Is S4 Google Edition a complete waste of $450?

[ledfrog]

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

I'll take a stab at this...

1. Tethering and hotspot features without needing a tethering data plan (mostly beneficial for unlimited data plan owners on AT&T)
2. Better performance without all the carrier software running (mostly noticed on the S4 according to early reports)
3. Google Wallet (S4 only) - From what I understand, all carriers have blocked Google Wallet from being used on carrier-branded devices? If that's not true anymore, please correct me.

By the way, fast updates could be considered a function if the update includes new features. The carriers may end up removing or blocking certain features which would give the Play Editions a leading edge.

Also, the use of the word functionality doesn't always mean "to have a function". For example, if you compare the camera apps between the original devices and the Google Play Editions, everyone is talking about how the GP editions lose a lot of editing features and camera settings. However, to some people...the loss of confusing settings and insane amount of menu options could be considered better functionality. I think that's what KGBKNY meant when he said, "Functionality is in the eye of the beholder."

 

[nyry]

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

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

And then you're paying extra for the GE just for dormant hardware like the IR blaster that cant do much without its respective software.

Honestly if you have a choice between getting a subsidized S4 through your carrier vs. paying $450 out of pocket for an ASOP experience and timely updates, id hands down choose the subsidized phone that will:
1. Always have the capability to be rooted
2. Have the capability to use all of its hardware so that option is availible for the ir blaster and a few other things like the IR blaster if you so choose to use it, you will have it.
3. Price is less steep compared to its GE counterpart
4. And most importantly, the ability to flash ASOP roms or CM 10.1 if you so choose.

Now, the GE makes sense like if you are off contract like someone said before in this thread, or you want timely updates straight from google, but It doesn't make sense In my eyes to justify spending hundreds of more dollars for the same phone with less hardware capability, especially when you can put CM 10.1 or a similar ROM on to the subsidized phone.

Just my two cents

 

[kgbkny]

I don't care about the TouchWiz features. I am currently using a GS3 (until my GS4GE arrives) and have been using it for the past year. The only TouchWiz feature I've ever used is swiping the edge of my hand across the screen to take a screen shot. This is an action that can be accomplished by pushing the home key and the power button at the same time, much more quickly and efficiently than the gimmicky motion gesture. I prefer the leanness of stock Android to the bloatedness of TouchWiz.

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

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[21stNow]

Hmm, that's only 100 minutes for voice though...

But it is definitely an interesting deal. They don't advertise it very well!

One reason that this is not advertised more is that this plan is in partnership with Wal-mart. You can't walk into a T-Mobile store to get this plan, so it would be confusing to have a lot of ads for it.

I don't know if you got an answer for what people do with VOIP calling to use more than 100 minutes. There are several options out there; two of the most popular are using Google Voice with GrooVe IP or Talkatone. The free version of GrooVe IP allows you to talk on a Wi-fi network and the paid version allows you to use cellular data for your voice conversations. The minutes will not count against your voice plan this way.

 

[kgbkny]

the same phone with less hardware capability

The hardware is exactly the same on both the carrier versions and Google Editions. If you're referring specifically to the IR blaster, I'm sure that the pertinent APKs can be sideloaded.

 

[ledfrog]

paying $450 out of pocket

It really doesn't matter when you decide to pay the $450 extra...it's going to happen anyway. With AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, you're paying for it by signing up for a 2-year contract. Granted, you will probably stay with your carrier for longer than that, but sometimes signing a new contract means changing terms on your plan, updating pricing, losing features, etc. This is especially annoying for those who still have Verizon unlimited data plans because upgrades will remove this feature from their account. So far, AT&T has allowed their customers to keep unlimited data after upgrading, but who knows for how long.

If you're on T-Mobile, you will pay that $450 over a period of 2 years with an added fee on your monthly bill. If you jump ship early, they will bill you for the remaining balance.

So the real argument shouldn't be about the cost. It should be about whether you think the pure Android version is better than the manufacturer version or vice versa. For those of you who want the original HTC One without a contract or carrier bloatware, you can pick up the developer's edition and get all the great HTC software and features.

 

[garublador]

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.

Being out of contract doesn't magically make your bill cheaper. If your monthly bill is the same either way and you're paying $200 instead of $650 then you are paying less by renewing your contract and having your phone subsidized either way. AFAIK, with Sprint, Verizon and AT&T you can't get a cheaper plan by paying full price for the phone. You might be able to get unlimited data by doing that, but if you use less than 2GB per month (on Verizon at least) there isn't a reason to keep that.

My point is that the GE phone is only worth comparing to a phone bought off contract. If you're in the situation where you have no reason not to sign a contract (usually because the T-Mobile coverage in your area sucks or you get a discount at a different carrier), then it's almost certainly not worth $450 just to get the GE version.

 

[jdbii]

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

Being out of contract doesn't magically make your bill cheaper.

Am I missing something? I am really confused when I hear people say or post this. I'm under the impression that most of the time it does make your bill cheaper. It is especially true if: 1) you can manage with a prepaid plan; and 2) you are getting a single line for one single phone. I can't think of one scenario where your bill would be the same or cheaper with a postpaid contract option, unless you are on some kind of family plan for multiple lines or other discounted plan. On prepaid, the savings by not paying taxes just by itself makes up a pretty good chunk of the extra $450 out-of-pocket upfront cost.

 

[ledfrog]

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

Am I missing something? I am really confused when I hear people say or post this. I'm under the impression that most of the time it does make your bill cheaper. It is especially true if: 1) you can manage with a prepaid plan; and 2) you are getting a single line for one single phone. I can't think of one scenario where your bill would be the same or cheaper with a postpaid contract option, unless you are on some kind of family plan for multiple lines or other discounted plan. On prepaid, the savings by not paying taxes just by itself makes up a pretty good chunk of the extra $450 out-of-pocket upfront cost.

Example: I walk into AT&T right now as a brand new customer and sign up for a 2 year contract and buy a new Galaxy S4 for $200. Let's say my bill came out to be $80 per month with the data, talk and texting options all suited to my needs. So with this example, I got a $650 phone for about $200 (taxes not factored in). I saved $450 because AT&T now has me locked in for 2 years. To them, that means they gave me $450 off my phone so they can earn about $2120 (this is $200 + ($80 x 24) months).

However, when those 2 years are up, my bill remains at $80 per month. So he's right...just because your contract ends, doesn't mean your bill goes down. NOW as far as I understand it with T-Mobile...it might be different. Since they got rid of contracts, they take that same $450 savings and divide it over a 2 year period and add in that amount to your monthly bill, which in this case would be about $18.75 per month. With that said, your bill would actually go down after 2 years if you stayed with the service. If you leave early, they charge you the remaining balance of the subsidized cost ($450) on your last bill.

Make sense?

 

[garublador]

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

I can't think of one scenario where your bill would be the same or cheaper with a postpaid contract option, unless you are on some kind of family plan for multiple lines or other discounted plan.

So you can't think of one scenario, but you can think of several?

Perhaps this is a better way to put it: whether or not it's a GE phone doesn't matter when you're deciding if you should pay for your phone up front or signing a contract and getting your phone subsidized by your carrier. For that decision, nearly every other factor will be more important than whether or not it's a GE phone. In the US this probably only applies to AT&T.

Almost everything people are arguing for are just reasons to buy the phone out-right rather than getting it subsidized. It's pretty easy to come up with scenarios where signing the contract is better as illustrated by the person I quoted who came up with multiple scenarios in one sentence. It's also easy to come up with reasons to buy it out-right. It's impossible to apply any of those reasons to someone unless you know their specific situation. Either option could very well be clearly better (despite what the annoying frozen cave man from the commercial says) depending on many factors.

 

[ledfrog]

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

It's impossible to apply any of those reasons to someone unless you know their specific situation.

Exactly! Let's get back to arguing about which phones we think are better based on software and specs instead of costs.

 

[return_0]

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

Example: I walk into AT&T right now as a brand new customer and sign up for a 2 year contract and buy a new Galaxy S4 for $200. Let's say my bill came out to be $80 per month with the data, talk and texting options all suited to my needs. So with this example, I got a $650 phone for about $200 (taxes not factored in). I saved $450 because AT&T now has me locked in for 2 years. To them, that means they gave me $450 off my phone so they can earn about $2120 (this is $200 + ($80 x 24) months).

However, when those 2 years are up, my bill remains at $80 per month. So he's right...just because your contract ends, doesn't mean your bill goes down. NOW as far as I understand it with T-Mobile...it might be different. Since they got rid of contracts, they take that same $450 savings and divide it over a 2 year period and add in that amount to your monthly bill, which in this case would be about $18.75 per month. With that said, your bill would actually go down after 2 years if you stayed with the service. If you leave early, they charge you the remaining balance of the subsidized cost ($450) on your last bill.

Make sense?

No, doesn't make sense.

Because T-Mobile's plans aren't $18.75 cheaper than AT&T's. When comparing comparable plans (actually, the T-Mo plan would still be better), T-Mobile is $70 cheaper. (See my chart posted earlier in the thread. You can verify with the companies' websites if you want)

So that's what, a $50 savings?

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[ledfrog]

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

Because T-Mobile's plans aren't $18.75 cheaper than AT&T's.

I never said they were. My example would actually make T-Mobile's plans $18.75 more expensive for the first two years. But like I said, I wasn't sure about that. I just remember reading the terms and that was my understanding. Plus, they've recently gotten into some trouble for this and are being forced to process refunds to some customers.

 

[The Hustleman]

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

Warranty with vanilla ish ui, photosphere, wallet.

Transmitted through spacetime.

A warranty isn't a functionality of a device.

I can side load photosphere and get wallet working.

I don't care about the TouchWiz features. I am currently using a GS3 (until my GS4GE arrives) and have been using it for the past year. The only TouchWiz feature I've ever used is swiping the edge of my hand across the screen to take a screen shot. This is an action that can be accomplished by pushing the home key and the power button at the same time, much more quickly and efficiently than the gimmicky motion gesture. I prefer the leanness of stock Android to the bloatedness of TouchWiz.

Actually the swipe for screen shot is faster. Just swipe and go.

And just because you don't want to use the touchwiz features doesn't mean they aren't any good.

Why buy a phone that does so much only to do so little?

Example: I walk into AT&T right now as a brand new customer and sign up for a 2 year contract and buy a new Galaxy S4 for $200. Let's say my bill came out to be $80 per month with the data, talk and texting options all suited to my needs. So with this example, I got a $650 phone for about $200 (taxes not factored in). I saved $450 because AT&T now has me locked in for 2 years. To them, that means they gave me $450 off my phone so they can earn about $2120 (this is $200 + ($80 x 24) months).

However, when those 2 years are up, my bill remains at $80 per month. So he's right...just because your contract ends, doesn't mean your bill goes down. NOW as far as I understand it with T-Mobile...it might be different. Since they got rid of contracts, they take that same $450 savings and divide it over a 2 year period and add in that amount to your monthly bill, which in this case would be about $18.75 per month. With that said, your bill would actually go down after 2 years if you stayed with the service. If you leave early, they charge you the remaining balance of the subsidized cost ($450) on your last bill.

Make sense?

Um they don't make 2,120 bucks off of you, they still have to pay the remaining balance of the phone and offer service, you honestly don't know what they really make off of you.

Subsidy is between 20-30 of your bill.

Then there is the costs of providing the service and the network etc.




Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[return_0]

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

I never said they were. My example would actually make T-Mobile's plans $18.75 more expensive for the first two years. But like I said, I wasn't sure about that. I just remember reading the terms and that was my understanding. Plus, they've recently gotten into some trouble for this and are being forced to process refunds to some customers.

That? doesn't have anything to do with my comment.

 

[ledfrog]

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

Um they don't make 2,120 bucks off of you, they still have to pay the remaining balance of the phone and offer service, you honestly don't know what they really make off of you.

Subsidy is between 20-30 of your bill.

Then there is the costs of providing the service and the network etc.

They do. I didn't say it was all profit for the company. My point was that no matter how you slice it, over $2,000 will come out of your pocket over 2 years. While the company clearly doesn't profit from all that, they are willing to give you the "discount" on the device just to guarantee that they will get that $2,000 at a minimum...all of which will go to pay for their expenses as you mentioned. The other benefit for them is that over that two years, they will market the hell out of more products, services and features that a lot of people will end up paying for...which brings in more money.

So for $450, they are buying your loyalty and that will almost always turn into more profit for them in time...like after your two years are up. Also, that $20-30 subsidy you talk about is still part of your bill long after you've "paid" for your subsidized phone so they will continue to make more money. I've been with AT&T since 2006 and my bill has remained mostly the same all those years no matter how many subsidized phones I've gotten.

In other words, the companies are smart to lure people in with contracts.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

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

Because T-Mobile's plans aren't $18.75 cheaper than AT&T's. When comparing comparable plans (actually, the T-Mo plan would still be better), T-Mobile is $70 cheaper. (See my chart posted earlier in the thread. You can verify with the companies' websites if you want)

I tried to verify it but it's nowhere near your chart. Leaving out a plan for text messaging (which I don't need) AT&T is always *less* expensive than T-Mobile, not more. Even with unlimited SMS it is nowhere near $70 more expensive. Perhaps the rates are dramatically different in your state?

 

[return_0]

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

I tried to verify it but it's nowhere near your chart. Leaving out a plan for text messaging (which I don't need) AT&T is always *less* expensive than T-Mobile, not more. Even with unlimited SMS it is nowhere near $70 more expensive. Perhaps the rates are dramatically different in your state?

$120+$30





Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[kgbkny]

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

Actually the swipe for screen shot is faster. Just swipe and go.

And just because you don't want to use the touchwiz features doesn't mean they aren't any good.

Why buy a phone that does so much only to do so little?

Not when you have to swipe your palm several times until it finally registers.

If you like TouchWiz, more power to you. I dislike all OEM overlays (TouchWiz, Sense, Blur, etc.), as they only add gimmicks that bloat the user experience and contribute to extensive delays of software updates. This only becomes worse when carriers are added to the equation. Case and point - AT&T still hasn't rolled out 4.1.2 for it's variant of the GS3.

What's your definition of doing so little? A phone equipped with stock Android is like a finely tuned muscle car with all the unnecessary fat trimmed. It only improves the experience.

 

[The Hustleman]

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

Not when you have to swipe your palm several times until it finally registers.

If you like TouchWiz, more power to you. I dislike all OEM overlays (TouchWiz, Sense, Blur, etc.), as they only add gimmicks that bloat the user experience and contribute to extensive delays of software updates. This only becomes worse when carriers are added to the equation. Case and point - AT&T still hasn't rolled out 4.1.2 for it's variant of the GS3.

What's your definition of doing so little? A phone equipped with stock Android is like a finely tuned muscle car with all the unnecessary fat trimmed. It only improves the experience.

You may have a defective phone. When I swipe it works the first time.

Also doing so little is just that, doing so little compared to the regular version.

Touchwiz improves the experience, I get more.

More camera features
More functions
More options

Just more


Now if stock Android caught up with the skins there wouldn't be a need for skins

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2