All about Samsung Galaxy S4

[poofyhairguy]

Just bought an external charger from PROVANTAGE. I have HATED having to top off charging on busy days. I can't wait to get back to flipping batteries.

 

[trmiv]

Yup,
Discovered pretty quickly that the 9gb free space they give you disappears fairly quickly

You're not saving video the external SD card?

 

[s44]

I'm waiting for the charging kit to finally come into stock at Samsung's website so I can use a 50% off coupon.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I'm waiting for the charging kit to finally come into stock at Samsung's website so I can use a 50% off coupon.

I am sitting on a fry giftcard for that purpose, but I can't wait any longer!

 

[nageov3t]

bought my accessories today...

memory card: Samsung 32gb
screen protector: Spigen Ultra Crystal
case: Urban Armor (not a lot of reviews on this, but their S3 case had amazing reviews so I'm hoping the S4 follow suit)

 

[trmiv]

bought my accessories today...

memory card: Samsung 32gb
screen protector: Spigen Ultra Crystal
case: Urban Armor (not a lot of reviews on this, but their S3 case had amazing reviews so I'm hoping the S4 follow suit)

Almost the same setup as me, except I have a 32gb SanDisk.

The Spigen Crystal is probably the best plastic screen protector I've used. I used the cheapo ebay ones on my Galaxy Nexus, and figured they were fine, but I'll never go back. This Spigen is slicker, and resists scratching much better.

The UAG is an awesome case. I have the Aero one, and I'm considering ordering an Outland just to swap colors from time to time. It's super protective, but not bulky at all. I really like it.

 

[s44]

bought my accessories today...

memory card: Samsung 32gb

I know the Samsung is fast, but that's $3 less than what I paid for the 64gb SanDisk in yesterday's Gold Box sale.

 

[nageov3t]

I know the Samsung is fast, but that's $3 less than what I paid for the 64gb SanDisk in yesterday's Gold Box sale.

I probably could have shopped around more, but I've been on a Samsung drive kick lately.

also bought two 840 Pro SSD's for my desktop.

 

[Roland00Address]

Dropped my S4 today. Screen cracked and it developed a spider pattern. First phone I have every damaged the screen on.

Will get it repaired/replaced for I had insurance on the phone.

(It landed on its corner, on parking lot pavement from about 3ft, no case but did have an extended battery)

 

[trmiv]

If you want a case this time, go for either the official Samsung Protective+ case, or for much better protection the Urban Armor Gear. The Samsung case is really nice, one of the nicest thin cases I've ever used. Fits the phone absolutely perfectly. I don't use it though because with a baby I'm prone to having my phone knocked out of my hands at random times. Sucks because I really like it. So I went with the Urban Armor Gear for much better protection. It's not super bulky like the Otterbox, but offers great protection. There's a youtube video where a guy is tossing around an S3 with both an otterbox commuter and an UAG case, and it's crazy what they go through without breaking. It wasn't until he tossed them 50 feet that that UAG let some damage through.


EDIT: Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZF1YFefgnQ

 

[ChronoReverse]

Dropped my S4 today. Screen cracked and it developed a spider pattern. First phone I have every damaged the screen on.

Will get it repaired/replaced for I had insurance on the phone.

(It landed on its corner, on parking lot pavement from about 3ft, no case but did have an extended battery)

Yeah, I've never dropped my previous phones hard enough to break them but I decided that to get a case for my GS4 ASAP since it's the first time I bought a phone at full price.

 

[Gorgenapper]

Would I be able to live with a 16gb version of the S4 (stock ROM), and only 9gb of available space if I get a SanDisk Class 10 UHC-1 64gb micro SD card? I mean... is there an option to record all video/photos to the SD card instead of the built-in memory?

I want to use the 9gb of available space -only- for apps, and I think that maybe 9gb is more than enough for that purpose.

Alternatively...would I be able to buy a 32gb AT&T phone, then unlock it and use it on Fido here in Canada? We don't have any 32gb Galaxy S4s up here, and there is no word on when they'll be available (if ever).

 

[tommo123]

you can have all that stuff on the mSD but the prob is (i found) is that the cache for thumbs goes to internal and mine is a gig. add in some google music caching, a game or 2 and i'm running out of space

 

[Gorgenapper]

Ok thanks. Maybe the next Samsun update will give back some more of the system reserve space? I heard that Samsung was working on that.

How about the AT&T option? It's a GSM phone, right? Should be able to work in Canada once unlocked?

 

[jacktesterson]

How about the AT&T option? It's a GSM phone, right? Should be able to work in Canada once unlocked?

Yes - All the major Carriers use the same frequencies as AT&T in Canada

(Bell/Virgin, Rogers/Fido, Telus/Koodo)

 

[Gorgenapper]

Thank you for the confirmation

 

[SAWYER]

I got one yesterday, I love it besides the keyboard but that is no big deal. Test shot on auto and no editing

 

[Fingolfin269]

So guys if I'm looking to upgrade my VZW Nexus to something new with decent battery life is this basically the go to currently? I'm not all that into flashing roms but will probably root to clean out bloat.

Only other options I'm aware of that I'd consider are the One (when it arrives) or the newest iPhone (whenever it releases) .

 

[Cobalt]

you can have all that stuff on the mSD but the prob is (i found) is that the cache for thumbs goes to internal and mine is a gig. add in some google music caching, a game or 2 and i'm running out of space

Download the app FolderMount (must be rooted) and you can mount those storage files to the external SD. This saved me from exchanging my phone for a 32GB so I can make full use of my 32GB card. Thread about this app on xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2267461

 

[bradly1101]

The S3 has horrible drop resistance on concrete which is why I keep mine in a 2 part (TPU/polycarb) case. It adds a lot of bulk and weight though, but it's also a lot easier to grab and hold on to.

It looks like the S4 inherited this weakness.

On mine it looks like the glass part goes all the way to the edges, so a corner strike sets up a lot of stress on that screen.

Phones made of a different material on the ends (like the HTC One) probably fare better (but may dent).

 

[bradly1101]

I got one yesterday, I love it besides the keyboard but that is no big deal. Test shot on auto and no editing

The best Android keyboard is SwiftKey. I use its 'flow' method of input. Brilliant!

 

[trmiv]

Got Verizon to swap my S4 today. I was having bad wifi issues. Could barely hold a signal upstairs in my house, and couldn't see any other wifi networks in my neighborhood. Kicker was today when I went to work and could barely get a signal on our campus wifi. Two friends with S4's in the same spot at my desk were pulling 4 bars wifi. Took it to Verizon, and looked at the display models, which could all see multiple wifi networks at the mall, and had 4 bars on the store wifi. Mine could only see the store wifi, and only at 1 bar. So they swapped it out, and this new one works perfectly. Weird though, makes me wonder what the deal was with my defective one.

 

[rafaelpadgett]

I don't yet have Galaxy S4 but hoping to have someday, though I experience to use it from some stores which made me feel it is really a good phone though I prefer the mini one because S4 is somehow big and not that handy.

 

[Gorgenapper]

Download the app FolderMount (must be rooted) and you can mount those storage files to the external SD. This saved me from exchanging my phone for a 32GB so I can make full use of my 32GB card. Thread about this app on xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2267461

Hmm, so you can move ANY existing system folder to the external SD card, and it'll stay there permanently? So, if you took a picture or a new video, you could have those new files get stored directly to your external SD card provided you have moved that folder over with FolderMount?

 

[WelshBloke]

Hmm, so you can move ANY existing system folder to the external SD card, and it'll stay there permanently? So, if you took a picture or a new video, you could have those new files get stored directly to your external SD card provided you have moved that folder over with FolderMount?

You should already have the option to save all your pictures and videos directly to the SDcard.