The Samsung Galaxy S4: Smartphone Innovation hits the wall.

[denem]

Last edited Sun Apr 28, 2013, 06:35 AM - Edit history (52)

ZDnet: http://www.zdnet.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-smartphone-evolution-hits-the-wall-7000014523/

I favour Android's open platform. Apple's walled garden is wonderfully fertile but still a prison. Samsung faces a wall of its own. Sammy is running out of credible ideas. Perhaps by 2014, a new phone won't be an event, not even an iPhone event.

Samsung is run by a convicted criminal, pardoned after further donations to the ruling party. Reviewers say the new TouchWiz features are mostly unusable gimmicks. So what? The beauty of FOSS is that nobody, but nobody, owns Android. In a month or two we will be able to root the thing and say goodbye to all the crapware. Lets talk hardware instead. The S4 is a specced up S III. Put simply, it's a muscle phone, vroom, vroom, vroom. Samsung dropped a 5" 1080p screen into the same form factor. Good. Hopefully bigger is better stops here. I'm not hopeful.

Overall, the S4 is boring, much like the iPhone5. As Apple found out, merely doubling processing power won't wow the world. You might expect the S4 would, at a minimum, deliver pitch perfect performance. Not so. The handset suffers from minor lags and freezes, no show stoppers, but 'surprising to see in a phone of this caliber'. http://blogs.computerworld.com/smartphones/22092/samsung-galaxy-s4-hands-on

Oh well, Samsung can't do any real harm to Android . But if you are a punter who likes 'Sammy', try imagining them as Koch Industries on steroids, shovelling around soylent green for President Romney. With 21% of the economy, group Samsung owns the Government. These are no regular corporate citizens, if such a creature still exists. No? All right, but Sammy's Club is vast, Vastly Political - One thing they champion is freedom from welfare, even modest welfare. Korea does not have unemployment benefits, not one solitary copper cent. Elections have consequences: No unemployment benefits are 'on the menu', for the foreseeable future. On the blindingly bright side, if you want war, President Park is your gal. The North killed her Daddy.

I own a Samsung monitor. It's great, the best display I've ever owned, yet I can't duck the fact that this K-Corp behaves like some 1930s mobster. I wish Sony, HTC, LG, and even Nokia greater success. Sammy treasures it's political clout and would love to have a near monopoly on Android. OK. I guess I am, for the moment an ABS phone guy (Anyone But Samsung). They make the best TVs, period, so it's still horses for courses.

Looking forward, I hope Android won't be shackled to a uber nasty mega-corp whose big idea is big. Must the future look like a 5.2" phone or maybe a 5.4" ? Here and now, their well received 5.5" Note II does not suit everyone. The Note 3 is said to be 6.0". This month they released a new 6.5" is-it-a-phone? Why not just settle on 7 inches and be done with it?

As the above review and others have noted, the S4 offers little value over it's very successful predecessor. The Galaxy series is measuring out its own grave in inches. If I was shopping today, I'd look at t a HTC One. After that, maybe Google-Motorola will deliver a great phone running vanilla Android.

[pipoman]

1. I've always wondered why these techy articles have to use alternative english...

[denem]

4. Dyslexia rules KO.

Baby I was born this way. Sorry - no snark. I always wanted to write well. I failed and moved on. Law School was the final knife in kidneys I guess. Now, I am poor as all get go, but I still cant put it into words. Not complaining - just saying.

[Myrina]

30. LMAO, that was my thought too!

I read 3 sentences and checked out. And I work in IT!!

[denem]

48. Umm...

you don' t have to tell me how bad my writing is. I suffer from dyslexia, guess that's why I went into tech. I do my best to edit out the gunk, but do no do that well. Sorry.

[Myrina]

49. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend ...

... and its not just this article, it's a general techie trait.

I sit in staff meetings and think to myself "WTF are they talking about?" because my co-workers seem to literally be speaking another language ... and these are projects I'm working on too!

[denem]

50. Not offended

at all.

I know what you mean though. Sometimes I've spoken for three minutes to blank faces. Then some suit says, so what you are saying is .... No, I reply, let me try explain it. Answer - that won't be necessary.

It's not just jargon. I have a real difficulty in expressing myself. But I know my stuff, and ultimately that's what counts.

The worst IT people are those who don't even know what they don't know. If something is beyond my understanding, I say so.

[RobinA]

68. I Disagree

I think you write fine, actually, better than fine. It's just the jargon. IT people in particular (but business people in general) get so used to talking with each other in this shorthand that uses alternative meanings to common words that they forget to revert back to regular meanings when talking to us more technically average folks. At least there seems to be less leveraging of synergies lately (or maybe I don't notice it because I changed careers).

[denem]

73. Track back through my revisions.

If you think R 3-8 are OK ... I am not sure.

[Le Taz Hot]

55. Christ, almighty,

thank you! I was JUST going to post, "Was that English?"

[RedstDem]

2. sammysung rocks!

I've overbought with apple, the macbook pro does nothing but break down and costs me money.
Its on its third hard drive, third power cable thinghy,
Samsung has been stellar.
Asus tablet from Google is a blast.

[denem]

3. Especially rockin' when you are the South Korean government.

Read up-: These are not nice people. AT ALL.

[davidpdx]

13. The Chebols are very powerful in South Korea

and the government does throw its weight behinds them. Even more so when there is a conservative government like there has been for the last 5 years and 2 months and will be for the next 4 years and 10 months unfortunately (if the damn liberal parties had gotten their shit together they probably would have won). The Chebols started under Park Chung-hee, the current South Korean President's daughter who was a brutal dictator. Samsung is actually a group of companies not one, which have stakes in many different industries including retail.

Quick fun fact: Costco entered Korea as a partner with Samsung before buying out their share.

The rival between Samsung and Apple will push continue to push innovation. I don't own many Samsung products (only a dvd player) as most of my electronic stuff and appliances are LG (my computer is HP). I've never owned a smart phone so I don't know a lot about them. I have a 5 1/2 year old LG slide phone that it is so out of date all my students and my niece have better phones than I do.

[denem]

18. Samsung have made no secret of the fact that they back the conservatives.

After all, they were hand in glove with President Park.

Even so, they only put out US $35 million US during the 2012 elections. Chump change in the USA.

[davidpdx]

21. Yeah, but if Anh Sang-soo had stayed in the race he would have wiped Park's ass

Yet he did the stupid thing, got out and then only gave Moon a tepid endorsement which was the death kneel for the liberals.

[denem]

31. But from what I have been reading Moon did worse than expected,

even after scoring well in the debates. Did he have one or two policies which were easy to demonise? Park had the Kim Jong Un card, but from what I understand, the DPRK were not World Enemy No.1 yet. The economy was the main issue, and Moon wanted welfare, is that right? So the conservatives ran on taxes?

[davidpdx]

35. Well given my limited Korean I couldn't follow the whole thing completely

My wife hates politics so anytime I tried to talk to her about it I couldn't get her to discuss it with me. I naturally am very curious. I was (as was my apolitical wife) very much against Park. When we were at the in-laws during Chuseok in September she was on TV and I yelled in front of my in-laws "look there is the wicked witch of Korea" which didn't go over well. They know I'm pretty political based on my views on US politics. In fact I was predicting three months before the election that Park would win (and I was rather pissed at the notion as well). My brother in law, sister in law and my wife didn't believe me. My wife even offered a $100 bet which I refused (I'd never take advantage of her lack of knowledge of politics because I'm so much smarter).

In fact I will have minimal voting rights starting this year for lower level political offices because of my permanent residency. If I learned Korean and got citizenship (which I could) I would have full voting rights. I'm not convinced it's really important though.

[denem]

37. I am a newbie to all things Korean.

Believe it or not it was PSY who caught my attention.

But anyway, remember this?

[davidpdx]

42. Yep, never read the article, but I have seen the cover.

I remember where I was when I heard the results. It was late morning here and I was at work. It was like being hit in the balls.

[wilt the stilt]

5. I'm sure Apple does not make it's own HD's

unfortunately Hd's fail even though my 2 kids have apple machines and they have not failed. I really don't understand why people are so anti-apple. They are innovative and they actually changed the phone market.They are an American company and they are moving manufacturing back here. Their support center is American. Are they perfect-no and do you pay a premium-yes but that is your choice.

Samsung- copier of everyone else's technology- no innovations- not American.

[get the red out]

6. I love my iPhone

and my iMAC. My sister has had to buy two replacement PCs in the time I've had my iMac. I'm no techie at all, but I have found what works for me and my lifestyle and I'm happy.

[denem]

7. Apple is a one trick pony when it comes to Smartphones.

They made the category something meaningful, and still, basically they only have one model.

Samsung went gangbusters with the SIII. IMO the S4 is a muscle car SIII. Disappointed. I've been reading up on this K-Corp mega business. They are not nice people at all, and have led the fight against pensions for Koreans.

[wilt the stilt]

38. their os is way better than windows

no registry.

[denem]

41. I am talking about iOS vs Android

and competing hardware.

I hate Windows esp 8 with a passion, and I have 20+ years supporting it. Since Macs went OS X, it is my favourite OS. MS tried to do better than UNIX - and missed. Apple tried to make UNIX user friend and hit it out of the park. IMO.

... thanks anyway.

[wilt the stilt]

69. I'm taking the company as a whole package

Why someone supports a Korean company vs an American company is beyond me. Alao why the copier of innovations vs. the innovator. I am in high tech and I support the innovator.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

8. I'm getting the HTC One this weekend.

Best phone per the World Mobile Conference, and even though the S4 overclocks at 1.9 Ghz, the HTC is no slouch at 1.7 Ghz quad core.

Plus, who can deny Beats Audio with dual front facing speakers?

HTC One for me, baby!

[denem]

10. What the reviews say is the HTC is a knife through butter

but the S4, for all it's specs, still stutters. HTC has the best ever sound of any phon,. 1080p and a superb camera. I doubt you will be disappointed. And OMG, that thing looks sharp!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

28. Do you have one?

My friend and I are getting a phone at the same time. He wants the S4, and I want the One. We've both done our extensive research, but I do have an EVO, so I'm a little biased towards HTC. He has an iPhone and is sick of it. Both are incredible phones according to the reviews, but I guess it comes down to taste. He wants the S4, I'm definitely going for the One.

[denem]

33. No. I want one.

I will try to find the link. The reviewer was surprised that the S4 froze a bit. He or she said it was not what they were expecting from a top flight Android phone. Apparently all the movement, facial recognition sensors can impede sooth operation. I guess they will fix it next time, but this is 2013, an I need a new phone. Not a promise.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

40. Exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for the input.

I was leaning towards the One, but heard impressive reviews about the S4.

Nail has now met coffin. No freezing for me, baby!!

[denem]

44. They say the HTC LED screen is the best ever in a phone

even bettering the iPhone 4S and 5

One word of warning. In real world tests, the HTC has 50mins less battery life, and the S4 has a removable battery.

If I can find the main link, I'll email to you.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

47. I've done a lot of research ...

... and the battery life, while important, isn't a top priority for me (remember, I have an EVO). I'm interested in processing power, graphics, and an overall smooth operating system.

As for batteries ... there's an app for that.

[wilt the stilt]

29. there is no good sound on any phone

and MP3 suck for sound. we have three copies on "Who's next" audiophile vinyl, remastered Cd and a mp3 downloaded from itunes.
My son could not believe the difference.

[MattBaggins]

54. Beats Audio...lol

Certs have Retsyn. No other mints have Retsyn.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

60. I have no idea what you mean.

[William Seger]

74. Sorta like Corinthian Leather, I guess (n/t)

[Fantastic Anarchist]

78. LOL

[MattBaggins]

61. Nike sneakers are not better than other sneakers

they just have a symbol on the side of them and high paid sports stars who have been paid to attach their name to them.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

62. Yes.

[1-Old-Man]

9. What has this babbling bullshit got to do with Democracy, the Democratic Party, or politics?

And for the sake of the gods, use at least enough english to make your message decipherable.

[denem]

11. It's part of peoples lives today,

and Samsung is a nasty piece or work. These guys oppose welfare in South Korea, so it's more pertinent than breast feeding a circumcised baby at Olive Garden.

[davidpdx]

17. They oppose it just as much as some US companies oppose it in the US

I'm not saying it's right, but there is a pretty powerful corporate lobby in the US too. They had a pretty good friend under the Lee Myung bak Administration. You do know he used to be a the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction.

[denem]

20. No - that is news to me,

and not good news. Then again, Goldman Sachs owns the US Treasury. Wall Street goes straight for the money, they don't care about something is trivial as political parties Buy them both out, then prosper.

[davidpdx]

23. Which is my point

It is going on both places. Look at the Koch brothers for example. Bash Korea all you want, but it is going on in our country as well.

[denem]

26. I am not bashing Korea.

At all. What I wanted to say is that the best analog to Samsung in Korea, is Koch Industries in the US. I don't like either of them but at least Samsung makes some good products.

[99Forever]

12. No kidding.

Why in hell would someone come to a political website to spill goobledee gook about their freakin' cellphone?

[denem]

14. Maybe I should have talked about Foxconn?

... you know wot I mean.

[99Forever]

27. No I don't.

I don't do babbling and I use the proper venues for communicating about subjects.

[denem]

34. Foxconn a suitable subject for GD.

BTW -Blurred Vision - all proceeds went to charity.

[KoKo]

15. I think the OP is trying to say that Samsung is run by a crook and that

they want there to be diversity in smart phone choices. So it does have to do with politics in that the OP feels "competition is better than monopoly."

Most of the techie writing is indecipherable to those of us who aren't involved with it, though.

I thought it was an interesting post. I could understand the point of it even though I didn't get what the phones were and the tech stuff. At least I think I understood the point and how it relates to Politics. maybe I misread....

[randome]

16. It wasn't well-written.

[denem]

22. I am Dyslexic KO.

I know my writing sucks.

[randome]

25. Did not know it was your article. I think we all got the gist of it, though.

Or did I assume the OP was from the article and you did NOT write the ZDNet article? Doesn't matter, like I said, the gist of it came through.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

43. And get off my lawn while you're at it!

Normally, I'd agree, but he has just as much right to say stuff on this "democratic" board as you do. And while your point is valid in terms of fighting fascists (something I definitely like to do), we are discussing something else. You didn't have to read the thread, and in fact, you could hide it if it bothered you so much.

I think you just wanted to complain about something (even if the complaint is valid in another context).

[Le Taz Hot]

56. Oh, look!

Another "get off my lawn" joke 'cause bigoted, stereotypical jokes never get, you know, old.

Next time try making your point without the ageist bigotry.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

59. Ummmmm

Don't look now, but you're the one who made the "age" comment. Not I.

Look, I'm not looking for a fight and I'm not looking to get in a long internet debate.

Here's what I saw:

I saw a guy pile on to another guy who admittedly has a disability. The guy complaining could have ignored the thread, but decided to be a prick.

That's where I came in with the "Get off my lawn" quip meaning he was just complaining (no ageism was intended on my part). The thread opener has a right to have his opinion known, and I came to that defense, and that defense only.

Then you came in. You assumed something I didn't intend.

So, I hope you can apologize, or we'll just leave it at that. Makes no difference to me.

[WinkyDink]

19. I found the OP's post completely unreadable. And I've read James Joyce.

[denem]

24. I keeping trying to edit my OPs and fail.

I know I can't write well. I don't think it's as opaque as Finnegan's Wake, but that's a matter of opinion.

[demokatgurrl]

36. Don't sweat it

Your writing is fine. It's a discussion board, not an effing literary journal.
Interesting posts about the phones. I have a 3G HTC that I am mostly happy with but have been eyeing up the Motorola Razr. I was in Europe recently and people snickered at my HTC. Odd that.

I think one good thing about Samsung is that they provide some real competition to Apple, and competition is a good thing. And if ANY company starts making phones in the US I'll buy one immediately, no matter what the techies say.

[denem]

39. REAL competition to Apple is good.

... and I don'k like censorship either.

Then again I don't like windows at all (after years in IT support). That gets me labelled as a fanboi.

Apple charges more, so they have to prove they are worth it. Brand recognition is no excuse.

Thanks for your kind words.

[Turborama]

71. I think the issue here is that everyone, including myself, assumes this is an extract from the link

Last edited Fri Apr 26, 2013, 02:12 PM - Edit history (1)

And not written by you.

I recommend changing the OP to add a few select paragraphs from the article and use the excerpt button to make the difference clear.

Just my .02 fwiw.

[JustAnotherGen]

32. There is and

Always will be evil in the American Consumer Supply Chain. Choose one or two companies you hate and go from there. But not a single manufacturer whose production and first level distribution resides outside of the United States has their face and hands clean. Samsung or Apple - Dress Barn or Children's Place . . . it can't and won't change until the American Consumer changes their behavior.


It's Casual Friday at my major wireless carrier HQ and I'm in LL Bean today . . .

[Arcanetrance]

45. Not to sound completely critical but

If your using any of the current crop of phones at some point you're endorsing and supporting some criminal action and human rights violations. HTC, Apple, Motorola, Samsung none of them are free of their dirty secrets of criminal activity and severe human rights abuses.

[denem]

46. Yeah. That's right.

But two months ago I knew nothing about Samsung. I've been appalled at some of the stuff I've been reading. I love my Samsung monitor, but don't feel the same about the company anymore.

[MattBaggins]

51. I was thinking about having a salad for lunch

Thanks for making me one.

[Apophis]

52. I'm not impressed with the HTC One.

The battery isn't removable and the only gimmick of the phone is the front-facing speakers. Whoop-dee-doo. Plus, I'm not a fan of HTC Sense.

[dawg]

53. Apple is like Honda. Samsung is like GM.

Both make good products. Only one makes crappy products too.

Edited to add: Well, I don't know enough to say that about what GM is making right now. I've driven GM cars most of my life and strongly support the company, but I made the comment with the Chevy Corsica, and the piece of ship Samsung feature phone I gave to my son, in mind.

[sibelian]

57. I'm sure you're a lovely person

and I don't want to appear insensitive but I do wonder if you're possibly being a teeny bit didactic about something that isn't really very important.

[BlueCaliDem]

58. I have an Android HTC, too. I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy S3, though. I like the "gorilla" glass

it has which is high quality compared to the iPhone 5. My daughter has an iPhone 5 and when she was in class, a girl walks by and accidentally knocks the phone to the floor. The face plate shattered instantly. It turns out that it happens a lot with iPhone 5's. The glass is Grade 1, two grades lower than her old iPhone 3s! And it cost me $220 dollars to repair it (better than shelling out another $600 for a new one) when repairing a face plate for the iPhone 4s is only $25.

Now, ten weeks after I'd bought the iPhone 5 for her, the front camera doesn't work, the battery doesn't hold the charge, and it's running hot. When I found an Apple repair technician in San Bernardino who could replace the face plate to the iPhone, he said that the battery is swelling and the connection cord to the camera has fizzled. It took me two days fighting with Apple customer service, but after I had enough, I demanded to speak to that "Miss No"'s superior and within ten minutes I was told my daughter could pick up a brand-new phone in Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucomonga. No hassle.

Apple has the worst customer service I've ever had the displeasure of working with.

Tip to any Apple people here . . . don't bother with customer service Reps. Go straight to their superiors if you want to get anything done.

I'm up for renewal of my account with CREDO and I'm offered a Samsung Galaxy III, which has "gorilla glass"; an almost shatter-proof and the strongest on the market. The iPhone 6 and 7 (saw the prototypes at this guys' shop} will have gorilla glass. The Samsung Galaxy already has it.

[denem]

63. Here's something about the Galaxy series that may be worth knowing

(Lags and Jerkiness)

http://blogs.computerworld.com/smartphones/22092/samsung-galaxy-s4-hands-on

Remember how I said the One made me optimistic we were nearing the point where perfectly snappy performance would be a given with high-end devices? Yeah -- the Galaxy S4 puts a bit of a damper on that dream. The phone's certainly no slouch, but while the One was near-flawless in performance, I've seen subtle but noticeable signs of imperfection while using the Galaxy S4.

To be clear, we're talking about a degree of imperfection that won't be bothersome to most typical users -- an occasional jerkiness in a system animation, for instance, or a lag that's a little too long between tapping a Gallery folder and having it open -- but still, for a phone of this caliber, it's surprising to see.

Interestingly enough, the Galaxy S4 (U.S. version) and One both use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor along with 2GB of RAM -- and the GS4's chip is clocked slightly higher than the One's, too, at 1.9GHz compared to 1.7Ghz -- which makes me suspect software is to blame for the differences in real-world performance.

I've found this reviewer to be pretty balanced and reliable.

[BlueCaliDem]

65. I'm looking at the Galaxy SIII, not SIV.

I haven't heard any complaints from people who have them. I'm certain that the Galaxy I is better, just as the iPhone 3s and 4s are better than the iPhone 5, but the people who have the Galaxy SIII rave about it. In fact, my husband just this morning read a piece in the L.A. Times that more and more people are reverting back to the iPhone 4 and 4s because the iPhone 5 is so bad. He read the piece to me so I don't know how to look it up, but it's in today's L.A. Times.

Thanks for the link! Interesting reading.

[William Seger]

75. I had a Motorola Droid X w/ "gorilla glass"

It's biggest advantage is that it's very scratch resistant -- no need for a screen protector. But I dropped it on a concrete sidewalk and even thought it hit very squarely on its back, the screen completely shattered. A replacement from eBay wasn't very expensive, but it took me two hours to replace it, and it was so difficult that I really didn't expect it to work again. I know other phones aren't that hard, so I'd guess the replacement cost has a lot to do with how much labor it takes, due to the design.

[denem]

76. The HTC One has Gorilla Glass 2

and the S4 promise V3 . To be honest, I don't know what this means.

It's easy to drop a phone. It's not so easy to work out what its like in practice.

Best wishes.

[LittleBlue]

64. Cool story bro

I don't care enough to stop buying Samsung products. Certainly not enough to go back to poor quality Apple and HTC products

TBH that article comes across as a bit lame

[Initech]

66. I'm sick of the infighting between Apple and Samsung.

I'm done with both of them. My next phone is going to be either a Nokia Lumia or an HTC One.

[Marr]

67. I'm 40 and work in the tech industry, and smart phones make me feel old.

It's the first big cultural thing I've seen that I just *don't get*.

So it's a phone with a screen. So what? I could text from an old flip phone. That was fine. Maps are convenient, especially where I live in Los Angeles, but since I'm not a complete moron I never had that much trouble just, you know, thinking or reading an actual paper map anyway.

I see people sitting together and texting other people, or going to interesting events in person and viewing the whole thing through a tiny screen on their silly little phone and I just wonder why people give a shit about this stuff.

Having said that, I'm posting this from a water cooled, custom-built monster PC that my dad didn't *get*, so... I get it in theory... but still.

[IDemo]

70. 55, work in hi-tech, non-smartphone user here

I understand that brand loyalty is a part of American culture, but I just don't get the "Akhbar Apple!" crowd.

[denem]

80. I don't get brands

without more than this.

[denem]

72. ...

kicking for the evening.

[bamacrat]

77. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is coming...

http://www.zdnet.com/samsung-galaxy-mega-6-3-inch-phablet-hands-on-7000014208/


Its a phablet...not going to lie, I want one.

[denem]

79. Why do I think Samsung guys buy red convertibles?

nt.

[bamacrat]

81. Not sure...n/t