New Samsung Galaxy S4, White Frost 16GB (Verizon Wireless)
This is My Opinion About This Product
After I buy this New Samsung Galaxy S4, White Frost 16GB (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
*10/14/13 Still loving my Galaxy S4. My wife wanted to stay with Apple so I got her the 5S. Eh, S4 is better in my opinion :) Still not looking back. Sorry Apple, sorry iPhoners :)
*Mirroring the Pepsi/Coke 80's commercial, my daughter looked at the 5S and my phone; played with her app on both phones, then put my wife's phone down and continued with my phone. Since then, she has eyes for my phone only.*
*October News*
Verizon updated Android to 4.3
I've had an iPhone since 2009. When I watched the Apple conference to see the iPhone 5, I really wasn't impressed. a few years ago when I picked up my 4S and after the return date, I saw the GS3. I was very impressed with it however, I was hesitant with Android since my wife had a Droid Incredible 2 which died a little after a year when she got it. Talking with some people who have the GS3, they said that they loved it, it's easy to use, and Android has gotten better over the course of time. At that time, the Android market in my opinion seemed like a disaster. Apple did a nice job streamlining everything (app market, itunes etc). Every so often when I had to go to the Verizon store, I would be attracted to the GS3 floor model. Since my upgrade date was coming soon, I thought that it's time for Apple and I to go our separate ways, be just friends. "We were on a break!!!"
So to cut this short before I get hate mail for typing a long a$$ boring review; here goes:
I've been with Verizon Wireless since 2005. I also have Verizon FIOS (TV, Phone, Internet). Having FIOS is great since I don't use any minutes when calling home or when my wife calls me 5 times in a day on some occasions. The record amount of phone calls is held by her, yepp you guessed it, her mom hehe :) tell my wife and I'll deny it!
I was slightly hesitant to switching to a GS4 as I've read some reviews from Apple owners and claimed that the phone felt weird and they dropped the phone several times. "It's slippery," is what I heard. Well, I can say that's certainly not the case when I picked it up. Actually, it feels quite nice. People complain about the plastic (poly-carbonate casing) being a finger magnet but that's why they make cases for phones. Also, what phone has a anti-fingerprint casing? Eh, I don't care. The white casing really doesn't show many fingerprints and I have a silicon casing around it so, problem solved! The funny thing is that the casing I have on it, doesn't even have fingerprints on it, so there you go!
The screen is of gorrilla glass 3 technology. It's pretty strong but I would caution you to NOT raise the phone above your shoulders and say, "look the glass is indestructible." It will shatter, I saw it! No, it wasn't my phone. If you don't have a screen protector on the screen, yes you will see fingerprints; as other phones. The beauty of this phone allows you to put a really thick screen protector and you'll still be fine with it registering your points and clicks. Samsung actually says that you can still where gloves and it won't be a problem.
The screen is a thing of beauty! I know the iPhone 4S is older but the 5" AMOLED screen is gorgeous. I love the edge to edge screen. It seems the lock screen was changed. I remember the GS3 had what looked like a pond and if you tapped it to unlock your phone, it would show ripples. Sadly, it's not on the GS4. If anyone knows if it is available, please chime in.
I'm really really shocked at how light and thin this phone is. I would of thought that if I put this phone in my back jeans pocket, it would pull my pants down which would cause a national emergency. Nope! Contrary to popular belief, this phone is still small enough to fit in all jeans pockets and I didn't have a wardrobe malfunction. Those of you that were thinking and going to if if I did...PERV! ;-)
The battery is pretty good. I usually wouldn't be able to last a little more than a half day with my 4S. I love the fact that the battery is replaceable as the back cover does come off. My iPhones always seem to have battery issues after a little over a year of use. Well, this time, I can just buy a new battery! YAY! Under the back cover, you can replace the battery and add storage since that's where the micro sd card slot is located as well. Right now I have a 32GB micro SD card installed in my phone. You can only place photos, videos, and music on the card. No apps which is a shame. *Note* my battery was almost dead so at 9:05, I plugged it into my desktop computer and as of 11:30pm it's saying Charging 69%. Wow that battery is huge. It took my iPhone a little over an hour to be fully charged!
Many will probably call me dumb but I must say that this phone is FAST. Going to screen to screen, opening apps, camera, and the web browser (chrome comes preinstalled); most of the time, the phone is too fast for my fingers and brain. I literally have to move (and think) quicker just to be on the same page as my phone. It seems like it's laughing at me as I can't keep up with it. Kind of like a welcome to a Quad cored phone.
Coming from iOS, yes, I have a lot to learn and many tout that Android is more customization, I must say that I feel free. I'm not knocking iOS. It's a great OS. I'm really loving 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). The Play Store is easy to use and navigate. Funny though, there is a tab for APPS and a separate tab for Verizon in the Play Store.
The power button is located on the right side of the phone. I thought I would have trouble realizing that, thinking I still have my iPhone. Nope. It does require a little more pressure when you press down on it to turn on/off the phone. I actually like that since if my finger hits the power button accidentally, it doesn't shut the phone off or put it to sleep. The home button is on the bottom and at first I thought it was the speaker (don't laugh, I never owned a Galaxy phone before this one). It's a return home button. To the left of it, if your hand touches that spot, will illuminate a menu on the screen, and to the right, is the back button.
I love air view. Basically, you can hover your finger over email or a picture without putting your finger on the screen. You can also pick what to have running which is fantastic. You have to turn on air view as it's preloaded on the off position.
Verizon Wireless is fantastic. I was able to use my upgrade from my other line and since my line is about to be upgrade ready in 3 weeks, I can actually use that one and put it on the line I already used for upgrading. When the Samsung employee asked me to call Verizon to see if I can upgrade early, the Verizon Customer Service Rep told me that and he was very nice about it. I have to admit, their customer service reps are very nice and helpful. Verizon Wireless was charging $250 for this phone. To reach $199 you had to complete a mail-in-rebate form. I couldn't buy this phone on Amazon (wish I could of) since I had the upgrade question. I bought it at BB and they automatically applied the mail-in-rebate which was fantastic. I even had a %5 rewards certificate which the accepted. They couldn't take my 4S since I didn't buy it there but Verizon Wireless gladly took it and gave me a gift card ($177).
The speaker is on the back of the phone. I was listening to my music that I had on Amazon (Amazon App comes pre-loaded) and when I put the phone down to listen to it while I was in my "office," I couldn't hear anything and when I lifted the phone; there was my music. Eh, slight negative but I can live with it. The sound is not bad. Heck, I didn't buy this phone to play music all the time. It can be loud when at max volume. I'm new to Android and would love to learn all the bells and whistles if anyone knows a good website or book to read up on Android tips, secrets, shortcuts....
All in all, I love this phone. While, yes, it's not perfect since it can't tie my shoes; again, I'm loving it! I loved the iPhone but personally, it was getting kind of stale. This phone has opened me up to a whole new world. I'm new to Android but am looking forward to see how well it progressed and taking advantage of it, Samsung's skin- Sense, and the phone itself. Google Play is sooooo much better than what it was over a year ago.
By the way, on the back of the phone, there is a small Verizon emblem and on the lock screen it says "Verizon Wireless." If anyone cares lol. I like it. When people see it, they're like...oooooh Verizon Wireless :)
One person asked me if that was the S4 in my hand and I said yes. He said, "nice to see that you're not drinking the Apple kool-aid." :)
A co-worker saw my S4 and said, "you'll be back!"
If you can, buy the wireless "Nokia DT-900 Wireless Charging Plate - Retail Packaging - Black charger" but remember you have to buy the wireless backplate cover for the S4. For those who traded in their phone to get the S4, make sure you tell Verizon to put it on a gift card. If you have one-bill pay (you have Verizon Wireless, FIOS TV and Internet) you CANNOT use this giftcard to pay your ONE-BILL or VW bill. So what you can do is buy a SD card, the Nokia QI charger, and a backplate that supports wireless charging. I got $177 for my 4S and buying these extras still gives me $80 left on my gift card. Just an idea I'm throwing out. (No I don't own stock in Nokia, Verizon, or Samsung...or an employee of any of these)
====================================================================================================================================================================================================
Yes, I did look at the HTC One. The aluminum body is nice and the picture quality is nice but I'm not a fan of blink feed and you can't remove the battery or add a SD card (yes, Im well aware that the HTC One's size is 32GB and 64GB).
No, I DO NOT work for Samsung.
No, Apple DID NOT try to buy me to be silent
NO, I DO NOT work for Google
NO, I AM NOT a troll (but I do like to feed them!!!!)
===============================================================================
Update on Battery Charging:
My phone was fully charged a little past midnight. WOW!
Turned on my phone at 12pm; we ran errands, we went to a party, I used Foursquare, facebook, email, and texting- as of 11:06pm my battery is at 89%. By this time with my iPhone 4S, I would be about an hour from needing a charge.
I've had the phone for several months and I'm still loving it. With light usage I went 2 days without charging. With Slightly more usage, I got a little more than 1 1/2 days. Not bad.
* Playing games heavily hits the battery about the same as the iPhone 4S but light playing allows me to have a good amount of charge still left for at least 30-36 hrs. Very light usage; the battery will last about 2-3 days (including just being idle).
* Playing games for a few minutes and you'll notice that the back of the phone gets warm. It doesn't bother me as this phone is like a mini computer :)
*Playing a game of Uno (the free APP) : For a few minutes, the battery will discharge a lot. If you are playing for 10minutes or more the battery will not last the night.
*Mirroring the Pepsi/Coke 80's commercial, my daughter looked at the 5S and my phone; played with her app on both phones, then put my wife's phone down and continued with my phone. Since then, she has eyes for my phone only.*
*October News*
Verizon updated Android to 4.3
I've had an iPhone since 2009. When I watched the Apple conference to see the iPhone 5, I really wasn't impressed. a few years ago when I picked up my 4S and after the return date, I saw the GS3. I was very impressed with it however, I was hesitant with Android since my wife had a Droid Incredible 2 which died a little after a year when she got it. Talking with some people who have the GS3, they said that they loved it, it's easy to use, and Android has gotten better over the course of time. At that time, the Android market in my opinion seemed like a disaster. Apple did a nice job streamlining everything (app market, itunes etc). Every so often when I had to go to the Verizon store, I would be attracted to the GS3 floor model. Since my upgrade date was coming soon, I thought that it's time for Apple and I to go our separate ways, be just friends. "We were on a break!!!"
So to cut this short before I get hate mail for typing a long a$$ boring review; here goes:
I've been with Verizon Wireless since 2005. I also have Verizon FIOS (TV, Phone, Internet). Having FIOS is great since I don't use any minutes when calling home or when my wife calls me 5 times in a day on some occasions. The record amount of phone calls is held by her, yepp you guessed it, her mom hehe :) tell my wife and I'll deny it!
I was slightly hesitant to switching to a GS4 as I've read some reviews from Apple owners and claimed that the phone felt weird and they dropped the phone several times. "It's slippery," is what I heard. Well, I can say that's certainly not the case when I picked it up. Actually, it feels quite nice. People complain about the plastic (poly-carbonate casing) being a finger magnet but that's why they make cases for phones. Also, what phone has a anti-fingerprint casing? Eh, I don't care. The white casing really doesn't show many fingerprints and I have a silicon casing around it so, problem solved! The funny thing is that the casing I have on it, doesn't even have fingerprints on it, so there you go!
The screen is of gorrilla glass 3 technology. It's pretty strong but I would caution you to NOT raise the phone above your shoulders and say, "look the glass is indestructible." It will shatter, I saw it! No, it wasn't my phone. If you don't have a screen protector on the screen, yes you will see fingerprints; as other phones. The beauty of this phone allows you to put a really thick screen protector and you'll still be fine with it registering your points and clicks. Samsung actually says that you can still where gloves and it won't be a problem.
The screen is a thing of beauty! I know the iPhone 4S is older but the 5" AMOLED screen is gorgeous. I love the edge to edge screen. It seems the lock screen was changed. I remember the GS3 had what looked like a pond and if you tapped it to unlock your phone, it would show ripples. Sadly, it's not on the GS4. If anyone knows if it is available, please chime in.
I'm really really shocked at how light and thin this phone is. I would of thought that if I put this phone in my back jeans pocket, it would pull my pants down which would cause a national emergency. Nope! Contrary to popular belief, this phone is still small enough to fit in all jeans pockets and I didn't have a wardrobe malfunction. Those of you that were thinking and going to if if I did...PERV! ;-)
The battery is pretty good. I usually wouldn't be able to last a little more than a half day with my 4S. I love the fact that the battery is replaceable as the back cover does come off. My iPhones always seem to have battery issues after a little over a year of use. Well, this time, I can just buy a new battery! YAY! Under the back cover, you can replace the battery and add storage since that's where the micro sd card slot is located as well. Right now I have a 32GB micro SD card installed in my phone. You can only place photos, videos, and music on the card. No apps which is a shame. *Note* my battery was almost dead so at 9:05, I plugged it into my desktop computer and as of 11:30pm it's saying Charging 69%. Wow that battery is huge. It took my iPhone a little over an hour to be fully charged!
Many will probably call me dumb but I must say that this phone is FAST. Going to screen to screen, opening apps, camera, and the web browser (chrome comes preinstalled); most of the time, the phone is too fast for my fingers and brain. I literally have to move (and think) quicker just to be on the same page as my phone. It seems like it's laughing at me as I can't keep up with it. Kind of like a welcome to a Quad cored phone.
Coming from iOS, yes, I have a lot to learn and many tout that Android is more customization, I must say that I feel free. I'm not knocking iOS. It's a great OS. I'm really loving 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). The Play Store is easy to use and navigate. Funny though, there is a tab for APPS and a separate tab for Verizon in the Play Store.
The power button is located on the right side of the phone. I thought I would have trouble realizing that, thinking I still have my iPhone. Nope. It does require a little more pressure when you press down on it to turn on/off the phone. I actually like that since if my finger hits the power button accidentally, it doesn't shut the phone off or put it to sleep. The home button is on the bottom and at first I thought it was the speaker (don't laugh, I never owned a Galaxy phone before this one). It's a return home button. To the left of it, if your hand touches that spot, will illuminate a menu on the screen, and to the right, is the back button.
I love air view. Basically, you can hover your finger over email or a picture without putting your finger on the screen. You can also pick what to have running which is fantastic. You have to turn on air view as it's preloaded on the off position.
Verizon Wireless is fantastic. I was able to use my upgrade from my other line and since my line is about to be upgrade ready in 3 weeks, I can actually use that one and put it on the line I already used for upgrading. When the Samsung employee asked me to call Verizon to see if I can upgrade early, the Verizon Customer Service Rep told me that and he was very nice about it. I have to admit, their customer service reps are very nice and helpful. Verizon Wireless was charging $250 for this phone. To reach $199 you had to complete a mail-in-rebate form. I couldn't buy this phone on Amazon (wish I could of) since I had the upgrade question. I bought it at BB and they automatically applied the mail-in-rebate which was fantastic. I even had a %5 rewards certificate which the accepted. They couldn't take my 4S since I didn't buy it there but Verizon Wireless gladly took it and gave me a gift card ($177).
The speaker is on the back of the phone. I was listening to my music that I had on Amazon (Amazon App comes pre-loaded) and when I put the phone down to listen to it while I was in my "office," I couldn't hear anything and when I lifted the phone; there was my music. Eh, slight negative but I can live with it. The sound is not bad. Heck, I didn't buy this phone to play music all the time. It can be loud when at max volume. I'm new to Android and would love to learn all the bells and whistles if anyone knows a good website or book to read up on Android tips, secrets, shortcuts....
All in all, I love this phone. While, yes, it's not perfect since it can't tie my shoes; again, I'm loving it! I loved the iPhone but personally, it was getting kind of stale. This phone has opened me up to a whole new world. I'm new to Android but am looking forward to see how well it progressed and taking advantage of it, Samsung's skin- Sense, and the phone itself. Google Play is sooooo much better than what it was over a year ago.
By the way, on the back of the phone, there is a small Verizon emblem and on the lock screen it says "Verizon Wireless." If anyone cares lol. I like it. When people see it, they're like...oooooh Verizon Wireless :)
One person asked me if that was the S4 in my hand and I said yes. He said, "nice to see that you're not drinking the Apple kool-aid." :)
A co-worker saw my S4 and said, "you'll be back!"
If you can, buy the wireless "Nokia DT-900 Wireless Charging Plate - Retail Packaging - Black charger" but remember you have to buy the wireless backplate cover for the S4. For those who traded in their phone to get the S4, make sure you tell Verizon to put it on a gift card. If you have one-bill pay (you have Verizon Wireless, FIOS TV and Internet) you CANNOT use this giftcard to pay your ONE-BILL or VW bill. So what you can do is buy a SD card, the Nokia QI charger, and a backplate that supports wireless charging. I got $177 for my 4S and buying these extras still gives me $80 left on my gift card. Just an idea I'm throwing out. (No I don't own stock in Nokia, Verizon, or Samsung...or an employee of any of these)
====================================================================================================================================================================================================
Yes, I did look at the HTC One. The aluminum body is nice and the picture quality is nice but I'm not a fan of blink feed and you can't remove the battery or add a SD card (yes, Im well aware that the HTC One's size is 32GB and 64GB).
No, I DO NOT work for Samsung.
No, Apple DID NOT try to buy me to be silent
NO, I DO NOT work for Google
NO, I AM NOT a troll (but I do like to feed them!!!!)
===============================================================================
Update on Battery Charging:
My phone was fully charged a little past midnight. WOW!
Turned on my phone at 12pm; we ran errands, we went to a party, I used Foursquare, facebook, email, and texting- as of 11:06pm my battery is at 89%. By this time with my iPhone 4S, I would be about an hour from needing a charge.
I've had the phone for several months and I'm still loving it. With light usage I went 2 days without charging. With Slightly more usage, I got a little more than 1 1/2 days. Not bad.
* Playing games heavily hits the battery about the same as the iPhone 4S but light playing allows me to have a good amount of charge still left for at least 30-36 hrs. Very light usage; the battery will last about 2-3 days (including just being idle).
* Playing games for a few minutes and you'll notice that the back of the phone gets warm. It doesn't bother me as this phone is like a mini computer :)
*Playing a game of Uno (the free APP) : For a few minutes, the battery will discharge a lot. If you are playing for 10minutes or more the battery will not last the night.
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