Database Develop

Initial 24 hour review

I first want to say that over the years i've had the resource of XDA to let me get the most out of my phones and really appreciate everyone on the site. I'm a huge phone nerd and have owned the following to give some perspective.
HTC EVO 4g
HTC EVO 3D
Samsung Galaxy 2 (Epic 4g Touch)
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
HTC EVO 4g LTE
Samsung Galaxy S3
Apple Iphone 5
and so Ive been on both sides of the HTC v. Samsung war and even tried the iphone(2 weeks and couldnt stand it)each time I try a HTC I come rushing back to the galaxy series. Now that I have the S4 and decided not to even try the One. I decided to write a quick review after the inital 24 hour period.
Got the phone at BB simply due to the amount they were giving me for the S3($250), got the phone and right out of the gate did a factory reset, set the phone up and disabled/removed all the bloatware I could(granted not that much). The build quality is something that is not given its fair due because it still is plastic, but it is a solid high quality phone and rivals any phone ive held.
The screen is hands down the best ive seen including the LCD used in the HTC's and the Iphone. With all the new features and sensors the phone does almost anything you can think of like waking up when the sensors realize you are reaching for the phone! Also another cool thing is controlling my Direct TV or TV with my phone!
The sound quality is much improved over the S3 and I bring this up mainly in terms of bluetooth streaming, bringing back all the gestures the music player is VERY nice.
The 4.2.2 menus do take a little to get used to and this is coming from a touchwiz user for years, but make the experience much more streamlined once you get familiar.
Nothing I have thrown at the phone yet has even slowed it down, from syncing all of my accounts, playing music and browsing the phone all at the same time the phone just keeps chugging along. Which even makes the S3 look slow.
Now on to what has reall impressed me so far and thats the battery life, I charged the phone fully while powered off once i got the phone and trying to run the battery down to allow me to do another full charge has proved to be a chore. With HEAVY wifi, screen time and app use and standby overnight im still at 36% battery!!
All in all i know its only the first day of owning the phone, but i couldnt be any happier or impressed. The hard part is waiting for accesories to come out.
But for anyone on the fence or not sure I would say take the plunge you won't be disappointed, and you will have the best phone out!

Good stuff. Yes, I agree. Some of the gesture features are actually quite awesome....and I've never been a big fan of gestures. But the wake up by reaching towards the phone feature is awesome. I used it twice (unfortunately) last night when I woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to know what time it was.
And yes, the battery life is fantastic. On the first couple of charges, I averaged about 4 hours of screen on time and that's also accounting for me being in a weak 3g area and leaving my mobile data on (for testing purposes).

I also want to add(it won't let me edit my original post) is that i usually always HAVE TERRIBLE service at work and since ive had this phone can actually make and receive calls and texts. And while around town data has been MUCH improved, streaming pandora is no longer something I could only dream of but a reality(with the high quality audio enabled). Browsing the web has been much quicker.
If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

i dont have the phone yet...im still debating if its much of an upgrade frkm the s3....but i do wanna know if it has the feature where u can be on the phone and can browse the net at the same time (s3 has this feature)...tia...
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for the review. I have the note 2 so I'm debating to get the s4 or wait for note 3. Any dislikes on the s4?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

musclehead84 said:
Thanks for the review. I have the note 2 so I'm debating to get the s4 or wait for note 3. Any dislikes on the s4?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing yet, though I'm coming from the E4GT so of course it seems a lot better.

It does not have this for 3g, but i have been able to do so while on wifi and have read it is capable while on LTE.
The s3 did do this while on 3g, this might be the only thing ive noticed that the s3 has the ability to do but not the s4.

No i have no dislikes so far for the s4, i think the 5in screen on the s4 is perfect. Ive messed around with the note2 and just not my cup of tea...but in regards to the s4 it has better specs than the note2 while still having a big screen.

musclehead84 said:
Thanks for the review. I have the note 2 so I'm debating to get the s4 or wait for note 3. Any dislikes on the s4?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok.....I'll bite.
#1 --> Price is too high. Note 2 premiered at this price but is larger and has a digitizer (Phablet). Way overpriced in my opinion compared to other new devices (at least on Sprint).
Coming from the S3, I find the build for the S4 very cheap feeling. It has a bit of a "hollow" sound to it. Also do not like the body style compared to the S3. It is boxier, more like the iphone5 with the chrome ring around it, and doesn't feel as good in my hand. When putting it to my ear it digs in a bit and not comfortable. I would rather see the power button back on top and not stick out so much. Last thing for now is how the camera sticks out (unlike the S3) and the phone sits right down on it.
Once I get a good case for it a lot of these gripes will disappear for me. However, for the cost of the device I was hoping for more.
There are far more positives than negatives but you didn't ask for those.
Do I think it is a worthwhile upgrade from the S3? Only if you have an upgrade to burn or upgrade every time a new phone comes out. Otherwise, an S3 with the right custom rom and tweaks gives a pretty good experience.
My $0.02.

Op.. you said that BB gave you $250 for the S3? How does that work if you don't mind me asking. Do they offer some type of trade in deal or was your contact up? I still have a year to go but the HTC one and the S4 seem very interesting
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

musclehead84 said:
Thanks for the review. I have the note 2 so I'm debating to get the s4 or wait for note 3. Any dislikes on the s4?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only dislike is how slippery the battery cover is. Coming from the E4GT I got used to the textured battery cover. Its nothing a good case wouldn't fix
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

http://www.bestbuytradein.com/bb/QuoteCalculator.cfm?category=mobile-phones
Find your phone on there and print the value off(just in case they try to hassel you) but take the phone in with the charger and anything you have like box or anything(just to ensure you get the highest value)
if you are not out of contract you might want to swap an old phone on your line so the One is not tied to the account. but my S3 was on my line and I didnt have an issue, but they put the value of the phone on a giftcard and then use that gift card towards the s4.
They buy back alot of stuff, i had a couple ps3 games and what not, but just find the value and go to a store.

New Nexus 5 owner's experiences

Hello everyone!
I am new on this Nexus 5 subforum, but maybe a few people recognize me from the Nexus 4 subforum.
My Android adventure started with the HTC ChaCha which was a fun, little phone, but nothing in comparison with the Nexus 4 I got after it. I was very impressed and it convinced me of Android's power and functionality. Now today I started using my new Nexus 5 and I might share some experiences I will have with it.
So far, I'm overall quiet happy with the build quality. I can't say it's perfect and I don't get why the USB charging cable that comes with it by design scrapes the unit, but it's not a very big issue. (Still I don't get why LG designed it like this, you buy a new device and right away it gets damaged by it's own charging cable) The back feels nice, soft and it doesn't feel Samsung cheap. Power button and volume button could have had a bit tighter fit. And the front camera is not perfectly centered. In person the camera and letters on the back are actually pretty nice. But the ring around the camera collects dust immediately.
Photo quality is good enough for a mobile phone for me. For real photos I use my dedicated camera and I would do the same if the pictures were better. (iPhone-like)
Sound is not as bad as I expected. The little speaker actually goes pretty loud, but with a very slight hint of distortion. (Emphasis: very slight, almost non-exist)
I haven't made any calls with it yet, but I will add this later. The call quality of the Nexus 4 is one of the reasons I upgraded. The buzz(!) and overall not very impressive.
Battery life is the other reason and I hope I will not be too disappointed. But the rumors of the Moto X + 1 having a ridiculously large screen pushed me over the edge.
The build quality is not perfect. There are little imperfections, but it's to be expected at this price point and the unit doesn't feel cheap when using it. Vibration feels/sounds a bit odd to me, but it's not bad per se.
Other new Nexus 5 owners are welcome to share their experiences in this thread as well.
If the rumours aren't true, then my preference for the next Nexus phone would be to have HTC as manufacturer. Second choice: Sony.
Nexus phone made of aluminium and with stereo front speakers? Yes, please. But please leave the ultrapixels for the HTC premium phones, lol!

Who would have ever thought a mobile phone review would include 'I'm yet to call anyone yet'

How many people have done "reviews" what's the point personally I think its just more crap cluttering up actual info.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I don't see this as a review, just my personal experiences with this 'nice' phone I wanted to share.

Thanks for the write up. Unfortunately, there's a lot of this stuff floating about and it doesn't really help or add anything to a developers forum.
Hope you enjoy your phone though
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I didn't read these things directly here myself. Developers are users of this phone as well, so I thought it was appropriate.
Obviously this hasn't anything to do with the software/performance of the phone.

It's really irrelevant to anything as it's nothing more than opinion which those who own the phone don't care about. It contributes nothing but more clutter.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Okay, feel free to remove it.

Congratz on your Nexus5! Happy Flashing!!

Congratulations on your new Nexus 5, it truly is a great device, but this type of thread is not needed for a device that has been released for a length of time.
Thread Closed.
-El Daddy

Edge is it worth it?

Hey everyone.
I love Samsung and I love iPhone. Spent years playing about with roms on previous galaxy devices and just as much jail breaking iPhones so I'm not a real Apple boff just here to ask a question designed to bring down the edge over my iPhone 6.
I love the look of the edge and I've been thinking of trading in my iPhone 6 or one but I'm hearing so much about problems with screen, battery and other little niggly problems so I'm beginning to question would the trade be worth it?
Just looking for user experience preferably from someone who has both devices. I'm attracted to the edge specs and possible great battery life. I love my iPhone so need to feel the trade will make my smartphone experience even better! Thanks
Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

That is a 100% subjective question. No one can answer that except you...
There are always pro and con.

Agreed, it is subjective. My battery life has been good, but I wouldn't say awesome. Compared to my HTC M7 it's roughly the same. I can get through the day and not have to charge until bed.
The plusses for me, screen is awesome, camera is great, phone is really fast.
Cons, no root, yet, if at all, but I knew that coming in and am ok with that.
Your milage may vary, and hope my input helps.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app

I came from an HTC One M7 which was the best smartphone i had ever bought to that point. Now using the Galaxy S6 Edge this is my new favorite smartphone ever and I have had most of the flagships over the years. I had an iPhone for a short while as well and the camera on this thing is amazing, I had zero issues with screen or any other defects, and battery life has been really solid for me as well. And the speaker is super loud

note 4 or OPT?

Looking at getting one of these phones but not sure which route to go. They are about the same price, in the right range for me, I will be using t mobile. What are any drawbacks you have found with the note 4? I feel like the OPT has a community behind it, so will be seeing a wider variety of roms etc. For the upcoming MM update. I really want the OPT but, a few problems keep me eyeballing the note 4 like no fast charging, USB c(super minor) and just the fact I feel more comfortable with Samsung or devs here making good impovements to the note 4 for some time. Now on to the note 4, mostly I'm just weary after MM, support for this device will be less and less even here and it will be and old paperweight before I turn around. Please any input and opinions to help my decision thank you P.S. please add your experience with different custom roms and the pros/cons as I would like to know this as well.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 8, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Best phone yet - Gawd I missed the S-Pen

Best phone......... ever.........

Love mine from day one. 5 stars in my opinion.

Just like you all, I too am enjoying this device more then any phone I've ever had
Sent from my SM-N950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

For those of you who already own this phone..
Did you upgrade from a GN4?
Is it THAT much better?
Are you rooted, or stock?
Thanks.
Debating on whether to take the plunge or wait it out.

papabear said:
For those of you who already own this phone..
Did you upgrade from a GN4?
Is it THAT much better?
Are you rooted, or stock?
Thanks.
Debating on whether to take the plunge or wait it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from the Note 4 to S7 Edge. I couldn't be happier with my Note 8. It is by far the best device I've ever owned. Display, Battery Life, etc. There is absolutely no reason for me to root this device. Being able to use Substratum Swift Black theme, Adguard, and Package Disabler Pro, what else is there.

I thought the note 7 was the best phone I've ever owned. Then I bought the s8+. I was very pleased by the phone's esthetics. It was a beautiful phone, but after jumping to the note 8. I have to say Samsung hit it out of the ball park with this one. Not only is it is beautiful phone to look at but the performance is amazing. I thought that 2 extra gigs wasn't going to make a difference but I was wrong. With the extra 2 gigs and the software upgrade it definitely the best phone to date. ☺
Sent from my SM-N950U1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Still getting used to it, but it's a nice phone for sure. So much to do and getting addicted to the S-Pen and all it can do. Really digging some of the colorbook apps. Has without question the best screen to date I've used.
With that said, loved my Mate 9 and easily my favorite phone of all time and I've had every flag ship phone known to date . Just sold it and man do I already miss key things....like the battery life! That phone was an absolute beast! That and the form factor.
Again, it's only been a short while with the n8 and I am sure this will grow on me saving any silly situations. Hoping the battery life gets better for sure.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Note 1 to note 4.Went to lg v20. I felt missing something in my daily life until I used note 8.

The Samsung Note 8 is the Swiss Army knife of phones: just a beautiful, feature-packed monstrosity of fun and functionality. I purchased mine from Samsung Direct and received a $300 discount for trading in my trusty LG G4 and got a free Gear 360 to boot. I have an LG V20 to cover the wide angle thing while my Note's dual camera set up nicely covers the zoom shots. This is just an all around great piece of technology and I'm so glad I purchased it. Hats off to Samsung.

As for me, I love my Note 8. I have read complaints about the fingerprint scanner, but it's been fine for me ( I dont have small dainty hands - lol). People need to understand there is no perfect phone - there will always be complaints). Sure, the Note 9 is out, and it may incrementally be more powerful, but for the money, it's hard to beat the Note 8. And, yes, I use the S-pen a lot (again, I don't have dainty hands). I admit to being a little biased because I have used various iterations of the Note family, but for me, it's been the one phone that has done well for me #teamgalaxy