Android Samsung Galaxy S4 - Discussion Thread

[psdatta2005]

The air gestures still need a lot of improvement. All video I've seen it failing most of the time. During the unpacking thank God they didn't do a live demo it would have been so embarrassing to see them struggle trying to get it work.

 

[raksrules]

Isn't air gestures actually mean increasing touch sensitivity ? I read somewhere that people have used it before with custom ROMs.
I might be wrong but if this is actually the case then in my opinion it is just a gimmick.
On top of that I suspect how useful those air gestures might be.

 

[psdatta2005]

Well now I want to know where they go from here.. note 3 will be slightly more over clocked with more spen optimization and higher screen..

 

[raksrules]

With note franchisee, I am not sure till when they will keep increasing screen sizes. May be increase one inch every year and put in few software features (or gimmicks, the way you look at it) and have the gullible consumers want to "upgrade".

 

[ashrr]

Isn't air gestures actually mean increasing touch sensitivity ? I read somewhere that people have used it before with custom ROMs.
I might be wrong but if this is actually the case then in my opinion it is just a gimmick.
On top of that I suspect how useful those air gestures might be.

This is what it is.

 

[Sub]

With note franchisee, I am not sure till when they will keep increasing screen sizes. May be increase one inch every year and put in few software features (or gimmicks, the way you look at it) and have the gullible consumers want to "upgrade".

Judging by what they have done with S4, they can push a 5.8 inch screen into a chassis with Note II's size and weight. By the way, the gamepad accessory says "up to 6.3 inches", a very specific number, that should be a hint to where Samsung's line-up is going. A 6.3 inch Note III would be only ~3mm wider than the original Note, or maybe that screen is reserved for a different product.

I think the market wants larger screens as the application of smartphones evolve. Remember when Steve Jobs said 4 inch screens are useless? Now iPhone is 4 inches and the next major iteration is surely going to be larger still. Dell Streak was panned for its humongous size, now almost all flagships are 5 inches. The original Note was passed off as a niche device but the Notes have gone on to sell dozens of millions. If history has taught us anything, do not dismiss absurdly large screens off hand.

Curiously, tablets are heading the other way. We can really do with those flexible foldable panels where a 5 inch phone can open up to be a 8 inch tablet.

 

[Xavier]

Haters gonna hate. The general perception of screen sizes keeps changing every year, yet the blind folks do not want to admit to it. A 4 inch screen is optimum? Sure, but if I were to get a phone with a 4 inch screen and another with a 4.7 inch display and everything else is same, I'd go for the larger one. Three years ago, my 3.2 inch Nokia 5230 felt like a huge upgrade in terms of screen real estate over the older Nokia N81 and I didn't think I could go beyond 3.5". I now find my 4.3" S2 bordering on adequate and keep yearning for the 'sweet spot' of 4.7" of the Galaxy Nexus.

Maybe after a year, 5.3" will be the new 4.7" for me. I just wish Jobs' blind followers would wake up to this fact. The S4 has smaller dimensions than the S3 despite having an extra 0.2" in screen size. Do they even look at these figures or just go around hating blindly?

 

[adaneam]

Wow I don't see people bashing HTC for copying iPhone design. They are in fact praising it. Selective bias!

 

[sujan]

@Xavier Amen Bro! I too used to think Going Beyond 4" would be stupid.But After extensively using my Galaxy S (I still do ),I find its screen small Now. 5" screens FTW !!!

 

[blr_p]

Isn't air gestures actually mean increasing touch sensitivity ? I read somewhere that people have used it before with custom ROMs.
I might be wrong but if this is actually the case then in my opinion it is just a gimmick.
On top of that I suspect how useful those air gestures might be.

No more fingerprints on the touch screen ? Then no need for stylus[DOUBLEPOST=1363476395][/DOUBLEPOST]

Haters gonna hate. The general perception of screen sizes keeps changing every year, yet the blind folks do not want to admit to it. A 4 inch screen is optimum? Sure, but if I were to get a phone with a 4 inch screen and another with a 4.7 inch display and everything else is same, I'd go for the larger one. Three years ago, my 3.2 inch Nokia 5230 felt like a huge upgrade in terms of screen real estate over the older Nokia N81 and I didn't think I could go beyond 3.5". I now find my 4.3" S2 bordering on adequate and keep yearning for the 'sweet spot' of 4.7" of the Galaxy Nexus.

Maybe after a year, 5.3" will be the new 4.7" for me. I just wish Jobs' blind followers would wake up to this fact. The S4 has smaller dimensions than the S3 despite having an extra 0.2" in screen size. Do they even look at these figures or just go around hating blindly?

Am at the stage where i think 3.5 is a good size because it fits in my front pant pocket and i can sit down with it in the pocket without worrying about it.

How you do that with 4.7" or bigger. How do you carry it around.

If you got a jacket then fine, but its too hot to wear those where i live.

 

[Rahul++]

@Xavier Amen Bro! I too used to think Going Beyond 4" would be stupid.But After extensively using my Galaxy S (I still do ),I find its screen small Now. 5" screens FTW !!!

Exactly. When I bought Galaxy S when it released. I thought it is a giant phone. Very less phones were having 4" screen that time. Now I find the screen size puny. But I would not prefer a phone with size more than 4.5-4.7" It will not be a smartphone anymore. If you want large screen, just get a tablet Phone should be accessible with one hand only.

 

[Xavier]

Am at the stage where i think 3.5 is a good size because it fits in my front pant pocket and i can sit down with it in the pocket without worrying about it.

How you do that with 4.7" or bigger. How do you carry it around.

If you got a jacket then fine, but its too hot to wear those where i live.

Maybe I've got bigger pockets on all of my trousers/jeans. I've never had any problems with carrying my cousin's O4X when exchanged our phones for a month. Although, I admit that my brother's Note 1 is a bit too unwieldy for me, especially for one handed use as well as carrying it around in a tight pair of jeans.

For some reasons, I simply cannot carry a phone inside my jacket or shirt pockets. It just doesn't feel secure to me.

 

[blr_p]

Maybe I've got bigger pockets on all of my trousers/jeans. I've never had any problems with carrying my cousin's O4X when exchanged our phones for a month. Although, I admit that my brother's Note 1 is a bit too unwieldy for me, especially for one handed use as well as carrying it around in a tight pair of jeans.

The other option is a holster. I'd prefer to clip on to a belt. Easier access and secure but form factor could get in the way. Bigger is possible but not too big. Am a fan of big screens but portability trumps that if the phone is to be usable.

It seems your present limit is 4.7". Who knows in a year from now maybe you'll adapt again to something bigger

For some reasons, I simply cannot carry a phone inside my jacket or shirt pockets. It just doesn't feel secure to me.

I see many people carrying in a shirt pocket here but its not secure. Lean over and out it goes. A jacket inside pocket would be better. Colder weather makes it easier to carry these large phones.

 

[teche]

Wish Samy had given better construction with a metal body. Also there are a lot of new features being tested in this device, first batch of consumers could well be guinea pigs

 

[Xavier]

It seems your present limit is 4.7". Who knows in a year from now maybe you'll adapt again to something bigger

Yeah, that's what I said earlier. I'm open minded when it comes to screen sizes. I am completely okay with the S4's dimensions as it is marginally less than that of the S3. It is the Note/Note 2 that I can't seem to use currently (one handed usage).

 

[thatsashok]

I still dont get it, but can someone explain why a smartphone requires quad/octa cores

 

[honest1]

^ To drive the high end games.....

 

[raksrules]

And probably ti give smoother experience to the end user which at least earlier phones and cheaper androids lack I believe.
With octa cores on s4 it means it will be super dooper smooth now right or still having N number of cores do not guarantee a lag free experience ?

 

[honest1]

@raksrules Why not use some new age Android device with JB and douse your apprehensions? ( I believe that you had used some older devices and very disappointed by lag)

 

[Xavier]

@raksrules Why not use some new age Android device with JB and douse your apprehensions? ( I believe that you had used some older devices and very disappointed by lag)

+1

I keep seeing that you have some mild beef against Android for their multi-core processors and large displays. I know that you used to own a ZTE Blade (I still do) and compared to my S2, the difference is night and day. Both are running on 4.2.2. In terms of lag, Android has progressed a lot since its GB or even ICS days. Yes, micro lags still exist, but they're not a deal breaker.