First, a general question to the S4 owners...is the "lag" really an issue with this device? I ask as a current S3 owner considering an upgrade, but I find it concerning that so many folks comment on lag within the OS, especially considering how awesomely smooth the S3 is. Seems like they've take a step backwards in that department if the S4 has lag issues.
To the OP: Agree with you to a point about "gimmicky" features, but you have to remember this isn't a "Google" Android phone, a.k.a. Nexus, but rather Samsung's flagship...and those gimmicks are kinda their game. Some are freakin' awesome, some are kinda neat, and others are kinda worthless, but none the less, the Galaxy line does have a lot more bells and whistles than the standard Nexus phones. Granted, Apple keeps iOS proprietary as they run a different business model, but it would be similar to a situation where some manufacturer made a phone with iOS, but also added a bunch of other stuff on top of it, promising additional features. If that manufacturer didn't execute these features properly and the device sucked, it wouldn't be a fault of iOS, since the OS obviously runs quite well as intended on Apple's own devices. (For the record, I don't think Samsung's application of Touchwiz applications were poorly executed, just giving an example).
I'd like to disagree with you about the browser comment, but it's been too long since I've used an iOS device to really make a fair comparison. For me, the sync feature of Chrome is what I really love. It's great that all my bookmarks are available across all platforms, and I love being able to go to my computer, and pull up the sites I already have open on my other devices, which comes in very handy when you discover something interesting on your phone that you want to read up on in more detail from your PC.
EDIT: Also, regarding email, I personally find that for GMail accounts, the Gmail app is the best way to go, since it's fully synced to your account, however it is VERY POSSIBLE to access GMail using the general email app as well, you just have to make sure that POP/IMAP access is enabled for your GMail account (done through "settings" on your computer browser).
-In regards to Chrome, +1, agreed
-With this Google Voice does this tie straight into my phone service like the AT&T one?
It's a weird procedure, but basically the way I did it was I got a Google Voice phone number (free) and I only use it for voicemail. Basically Google intercepts or has my voicemail forwarded (seamlessly to callers) to the voicemailbox for the other number. Someone calls my regular phone number and if they choose to leave a message, they never know they were forwarded. Voicemails show up as recordings and transcripts in the app and if you choose, a transcript with a link to the recording can be e-mailed to you. All of this is free.
It's really not that complicated at all, and to answer "DioramaMaker's" question, the short answer is: yes, it ties straight into your phone service like the AT&T one. I don't know the specific steps (because I'm on Verizon), but I know that it does work...a quick Google search should point you in the right direction of how to do it. Yes, you have to setup your AT&T account to "forward" all unanswered calls to the GV service rather than send them to AT&T's voicemail service, but that's a one-time thing. Not only does it provide a great VVM service you can use on your phone, but you can also have it send you an email when you get a voice message and you can access your VM mailbox at any time on your computer. This is great for folks like me who don't always have access to their cell phones while at work (I work in a "secure" office with zero cell reception), because I can still respond to voicemail messages in a timely fashion. Keep in mind as well, that the setup is tied to your AT&T account, so even if you switch phones, all you have to do is install the app to retrieve all your messages and continue using the service.