yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
That's how brand-building works. If you look at the auto industry most of the high-end marques developed a formula, stuck with it, and evolved it over time. When you see a 70's through present BMW from any of its four sides you recognize it as a BMW. And every BMW “feels” like a BMW with all sharing certain characteristics that go beyond exterior design. That's what Steve Jobs did at Apple; he gave the products a soul that created an emotional attachment with the user making their relationship with Apple more than h/w and s/w. If you look at Samsung's SGS4 advertising they don't really talk about the device except in the context of what its features help people do. Samsung and Apple's approach to branding, evolution, and messaging are pretty similar.

At the end of the day though there has to be a decent product behind all the positioning and messaging. Samsung makes good phones. The SGS4 may not be "OMG!" different than the SGS3 but people can buy it blind knowing they are going to get a good phone with no negative surprises. But as appealing as that is to some, it's repellant to others that want something different. There are always going to be a percentage of those people no matter what the product and trying to “save them" by screwing around with your formula or, even worse, trying to become all things to all people is brand suicide. Samsung's formula has sold 100MM Galaxy's. Who cares if 10% leave for something "different?" In the long run, brands that are consistent win out in repeat customers, word-of-mouth recommendation, and share of wallet. Ask Apple, BMW, M-B, Marriott, Hilton, Cathay Pacific, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and the like who are all in highly competitive business lines but extract a price premium over equal competitors and have high customer loyalty rates.
[Galaxy S 4 General] saveferris:
I'm a Samsung user coming from a Galaxy S2 and S3, its pretty simple now, its just not as clear cut as it once was when both these previous phones entered the market, the hardware on both these phones blew the rest of the competition out of the market, this time around HTC has served up a very nice alternative, hardware wise its pretty damn close.

Because its so close and performance is now negligible, its come down to looks and the UI in most reviewers eyes.
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Yeah I really think Samsung will continue to sell an enormous amount of smartphones. It's really only a small amount of their customers who analyze smart phones to extent done on xda.

Also I think some of the reviews are the price Samsung has taken at being at the top. Tech nerds like new and different. Remember the hate felt towards apple to some extent is being directed towards Samsung now. People like an underdog. And everyone is an underdog to Samsung. Not just the htc one.
[Galaxy S 4 General] testinguser:
So I currently have an iphone 4s (had htc evo 4g before that) and am eager to go back to android, especially now that the user interface is fluid. Still concerned about the color saturation on the amoled despite using the professional photo (aka fake adobe rgb) or movie mode as anandtech put it. Also concerned it might a tad big for my front pocket scrubs. I don' want to put it on my back pocket and sit on it :eek:) with scrubs on.

That said, eager to get a device with LTE though. 802.11ac would be awesome especially if you are able to couple it with google fiber. The big question is whether it would really reach close to gig speed.

Regardless, must have shiny new toy!! Will likely sell my old iphone 4s and probably get back enough to cover the new device.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
The 3 main cons that most reviewers mentioned:

- plastic

- touchwiz look

- occasional stutter

Out of the 3, the 3rd one aka occasional lag is the one that can be a small concern. The plastic and touchwiz isn't an issue at all but more like a personal opinion. Now the lag here and there will be fixed with the ROMs and kernels without a doubt ( and maybe by Samsung itself with a software update) .

Nevertheless, this phone offers a lot, some changes that are not visible to the user or reviewers at first glance but the S4

- is the only non nexus device running android 4.2.2 at the moment

- has gorilla glass 3

- has DDRam 3

- is available on most of carriers everywhere

- is the most capable phone (most versatile phone)

On top of having

- a removable battery

- expandable storage to up to 128 GB ( at least 100 user available)

- 5 Inch super Samoled display

- sensors galore

- thin, light and almost bezel-less

- features for everyone out there ( best part is that you can turn off whatever you don't want)

- great SoC

- great 13 mp camera

this phone is a total winner if you ask me, and the devs are just gonna make it even better.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Not to mention Mobeam. I only recently found out what this technology was, but now that I've read more on it, I'm excited to use it. The Galaxy S4 is the only one packing it, and I haven't seen any of these reviews, even Anandtech, mention it at all. Which is disappointing not just because it's leaving out a plus for the GS4, but since no one is reviewing it then there's no way to know how effective it is until we actually buy the device and try it out.
[Galaxy S 4 General] msavic6:
What is Mobeam? I haven't heard of that advertised with the S4 anywhere.
[Galaxy S 4 General] testinguser:
I wonder if MoBeam can use google wallet on sprint, or do you have to put all your loyalty cards in the samsung app to use mobeam.

I currently use keyring, but it sucks that quite a few of the grocery stores and other places can't scan it or have to use a special scanner. Mobeam would solve that.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
http://mobeam.com/how-it-works/

Basically, it allows you to use your IR Blaster to communicate with IR scanners found pretty much everywhere to pay for stuff. It also scans your gift cards/coupons and saves them onto your device.
[Galaxy S 4 General] brizey:
Interesting that there is so much focus on design. It's just so...shallow. I guess I am just too much of an old school guy guy to give a rat's ass what my phone looks like. I am just not into affectation.
[Galaxy S 4 General] MaKTaiL:
I just found one review that shows this Mobeam in action.

She also shows that you can put the Universal Remote on the Notification Screen for easy access. Loved it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-EU-4EbCj0
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Unfortunately that was just the NFC tag being used. The IR blaster is positioned differently and that's an NFC unit it was hovering over.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hoggles:
Well said!

I currently have a Sensation and love HTC hardware and even Sense 4+. I was for sure going to go with the One, simply because it had an incredible body, speakers and overall awesome design.

Then I started checking in to all the features and options of Sammy's latest.... and I must say.... I am very excited to get the S4 instead. It will be my first Sammy device....and I for one can see myself using pretty much everyone of those "gimmicks" on a regular basis. For instance...not having to touch the screen to check the time, messages, scroll...you name it...is friggin AWESOME! My hands get very dirty throughout the day with my work...and that is a nice feature to have. Also little things like having a thermometer & barometer on the phone & it being the first device to have Gorilla Glass 3....make my inner geek cry with joy.

As cbutters & barondebxl said very well... It's a big win having all these options!

The biggest reasons I'm going SGS4 are...

-Gorilla Glass 3

-Removable battery & SD card

-5 inch SAMOLED display (I love the saturated colors & the option to adjust it)

-4.2.2 JB

-Sensors...sensors....and more sensors!

-13mp camera & the awesome camera software (I view most my photos on a 1080p TV, so megapixels matter)

-Wireless charging with a 3rd party backplate

I'm really looking forward to geeking the F out with this phone in a week!!

Cheers!! :good:
[Galaxy S 4 General] willdeng:
I've never heard so much hate on extra features that aren't being charged extra or forced to be used. It's like if you buy a luxury car that has a hard drive and voice command and complain that they're just gimmicks and that you'll never use them.
[Galaxy S 4 General] tuxonhtc:
Absolutely hate when people call many of those features gimmicks on the N2. I find myself using most of those features, and can't explain how many times it's saved me a hell lot of pain. For some, any feature that they don't use is apparently a "gimmick". FFS.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Something tells me that if you give a note 2 or an S4 for a week trial to someone that never used a Samsung device but keep on bashing it cause of hurt feelings or what not, they would change their mind and find many positive things to say about those devices. Moral of the story? Don't judge a book by his cover ;)
[Galaxy S 4 General] vdhawwan:
Has anyone heard. The HTC one has launched in China with a microSD card slot under a removable back and dual sim support. No removable battery yet.

It is not a Chinese knockoff but official HTC One.

Sent OTA via XDA Premium. XDA ROCKS!!
[Galaxy S 4 General] -]Megacharge[-:
Wrong thread, and yeah, it's old news now.
[Galaxy S 4 General] vdhawwan:
I was just giving a message to the HTC One fan boys who happen to feel that sd card slot is just a useless feature and no one needs it with 32 gigs of internal storage.!! Apparently people do.

Sent OTA via XDA Premium. XDA ROCKS!!
[Galaxy S 4 General] Al Gore:
Well it's a good thing for Samsung and those who are going to get S4 that reviewers have to bash the S features which you can just turn off and forget forever, means there are no flaws in it.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
TechRadar - Real talk! (4,5/5)

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/ph...ng-galaxy-s4-1137602/review/16#articleContent

Verdict

We're getting really fed up with the design criticisms thrown at any phone manufacturer that deigns to not make it's flagship out of metal. Yes, it doesn't feel as premium, but what you're giving up in feel you're getting back in weight, removable battery and general hardiness - the combination of Gorilla Glass 3 and a plastic shell mean this is one tough cookie. ... The trend for cases is such that users aren't even getting the full force of the design either - we don't think that they should be necessary, but a lot of people are protecting their high investment. We spoke to a chap that went for the HTC One for design reasons, then showed us the huge case he carried it around in. :laugh:

Make no mistake - the Samsung Galaxy S4 is far, far more than a Galaxy S3 'S' - Samsung may be copying Apple according to some people, but it's not as brazen as the Cupertino brand in flogging the exact same design with a slightly uprated processor and calling it a new phone. The Galaxy S4 is a great, great device in its own right, re-inventing what it means to own a brilliant smartphone in a number of ways. The gestures are cool, the touch-less experience amazing at times - in short, it's a wonderful phone you want to pull out of your pocket again and again and again.

The design issue is overblown. Yes, it's plastic, and yes, compared to the competition you wouldn't choose to spend £500 on it for the chassis. But it's a very solid device that belies that exterior and shouldn't be discounted for it. TouchWiz is getting a little complex now, though. The simplicity of HTC Sense shines through, and the HTC One is a superior device in many ways because the innovation is based on things users want. Where Samsung brought the ability to wave to move photos, the HTC One made the speaker better.

Where the S4 lets you scroll with your head, the One lets you take photos in low light. The latter feature is slightly offset by the S4's auto Night Mode, but you get the picture. But screw all the 'which phone is better than the other' notion for now (we'll get to that in our best mobile phones piece) the Galaxy S4 is a stunning smartphone that won't let you down for a variety of tasks. There's no doubt Samsung will have to make a big step forward to keep users interested with the Galaxy S5, but for now we love the S4 and would be proud to have it in our pocket.
[Galaxy S 4 General] ipmanwck:
Agree. After having the htc one and finding that zoe both saps battery life and even worst stores every 20 stills 32gb which is more like 26 gb is not enough when you listen to music and have 1 hd film on the device.

Custom Stock Rom 4.1 Eternity

Brilliantly Stock
[Galaxy S 4 General] pewpew345:
Couldn't agree more with this. Almost every site especially slightly biased one like The Verge really rips the hell out of Galaxy S4 just because it's made of plastic and at the same time calling it "too gimmicky". FFS my parents use Samsung phones and they are happier than ever, they don't even give a glance upon HTC or Sony. My mother abandoned iphone 4 for a Note 2 and she couldn't be any happier. These reviewers just need to suck it up and get over with it instead of bashing the phone. Samsung makes phone that is functional and looks decent enough at the same time packing tons of stuff. HTC makes phone that looks stylish but at the same time, history has told that their phones have a significant defect rate. I didn't even find one reviews that mentions Wolfson DAC, that is pretty much a deal breaker for people with more expensive headsets/headphones and use it regularly. If the reviewers try to cover more on the internal hardware side, the reviews will be much more balanced.
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
"The trend for cases is such that users aren't even getting the full force of the design either - we don't think that they should be necessary, but a lot of people are protecting their high investment."

For me this is the end of the story for design. As soon as I will get it, I will apply a cool case and screen protector and after that I will never remove the cover just to see how design looks and feels. I will be so much busy in updating roms/exploring new mods/installing new apps that I won't have enough time for design.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Honestly, for 5-10 bucks to pay for a generic TPU with dual composition rubber/polymer, it's an easy choice. Your phone gains significant odds of survivability in the event that you get shoved or tripped or you drop it or it falls, very little chance of scratches which normally lower resale value, and it's easy to take off when you need to change the battery.
[Galaxy S 4 General] letom:
Not true because you're always swapping it out for that removable battery right.. :rolleyes:

This is seriously ridiculous, the phone feels cheap not because of the plastic but because of the design, the one x was made of plastic and felt premium, this isn't a plastic vs metal argument. It is a non premium design problem. You're all sounding ridiculous like this is some conspiracy by every single review site.

They have to review the product, not the fact that you could use a case, it's like me saying "oh the not having an sd card on the Nexus 4 isn't a con for the phone because everyone uses online storage". Guys seriously get a grip.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
In your opinion it felt premium. Clearly premium, the marketing buzzword that is, describes absolutely nothing. According to who you talk to, premium is metal, some say it's rubber, some say, textured, and some say glossy. If only Samsung made the back cover out of (insert my preferred niche material here), it would be 5/5 star awesome gorgeous! You know, the beauty of removable back covers is you can use whatever the hell you want instead. And yes, actually, multiple people have said physical storage isn't really important anymore thanks to the cloud. I can give several objective arguments why that isn't the case and why physical storage is still very useful. Aesthetics on the other hand, is pure preference, as demonstrated.

It's not a conspiracy, just the small collection of reviews from generally jaded, cynical people who expect a revolutionary design on a flagship phone every 6 months. Most Korean and European reviews have managed to sidestep such pitfalls, and simply review the features as the public wants to see them.
[Galaxy S 4 General] skivnit:
There's only one lesson to learn here. Apple put so much crap inside ppl brain, they made them believe if it ain't aluminum it ain't beautiful. They themselves built the first 3 out of plastic. Anywho the gs4 is the device to get if you want a powerhouse if you're looking for a phone that you will put down on a table upside down to show its design go for the One

Swyped from another galaxy
[Galaxy S 4 General] hung2900:
http://translate.google.com.vn/tran.../danh-gia-chi-tiet-samsung-galaxy-s4.2083198/

True I9500 Octa version (1.6 GHz) in Vietnam.

The OP praised the design of S4 a lot. About camera, he made some confusing evaluations (that I don't understand the reason) that we can see.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Reviewer says "no contrast" for these haha. Got used to over-saturation I guess. Very natural shots.
[Galaxy S 4 General] pack21:
Here we go, drop test.

Side and back falls 0 damage, polycarbonate works. Broken screen just replace by youself, this is Galaxy world ..... eat that fanboys. :D

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

.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BoneXDA:
Poor S4 haha. Does about at the competition level, taking hit on the side, getting shattered face down.
[Galaxy S 4 General] phjnky:
In the end, current smartphones are a slab of glass. I prefer to judge a phone based on usability, things like home button placement, feel and usage. Just read a short review by Walt Mossberg and he really seems to dislike the S4 for various reasons but one primary concern is the complexity of the device. For god sakes if you need to change the layout to "Easy Mode", maybe you shouldn't be doing reviews for smart phones or just stick with reviews of the Iphone.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/galaxy-s-4-is-a-good--but-not-a-great--step-up-151539575.html
[Galaxy S 4 General] gtg465x:
For me personally, the hardware is fine. I won't buy a Galaxy S4 because I find the software design to be downright amatuer looking. I'm a developer and only dabble in software design, but even I could design software that looks cleaner and prettier than Samsung's. I honestly think their problem is that they have developers designing their software. Some of the functionality is cool, some is gimmicky, but not much of it looks good. The UI is so cartoonish and cluttered, and there are so many clashing shades of green and blue that it makes me gag every time I see it. Sorry, but that's my honest opinion. I'm not telling anyone they have to agree with it. Just letting you know that for some of us, Samsung's hardware design isn't even the problem.
[Galaxy S 4 General] msavic6:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you may not like it, but over 40 million people bought the S3, they probably liked the Ui.
[Galaxy S 4 General] tuxonhtc:
I can understand the more noob users complaining about the interface, but why would you be bothered by the looks of the interface though? It should be pretty easy to change skins right, if you're not happy with installing Nova or something? Sure, it's shoddy design, but that's far from a dealbreaker for me. Oh well, to each their own :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] gtg465x:
Bleh design just bothers me more than most I guess. Maybe it's my profession. I'm very particular about the work I do and it bothers me to use software that I feel is poorly designed. Wish I could get over it because the functionality the GS4 brings is great, but I just can't. I wouldn't be happy with the GS4.
[Galaxy S 4 General] CLARiiON:
Well, it crossed 50 millions now.

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_global_sales_reach_50_million_-news-5709.php

I believe Samsung simply believes that common people love bright colours. You will only see the forum bloggers have been crying about Samsung/Apple UI designs for along time. They all praise AOSP/WP. But look at the sales. Maybe these companies know how to actually market a product and design a product that normal people love.
[Galaxy S 4 General] __NBH__:
Software can be upgraded, new launchers can change the touchwiz look but you can't change the hardware. So I got the S4 because the hardware is good and the rest will improve after time.
[Galaxy S 4 General] tuxonhtc:
I think as [MENTION=2539581]Clarion[/MENTION] said, many other people might love the "pop" that we call "cartoonish". I can't believe that Samsung just keeps it that way because they're lazy about merely that aspect - surely they would've done their research WRT interface? Dunno.

Yeah it's changeable though right? If you prefer it not to be so out of the box, then fair enough - I guess you'll probably still be in the minority, being an advanced user and the design along being a deal-breaker while that's changeable :p
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
You hit the nail on the head but for different reasons than you intended. This is what happens to the One X's (and DNA's) "premium" sand blasted polycarbonate back when it's abraded:

The One X and One are very complicated designs and both have build quality issues because of it. There are hundreds of pages of issues on the One X forum about how the "guts" of the phone aren't installed properly in the polycarbonate "unibody." And that design is what caused the Wi-Fi h/w problem that HTC acknowledged in the press. The One has fitment issues and there are multiple threads about how the components of the unibody aren't aligned properly. For both phones it's common place to see in their forums "I'm really happy with my third exchange." Interestingly, the Butterfly/DNA uses a more traditional multi-piece design and doesn't have any build issues.

So Samsung's designs may be uninspired but they work. And you don't see multiple threads going discussing QC build defects because of that. If you scratch the back of a Samsung device you can replace it for $20. So when someone other than Samsung proves that you can build a fantastic looking device with super special materials that's durable, has a removable battery, offers expandable storage, and is as thin, light, and compact as Samsung's phones I'll sign up for the *****-a-thon about design. Until then One and One X owners signed up for beautiful devices that are limited in physical features and both are less durable than Samsung's and make getting a "good one" a possible multiple exchange roulette because of the complexity of their design.

If all things were equal Samsung would deserve the flack their getting. But they’re not.
[Galaxy S 4 General] letom:
"So Samsung's designs may be uninspired but they work"

An uninspired design is as far as I'm aware a negative for a phone, as long as you don't believe durability and aesthetics/ quality feel are mutually exclusive, which I think we can agree on, then Samsung shouldn't just get a pass on this. I believe the nexus got slated in most reviews for durability of the glass, so it's a trade off.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
You missed the point. Any design has consequences. The N4 is not a durable phone and it doesn't have a removable battery or expandable storage. The SGS4 has a 2,600mAh battery which is heavier than the One's 2,300mAh battery. It also has a 5" display vs. the 4.7" display on the One. Yet the SGS4 is thinner, lighter, and more compact. The One doesn't have expandable storage or a removable battery. It also has the lowest reparability score ever recorded because HTC's focus was "design at any expense." That's fine, and a lot of people are drawn to the One because of its design. But they'll give up durability and h/w features to get it. Samsung could design a "One" but it would have the same or similar limitations. Call me old fashioned but I view my phone as a tool; not an emblem to show the world what great taste I have. Personally, I'm pretty unlikely to give up features for "pretty" in a phone. Other things in my life maybe, but not a phone.