Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Experia Z

[kilted]

I got mine in Nov 2011, it's my work phone. I have an s3 for my own phone. To be honest the s2 has a lot of advantages. For some reason on the s3 you can't store apps on the sd card but you can on the s2. The s3 (and I assume the s4) aren't really leaps and bounds ahead of the 2. Most of the new features which the s3 added I very rarely use. I'm betting the 4 will be much the same. Lovely design but nothing ground breakingly new. As we say in Edinburgh, "fur coat and nae knickers" 

I found quite a big difference between the S2 and the S4. The S2 was good but laggy at times and prone to locking up especially when on ICS. No issues from the S4 to speak off as yet, the screen is a lot better and the general speed of the phone is better.

 

Also you should be able to store most apps on the SD card. Go to settings,more,application manager and select SD card. Any you tick should move to the SD card.

Edited 21 August, 2013 by kilted

[domhnall]

are you sure about the SD point? It was withdrawn on the s3 as it was explained that the OS no longer supported moving apps to SD cards.  I just checked , you can do what you describe on the S2, but not on the S3

 

it's not been an issue for me on the S3 as it has such a good memory on it anyway. I'm still tempted to hold off an upgrade on the S2 for whetever comes next as it's still running just fine - and upgraded to 4.1.2 it's great.

 

I had it rooted before so I could remove the bloatware but I've gone back to stock recently.

[CitigoAllen]

I currently use an iPhone 4S, my son has a Galaxy S3.  The S3 is great on paper, and I love the size of the screen, but it is a pig to use compared with the iPhone.  It is a good job the battery can be removed as it has to be several times a week to restore various functions which seem to randomly stop working.  Never had any issue with the iPhone except the lack of expandable storage which is a pain.  As I don't really like Android I am thinking of a Nokia Windows phone for my next hand set, but I will wait to see what the new look iOS is like before I decide.

Edited 21 August, 2013 by CitigoAli

[Lady Elanore]

The Apps to SD card just came in the latest 4.2.2 OS update.

[domhnall]

The Apps to SD card just came in the latest 4.2.2 OS update.

 

bizarre, they removed a feature and then added it back later? 

 

I have to say I find both my phones a delight to use, they are absolutely rock solid and I have never had any issues (other than a duff battery on my S2 which Vodafone replaced for me). Certainly never had anything like the issues which CitigoAli describes. I guess it's a bit like computers, it all depends what you have installed. You can have two identical phones but one can be problem free while the other has had a particular combination of apps that causes problems.

 

PS just checked both phones are on 4.1.2 but the S2 can move apps to SD the S3 cannot. I do recall seeing somethign when the S3 was first released saying they had just withdrawn that feature, ie it was a Samsung thing not an android thing.

[Chris]

I've just ordered a Samsung Galaxy Mega. Saw one in the flesh today and its huge! Went online and got a decent contract so ordered it. I love big phones. I miss my Note since swapping to a smaller Motorola Razr i. It's a great phone with decent battery life too but there's little annoying things like some apps don't work due to the intel processor (barclays mobile banking!) and it's too small for my needs. I was going to hold off for a (hopefully) larger screened iPhone but I'm bored of waiting and don't know if there will be one.

[CitigoAllen]

I've just ordered a Samsung Galaxy Mega. Saw one in the flesh today and its huge! Went online and got a decent contract so ordered it. I love big phones. I miss my Note since swapping to a smaller Motorola Razr i. It's a great phone with decent battery life too but there's little annoying things like some apps don't work due to the intel processor (barclays mobile banking!) and it's too small for my needs. I was going to hold off for a (hopefully) larger screened iPhone but I'm bored of waiting and don't know if there will be one.

There is one, the iPhone 5 got a bigger screen.

[gadgetman]

There is one, the iPhone 5 got a bigger screen.

But not anywhere near the current standard of 5" as Apple work on the principle you should be able to reach both sides of the screen with the thumb ton the hand the phone is held in.

 

Which explains the elongated current incarnation

[SimBak]

I would go for the S4 over the Experia Z. The screen quality is much better and the camera is awesome. I would agree that case is a bit plasticy but the only android phone that beats that is the htc one.

 

The biggest problem with any of these phones is justifying the cost. Thats why the camera is the biggest draw for me...or if this happens!!

[domhnall]

I debated the pros and cons of an upgrade, my S2 was due for renewal (even though Vodafone only sent me a replacement S2 8 weeks ago!), but they were going on about how amazing the S4 was so for an extra £2 a month and signing up for another 24 month deal I get an S4, my minutes go from 600 to unlimited, texts go to unlimited and data doubles from 500 Mb to 1Gb. It would have been rude not to 

[Lady Elanore]

Loving this 4G thing on my S4. Today in Manchester I got over 61mb/s download on a speed tester!

[gadgetman]

If you can wait a month, the Nexus 5 is due which looks like it is based on the LG G2 and might feature an sd slot, or come in 32gb & 64gb flavours.

[StevesTruck]

I end up with all three of these in my hands quite a bit in my side work.

 

Form, I love the Experia Z

Function, the S4's hard to beat with it's multitasking.

All round package, the HTC One.

 

However.....

 

No chance of carrying a spare battery with your Z because of it being a sealed unit.

The S4 feels plasticky.

Although the HTC One takes a very nice looking picture, it's "Ultrapixel" camera is actually quite low resolution, and this shows when you zoom in.

Edited 4 September, 2013 by StevesTruck

[gadgetman]

I end up with all three of these in my hands quite a bit in my side work.

Mugger?

[StevesTruck]

Drug dealer, I get a lot of them brought in as payment.

 

 

The truth is far more mundane.

[domhnall]

I have to say I've been really impressed with the S4 in the 24 hours I've had it. It's a work phone and I have an S3 as my personal phone. I was assuming it would be pretty much the same experience as the S3, but it is noticeably faster. I don't notice the plasticy feel as I keep my phonbes in cases anyway. It's very very impressive.

[Wet Kipper]

does it feel unwieldy as a phone, if you lift it to your ear ?

What about 1-handed use ?

[domhnall]

does it feel unwieldy as a phone, if you lift it to your ear ?

What about 1-handed use ?

nope, it's near as dammit the same size as the S3.

 

Slightly thinner I think. But there's not much in it at all.

[justinbarrow]

I am thinking of a Nokia Windows phone for my next hand set, but I will wait to see what the new look iOS is like before I decide.

 

I have moved from Android onto Windows Phone I got a Nokia Lumia and the camera is better on this than my previous Sony Xperia Z which had a 13m Camera. I have also found the operating system to be more stable and run smoother than what I had experienced whilst on Android and now that Microsoft have bought Nokia they now own the hardware and software platforms which is a good thing.

 

People say Nokia made a bad move going with Windows Phone but I would disagree as it is very nice and easy to use, the screen on mine is so sensitive you can use it with gloves on plus with Microsoft's billions it has the resources to push and develop it further.

Edited 16 September, 2013 by justinbarrow

[Harvey1978]

My new S4 arrives tomorrow, after about 6 years of happy HTC ownership it has a lot to live up to.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio X315e using Tapatalk 4

[gadgetman]

I'm hanging on to see the Nexus 5 prices.  Should be out on my Birthday

[domhnall]

My new S4 arrives tomorrow, after about 6 years of happy HTC ownership it has a lot to live up to.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio X315e using Tapatalk 4

 

as an ex HTC owner and now having an S4 you'll not regret it.

 

Mind you I just install Go Launcher on all my android devices so I have the same interface on all of them. It's nicer than Touch Wiz that Samsung install.

[Brimma]

 The Nexus keyboard is pretty god though

 

Did you type this on it, Amanda?

 

[Lady Elanore]

Did you type this on it, Amanda?

 

My remote keyboard is more than a little tired :( It drops letters, double prints characters and is a complete pain in the bum. Unfortunately I haven't found one that has the same features on it ('qwerty bit' not withstanding )

 

Bottom line: it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better

[TheWanderer]

My SGS4 has just arrived and I'm just in the middle of formatting a 64Gb Mi-SDXC card, doing the email account stuff and charging it, it seems to be taking quite a while to even add 1% to the battery, so I'll leave it until tomorrow to transfer all of the stuff.

 

I might try and see if I can beam all my contacts across to it from the S3.

 

I've got two cases on the way, 1 x Pdair flip leather case (£21 Morpeth Mobiles) & a Spigen Slim Armour (Red) (£15 Spigen UK) one for work (easier to keep in the pocket), an Anker (Yes that's the spelling!) E5 15000Mah battery pack (£38 Amazon), spare standard battery (£9.25) + spare charger too (£5.55 Ebay).