yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joey3002:
I came over to verizon from tmobile. I had the htc one and honestly really liked it but missed the removable battery as the phone died while in vegas and left me with no phone. Other than that, it is a great phone. Prior to tmo, I had the nexus and really think that was a really solid phone. Having liked that so much, its partly why I am wondering if the g2 would be nice.

Anyway, I have the s4 and im on week 1 so can return it if I like something else. My main issue is the bootloader is locked. My mate got the g2 and loved it but due to the battery not being replaceable, it sort of gets a strike from me.

I do like the s4, but miss being able to throw a rom on or kernel. I did not get the opportunity to look at the motoX or g2 as they were not at the store yet. But with the lack of replacement battery, it really is hard to look at them.

What to do.. what to do.. I really have no idea what to do. I already bought extra batteries, a ballistic case and a 64gb sd for the s4 so I feel I am already invested in the s4. My wife also has the s4.

Any thoughts other than I am crazy? lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bgolden84:
So long as it's a Verizon phone you can bet that it will be locked down. I was with T-Mobile for ten years then we moved. If they had service where I live ID drop Verizon like **** from a tall dog. Verizon has and always will lock down and cripple even the best hardware.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joey3002:
Same boat with T-Mobile.. No service at my house.. everywhere else and decent service
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] 1454:
It seems like the general consensus from what I've gathered is that if tmo had better service no one would leave? Maybe they should stop worrying about marketing and build out the network. I'm considering jumping ship to them because I'm sick and tired of all the bs changes Verizon keeps making. If they take away my unlimited data I will be out faster than they can finish the statement. And I don't even use thay much data. Maybe 1.5 to 4 a month.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joey3002:
My bill went up about 80 bucks from tmo to Verizon. 3 lines.

But yes.. if they had better coverage without a doubt I would still be with them
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] 1454:
I've looked into it. That's just a hair over what I was going to save if I switched. Verizon has gotten way to expensive and their customer service has gone into the toilet since about the time they got the iphone.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joey3002:
I can't believe I'm going to defend big red.. I have tried all the carriers and you get what you pay for. For me I needed to make calls during my drive home.. hands free of course without getting disconnected 4 times every drive home at the same places. 80 more to me is worth it for the coverage but I really do not like the boot loader crap.. that's just nonsense
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] 1454:
As far as coverage goes, yes VZW does have the best coverage in most areas. But their policies and price aren't necessarily worth the coverage advantage. And I'm convinced that pre iPhone their CS would do just about anything to keep you happy. Now, they don't care. If VZW went back to being VZW of 2010 and earlier, I'd be a happy customer again even with the higher prices. But the carrier lock downs are bs.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] IamPro:
Anyone thinking about the G2?

Real tired of hardware buttons and TW isn't laggy but does still slightly stutter on some apps like Chrome Beta. Also I want S800 and this S4 overheating issue scares me. I also miss the Note 2's battery life and been reading its just as good if not better. I know I miss the SD card but 32gb is fine for me altho removable battery could hurt a little. I really miss the little things that I had from my GNexus that didn't get on S4; touch buttons sooo much better, headphone jack on bottom (omg someone listens).

Maybe Note 3 or even staying on S4 is the better option. Thoughts?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dohturdima:
I still get disconnected with VZW on the drive home, but maybe once-twice per drive. With Sprint it was 4-5-6 dropped calls a drive. There are VZW dead zones in NYC as well, but it's just that it has the fewest # vs any other carrier. Well worth the extra expense, IMO. Hopefully the other carriers are catching up, because lack of true competition in real coverage creates these locked bootloader policies - VZW knows that we are staying due to the quality of the pipe.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] iLuvMudkips:
I live my S4. I'm not a dev. I'm running CM 10.2 and it's very smooth. No crashes and everything is working so far including IR blaster. I have the earlier S4 - no problems unlocking or rooting. Great phone. I don't know any phone I'd rather have.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Had the HTC One for the weekend, exchanged for the S4. Couldn't stand the bloatware. Also, awkward buttons on the HTC One were off-putting. Moreover, Samsung screens are so much brighter and saturated!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] muyiwafly:
I see now that each major carried now has some sort of T-Mobile's JUMP program. You might benefit from that. I sure am!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jesssiii:
Had the S4, returned it for the One- which I returned the next day. No menu key was the deal breaker. Plus worse battery life, not removable. And Sense 5 is just ugly. The S4 was great but my GNex died before the 2 years, while my HTC Incredible is still going strong. So I was worried about Samsung quality, really. But the battery life was amazing and the signal was great (coming from the GNex). Since I have another year of contact, I'll be going back to the S4 until then. I may go to T-Mobile after that, so I can root and rom freely. Though the trend seems to be lock down with all carriers now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sdsubball23:
Have any of you had experience with comparing the LG G2 to the Galaxy S4? If so, what are your thoughts about which phone is better?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SupaSwag:
Will probably get the Moto X sometime later this year. As much as I want the Nexus 5, I doubt it will be making its way to Verizon. With the Moto X I'll probably just root it and keep it stock. After a few years of flashing and modding it gets to be a bit too much so I need a slight break from it. Also, touchwiz development for our device never really picked up and it will more than likely be like that for the foreseeable future. Hence, why I tend to be on aosp.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] keith.mcintyre26:
This isn't meant to be a snark comment but what ground-breaking developments did you expect on touchwiz?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SupaSwag:
Groundbreaking developments? Choose your words more carefully because I was just referring to a lack of dev support compared to my previous devices. Even if the roms don't offer anything new than what is already out there, it's just cool to see quite a few options to choose from. Maybe I was just spoiled on prior devices (I came from Sprint btw) but it has been noted in other places that dev support on the S4 isn't all that great. It could have been better but devs such as scrosler, sac23, and Team Synergy all had their valid reasons to stop/postpone development for the S4. It also doesn't help that I've gotten bored with touchwiz and which is why I'm considering the Moto X...and another reason why I use AOSP roms. All I can say it thank goodness for wanam xposed because without it I would never be able to run tw for more than a day.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bobby janow:
Gotta agree with the Wanam thoughts. It really allows me to change and mod what I want very easily. I don't really get why people hate TW but I guess that's what makes horse racing. For me everything, including BT and killer GPS works great. The phone even sounds good with no bugs. I've always had issues with AOSP but I liked flashing nightlies so I did. I'm also done flashing roms and kernels.The reasons being there is no dev any longer on the S4 (I don't think aroma installer is doing anything that wanam can't) and the fact that everything works. That being said I do have Loki root with a stock debloated rom. But I haven't flashed anything other than a stock rom since I've had the phone. They are all the same. Oh well it was fun flashing while I had the S3. Thing is it never worked great until I went back to total stock and gave it to the Mrs. lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SupaSwag:
Not sure how long you have used Samsung devices, but after owning every Galaxy S device, touchwiz has just gotten very old for me :D No issues with the device itself though. Wanam and other xposed modules have definitely put a lot of power in the user's hand. Before, we would always rely on devs to theme or tweak something but now we can basically do a lot of it ourselves. It's refreshing to see I'm not the only one who is basically done with flashing roms/kernels.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bobby janow:
This is my second, the first being the S3. I had CM on it though so I never really used TW for any length of time other than now. I know what you mean though since I had HTC devices forever and got tired of Sense too. Not flashing makes these forums a little boring though.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Diceroll:
I had the Note 2 and traded for the S4 to try it out. I liked the Note 2 way more. So now I'm just waiting for the Note 3 I preordered.

Hit thanks if I helped you out.

Sent from my S4 running Hyperdrive through Safestrap
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] xs11e:
I also had the S3 before the S4 and really didn't much care for TW, it got flashed to an ASOP rom early on as did my S4, currently running CM.

Unlike you, I did NOT get tired of Sense, I really liked it and wish that Samsung would consider buying it from HTC since HTC is in financial trouble but I'm sure Samsung would stick in a bunch of TW features and then I might not like it.

So I'll stick with CM...

Other than the nightlies, I'm also done with flashing and I do miss it but I feel my S4 is now perfect for my use so no more flashing for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
I had a few HTC devices and sense was one thing I hated about them. It's slow and over themed. That's why I love TW. Its fast and very very little theming. Not really much different than stock aosp besides the cartoon blue colors on aosp. Just more features added that are very cool and useful. TW just makes android better.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Pr1meSuspect:
The old HTC sense was like that. Now it's the other way around. Touchwiz has become more bloated while Sense has been toned down and is pretty snappy especially on devices like the One. TW is very different than stock android. LOL
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jackdubl:
I've got a question about the developer phones. If I were to buy one, would there be any benefit given the current state of development. I'm really asking about the S5, but it's the same question. Since Verizon is going to lock everything down, I would go developer phone all the way if I knew there was stuff to flash. So if I got the developer S4 today, what could I do with it? Is there even a recovery for it?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
Actually you have it very backwards. Sense is hugely over bloated. If you call sense torn down then we are worlds apart on the understanding of where sense is. Sense has changed everything to a much heavier overlay. TW on the other hand is slim. Have you ever compared TW to aosp side by side? I have. And its very similar. Cartoon colors of aosp aside its not that different.

---------- Post added at 06:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 PM ----------

Not much has stopped. Still a recovery and root and plenty of Dev for it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] SupaSwag:
Touchwiz is slim and is very similar to stock android??? :confused:

Are we living in the same universe?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Pr1meSuspect:
Stock unmodified roms:

-TW is about 1.7GB

-Sense 5 is approximately 1.1GB

TW is not slim and clearly sense is not as bloated as you think. Compared to stock android, both are bloated.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
TW is very bloated everyone knows that. Proprietary launcher with proprietary widgets and apps on top of a completely skinned and reorganized UI. I'm not saying it's bad but who possibly call it slim?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
TW definitely has some useful features that I've come to appreciate like voice control, some air gestures, notification toggles/brightness, etc but stock Android is still the best experience in my opinion and I just wish they would give you the option to use either stock or TW at first boot without having to mod your phone... sometimes I wish Google was more like Apple in having complete control over their hardware so we would have less companies doing whatever the hell they feel like with Android.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Coderedpl:
So I just cracked the screen on my galaxy S4 (I have unlimited data on my line)

I do have an upgrade available on one of my lines, so I'm wondering whether to just replace it with asurion and call it a day or look into possibly using the upgrade to get a different device.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
I think you can go to those shops in the mall and get the screen replaced for less than insurance would cost... as far as using an upgrade unless you really want the Note 3 there's really no other phone that's so much better than the S4 as to warrant going out of your way for imo. If anything I'd get the Nexus 5 but of course there's almost no chance of it coming to Verizon
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
[MENTION=3286481]alexstoriu[/MENTION] In response to your question from your Galaxy Gear thread, I enjoy the Pebble. It took some time for me to get used to how small it is, but I've been wearing big watches for years.

This is all, of course, personal opinion based on personal needs. All I need my watch to do is tell me when I get a call, text, or email. The pebble does that great. I work in a loud environment and I can't feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I definitely feel the pebble vibrate on my wrist. It solves that problem for me. The one advantage gear has in this aspect is that you can use svoice to reply to messages right from the watch, not possible with the pebble.

If you got a deal on the Gear then good for you, but for the average consumer it's not worth $300. It doesn't have an always on time display which is pretty ridiculous for a watch, it can't show gmail content unless you add your account to the stock email client, it has a camera but who wants waist level 2mp pictures? Not mention all reviews say it had horrible battery life. The pebble lasts over a week but the gear can only last a day. Finally, on an Engadget podcast one reviewer said Gear engineers personally told him that he should take it off to wash his hands or go out in the rain. If it's really that perceptible to liquids its another big turn off.

I think eventually, Samsung will get it right. It will still be way overpriced, but they'll at least figure out you don't need an Exynos 4212 to run a smart watch.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] eskomo:
While you have good points the fact that pebble isn't a very good device either remains true. Its small and has little functionality. Out side of battery life the gear destroys the pebble. Many people said you didn't need a camera on a phone and then said no one needed a camera on the front either. How did that work out? Many people use the camera on the gear already. This is going to be a huge device. Just wait.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
It depends on your needs. I don't want to make calls through my watch because there's never a situation in my case where i would do that nor use svoice to reply to a text. I can do all of that through the bluetooth in my car and that's the only place i would use it. Im not saying the camera isnt a good idea, im saying the technology required to have a decent camera housed in a watch band isn't there yet.

What justifies paying a $150 premium for the gear vs the pebble?

It will most definitely be a huge device, the smart watch is about to explode if the apple and google rumors are true. Sammy pushed out the gear to get ahead of every other major player. The second generation will be a big improvement.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sincerity:
so if you run a 4.3 rom like CM or whatever, does that open up functionality of the galaxy gear? or do we have to wait until samsung releases 4.3 for our phone?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
need to wait for TW 4.3 to be released. I'm assuming Gear functionality is only possible on a TW rom just like any other TW service.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] sincerity:
ah, what I figured but thanks for verifying!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
Yupp... although i should mention that the gear is basically running a full android version on old phone hardware. that means that with an unlocked bootloader, probably easy on a device that doesn't have carrier input, it could open up a world of potential software.

so as we have aosp roms running on our touchwiz devices, i assume it wouls be possible to build an aosp smartwatch rom. the only problem is that most of the highend aosp developers capable of that task such as Koush don't really mess with Samsung hardware.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
If anyone's coming from an HTC One, can you tell me what you prefer in the s4 over it? Thinking of trading my 32gb s4 for a One, but I need to see if it's a worthwhile deal for me, or just keep the s4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] markwebb:
Right off the bat:

-Faster charging time (HTC takes longer to charge)

-removable battery

-micro sd card slot

-better picture quality though I like the NO lag HTC One software

-not as slippery as HTC

-slightly faster processor

-cooler casing (HTC tends to be warmer in the alum shell)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Personally, I don't mind the slippery feel of the one, my biggest thing is the the software, I'm tired of the cartoony feel of tw and I like the cleanness of sense. And I do feel like I may miss having the sd card slot.

Did you actually own the HTC one and switched? Or just play with it in the store? Don't take it personally but that seems more like the reviews I've seen on youtube, and I guess I need first hand experience. I just look at the HTC forums and everyone's who's switched since loves the one (possibly biased since they're in those forums)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] markwebb:
I owned the ONE for 1 month! Did I like it? Yes. I think Sense is cleaner than TW and TW is a bit cartoony and colors are oversaturated. I also loved the sound on the ONE.

At the time VZW wasn't offering the ONE (I was on Sprint..and 4G service was not available to me in many areas although bootloader is unlockable on Sprint) so I went with the Sammy because right about the same time, Sammy offered the Dev Edition for VZW and so I went. Not unhappy.

Either phone is good. You just need to determine what makes you the happiest. :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
If you could switch back for no extra charge, and your bootloader was locked (although I've taken a break from rooting and romming for a while) would you?

Thank for your input
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] markwebb:
No, am quite happy with Samsung and not worth the switch IMHO. I like the extra storage capacity on the Sammy. Also, calls are louder and clearer on the Sammy. :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] ch.ch1:
I know a dealer who has some MDK BNIB in stock. Is it worth anything major?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
I can honestly say now that the Nexus 5 has launched I regret pulling the trigger on the S4. That phone has completely blown away my expectations and it's going to be huge. As much as I love my S4, locked bootloader and all, the Nexus 5 makes me a sad panda. Anyone else feeling this way?

---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 AM ----------

It is to the small % of people like us who want to root/mod/etc, but to everyone else it's just another S4... if you're asking if you could get extra $ by buying and reselling it then the answer is yes, probably about $50-$100 more depending on how bad they want it
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] joshm.1219:
Well it's kind of pointless to want the nexus 5 is you're on Verizon, but if we weren't then i would just sell my s4 and buy the nexus, probably making money in the process.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
When I was in the market for a new phone I was willing to leave Verizon, I guess I should have clarified that. I just love how sleek that phone looks, and the build quality looks excellent (for an LG anyway). Plus I'm on of those people who prefers stock android instead of Touchwiz/etc so there's that too. I think they fixed everything wrong with the Nexus 4 (minus sd card slot but we all knew they wouldn't do that). Also Sprint (CDMA) got the Nexus 5 so Verizon is obviously just being stubborn.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Travisdroidx2:
So I have a mint mdk S4. Been wanting a HTC one. Found someone local that wants to trade. But he wants it not rooted and newest OTA. I don't think I could really Odin back to mdk and watch the OTA's kill my S4. So confused.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
Why not explain to him the benefits of staying on MDK? If after that he still wants the OTA just do it, it won't be your phone anymore so who cares really.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Travisdroidx2:
Ya don't think he is interested. His words was I hope it's not rooted? Lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] brizey:
So they are already getting KK going on the One and we only have 4.3, so two releases behind. Their forums seem quieter, though. Not sure what to think about it now.

This will be my last Verizon phone I think. (Even though my wife may be going back to work for them, lol. Not wireless, though.) Their business practices are as shady as they can be without raising a big stink with the media, so that tells you they are not good people. Between their lies about the reasons for locked bootloaders, there balking at activating the LTE N7 because of their own competing tablet and their refusing to allow Wallet because of ISIS, I know for fact they are willing to lie to their customers (not shade the truth...flat out lie) to get revenue.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] xs11e:
1. VZW's been good to me, they've screwed me less than T-Mo did and MUCH less than AT&T did.

2. I also enjoy having a working phone, no other carrier provides a decent signal where I live or where I travel.

3. Last but not least, I enjoy paying less than Sprint, the same as AT&T and about $5 more than T-Mobile.

4. If there were a less expensive service I'd still stick with VZW, why? See 2. above!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Crawshayi:
Your reasoning is very sound. In my case, T-Mobile has gotten a lot better in the places I go, so after my contract with Verizon is up I'm almost sure to jump ship. I'm mostly just disgusted in how Verizon just completely screws up the phones they carry, either by removing features (see: any phone), delaying releases (see: HTC One and S4), making them hideous (see: Note 2 home button, LG G2) or by just refusing to carry them at all (see: Nexus).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thevance1:
Verizon has better service on the central Coast. California. But it's the choice of the least evil, best to offer.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] :
Honestly dude, do the trade. I have the HTC One now and sold my s4 to do so and I am so happy I did. Everything about it is so much better, minus expandable memory. I didn't think I'd care much for sound or zoe but I use them both every day. I actually WANT to use my camera whenever possible. And the speakers are amazing. Return the phone stock if you have to.

The only downside, IMO is that if you root and such, its much easier to brick. I already bricked one but exchanged it anyway and I honestly don't mind stock one bit.