Database Users

Should I buy it ? And GT-I9500 or I9505 ?

Hey guys,
So I have been using an HTC ONE X for qute some time now, and I want to get a new phone.
I live in Europe so no contracts on nothing.
The main question is should I get the GT-I9500 or the GT-I9505, so the Exynos or the Snapdragon one ?
I have never owned an Samsung phone yet so pardon my possibly dumb questions, as every phone I had yet was an HTC.
I am sick of HTC's S-ON and limitations, so I decided my next phone should be the S4, but what version of it ?
I see that there are quite a lit of custom roms and kernels for the I9505 but very few for the I9500, does that mean that this will stay this way in the future ?
I want to have a phone that I can root, flash custom roms, kernel, mods, and experiment on it, but in the same time I want it to be fast, even on stock rom.

If you want to have a very customizable phone (+ google play edition software) go with the i9505. The exynos version is slightly faster and a bit more battery efficient.
Check these out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmDqyYgBm7Y

If want different roms like miui,cm and others
Buy i9505 or i9505G
I9500 faster but right now there's no aosp or other custom roms for it
Sent From my i9500 With Crash Rom
--------------------------------
ادعوا لي بالتوفيق في امتحاناتي
wish me good luck for my exams

I suggest you for wait a little while for Galaxy S5 or Note 3 that coming this September ; )
Galaxy S4 is a fantastic device but, its already August so if you love Note you can go for the next Generation
or wait early next year for S5... its all about waiting.
If you can't wait go for S4
If you love stock Android and CM and Android purest go for GT I9505
if you love TouchWiz and not interested in heavy customization go for GT I9500

The Note is far too big for me so I'll stick with 4.7 - 5.0 inch screen phones for now...

I don't know if waiting is a good idea since, where I live, new phones tend to arrive 3-4 moths after their release, so IF the S5 would come out in January 2014, I could buy it Sometime in April or May

9500 was considered slightly faster but since benchmark tricks came to daylight who knows if it's so obvious... ;]
Anyway go for the one for your country, if both get 9505, great device for me. Definitely wouldn't replace it.
With the latest update I've noticed that it's capable to fix gps even inside some concrete buildings. Don't know how it's possible...
Snapdragon Galaxy S4

The i9500 has less support, the i9505 is much more popular among developers
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

I would suggest you to go for i9500 becuase the only drawback in it was about aosp roms which will soon be available for it. It is slightly faster than i9505, camera is a bit better and even games runs slightly better because of processing speed as well as gpu.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 4

Many reviews have the i9505 slightly beating the i9500 by a small margin in battery life. Camera and speed is slightly on i9500 better though the difference is marginal. If you want to be able to play with aosp roms then the i9505 is the only way to go. The i9500 will never come close in this regard because the snapdragon chipset is more open and developer friendly. It's used in several phones so there are many more developers who have familiarity with it and it's far less painful to develop for. Also the Google edition is built off the i9505.
So really do you want a slightly better camera and marginally fastet processor or a much more lively development scene?
It's entirely up to you at the end of the day.
-- Sent from the mighty Note 2 --

the 9500 is more powerful, the camera and sound seem better , but it isn't footling
the 9505 is supportted better, it has AOSP and the support of CM team and 9500 doesn't

dr.m0x said:
Many reviews have the i9505 slightly beating the i9500 by a small margin in battery life. Camera and speed is slightly on i9500 better though the difference is marginal. If you want to be able to play with aosp roms then the i9505 is the only way to go. The i9500 will never come close in this regard because the snapdragon chipset is more open and developer friendly. It's used in several phones so there are many more developers who have familiarity with it and it's far less painful to develop for. Also the Google edition is built off the i9505.
So really do you want a slightly better camera and marginally fastet processor or a much more lively development scene?
It's entirely up to you at the end of the day.
-- Sent from the mighty Note 2 --
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then, Seems like there is only one way to go.
GT-I9505 it is.

The 9505 had 4g while the 9500 doesn't. That's the main reason why I use the 9505......I love 4g and just can't go back.
Not sure if that matters to you though.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium

sxi200 said:
The 9505 had 4g while the 9500 doesn't. That's the main reason why I use the 9505......I love 4g and just can't go back.
Not sure if that matters to you though.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all as there is no LTE in Europe, or at least not in the part i live in

dr.m0x said:
Many reviews have the i9505 slightly beating the i9500 by a small margin in battery life. Camera and speed is slightly on i9500 better though the difference is marginal. If you want to be able to play with aosp roms then the i9505 is the only way to go. The i9500 will never come close in this regard because the snapdragon chipset is more open and developer friendly. It's used in several phones so there are many more developers who have familiarity with it and it's far less painful to develop for. Also the Google edition is built off the i9505.
So really do you want a slightly better camera and marginally fastet processor or a much more lively development scene?
It's entirely up to you at the end of the day.
-- Sent from the mighty Note 2 --
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what has been driving me crazy! I was looking for an exact answer to the i9500 v/s i9505 with respect to dev support. However, i have also seen several replies (in this very thread and elsewhere on XDA) that support is coming for i9500 which should balance the scale in terms of dev support for i9500, which should bring it on par with the dev support for i9505. Is that true?
I have also done some research with my limited knowledge of the android dev scene and correct me if i'm wrong but i have arrived at the conclusion that Samsung will never release the sources for Exynos Octa, but Qualcomm does release sources for its Snapdragon chipsets, which means that as of now and into the future, the i9505 is the best option to enjoy more custom ROMS with better stability due to better support from officially available binaries from Qualcomm. Am i correct in all my assumptions?

electronical said:
This is exactly what has been driving me crazy! I was looking for an exact answer to the i9500 v/s i9505 with respect to dev support. However, i have also seen several replies (in this very thread and elsewhere on XDA) that support is coming for i9500 which should balance the scale in terms of dev support for i9500, which should bring it on par with the dev support for i9505. Is that true?
I have also done some research with my limited knowledge of the android dev scene and correct me if i'm wrong but i have arrived at the conclusion that Samsung will never release the sources for Exynos Octa, but Qualcomm does release sources for its Snapdragon chipsets, which means that as of now and into the future, the i9505 is the best option to enjoy more custom ROMS with better stability due to better support from officially available binaries from Qualcomm. Am i correct in all my assumptions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Bang on the money. The i9500 will get aosp roms but they will never be as stable as the ones for the i9505.
Sent from my GT-N5110

[Q] Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Edition

Dears,
How is everyone doing?
I have been an Android user for many years (Nexus Flagship to be precise), last year I switched to the Galaxy S4 GPE and it was an amazing phone.
After the release of Galaxy S5, I have been waiting patiently for the release of the GPE, but there are no words yet other than the rumors, speculations, Google putting it's image on the store instead of the S4 by mistake. And that's it.
You may be wondering what this topic is about, I need an advise from you guys on:
1- Is there any hope for it to be released, or was the rumors about Google not going through the trouble of releasing it because of the heart rate and finger sensors.
2- If yes, how long do you think we will wait?
3- I HATE samsung TouchWIz and the bloats that comes with it, is there any custom Stock ROM for it yet?
4- Is there a stable Cyanogenmod for the S5 ?
Regards,

Oh, forgot to mention, the reason why I'm not interested in any other GPE devices is that they all together lack one thing I think it's important to have in a smartphone, a (DECENT CAMERA), every device released by Google whether it was a Nexus or something else lacks a good camera. :crying: as a photographer/multimedia user and a blogger, it is a necessary for me.

jalmass said:
Dears,
How is everyone doing?
I have been an Android user for many years (Nexus Flagship to be precise), last year I switched to the Galaxy S4 GPE and it was an amazing phone.
After the release of Galaxy S5, I have been waiting patiently for the release of the GPE, but there are no words yet other than the rumors, speculations, Google putting it's image on the store instead of the S4 by mistake. And that's it.
You may be wondering what this topic is about, I need an advise from you guys on:
1- Is there any hope for it to be released, or was the rumors about Google not going through the trouble of releasing it because of the heart rate and finger sensors.
2- If yes, how long do you think we will wait?
3- I HATE samsung TouchWIz and the bloats that comes with it, is there any custom Stock ROM for it yet?
4- Is there a stable Cyanogenmod for the S5 ?
Regards,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 and 2 - read this thread >>> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2796346
3 and 4 - look in the development forums, if threads for what you want exist, then the answers are yes, else no.

Stick with the S4 or get an iPhone.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

7 mths old and still no 4.4.3/4.4.4

So... do we start calling this tablet an "orphan" by Samsung? I didn't want to regret moving away from Google's "Nexus" line when I bought my TabPro 8.4, but... how long are we going to be stuck on 4.4.2?
It would be great if we got an upgrade to 4.4.3 or 4.4.4 along with some bugfixes. Since it looks like an HTC-built Nexus 8" tablet is coming soon, if by the time it comes out we're still stuck on "NG1 4.4.2" I might have to re-consider my options...
If anyone has any news on this subject it would be great to hear!
Also, out of curiosity, what version of Android is the Tab S currently at?

locutusx said:
So... do we start calling this tablet an "orphan" by Samsung? I didn't want to regret moving away from Google's "Nexus" line when I bought my TabPro 8.4, but... how long are we going to be stuck on 4.4.2?
It would be great if we got an upgrade to 4.4.3 or 4.4.4 along with some bugfixes. Since it looks like an HTC-built Nexus 8" tablet is coming soon, if by the time it comes out we're still stuck on "NG1 4.4.2" I might have to re-consider my options...
If anyone has any news on this subject it would be great to hear!
Also, out of curiosity, what version of Android is the Tab S currently at?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you missing in 4.4.3 or 4.4.4? They both are pretty minor updates. All Samsung's high-end tablets from the N10.1-14 on are on 4.4.2 so no one has something you don't. People who put a high priority on updates shouldn't buy devices with an overlay.

is any Samsung device running 4.4.3? To my understanding the Tab S and Galaxy S5 are still on 4.4.2. The cosmetic updates in 4.4.3 won't be noticed since Touchwiz covers them up anyway. I read Samsung implemented the 4.4.4 security patches in it's own separate firmware updates.

Well, the webview enhancements in 4.4.3 improve performance of any app which uses webview.
Also, pretty sure I saw quite a few mentions of various other Sammy devices getting 4.4.3 firmwares uploaded onto sammobile.com which was starting to irk me.

As long as I get android L I'm happy
Sent from my SM-T320 with Tapatalk 4

The biggest problem I have with it isn't the lack of an update, but the sluggishness of the OS. It's an octa-core processor with a 1.9gHz clock speed on four of them! Also the Wifi was better on my iPad 2 than on this brand new device!
Should've chosen something with a Quallcom processor, then I could have some decent custom ROMs...

A 4.4.4 update came out yesterday (9/10) for my T-Mobile Galaxy S4, so hopefully that mean it'll come out for the Tab Pro soon. The update does not update the UI. I'm not aware of a 4.4.4 update for other S4 and the S5. I believe T-Mobile pushed the update because it includes a new in-flight (airplane) text function/service they'll advertise next week.

Act of good faith
BarryH_GEG said:
What exactly are you missing in 4.4.3 or 4.4.4? They both are pretty minor updates. All Samsung's high-end tablets from the N10.1-14 on are on 4.4.2 so no one has something you don't. People who put a high priority on updates shouldn't buy devices with an overlay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue in my opinion is the show of support from the manufacturer, giving us the latest update is a sign of good faith whilst not doing so, esp after 7 months shows they don't really care about tab pro users.

There is NO Galaxy Tab with Android >4.4.2 - so why do you moan they don't care about Tab Pro users when there is no newer version on newer tablets (e.g. Tab S)?

weiguxp said:
The issue in my opinion is the show of support from the manufacturer, giving us the latest update is a sign of good faith whilst not doing so, esp after 7 months shows they don't really care about tab pro users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once Samsung have your money they really don't give a damn about supporting your product.
My Galaxy W (i8150) was abandoned by them within 6 months of release and never received an update from GB to ICS even though similar age and spec models by them did.
The S3 has been dumped at JB 4.3 because they can't fit all their bloatware into the KK ROM.
The TabPRO seems to be EOL after less than a year.....
It's par for the course with Sammy unfortunately - which is why we are lucky to have such an amazing amount of support from Dev's on XDA.

locutusx said:
Since it looks like an HTC-built Nexus 8" tablet is coming soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't expect to be able to hold the 4:3 Nexus 8" tablet in one hand, like I do with my Tab Pro 8.4.
I also imagine it won't have an SD Card.
But the regular OS updates to seem tempting.

My hand gets tired very quickly when I try to hold the Tab Pro 8.4 in one hand, so I don't see the Nexus 8 being any different in that regard.
I'm only using 900MB of the 64GB SD Card in my Tab Pro -- 62GB free.
Reason is, there are barely any apps I can move to SD card, and even then there are side-effects like the icon won't stay on my home screen so I end up just moving them back to main memory. Also I have Google All-Access Music so I don't need to keep lots of music on my tablet. And for videos/movies, I use Netflix and PLEX so no need to keep videos locally on the tablet. So obviously, i'd be ok with a Nexus tablet without SD card slot. ( But I would still try to go for a 32GB+ )
Also, i have some minor build quality issues with my Tab Pro 8.4 -- in particular there seems to be some very minor "squeaky/creaky" noises when I touch certain areas of the touch screen or around the bezel. Not a serious issue, mind you, but in contrast both my Nexus S and Nexus 4 have zero build quality issues.

Hey, I saw on twitter today that the "T-Mobile" version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) is getting a 4.4.4 update soon!
Good news, right? Becuase it means the GTP version of that firmware update may be coming up soon afterwards. At least for the GTP 10.1" version.
Not sure about the GTP 8.4, it's pretty different from the Note 10.1 ...

I use link2sd app in the playstore great app, been using for a few years now. Native app2sd is not that great
Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

Just use a custom ROM and you will have a newer version. I have already lost faith in Samsung for their software.

I have a new slogan for Samsung, "It is, what it is". You could follow that with "take it or leave it" I bought my gt p 8.4 with no expectation of any updates. If I get one I will be thrilled.
Sent from my SM-T320

Full/Debloated - Rooted - DeOdex - T320XAR1ANG1 - (08/03/14)
I have been rockin with:
Full/Debloated - Rooted - DeOdex - T320XAR1ANG1 - (08/03/14) on my T320.
This thing runs almost as good as my Note 3 running Alliance.
I tried the Daydream ROM and it was VERY lite on system storage but it had issues with some of my gaming.
It's nice to re live the good old Game Boy Advance and N64 days on this huge high res screen...
The lack of a OTG USB controller puts my Moga Pro Power to great use.
I use my Note 3 to email the boss to let him know that I cant get to work until the ice melts.
GAME ON ANYWHERE

Is the latest always the greatest?
Not always!
Do you remember SD card disaster with 4.4.x?

Samsung has a great upgrade program. Every time a new version of Android is released, they release a new tablet running it.
But seriously, I'm not too concerned about 4.4.2 to 4.4.4. I would rather they develop a Lollipop release. Fine with me if they take a couple of months to get it right. I'll be needing it on the Tab Pro 8.4 and Note 10.1 (2014).

i9506 vs i9505 support

I look for new phone, i9506 is in my opinion best phone for me, because it can record 1080p60 fps and S5 is too big and more expensive.
However in Galaxy S series I appreciate the support. By now I have first SGS and it still has daily updates. What do you think about i9506 in this respect? Will it have newer androids in next years?

przemek211 said:
I look for new phone, i9506 is in my opinion best phone for me, because it can record 1080p60 fps and S5 is too big and more expensive.
However in Galaxy S series I appreciate the support. By now I have first SGS and it still has daily updates. What do you think about i9506 in this respect? Will it have newer androids in next years?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heya mate,
main difference between these 2 models is their location use, i9505 is more available in europe whereas 9506 is produced for the east...
as for galaxy s4 in general, I already own it and it works great for me, just stick with the newest official rom and you won't have any problems, keep flashing the up-to-date version for your country from sammobile and you are good to go!

Official Android 6.0.1 TW for i9515??

Hi, I know that S5 G900F(no atm)/M/S that it has released on April 2014 and it is getting Android 6.0.1 TW Official from Samsung, and I am answering me if Galaxy S4 Value Edition I9515 gets Android 6.0.1 TW official from Samsung, because it has released on end May 2014 and it has good specs to run it without a problem. It is more modern than S5 theorically, and if it gets it, it can be port to normal i9505 variant?? Because it has same specs including Snap 600 and Adreno 320.
Thankss for your attention.
Have a nice day.

I doubt Samsung will release Marshmallow TW for any of the S4 models, even if they at capable of running it.
They have a stupid 2 year update warranty policy. What it means is that, for those 2 years, the device will get updates, but once those 2 years are up, no more software updates.
The only thing Samsung will provide now will probably just security updates.

GDReaper said:
I doubt Samsung will release Marshmallow TW for any of the S4 models, even if they at capable of running it.
They have a stupid 2 year update warranty policy. What it means is that, for those 2 years, the device will get updates, but once those 2 years are up, no more software updates.
The only thing Samsung will provide now will probably just security updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, am seriously doubting that too.
Not to mention that we're seeing those ads 'upgrade to the Galaxy S6/S7 and get $250 dollars worth of accessories from our online store' on Facebook.
It also seems very stupid that they have not yet fixed the lag on the task switcher which I am sure that the S4 is capable of running smoothly even after 3 lollipop OTA updates.
Samsung unlike most OEMs always have a habit of not fully upgrading the UI of certain apps like the lockscreen, camera app, voice recorder, music or even to add a S6 themer in bid that those extra features will justify an upgrade.
Not being harsh on Samsung as other phone makers have the same 2 year update period unless if it's apple or something, but they could have at least upgraded the UI properly.
So yeah, I'd recommend the OP not to hold his or her breath.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk