Should I buy the Galaxy S4 (Contract)? Suggestions?

[TommyGuner]

First of all, apologies for the long absence, I have been busy with summer work ever since holidays started.

I have been abroad for most of the time and during this time my iphone 4's home button has decided not to work, and I am forced to use the "Assisted Touch" function. I've had my iphone for a good 3 or so years and it's been my phone and mp3 player companion since.
Because of the wear and tear, I've decided that perhaps I should get a new phone when I get back to the UK.

Now, the Galaxy S4 has recently caught my eye, I've checked a couple of reviews as well as the phone's website and I must say that it looks hugely appealing for me. I don't really mind the physical looks of a phone, nor the material used to make it, I am more drawn by features and the "interior" of one.

I've checked multiple mobile providers, and guys at O2 seem to have a decent contract going on with the S4; £37.00 per month (for 24 months), free S4, unlimited text, unlimited minutes, 1GB data (I don't use the internet on my phone much anyway).

While this will be my main choice, I've heard good things about other phones such as HTC. I just wanted to ask you guys if you have your suggestions or have any first-hand experiences with the current "new" generation of smartphones, and whether you could advise me?

[suicidal_monkey]

The s4 seems to have a tiny lead in the fashionable stakes (this is a good thing for accessories) and SWMBO likes hers very much.

this article might help...

If you buy the phone outright and get a sim-only contract then I would say get a nexus4 - far cheaper and it has vanilla android.
If you buy the phone as part of a contract, then the nexus probably won't save you much money and the others probably have better residual value.
If you want vanilla android get a nexus, if you like the manufacturer "extras" get something else.
If you positively care about replaceable batteries and SD cards then don't get an HTC or the nexus.
If you want it to be waterproof get the sony.

or ... if you want the same interface you are used to, get an iPhone 5 :devil:

edit: or, if you're crazy, you could bet on one of these...

[TeaLeaf]

For your 'free' £888 Galaxy S4 (£37 x  24 months) I'd use the money to buy a Nexus 4 (£239 for 8GB, £279 for 16GB version) and then decide which SIM-only contract I want with the remaining £600+ that you have left.   Just as good as an S4, way cheaper and you get 4.3 right now.    

Check some of the Three SIM only deals - and do you really need unlimited minutes per month?  

£9.90 per month gives 1GB data, 600 minutes and 5000 texts.  

£15 per month gives All-you-can-eat data (unlimited and also allows tethered devices which is seriously handy - most others exclude tethering), 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes.

The first deal would save you £360 over the 2 years and I am sure there are plenty of other SIM only deals about.   Personally I use Three, it's a decent network for data which is what I use most.   Giff-Gaff is popular and there are plenty of others, but don't buy an S4 on contract as you pay through your nose for it!

[Tutonic]

As an S3 owner, I would also recommend the Nexus.

It's a cracking phone, and is just so much better value for money.

[DannagE]

As an s4 owner I can highly recommend the device. However, I pay £47 per month for unlimited contract. But its worked out a cheaper than getting the phone outright and going on a sim only deal. Plus its really spreading the cost over a longer period. Plus I can change phone after 9 months ownership.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Snokio]

I have only gone and bought myself an S4 and received it only yesterday, got mine new from ebay around £400, unlocked PAYG.

Be warned there are currently 2 versions available, the i9505 and i9500. They are for 2 different markets, the i9505 is for the UK market, there are questions over the warranty for the i9500! The difference is the CPU as well as some other minor hardware bits, the i9505 uses the 'slower' snapdragon 600 (4 cores) and the i9500 has the Exynos 5 Octa (8 cores), sounds like a big difference but it's fairly marginal in reality. I got the I9505 for the warranty and 4G (future proofing) the I9500 is 3G only!
 
(I hope I got that the right way round, there was a website that stated incorrect info on this which confused the bejebus out of me)

There is talks of another version featuring the snapdragon 800 cpu, but this might only be available to the Korean market.
 
Not tested all the features but here are some pro's and con's:

Pro's:
Lovely display, full of colour - 1080P 4.99"
They managed to make it pretty much the same size as the S3 but slightly narrower
Light in the hand (lighter than my LG)
Fast
Installed all the apps that I use with plenty of space free
Sensors - air gestures, eye tracking etc  
split screen - mutitask (although not tried it and probably too small to make it effective!)
Features - many ways to connect to other devices - but still playing around

Cons:
Plastic flimsy back cover
Expensive for a 'phone'
Samsung apps are all over the place (Google play / Samsung hub wise)
Micro Sim - not bad as per say, but had to get my regular sized Sim exchanged (You could cut it down yourself)

Bare in mind that the replacement S5 may have the curved screen which almost made me skip this generation.

New Nexus is rumored to be released this year, in August September after the LG G2 (Which is said to be VERY quick!)  

[BrotherTobious]

For your 'free' £888 Galaxy S4 (£37 x  24 months) I'd use the money to buy a Nexus 4 (£239 for 8GB, £279 for 16GB version) and then decide which SIM-only contract I want with the remaining £600+ that you have left.   Just as good as an S4, way cheaper and you get 4.3 right now.    

Check some of the Three SIM only deals - and do you really need unlimited minutes per month?  

£9.90 per month gives 1GB data, 600 minutes and 5000 texts.  

£15 per month gives All-you-can-eat data (unlimited and also allows tethered devices which is seriously handy - most others exclude tethering), 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes.

The first deal would save you £360 over the 2 years and I am sure there are plenty of other SIM only deals about.   Personally I use Three, it's a decent network for data which is what I use most.   Giff-Gaff is popular and there are plenty of others, but don't buy an S4 on contract as you pay through your nose for it!

:withstupid: I approve of this message as I did exactly that, I am using three all you can eat deal £12.90 30 day rolling contract, 200 mins, 3000 text and all the data I can eat.

[TeaLeaf]

New Nexus is rumored to be released this year, in August September after the LG G2 (Which is said to be VERY quick!)  

My current Nexus 4 will be on sale as soon as the new one is released! :thumbsup:

[smilodon]

I might jump a version as I don't use the Nexus 4 as much as I could as I have a tablet to watch, listen and game on. Of course it will depend on the spec but I'm wondering what must have compelling features the new phone will have? 5" screen? 4G? That might well tempt me but more horsepower probably won't.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[suicidal_monkey]

I am using three all you can eat deal £12.90 30 day rolling contract, 200 mins, 3000 text and all the data I can eat.

Be careful with the three contracts to make sure you compare the one that meets your needs against the competition. The details for Toby's state no tethering and will whack you for 35p (hopefully only after using the inclusive 200 but at a glance I wasn't sure) on voicemail :sad: ...only the "One Plan" contracts allow tethering, though they are still pretty cheap: £15 per month if you take a 12 month contract or £18 for monthly rolling. Virgin mobile (uses EE network apparently) seem to have a similar deal at the £15 price point. FWIW, I'm still on some legacy monthly rolling contract O2 once offered, with an unlimited internet bolt-on that allows tethering. The £18 One Plan may be marginally cheaper but I've never had a good experience using 3 :mellow:. YMMV of course :flirty:!

[TheDvEight]

For your 'free' £888 Galaxy S4 (£37 x  24 months) I'd use the money to buy a Nexus 4 (£239 for 8GB, £279 for 16GB version) and then decide which SIM-only contract I want with the remaining £600+ that you have left.   Just as good as an S4, way cheaper and you get 4.3 right now.    

Check some of the Three SIM only deals - and do you really need unlimited minutes per month?  

£9.90 per month gives 1GB data, 600 minutes and 5000 texts.  

£15 per month gives All-you-can-eat data (unlimited and also allows tethered devices which is seriously handy - most others exclude tethering), 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes.

The first deal would save you £360 over the 2 years and I am sure there are plenty of other SIM only deals about.   Personally I use Three, it's a decent network for data which is what I use most.   Giff-Gaff is popular and there are plenty of others, but don't buy an S4 on contract as you pay through your nose for it!

I'd agree with TL but S4 nah I'd get a nexus 4 but that's just me, I'm currently on £15 pcm Rolling sim only deal with virgin media (called the VIP deal I think) which gives me unlimited mins,texts and data not much more I can ask for and is far cheaper than getting a contract do you really wanted to be tied into a long contract with an s4 when soon after they'll properly bring the s5 out.

[TommyGuner]

Wow thanks for all the detailed comments, I spent a while reading each one and taking them into heart.
I see there's a lot of people rooting for the Nexus 4.
It might just be enough to win me over in buying it.
As for comments about the new models of the phones coming out, I don't really mind I have an "older version" (I mean stuck with buying an iphone 3 when 4 and 4s came out!).
I just thought that the S4 (with its hefty price tag) had some cool features, especially the large screen.
But now here comes the Nexus with the its new android systems and such!
Oh now I am split between the two phones - and Nexus is winning, I think!

[TeaLeaf]

Something that might sway you:

I'm a serial custom ROM user.   I've never had a smart phone that did not disappoint me in some way and force me to flash a custom ROM onto it, until I had a Nexus 4.   It's the first smartphone that I have owned that just worked right out of the box and did not leave me wanting more or different features.    

I know from talking to others (at the BBQ) that I am not alone in this reaction to the Nexus 4.     This plain vanilla android just seems to work without the need to flash custom ROMs onto it.    When you combine that with the incredibly low price  then I think you have a winner.

Is the S4 better than the Nexus 4?  Maybe, depending on who you ask.
Is the S4 over £360 better than the Nexus 4?    Absolutely positively not.

[DannagE]

I was the same way with my previous phones too. Put a custom ROM on my s4 to try and was back to stock shortly afterwards.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Snokio]

Thought the n4 is over £200+?

Google addition S4 (and htc) are being updated with the latest android version now, so wont be long when the std versions being done also.