$649 GS4-Google Ed. vs. $199 carrier subsidized?

[6sigma]

I'm considering three phones: Nexus 4, GS4 Google Edition or a carrier-subsidized GS4 that can be rooted. Three questions:

1. How close can I get to "stock Android" with rooting & ROM?
2. What are the pros & cons between GS4-Google Edition vs. (rooted) GS4?
3. If rooting is an option, is one carrier's offering easier/better than another for rooting?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[Edit: FYI, out of contract Sprint user with an EVO 3D still learning!]

 

[Campos Jr]

I would go with the carrier one because you can root it and run stock android if you like. and i have the tmobile gs4 it was very simple root and flash of cwm since bootloader is already unlocked...

 

[benhmadison]

I'm considering three phones: Nexus 4, GS4 Google Edition or a carrier-subsidized GS4 that can be rooted. Three questions:

1. How close can I get to "stock Android" with rooting & ROM?
2. What are the pros & cons between GS4-Google Edition vs. (rooted) GS4?
3. If rooting is an option, is one carrier's offering easier/better than another for rooting?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[Edit: FYI, out of contract Sprint user with an EVO 3D still learning!]

With our talented developers in the android community I am already running the Google edition ROM on my AT&T S4. To answer your question you can get the exact same experience on a carrier version by rooting and flashing a custom rom.

Sent from my GS4 running the Google Edition Rom

 

[Gurchetan Singh]

Can you tell me how to instaal google edtion rom on at&t s4...

 

[sqa4life]

With our talented developers in the android community I am already running the Google edition ROM on my AT&T S4. To answer your question you can get the exact same experience on a carrier version by rooting and flashing a custom rom.

Sent from my GS4 running the Google Edition Rom

I tried the Google edition ROM, it was smooth but missing alot of stock features. I downloaded the version v3

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[aandrew610]

I say get the carrier version and run a hybrid stock rom with a few tw features (camera Ect)

sent from my galaxy s4

 

[Aquila]

If you want to just get close to the look and feel, but still want the features you're buying, a custom launcher alone does the trick for many people still on the fence about whether or not to destroy that warranty. Nova Launcher Prime and Apex Launcher are two very popular ones that are easy for people to use and offer a lot of customization options. These do not require root, etc.