A.R.S.E.

Bit thinner, bit smaller, bit lighter but bit bigger screen. Slightly better camera.

Has several software gizmos no one will ever use like stopping playing movies when you look away from the screen, built in health thing that acts like a pedometer and weather reporter, ability to select things without actually touching them (what's the difference if you finger is on the glass or 1cm away from it - hardly a time saver), and the ability to scroll lists by tilting the phone.

Running out of ideas much?

I've still got my HTC Legend from 2010... still doing everything I want!

It would be cool to have something like that though... to turn off all the gizmo's, still do everything I currently do and have double the battery life!

*also a reflection of how fast things are developing!!! HTC Legend... 600Mhz single core... 3 years... 1.5Ghz 8-core 2GB RAM...

Just had a look at my contract, can upgrade at the end of May so i reckon i will just get this.

Same here, my contract is up this month but im not sure what im going to do.

I find it interesting that the interest in S4 appears to be nothing like what it was for the S2 or S3, I do wonder if phones, hardware wise peaked in the eyes of consumers, it feels a bit that way for me.

Currently my S2 does all that I need it to do, the only thing with it I find myself wanting is a higher resolution screen (not larger) so I can fit more information on it. While the new hardware in these phones is super fast, I can't see it being of any use to someone like myself.

My contract is up in August and I have no idea what I'll do next, as long as the S2 is working I'll probably just move to pre-pay for a while rather than race out for the latest and greatest.

SHoNKY wrote:I find it interesting that the interest in S4 appears to be nothing like what it was for the S2 or S3, I do wonder if phones, hardware wise peaked in the eyes of consumers, it feels a bit that way for me.

Currently my S2 does all that I need it to do, the only thing with it I find myself wanting is a higher resolution screen (not larger) so I can fit more information on it. While the new hardware in these phones is super fast, I can't see it being of any use to someone like myself.

My contract is up in August and I have no idea what I'll do next, as long as the S2 is working I'll probably just move to pre-pay for a while rather than race out for the latest and greatest.

Yeah things do seem to have reached a plateau recently, I think the S2 is still an astonishing device and for me it's the point where smartphones reached maturity. The only technical features I feel I am missing from my S2 are wireless charging, NFC and - soon - support for the latest fast mobile networks. It'd be good if things like the camera started up and snapped much quicker (which I presume newer phones do) but beyond that it seems quite happy with anything I throw at it.

That said, I'm intrigued by the idea of controlling the phone without actually touching it so I think Samsung are really on to something there. There is a huge amount of potential there, particularly for anybody working in an environment where they have dirty or wet hands. I'd use it myself when I want to skip to another podcast while I'm doing the washing up because currently I have to dry my hands first

SHoNKY wrote:I find it interesting that the interest in S4 appears to be nothing like what it was for the S2 or S3, I do wonder if phones, hardware wise peaked in the eyes of consumers, it feels a bit that way for me.

Currently my S2 does all that I need it to do, the only thing with it I find myself wanting is a higher resolution screen (not larger) so I can fit more information on it. While the new hardware in these phones is super fast, I can't see it being of any use to someone like myself.

My contract is up in August and I have no idea what I'll do next, as long as the S2 is working I'll probably just move to pre-pay for a while rather than race out for the latest and greatest.

Interesting.

I'd not like a higher res screen, it's plenty enough - in fact things are a bit too small already. I find myself often leaning too close to the screen (too close for health) However, the phone response is a tad sluggish sometimes, so a hardware upgrade would be good. Also the battery life is abysmal, I'd like a phone which can go for days on a charge. This one is going flat by the evening, every day (if/when used).

Guess you better head out and buy the S4 then ysu .........but I wouldn't count on the battery life being any better, it seems nothing short of new battery tech will improve that any time soon.

SHoNKY wrote:Guess you better head out and buy the S4 then ysu .........but I wouldn't count on the battery life being any better, it seems nothing short of new battery tech will improve that any time soon.

Exactly.

So, maybe S6...7...? will address the issue - I reckon it's far more important than getting a slightly better cameara - that's on the gimmick level, really.
I'm on contract so I can wait a good while, the s2 is serving me all right for now.

I hear ya on guys on the tech front plateauing. Im still happy with my HTC Desire HD as there isn't anything really on offer to make me want to spend $100's on a new handset or go into another 2 year contract. I said to myself that I wouldn't go onto another contract after this one is up but now im really thinking of taking this handset to a pre paid plan as I don't make many calls on it and since purchasing the phone I FINALLY setup home wifi so data isnt an issue to me at all.

Might think about an S2 or S3 if I can get one cheap enough outright but im happy with the gear I already have, HTC Desire HD and my ASUS Transformer Prime.

I was thinking the same way as you, Knappo. Then I had a few chats with people who pointed it out to me that a cheaper plan - based on usage of course - is often a cheaper alternative over 2 years if I need to buy a (decent) phone, too.
I need to make a few more phone calls lately - compared to before - and I'll need international roaming now, so I'm actually happy I've put my neck in the noose after all. At the start, the price of the contract would barely have bought the phones themselves. And having $300/mo to talk is a lot, I'm barely getting half of that usually.

There are a lot of Apple zealots saying there is nothing new. Hmm. Could it be that the S4 makes the iPhone 5 look pedestrian?

norbs wrote:There are a lot of Apple zealots saying there is nothing new. Hmm. Could it be that the S4 makes the iPhone 5 look pedestrian?

now that you mention them side-by-side, it's possible that Samsung is playing version-number-catchup, simple as that.

All phones are going to be really is an evolution each time, with better tech thrown into them. As long as battery life is better than my S2 provides me I will more than likely upgrade to a S4 or maybe move to the Note 3 if I could live with a wider phone in my pocket.

I'm planning when my contract finishes (May) to stay off a contract from here and just buy a new phone when I want and not be locked to a plan for 2 years. Starting to investigate the best provider to go this way with atm

[just saying] norbs to me you sound like a broken record.

As for the handset I really like how the screen fits to the body, makes the screen look even bigger (software trickery with "unintended touches" makes its safe to use). I'm keen to see the various benchmarks and once DisplayMate get ahold of one if the colour profiles do make a difference.

Oh and the GPU... finally PowerVR, yay! I'm just wondering how many cores they selected.

wabbit wrote:[just saying] norbs to me you sound like a broken record.

As for the handset I really like how the screen fits to the body, makes the screen look even bigger (software trickery with "unintended touches" makes its safe to use). I'm keen to see the various benchmarks and once DisplayMate get ahold of one if the colour profiles do make a difference.

Oh and the GPU... finally PowerVR, yay! I'm just wondering how many cores they selected.

Maybe so. But my Twitter timeline the other day was one Apple zealot after another bagging the S4. This was during the presentation. I don't understand it. I imagine the next iPhone will be better specc'ed and on and on we go.

this guy sums it up pretty well, they are selling software rather than hardware these days. They are aiming for the less techy people with features.


[youtube] [/youtube]

norbs wrote:Maybe so. But my Twitter timeline the other day was one Apple zealot after another bagging the S4. This was during the presentation. I don't understand it. I imagine the next iPhone will be better specc'ed and on and on we go.

Even Apple management were having digs at Samsung around the launch, so they're obviously spooked. I'm sure it's no coincidence that they launched this page on their website to remind people why they should buy an iPhone:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/why-iphone/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the justifications are pretty dumb - only iPhone has Siri, only iPhone has Retina. Of course it does, they're your brands you muppets, and neither of them are market leading any more.

I've had a small tinker with the iPhone 5 recently and I really like the hardware - it seems to be a massive improvement on the 4/4S to me and is much nicer to hold and use. It's almost entirely the software that would stop me from buying one but even in the hardware stakes, the top end Android devices are surely making it hard to justify the iPhone to all but the dedicated Apple fans.

That reminds me, I'm surprised Samsung haven't addressed the biggest issue people seem to have with their phones and that's the feel of them, the perceived quality of the materials. That's the one area where Apple, Sony and HTC seem to have Samsung well and truly beat and I've seen it raised a lot in S3 and S4 discussions. It doesn't seem to affect sales though so maybe it's not as important as it seems.

durbster wrote: That reminds me, I'm surprised Samsung haven't addressed the biggest issue people seem to have with their phones and that's the feel of them, the perceived quality of the materials. That's the one area where Apple, Sony and HTC seem to have Samsung well and truly beat and I've seen it raised a lot in S3 and S4 discussions. It doesn't seem to affect sales though so maybe it's not as important as it seems.

I was talking to the guy that has a house behind us about exactly that the other day. I was using the Nexus 7 to show him something and he had a dig that it just didnt feel as good as Apple stuff. That is fair enough, but.

My MBP went back 4 times. The iMac has been back 3 times and has just had a recall on the hard drive. The iPhone 3GS was fucked 12 month in. The brides iPad isn't 12 months old and it has issues with the touch screen. Her iPhone 4S is 8 months old and is doing weird things with the BlueTooth and WiFi.

His 3 month old iMac just went back. His iPhone 5 stopped working last week and had to be swapped out.

It can feel as good as you want, but when they sting you a premium, you'd like to think the fucking things would work a little longer than the so called cheap feeling gear.

You right there Norbs Apple have the illusion of quality done to a tee .

They feel better in the hand but that does not equate to actually being a better product.

We just had to get my daughter's brand new iPhone 5 replaced because it couldn't find the network no matter what sim card was in it, and my wife's 4s has a broken power button that Apple refused to fix or replace because it's over 12 months old. So it hasn't been turned off for about 6 months. I never had any issues with my iPhone 3Gs or whatever it was called apart from dust getting under the screen. I don't mind Apple software even though it's limited compared to Android, it's the hardware I don't trust.

Well I guess this shows how little interest there is in the S4 when we're talking about Apple stuff already.

I've had quite the opposite with my Apple stuff.

iPhone 4S - no problems
iPad 1 - no problems
2 white macbooks - both fine. The first one I sold to a workmate is still going strong and faultless
apple tv - no problems
work mac mini - no problems (been through 3 third party monitors but the computer is faultless).
Previous G3 tower was only replaces cos it was getting old, not because it broke, ever.

No hardware problems with my wife's iPhone 3GS or 4S. Also haven't had any hardware problems with my HTC stuff (Desire and One XL). Just picked up an iPad on the weekend so hopefully it's all good!

apple devices have a love detector in them, that's why!