A short review of my newly used Galaxy S4

[Speedygi]

Coming from the BlackBerry Z10 I must say that the Galaxy S4 smashed all my expectations for a phone. It's not even been close in terms of overall set of features and the app ecosystem which is not only plentiful but more useful than even iOS'. Apps like TubeMate can be sideloaded as are apps like Mega through unofficial app markets.

Bittorrent is here as well, which is something iOS probably will never have, and the result of having such freedom in an operating system means you can do pretty much everything a full desktop computer can, barring heavy intensive video editing tasks probably. With the S4 you are literally using a full fledged computer in your pocket.

I was initially worried about the touch keyboard on the S4, given that the BlackBerry Z10 is a very good typing phone, with the swipe up suggestions being a huge highlight in BB10. The stock keyboard of the TouchWiz interface, however, is a monstrosity and I could never hit the keys I really want because of how small and narrow they are.

That is where I discovered SwiftKey and I never looked back. The ability to download things to replace aspects of the native experience you don't like is invaluable and is something I view as a strength of the Android platform. Once I had SwiftKey in there, I was tapping predictions on top of where the keyboard was. It is a small price to pay when you can't swipe up like in BB10 but when you are so used to tapping predictions on top you hardly notice any hassle.

The camera and battery life are much better on the S4 than on the Z10, as is the screen resolution and size. You can do DLNA with the S4 through third party apps. There is truly a comprehensive set of features here, barring the lack of an FM radio which I wouldn't mind that much.

To run at least half a day on this thing is refreshing given the treacherously poor battery life of the Z10. Plus it has a removable slot for batteries and Micro SD card slot so you never have to worry about battery or storage. What's not to like?

All in all, I rank the S4 among the highest of this year's best phones, and I think with such phones around, BlackBerry is going to struggle a huge deal. It is really hard to beat such abundance even at this price point.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Always nice to have another's perspective on devices. Thanks!

 

[Speedygi]

I just found that the Speaker port below the phone is absolutely the worst place to place a speaker, because you can never hear anything once you put the phone down on a table, which is what you'd do a good deal of the phone's use...

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[ReMarkable2112]

I've found that to be a problem too. .

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Speedygi]

If anyone wants a removable battery option as a feature, this is the phone you want too, besides the Note 3, with which size will be the determining factor.

 

[gxgs]

Coming from the BlackBerry Z10 I must say that the Galaxy S4 smashed all my expectations for a phone. It's not even been close in terms of overall set of features and the app ecosystem which is not only plentiful but more useful than even iOS'. Apps like TubeMate can be sideloaded as are apps like Mega through unofficial app markets.

Bittorrent is here as well, which is something iOS probably will never have, and the result of having such freedom in an operating system means you can do pretty much everything a full desktop computer can, barring heavy intensive video editing tasks probably. With the S4 you are literally using a full fledged computer in your pocket.

I was initially worried about the touch keyboard on the S4, given that the BlackBerry Z10 is a very good typing phone, with the swipe up suggestions being a huge highlight in BB10. The stock keyboard of the TouchWiz interface, however, is a monstrosity and I could never hit the keys I really want because of how small and narrow they are.

That is where I discovered SwiftKey and I never looked back. The ability to download things to replace aspects of the native experience you don't like is invaluable and is something I view as a strength of the Android platform. Once I had SwiftKey in there, I was tapping predictions on top of where the keyboard was. It is a small price to pay when you can't swipe up like in BB10 but when you are so used to tapping predictions on top you hardly notice any hassle.

The camera and battery life are much better on the S4 than on the Z10, as is the screen resolution and size. You can do DLNA with the S4 through third party apps. There is truly a comprehensive set of features here, barring the lack of an FM radio which I wouldn't mind that much.

To run at least half a day on this thing is refreshing given the treacherously poor battery life of the Z10. Plus it has a removable slot for batteries and Micro SD card slot so you never have to worry about battery or storage. What's not to like?

All in all, I rank the S4 among the highest of this year's best phones, and I think with such phones around, BlackBerry is going to struggle a huge deal. It is really hard to beat such abundance even at this price point.

I believe blackberry uses swiftkey APIs on the z10 and all QNX OSes. So you are on familiar grounds.
If you ever go hardcore on customization, rooting and ROMs, you will never go back to anything else ;b

 

[Speedygi]

That's true, but with all the power of the better processors and the lure of a better ecosystem, the SwiftKey keyboard that you can install on a GS4 is a godsend as it is.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk