Some Basic Questions (New To Android, Getting Samsung Galaxy S4)

[mindstormer]

1. How different is Cynogenmod from "vanilla" Android? I know that it's based on pure Android, but they are not entirely the same.

2. Google states that they will unlock Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB and essentially treat it like their Nexus devices by providing updates as soon as they are out. Problem is 16GB does not cut it for me because apps cannot be transfered from internal storage to microSD card. If I were to get the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4, can I expect to the device to have full Cynogenmod support? Furthermore, will I be able to do what Google has done and get the stock Android along with its updates as soon as its available (won't the community be able to use the ROM of the Google Edition of the GS4)?

3. I heard that there is an app that allows you to transfer apps to SD cards. Does this still work and does it work for all apps? Is it reliable/still supported by its developers? What about for other content?

4. Will there be a bottleneck if I get a Class 10/UHS-1 microSD card? How would its speed compare to the internage storage speed? Am I better off getting a slower card?

5. Should I get the GS4 (AT&T, since it's the only one with 32GB) contract-free or with contract in a family plan? I'm a student and I don't really know the numbers involved that would make one more cost-efficient thatn the other in the long run. The sooner I know this answer, the sooner I can actually get the device.

6. Is TouchWiz really that awful? How does it compare with Cynagenmod? What is this "bloatware"? I am skeptical of getting Cynagenmod or any other tweaked OS/mods because I'm assuming that would mean losing many of the unique features of the GS4 like Eye Scrolling Air View, and other things that take advantage of its hardware.

That's about it for now. If I have more I will keep updating this thread. I don't know a better place to ask this, so I'm really hoping for some good answers.

Thanks!

 

[meyerweb#CB]

1. Can't help you there. If you want plain Vanilla, there will be AOSP or AOKP ROMs available eventually, and the ROM from the Google version of the S4 will undoubtedly be rooted and available to flash within days, or at most weeks, of that phone's release. You'll need to root to use it.

2. I think this is only for the plain vanilla Google version of the phone. If you buy a carrier model, with all the Samsung Touchwiz and extra apps and stuff, I don't think Google is going to unlock it and supply updates.

I don't think anyone can say exactly what Cyanogen will and won't support as far as the S4 goes. Why are you so focused on CM, anyway? There are far more stable ROMs for the S3 than CM, and I suspect the same will be true of the S4.

3. [MOD]App2ExtSD2 [Works for all U.S. Galaxy S3!] - xda-developers this is for the S3. No idea if it will work for the S4. In fact, I can't vouch for it on the S3, either, since I've never tried it. There's no issue storing other content like music, videos, backups, pictures, etc. on the SD card.

4. It will likely be slower than internal storage. The only advantage of a slower card is price.

5. Unless buying the phone outright, without a plan, will let you keep an existing unlimited data plan, or something along those lines, I don't see any advantage. AT&T won't give you cheaper service because you didn't use the subsidy. But I'm not an AT&T customer, so other people might have more info.

6. I don't think TW is "that bad." Bloatware is in the eye of the beholder. Basically it's any app that's not part of standard Android that you don't want or need. So what's bloatware to someone else may be a useful feature to you. Yes, a lot of the features the S4 offers depend on TW, or are baked into Samsung's version of Android, and if you flash a standard "Google" ROM or CM you'll lose a lot of them. The Google version of the S4 won't have all these features, either.

Eventually, there will be customized versions of the Samsung ROM that you can flash. For the S3, ROMs like MOAR, Wicked Sensations, and others perform better than the stock one, offer a lot of customization, but still retain all or most of the Samsung "icing."

My suggestion would be, if you've decided the S4 on AT&T is what you want, is to buy it and use it the way Samsung and AT&T sold it for a while. If, in a few months, you can come up with real reasons you want to root and use other ROMs, see what's available then.

 

[mindstormer]

Ahh, so there's no need to wait and buy Google's version of the phone as I can do everything they did on my own when it comes out. I'm so confused as to why so many AT&T users are frustrated with the this news and saying they want to return it and get Google's version instead... paying more and waiting when they could be doing the same thing at home.

I'm not quite sure what AOSP or AOKP ROMs are exactly despite some brief googling. Are these ROMs already out for other devices?