Is S4 Google Edition a complete waste of $450?

[Aquila]

The only reason to get the GPe directly would be if you want stock but not to root, etc. Which would be weird, but have at it Otherwise, you can, by flashing a ROM made from the system dump, turn any GSM device into the corresponding GPe and have the added advantage of being able to flash back to TouchWiz if you want.

 

[return_0]

The only reason to get the GPe directly would be if you want stock but not to root, etc. Which would be weird, but have at it Otherwise, you can, by flashing a ROM made from the system dump, turn any GSM device into the corresponding GPe and have the added advantage of being able to flash back to TouchWiz if you want.

Warranty.

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[Aquila]

Warranty.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

It's implied

 

[ledfrog]

The only reason to get the GPe directly would be if you want stock but not to root, etc. Which would be weird, but have at it Otherwise, you can, by flashing a ROM made from the system dump, turn any GSM device into the corresponding GPe and have the added advantage of being able to flash back to TouchWiz if you want.

There are a couple other reasons too:

• Want stock without having to unlock the boot loader and possibly void a warranty or ruin the device
• To have a phone without a contract
• To not have to mess around with rom updates and installations

At least those are my reasons!

 

[Aquila]

There are a couple other reasons too:

• Want stock without having to unlock the boot loader and possibly void a warranty or ruin the device
• To have a phone without a contract
• To not have to mess around with rom updates and installations

At least those are my reasons!

1st and 3rd seem to be exactly what I said The middle one, you can buy any phone off contract. I think we're agreeing on the reasons

 

[ledfrog]

1st and 3rd seem to be exactly what I said The middle one, you can buy any phone off contract. I think we're agreeing on the reasons

Yeah you're right!

 

[BOSSY TEXAS CHICK]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

If you're paying $70/month on AT&T with unlimited data, stay where you are. T-Mobile's current prices are comparable to what you're paying; their network, however, is not up to par. Not yet, anyway.

but its getting there....

 

[snookasnoo]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

No..AT&T's Go Plan does too. As well as about 10 or 15 MVNO's.

Obviously, you're paying $0 extra instead of $449 extra, since you can't compare on-contract prices to unlocked prices. And carriers hide that extra fee in the actual phone plan.

And which carriers offer cheaper plans for unlocked phones?

T-Mobile. That is all.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MZmtRkyJsda3fWc4pZfUR74ZxLZvdTgExYbFXhnPv1Q/edit?usp=sharing

So you get the choice of an unusable number of minutes or an unusable amount of data?

Prepaid Cell Phone Plans, No Annual Contract | Monthly 4G | T-Mobile

On the left below "pay by the day"

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On the T-Mobile cellular network or wi-fi?

And if you're worried about minutes, VoIP is an option

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Hmm, thanks for the clarification. Paying $720 for the plan + $650 for the phone still leads to savings of approx. $20/month compared to what I pay with AT&T, but LTE speed might be worth that.

Speed and coverage. As bad as AT&T coverage is compared to Verizon it is still much better than T-Mobile.

 

[Saturn1217]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

The Google edition version also has more storage free than the regular version with a GE ROM (or so I have seen on xda). Something to do with storage partitions that are very difficult to change. ~12gb vs 9gb

In my opinion the other nice thing is not having to deal with weird carrier bloatware/spyware. No carrier IQ, no blocking stock tethering app, no weird wifi behavior (some carriers force you to use wifi whenever you get within range), no waiting x-months to sim unlock a phone you bought at full price.

I've been spoiled not having to deal with carriers with my GNex and I don't want to have to go read through pages of xda just to figure out how to get back to where I am right now, should I decide to buy a new phone. It would be nice for it to come out of the box that way and if I want to mod later that is fine but I don't want to feel that I HAVE to mod the phone just to use it every day the way that I want to. Personally I will be waiting for the next Nexus (hopefully it will be on par but at a much lower price) but I can see the appeal of the GE devices.

 

[kgbkny]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

but its getting there....

I remember you from the Vibrant forums on the T-Mobile site - small world!

I ended up leaving T-Mobile due to the downstream data speeds dropping to 0.5 Mbps in my supposedly "best possible HSPA+" coverage neighborhood. T-Mobile initially acknowledged that it's an issue with my cell site. A year went by and nothing was done to rectify the problem. Eventually, T-Mobile stopped acknowledging the issue and blamed it on my phones. AT&T is certainly more expensive, but I'm loving my 30 Mbps downstream LTE speeds! The way they treat Android updates, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Hence my reason for getting the Google Edition GS4.

 

[garublador]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

I think the actual answer to the OP is that the fact that it's a GE alone isn't enough to justify moving from a subsidized phone to an off-contract one. If it already makes sense for you to buy a phone off-contract then the GE version is worth considering.

 

[sooner7]

Re: Is there any point in spending $449 extra to get the Google Edition phone?

It technically makes sense for anyone to buy off contract, as you pay the same or less, and are ya know, out of contract.

 

[gnr_2]

You can't use this math to compare the cost of buying a phone outright and one on contract because no matter how you get your phone (retail or subsidized), you still need service to make it work. With that said, you actually lose $450 by not signing a contract. The trade off is that you're not locked in and can leave at any time, BUT how many people switch carriers a lot? I've been with AT&T since 2006 and even longer if you count the Cingular days, so if I were to sign a contract for 2 years, it means nothing to me other than a $450 discount on a phone.

And don't let T-Mobile fool you with their no contracts because they are actually adding that subsidized cost ($450 in this example) to your monthly bill over the next 2 years. What this means is that after the phone is paid off, your bill will actually get lower! As compared to AT&T, your bill never changes. I've paid the same amount for quite some time now and after my contract was up 3 years ago, it never moved a penny. What this tells me is that all those times I re-upped my AT&T contract, I got a truly discounted phone whereas if you're on T-Mobile you're only getting the discount price in the beginning, but will still have to pay for the full retail of the phone over 2 years. So there actually isn't any discount with T-Mobile at all!

Maybe that's why they're getting flack for it: T-Mobile "No Contract" Plan Under Fire from Attorney General - Technorati Business

Well, another way to look at it is that AT&T continues to charge you for the phone whether you get a new phone or not.



Sent from the Superuser account on my newly flashed Sprint Galaxy Nexus with XenonHD

 

[Farish]

Well, another way to look at it is that AT&T continues to charge you for the phone whether you get a new phone or not.



Sent from the Superuser account on my newly flashed Sprint Galaxy Nexus with XenonHD

Here is one other thing people tend not to take into account. Resale price of the phones cover new upgrade prices of the phone. I sold my 4s and it covered my 199 price for my Galaxy S4.

Minimizing out of pocket costs is always a nice factor to consider in being in a contract.

That being said, I would like to switch to T-Mobile but I don't think there network will be up to ATT/Verizon level for at least another 2 years when it comes to broad coverage.

 

[The Hustleman]

I posted this in the general S4 forum but wanted to post in the dedicated Google Edition forum to possibly get some more input from people. My question is simply this: Why would I spend $649 for the GE version of the phone when I can alternatively buy the AT&T version for $199 and either save $449 by having AT&T pay the rest of the phone price for me (their data plans without subsidization cost the same it seems), or if I don't like TouchWiz or AT&T I can pay a sub-$400 ETF, get the phone unlocked, and move on to any carrier I'd like?

Is the only advantage of the GE version that one doesn't have to go through the "hassle" of rooting one's phone to convert it to cleaner version of Android? Is that process really that complicated to justify spending hundred of extra dollars?

Or are there actually carriers that offer cheaper plans for unlocked phones, compared to subsidized phones, so that I can get some of the $449 back?

I'll never understand spending more money to make my phone less functional

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[ledfrog]

Well, another way to look at it is that AT&T continues to charge you for the phone whether you get a new phone or not.

That is very true. I guess I never really worried about it because I just accepted the price as is...at least when compared to most other wireless services. Either way, my company pays my bill so it doesn't really matter!

 

[kgbkny]

I'll never understand spending more money to make my phone less functional

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Functionality is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think that stripping away manufacturer overlays and eliminating the carrier from the update process adds to the functionality, not takes away from it.

 

[ledfrog]

Functionality is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think that stripping away manufacturer overlays and eliminating the carrier from the update process adds to the functionality, not takes away from it.

Agreed! Plus I'm getting the HTC One instead of the S4 and from what I've heard, there are far less features "missing" from the HTC One Google Edition compared to the S4. The S4 will mainly miss a lot of the motion features, which I never found myself using on my SII and S3. I think the only thing I'll personally miss on the HTC One might be the infrared remote, but I think there are apps in the Play store that can bring it back to life.

 

[The Hustleman]

Functionality is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think that stripping away manufacturer overlays and eliminating the carrier from the update process adds to the functionality, not takes away from it.

Name 3 functions that the Google Edition has that the regular one doesn't.

Fast updates isn't a function, it's a benefit btw

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[Aquila]

Name 3 functions that the Google Edition has that the regular one doesn't.

Fast updates isn't a function, it's a benefit btw

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Warranty with vanilla ish ui, photosphere, wallet.

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