Newbie questions regarding phones

[goofybastard]

I am looking to get a Samsung S4 on Verizon.
I have an unlimited data plan that I don't intend to lose.

This means I buy a phone outright. Verizon is only offering 16GB models.

Can I buy any carrier's S4 model, replace the SIM, and activate it on Verizon?
Would I be able to get a 32 or 64 GB model and use that?
Any recommendations on where to buy a S4?

My current phone is a droid. The first droid model, so I am thinking this will be a big jump for me. My current droid is rooted, but I am not familiar enough to know what I may have to do on a new phone. In all likelyhood, I will be looking to root this phone too. From what I have read, there is no small amout of bloatware on the S4 that I will be happy to be rid of.

If it is just impossible to get a S4 in anything other than 16GB, then it almost seems like just buying from Verizon isn't the worst deal - $650.

Again I know these are newbie questions and I may not even be asking all of the right questions, as I said, it has been awhile since I have paid much attention to cell phones and I hope someone can help me out here.

Thanks.

 

[Pylon]

Verizon uses CDMA with very specific bands, and only Verizon phones will work on Verizon.

As for storage, the S4 has a microSD slot, so you can add a 64GB microSD card to expand things to 80GB. However, you can't install apps on the SD card unless you use a hack like app2sd.

 

[goofybastard]

Verizon uses CDMA with very specific bands, and only Verizon phones will work on Verizon.

As for storage, the S4 has a microSD slot, so you can add a 64GB microSD card to expand things to 72GB. However, you can't install apps on the SD card unless you use a hack like app2sd.

Well, that sucks.

From just a brief little bit of research, even App2sd may not be terribly helpful. I was finding many references to apps that just aren't configured to be used from a microSD card.

Rather annoying. Thanks for the reply, though. It gives me something to look into.

 

[Pylon]

Did my math wrong. It's 80GB, not 72.

After Samsung's preinstalled stuff/bloat, expect around 9 gigs of free onboard storage for apps. Depending on how you use it, that might be enough (my 16GB Nexus 7 still has about 9 gigs free).

 

[goofybastard]

Do you know any good websites to learn current tricks and practices for Android and specifically as it relates to the S4?

Any suggested places/websites to purchase a S4?

 

[T4rd]

Do you know any good websites to learn current tricks and practices for Android and specifically as it relates to the S4?

Any suggested places/websites to purchase a S4?

XDA Forums are a good place to learn a lot of general and technical information about your phone, as well as modding/hacking/rooting it.

Doesn't really matter where you get the phone as long as you make sure it's a Verizon specific model as anything else will not activate on their network. You're going to pay MSRP pretty much anywhere, but I would just get one off Amazon since they have great customer service should you have any issues with it. But I suppose you could also be better off just getting it from any other brick and mortar store that carries them nearby (Verizon, Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc.) so you can get it faster and exchange one faster should you need to.

Also, just FYI, the GS4 isn't going to launch on Verizon until May 30 last I read. So you still have a month or so before it's available (it takes a bit more time for Verizon to lock down that bootloader and make sure you have the latest Lets Golf trial game on there ) I'm hoping that by then, there will be a developer edition available on Verizon like there was for the GS3. The Developer Edition will have an unlockable bootloader and will hopefully have a larger 32-64GB option available. I would hold out for that if you can find anything on it. I haven't read anything about it yet, but it could easily be in the news in the next month or so, so keep your eyes out for it if you think that's worth it to you.

That's crazy you held onto your OG Droid for so long, lol. I kept mine for right at 2 years, then upgraded to the Galaxy Nexus when it launched, which was a massive upgrade in itself, then I got the Note 2 last December. I couldn't imaging still using that 3.5" screen with 256MBs RAM, hah, I did have that thing OC'd to 1.1 GHz at all times though . It was a great phone for what it was, but it sure got limited in its abilities when you tried to put Gingerbread on it or had more than a few services running in the background. What took you so long to upgrade when you had the opportunity to get the GS3 last year and keep unlimited data then?

 

[goofybastard]

XDA Forums are a good place to learn a lot of general and technical information about your phone, as well as modding/hacking/rooting it.

Doesn't really matter where you get the phone as long as you make sure it's a Verizon specific model as anything else will not activate on their network. You're going to pay MSRP pretty much anywhere, but I would just get one off Amazon since they have great customer service should you have any issues with it. But I suppose you could also be better off just getting it from any other brick and mortar store that carries them nearby (Verizon, Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc.) so you can get it faster and exchange one faster should you need to.

Also, just FYI, the GS4 isn't going to launch on Verizon until May 30 last I read. So you still have a month or so before it's available (it takes a bit more time for Verizon to lock down that bootloader and make sure you have the latest Lets Golf trial game on there ) I'm hoping that by then, there will be a developer edition available on Verizon like there was for the GS3. The Developer Edition will have an unlockable bootloader and will hopefully have a larger 32-64GB option available. I would hold out for that if you can find anything on it. I haven't read anything about it yet, but it could easily be in the news in the next month or so, so keep your eyes out for it if you think that's worth it to you.

That's crazy you held onto your OG Droid for so long, lol. I kept mine for right at 2 years, then upgraded to the Galaxy Nexus when it launched, which was a massive upgrade in itself, then I got the Note 2 last December. I couldn't imaging still using that 3.5" screen with 256MBs RAM, hah, I did have that thing OC'd to 1.1 GHz at all times though . It was a great phone for what it was, but it sure got limited in its abilities when you tried to put Gingerbread on it or had more than a few services running in the background. What took you so long to upgrade when you had the opportunity to get the GS3 last year and keep unlimited data then?

Honestly, it is as much because of several co-workers that have gotten me to upgrade. They have gotten the larger screen phones from HTC and Samsung and I can't help but like the extra real estate and features they offer. It has made me a bit jealous. So, I may as well change that. I never thought the bigger screen would really be a big feature to me, but it has worked out that way.

I think I will miss my keyboard though.

Thanks for the website and the reply, I will have to check them out. I was so hoping that since I have only seen 2 model numbers from Samsung that any S4 could be put on any network with the correct SIM card or something like that. Bit of a bummer there.

I will keep an eye out for a 'Developer Edition' S4. If something like that came out, I would definitely go for that. Especially reading about the amount of crap that has been loaded on S4s so far - from what I have read. They really seemed to have piled the bloat on this phone.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[T4rd]

Honestly, it is as much because of several co-workers that have gotten me to upgrade. They have gotten the larger screen phones from HTC and Samsung and I can't help but like the extra real estate and features they offer. It has made me a bit jealous. So, I may as well change that. I never thought the bigger screen would really be a big feature to me, but it has worked out that way.

I think I will miss my keyboard though.

Thanks for the website and the reply, I will have to check them out. I was so hoping that since I have only seen 2 model numbers from Samsung that any S4 could be put on any network with the correct SIM card or something like that. Bit of a bummer there.

I will keep an eye out for a 'Developer Edition' S4. If something like that came out, I would definitely go for that. Especially reading about the amount of crap that has been loaded on S4s so far - from what I have read. They really seemed to have piled the bloat on this phone.

Thanks again for the help.

No problem!

I thought I would miss my keyboard too when I left my OG Droid, but once I put Swype (it just got released on the Play Store after being in Beta for over 3 years now) on my Droid, I pretty much quit using the physical keyboard on it and it facilitated the new phone upgrade nicely once I put Swype on the new phone. I highly recommend it.

Yeah, another good thing about the Developer Edition is that it doesn't come with any of that carrier bloat on it and should you choose not to root/ROM it, it should get updates much faster from Samsung (not 100% on that though, I know the HTC Dev Edition phones work like that).

Did you ever root/ROM your Droid or you been using it totally stock this whole time? I just remembered how little storage that phone had on it too (like 128 MB I think) and constantly making room for other apps and stuff. I can't imagine still being that limited now .

 

[goofybastard]

I rooted it just to overclock it. Beyond that, just used it like a regular phone. Not a lot of room, no. I have just adapted by keeping a few apps on it and using it for checking the internet. Again, this is why I want to take advantage of the new hotness coming out.

Really annoyed the more I look into what I want to get. S4 packed with crap, no mention of whether One will be coming to Verizon. Makes me think about going to Sprint.

Thanks for the Swype recommendation. I'll get that and start unlearning to love my keyboard.

 

[Medion]

I haven't read, so I'm sure that most/all of your questions have been answered. In case they haven't, here's everything in one place.

Can I buy any carrier's S4 model, replace the SIM, and activate it on Verizon?

No. The only carrier that has technology compatible with Verizon is Sprint. Both Verizon and Sprint use ESN/IMEI to lock a device to their network. That makes it near impossible (not totally impossible) to bring a device from one network to the other. You're stuck with a Verizon-branded phone.

Would I be able to get a 32 or 64 GB model and use that?

Your best bet is a developer edition.

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I535MBCVZW

As you can see there, Samsung offered a 16GB and 32GB developer edition to Verizon users for the S3, despite offering only the 16GB version on contract (if I recall correctly). So, there's a chance you could get a developer edition down the road. Nothing has been announced yet.

Any recommendations on where to buy a S4?

If you don't wait for a developer edition, likely the best bet is to get it from Verizon, directly. For full retail, most phones I see on Amazon, Walmart, and such, have a jacked up price whereas Verizon charges MSRP.

From what I have read, there is no small amout of bloatware on the S4 that I will be happy to be rid of.

If a developer edition comes out, this should be less of a problem.

If it is just impossible to get a S4 in anything other than 16GB, then it almost seems like just buying from Verizon isn't the worst deal - $650.

Unfortunately, that's about the same for any carrier.

 

[T4rd]

Samsung offered a 16GB and 32GB developer edition to Verizon users for the S3, despite offering only the 16GB version on contract (if I recall correctly). So, there's a chance you could get a developer edition down the road. Nothing has been announced yet.

No, they offered the 32 GB GS3 on contract. I don't see it now since they have the GS4 listed on their site (even though it's not available for another month still), but I see it listed on Amazon, but it's unavailable now. I know it was though since I was about to get one over the Note 2 last December (glad I didn't do that, heh).

 

[Medion]

No, they offered the 32 GB GS3 on contract. I don't see it now since they have the GS4 listed on their site (even though it's not available for another month still), but I see it listed on Amazon, but it's unavailable now. I know it was though since I was about to get one over the Note 2 last December (glad I didn't do that, heh).

Thank you for that clarification. Makes sense. They did something similar with the Galaxy Nexus, initially offering a 32GB, then added a 16GB model, then discontinued the 32GB model months before discontinuing the 16GB model.

 

[goofybastard]

Thanks for the clarification and information to both of you. I appreciate it.