Personal computing discussed

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Forge
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:49 pm

PenGun wrote:
Just returned my S2 to stock after running CyanogenMod for a year and change. I installed the proper, Bell in my case, ICS build they have released for it. I can now trade it in. Can't say I love the stock setup but it's not bad enough stop me from using it for a month.

I don't have a problem with what it's made of. They are all far too flimsy, all mine go in an Otterbox case. I toss it to my granddaughter, she does not always catch it. ;)

Just to let people know you can put it back like it was even after completely removing the stock OS. Oh yeah, do a full wipe first.


I was starting to wonder if I'm the only person in the world happy with their phone. I also have an SGS2 on CM, and it's nearly perfect. I'm interested in the S4 mainly because work will buy me a phone. I'll probably run stock ROM for a while, but once the S4 gets CM or AOKP, I'm there in a flash.
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trackerben
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:08 am

auxy wrote:
I'm not impressed by the P770's dual-core 1.2Ghz processor (is it a Rockchip?), 1GB RAM, or especially the PowerVR SGX531 graphics. Terrible! No wonder it gets great battery life...


It's a chinese dual-core SoC MTK6577 "based on the ARM Cortex A9 processor".
http://netbooknes.com/processor-benchma ... 77-review/

GPU is a generation behind Galaxy Nexus but it plays 720p MKVs well enough on its 4.5in IPS screen. It has USB Host OTG so I can charge other stuff off its big battery, but lacks MHL so no HDMI out. I bought it for daily use as my GPS satnav and WLAN/bluetooth hotspot, and also as a spare UMTS phone for travel. It's not a gaming rig but it plays the usual titles very smoothly, stutters in the UI are infrequent and no lockups after 3 weeks on the latest official firmware SD09.
 
trackerben
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:28 am

killadark wrote:
I'm not impressed by the P770's dual-core 1.2Ghz processor (is it a Rockchip?), 1GB RAM, or especially the PowerVR SGX531 graphics. Terrible! No wonder it gets great battery life. ヽ(゚◇゚ )ノ

I was interested briefly in the RAZR MAXX and the RAZR i, but they're both similarly boring in terms of specifications.


ya kinda put me off after i looked that up :P its more like a sgs2 territory
razer hd maxx seems preety good though for battery 3300mah


http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2012/11/2 ... -in-power/
http://versusio.com/en/lenovo-p770-vs-m ... zr-maxx-hd
Lenovo P770 vs. RAZR Maxx HD

Until Apple and Nokia wake up the P770 is about as good as it gets for a solid 3G phone with dual standard SIMs which isn't oversized, i.e. Samsung Grand. For a mono-SIM droid the RAZR HD with LTE, 720p screen, 32GB memory, 3300mAh battery, and smooth OS updates is the choice for an all-day phone that's sized reasonably. The P770's main advantage over the RAZR may be its noise-cancelling dual microphones which perform great with Google Voice Search, at least for me. Of course, an iPhone 5 with its always well-lit screen runs iOS far more efficiently for a whole day, on less battery and with less bulk and weight. But Apple's premium feel and polished ease always costs disproportionately more.

For hardcore mobile media and gaming only good tablets would do, that's what my iPad or a Nexus 7/Mini is for.
Last edited by trackerben on Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
killadark
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:13 am

Airmantharp wrote:
I was looking at the RAZR MAXX when I picked up my Note- it's that old. I didn't want to pay for the Verizon service and I'm still on AT&T unlimited; granted I'm still waiting for the Jelly Bean update.

If they update the Nexus by the time I get around to upgrading, it'll be that or an iPhone. No more half-assed crap :).


you could always head to xda developers and look for a custom rom there are plenty out there and i believe JB was out at least for the international version my friend was using it with the multi window support and stuff
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DreadCthulhu
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:02 am

bluepiranha wrote:
I thought the SGS3 was big enough a phone as it is...the SGS4 is worse. Seriously, I have friends who complain that using their SGS3s to answer calls is like putting an clothes iron next to their faces - hence their preference for Bluetooth headsets.


While the SGS4 has a 0.2 inch larger screen than the SGS3, Samsung made the bezels thinner. So the SGS4 ends up being slightly smaller & lighter than its predecessor. Anyways, most people spend far more time texting, web browsing, gaming, watching videos, ect on their smart phones than they do talking. For those use cases, you want as large of a screen as will comfortably fit in your pockets. And for people who do talk on their phones a lot, a bluetooth headset, like you mentioned, works better than holding any phone to the side of your head. Its only the moderate voice use people who lose out with the trend to very large screen phones.
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:39 am

I held out on getting a smartphone until I could get a 4G phone that would actually last for more than a day between charges, like my old dumb-phone. I finally decided on the Razr Maxx HD with the 3300mAh battery and I typically get 3 days between charges with light use. This is with WiFi turned on 16 hrs/day. With heavier use, it's a solid 2 days.

I just got an invite to play Ingress, we'll see how much of a dent that makes to my battery life :D
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Airmantharp
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:17 pm

DreadCthulhu wrote:
Its only the moderate voice use people who lose out with the trend to very large screen phones.


While the 'OMG is that a phone?!?' comments were annoying at first, I never found my Note to be cumbersome in the pocket or on the ear. I was surprised by that, but yeah, it's much less annoying than most would think.
 
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:37 am

I thought the SGS3 was a big step up from the SGS2. Unrooted. Maybe rooting the one or the other would have changed that opinion, but stock it was a large step in the right direction. I can only hope for as much with the next version.
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webbjames
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Fri Apr 26, 2013 6:10 am

We should admit that HTC one have a better design then the galaxy s4 and the camera is more better too. But the galaxy s4 bring innovative new features” that are almost overwhelming to recap, such as Air Hover (preview select tasks by hovering your finger over the display), Dual Camera (combine front-facing and rear-facing stills or video), and Smart Scroll (scroll through emails and web pages via facial recognition). These features attract me more and that's why I will choose the galaxy s4 this time.
 
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:03 pm

webbjames wrote:
We should admit that HTC one have a better design then the galaxy s4 and the camera is more better too. But the galaxy s4 bring innovative new features” that are almost overwhelming to recap, such as Air Hover (preview select tasks by hovering your finger over the display), Dual Camera (combine front-facing and rear-facing stills or video), and Smart Scroll (scroll through emails and web pages via facial recognition). These features attract me more and that's why I will choose the galaxy s4 this time.


Based on trusted second-hand reports, the HTC One's camera is most definitely 4Mpix and it shows, and the ''large pixel CCD" doesn't seem to have a lot of effect on the output quality.

Conversely, the S4's long list of features are generally not working reliably or not working at all currently. Air Hover seems to have a very, very short distance to detect when you're trying to use it, and annoyingly far on occasion when you're not trying to use it. Dual Camera doesn't hold any appeal to the half dozen people I know who have tried it. Most make screwy faces while trying to take pictures, and they haven't enjoyed seeing that. Smart Scroll has not been able to reliably find/track the eyes of anyone who has tried it, in my world.

These are all anecdote, not data, but I provide them for your amusement. Also, the S4 unhappiness I relate here should be taken in context; I'm an awful big fan of Samsung's hardware, but less so their software.

If they announce Cyanogenmod or AOKP on S4, maybe I'd get one on work's dime. Otherwise I've fallen back to thinking about getting a Nexus 4 or waiting for the Nexus 5 or whatever is next.
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katharine
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Sat May 04, 2013 8:32 am

The Samsung galaxy s4 is amazing and features a lot of new features. News also says Samsung shooting for 10 million Galaxy S4 sales in first month. I am curious about it.
 
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Sun May 05, 2013 1:08 am

katharine wrote:
The Samsung galaxy s4 is amazing and features a lot of new features. News also says Samsung shooting for 10 million Galaxy S4 sales in first month. I am curious about it.


If you've gotten to know and love TouchWiz, go for it. This isn't the case for most users though. YMMV and all that.
 
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon May 06, 2013 11:28 am

Following up on my own post: All Galaxy S4s sold to date have a locked bootloader, and it appears to be non-trivial to unlock it. Therefore AOKP and Cyanogenmod on S4 are dead in the water and my interest in the handset approaches zero. I'll go continue shopping, I guess.
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slowriot
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Mon May 06, 2013 11:45 am

Played with a friends Galaxy S4. The hardware was awesome like I expected but Samsung's software was far worse than I expected. Specifically features like "Air Hoover" were counterproductive and half-baked at best. I had personally decided to go with a Nexus 4 instead of waiting for the S4... I'm happy with that decision but ultimately really wish I could get the S4 hardware with the Nexus 4 software.
 
ChronoReverse
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Tue May 07, 2013 5:09 pm

CyanogenMod already has nightlies available for the T-Mobile and Canadian (mine) GS4's since they're unlocked. So I have GS4 hardware with Nexus 4 software =)

I'm currently still on the stock ROM albeit rooted and all the Samsung bloat frozen using TiBack. All the S-etc. and Air-XYZ crap has been disabled too. Multi-window can stay; I'll miss it when I go to CyanogenMod. Much smoother.


I've been using my GS4 naked for the past couple days while waiting for my Spigen Neo Hybrid case to come in. Being VERY careful because I might cry if I dropped and broke it haha. This thing is amazingly light too (although for some reason, lightness is no longer considered a premium quality like it was 10 years ago).


I've been comparing it to a friend's GS3 and wow they really do look alike. On the other hand, the feel in hand is noticeably different if you grip it and apply some force. People have complained about creaking in the GS3 (and I've noticed it in my Note 1) but it's absent for the most part in the GS4. However, creaks sometimes develop over time so I'll see what it's like down the road in 3 months.


Screen is day and night compared to previous AMOLEDs I've owned (Nexus One, Note 1). I owned the One X instead of the GS3 and always ribbed my friend about his way less sharp GS3. I can't see the effect now even when looking for it (and I know how to look for it). I suppose having the Red and Blue subpixels individually on par with the iPhone 5's screen means you'd need to be closer than 8 inches to see the Pentile effect at all. I bought a phone with large screen so I wouldn't have to squint while I peer at it from point blank =)


Camera is only par for indoor shots. It's quite capable for static shots (if you have a steady hand) but will not capture motion as well as the One can. Outdoors though, the camera is brilliant.

Here's some stuff I snapped over the weekend. Every one was using Full Auto, no Burst (so I didn't just take a bunch at once and choose the best one). I've noticed Sport mode bumps up the ISO and doubles the shutter time. Pictures which would use ISO-50, 1/1300s shutter would be ISO-100, 1/2600s shutter instead. I'm happy with the outdoor results, there's a bit too much oversharpening done in the filters but the halos are only really visible at 100%. Click to open full size.

My bike wheel after I set it spinning.
Image

Chose a dandelion to see the captured details.
Image

The red turned out nicely.
Image

Cropped from original. Not sports mode.
Image

Cropped for the detailed part.
Image

Cropped and not sports mode to capture the motion.
Image


One other thing that I've found pleasant about the GS4 is that it can reliably lock GPS indoors (except in deep in concrete buildings or metal boxes). None of my previous phones even came close to doing that.
 
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Wed May 08, 2013 6:52 pm

Forge wrote:
Following up on my own post: All Galaxy S4s sold to date have a locked bootloader, and it appears to be non-trivial to unlock it. Therefore AOKP and Cyanogenmod on S4 are dead in the water and my interest in the handset approaches zero. I'll go continue shopping, I guess.
You have any source on this? I can't find anything to corroborate.
 
ChronoReverse
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Wed May 08, 2013 7:59 pm

auxy wrote:
Forge wrote:
Following up on my own post: All Galaxy S4s sold to date have a locked bootloader, and it appears to be non-trivial to unlock it. Therefore AOKP and Cyanogenmod on S4 are dead in the water and my interest in the handset approaches zero. I'll go continue shopping, I guess.
You have any source on this? I can't find anything to corroborate.

I already posted that only the AT&T and Verizon GS4's are locked. I'm running CM10.1 on my Canadian GS4 right now.
 
Forge
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Wed May 08, 2013 8:54 pm

ChronoReverse wrote:
auxy wrote:
Forge wrote:
Following up on my own post: All Galaxy S4s sold to date have a locked bootloader, and it appears to be non-trivial to unlock it. Therefore AOKP and Cyanogenmod on S4 are dead in the water and my interest in the handset approaches zero. I'll go continue shopping, I guess.
You have any source on this? I can't find anything to corroborate.

I already posted that only the AT&T and Verizon GS4's are locked. I'm running CM10.1 on my Canadian GS4 right now.


For what little it's worth, it was an article similar to the one I'll link here that said "all will be locked". Apparently the situation has shifted rather drastically since. I may have to reconsider.

On the other hand, multiple Cyanogenmod devs loudly and publicly proclaimed that the S4 would never have CM, so I stand by that one as it was correct at the time.
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ChronoReverse
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Wed May 08, 2013 11:14 pm

Forge wrote:
On the other hand, multiple Cyanogenmod devs loudly and publicly proclaimed that the S4 would never have CM, so I stand by that one as it was correct at the time.

And immediately after that, Cyanogen himself, Steve, posted that those particular devs did not speak for CyanogenMod.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/03/team-c ... galaxy-s4/
 
Forge
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Wed May 08, 2013 11:19 pm

Very interesting, I wonder why these corrections/updates don't get spread as far as the initial incorrect "news" does. Well, beyond the obvious....

Just got notified that 10.1.0-RC1 is available for my N10. Might be an official release of CM for S4 before I can get one! I'll have to make some noise at work tomorrow, get my promised company phone.
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Thu May 09, 2013 9:02 pm

Forge wrote:
Very interesting, I wonder why these corrections/updates don't get spread as far as the initial incorrect "news" does. Well, beyond the obvious....

Just got notified that 10.1.0-RC1 is available for my N10. Might be an official release of CM for S4 before I can get one! I'll have to make some noise at work tomorrow, get my promised company phone.

Steve Kondik has been showing SGS4 builds of CM10.1 on Google+. I don't think there's any doubt the phone will be supported.

Still rocking a One S, which recently got an official Jelly Bean update. Seems to chew through battery when wifi calling is enabled, but I don't need it most of the time so I keep it off. It's a decently-sized phone; I'd be pretty amazed with a screen that's another .7" bigger diagonally. It'd be like watching on a movie theater screen by comparison. :lol:
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Forge
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Fri May 10, 2013 12:43 am

Oh, and I'm very happy to be wrong. Thanks, ChronoReverse!
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UberGerbil
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Re: The Samsung Galaxy SIV

Fri May 10, 2013 5:00 am

Ray7brian2 wrote:
rumor has it that it will feature a hexa core cpu with 4 core for low power and 4 for high performance
hexa = 6
4 + 4 = 8

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