[Galaxy S 4 General] puremind:
1. Standards Google sets the tone, others sing in harmony or don't. I prefer if all sing in harmony and agree on the best possible standard.

I am the first one to acknowledge poor ergonomics on the hardware side (thankfully to be solved through software update to a sufficient degree). Even if there is too much flexibility, there is no excuse for not adapting your designs to the shifted ecosystem after 3 years. My company is not a high tech company and yet we just recently had a major website, intranet and business application overhaul to bring our applications in line with the new standards.

But seeing as Samsung's software seems unfinished (yes we get that they tried to cram 4.2.2 into the phone in spite of tethering issues), I can totally see why the UI redesign has not happened this time around.

Wait. Samsung Hub is actually good. The swipe through mechanism has been implemented there, which shows Samsung are attuned to the new development standards, it is just they haven't updated some of the older applications.

2. Alarm

This was just an example amongst many. My main gripe is with their menus and tabs, though. Some really do not make sense or force you to tap like there is no tomorrow. Like I mentioned before,

In WatchOn, adding a device and changing through remote controls is quite convoluted.

Also in the health app, why have that sidebar that forces two taps to change between the modules (one of which is a small surface at the top left) instead of simple a swipe through. The app always brings me back to the step counter and going into the "comfort level" (or another) module every time is just annoying. There doesn't seem to be a widget for temperature and humidity.

3. Player

I have always used BSPlayer because it has the best performance, so maybe that's why I don't care about stock players (and neither the HTC Player nor the S4 play fulfills my needs). Samsungs video app lacks the ability to browse videos by folder and date of addition as well as the ability to search for videos by key word on nearby DLNA devices, so again it looks like a third party app is the best solution.

As I said before, I don't care about apps that can easily be replaced with a Google Play equivalent. I would prefer not to be served with an inferior alternative (like HTC does) and be offered to install the Google Play app instead or have it pre-installed (for key functionality that everyone wants). If a manufacturer chooses to offer their own implementation it needs to add value and be superb. Having a couple of inferior alternatives pre-installed is OK, but it is annoying when there are so many apps already.

4. Device transfer is not trivial to me, because I test many devices. I am sure Baron knows what I am talking about. I really appreciate an easy way of transferring all of my content and settings over to the next phone. Most people will only go over this once every two years. For me, it is several times a year. Again this was just an example from an execution rather than feature-richness standpoint.

Also I note that Samsung have too many apps that are similar but not quite the same:

Kies

Kies Wireless

Side Synch

Smart Switch

Samsung Link

Honnestly no wonder why people complain about Samsung's software proliferation. All of these apps overlap. You just wish Samsung would pause for one second and integrate all of these into a meaningful, feature-rich app instead of their current piece-meal approach.

5. GSM cons

Mostly hardware ergonomy, which I did not disagree with. The notification toggles are a 4.2.2. feature not supported in 4.2.1. HTC have already said this will be implemented in their next update and we have seen screen shots of it.

6. Summary

Overall I think we talk on two different levels - you keep praising the fact that Samsung supports more features / functionality (which I did not disagree with to start with), whereas I keep praising HTC for their implementation of the features that they do have.

I expect Samsung to give TouchWizz a major revamp. Then we will all acquiesce in the fact that the previous version was dated and needed a general overhaul.

Don't think that my criticism is gratuitous, I am just frustrated with the S4's software experience, I want to start enjoying the device and instead I have to make choices as to what I keep, what I replace, and how I can avoid lags in the browser, dialer and OS menus. But I also want to help Samsung, and I did post many comments in GooglePlay to help them improve some of their applications.

As a user I just want something that flies. Maybe I am too much of a perfectionist, but I am on my last string right now, it is a combination of small failures that really taint my overall experience.

Samsung are said to be king of updates, so let's see if they can fix 4.2.2 before HTC has delivered! It is not because I am enamored with HTC that I criticize them less. When I purchased the S2, it was the One X's experience I was criticizing!