DS Forums

 
 

Choosing which Samsung S phone. Advice?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 15-10-2014, 18:14
Scrufox86
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 832

Hi all. I have a really old phone so this will be my first touchscreen mobile i am looking to buy. Well i have a few questions. OK right now i am on Vodafone but i have found much better deals on three so i am considering switching over. I found a sim only deal i like for £15 which is only £5 more than the sim only vodafone one i am currently on. What are your thoughts on vodafone vs three?

Also i am not sure which phone mainly out of these two the S4 or the S5 mini is better. Any advice would be appreciated. I read up about the S5 not being very good and apparently the S4 is much better. However i also read the S5 mini improved a lot on the S5's failings. So i am torn between the two although the better mp camera in the S4 is swaying it at the moment.

Last question... When the new galaxy note 4 comes out this friday is it likely that pay monthly deals on older models like the S4 will be reduced or unaffected?
Scrufox86 is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 15-10-2014, 18:36
big brother 9
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 15,030
The s5 mini is a little to small for my liking I prefer the s5. The specs of the phone are pretty much the same, obviously screen size is different.

My wife's has the s4 and I have the s5, I've not had any problems with the s5.

Bare in mind that the s4 will be out of date soon . The wife has a had issues after issues with the s4, from the memory cards not being recognised to it crashing when writing long text messages or having more than 5 Web pages open.

The s5 is so much faster and smooth. Only thing about the s5 is the back of it, it's horrendous
big brother 9 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-10-2014, 18:53
Scrufox86
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 832
The s5 mini is a little to small for my liking I prefer the s5. The specs of the phone are pretty much the same, obviously screen size is different.

My wife's has the s4 and I have the s5, I've not had any problems with the s5.

Bare in mind that the s4 will be out of date soon . The wife has a had issues after issues with the s4, from the memory cards not being recognised to it crashing when writing long text messages or having more than 5 Web pages open.

The s5 is so much faster and smooth. Only thing about the s5 is the back of it, it's horrendous
Oh... wow i have read a few S4 reviews and they have all been positive about it saying it is much better than S5 as the S5's main new features (fingerprint scanner to name one) are not very good. I want a sim free phone and the S5 is quite pricey (cheapest price i have found is around £450) but i have found the S4 and the S5 mini for around £330 - £350 at Argos and Tesco. My sister currently has an S3 and is due an upgrade and i liked the look of the Samsung S phones as it has not had much trouble for the two years my sister has had it. I am a bit annoyed that the S4 has issues with sd cards because it got really good reviews. It looks like i will have to rethink which one to get.
Scrufox86 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-10-2014, 22:32
rjb101
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,609
I've a S4 and have had very few issues with it. Battery life's not great is all I'd say. Oh, and the Samsung corporate email client stinks.
rjb101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-10-2014, 22:41
big brother 9
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 15,030
Oh... wow i have read a few S4 reviews and they have all been positive about it saying it is much better than S5 as the S5's main new features (fingerprint scanner to name one) are not very good. I want a sim free phone and the S5 is quite pricey (cheapest price i have found is around £450) but i have found the S4 and the S5 mini for around £330 - £350 at Argos and Tesco. My sister currently has an S3 and is due an upgrade and i liked the look of the Samsung S phones as it has not had much trouble for the two years my sister has had it. I am a bit annoyed that the S4 has issues with sd cards because it got really good reviews. It looks like i will have to rethink which one to get.
Regarding the s5 and it's finger print scanner, it's ok it awakens the phone fairly well.
You can purchase things through PayPal.

I don't use mine because I have epilepsy and if a collapsed on my own and someone want to call my wife they wouldn't be able to get.

The memory card issues mrs big brother 9 has had might just be her phone.

As I say the s5 is a good phone.
The experience z3 is a good handset, a colleague at work has just got it, it's a much better feel and looks all round nicer. Great specs .

Only thing Il say is if you are used to samsung interface then it could be a tad difficult to get used to the z3
big brother 9 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-10-2014, 02:29
Mark in Essex
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,644
Regarding the s5 and it's finger print scanner, it's ok it awakens the phone fairly well.
You can purchase things through PayPal.

I don't use mine because I have epilepsy and if a collapsed on my own and someone want to call my wife they wouldn't be able to get.

The memory card issues mrs big brother 9 has had might just be her phone.

As I say the s5 is a good phone.
The experience z3 is a good handset, a colleague at work has just got it, it's a much better feel and looks all round nicer. Great specs .

Only thing Il say is if you are used to samsung interface then it could be a tad difficult to get used to the z3
Just a note to say if it helps I have set a rolling message on the lock screen of my S5 saying IN CASE OF EMERGENCY PLEASE PHONE MY WIFE ON <the number>.

Also you can set emergency contact numbers that you can access from the home screen that you press a thumbnail picture.

Mark.
Mark in Essex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-10-2014, 08:32
MGS4SnakeRulez
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 16,705
I've got a standard size Samsung Galaxy S5 and love it. I've had no issues yet.

Out of Vodafone and Three I'd choose Three everytime for the all you can eat data alone. Plus I don't like Vodafone.

Check the signal in your area though first.
MGS4SnakeRulez is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 16-10-2014, 08:56
Quackers
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Staffordshire
Posts: 4,665
I would really advise against Samsung phones, the word 'junk' comes to mind. It will be fine for the first 6 months, then after a year you will want to throw it through a window, and they preload them with so much crap. If you want an Android Smartphone there are much better ones out there like the HTC One.
Quackers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-10-2014, 10:23
JFC
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London
Posts: 538
Had my S4 for 18 months and never had an issue with it
JFC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-10-2014, 15:12
Mark in Essex
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,644
I had my S3 for 2 years without a single problem and have had my S5 for well over 6 months without even a hint of a problem.

My wife also had an S2 for over 2 years without a problem.

You can also stop any of the unwanted services on them.

I must admit that I did not like Touchwiz (Samsungs launcher), but this was soon very easily sorted out in a few mins by replacing it with Nova Launcher from the Play store (a lot snappier and so much customization from the animation when flicking between screens to how many icons on the home screens (I think with a screen the size of the S3 or S5 you can fit at least an extra row in).

Saying that I would still be tempted with this deal on the LG G3 for £364.99: http://www.expansys.com/lg-g3-silk-white-262270/
Mark in Essex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2014, 14:20
Scrufox86
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 832
I haven't been on here for a few days so have only just seen all the posts since my last reply. Wow yeah i have heard that some S4 phones ordered from amazon have not been sold by amazon themselves but a third party using amazon and it is those one that are having issues with sd cards and warranties. So when i look on amazon i look to see if it is from amazon or a third party. I will not trust a third party.

A friend of mine has the S4 and has had it for almost 2 years and the only problem he has had with it was caused by himself dropping the phone and cracking the screen lol. No issue with a 32gb sandisk sd card at all.

I have had samsung phones for years. I had a clamshell one years ago that lasted 4 years without issue. To be honest i have not really looked at other phones like LG or Sony ones but i will have to look them up. Anyone know which ones compare to the Samsung S5?

I know the Samsung note 4 is out now however i have not seen any changes to deals on older models. I was hoping that the S4 would be cheaper in contracts. Anyone know if older models will go down in price in the near future or not?
Scrufox86 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2014, 22:43
dabotsonline
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 225
I have had samsung phones for years. I had a clamshell one years ago that lasted 4 years without issue. To be honest i have not really looked at other phones like LG or Sony ones but i will have to look them up. Anyone know which ones compare to the Samsung S5?
What about a Moto G 4G (2013)?
dabotsonline is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2014, 23:36
Pucky
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Nottingham
Posts: 1,950
The s5 is so much faster and smooth. Only thing about the s5 is the back of it, it's horrendous
I love the back of the S5, I bought a blue cover for mine as the colour is really nice. I have a clear gel cover on the back to protect it but I can still see the colour.
Pucky is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 19-10-2014, 02:31
Mark in Essex
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,644
I love the back of the S5, I bought a blue cover for mine as the colour is really nice. I have a clear gel cover on the back to protect it but I can still see the colour.
Same here - I I have the blue as well and love it (a lot better looking than some plain boring back).

Must admit I was not too keen on the other colours, but love the blue.
Mark in Essex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-10-2014, 18:13
Scrufox86
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 832
Yeah the S5 is still quite expensive sim free. I have found the S5 mini and the S4 aound the £340 mark but the S5 i have found no cheaper than £500 which is a bit too much sim free personally. If it was nearer the £400 mark it may be worth looking at.

I am still undecided on which phone is best for me. I read up about the moto g phones and they don't have good cameras. One of the main reasons i was looking at the samsung phones was due to the cameras and a lot of other phones are rubbish in comparison. So i am trying to decide between S4, S5 and S5 mini now. Now leaning more toward the S5 mini but not totally convinced.
Scrufox86 is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:52.