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Samsung Galaxy S4

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I'm up for renewal on Verizon and they finally got the S4. I currently have a Droid X that has been a solid phone but the battery is toast (a new one is $40+) and it is getting glitchy. Does anyone have experience with the S4 either on Verizon or other carriers? Is it all it's supposed to be? One of my concerns is that the first offerings are only a 16gb internal memory and I've read that's where all apps go. I think on my Droid I can store either on the microSD or internal. I don't know if 16gb will be enough over time to keep what's coming out on the App page.



I also don't want to lose all my Angry Bird progress!
 
Be aware if you have unlimited data usage..... aka you were grandfathered in like i was several yrs ago... . you loose that with the new renewal... . just a little FYI..... that is supposed to be a great phone, but im holding out for a little longer for my data usage... ... . Verizon is just greedy.....
 
I looked at the S4 when it was time to renew my contract with ATT. After reading a lot of reviews I ended up getting the HTC One. The latter has 32 GB storage and I like the blink page which continually updates news feeds using small screen shots. Kinda cool if you are a news junkie.
The wireless LTE in the newer phones is Great! Makes it as fast as wireless.
A big jump in performance over my old Motorola Atrix.
 
I know I'll lose my truly unlimited unlimited and that's another consideration. I've looked and I don't go over 2gb. I don't use my home wireless when I'm home but could start, thus saving some gigs. What intrigues me the most about the S4 is the camera. It's supposedly really good. The camera on my Droid is great but if there is a better one I'd love to have it.
 
Verizon is what we have, and have not changed our plan from when we moved from Calif. The UNLIMITED EVERYTHING plan that the wife has her I Phone on and my just a phone, phone on isn't offered any longer. I don't need a phone that does anything more than let me say HELLO!! I don't even have a watch any more who Care's what time it is. Battery Systems has batteries for sale as does Radio Jap (aka radio Shack)
 
Isn't the S4 ran off the Android platform? I'm sure they've done their homework but it sure seems like there could be some growing pains with a touchless screen. I see Apple is scrambling to release a 5s to counter the S4 before they release the 6 later this year.
 
Hey Goodguy go to a non company store they can put the new phone on and keep your old contract . It is doable, they want your business.
 
Isn't the S4 ran off the Android platform? I'm sure they've done their homework but it sure seems like there could be some growing pains with a touchless screen. I see Apple is scrambling to release a 5s to counter the S4 before they release the 6 later this year.

S4 is android platform and you don't have to use the "gesture" I don't see it working perfect yet but at least they are trying to be innovative. Go to you tube and watch videos on the different functions on the phone it has helped me out a lot. I went from Motorola Razr to S4 night and day difference.
 
Isn't the S4 ran off the Android platform? I'm sure they've done their homework but it sure seems like there could be some growing pains with a touchless screen. I see Apple is scrambling to release a 5s to counter the S4 before they release the 6 later this year.

The 5s will probably have some subtle changes to it but don't expect anything great the half year releases are minor. Not sure if Apple is going to catch Samsung . Apple got us to a good place but it's hard to stay on top forever. Wait till next year on the Samsung we are going to see something that will blow us all away.
 
I know I'll lose my truly unlimited unlimited and that's another consideration. I've looked and I don't go over 2gb. I don't use my home wireless when I'm home but could start, thus saving some gigs. What intrigues me the most about the S4 is the camera. It's supposedly really good. The camera on my Droid is great but if there is a better one I'd love to have it.

Wife and I don't go over 2 gigs either but we do use the wifi at home . We are both self employed so they get a workout just don't download movies and you will be fine . See what I posted to Goodguy on your unlimited plan . The camera is great has some nice bells and whistles I like the one where you can take a pic and add 8 sec. of audio to it great for tech work. Haven't used the low level light but will probably be grainy as my brother said to many megapixel for that small ccd . Not the fastest for taking pic we did compare on a iphone and it was a bit faster P. S. Iphones are for girls
 
The 5s will probably have some subtle changes to it but don't expect anything great the half year releases are minor. Not sure if Apple is going to catch Samsung . Apple got us to a good place but it's hard to stay on top forever. Wait till next year on the Samsung we are going to see something that will blow us all away.

the wife has had Iphones for several yrs and I never did like them as much as the Android
 
Hey p-Bar, Where do I find a non company store? Sure would like to keep my Verizon Unlimited-Unlimited.....
any cell phone store that handles multiple carriers is a non brand store, I always like going to the actual co. store though... the others seem shady at times...
 
Ok boys read up on how to keep that unlimited plan:


We all know that we want to keep our unlimited data plans if you are lucky enough to still have one and we also all probably don't want to pay full retail if we don't have to. Well, to help, I have an ongoing thread in the HTC Thunderbolt forums about keeping unlimited data and I wanted to clean that thread up a bit and post up a step by step set of instructions here of one method that you can use to keep unlimited data with Verizon Wireless. You can read through the thread here but the instructions below pretty much sum up the most common method without purchasing at full retail: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ver...-question.html

I have not completed this process as I am still waiting for the phone to arrive (Note 2) and once it does, I will edit this post and revise the instructions if need be. This is exactly how I am upgrading to the Note 2 while keeping unlimited. You can see in the Thunderbolt thread that this method has been verified to work previously and has also been verified by VZW that it will work. I don't always trust the VZW people but this is pretty straight forward and I can see how it works. Maybe an "insider" can post up their thoughts or any additional instructions.


How to Keep Unlimited Data-Currently in a Family Share Plan-with this method, you must meet 2 criterion. First, you must currently already be on a Family Share (not Share Everything) plan and second, you need to have an upgrade available on a basic line that is currently on that plan.

(1)Figure out which lines are available for upgrade within your plan. DO NOT use an upgrade that currently has unlimited unless you have no other choice because you will lose unlimited data on that line. Example: You have a family share plan with 3 lines. 2 are smartphones both with unlimited data and 1 is a basic phone with no data. You would want to use the basic phone line for the upgrade. If you only currently have 2 lines and both are smartphones with unlimited data, using this method, you will have to lose unlimited on one of the lines in order to upgrade but you can switch the newly purchased phone over to the unlimited line.

(2)Use which ever line you chose for upgrade, ideally a basic line, and purchase the new phone at the subsidized price making sure that you are using the basic line upgrade and not your unlimited line upgrade. You will have to temporarily add data(choose the 2gb $30 plan) to that line and you'll see why in STEP (3).

(3)Once you receive your new phone, activate it onto the line that you used to upgrade which will deactivate the current phone on that line. <--This is very important. You CANNOT just activate the newly purchased phone directly to another line because you must first activate it on the line you used to upgrade to complete the upgrade and subsidized price process. If you were to activate directly to a line other than the line you used to upgrade and that line had unlimited data, you would lose unlimited because Verizon would think you used that unlimited line to purchased the upgrade.
(a)In order to be able to purchase a smartphone using an upgrade of a basic line, you will have to temporarily add a data plan that will be removed almost immediately. Verizon will most likely charge a prorated data plan cost at $1 provided you selected the $30 2gb plan stated in STEP (2)<--This is a cost that I have not been able to verify yet but I have been told you may have to pay a little more or nothing at all.

(4)Now that you have activated the new smartphone onto the basic line, it's time to free that nice new phone up to be used on your unlimited line. In order to do that, you have to reactivate which ever phone was originally on the line that you used to upgrade. This will deactivate the new phone and free it up for activation and use on your unlimited line and it will also drop the data plan that you had to add provided you reactivated a basic phone back to its number. I would still call VZW and make sure that the data plan has dropped but it should do so automatically.

(5)Congratulations!! You are now free to activate your new subsidized phone onto any of your unlimited lines. You can activate online or in store no problem!!


Well, there you have it. I apologize for it being so long winded but there are several small details that came up many times throughout my other thread so I wanted to clear them up. Again, this is not the only way to keep unlimited data but it is the most common and straight forward besides paying full retail. There is another method if you currently only have a single line plan with unlimited but that actually works out to be more expensive, over time, than just paying full retail. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them and if you have anything to add to this please let me know!! Thanks for reading everyone!!
 
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I've been with AT&T for many years and have been able to keep my unlimited plan when upgrading, which I usually earn about every 18 months. They just keep renewing the existing plan with a new 2yr commitment (which as stated, usually only ends up at 18mos before they offer me another chance to upgrade.



I have recently earned another upgrade, and I am strongly considering the Galaxy S4 to replace my iPhone 4S. The educated and unbiased reports (check cnet.com) I have read have the S4 and HTC One pretty much neck and neck, and the purchase decision comes down to personal preferences on the differences. S4 has a user replaceable battery and expandable memory (you can add up to a 64g micro SD card) and a much better camera. The HTC One has what's widely considered a better "looking" metal case (which is sealed, no expanded memory or user replaceable battery) and better screen viewability with less glare, more brightness, and more dense pixles (same resolution with smaller screen). The S4 wins hands down on content and features, and also has the newest version of android (HTC runs an older version without some key bug fixes).



When I compare them side to side I prefer the features and benefits offered by the S4, such as the expandable memory, user replaceable battery, newest android o/s version, and fantastic 13mp camera.



Item of note, both phones will be coming out with a "google" version that will offer a stripped down version without the manufacturers "bloatware" in front of the android operating system, which those that like to customize their o/s experience will find very welcome. It also comes unlocked and can run on several networks. However, this will only be available as a no-contract purchase, so the upfront price will be a barrier to many ($600-$700).
 
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