Choice Made! See #42 (was: how to choose between HTC One & SGS4 for android novice?)

[trina27]

The Google Experience phone is an i9505. Personally I recommend you buy one of these, either a normal one or Google Edition, because it means you don't have to bother with bootloader hacking and you don't have to worry about playing cat and mouse with carriers. Plus it'll be network unlocked and won't come with AT&T's bloatware and branding.

Thanks for all your answers.

I'd love to go ahead and get an unlocked i9505, but budget will not support. I can swing a subsidized phone from AT&T right now...especially thanks to the $100 they'll give me for my old iPhone 3GS (I'm keeping the 4S as a backup for now), but $600 or whatever for an unlocked is not possible at the moment.

 

[0dev]

Thanks for all your answers.

I'd love to go ahead and get an unlocked i9505, but budget will not support. I can swing a subsidized phone from AT&T right now...especially thanks to the $100 they'll give me for my old iPhone 3GS (I'm keeping the 4S as a backup for now), but $600 or whatever for an unlocked is not possible at the moment.

Shame, it's an awesome choice. But if you ain't got the money you ain't got the money I guess.

Do you get free upgrades on contract in the US?

 

[trina27]

Shame, it's an awesome choice. But if you ain't got the money you ain't got the money I guess.

Do you get free upgrades on contract in the US?

Well, not free. Every 18-24 months you are eligible to "upgrade." Which means they lock you to your contract for another 2 years and in return allow you to buy the phone for $199 instead of $599 no-contract price. So then with the trade-in deal they are offering right now I can hand over an old iPhone 3G that still works and get another $100 off.

So basically, buying a subsidized phone from AT&T right now, these are my choices:
SGS4 16gb = $199.99 - $100 = $99.99
SGS4 32gb = $249.99 - $100 = $149.99

or this week via Best Buy:
HTC One 32gb = $99.99 - $50 = $49.99


I haven't previously done the "buy your upgrade, sell it, buy desired unlocked phone" but it might be worth looking into. If prices are right, I could pick up the HTC One...if I love it, keep it...or sell it via Swappa to finance myself into the i9505 maybe? Guess I need to go look at current values and prices.

 

[2298754]

Well, not free. Every 18-24 months you are eligible to "upgrade." Which means they lock you to your contract for another 2 years and in return allow you to buy the phone for $199 instead of $599 no-contract price. So then with the trade-in deal they are offering right now I can hand over an old iPhone 3G that still works and get another $100 off.

So basically, buying a subsidized phone from AT&T right now, these are my choices:
SGS4 16gb = $199.99 - $100 = $99.99
SGS4 32gb = $249.99 - $100 = $149.99

or this week via Best Buy:
HTC One 32gb = $99.99 - $50 = $49.99


I haven't previously done the "buy your upgrade, sell it, buy desired unlocked phone" but it might be worth looking into. If prices are right, I could pick up the HTC One...if I love it, keep it...or sell it via Swappa to finance myself into the i9505 maybe? Guess I need to go look at current values and prices.

I'm not sure how much you sell/trade devices, but be careful of the One, if you plan to sell later.

I'm having a hard time trying to even get $450 for my One on CL. They're all going closer to $400 around here, which is crazy low. It's been up for over 2 weeks and haven't gotten one offer over $400. Mint. Box, everything.

The S4 is still over $500 easily.

Even if the One is cheaper up front, I don't think the future headache and poor value is worth it, if you want the GS4 later.

 

[0dev]

Well, not free. Every 18-24 months you are eligible to "upgrade." Which means they lock you to your contract for another 2 years and in return allow you to buy the phone for $199 instead of $599 no-contract price. So then with the trade-in deal they are offering right now I can hand over an old iPhone 3G that still works and get another $100 off.

So basically, buying a subsidized phone from AT&T right now, these are my choices:
SGS4 16gb = $199.99 - $100 = $99.99
SGS4 32gb = $249.99 - $100 = $149.99

or this week via Best Buy:
HTC One 32gb = $99.99 - $50 = $49.99


I haven't previously done the "buy your upgrade, sell it, buy desired unlocked phone" but it might be worth looking into. If prices are right, I could pick up the HTC One...if I love it, keep it...or sell it via Swappa to finance myself into the i9505 maybe? Guess I need to go look at current values and prices.

That's what I was thinking, sell the upgrade and use the $$$ to buy the unlocked i9505. A new in box GS4 will go for pretty much the same as the retail price. Take off the $99 cost and you've still got a decent budget to put forward for the unlocked version.

Seriously the GS4 hardware with official AOSP is a beautiful thing.

 

[trina27]

Maybe I'm just having a bad night searching, but are there really still so few 32gb models out there? Are there any shops to order from that will ship to the US?

 

[0dev]

Maybe I'm just having a bad night searching, but are there really still so few 32gb models out there? Are there any shops to order from that will ship to the US?

If you're talking about the S4, it doesn't matter with the microSD slot. I didn't even know there was a 32GB model.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I'm not sure how much you sell/trade devices, but be careful of the One, if you plan to sell later.

I'm having a hard time trying to even get $450 for my One on CL. They're all going closer to $400 around here, which is crazy low. It's been up for over 2 weeks and haven't gotten one offer over $400. Mint. Box, everything.

The S4 is still over $500 easily.

Even if the One is cheaper up front, I don't think the future headache and poor value is worth it, if you want the GS4 later.

I actually just sold my One yesterday and bought the S4. If you're having trouble with CL, try sites like Swappa or Cell Trader Online. With CTO, you're gonna have to jump through some hoops before you can post a for sale ad, but the community is great and there's a solid group of "veterans" that can spot scams from a mile away. It's very well-regulated.

FYI, I posted my One for sale at $500. I intentionally went high so I'd have some negotiating room to come down. You hit the nail on the head with what they're going for too...I sold mine for $465 and ended up making $451 after Paypal fees (CTO doesn't charge anything to sell or buy...Swappa has a $10 fee that's taken out of the payment when you sell a phone). Swappa also does an IMEI check when you're listing the phone to make sure it's not reported stolen. Just another level of security.

I ended up buying a 32gb S4 for $570. So, for about $120, I was able to get the S4 for much less than even the upgrade cost of a 16gb at $199. You just have to be patient and you can find the phone you want at a cost that's acceptable.

 

[2298754]

I actually just sold my One yesterday and bought the S4. If you're having trouble with CL, try sites like Swappa or Cell Trader Online.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna try Swappa out, even though I hate using Paypal. Thanks for the tip!

(also just found out you can check IMEIs on the site too, very cool!)

FYI, I posted my One for sale at $500. I intentionally went high so I'd have some negotiating room to come down.

I'm thinking of just listing it for $460, so I get $450 after the fee. Let's see what happens.

----------

If you're talking about the S4, it doesn't matter with the microSD slot. I didn't even know there was a 32GB model.

Yeah, AT&T and VZW sell it for $299.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna try Swappa out, even though I hate using Paypal. Thanks for the tip!

(also just found out you can check IMEIs on the site too, very cool!)



I'm thinking of just listing it for $460, so I get $450 after the fee. Let's see what happens.

No problem at all. Glad I could help!


Sent from my iPhone 5 on iOS 7

 

[0dev]

I really like Swappa as a concept, it's just a shame the UK site is a ghost town. Then again Swappa haven't even bothered to localise the site to the UK properly, it still shows all the US carriers and the UK homepage has prices in dollars.

 

[AppleRobert]

Thanks for all your answers.

I'd love to go ahead and get an unlocked i9505, but budget will not support. I can swing a subsidized phone from AT&T right now...especially thanks to the $100 they'll give me for my old iPhone 3GS (I'm keeping the 4S as a backup for now), but $600 or whatever for an unlocked is not possible at the moment.

You have the 4s. Is it under contract and do you use that for calls, text, etc?

The s4 is $549 at metro pcs, no contract. My friend got it yesterday.

 

[trina27]

You have the 4s. Is it under contract and do you use that for calls, text, etc?

The s4 is $549 at metro pcs, no contract. My friend got it yesterday.

Yeah, I inherited the 4s last week from a family member who switched to a W8 phone. It is still technically under contract for another 6 months. I was using the 3GS up until last week.

Does the MetroPCS version have an unlocked bootloader or is it locked like the AT&T version? I presume they only have the 16gb model too?

 

[Mattstkc]

Yeah, I inherited the 4s last week from a family member who switched to a W8 phone. It is still technically under contract for another 6 months. I was using the 3GS up until last week.

Is the 4S registered to your #? Per AT&T's unlocking policy if you upgrade YOUR device, your older device is eligible for unlock. Unlocked 4S's are going for $300ish on eBay. would give you some extra pocket cash, and maybe you'd splurge on the S4s wireless charging pad.

That's my plan at least, I'm upgrading soon from 4S to S4.

 

[trina27]

Is the 4S registered to your #? Per AT&T's unlocking policy if you upgrade YOUR device, your older device is eligible for unlock. Unlocked 4S's are going for $300ish on eBay. would give you some extra pocket cash, and maybe you'd splurge on the S4s wireless charging pad.

That's my plan at least, I'm upgrading soon from 4S to S4.

Hmm...it seems to be registered to me now. At least, if i log into my account it shows the iPhone 4S.

I haven't previously sold on ebay, but I might try swappa instead.

Still evaluating options...never made it to the store yesterday to compare signal strength of the phones right next to each other.

Also, is the SGS4 32gb model an exclusive of AT&T right now? If I do a switcheroo (upgrade, sell, buy unlocked) I'd prefer to buy a 32gb model.

 

[Mattstkc]

Hmm...it seems to be registered to me now. At least, if i log into my account it shows the iPhone 4S.

I haven't previously sold on ebay, but I might try swappa instead.

Still evaluating options...never made it to the store yesterday to compare signal strength of the phones right next to each other.

Also, is the SGS4 32gb model an exclusive of AT&T right now? If I do a switcheroo (upgrade, sell, buy unlocked) I'd prefer to buy a 32gb model.

verizon sells the 32GB as well. the most recent update allows you to install apps on the SD card. Not all apps, but allows you to free up space. A 32 gb micro sd card is just over $20 bucks, vs 100 more for the phone - http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobil..._3015433011_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373637061&sr=1-3

 

[trina27]

OK here's the update. Tonight I went by both Best Buy and AT&T. The signals each phone was pulling side by side were essentially identical. Like -82, -84. So in the end, the phone I bought was:




Samsung Galaxy S 4, 32gb model via AT&T. They gave me $100 trade in credit for a way, way, way old iPhone 3G (8gb) model that we had laying around too. So I paid $149.99 + tax. They "changed" my plan from the "unlimited for iphone" to the "unlimited for LTE" but otherwise my plan remained intact.


I honestly don't plan to root it or use loki or anything for now. I will use it for the next two weeks and make sure I want to keep it. Then I will go forward with unlocking the iPhone 4S and selling it. And then I will make a decision on whether to sell this and buy an i9505 or not.

Now, as for signal strength at my house. A moment ago the S4 was at -105 dBm on HSPDA:11 and just went to -114 dBm 26asu LTE:14.

The iPhone 4S for comparison was hanging out between -93 and -111 dBm.

As far as data at the house goes though...it will be on wifi unless the power is out. So as long as phone calls reliably come thru I'll be fine.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

OK here's the update. Tonight I went by both Best Buy and AT&T. The signals each phone was pulling side by side were essentially identical. Like -82, -84. So in the end, the phone I bought was:




Samsung Galaxy S 4, 32gb model via AT&T. They gave me $100 trade in credit for a way, way, way old iPhone 3G (8gb) model that we had laying around too. So I paid $149.99 + tax. They "changed" my plan from the "unlimited for iphone" to the "unlimited for LTE" but otherwise my plan remained intact.


I honestly don't plan to root it or use loki or anything for now. I will use it for the next two weeks and make sure I want to keep it. Then I will go forward with unlocking the iPhone 4S and selling it. And then I will make a decision on whether to sell this and buy an i9505 or not.

Now, as for signal strength at my house. A moment ago the S4 was at -105 dBm on HSPDA:11 and just went to -114 dBm 26asu LTE:14.

The iPhone 4S for comparison was hanging out between -93 and -111 dBm.

As far as data at the house goes though...it will be on wifi unless the power is out. So as long as phone calls reliably come thru I'll be fine.

Great choice. I just picked up a used 32gb S4 as well (it should be here Monday). I'm really looking forward to it, as my S3 was my favorite phone I've ever owned.

Like you, I'm also going to keep the i9505 in mind. The fact that it's more "open" than the AT&T version is a pretty big thing to me. The only downside is that you can only get it in the 16gb version. Other than that, if I can find a mint one for a good price, I'll probably pull the trigger.

 

[Southernboyj]

OK here's the update. Tonight I went by both Best Buy and AT&T. The signals each phone was pulling side by side were essentially identical. Like -82, -84. So in the end, the phone I bought was:




Samsung Galaxy S 4, 32gb model via AT&T. They gave me $100 trade in credit for a way, way, way old iPhone 3G (8gb) model that we had laying around too. So I paid $149.99 + tax. They "changed" my plan from the "unlimited for iphone" to the "unlimited for LTE" but otherwise my plan remained intact.


I honestly don't plan to root it or use loki or anything for now. I will use it for the next two weeks and make sure I want to keep it. Then I will go forward with unlocking the iPhone 4S and selling it. And then I will make a decision on whether to sell this and buy an i9505 or not.

Now, as for signal strength at my house. A moment ago the S4 was at -105 dBm on HSPDA:11 and just went to -114 dBm 26asu LTE:14.

The iPhone 4S for comparison was hanging out between -93 and -111 dBm.

As far as data at the house goes though...it will be on wifi unless the power is out. So as long as phone calls reliably come thru I'll be fine.

I went from a S4 to an HTC One then a month later.. back to the S4. They're both great.

 

[trina27]

Like you, I'm also going to keep the i9505 in mind. The fact that it's more "open" than the AT&T version is a pretty big thing to me. The only downside is that you can only get it in the 16gb version. Other than that, if I can find a mint one for a good price, I'll probably pull the trigger.

I'm hoping Samsung will start releasing some 32gb models besides AT&T ... either i9505's or GPE's. Alternately, isn't the T-Mobile version closer to the actual i9505 than the AT&T version? Thought I heard that the T-Mobile S4 is bootloader unlocked?

Anyway, I'll be with the AT&T S4 for now

 

[Fireblade]

Great choice trina.

I do have the 9505 with 16GB as it is the only one we get in my country here in Europe.
If I had the choice to get 16/32/64 GB, I would always get the 16 GB model, because it's much cheaper to fit in a 64 GB sdcard.
Another advantage of the sdcard, if I upgrade to another smartphone next year, I just have to swap card, an voila, everything stored on it is immediately there.

 

[0dev]

I'm hoping Samsung will start releasing some 32gb models besides AT&T ... either i9505's or GPE's. Alternately, isn't the T-Mobile version closer to the actual i9505 than the AT&T version? Thought I heard that the T-Mobile S4 is bootloader unlocked?

Anyway, I'll be with the AT&T S4 for now

Enjoy your phone!

AFAIK the T-Mobile varient in the US is the i9505. Look at the specs here, it says 1.9GHz Qualcomm, that's the i9505. But I expect it will be locked to T-Mobile's network. The bootloader will be unlocked though.