Is the Samsung S4 still the phone to buy?

silk186

silk186

[H]ard|Gawd
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I will be moving to London this month and I'm trying to figure out all the things I need. Me and my Fiance both have the Samsung S2, we are both considering buying the S4 on a 2 year contract.

First question: is this still the best android phone to get? Any others to consider?
Second: Any deals for students or is http://www.mobiles.co.uk the best deals I will find?
Third: seems that Voda offers the best deal, are carriers pretty much equal? Any I should avoid?
 
There are a slew of phones out to consider, nexus 5 soon, the honami, the htc one, the one max (hopefully soon), note 3, lg g2, moto x, etc.

Id suggest looking around but the S4 is a great phone.
 
The S4 was never the best phone and there is no such thing as the best phone. There is only the phone better suited for you as an individual.
 
Trimlock said:
There are a slew of phones out to consider, nexus 5 soon, the honami, the htc one, the one max (hopefully soon), note 3, lg g2, moto x, etc.

Id suggest looking around but the S4 is a great phone.
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The note 3 is too big for me but i will look at some of the other options.

any recommendations for buying in the UK?
 
limitedaccess said:
The S4 was never the best phone and there is no such thing as the best phone. There is only the phone better suited for you as an individual.
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OK, Currently what are the best choices, and where to find the best plans in the UK?
 
I believe its £159 (8gb) and £199 (16gb).

silk186 said:
OK, Currently what are the best choices, and where to find the best plans in the UK?
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Assuming you don't like the larger phablet style phones, so won't mention those.

If you mean higher end phones in general the S4, as well as the HTC One and Nexus 4 (even more so) are somewhat dated at this point. They are being supplanted by a newer lineup of phones being released now or coming out for the fall season. it doesn't necessarily mean they are bad choices or less capable however.

If you are interested in the S4, I assume you have your reasons, the LTE-A version with the S800 is supposedly filtering into European distribution at the moment. Depends on how much of a rush you are in though.

Other devices to consider - LG G2, Sony Z1, Nexus 5, HTC One (possible rumored refresh).

Edit: For some reason I assumed this was an Android only question (maybe it is?) But also worth looking into Nokia's Lumia line. And the new iphones are about to be announced as well.
 
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I got a Moto X over all of the options and I have to say I'm perfectly happy. It does not feel mid range at all and on top of that, the battery blows out the other offerings which is one of the most underrated features of the phone.
 
Moto X is only available in NA with no plans at the moment for anywhere else as far as I know.

They are supposedly releasing a high end phone for the international markets but there is no rumors even regarding it at the moment that I know of.
 
The three popular ones I'm looking over is the HTC One, Samsung S4, and the Samsung Note III(not out till end of month).
 
silk186 said:
The note 3 is too big for me but i will look at some of the other options.

any recommendations for buying in the UK?
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Not familiar with UK networks or their plans. Shouldn't be hard to google which ones work with your network. I'd give it a month before you sign up for a new phone, the fall high end phones are all coming out.
 
I'm only looking at android phones, my fiance will consider the new iphone. I'm considering the s4 because i like my s2. Since I will be arriving in London in a few weeks I can hold off for a week or 2 for new phones to drop.
 
silk186 said:
I'm only looking at android phones, my fiance will consider the new iphone. I'm considering the s4 because i like my s2. Since I will be arriving in London in a few weeks I can hold off for a week or 2 for new phones to drop.
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There is nothing wrong with the S4. Go into the store and play around with it, see how much you like it.
 
I passed on GS4 on Verizon for a HTC One. I liked the premium look and feel of the HTC better.
 
I'd suggest checking out the LG G2 or possibly wait for the next Nexus phone to be announced. Also the Sony Z1 looks promising.
 
I think the LG G2 would be your best option. Pretty much the best specs a phone currently has, and it is not a 6" monster. Should be available within the next two weeks
 
silk186 said:
I'm only looking at android phones, my fiance will consider the new iphone. I'm considering the s4 because i like my s2. Since I will be arriving in London in a few weeks I can hold off for a week or 2 for new phones to drop.
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Just throwing this out there.......I know that there are apps for it, but if your fiance is getting an Iphone, I would consider one myself too only for the compatibility and imessage and facetime etc etc........

But, you'll make your own mind up. Just saying for ease of it.
 
The biggest problem of the iPhone is the memory. With other phones I can throw in a 32gb or 64gb memory card. Also I really don't like the screen size and shape. Otherwise I would consider it.
 
silk186 said:
The biggest problem of the iPhone is the memory. With other phones I can throw in a 32gb or 64gb memory card. Also I really don't like the screen size and shape. Otherwise I would consider it.
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True, those could very well be concerns. Every media of mine is cloud stored so memory is never an issue for me. The screen size can throw people off.
 
I would look for alternatives to the Samsung S4 at this point. There are alot of nice devices out there now, HTC One, Moto X, LG G2 to name a few.

I would mainly skip the samsung devices due to the touchwiz interface. The samsung phones I've had just seem more laggy that alot of the other device maker UI overlays. Just those momentary lag spikes when swiping screens and unlocking your phone was enough to make me say no more samsung.
 
I would say yes. The S4 is still a beast of a device packed into a good size, even if you don't use all the features. The only one to really rival it is the HTC One. I would just forget about the G2 at this point, LG's software is laughable. Moto X might be another good one, it really is about what your needs are in a phone. The Note 3 is coming too if you need a powerhouse.
 
It's a very, very good phone. But for me personally... it's just boring. The HTC One would be awesome to get, but their update support/Sense/locked bootloader on Verizon is a hassle.
 
There's not many options for expandable storage other than Sansung and the Z1.
 
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CannibalTrout said:
I would look for alternatives to the Samsung S4 at this point. There are alot of nice devices out there now, HTC One, Moto X, LG G2 to name a few.

I would mainly skip the samsung devices due to the touchwiz interface. The samsung phones I've had just seem more laggy that alot of the other device maker UI overlays. Just those momentary lag spikes when swiping screens and unlocking your phone was enough to make me say no more samsung.
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+1. The S4 is the phone to avoid. Great specs, but the software not so much.
 
lathode said:
There's not many options for expandable storage other than Sansung and the Z1.
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Outside of NA many phones, which are the same model, actually come with micro SD support from various manufacturers even if they don't for the NA market version.
 
Best phone buy right now? Bang for Buck it's hard to beat the Nexus 4 sale. Doesn't have LTE or a SD card slot, but otherwise it's pretty top notch, and for $250 without a contract so you can get a smaller MVNO carrier, right now it's my vote.
 
My favorite pick at the moment is the yet to be released Xperia Z1. Top notch specs and hopefully the dial out the camera, great screen tech and best of all IP58 rating for water and dust and based on the Z ultra the material and build quality is among the best.
 
HardUp4HardWare said:
Z1 is pretty sweet, doesn't look like it will be on VZW though.
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Not sure, but given Sony's track record I would not be surprised it doesnt make it to verizon. They have no real reason not to release it on Verizon, and IMHO the Z1 will probably be the best overall phone of the year. Specifically since given all the recent sample shot it beats out the Nokia lumia 1020 in low light situations, provides more natural colors and better exposure while I find the samples in the Z1 to have more detail. It is seriously starting to impress me and I am glad I waited and didnt buy the Z Ultra(no flash common!), the Z1 IMHO is better than the G2, S4, 1020, One and 5S. Also while we were clamoring for better camera tech from Nokia we forget that Sony is actually also one of the market leaders in camera tech.
 
LG G2 is pretty sweet phone, and just released this week. The S4 is cool, but is almost half way through it's cycle, with the S5 due in March, I'd go with the One over the S4 IMO.

The Google Play Edition S4 is really cool, and I think the best S4 to get.
 
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