Galaxy S4

[Fernandez21]

Nice may have to pick one up this weekend. Mupen 64 gives me terrible lag with Mario Kart 64. I tried playing with the settings which only made it worse. Hows it been running for you? Gnes works great for me though

Some games work fine, like Mario 64, others like conkers bad fur day are unplayable. Mario kart seems to work on for me, not laggy but does skip a couple frames here and there.

I'm torn right now on which emulator to use, with mupen I get full use of the controller while N64oid runs games much better but I can't use l2, r2, and the second analog stick so I'm having a hard time finding a good way to remap the L and C buttons.

 

[Vegastouch]

Like I said in an earlier post Couch, the lag seems to be very varied between handsets. Over on XDA there are people using words like 'horrible', 'unusable', 'laggy disappointment' and 'abhorrent'. Now they might just be uber sensitive to one or two little stutters here and there, or they might have handsets that are really bad.

I bought one on launch day and like I mentioned in an earlier post, it occasionally skips a frame when returning to home screen from an app, or sometimes when unlocking the screen - but it is quite literally just a tiny one frame stutter. If you weren't looking for it you probably wouldn't even notice.

I installed Nova launcher first thing out the box (mainly just because I don't like the TW launcher), and I really don't have any complaints about it. Yeah, it would be nice of the occasional stutter didn't occur, but it's certainly not ruining my experience of the S4.

I'm looking forward to the custom Roms though. Not the AOSP/AOKP ones mind you, mainly because I like a lot of the features that TW has (the pulldown toggles are far better than the stock Android ones IMO), but I think a slimmed down TW rom with bloatware removed would be a great thing to have.

EDIT: I haven't experienced any of what I would call 'lag' either. On a hardware front the phone is lightning quick.

Couch will notice it,...lol he is probably the pickiest person here when it comes to gadgets. Unless it is really bad , it probably wouldnt bother me and why i wanted to see a video of this lag.

 

[gmanist1000]

Thanks... I'll be here every saturday

It's Saturday! Are you here?

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I dont use the Touchwiz launcher or any of the Samsung services anyways so i wont miss anything. The only Samsung service ive used is their app store but i dont need to. I can get anything from Googles playstore.

Samsungs extras arent any use to me. I dont need Chat On, TalkBack, S Voice or S Suggest when i have WhatsApp, my own SMS and Facebook and Google Now.
Most of all SS's extras will be turned off and the same will be the case if i had a HTC One ....if it can be turned off. I will be using the gestures though.

Sounds like everyone who has a GS4 will never use these

 

[Sdahe]

It's Saturday! Are you here?

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Sounds like everyone who has a GS4 will never use these

Yes... I'm here!!! How can I entertain you?

 

[Tulani]

Is the back cover still an issue regards quality?

 

[Vegastouch]

It's Saturday! Are you here?

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Sounds like everyone who has a GS4 will never use these

Not those anyways. All they are are SMS apps and Google Now is far and away better than S Voice. Isnt like those are big selling points to the GS4 or the GS3.

I will use the gestures and i use NFC and all the other things they show.

 

[daveathall]

What is lag?

I ask this because I am sure there are different definitions and I'm not really sure. Is it a gap between tapping an app and the app opening? Is it when scrolling, the screen doesn't react with ones finger instantaneously? Or is it something else?

If it is either of these then TBH, I don't see any noticeable lag with my device. Scrolling is very smooth, when I tap an app, it goes straight into opening it.

I have Nova launcher (I prefer it) and set the preferences so that the dock is hidden, to reveal I double tap the screen, the only time I see a jerkiness is when I double tap, it happens every time, but TBH, it doesn't really bother me.

Again, I ask this question because I don't know the answer, not to engage in an argument.

 

[MRU]

What is lag?

I ask this because I am sure there are different definitions and I'm not really sure. Is it a gap between tapping an app and the app opening? Is it when scrolling, the screen doesn't react with ones finger instantaneously? Or is it something else?

If it is either of these then TBH, I don't see any noticeable lag with my device. Scrolling is very smooth, when I tap an app, it goes straight into opening it.

I have Nova launcher (I prefer it) and set the preferences so that the dock is hidden, to reveal I double tap the screen, the only time I see a jerkiness is when I double tap, it happens every time, but TBH, it doesn't really bother me.

Again, I ask this question because I don't know the answer, not to engage in an argument.

Easy answer to this Dave is -

Relaunch back into touchwiz, Re-enable the device back to as it comes out of the box and as Samsung intended - so all those apps you disabled, enable them and and enable all the air view, gesture, smart scroll, stay S-features....

You'll then be able to see what is generally meant by lag.

What you have done is with Nova and disabling of certain apps and services mitigates the issue quite significantly so its not really a direct comparison to say mine doesn't lag - because your not really running the device as Samsung intended or the majority of people using the device will be utilising it out of the box.

What you have done to streamline the handsets software - is basically what Samsung should have done themselves.

But at least with Android it is possible to disable those things and use an alternative launcher - the question then becomes "with those features disabled, and with different launcher on board, why choose this handset over any other ? ". For many people they will be buying the phone for those features and for Samsung's OS - so yeah it is disappointing that they haven't optimised it better.

 

[Sdahe]

Easy answer to this Dave is -

Relaunch back into touchwiz, Re-enable the device back to as it comes out of the box and as Samsung intended - so all those apps you disabled, enable them and and enable all the air view, gesture, smart scroll, stay S-features....

You'll then be able to see what is generally meant by lag.

Hahahahhaha... That was really funny!!!

 

[daveathall]

Easy answer to this Dave is -

Relaunch back into touchwiz, Re-enable the device back to as it comes out of the box and as Samsung intended - so all those apps you disabled, enable them and and enable all the air view, gesture, smart scroll, stay S-features....

You'll then be able to see what is generally meant by lag.

What you have done is with Nova and disabling of certain apps and services mitigates the issue quite significantly so its not really a direct comparison to say mine doesn't lag - because your not really running the device as Samsung intended or the majority of people using the device will be utilising it.

What you have done to streamline the handsets software - is basically what Samsung should have done themselves.

Ahh, got ya, I will take your word for it my friend, it took me an age to set it how I want it, although I quite enjoyed it, I dont fancy doing it again , I have Nova on my Nexus 4 and quite enjoy it so sort of transferred a lot of settings that I am comfortable with, across to my S4.

 

[Vegastouch]

Easy answer to this Dave is -

Relaunch back into touchwiz, Re-enable the device back to as it comes out of the box and as Samsung intended - so all those apps you disabled, enable them and and enable all the air view, gesture, smart scroll, stay S-features....

You'll then be able to see what is generally meant by lag.

What you have done is with Nova and disabling of certain apps and services mitigates the issue quite significantly so its not really a direct comparison to say mine doesn't lag - because your not really running the device as Samsung intended or the majority of people using the device will be utilising it out of the box.

What you have done to streamline the handsets software - is basically what Samsung should have done themselves.

But at least with Android it is possible to disable those things and use an alternative launcher - the question then becomes "with those features disabled, and with different launcher on board, why choose this handset over any other ? ". For many people they will be buying the phone for those features and for Samsung's OS - so yeah it is disappointing that they haven't optimised it better.

If they really intended it to be that way, id think they wouldnt give you the option to disable their services.

Having options is always a good thing I also read that the eye scrolling doesnt work with Chrome.

 

[MRU]

Ahh, got ya, I will take your word for it my friend, it took me an age to set it how I want it, although I quite enjoyed it, I dont fancy doing it again , I have Nova on my Nexus 4 and quite enjoy it so sort of transferred a lot of settings that I am comfortable with, across to my S4.

Lol, yeah well I basically set mine up like yours like I say once I did it was little micro stutters now and then only.

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If they really intended it to be that way, id think they wouldnt give you the option to disable their services.

Having options is always a good thing I also read that the eye scrolling doesnt work with Chrome.

Technically for the majority of stuff they don't give you the option out of the box.

To disable a lot of their stuff you need to root the device, therefore there is a lot of the stuff (software and services) they did not want you disabling .....

 

[HishamAkhtar]

I looked at the S4 today and the screen looks bad to me on the default settings. Those colors are yucky. Movie mode looks just as good as IPS to me, with the added benefit of having true blacks.

I thought it felt great in my hand. I disagree with the reviews saying the build feels cheap.

The S4 was very laggy. Every single app I opened hesitated before launching. Several times I tapped an icon twice before the app would launch, because I thought it didn't register my tap, and then I could tell it was dropping frames when launching the apps.

I still prefer stock Android over TouchWiz. I don't like anything at all about the UI, and replacing the launcher isn't enough to fix the things I dislike about it. It still looks like an ugly adaptation of Gingerbread.

I might just try the Nexus 4 again to hold me over until the Nexus 5. I looked at the One but I found the button placement for home, volume, and power annoying enough to skip it.

Agreed about the lag. I noticed I had to push everything 2-3 times before the phone registered what I wanted. Bizarre.

 

[ajumbaje]

The spigen one looks cool. I'm hoping someone that has the protective cover+ has gotten a screen cover to work because some cases will start to lift up the screen since that cover has a front lip. I know there won't be the issue with the spigen since it doesn't come out front

 

[Sylon]

The lag doesn't really bother me. It's a phone, I've come to get used to it. My Nexus 4 had a stutter on occasion, hell so did my iPhone 4S. Not as much as the GS4, but it's not bothersome to me. As long as it doesn't get ridiculously slow like what iOS 4 did to my iPhone 3G, we're good.

 

[onthecouchagain]

The only thing I'm truly jealous about with the S4 is the camera.

The HTC One camera has yet to really impress me. Even low light shots aren't that impressive. And certainly not worth the tradeoff. I mean, what's the point if it's going to be so grainy?

Really wish HTC went with a traditional 13MP camera. They really didn't need to do this Ultrapixel thing...

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Here's an example of a low lit shot. This area on my desk, despite the picture, is very low lit. So it's neat we can see the camera catching so much of what little light there is. Great, right?

Except it's so damn grainy that the trade off just isn't worth it:

 

[The Game 161]

Guys is the stock browser the only way you can use smart scroll?

 

[onthecouchagain]

Here's one more. It begs the question, why not just use flash?

 

[MRU]

Here's one more. It begs the question, why not just use flash?

Image

Google doesn't support flash in JB anymore... Oh wait, wrong flash !!!

Ok I'm out of here

Damn wrong flash again.........



But yeah. I wouldn't take a photo in a place without light so lowlight performance isn't anything I'm bothered about. I too would have preferred HTC to have stuck an 8+ MP lens in there instead.

I suspect they were aiming for the folks that take pics of themselves out in the bars / nightlife and upload them to Facebook the following day. For that purpose I can understand the market (and judging by my Facebook friends posts there are a lot of bar/club/night time party people out there) just I'm not one of them.

 

[The Game 161]

another question folks

can you get an excel document onto the S4 like a work rota for example that can be sent in an e-mail?

 

[MRU]

another question folks

can you get an excel document onto the S4 like a work rota for example that can be sent in an e-mail?

You mean to edit it on the S4 or just email it? If you email t to yourself first instance from a computer you can get it onto the S4, then use an office editing programme like Polaris office... Then email it.

The s4 doesn't come with Polaris as standard anymore so you may need to buy it from PlayStore or use an alternative like office suite pro 7

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobisystems.editor.office_registered&hl=en

 

[The Game 161]

You mean to edit it on the S4 or just email it? If you email t to yourself first instance from a computer you can get it onto the S4, then use an office editing programme like Polaris office... Then email it.

The s4 doesn't come with Polaris as standard anymore so you may need to buy it from PlayStore or use an alternative like office suite pro 7

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobisystems.editor.office_registered&hl=en

Nah I meant to store it on an app or file? Would be good to have my work rota which is based on an excel spreadsheet on a app so I can quickly check to see what I'm doing than going into my e-mail

 

[MRU]

Nah I meant to store it on an app or file? Would be good to have my work rota which is based on an excel spreadsheet on a app so I can quickly check to see what I'm doing than going into my e-mail

Save it as a PDF and put in on the device, and then simply pin a shortcut to it on your home screen

 

[The Game 161]

Save it as a PDF and put in on the device, and then simply pin a shortcut to it on your home screen

You are a star

thanks

VERY new to all of this...just a different world coming from the iphone.

Guessing you can save things like that to the SD card? guessing thats easy to do? do you just go to the settings and put it in the storage for SD section?

 

[Saturn1217]

Just played with the GS4 at two stores

So I just (as in 30min ago) went to play with the GS4 at both my local AT&T and T-mobile store.

My feelings about this phone have been on a roller-coster ride from initial disappointment, to growing desire, to minor annoyance...yeah you get the idea.

Anyway I figured I owed it to myself to try one out in person. I actually really like how the GS4 looks, especially the white version. The HTC one was more visually striking but the GS4 looked more comfortable with the plus that it wasn't that much bigger than my current Galaxy Nexus.

I was very concerned about the lag some people have been reporting here. The biggest "lag" issue I encountered was the time it takes to get to the homescreen when you press the home button. At each store I shut off all the special features using the extended notification toggles because this is how I plan to use the phone if I do buy it. I also disabled the "launch S-voice with the home button" option which helped a little. I also changed all the transitions in the developer options from 1x to 0.5x. This made the biggest difference at least in the delay of getting back to the homescreen. I also made sure to clear all recent apps. I have to say that the phone felt pretty speedy (and there wasn't too much of a difference before and after making those changes with the exception of the transition speed).

The screen looked great even when it wasn't at max brightness.

Touchwiz is a bit in your face but I feel like I could ignore it especially with Nova launcher. I actually don't mind the stock launcher either. It still feels like Android (with a lot of extras piled on top), whereas the HTC One with sense felt like some third hybrid operating system which I didn't like at all.

To be honest after seeing the phone in person I don't think the lag issue would be a problem for me. The one thing that I am concerned about is the durability of the physical home button. At the AT&T store it felt horrible, presumably from hundreds of people pushing that button all day long. But perhaps that is a good predictor of how the button would feel after a 1-2 years of use? At the T-mobile store which clearly had a newer less handled unit the button felt fine but I think I would still have preferred a capacitive button. Anyone else transitioned from capacitative or on screen buttons to a GS3 or GS4?