yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 General] expertzero1:
Well the verge DID cover android 4.2 and LG nexus 4 at googles office last fall. They look fairly equal to android and ios.

The verge makes ok reviews because they are VERY VERY hipster. So their reasoning for some stuff sucks, but oh well.

I usually look at phone reviews at gsmarena because its more comprehensive, and technobuffalo because jon is honest and uses most devices from bb to android to ios.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jokesy:
You're right about TheVerge covering Android events, but what else are they suppose to cover as a tech blogspot? Covering an event about the biggest mobile OS is natural.

While their reviews are definitely much in depth, they also show ridiculous bias towards Apple products and Services. They also give them out-of-this-world review scores. TheVerge is also bias towards Google Services and products too except for Android (because Android is Apple's enemy number one)

They've been mourning about everything that has to with GS4 and particularly Samsung.

TheVerge loves to hate/badmouth/downrate Samsung (they've published many untrue/onesided articles in the past), Microsoft, and Windows phone.

Back to the topic,

I'm waiting for reviews from GsmArena (best review site IMHO), Android Police, Android Authority and TheVerge (I always like the criticism from haters too)
[Galaxy S 4 General] Kremata:
GSMARENA have a much better review here-> http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4-review-910.php
[Galaxy S 4 General] Mittaa:
I just agree so much. I too goes for exchangeable battery, SD card option and Case combined with screen protection so S4 is fine for me :good:

People have different need and likes ... so I don't understand this war between 3 damned good phones!

Luckily they differ when it comes to material, SW and HW so people have a choice :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] Ddot196:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena first to review the beast with a score of...

First to review a non production unit? Maybe. They don't even have a final build yet so I will just wait for android central, the verge and a few others to release their reviews.

coming from the og one x
[Galaxy S 4 General] Bejtulla:
If You want a very technical review and based on facts, there's probably only anandtech.com to look after...
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jokesy:
That was a PREVIEW of S4, by GsmArena and it's still much better than what PhoneArena called review
[Galaxy S 4 General] MarionCast:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena first to review the beast with a score of...

Damn. Samsung really stuck with the white theming on the UI. WHY?? So much for the Super AMOLED advantage of a dark/black UI...
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Mobile Review camera test

Russian site Mobile-Review is the first to make an extensive camera test

http://translate.google.com/transla...iew.com/review/samsung-galaxy-s4-camera.shtml

"Total in one word - love. S4 camera in perfect and outperforms other phones, which proves that this comparison. Given that the product will be very widespread, we can expect that people will have more good quality photos that can only be welcomed."

Oh Google translate! The point is, it's an excellent performer and a big improvement to the SIII in all situations. IMO it's outstanding from sufficient to excellent light conditions, okay with tolerable lights but problematic as mobile phones are in low-light, but hands down beats the previous Samsung generation. ISO200 shots still produce enough quality as long as you can hold the phone steady (something that cripples the HTC One too despite slightly better overall night shots), where ISO400 and above deliver a lot of noise and blurriness. Video sample looks very sharp and detailed, and focus is rock steady compared to the HTC One that is slower to adjust to changing light, and disappointingly, re-focuses every few seconds. The SIV also rocks in white balance, skin color reproduction and dynamic range. There is an HDR mode if necessary. Of course quality could change till final release.

I offered some early analysis in the following posts:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39430986&postcount=149

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39254690&postcount=36

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39242645&postcount=34

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39285050&postcount=64
[Galaxy S 4 General] ipsuvedi:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena scores it 9.3 / Russian camera test

I think Phonearena's Review was copy of GSmarena's Preview...lol...the review is so short that it feels they have rewriten gsmarena's Article...:p:D
[Galaxy S 4 General] joslicx:
So as per phonearena S4 (9.3/10) is just about 2% better than HTC One (9.1/10)

Just about right as well methinks
[Galaxy S 4 General] doktor buknasty:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena scores it 9.3 / Russian camera test

deleted
[Galaxy S 4 General] SlimJ87D:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena scores it 9.3 / Russian camera test

Probably because the lighting on this display saves supposedly 40 percent more power.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
I see you took a math course heh heh.
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
Re: [REVIEWS] - PhoneArena scores it 9.3 / Russian camera test

Man it should be called as preview, I read that few days ago ans it looked so boring to me. The disappointing thing was when I reachd the last page and found that there is no video for the review. Gsm arena was 10 times better than that.

I am interested to see the improvement in camera. From gs2 to note 2, camera was horrible in auto focus and low light, ii really hope they have improved in this regard.

sent from: The New S-Pen :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
[YOUTUBE]7KRyQNxGAVo[/YOUTUBE]
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Superb battery results by the Snapdragon 600 variant!

"The Samsung Galaxy S4 should get even the heaviest users through a single day, while most can expect two, three work days out of it. The battery life is pretty well balanced, with the Galaxy S4 getting near the top of the chart in every test, so it doesn’t matter if your personal usage patterns involve more talking or more web browsing, the Samsung flagship has excellent battery life. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a good performer in the individual categories and thanks to efficient standby, it scored a very respectable endurance rating of 63 hours. That’s how long it will last between charges if you do an hour each of calling, web browsing and watching videos every day. While we’re here, we should mention that Samsung will be selling accessories for the Galaxy S4 to help with the battery life – one is a special back cover that enables wireless charging and the other is a dedicated charger for a second battery."

http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-battery-tests-are-done-heres-how-it-did/
[Galaxy S 4 General] hung2900:
Anyway quite disappointed with 3G talk time (and slightly with video watching time also), but from the points it nearly the same as Note 2 beast.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
C'mon, it beats out the S3 almost by 4 hours, over 35% improvement.

Anyway, GSM Arena did a deep long comparison test between the S4 and the HTC One with some very interesting results.

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_vs_htc_one-review-913.php

In design/HW it's a tie, HTC wins for the looks and built, S4 for small size, bigger screen and replaceable battery. It also takes the screen victory due to more contrast, improvement on natural colors and brightness and better outdoor legibility due to less reflectibitly despite the One is brighter. The Galaxy wins the battery race but it's tight if you're a heavy user, TouchWiz & features beat Sense. The HTC takes the audio and video quality W but in a surprise the S4 wins in low light by capturing more details - both needed several shots to get one results sharp and the One's OIS helped, but S4 takes the category as well is normal and good light, it's just a great overall sensor.

Conclusion is: it's not about who won more categories but which matter to you. GSMA review coming later this week.
[Galaxy S 4 General] hung2900:
Many people will screw:"Biassss"

I think it's pretty fair.
[Galaxy S 4 General] yahyoh:
GS4 Display analyze :)

http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S4_ShootOut_1.htm
[Galaxy S 4 General] letom:
If I were to say that the durability of the nexus didn't matter because everyone uses a case, and thus it isn't a negative thus reviews shouldn't criticise it for it, you'd all laugh and say XYZ. But this is exactly what you're all doing. The point the reviews are making, which I think is what is really annoying the people in this thread is that reviewers aren't feeling like they're missing out on these extra features with the better designed phones. If you're getting the same experience but one looks and feels better, well that's enough to tip the scales.
[Galaxy S 4 General] tuxonhtc:
Nope, that's not his point. What Barry's saying, if I get him right, is that the tradeoff for N4 is more weight, lack of SD card/removable battery, etc. You'll most likely put a case on both S4 and N4, so in the end, it all comes down to the tradeoffs, and the question is whether the trade offs are worth it at all just for the "premium looks". The point is not that N4 or premium looking phones aren't durable, the point is that the so called "premium feel" for so many trade offs is simply not worth it in most cases.

At least that's what I gathered from this discussion.
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
Techradar and gsmarena reviews should be rated as top 2 best reviews. Both did solid criticism, others are just bashing.

sent from: The New S-Pen :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] Terrorantula:
Amazing screen then, cannot believe it got a brightness score of 475 on auto-brightness, just proves reviewers don't know what they're doing when comparing the phone. Samsung actually cap the screen on manual so you cannot run down the battery fast by turning the brightness far up.

Really loving the white temps too, cannot believe it beats the iPhone 5.
[Galaxy S 4 General] CLARiiON:
Nice read. Samsung has improved their OLED screens continuously. Future looks good for them as major investment is expected from OLED. All those bendable displays are OLEDs.
[Galaxy S 4 General] AndreiLux:
Because reviewers are uninformed amateurs who want to quickly release their articles instead of writing something worthwhile.

The maximum brightness on autobrightness exceeding maximum manual brightness is also something which happens on the Galaxy S3 and the Note 2.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
It's a glass phone. What's the most fragile part of any phone currently on the market? Its glass display. Adding a glass back panel purely for aesthetics is just plain stupid. With or without a case. No matter whose idea it was.

Who gives a flying F- what a 20something reviewer that will probably be doing something else next year thinks based on his or her subjective priorities? If said reviewer is a purist the only phones that matter are AOSP. If said reviewer is a productivity user s/he'd appreciate some of Samsung's s/w features. And if reviewers’ priorities were so in tune with the buying public's Samsung wouldn't have 70% Android market share.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Excellent! :good:

I'll update the opening post.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
DisplayMate test - An impressive OLED

http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S4_ShootOut_1.htm

... when Automatic Brightness is turned on, the Peak Brightness becomes significantly brighter in high ambient lighting than is possible with Manual Brightness, up to as high as 475 cd/m2, which is 34 percent higher than is possible with Manual Brightness. The Galaxy S4 display is a major enhancement and improvement over the Galaxy S III – a good reason to consider trading up. The screen has Full HD 1920x1080 resolution with more than double the number of pixels and with 44 percent higher Pixels Per Inch than the Galaxy S III. It is 25 percent brighter (and up to 68 percent brighter with Automatic Brightness) and the display is 20 percent more power efficient. The Galaxy S4 also has 5 user selectable Screen Modes and delivers much better picture quality and color accuracy.

The Galaxy S4 performs very well in high ambient lighting in spite of its typically lower screen brightness because it has one of the smallest screen Reflectance values of any display we have ever tested, and its more saturated colors can help cut through the reflected light glare. When Automatic Brightness is turned on, the screen brightness increases considerably at high levels of ambient lighting as mentioned above. The Galaxy S4 is then comparable or brighter than most LCD Smartphones.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
How does this get past all the "in-depth" reviews like with Anandtech? So many keep saying that the brightness is bad and it's not so good in sunlight, but this seems to contradict those claims.
[Galaxy S 4 General] alex9898:
I assume that GSMArena or Anadtech don't use auto-brightness for their tests because they only use some specific values like 100% brightness, 50% or 200 nits.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
I enjoyed this vid as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaOcycocR0Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Galaxy S 4 General] frensel:
DisplayMate: both(iphone5 and s4) displays are quite good and comparable overall – so it’s currently a tie.
[Galaxy S 4 General] MaKTaiL:
Really good! Samsung made great improvements to the first boot configuration screen. Can't wait to get mine.
[Galaxy S 4 General] SlimJ87D:
People that try and talk smack about the design are fanboys of another phone and just finding a reason to releiee buyers remorse.
[Galaxy S 4 General] duykhang524:
Just take a look at the One's forum there;s countless people posting about build quality problems. Never seen before problems such as camera lens cracking, screen not properly flush with the phone. Gap in the casing. Even in the drop test from androidauthority the speaker grill fell of... I don't understand why there's so much hatred toward the S4 there's no quality problem in the discussions as of now...
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Its VERY UNLIKELY that the S4 will have any kind of build quality issue. I prefer reliability.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
Part of the reason is it's really difficult to read white letters on a black background and TW and most of Samsung's apps are designed that way. Early versions of the SGS4 reversed that (black text on a white background) and I'm kind of bummed the final versions stuck with what Samsung's been using for years. Pull up light text on a dark background on an LCD display and see how much harder it is to read in bright daylight.
[Galaxy S 4 General] SlimJ87D:
I think some people need to actually document and write an article on it. I'm going to get a HTC One sometime in July, hopefully it doesn't have problems.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jooosty:
This...I have it in my hands. Feels freaking solid as a rock.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Features gimmicky my a$$, check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT5YJWVMEeQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Folks wish their phone could do this!
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Every review I see from this guy he just comes off as the most chill dude; he's high on something alright, but I'm not sure it's Android only. ;)

Anyways, great demo of smart scroll. I was actually thinking it would be cool to use while laying down and web browsing/watching videos before going to bed or just to relax. He did a great dual-record video as well here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Em4n5kdc6M

Excellent job showing the scenery and demonstrating the zoom.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Galaxy s 4 unboxing and first impressions from an apple person. Unbiased point of view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NFTsZHCAJw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Galaxy S 4 General] istoica:
No unboxing. Just a quick review I did last week :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YNE8MteKSM

Camera? a little review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REEo60_t2sQ
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Loving the intro on the camera video with dual recording, and the multitude of shots and demonstrations of all the features. Sold, solid stuff!
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
S4, vs S3 vs One vs IPhone 5

Watch "Samsung Galaxy S4 VS iPhone 5 VS HTC One VS Samsung Galaxy S3 Comparison Test" on YouTube
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Wired UK - Samsung has set the new standard

http://www.wired.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phones/2013-04/samsung-galaxy-s4-review

CNet - Outstanding

http://reviews.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/

CNet UK - A superb phone to plonk in your pocket

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-review-50010650/

TechSpot - One of the most social-friendly smartphones ever

http://www.techspot.com/review/664-samsung-galaxy-s4/page3.html

SoftPedia - Outstanding All-Rounder, but Takes Time to Master

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sams...Rounder-but-Takes-Time-to-Master-348204.shtml
[Galaxy S 4 General] yahyoh:
yep its great feature but reviewer just cry about gimmicks ( specially pocketnow )

BTW Max said
[Galaxy S 4 General] shox22:
http://www.chip.de/bestenlisten/Bestenliste-Handys--index/index/id/900/

Result is online but the test is not posted yet
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
Here's the link to the test. It's captioned "Top Model in a Plastic Dress" so you kind of know where it's going.

http://www.chip.de/artikel/Samsung-Galaxy_S4-Handy-Test_61712154.html

The One scored 96% and the SGS4 95.5%. The only area the One was rated higher than the SGS4 was appearance and handling and the higher rating there overcame every other category it was weaker in. So it still comes down to the more capable phone or the pretty phone. And I'd guess most people that are biased toward one or the other have already made up their minds so the reviews probably aren't going to sway them much.

Like most reviewers they dinged the SGS3 last year for the same thing (plastic, software) and we know how that affected SGS3 sales. ;)
[Galaxy S 4 General] i9100g user:
In 3 categories S4 was better, in 1 it was a draw and in another one M7 won.

I think it really depends on the person, how much weightage that guy wants to give to which aspect.
[Galaxy S 4 General] CLARiiON:
WSJ: Rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 Active coming in July
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Cool vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bozaSWsDuE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Galaxy S 4 General] CLARiiON:
Video review by AVA:

[YOUTUBE]pcG4Jc3MmIk[/YOUTUBE]
[Galaxy S 4 General] ap3604:
Well... looks like Im ditching my iPhone and getting a S4 then :D

While I liked Samsung phones in the past for their removable battery (I like to carry a charged spare in my pocket as I'm an extreme power user), I hated the fact that AMOLED outdoor visibility was hindered by Samsung setting the maximum brightness around 200 nits.

Now that this issue has been fixed by allowing higher brightness for brief periods of time outdoors via automatic brightness, I prefer the Galaxy S4 over anything due to:

- removable battery

- huge samsung market share (making it easier to resale down the line)

- most up to date software (outside of nexus, which doesn't have removable battery)

- bleeding edge hardware
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
She is really the best reviewer I have ever seen, lovely voice and I love the way she explaines every thing so easily. This should be called as a true indepth review. I first saw her note 2 vs s3 and note 1 comparison and I was really impressed.

sent from: The New S-Pen :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jooosty:
Pretty chick
[Galaxy S 4 General] will6316:
Ah the beauty of andriod customization
[Galaxy S 4 General] GTRagnarok:
Drop test. Looks like it handles drops really well for the most part. But dropping it on the screen breaks the glass, which isn't really surprising. Same thing happens to most other smartphones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhXBdEkZENQ
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
A quick comparison with the One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZvcdM3TZnc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jooosty:
Those browser speeds aren't too diff. Not enough to get mad about.

That LCD does look brighter though

Sent from my Note 2 hehehe (:
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Yep. The S4 handles drops 10 times better than the S3. The S3 would have had some type of crack on the screen with the silver edges messed up. The S4 does very well.
[Galaxy S 4 General] msavic6:
Since my dad bought the HTC One, I have been able to compare my AMOLED nexus to the one's LCD. I just feel spoiled by the AMOLED, the one is brighter but it just looks dull compared to the AMOLED. The One is more detailed due to the higher resolution but man the colors just pop on the AMOLED. Just my preference though and the AMOLED isn't exactly problem free but I'm betting most of my problems are because the galaxy nexus was the first to launch with a HD AMOLED.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
This was posted by an HTC employee on Reddit: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/04/samsung-galaxy-s-iv-reviews-are-great-htc-one/64523/#united

Just reading these reviews, it's hilarious how anyone can say that the design criticism isn't completely full of crap. Seriously? An iPhone 5 is superior to a Galaxy S4 for Android because it looks better? Not one criticism actually tears into the hardware or software, it's all "plastic is ugly/aluminum good". Well, one criticism was that Samsung put in too many features. Yes, Samsung put in too many features that you can turn off.

Oh yes, and as I mentioned, this was posted by an HTC employee. Don't you hate it when Samsung has paid people dishing out criticism of the competition in such an unprofessional fashion? :rolleyes:
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hunt3r.j2:
Talk about butthurt, the guy clearly states that he's an HTC employee, Samsung's temp worker scandal was because they never disclosed that they worked for Samsung.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Would that have changed anything? A paid employee of a company going around talking crap about competitors is a laughable disgrace no matter who does it. But HTC can do it because they're a "poorer" multi-billion dollar company. But hey, if the worst that can be said is that it has a plastic shell and that makes up 90% of all criticism, I ain't even mad.

So, how are your double standards today Hunt? Fried up nicely?
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hunt3r.j2:
You're getting way too bent out of shape over this. That post was downvoted like mad (predictably), and the guy seems to be trying to help anyways with AMAs and bug reports.

Get the S4 if that's what you want, millions upon millions will be in your company. They can't all be wrong.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
You mean help push his product.....in the same forum where everyone talks about the "paid Samsung shills" who invisibly lurk around. I don't get a pay check for debunking HTC thumpers, it's just fun. It's interesting to see people get so angry at a company because it's successful, I can't think of a more childish anti-Capitalist attitude. I mean I do have a job so I can't hate on success like that, but yeah.

Get the HTC if you want, 2 million can't all be wrong. ;)
[Galaxy S 4 General] tuxonhtc:
Yeah pretty much. Used to love LCDs before, but now I can't stand it. Not only that, how the blacks get so noticeably purple/grey when you crank up the brightness. Never used to bother me before, but now I can't simply tolerate that.

Obviously these come at a cost of sacrificing brightness etc. but yeah for me it's a more than fair trade off.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hunt3r.j2:
I think a lot of the fear of Samsung comes from the fact that it's a chaebol, and it's rather corrupt management. He may help push his product, but I'd say by and large it seems to be openly practiced with full disclosure.

Thanks for the fanboy accusation though, I guess taking a balanced view of all OEMs makes me a fanboy of all of them, right? ;)