Is S4 Google Edition a complete waste of $450?

[nancybout]

My area, is near enough to NY but I meant to say my I'm in central NJ

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[planoman]

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

but how are you ignoring what he is saying?

Lastly, people who have money to spend and do not want to take the time (even if it takes 15 minutes) to root their phone. I know a lot of people that would pay $450 extra just to not have to root and get timely updates. It may sound weird to some, but it is the truth. I slightly fall into that category and could easily see myself spending extra money b.c to me it is just $450. That is reality....some people that is a lot of money and others that is a not.

This is me also. I like having different phones depending on what I feel like. Sometimes I want touchwiz and sometimes I want vanilla android. I do not want to spend the time going back and forth and setting up etc...that seems like such a waste of time and time is money! I have a S4 and was thinking about getting the HTC One GE but that is out because of no google wallet. Plus I have several cases etc and the charging back for the S4. I will wait to see all the user feedback and may order it next week after getting back from vacation.

So all of you early adopter please get on here and tell us your likes and dislikes about this phone!

 

[kotbn18]

What's all this talk about t-mobile offering subsidized phones. Well if you look at the prices most of the time you end up paying more for the phone in the long run. The best way is to just go buy the phone outright for full price then get whatever plan suits you. Thats how you save money. If you can't buy a phone outright you shouldn't get it. And for the post about the ir blaster on the Ge s4 there are apps in the play store to use it just fine.

Sent from my underrated galaxy s blaze 4g

 

[mattopotamus]

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

This is me also. I like having different phones depending on what I feel like. Sometimes I want touchwiz and sometimes I want vanilla android. I do not want to spend the time going back and forth and setting up etc...that seems like such a waste of time and time is money! I have a S4 and was thinking about getting the HTC One GE but that is out because of no google wallet. Plus I have several cases etc and the charging back for the S4. I will wait to see all the user feedback and may order it next week after getting back from vacation.

So all of you early adopter please get on here and tell us your likes and dislikes about this phone!

similarly I would like to hear feedback from early adopters. I would also like to wait for 4.3 to hit to see exactly how long it takes to update versus a nexus phone.

 

[mattopotamus]

What's all this talk about t-mobile offering subsidized phones. Well if you look at the prices most of the time you end up paying more for the phone in the long run. The best way is to just go buy the phone outright for full price then get whatever plan suits you. Thats how you save money. If you can't buy a phone outright you shouldn't get it. And for the post about the ir blaster on the Ge s4 there are apps in the play store to use it just fine.

Sent from my underrated galaxy s blaze 4g

I am almost certain you are wrong about the IR blaster. It also needs the software features, and they are not going to work on stock android. If 4.3 adds the capability it will work, but until that time the IR blaster will NOT work even with an app.

Also, you need to read through the thread about reasons to buy the subsidized phone. I swear people add to a thread without any knowledge.

 

[kingseanrocks]

Why pay extra money when you could just root and put a pure android rom on it.

Sent from my Huawei u8650 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[gnr_2]

Why pay extra money when you could just root and put a pure android rom on it.

Sent from my Huawei u8650 using AC Forums mobile app

That was answered somewhere around page 2.

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

 

[kotbn18]

I am almost certain you are wrong about the IR blaster. It also needs the software features, and they are not going to work on stock android. If 4.3 adds the capability it will work, but until that time the IR blaster will NOT work even with an app.

Also, you need to read through the thread about reasons to buy the subsidized phone. I swear people add to a thread without any knowledge.

No you can look the ir blaster does work with apps I've seen it. And for most people buying a phone outright and then getting a cheap plan that IS NOT subsidized is in fact a cheaper option its simple math. If you get the 45$ straight talk plan or tmobiles 30$ even with buying the phone outright you can save hundreds. Your right sometimes people add to the thread without knowledge but this time it was you.

Sent from my underrated galaxy s blaze 4g

 

[mattopotamus]

No you can look the ir blaster does work with apps I've seen it. And for most people buying a phone outright and then getting a cheap plan that IS NOT subsidized is in fact a cheaper option its simple math. If you get the 45$ straight talk plan or tmobiles 30$ even with buying the phone outright you can save hundreds. Your right sometimes people add to the thread without knowledge but this time it was you.

Sent from my underrated galaxy s blaze 4g

You must have seen it on those google play phones that only reviewers have. Read my post a few pages up about subsidized phones, that is what I was talking about. As you were though...continue to spill fact-less information.

HTC One Nexus / Google Edition ? Why You?d Want One?
HTC One Google Edition Will Not Have IR Blaster Capability, But Will Retain Beats Audio | DroidDog Android BlogDroidDog Android Blog
[Q] IR Blaster - Google Edition - xda-developers
Galaxy S4 Google Edition - xda-developers

 

[return_0]

I don't think 450$ is an astounding am mount to have more memory, and not being held down for xyz amount of time.
However, I see myself for 2 years w att because NY area is boasting LTE speeds and I have 10gig shared data...I'm happy enough lol 4 phones 270$ oh well

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Just letting you know, T-Mobile is $180/month with 4 phones on unlimited data.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(20944)]

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

I'll give you an example. I get an discount with ATT and I pay $75 a month for unlimited text, talk, and web. I am perfectly happy with ATT and as long as they allow me to upgrade and keep unlimited data I will stay with them. If I buy an s4 on contract with them I pay $200 and my bill will stay the exact same whether I am in or out of contract. If I buy the s4 GE I will still use it on ATT and my bill would remain the same $75 a month. I would lose $450 buying the GE phones, plain and simple. If I did not get a discount with ATT I would be paying $100 a month and in that case would probably go to T-mobile with the GE s4. Most people who have a plan with ATT, Sprint, and Verizon and plan on staying with them, would only lose money buying a GE phone.

Well hold on now, I never said there aren't any reasons to stay with a subsidized phone. QuietlyBrilliant was going through the thread posting about how silly it was for anyone to buy this phone when it 'made so much more sense' to just get a subsidized version of it from your carrier. I was simply pointing out why I, and I'm assuming others, would do something so silly as paying the full $650 for a phone off contract.

That being said - even your personal example is a little tenuous. Even given the fact you have a special situation with your discount you still need to realize that you're paying an extra $30 per month for that unlimited data.

Prepaid (on ATT) unlimited text/calls/data* (data is actually throttled around 2GB):
$45 a month

Your Plan:
$75 a month

You pay $200 for the phone, I pay $650. So far I've paid $450 more than you.

2 years of service for me (the length of your contract): $1080
2 years of service for you (the length of your contract): $1800

Amount I'm saving over you in plan costs: $720

Total I've saved over you: $270 over two years. Now imagine how much the savings would be for someone who didn't have a discount.

Is unlimited data worth an extra $270 to you? Sure, it probably is. Personally, I'm coming from Sprint and the network is so bad it's pretty tough to even use 2GB of data if you wanted to... so it's going to be plenty of data for me. I'd rather pocket the $270. On top of that, going the prepaid route has the advantage of NOT being in a contract which comes with all of the advantages I wrote about in my last post. Since I'm going to Spain for a month at the end of the summer, the reality is I'm going to save even more money by not having to pay for phone service in the states for that month.

Sometimes it makes sense to go subsidized - especially if you are in a family plan. For others it makes a lot more sense to do something like this: best hardware, best software, cheapest plans.

 

[anon(20944)]

You must have seen it on those google play phones that only reviewers have. Read my post a few pages up about subsidized phones, that is what I was talking about. As you were though...continue to spill fact-less information.

HTC One Nexus / Google Edition ? Why You?d Want One?
HTC One Google Edition Will Not Have IR Blaster Capability, But Will Retain Beats Audio | DroidDog Android BlogDroidDog Android Blog
[Q] IR Blaster - Google Edition - xda-developers
Galaxy S4 Google Edition - xda-developers

Why are you posting a bunch of links about the IR blaster not working on the HTC One Goole Edition version? This is the SGS4 GE forum. The IR Blaster DOES work on this phone. You are flat out wrong and kotbn18 is right.

 

[mattopotamus]

Well hold on now, I never said there aren't any reasons to stay with a subsidized phone. QuietlyBrilliant was going through the thread posting about how silly it was for anyone to buy this phone when it 'made so much more sense' to just get a subsidized version of it from your carrier. I was simply pointing out why I, and I'm assuming others, would do something so silly as paying the full $650 for a phone off contract.

That being said - even your personal example is a little tenuous. Even given the fact you have a special situation with your discount you still need to realize that you're paying an extra $30 per month for that unlimited data.

Prepaid (on ATT) unlimited text/calls/data* (data is actually throttled around 2GB):
$45 a month

Your Plan:
$75 a month

You pay $200 for the phone, I pay $650. So far I've paid $450 more than you.

2 years of service for me (the length of your contract): $1080
2 years of service for you (the length of your contract): $1800

Amount I'm saving over you in plan costs: $720

Total I've saved over you: $270 over two years. Now imagine how much the savings would be for someone who didn't have a discount.

Is unlimited data worth an extra $270 to you? Sure, it probably is. Personally, I'm coming from Sprint and the network is so bad it's pretty tough to even use 2GB of data if you wanted to... so it's going to be plenty of data for me. I'd rather pocket the $270. On top of that, going the prepaid route has the advantage of NOT being in a contract which comes with all of the advantages I wrote about in my last post. Since I'm going to Spain for a month at the end of the summer, the reality is I'm going to save even more money by not having to pay for phone service in the states for that month.

Sometimes it makes sense to go subsidized - especially if you are in a family plan. For others it makes a lot more sense to do something like this: best hardware, best software, cheapest plans.

From what I understand, the prepaid plans only use some of the major carriers towers, so service is not actually as good. Is this true?

Why are you posting a bunch of links about the IR blaster not working on the HTC One Goole Edition version? This is the SGS4 GE forum. The IR Blaster DOES work on this phone. You are flat out wrong and kotbn18 is right.

Then I will stand corrected, but was unable to find anything supporting it worked. The last link I posted everyone said it did not work and looking through other forums I cannot see a valid claim of it working.

 

[ledfrog]

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

Prepaid (on ATT) unlimited text/calls/data* (data is actually throttled around 2GB):

I doubt there's a difference between the throttling rules of a pre-paid plan versus a post-paid plan, but according to AT&T's website, if you're on an unlimited 3G data plan, you get throttled at 3GB and if you're on an LTE unlimited data plan, you get throttled at 5GB. I can't imagine real-world experiences being any different and I can say that my LTE unlimited plan is pushing 4GB this billing period and no slow down as of yet.

Data Usage Information & FAQs from AT&T (Click on the What You Need To Know tab)

or see the FAQ:

Smartphone unlimited data plans and reduced speeds - AT&T Wireless Support?

 

[garublador]

Then I will stand corrected, but was unable to find anything supporting it worked. The last link I posted everyone said it did not work and looking through other forums I cannot see a valid claim of it working.

I'm not reading all 23 pages of that last thread, but are they talking about the API for the IR blaster being made public, or whether or not the IR blaster works at all? If it's the former, then you can just download the WatchOn app (or any app developed by someone with the API) and the blaster will work. If I'm not mistaken, this has been done, which is what the other people in this thread are saying. So you can use the IR blaster with a compatible app, but you can't develop an app that uses the IR blaster.

 

[ledfrog]

I'm not reading all 23 pages of that last thread, but are they talking about the API for the IR blaster being made public, or whether or not the IR blaster works at all? If it's the former, then you can just download the WatchOn app (or any app developed by someone with the API) and the blaster will work. If I'm not mistaken, this has been done, which is what the other people in this thread are saying. So you can use the IR blaster with a compatible app, but you can't develop an app that uses the IR blaster.

If you're talking about the IR blaster working on the Google Play Editions, I just recently read that Google plans to issue an official update that will allow this feature to work.

 

[mattopotamus]

I'm not reading all 23 pages of that last thread, but are they talking about the API for the IR blaster being made public, or whether or not the IR blaster works at all? If it's the former, then you can just download the WatchOn app (or any app developed by someone with the API) and the blaster will work. If I'm not mistaken, this has been done, which is what the other people in this thread are saying. So you can use the IR blaster with a compatible app, but you can't develop an app that uses the IR blaster.

If you're talking about the IR blaster working on the Google Play Editions, I just recently read that Google plans to issue an official update that will allow this feature to work.

I think it is what ledfrog said. It does not currently work, but may in the future....which is what I said all along. Just downloading an app will not solve your problems until the API is there though.

 

[garublador]

I think it is what ledfrog said. It does not currently work, but may in the future....which is what I said all along. Just downloading an app will not solve your problems until the API is there though.

Here's a review where he was able to get apps that use the IR blaster to work on the S4:

Pure Android: Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One 'Google Play editions' review | The Verge

I was able to get some third-party apps to successfully work with the GS4?s IR blaster, though app selection in that regard is still quite limited. Google says that the IR blaster on the stock HTC One doesn?t work right now, but will with a future software release.

So the blaster itself does work. I'm not a software expert, but it seems as if the functionality is there in the kernel and some sort of API exists, but the API just isn't public.

 

[ledfrog]

I think it is what ledfrog said. It does not currently work, but may in the future....which is what I said all along. Just downloading an app will not solve your problems until the API is there though.

Correct again. The one IR blaster app everyone was telling us to download actually states on their app page that it does NOT work with the Google Play Editions of the S4 and HTC One. We're going to have to wait for Google on this one.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

What's all this talk about t-mobile offering subsidized phones. Well if you look at the prices most of the time you end up paying more for the phone in the long run. The best way is to just go buy the phone outright for full price then get whatever plan suits you. Thats how you save money. If you can't buy a phone outright you shouldn't get it. And for the post about the ir blaster on the Ge s4 there are apps in the play store to use it just fine.
Sent from my underrated galaxy s blaze 4g

Hmm, you have magically managed to ignore this entire thread. Its whole point (which some still disagree with, which is good for keeping the discussion alive) is that it isn't actually true that you save money. With AT&T you are free to leave always for an ETF that puts you *below* buying a GE phone up front. In the meantime you'll have the highest data speeds in the nation and can usually get a reduced family plan (in my case I pay $100 for one smart phone and one regular phone with 550 talk minutes, unlimited LTE data, and 200 SMS). And if you're in a family plan you can upgrade *every year* for the subsidized price.