First a little background, finally i got a touchwiz (samsung’s take on android ui) phone - Galaxy S4
The one available here is the Octa core exynos version, i had to buy the Quad core snapdragon version from the grey market - reason, google is coming up with a S4 google edition and it will be the Quad core version.
Am a huge fan of pure ASOP Android and always used Nexus devices. There are 2 reasons why i bought S4
- The 16 GB internal storage on my Galaxy Nexus was not enough anymore.
- Google will release a S4 google edition then i can have a nexus phone with memory card.
Now the Review ( i have a Galaxy nexus to compare)
Design
Am not a huge fan of Samsung’s plastic phones, and S4 looks almost same as 100 other samsung galaxy phones, but its still a functional design. I liked the aluminium body of HTC One more, even i prefer the Galaxy Nexus over S4 on design.
Display - the best display i have seen on any mobile device (HTC One has a good display as well, but i prefer AMOLED over LCD) - simply stunning (but i still think 1080p full hd display on 5 inch screen is little overkill, a proper RGB 720p AMOLED will be fine for me). and this display is the best thing about S4.
Colors popup as its a AMOLED and the viewing angles are stunning (the only reason i didnt bought the Xperia Z) but the sunlight legibility is not great (you can still see the screen, but its bit dark), i much prefer S4 display over the Gnex one.
**Hardware and Performance
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Its one of the best processor on the market and it performs well, never had any lags and i never had any lags on my dual core Gnex either. The biggest difference for me is that it supports MicroSD cards and USB OTG/MHL. I love the IR Blaster, i can control all my electronics with that.
Software
I never had a TouchWiz phone, it isnt as bad as people makes it, but i still prefer the pure Android nexus experience. It has more features (gimmicks if you want call it that way) that no one will ever use, some of them are nice, like the wave action to go to next page/photo/track, airview to popup the text message/photo by pointing your finger etc. And i love the S Health App.
**Camera
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Its the best camera i had on any phone, much better than Gnex’s 5 mega pixel. And there are some neat tricks on the camera app as well, like Animated photo, Drama shot etc.
**Conclusion:
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Its one of the best or i can say the best (with HTC One) smartphone currently on the market. If you already has a S3, there isnt much to gain with a S4, except the IR Blaster, but if you have any other phone and ready to upgrade, S4 is the best choice.
Why I prefer S4 over HTC One ? external memory (SDcard) slot on S4 and touchwiz, its better than HTC Sense and blinkfeed.
So, who else got S4? what you like about it and what you hate?