Hello. Long time Android & XDA user here.
My old Motorola Atrix 4G is finally starting to die. So I decided to go out and start looking at a new phones.
Phones im considering:
1. Samsung Galaxy Note 2
2. Samsung Galaxy S4
3. Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
Now a liitle about me. Im a computer tech, I know a good bit about linux and windows OS. I sometimes for my job have to remote into servers to fix issues. Mainly Windows servers. Because of this I am already testing the Galaxy Note 2. I like the big screen and battery. But it is big. Maybe too big?
I also would and have flashed my previous phones to better roms so I would say a strong development community for the phone is a must. The more roms (stable) the better in my option.
I like the S4 because of the camera and the S4 Active for the "water resistant" & dust proof. I also like the IR blaster, something the note 2 lacks and the higher processor power.
My question at the end of the day is im looking for a phone that:
A. Has good remote desktop resolution
B. Good development community for roms
C. Maybe IR blaster
D. Resonable battery life
Im thinking the S4 Active but how stable is it compared to the S4?
Thanks for any feedback!
Dimitri
I'd definitely wait for the note 3 over the note 2.
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eallan said:
I'd definitely wait for the note 3 over the note 2.
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I kinda need a new phone soon. Does Samsung have an ETA or the note 3? Thanks for the tip.
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DJ29Joesph said:
I kinda need a new phone soon. Does Samsung have an ETA or the note 3? Thanks for the tip.
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They'll announce it in a couple weeks. No idea about availability but I wouldn't think it would be long after
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The active is nothing to write home about. It is garbage to many people and a failure on Samsung's part.
My wife has the Note 2. Huge screen. Not too big for the hands, fast and reliable, but bulky in an otter box. She is completely stock.
I have the S4. I was lucky enough to get it shipped directly from AT&T with MDL so I am able to flash all the ROMs I want from both The AT&T and T-Mobile forums. If i were to have gotten MF3, I would only be able to root.
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So wait for the note 3 or the S4?
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That is entirely up to you. I personally love the S4. It smokes every phone out there and will probably continue to do so for the next year.
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Too be completely honest go with a nexus 4 or the nexus 5 when it comes out. The s4 doesn't feel that much powerful. I still get lag and such. I came from a 1core family phones both Inspire and Infuse, but I jsut am not feeling it. If you want support you better get a T-mobile phone that has an unlocked bootloader because the s4 along with the note 3 has a locked bootloader.
toxicpaulution said:
Too be completely honest go with a nexus 4 or the nexus 5 when it comes out. The s4 doesn't feel that much powerful. I still get lag and such. I came from a 1core family phones both Inspire and Infuse, but I jsut am not feeling it. If you want support you better get a T-mobile phone that has an unlocked bootloader because the s4 along with the note 3 has a locked bootloader.
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I don't have any lag. Disabled animations and debloat as well as a few things like greenify help a huge amount. Android is made to customize. It is up to the user to do so.
The S4 is the top dog. Much better than the N4 on every aspect. Even on stock with locked bootloaders, the S4 destroys it.
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graydiggy said:
I don't have any lag. Disabled animations and debloat as well as a few things like greenify help a huge amount. Android is made to customize. It is a pretty to the user to do so.
The S4 is the top dog. Much better than the N4 on every aspect. Even on stock with locked bootloaders, the S4 destroys it.
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I'm on a custom rom but I still don't feel it. The amoled screen really sucks. I always have it on full brightness but I can't see it outside at all. The battery life works for me as I have three other batteries. The camera is only good on TW as are other phones.
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I decided to go with the S4.. not a bad phone..
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DJ29Joesph said:
I decided to go with the S4.. not a bad phone..
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Do yourself a favor (if you haven't already done so) and read the "pinned" threads in the general and Q & A sections. It doesn't matter how much you know or don't know already, those threads contain information that needs to be known for this specific model phone.
I hope you enjoy the phone and I think you made a great choice. Good luck.
Related
Anyone know what developers are getting this phone? I'm either getting this or the note 3 for Sprint so just seeing how the development community will be.
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Seeing how there is already a G2 thread on XDA
I have a great confidence for a great dev community
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I wish...
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I can't allow myself to get any phone that has no development.
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I would certainly help developers that will actually own this phone if they wanted me to, but as far as getting this phone myself, the answer is probably not.
At least without me, your device won't have a cheesy code name like r2g2.
Considering the fact that this phone is going to be on pretty much all the carriers, it should be good to go when the time comes to development.
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Hey there, how about CM/AOSP Support on this phone. I dont really see through this whole story with the Qualcomm/AOSP Problems.
The reason why I'm asking this question is that I dont want to make the mistake and buy a phone which will not get a cm stable version like the SGS2 I had so far....
Maybe someone can exlain this stuff to me. Thanks for your replies
hansgagel said:
Hey there, how about CM/AOSP Support on this phone. I dont really see through this whole story with the Qualcomm/AOSP Problems.
The reason why I'm asking this question is that I dont want to make the mistake and buy a phone which will not get a cm stable version like the SGS2 I had so far....
Maybe someone can exlain this stuff to me. Thanks for your replies
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Qualcomm is awful with distributing binaries but awesome at giving sources. You'll be good to go.
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This phone will suffer from bad timing like the optimus g. This phone should have been released earlier this year. Most people that love specs and raw power plus big screens are already set on the note 3, I like this phone but to buy it over the note 3 I can't see happening. Hope lg put in a good or decent camera because I love there phones but the optimus g camera was horrendous.
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bonebeatz1234 said:
This phone will suffer from bad timing like the optimus g. This phone should have been released earlier this year. Most people that love specs and raw power plus big screens are already set on the note 3, I like this phone but to buy it over the note 3 I can't see happening. Hope lg put in a good or decent camera because I love there phones but the optimus g camera was horrendous.
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Totally agree with you on this. This phone will definitely suffer due to the note 3 being announced on September 4th. They will have the same specs but the note 3 has the stylus and more options to it.
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Like a removable battery and sdcard slot. That to me means a lot. I hate having a battery I can't remove and/or upgrade. I rather buy a cheaper phone memory wise and be able to put a sdcard in it. $100 for an upgrade from a 32gb to a 64gb is just crazy. I can buy 2 64gb cards for $100 bucks and have 5 times the memory on hand. I am waiting to find out when the Note 3 is coming out and what it really has to offer to make up my mind.
musclehead84 said:
Totally agree with you on this. This phone will definitely suffer due to the note 3 being announced on September 4th. They will have the same specs but the note 3 has the stylus and more options to it.
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The Note is much larger though, which will turn some folks off.
it is, but only by .4 inches. Its not like they are comparing the S3/S4 size against the Note 3. Some people will be turned off, but some people might like a bigger screen that has styus. I get turned off by smaller sized screens. Every phone that I have had has been bigger than the last except when I upgraded from the Evo to Evo 3D.
This phone will be fine. LG is quickly becoming Samsung chief competitor. They too make the Smart Tv's which integrate with the phones, and are basically able to match Samsung step for step. There are people who cannot stand Samsung for whatever reason and will be all over this phone. HTC has always been my preference but I'm gonna give this phone a thorough once over and may jump on board the LG wagon.
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The launch time could be a blessing or a curse. The pro is that there aren't many flagship phones (read: not phablets) being launched right now and thus this will be ahead of most things on the market, unlike in Spring, when HTC and Samsung both release products with nearly identical specs. Unfortunately for LG though, this could mean people will wait for the next "Galaxy" or next HTC device (HTC 2? HTC One Jr.?) or maybe next Xperia.
Came here cuz I'm wondering about development too. The OG actually has a lot of development and development is just getting started in the GPro. Based on latest Note 3 rumors (take this with a grain of salt) the G Pro can hang with it and it is significantly cheaper. Being on all carriers will help the attraction. Just my 2 cents.
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Would get, but I don't have enough money for this :/ If someone donated one that would be awesome
personally, i'm sick of the lag that samsung had in the gs4 and I don't really expect the note 3 to be any better. besides, I've got too many damn samsung devices hahaha time to move on. never had an LG though!
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musclehead84 said:
They will have the same specs but the note 3 has the stylus and more options to it.
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What options you mean? And stylus, why you may need stylus simultaneously with CM/AOSP, there's no wacom drivers for stylus AFAIK so flashing CM makes NoteIII stylusless. Am I wrong?
doeboy711 said:
it is, but only by .4 inches
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Yes. Don't forget that G2 is bigger than SGS4 only by .2" and Note III bigger than G2 only by .4" So no big deal in reality. BUT Note III will have lot heavier bezels and therefor will be more bulky and not ergonomic and less gripfriendly
Well we don't fully know what the note 3 will look like exactly, we only speculations so far. The G2 will be good for me though. But honestly I wouldn't mind a note 3 because my next upgrade is November. That's the only reason. But I would really like the G2 because I am in love with my GPro.
Lol, I sound like a kid up there.
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would anyone be able to give me a link to where i would be able to buy a galaxy s4 for roundabout 480-$550, as i decided not to go with the nexus 5 since i feel it will have massive battery issues and i cannot find another phone that i would truly like.
I'd consider giving up my S4 for a Nexus 5. Nexus phones are really great.
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cinderellie said:
would anyone be able to give me a link to where i would be able to buy a galaxy s4 for roundabout 480-$550
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http://swappa.com/
LZLandingZone said:
I'd consider giving up my S4 for a Nexus 5. Nexus phones are really great.
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i know and i love the nexus line to death but honestly it seems as if it's going to have massive battery issues with only 2300mAh and having to power a quad core snap 800 and 1080p screen.
In my opinion, I think 2300mAh battery for the Nexus 5 should be plenty and should last a whole day. Before you go assuming the battery life will be bad or whatnot, let me get my friends opinion. Three of my friends just got the Nexus 5 today so I'll ask them how it is.
Or if you Google "international I9505 S4 "you can buy it completely unlocked for $574.00
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cinderellie said:
would anyone be able to give me a link to where i would be able to buy a galaxy s4 for roundabout 480-$550, as i decided not to go with the nexus 5 since i feel it will have massive battery issues and i cannot find another phone that i would truly like.
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https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Samsung_Galaxy_S_4?id=samsung_galaxy_s4&hl=en
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As @~wolverine~ suggested, Swappa will be your best bet. They are endorsed by XDA and carry both carrier-based devices, as well as unlocked devices. Though, if your planning on rooting or using custom ROM's you may want to steer clear of the S4 until a breakthrough is made due to the restrictive bootloader. If your insist on the S4 try to find a Google Play Edition, else go with a Nexus 5 in my opinion. - Hope this helps!
I Honestly would give my gs4 up for a straight trade nexus 5 32gb
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Sure I would give up my "ATT" S4 up for a nexus ,but if you like the S4 like I do you have more options like the GT I9505 brand new in the price range your looking for.swappa deals with a more used based type of phone.sure it's cheaper.new sounds good to me
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look up the local listing on craigslist, you might be able to get it even cheaper. or wait another couple of months and get the S5
Anyone have a vzw note 3 then pick up a g2?what did you think? How's the reception? I'm getting irritated with dropped data ect.
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I came from a GS3 when they were running the free after instant rebate promo.
The G2 does have a more reliable signal, possibly a little stronger too.
I dont know if it is a big enough reason to switch...it could depend on your location, etc.
It is a fantastic phone though. I dont have the urge to crack flash either with all the UI customization possible witb stock.
Did they patch loki yet? I'm missing aosp and I meant to say I have a note 3. I have a nexus 7 just seems the note and 7 are too close in size. How's battery life?
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GTvert90 said:
Did they patch loki yet? I'm missing aosp and I meant to say I have a note 3. I have a nexus 7 just seems the note and 7 are too close in size. How's battery life?
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If you are willing to trade a Note 3 for an LG G2, contact me.
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I did the opposite where I had the G2 and dumped it for a Note 3. If I'm being completely honest, I think the Note 3 is a better overall phone with more advantages. But of course it depends how you will use your phone.
I owned the G2 for a month, so I think I had a pretty decent sample size to give my opinion.
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I honestly don't think they are even comparable, because of the size and the S Pen.
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It mostly depends on what you want to do with it. I have the original Note on ATT. I decided on the G2 over the N3 because of all the nonsense Samsung is getting into with not allowing us to flash and customize OUR devices. Since you are on Verizon, the vise is even tighter on you. Seems us GSM guys have it a little easier. Good luck with your decision.
Is this another Note 3 vs G2 comparison thread?
Aren't people getting tired of comparison threads getting locked?
kimtyson said:
It mostly depends on what you want to do with it. I have the original Note on ATT. I decided on the G2 over the N3 because of all the nonsense Samsung is getting into with not allowing us to flash and customize OUR devices. Since you are on Verizon, the vise is even tighter on you. Seems us GSM guys have it a little easier. Good luck with your decision.
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I don't think you are up to date. The Verizon Note 3 has a bootloader exploit, custom recovery and custom roms already. In short, it's good to go.
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I wouldn't call safe strap an bootloader exploit as much as a work around. Still no way to allow custom kernels
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Something is better then nothing tho
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I am on an original Galaxy Note and will be ready for an upgrade in a few months. I am looking at the S4, among others. I am leary of getting another Samsung device only to have Sammy abandon it for its successor, leaving owners in the lunch. I was an early adopter of the Note and now, 19 months on we have the Note 3 out and Sammy stopped supporting upgrades on the original Note not long after the device was just a year old.
My question is....knowing what you know today, would you buy another S4? If so, why? If you wouldn't, what bothers you most?
What would you buy in place of the S4?
Thanks to you all.
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Lurch. Not lunch.
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At this point, I would not, you'd have a locked bootloader and an older phone. I'd probably get a nexus 5.
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You may as well wait and see what the S5 offers. The launch might coincide with your upgrade timeline anyways. Aside from that, I also came from an O.G. Note to the S4. While I do love it, I kinda wish I had gone with a Note 3. I was spoiled by the larger screen. :-$ And yes, locked bootloader does suck. Really limits development. And we are coming up on a year that this phone has been on the market.
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I just upgraded from the skyrocket to the S4 a week ago and I'm not disappointed at all. I was lucky that it came with the MDL build do it was easy to root and get TWRP flashed as recovery. I installed the Xposed framework and a module to enable "hold back to kill" feature as well as a couple others that I like. I actually think I'm done modding the phone now, it does everything I want it to do.
Do would I do it again...absolutely!
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There is an off topic thread for this type of stuff...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2433789
Hi all.. I've had my nexus 4 for quite some time now and loved it..but it's time to upgrade.
Before I got the N4 I was always upgrading to the newest phone but this one stuck with me. A bit too long lol.
I am debating between the s5 and g3.. Will be on t mobile.
Have any of you switched from the n4 to either? Opinions?
Thanks
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Had chance to test both of them,.. Lg G3 i would choose,.. Regardless if u r planning to use original rom or custom rom. It feels more confident than Samsung, and another thing, spare parts are around 30% cheaper, at least in my country.
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LG G3
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G3.
Cause LG over that plastic crap of Samsung any day, if you want that feel of a proper flagship device
LG G3 any day. I had the S4 and it was nowhere near as good as the S4. Go switch to LG!
Sent from my rooted and booted LG G3!
Crisisx1 said:
Hi all.. I've had my nexus 4 for quite some time now and loved it..but it's time to upgrade.
Before I got the N4 I was always upgrading to the newest phone but this one stuck with me. A bit too long lol.
I am debating between the s5 and g3.. Will be on t mobile.
Have any of you switched from the n4 to either? Opinions?
Thanks
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s5 has plenty of features but google is more of a "clean" phone
I feel like I am getting biased opinions in this matter because the nexus four is part LG so that's why your all choosing the LG G3
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Crisisx1 said:
I feel like I am getting biased opinions in this matter because the nexus four is part LG so that's why your all choosing the LG G3
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Well thats what happens when you post the question in a Nexus 4 forum lol
lg g3 all the way bruh
In two months android l is coming account, why not wait?
coolqf said:
In two months android l is coming account, why not wait?
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Android I is coming account? What does that mean
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High chance of new google nexus flagship phone.
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lolcakes203 said:
High chance of new google nexus flagship phone.
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But I'm not sure if I want another nexus phone.. I skipped out on the n5. My brother in law has one and it doesn't seem like anything special.
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Alright, understandable. Whatever choice you make, I'm sure it will be the right one. Many good devices out there.
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My next step is to go to a T-Mobile store and try out both phones
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Visited a store today..
Both phones feel very solid. I liked the display on the g3 more but what I hated about it is the volume rocker is on the back of the phone...dumbest thing ever IMO.
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I just bought my first Android device coming from a long line of Windows phones. I've handled my friends Galaxy S4s and saw the S5 in store. I ended up purchasing the G3. I gotta say its a slick device.
ryotgz said:
I just bought my first Android device coming from a long line of Windows phones. I've handled my friends Galaxy S4s and saw the S5 in store. I ended up purchasing the G3. I gotta say its a slick device.
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Have you gotten used to the buttons on the back? I feel like I'll hate that feature so much.
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Crisisx1 said:
Have you gotten used to the buttons on the back? I feel like I'll hate that feature so much.
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They took a little to get used to, but they don't bother me. I kinda like how the sides are smooth.
MAY i recommend oppo find 7a if you crave more battery life OR the find7 if you want high performance and more sharp screen on expense of less battery life ? in either case its removable so no worries , its a solid build which kicks lg g3's ass