I am coming from a Galaxy Nexus and there are many items I really liked on that phone and many non "intuitive" things on the S4. As mentioned everywhere – too many gimmicks, but all in all its much faster and a better experience than the Nexus. Screen and Camera are much better etc..
The main issue I have run into was that of the Wi-Fi Issue that is plaguing many. Sadly I have the main router that is a problem with the phone, but with some tweaks it is now working. Those tweaks technically diminished my routers wireless security but for the moment its fixed and hopefully someone will get that fixed with firmware in the future.
Just big enough to almost allow me to dump my other devices.. well I will put it this way at least for me its much easier to have one centralized device, vs a nexus 7, nexus 10 and a phone to lug around. But there are still some things you need the larger screen for.. I am a pinball junkie and this is easily the best app for it:
But the larger screen on lets say a Nexus 10 just makes that experience more fun.
It is an interesting time we live in that all this tech is battling it out for our attention..
I think I would still just like to have a wearable computer that could be more a part of me than a phone seems to be able to be.
What do you think?
I love my Galaxy Nexus for the most part. Could be a little faster here and there but it gets the job done. If I was going to buy a new phone today, the S4 would be on the short list but only the pure Google version they will be selling next month in the Play store.
I don't like the stuff that HTC, Samsung, etc. put on their phones, just give me pure Android. I'll put the gimmicks I want on there myself.
As far as other devices go, I like to have my Nexus 7 around for reading Kindle and browsing the web. It helps me save battery on my phone when I am out and about, as well (though I don't carry the Nexus 7 with me when I don't have a bag, usually).
I find it a bit ironic that for many years phones got smaller and smaller, and now they are getting too big (for me) as we seek to find the ideal combination of phone and computer. I still want to be able to shove my phone in a pocket and I can't do that with a smart phone, yet the screen is still too small for much of what I want to use it for (my eyes are old. I am not, just my eyes!!)
I like the idea of wearable computers and I'm fascinated by the possibilities of the thin flexible screens as opposed to something clunky strapped to my wrist. But ideally I want something along the lines of GoogleGlass (compatible with sunglasses) that has a virtual "air" keyboard (in QWERTY configuration because I'm old school) and virtual touch screen.
It is interesting how things change.. like bell bottoms…
I will say google+ integration on the Galaxy Nexus was much nicer..
And thats is too bad as I use this place all the time….
Thanks for posting your experience, +Brent Burzycki. I am also still on a Galaxy Nexus at this point, and I am considering the switch to the S4.
I am reading up on the issue and will check if it would affect me as well: http://www.zdnet.com/samsung-acknowledges-galaxy-s4-wi-fi-connection-problem-7000015431/ for reference.
+Michael Nestler seems DLINK is the real issue.. but having a phone that can do the AC based wi-fi makes me almost want to chuck my router…
Huh, interesting, +Brent Burzycki. I didn't know about AC support. I assume there are routers that support both AC and older modes in parallel?
+Michael Nestler thats the rumor… but I hate new Wireless protocals.. they all come out and change 50 times and we get stuck with first gen routers that are never updated… I will probably just wait… its working for the time being…
AC should be supported alongside other protocols because AC is purely 5 Ghz, I believe. So any dual-band router (once everything is standardized) should do it.
It's that word standardized… Thats the problem
Yeah, just like N was for a few years. They should really just wait until it is all figured out before releasing consumer products with the technology in it.
They should standardize it much faster. People clearly want it, and manufacturers want to sell it to them.