I need some help deciding to get this phone.

[chrstdvd]

I currently have a Droid Charge that is getting a little buggy, requiring battery pull daily, because it gets confused. Thought about factory resetting it, but that is a pain, since I can not remember how I rooted it in the first place, been over 2 years ago.

I do not like the browsing with it, seems slow, always has. I want to use Google Chrome, but it is not avail for this phone. I use Chrome on all other devices and like that book marks migrate or sync on each device I use.

The S4 seems like it has too many features. But I might get used to them if the Browsing experience is excellent. I mean not mobile but full web page loads that occur quickly. I hate watching the circle spin and spin while a page loads. I have 4g service sometimes out in the country where I live, but most of the time it is 3G service.

1. Is it true that if I pay full price $650. that I will be able to keep my unlimited data plan. I seldom use 2 gig a month, but am reluctant to change data plan to 2 Gig because sometimes I use way more than 2 gig.

2. What is the browsing experience that you have had? Fast or about same old stuff, slow and waiting.

3. What is it like to have such a large phone?

4. Is there really any reason to root the phone. I do not install custom ROM's. I have rooted my prior phones the Droid 2 and the Charge so I can disable bloat. Still need to do that?

Thanks

One other thing: Can you take pictures with the MP set less than the 15 MP. IOW can you control the MP of different shots?

One more, one other thing. Does the TV remote app work with Direct TV or just the TV itself?

Does it come with an SD card? How big?

[h=6]Memory / Processor[/h]

• 16GB on board memory + 2GB RAM (actual formatted capacity is less)
• What does that mean? Is less than 2GB of ram gona put me in the blackberry 2 status again?
• Supports up to 64GB microSD Card (sold separately)
• Does that mean no SD card at all. Can I use the SD card from the Charge or Droid 2 in it?
• Processor: 1.9 GHz Quad Core
• That a good speed?

 

[leeshor]

#1, I think that is true
#2, My browser experience has been very good, especially using the Next Browser though I mostly use Firefox
#3, Fantastic. There are larger ones out there but this fits my hands very well.
#4, Personally I say no but you will see plenty of people disagreeing with me.

You have a wide range of MP selctions so no, you don't HAVE to go with 15MP
It works on all my TVs but not the specific Genie DirecTV controllers though I have heard it will work on older models, but I'm not certain.

 

[chrstdvd]

Thank you for your input.

 

[FoxKat]

#1, I think that is true
#2, My browser experience has been very good, especially using the Next Browser though I mostly use Firefox
#3, Fantastic. There are larger ones out there but this fits my hands very well.
#4, Personally I say no but you will see plenty of people disagreeing with me.

You have a wide range of MP selctions so no, you don't HAVE to go with 15MP
It works on all my TVs but not the specific Genie DirecTV controllers though I have heard it will work on older models, but I'm not certain.

Excellent post, and yes, #1 is true. If you see yourself going over, you can increase the plan data for that month to prevent overages. Also you can set the phone itself to both warn you as you approach the limit, and also to shut down data completely right before going over.

Last question...Don't know if it comes with an SD card although your quote of the sales material leads me to believe it doesn't. As for using other MicroSD cards, as long as they're in the compatible ranges, i.e. 64GB or less, then yes, absolutely it will work and be completely compatible. I might suggest you save off the data on the card to a PC first, then when you install the card into the phone, format it with the phone itself to assure 100% compatibility.

P.S. It's really nice that you thanked leeshor for his support. To really give him credit, place your mouse anywhere in his post and you'll see the word "Like" appear in Red on the right. Click it and it will give him an additional like to add to his collection shown under his name and picture.

Oh, and I missed the questions at the bottom;

Memory / Processor

• 16GB on board memory + 2GB RAM (actual formatted capacity is less)
• What does that mean? Is less than 2GB of ram gona put me in the blackberry 2 status again?
  It will be less RAM, but I don't believe it will in any way be noticeable to you...Android handles RAM entirely different than Blackberry so Android will kill processes that are older and no longer needed to keep the RAM clear for newer demands.
• Supports up to 64GB microSD Card (sold separately)
• Does that mean no SD card at all. Can I use the SD card from the Charge or Droid 2 in it?
  Answered above.
• Processor: 1.9 GHz Quad Core
• That a good speed?
  Sure is, although faster ones, and ones with more cores, and even ones with big/little cores on the same die are out there.

 

[leeshor]

Seems I was to fast or a little late on the last part.

 

[FoxKat]

Seems I was to fast or a little late on the last part.

No harm, no foul.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[jkaod]

No harm, no foul.

Unless you can flop like LaBron and then the whistle blows.

 

[Dark Helmut]

Yes you can keep your unlimited plan if u buy the phone at full price. I was initially going to do the same but when I looked at how much data I actually used 8 changed to the 2gb plan. Web browsing is much faster. I like the bigger screen it took me some time to get used to but its great. I have direct tv and the tv app works pretty good one you set it up

 

[joemontana]

I too came from a Droid Charge! My charge was also getting buggy, I didn't have to do very many battery pulls, but I had to do a restart at *least* daily, if not more often.
The browsing experience is night and day. I actually enjoy it on the S4, I use my PC less.
The phone is really no larger than a charge. The bezel is smaller, therefore the screen is larger, but the phone is pretty much the same size.
Does not come with an SD card. I just took the card from my charge and put it in the s4.

I currently have a Droid Charge that is getting a little buggy,

2. What is the browsing experience that you have had? Fast or about same old stuff, slow and waiting.

3. What is it like to have such a large phone?

4. Is there really any reason to root the phone. I do not install custom ROM's. I have rooted my prior phones the Droid 2 and the Charge so I can disable bloat. Still need to do that?

Thanks

One other thing: Can you take pictures with the MP set less than the 15 MP. IOW can you control the MP of different shots?

One more, one other thing. Does the TV remote app work with Direct TV or just the TV itself?

Does it come with an SD card? How big?

Memory / Processor

• 16GB on board memory + 2GB RAM (actual formatted capacity is less)
• What does that mean? Is less than 2GB of ram gona put me in the blackberry 2 status again?
• Supports up to 64GB microSD Card (sold separately)
• Does that mean no SD card at all. Can I use the SD card from the Charge or Droid 2 in it?
• Processor: 1.9 GHz Quad Core
• That a good speed?

 

[z96Cobra]

If you do a factory reset on your old phone, you shouldn't lose root.

Yes, you can keep your unlimited data if you buy the phone @ full price, that's what I did.

This phone isn't much bigger than my Bionic that I replaced. My Bionic is, at least, 2x as thick because I had an extended battery in it.

The S4 is the fastest phone I've had so far. Web pages load as quick as my connection allows... almost instantly.

My Bionic feels like it is more durable/tough but I have no proof. The S4 feels a little more fragile, but after watching the durability test video by Samsung, I feel much better about the phone.

The S4 does not come with an SD card (Verizon version anyway) so I added a SanDisk 64GB card.

You can easily change the resolution of your pictures in the camera settings and you can switch between 16:9 widescreen or 4:3 format. The only way to get full 13mp pics is to use 4:3 format.

I have used the remote to control my TVs and 2 different air conditioners, but I don't have Direct TV to verify that. I did download Smart Remote from Google Play Store, it has tons of pre-programmed devices built-in, including Direct TV, but I can't test that for you. The app was $10 but it's worth the $ in my opinion.

I always root my devices because I like to install custom recoveries so I can make nandroid backups & customize my phone.

I don't think you can go wrong with the S4. I just typed all of this from my S4!

 

[gadgetrants]

1. Is it true that if I pay full price $650. that I will be able to keep my unlimited data plan. I seldom use 2 gig a month, but am reluctant to change data plan to 2 Gig because sometimes I use way more than 2 gig.

2. What is the browsing experience that you have had? Fast or about same old stuff, slow and waiting.

3. What is it like to have such a large phone?

4. Is there really any reason to root the phone. I do not install custom ROM's. I have rooted my prior phones the Droid 2 and the Charge so I can disable bloat. Still need to do that?

1. Pay full price?

I'm one of those "you'll have to pry the unlimited data from my cold, dead hands" kinda guys. I also rarely go past 2GB/month, but sometimes need that little extra (like when our home broadband goes out for 3 days!). So different people have different solutions but for me the plan is this: I'm keeping my unlimited data AND buying at the upgrade price. How? I have 2 other lines on our family plan ready for upgrades -- one already has a 2GB data plan on it, the other is a "feature" (calling only) phone. So I plan to put the new phone (say, an S4) on one of those lines, and then I can immediately pull that phone off the line, put it on mine (with the unlimited data), and then best of all, both my line and the upgraded (say, feature phone) line go back as they were. The only catch is that now the line I used the upgrade on is no longer month-to-month, it has a 2-year contract on it. The benefit is I'll pay $170 or $180 (latest price for the S4 at Amazon by upgrading a line) instead of $600 or $650.

There are two threads nearby discussing exactly this strategy. Let me know if you're curious and I'll post links!

2. Browsing experience. Don't own one yet, but remember the S4 is an LTE (4G) phone. The two hours or so I've logged playing with them in-store has me sold. You should not see any hourglasses.

3. Large phone. Like I did, I'd suggest going to your nearest Best Buy or Verizon store and getting to know the S3 and S4 well. Take your time, and push all the buttons! I'm a small guy (5'7" and 8 1/2 shoe) and the phone feels fine to me.

Your other microSD cards will move over just fine, and remember that a new 16GB card is what...maybe $10 these days. If you REALLY want that 64GB card, a quick check at Amazon suggests you'll pay $50 for it, or $25 for a 32GB card. It's amazing how quickly prices have fallen.

Promise us you'll post back as your adventure continues, and let us know how it works out! Best of luck!

-Matt