To be fair comparing the Nexus4 with any other phone in terms of price is not really fair. We all know the N4 is worth a hell of a lot more than the price Google have charged. Google will make money of the ads, rather than the hardware side of things. Whilst other manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, sony etc) only have the hardware side of things to make their money.
Having said that, fair play to google for shaking the market up a bit.
I can't imagine LG accepting a loss on making the phone; it's the retail mark up that seems to have been taken out of the equation here.
I can't imagine they'll want to offer two, fairly similar variants to customers and have two versions next to each other on the shelves, (and most customers won't care) so it seems more a case of having to ask to get the version you want. And if the speculation is correct, its all about getting as many phones into peoples hands as quickly as possible.
In real world terms, both versions will be as zippy as George and Bungle.
As much as the news of the lack of octo power amuses me I don't think this will have any impact on the sales of the S4. It is still the new Galaxy and may who don't want an iPhone will go automatically to this. It's a pity they can't see beyond the Samsung Juggernaught of marketing.
Has it been announced which quad the S4 is using? Is ithe Snapdragon 600?
What do they need to see beyond exactly? Even without the octa cpu is it still not arguably the best phone on the market?
What do they need to see beyond exactly? Even without the octa cpu is it still not arguably the best phone on the market?
it is still the best phone on the market in terms of raw specs, yes, debatable whether you can say it is THE best phone, because people need different things from a phone. Still yet to be seen what battery life is like, and the camera quality, also the build quality of the phone, arguably not great. Design wise, people seem to favour the HTC One, or the Sony Xperia Z.
What do they need to see beyond exactly? Even without the octa cpu is it still not arguably the best phone on the market?
Highest specification - possibly.
What counts as best is determined by your requirements.
At times I could have done with a waterproof phone/camera - the Xperia Z would be perfect (at the time I bought a dedicated waterproof camera).
If you want something that can do a cracking job of recording gigs, the S4 will be terrible - you'd be better off with a Lumia 920, HTC One or the Nokia 808 (which will make the One and 920 look pretty poor).
If you want to be slightly behind Nexus 4 owners on Android updates, the S4 is perfect for the job
If you have a car head unit that has an iPod connection and want to play music in the car an iPhone 4S is the best option.
The best phone is always determined by what you want to do, and which one best fits those requirements.
What counts as best is determined by your requirements.
At times I could have done with a waterproof phone/camera - the Xperia Z would be perfect (at the time I bought a dedicated waterproof camera).
If you want something that can do a cracking job of recording gigs, the S4 will be terrible - you'd be better off with a Lumia 920, HTC One or the Nokia 808 (which will make the One and 920 look pretty poor).
If you want to be slightly behind Nexus 4 owners on Android updates, the S4 is perfect for the job
If you have a car head unit that has an iPod connection and want to play music in the car an iPhone 4S is the best option.
The best phone is always determined by what you want to do, and which one best fits those requirements.
BIB - I think terrible is too strong a word. We will have to wait and see how it compares to the other phones you mention. I dont think it will be terrible, it might not be as good, but doubt it will be terrible.
On a side point, if you are at a gig, why not enjoy yourself rather than worrying about recording part of it? I have never understood that.
What do they need to see beyond exactly? Even without the octa cpu is it still not arguably the best phone on the market?
That does not matter. They introduced the phone as having the most advanced processor and then say here, have this one with an overclocked old processor. Not good enough.
I believe it is the snap 600, same as in the HTC One, but clocked faster, @1.9ghz. Wondering if the extra clockspeed would put a strain on battery lifeI'm , not to mention a now heavily bloated touch wiz. Raw performance and a barrel load of baked in features is one thing, but all that will require a barrel load of fuel too, so remains to be seen how energy efficient the S4 will be.
I know I am contradicting myself from earlier posts where I said that the quad core S4 will still perform well but then again factoring in the battery situation, I have revised my opinion some what. At least the battery is replaceable so a good idea to carry a spare.
If you want something that can do a cracking job of recording gigs, the S4 will be terrible - you'd be better off with a Lumia 920, HTC One or the Nokia 808 (which will make the One and 920 look pretty poor).
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What a load of nonsense!!
You have no idea what the recording capabilities are.
That does not matter. They introduced the phone as having the most advanced processor and then say here, have this one with an overclocked old processor. Not good enough.
Overclocked old processor?
I never saw any definitive statement from samsung saying what territories would have what, it was inferred from various messages that the UK would get octa.
Even from what I've read now I'm still not 100% sure although seems likely it will be quad, but If only the quad can be made to work with LTE what would you have them do exactly?
What counts as best is determined by your requirements.
At times I could have done with a waterproof phone/camera - the Xperia Z would be perfect (at the time I bought a dedicated waterproof camera).
If you want something that can do a cracking job of recording gigs, the S4 will be terrible - you'd be better off with a Lumia 920, HTC One or the Nokia 808 (which will make the One and 920 look pretty poor).
If you want to be slightly behind Nexus 4 owners on Android updates, the S4 is perfect for the job
If you have a car head unit that has an iPod connection and want to play music in the car an iPhone 4S is the best option.
The best phone is always determined by what you want to do, and which one best fits those requirements.
well I did say arguably I think? which means all things taken into account.
Having said that you have no idea about the ability as yet of the s4 and why you are touting the 808 as a candidate is anyone's idea .. is that classed as a smartphone
I never saw any definitive statement from samsung saying what territories would have what, it was inferred from various messages that the UK would get octa.
Even from what I've read now I'm still not 100% sure although seems likely it will be quad, but If only the quad can be made to work with LTE what would you have them do exactly?
Compared to what they promised, yes. They took an existing processor and increased the frequency it's usually used with, 1.5GHz? I still don't understand why more powerful processor can't be used with 4G, while the slower can. Anyway, maybe I want to choose if I want fast data connection or fast and more efficient processor. Especially if they promised it with big fanfares.
Compared to what they promised, yes. They took an existing processor and increased the frequency it's usually used with, 1.5GHz? I still don't understand why more powerful processor can't be used with 4G, while the slower can. Anyway, maybe I want to choose if I want fast data connection or fast and more efficient processor. Especially if they promised it with big fanfares.
There is no technical limitation that stops a big.little configuration working with 4G, Nvidia seem to manage perfectly fine.
Have Samsung actually said they couldn't get 4G working with the Exynos 5410? I do find that hard to believe to be honest.
Where has it been proven that octa core delivers far superior battery life? you are not talking from cold hard facts but a theoretical possibility that the octa will be so much more battery efficient.
Where did I say it was proven?
Even with minimal knowledge of the workings of ARM's big.LITTLE architecture it's clear that there is a great deal of potential there, the more you read about it the more promising it sounds.
I don't see the big deal, you are not getting a compromised version of the phone, the s4 is with the quad chip is said to twice as powerful as the iPhone 5!! ffs there is no pleasing some people.
No-one said it was compromised but if the Exynos5 Octa does indeed deliver on it's promises than it would most certainly be disappointing that it was not available.
Yup, I bet if its $500 sim free in the US for the Octo core you know it will be £500 in the UK for the quad, ripoff
Negri Electronics, a US retailer that specialises in selling SIM-free handsets, has the S4 starting at $730 + tax. That's around £480 before tax.
The S3 still sells for ~$500 + tax, which is £330 before tax.
Also, the US is only getting the quad-core model, same as the UK.
There is no technical limitation that stops a big.little configuration working with 4G, Nvidia seem to manage perfectly fine.
None of nVidia's SoCs use the big.LITTLE architecture.
Simply having a companion core doesn't mean an SoC is big.LITTLE.
And nVidia have had their fair share of issues with LTE, which is why the likes of HTC used the same dual-core Snapdragon chip in the One XL as Samsung used in the US Galaxy S3s.
You have no idea what the recording capabilities are.
And you do?
I admit I don't know how good it'll be on the S4, but the S3 does a terrible job (at least compared to the 808)
I'm speaking from experience with the 808 (and I guess the 920 and the One, although they record in mono) you can have the phone in a speaker at a venue and it'll record practically like its off a sound board. No clipping, indecently good frequency response - recording reggae you get the earth shattering bass, on rock you get all the noise.
The 808 is all camera, less smartphone.
The screen itself is quite decent but at only 640x360 pixels.
I'm still not sure why people are needing (?) the same resolution on a 5" screen as they have on a 42" LCD in their lounge. It has virtually zero real world benefit. Text looks a little clearer, but otherwise - zero benefit.
I always prefer browsing on my 808 over my 4S. Just prefer the screen. And at least for my usage - music, camera, browsing and occasional gaming - the 808 easily betters pretty much anything on the market.
well I did say arguably I think? which means all things taken into account.
Having said that you have no idea about the ability as yet of the s4 and why you are touting the 808 as a candidate is anyone's idea .. is that classed as a smartphone
I really can't see the video & audio recording of the S4 being much better than the S3 - it just isn't a priority for Samsung, as excelling in those areas is a niche.
In that one specific usage (gig recording) there isn't yet anything on the market that approaches the 808s ability. In that one case. 4x lossless zoom at 1080p, stereo recording without distortion. The closest is the 920, with the One apparently doing quite good as well.
And yes, the 808 is definitely a (niche) smartphone
I admit I don't know how good it'll be on the S4, but the S3 does a terrible job (at least compared to the 808)
I'm speaking from experience with the 808 (and I guess the 920 and the One, although they record in mono) you can have the phone in a speaker at a venue and it'll record practically like its off a sound board. No clipping, indecently good frequency response - recording reggae you get the earth shattering bass, on rock you get all the noise.
No, i don't. But why question me since i'm not the one throwing nonsense about!
The 808 was a one off phone. A concept if you like. Please, stop comparing everything to it. Its boring now. The 808 may have had a decent camera but the rest of the phone was absolutely rubbish and looked vile as well.
Instead of guessing, shall we just wait to see what its like?
I really can't see the video & audio recording of the S4 being much better than the S3 - it just isn't a priority for Samsung, as excelling in those areas is a niche.
In that one specific usage (gig recording) there isn't yet anything on the market that approaches the 808s ability. In that one case. 4x lossless zoom at 1080p, stereo recording without distortion. The closest is the 920, with the One apparently doing quite good as well.
And yes, the 808 is definitely a (niche) smartphone
Fair point.. Although I would counter with no one cares about taking a phone to a gig to record it.
The 808 was dead in the water as soon as it was released it is the Sinclair c5 of phones
Comments
I can't imagine LG accepting a loss on making the phone; it's the retail mark up that seems to have been taken out of the equation here.
In real world terms, both versions will be as zippy as George and Bungle.
What do they need to see beyond exactly? Even without the octa cpu is it still not arguably the best phone on the market?
it is still the best phone on the market in terms of raw specs, yes, debatable whether you can say it is THE best phone, because people need different things from a phone. Still yet to be seen what battery life is like, and the camera quality, also the build quality of the phone, arguably not great. Design wise, people seem to favour the HTC One, or the Sony Xperia Z.
Highest specification - possibly.
What counts as best is determined by your requirements.
At times I could have done with a waterproof phone/camera - the Xperia Z would be perfect (at the time I bought a dedicated waterproof camera).
If you want something that can do a cracking job of recording gigs, the S4 will be terrible - you'd be better off with a Lumia 920, HTC One or the Nokia 808 (which will make the One and 920 look pretty poor).
If you want to be slightly behind Nexus 4 owners on Android updates, the S4 is perfect for the job
If you have a car head unit that has an iPod connection and want to play music in the car an iPhone 4S is the best option.
The best phone is always determined by what you want to do, and which one best fits those requirements.
BIB - I think terrible is too strong a word. We will have to wait and see how it compares to the other phones you mention. I dont think it will be terrible, it might not be as good, but doubt it will be terrible.
On a side point, if you are at a gig, why not enjoy yourself rather than worrying about recording part of it? I have never understood that.
That does not matter. They introduced the phone as having the most advanced processor and then say here, have this one with an overclocked old processor. Not good enough.
Added features does not equal bloat.
What a load of nonsense!!
You have no idea what the recording capabilities are.
The screen itself is quite decent but at only 640x360 pixels.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/21/review_htc_one_2013_android_smartphone/
More useful being by the looks of it, the very same chipset.
An interesting and thought provoking review, despite the fanboy start.
Overclocked old processor?
I never saw any definitive statement from samsung saying what territories would have what, it was inferred from various messages that the UK would get octa.
Even from what I've read now I'm still not 100% sure although seems likely it will be quad, but If only the quad can be made to work with LTE what would you have them do exactly?
well I did say arguably I think? which means all things taken into account.
Having said that you have no idea about the ability as yet of the s4 and why you are touting the 808 as a candidate is anyone's idea .. is that classed as a smartphone
Compared to what they promised, yes. They took an existing processor and increased the frequency it's usually used with, 1.5GHz? I still don't understand why more powerful processor can't be used with 4G, while the slower can. Anyway, maybe I want to choose if I want fast data connection or fast and more efficient processor. Especially if they promised it with big fanfares.
The US always seemed to get a non Samsung SOC, now the same for us.
They could also be balancing costs with the new SOC being the most expensive one they have ever produced.(still very little).
There is no technical limitation that stops a big.little configuration working with 4G, Nvidia seem to manage perfectly fine.
Have Samsung actually said they couldn't get 4G working with the Exynos 5410? I do find that hard to believe to be honest.
Even with minimal knowledge of the workings of ARM's big.LITTLE architecture it's clear that there is a great deal of potential there, the more you read about it the more promising it sounds.
No-one said it was compromised but if the Exynos5 Octa does indeed deliver on it's promises than it would most certainly be disappointing that it was not available.
Negri Electronics, a US retailer that specialises in selling SIM-free handsets, has the S4 starting at $730 + tax. That's around £480 before tax.
The S3 still sells for ~$500 + tax, which is £330 before tax.
Also, the US is only getting the quad-core model, same as the UK.
:rolleyes:
But entirely expected.
None of nVidia's SoCs use the big.LITTLE architecture.
Simply having a companion core doesn't mean an SoC is big.LITTLE.
And nVidia have had their fair share of issues with LTE, which is why the likes of HTC used the same dual-core Snapdragon chip in the One XL as Samsung used in the US Galaxy S3s.
And you do?
I admit I don't know how good it'll be on the S4, but the S3 does a terrible job (at least compared to the 808)
I'm speaking from experience with the 808 (and I guess the 920 and the One, although they record in mono) you can have the phone in a speaker at a venue and it'll record practically like its off a sound board. No clipping, indecently good frequency response - recording reggae you get the earth shattering bass, on rock you get all the noise.
I'm still not sure why people are needing (?) the same resolution on a 5" screen as they have on a 42" LCD in their lounge. It has virtually zero real world benefit. Text looks a little clearer, but otherwise - zero benefit.
I always prefer browsing on my 808 over my 4S. Just prefer the screen. And at least for my usage - music, camera, browsing and occasional gaming - the 808 easily betters pretty much anything on the market.
I really can't see the video & audio recording of the S4 being much better than the S3 - it just isn't a priority for Samsung, as excelling in those areas is a niche.
In that one specific usage (gig recording) there isn't yet anything on the market that approaches the 808s ability. In that one case. 4x lossless zoom at 1080p, stereo recording without distortion. The closest is the 920, with the One apparently doing quite good as well.
And yes, the 808 is definitely a (niche) smartphone
No, i don't. But why question me since i'm not the one throwing nonsense about!
The 808 was a one off phone. A concept if you like. Please, stop comparing everything to it. Its boring now. The 808 may have had a decent camera but the rest of the phone was absolutely rubbish and looked vile as well.
Instead of guessing, shall we just wait to see what its like?
Right, now i cant take anything you say seriously ever again!!
The 808 is a flop phone that no-one cares about. I mean, Symbian seriously? This isn't 2005...:o
The camera and audio recording on it are beyond any other mobile by a fair margin. Even Gizmodo admitted to that.
Early still images from the S4 look a little better than those taken with the S3.
The camera is not the selling point of the S4, its being sold on having overblown tech specs, processor, huge screen and software features.
Fair point.. Although I would counter with no one cares about taking a phone to a gig to record it.
The 808 was dead in the water as soon as it was released it is the Sinclair c5 of phones