Any reason to get this in the US, instead of the carrier versions?

[Internet_Tough_Guy]

Correct me if I'm wrong but essentially the Google Edition is the T-Mobile version minus the Touch-wiz? Seeing as the AT&T model does not support the 1700 frequency for T-Mobile and the Google Edition does. What I get from this is that hopefully once the device becomes available and a developer gets there hands on it all they have to do is apply root to the rom and superuser and it should work for the AT&T and T-Mobile variants at least I hope it's that easy

yes! exactly, this phone for an extra $50 or so, give you 100% flexiblity to switch to T-Mobile's network as it provide's Tmo's frequency and AWS bands. I think this phone will work straight out of the box on ATT's full HSPA+ and LTE network as well as TMobile's. (need to see the frequency specs to confirm this) This is a no brainer, you gotta buy this phone.

What I find interesting is, if you live in an area with great ATT and T-Mobile networks, this phone will cause alot of people to switch from ATT to TMobile simply b/c TMobile offers cheawper plans for the same service if you bring your own device. ATT will still charge you the same rates if you brought your own device, why the hell will you pay $400+ dollars over 2 years to ATT for a phone you already purchased outright? Defies logic, but some people will do it, i suppose.

 

[XChrisX]

Yes. The only thing that is still questionable and we won't really know until its out in the wild for some real hands on reviews is the camera hardware and other things that the TW experience DOES bring to the table in the form of custom software.

So excited and interested? YES. Hardware running on Google's AOSP software like camera, video, etc... that is still open for discussion until further review. AND by review I mean some true, couple days, hundreds of pics, video, etc in varying conditions and not 5 mins after some blog/site receives a test unit and is trying to grab the review headlines

I was under the impression that you could side load the touchwiz camera app onto the phone? Otherwise, I agree the TW camera features are second to none!

 

[blitz118]

Will ATT give you access to their LTE network without signing a contract?

 

[Paul627g]

I was under the impression that you could side load the touchwiz camera app onto the phone? Otherwise, I agree the TW camera features are second to none!

I can't comment there. Sometimes it can be done but usually it takes some tweaking from the devs to get it to work.

 

[kjnangre]

Will ATT give you access to their LTE network without signing a contract?

Yes. The contract is there so that they get their money back when they subsidize the cost of a new phone. LTE has nothing to do with contracts.

Actually, they would love for you to be their customer without them having to give you a deeply discounted phone!

 

[msndrstood]

Some of us have mortgages and car payments. $650 for a phone upfront is crazy. Sorry, I'm not 25 with unlimited funds. This was a big disappointment for me.

What?! ...I'm msndrstood.
via Gnex

 

[txtoast]

Use your upgrade on an AT&T S4. Resell that when the Google one comes out to cover the extra cost. Problem solved!

That's what I did. I used my upgrade to buy a discounted GS4 then sold it on eBay and used that money to buy the I9500 from Negri.

Over the years I've also used my upgrades to get iPhones and sell them for full retail price on eBay. They sell for a lot and sell rather quickly.

 

[jreacher]

My take is that with the recent changes coming to Google Play Services it's not going to matter as much whether you're running stock or not anymore as far as updates are concerned, so this GE would be more of a special interest type of phone for developers. If it weren't for those changes my answer would be completely different. At least for now. Nobody knows for sure whether or not this is just a play/pause move by Google to put major OS updates on hold for a little while so they can sort out and consolidate some things. I wouldn't put it past them to use this move as a holding pattern so they can play wait-and-see what Apple's next move will be and then counter it.

 

[XChrisX]

I can't comment there. Sometimes it can be done but usually it takes some tweaking from the devs to get it to work.

Sounds good. Now the decision is, do I pick this phone up, or wait a few more months, and get the Note 3. Hrmm.

 

[kjnangre]

My take is that with the recent changes coming to Google Play Services it's not going to matter as much whether you're running stock or not anymore as far as updates are concerned

Huh?? Which of the Google Play services is going to have any effect on how quickly Samsung releases software updates? Samsung software updates are slow cause they have to modify Touchwiz to work with the new OS version. This has nothing to do with Google Play services.

Nobody knows for sure whether or not this is just a play/pause move by Google to put major OS updates on hold for a little while so they can sort out and consolidate some things.

You think they released a new phone to avoid creating a software update? Once again, I don't see your logic. This would be like Microsoft stalling Windows 9 by releasing a PC. I don't see any link between the Google S4 and the Android release schedule whatsoever.

I wouldn't put it past them to use this move as a holding pattern so they can play wait-and-see what Apple's next move will be and then counter it.

I don't think Samsung is waiting for Apple to decide on their next product. Samsung is well past that stage.

 

[Internet_Tough_Guy]

Will ATT give you access to their LTE network without signing a contract?

Yes. The contract is there so that they get their money back when they subsidize the cost of a new phone. LTE has nothing to do with contracts.

Actually, they would love for you to be their customer without them having to give you a deeply discounted phone!

haha, yeah. ATT will make you sign a 2-year contract even if you bring our own device. So basically you're overpaying for a phone you already own. If TMobile offers good coverage, you need to switch, it's just cheaper for comparable speeds and features

 

[kjnangre]

haha, yeah. ATT will make you sign a 2-year contract even if you bring our own device. So basically you're overpaying for a phone you already own. If TMobile offers good coverage, you need to switch, it's just cheaper for comparable speeds and features

What?? AT&T will absolutely not make you sign a contract if you bring your own device.

 

[Wildo6882]

What?? AT&T will absolutely not make you sign a contract if you bring your own device.

Yeah I'm pretty sure they have month to month deals. You definitely won't get unlimited data, though.

 

[jreacher]

Huh?? Which of the Google Play services is going to have any effect on how quickly Samsung releases software updates? Samsung software updates are slow cause they have to modify Touchwiz to work with the new OS version. This has nothing to do with Google Play services.

I think you misunderstood me. Google is moving the API's for all of it's core services like Now, Hangouts, Gmail, Search, Maps, Music, Play Store, and others I'm forgetting to mention out of the OS and into Google Play Services. So rather than having to update the OS itself to change how those all interact with the OS, they simply have to update the services themselves which will get pushed to your phone from Google, and not through Samsung (or other makers) or your carrier.

basically all you really need Samsung and the carriers for now after they do this is tweaks to Touchwiz, not Android itself. It's a brilliant idea because it helps take some of the pain out of the android fragmentation criticisms. All phones can benefit from this new development at the same time now regardless of who they're made by or who your carrier is. It's not a 100% fix but it's a great start.

So how this relates to my previous post is that owning a "pure android" phone isn't going to matter as heavily as it did in the past since Google intends to push a lot of the "updates" to Android through the Services that are on Android and how they interact with the OS rather than updating the OS itself. Google has stated they still intend to continue improving the OS like always but that we're not looking at any major sweeping changes such as the update from Gingerbread to ICS. I firmly believe this is a play/pause move by Google to allow more devices to all be under the Jellybean umbrella over the next year+ and get everything more consolidated before they decide to make any large significant changes to the OS. As always, things change, but for the short term, it looks like people buying from Samsung, HTC, etc rather than Nexus devices are going to experience less anxiety over delayed updates than ever before

 

[return_0]

I've never heard of an Android (or even iOS) release, either with vendor bloatware or without, that was perfect.

Stock 4.1.2.

Perfect IMO.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[XChrisX]

Yeah I'm pretty sure they have month to month deals. You definitely won't get unlimited data, though.

Your plan won't change whatsoever. You can switch devices as often as you like, and your plan will stay the same. You will have to pay full price if you upgrade often, but your plan shouldn't be affected since you're buying off contract.

 

[Wildo6882]

Your plan won't change whatsoever. You can switch devices as often as you like, and your plan will stay the same. You will have to pay full price if you upgrade often, but your plan shouldn't be affected since you're buying off contract.

Well I was meaning if you started up a new month to month deal. Which is what I was thinking about doing and switching from Verizon to AT&T. If you're already in AT&T then you can swap your phone with your Nexus S4 and nothing will change.

 

[ItnStln]

What?? AT&T will absolutely not make you sign a contract if you bring your own device.

Yeah I'm pretty sure they have month to month deals. You definitely won't get unlimited data, though.

Correct! I am on a month to month plan with AT&T. Same plans as those who get a subsidized phone, which sucks. But i can upgrade at any time.

 

[jdbii]

For this phone, do you think the carrier MVNO options are going to be the same as those available for the Nexus 4? I know it is Tmo and ATT network compatible out of the box, but does that mean all the prepaid MVNO options available to the Nexus 4 will also be available for this phone? (Solavei, Straight Talk, Net10, AIO Wireless, and so forth).

 

[jokout1]

While I'm sure i could be wrong here, but I find it hard to imagine that piece mealing bits and pieces of the Android operating system to older phones that were never designed for this may present sizable problems! I just can't imagine an original galaxy S handset being able to pull off some of the advanced features of todays premier phones! I am skeptical that mid-range smartphones with any age will handle this well! Apple can't even pull that one off with consistency and Ios hasn't changed significantly for some time now! Personally, I see this as another idea that Google is throwing out there to see how it actually works real world...If it works reasonably well, great, if it causes more issues we scrape it like sooo many ideas in the past and issue updates again! Most likely, the above posts are right on and this is a stop gap measure to buy some time for a later update to 5.0

The idea of a "stock" Android GS4 is a bit puzzling to me...while the hardware is top of the line, it is the Touch Wiz software Samsung loads on the phone that sets it apart from anything else on the market! Love it or hate it, you have to admit that the preprietory features writen into Touch Wiz are the real draw here! I know there are those who like the idea of an unlocked GS4 for several reasons but I just don't see any mass appeal for this phone through Play Store at this price! But then again, that probably isn't the point!

Cheers