29. While Nexus phones are moving away from physical buttons for navigation, Samsung has opted to include three. There are capacitive buttons for Menu and Back, and a physical, clickable button for Home. 30. The power button is conveniently mounted at the top right. In whichever way the phone is held, its an easy reach. 31. The controls (capacitive Menu, Back buttons and physical Home key) are vested with another executable. With a long press, the Menu key Googles Now, Home key fetches the task switcher and Back button brings the side bar for the Multi-window piece. Likewise, when the home key is clicked twice, Svoice steps in. 32. Wireless charging. 33. Home button is raised a bit. Easy to press. 34. Two plastic banks, the mono speaker wont be bared when put on a flat surface, screen up. 35. The speaker is in the rear (lower left corner). Fingers wont muffle it. 36. A physical home button, a capacitive Back and Menu keys, very handy for a phone of this size. 37. Most buttons remain in the same places. The home button is in the home. Seems reluctant to step out of the comfort zone. The power button, Volume Rocker and Headphone Socket haven't changed their positions. Apparently Democratic! 38. The microUSB port for both data connections and charging. It supports USB host and MHL 2.0 (3D 1080p TV output). 39. To do the MHL 2.0 with microUSB, earlier it was required to plug in your charger in the adapter. Now that drama is no longer required. 40. USB on the go lets the user to connect a USB dongle to Galaxy S4 and transfer files without fiddling with microSD card and peeling off the back plate of the phone. Its a very nifty a feature. Sensors 41. Sensors getting spot light this year. A bunch of sensors present. Besides more conventional Ambient light and Proximity sensors, you get a mighty IR sensor. 42. Temperature, Humidity and Gesture sensors included. 43. Besides usual Sensors, (like Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Hygrometer, Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, RGB light sensor), Thermometer is also available. 44. Ambient light and proximity sensor collaborate with Air gestures and let the user find a whole new world. Repairability 45. The S4 came through iFixit's teardown with flying colors, receiving an 8 out of 10 repairability score for its replaceable battery and straightforward disassembly. A removable battery ups the S4's repairability factor. |
Build - Cons |
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Cons
| 1. Its still plasticky with just a little flex in its body. It’s made almost entirely of plastic and just a polycarbonate strip runs along the edge of the phone. 2. The silvery band around the sides looks like metal, but its still a part of the plan, Plastic! 3. The plastic back panel is still fragile. Avoid removing it too often. 4. Polycarbonate is rigid and stable but the HTC One wins in the "Design Race". It has a more premium build quality and a look. Its an aluminium unibody. 5. Polycarbonate used doesn't impress enough and doesn't feel premium like Nokia Lumia 920's or HTC One X+'s. 6. The diamond pattern found in the front and back is an uncomfortable eyesight, specially in the Black model. 7. A tiny Bezel, fingers may accidentally slip into the screen and funny things can happen, unless irritating. 8. A fingerprints magnet. 9. Too glossy and Hyperglazed. Sweat will make it slippery. 10. Its a carier's nightmare. Slippery, slimy and smooth and glossy, simply unpleasant in your hand. 11. The checkered pattern is not for a better grip. 12. The 2,600mAh battery also acts as the NFC antenna. If you replace the battery, you loose NFC. 13. Its hard to distinguish where it differs in look from S3. 14. Two capacitive buttons and one physical button. Nexus line has done away with those. A waste of space. 15. The capacitives wont be lit up unless a touch take place. You will find it difficult to identify which side is which, Menu or Back. When you press Back mistakenly, you loose everything you have done on open apps. 16. The volume toggle is bit hard to access when held in right hand. 17. The menu key is in left and back key is in right, a total different layout from other Androids. 18. The physical button is a definite "Hit" when the surface is fiddled, swiped and when fingers reach the bottom of the screen. 19. Samsung has done away with "inspired by nature" model. the pebble look and feel will no longer be available in stores. 20. Its big, small hands should worry. 21. Consumer electronics warranty provider SquareTrade, tested S4 for Durability and concluded that the device is more fragile than its predecessor and the worse, scored weaker than Apple’s iPhone 5. They considered water resistance, grip, edges and resistance to drops (the S4 faired in water resistance test and front and back panel designs test). 22. Where it failed to impress the panel? Slide, drop tests, size and grip. Anyway iPhone 5 won the test. 23. Why its breakable than the iPhone 5? The reason is simple, its large or is it just me thinking? 24. Wireless charging options currently not available. 25. Anyway, its better you buy a silicon cover to protect it. 26. Need to force the little plastic clips (back panel) to all sit firm. 27. Pressing Back button long enough, your taken into the side bar for the Multi tasking window. But to get it into work, you have to enable it. Otherwise it wont listen. 28. The HTC One feels premium (but metal phones are notorious for radio signal issues). 29. The white plastic strip between the front and back metal is poorly made and fitted. 30. You will have no idea whether the phone is upright or upside down until you hit a Menu, Home or Back button. Its ridiculous, most times you will even plug headphones into the micro USB port. 31. 16GB of internal storage, but on both versions, Exynos or Snapdragon, they only offer around 9GB of usable space (in the case of the HTC One 32GB, the smallest model, about 25GB is available right off the shelf) 32. USB on the go lets the user to connect a USB dongle to Galaxy S4 and transfer files without fiddling with microSD card and peeling off the back plate of the phone. But you need a separate cable, and they are hard to come by, finding one is hard. 33. Kind a texture present, interestingly, is actually smooth. Wont disturb fingers but its still there for no use. |