Samsung Galaxy S IV - Where I'm Buying, Plus Network Choice!

SAMSUNG GALAXY S IV - WHERE TO BUY, BEST NETWORK

I'm up for an upgrade! I couldn't be more excited to replace my current Samsung Gaalxy S II that just can't keep up with Android 4.0.4 and all of the pressure I put on it to multitask and make my life more simple. My choice for an upgrade? I'm sticking with the team and getting a Samsung Galaxy S IV.

There are several reasons why I have chosen the Galaxy S IV to serve as my secondary external brain and memory unit. I would assimilate if I could, but this is the next best thing. But the biggest reasons? Big brilliant display, touchless gesture control, removable battery, light weight, and durable construction.

Sure, the Galaxy S IV has a laundry list of other things that motivate me to get my hands on one, like the 1.9GHz quadcore processor, 2Gb of RAM, 13 Mp camera, super thin and lightweight form factor, and more.

I could bore you all with those details, but I won't. The main point is, it's the most technologically advanced smartphone on the market and comes from a trusted manufacturer that has experienced a ton of success.

Where will I pick up my Samsung Galaxy S IV, you ask? I'll be getting mine on Amazon.com for the lowest offering of any retailer. Right now, they are selling the AT&T version for only $168 with a 2-year contract for all eligible upgrades and new accounts. You can't beat that with a stick.

That actually leads me to my next revelation (that was already revealed), which is my carrier of choice: AT&T. We've got 4G LTE coverage in Central Missouri now, so I will have super fast download and upload speeds on a network that I have had no problems with whatsoever.

You can get your Samsung Galaxy S IV right here on Amazon.com and help to support the Carlton Zone blog site while at the same time, getting it for the best price available. Amazon is one of the most trusted suppliers in the nation, and they will ship the smartphone right to your doorstep. Nothing could be more simple than that!

Carlton Flowers
Galaxy Gadgetologist

GET IT NOW! GALAXY S IV ON AMAZON AT LOWEST PRICING

Grab your Samsung Galaxy S IV right now at Amazon Wireless for the best pricing possible on all major carriers when you sign a valid 2-year agreement! Click the link to jump to Amazon and join the Samsung revolution!

Samsung Galaxy S IV Vs HTC One - Close Call!

GALAXY S IV OR HTC ONE? MY RECOMMENDATION

Today we're going to take a look at the top two Android smartphones on the market. The Samsung Galaxy S IV and the HTC One. This is a close call, but I have a clear recommendation!

Many people have asked my opinion on which one of these smartphones to pick up in May of 2013. You can't go wrong with either one of these super handsets, but I'll point out a few differences and tell you why my choice edges out its chief competitor.

CPU

First, let's look at the processor. The Samsung takes a slight edge in this category with a faster core speed for the quad core processor. The average user won't notice much of a difference, so this isn't a deciding factor. If speed is critical, Samsung takes the checkered flag. For CPU speeds, they are as follows:

• Galaxy S IV CPU - 1.9GHz quad core
• HTC One - 1.7GHz  quad core

DISPLAY

Next, let's take a look at the displays. The Galaxy S IV has a slightly larger display than the HTC One, but they are both very vivid and boast brilliant color reproduction. As the current trend with Android smartphones, bigger is better, and both are excellent choices for watching multimedia content. Here are the specs on each display:

• Galaxy S IV - 5" 1920 x 1080 HD display
• HTC One - 4.7" 1920 x 1080 HD display

CAMERAS

The cameras on both of these units are outstanding. One has a much higher megapixel camera, but don't let that fool you. The HTC One may only have 1/4th of the megapixel rating as the Galaxy S IV, but it takes pictures that are just as vivid and brilliant. I have heard reports that the Galaxy S IV camera is incredibly fast, however. I'm not sure what the thinking behind such a small rear camera on the HTC One, but I don't think it will dissapoint. The only advantage here is that the Galaxy S IV can capture images with both cameras at the same time for an interesting effect. Both have great front-facing cameras. The specs are as follows:

• Galaxy S IV - 13Mp rear camera, 2.0Mp front facing camera
• HTC One - 4Mp rear camera, 2.1Mp front facing camera

FORM FACTOR

The Galaxy S IV is a smaller, thinner, lighter handset than the HTC One. But some people prefer the heavier, more solid build of the HTC One. Others prefer the lighter composite plastic build of the Galaxy S IV. For clumsy people like me, I would rather drop a Galaxy S IV. I don't think the HTC One will survive a similar drop to a hard surface, but it is still built in a way that it won't be nearly as fragile as an iPhone. Here are the specs on size & weight:

• Galaxy S IV - 8mm thick, 130 grams
• HTC One - 9mm thick, 143 grams

BATTERY

This is a category where the Galaxy S IV is the clear winner. This aspect alone gives me reason to pick the Samsung product. The batteries on both are very capable, but the Galaxy S IV packs a bit more juice. But the deal breaker for me is that the HTC One does not have a removable battery. I love the option of having the capability of popping in a spare battery with the Galaxy S IV. Here's the battery comparison:

• Galaxy S IV - 2,600 mA·h, removable
  
• HTC One - 2,300 mA·h, non-removable

OTHER SIMILAR FEATURES

Both of these incredible smartphones come with 32Gb of internal memory plus 2Gb of RAM. Both units are built to run on the 4G LTE networks of all major carriers that have coverage. Android Jellybean operating system is the standard for both, and each comes with its own version of a UI overlay. As of recent, HTC has added similar features that allow eye scrolling and smart pause for watchin videos. So there's no clear winner with any of these general categories.

One comment I have heard from Leo Laporte was that the HTC One has a slightly less durable front glass. He reported that he scratched the display while testing the HTC One, and really wasn't being haphazard with handling the unit. A screen protector could help to avoid this, but if you are one who doesn't like to mask your screen, this could be an issue.

What it boils down to is personal preference. If you are the type of person who conserves the juice in your phone, you'll do fine either way. For heavy users as myself, the lack of a removable battery will be a significant issue.

I prefer the lighter, thinner design of the Samsung Galaxy S IV because I am accident prone. Others might like the stronger, "heavier" build that gives the impression of better quality. But the heavier they come, the harder they fall. Add to that the issue with the battery removal, and I give the slight edge to the Samsung Galaxy S IV.

But again, you can't go wrong with either of these smartphones. The HTC One is still a beautiful, well-built phone with several superior capabilities than most other Android phones. So I give them both a green light. You'll just see me packing a Galaxy S IV with two spare batteries if you catch me out on the streets.

What is your opinion of these smartphones? If you are due for an upgrade, or if you've just bought one of the two of these smartphones, I'd love to hear why you chose one over the other. Share your thoughts in the Disqus comments section!

Carlton Flowers
Gadget Lover Supreme

GO SHOPPING NOW FOR THE BEST PRICING ON SMARTPHONES AT AMAZON!

Hit the link above to check out the Samsung Galaxy S IV and the HTC One on all major carriers in the Amazon Wireless Store! You'll get the best pricing on both of these units with a new 2-year contract with super fast shipping

"Soft-Bricked" by Android - How My Galaxy S2 Got Whacked

LATEST ANDROID UPDATE SOFT BRICKS SAMSUNG SMARTPHONES

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone, you might have been one of many people who got "soft-bricked" by the latest Android update to version 4.0.4 this month. I was one of them.

Listen to the audio and I will tell you about how I originally thought I damaged the phone, what my phone did when it got stuck into a "boot loop", and what I had to do to save it. You'll also hear about the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of certain things on my phone after I erased it.

As a nice bonus, you'll hear my opinion about the life of Samsung smartphones and how they conflict with the carrier's contracts. Enjoy the podcast, and share your thoughts in the Disqus comments section!

Carlton Flowers
Podcaster Supreme

The "Heavy" Question On Quality - Samsung, HTC, iPhone

REAL TALK ON QUALITY - IS HEAVY BETTER?

There's no super technological insight on this post. This is just a rant based on a question that I'd like to put out there to the smartphone world. Why does "heavy" mean better quality?

Day after day, I read reviews on Samsung smartphone products from all the gadget pundits. 9.9 times out of 10, writers claim that Samsung devices feel "cheap", because they don't have the heavy build of HTC, Apple, and other brand products.

This does not make sense to me. But time after time, the "experts" claim that heavy is better, and a bulky solid build means "quality". While the tech world pushes to make devices thinner and lighter, the complaints seem to go on and on despite the obvious advantage.

Have you ever dropped an iPhone or an HTC smartphone? Unless you like spending your hard earned money on expensive fragile smartphones, I can't for the life of me figure out why so many people complain that lighter weight devices feel "cheap".

The Samsung Galaxy S IV is about to be released this month. For the third time (since the release of the Galaxy S II), the complaints about the apparent cheap build are rolling in strong. They say that the Galaxy smartphones are too plastic-like. Forget the fact that they are made out of durable polycarbonate material. They are just cheap... or so they say.

I drop my phone on a regular basis. It happens daily. I owned an Apple iPhone 3GS, and an iPhone 4. Both were dropped from a height of 2 feet or less, and both were destroyed in one drop. But I have drop-kicked my Galaxy S II trying to catch it with my foot, and I have yet to break it.

To me, a lighter weight smartphone with a stronger material is common sense design. The heavier the phone, the harder the impact it brings when it says "hello" to the concrete. That is why I have had so much better luck with my Galaxy S II.

But just as with comparisons to Apple products, writers claim that the HTC devices have more of a solid "quality feel" too. I don't get it. While the HTC devices can handle impact a little better than iPhones, they still can't survive a drop like a Samsung smartphone.

I don't know how you iPhone and HTC owners feel about this, but I don't want a smartphone that feels like a pack of lead sinkers in my pocket. I don't want to know it's there when it is snugly packed away in my front pocket. But the madness continues with writers claiming that "heavy" equals quality.

When I tested the Samsung Galaxy S III from AT&T, I thought the look and feel was fantastic. Never once did I feel that the S III was "cheap" because of the material used. And the Galaxy S IV will follow with an equally light design, but thinner.

I love the gigantic 5" screen size on the new Galaxy S IV. Bigger is better in my book. And I think it awesome that the S IV will be thinner, built with polycarbonate material, and maintaining it's feather-light weight while increasing the size.

So many people were expecting Samsung to "improve" the quality of the build by creating a heavy, more dense device with a new material. I imagine they wanted to see a composite build similar to the HTC One X or the Nokia Lumia 920. Both of those handsets, in my opinion, are just too heavy.

I'll be the first writer to say that I am happy that Samsung has decided to continue manufacturing lighter, thinner smartphones with the new form factor of the Galaxy S IV. I can't wait to get my hands on my own Galaxy S IV the minute my upgrade is available in May.

Maybe the rest of the mindless writers can go shopping for Galaxy S IV cases made from a lead alloy so they can get that "quality feeling" that they are looking for. Meanwhile, I'll take it like it is. And I will not be putting a case around my S IV... because it doesn't need one.

Carlton Flowers
Common Sense Gadget Commentator

Samsung Galaxy S VI Announcement Near! New S Pen Prediction

"SAMSUNG UNPACKED" EVENT IS SLATED - WILL WE SEE AN S PEN?

It's officially official! The next "Samsung Unpacked" event is scheduled for March 14th, 2013 for the unveiling of the wildly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone, to be held in New York City. That said, what is the status on inclusion of an S Pen?

By now, you all know that the magical S Pen sits on the forefront of my mind. I am more interested in this feature than any other. Up until now, the prognosticators have been waffling on this issue more than Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election.

As much as I want to have slightly-smaller-yet-more-powerful version of the Samsung Galaxy Note II with an equally capable S Pen stylus, I don't think it will come to fruition with the Galaxy S IV. There are two overwhelming reasons why I now believe the "no-S-Pen" predictors are calling this one correctly.

First, the inclusion of an S Pen would make the Galaxy S IV compete directly with the Note II, a phablet device that is still selling strong and not yet willing to be driven into obsolescence. Previously, I wishfully thought that the S Pen would become the new standard for all Galaxy handsets and tablets. But it doesn't appear that this is the direction the company is moving.

Even though Samsung likes to whip out updated devices faster than you can blink your eyes, they aren't going to kill the insanely popular Galaxy Note II this far ahead of the future third generation edition of the Note. We don't even have any fresh or credible rumors on the follow-up at this point. That makes me tend to believe that they are still going to ride out the popularity of the Note II and maximize their return on investment before killing it dead.

Second, I hate to admit it, but the addition of an S Pen stylus to the Galaxy S IV smartphone will add unnecessary extra thickness to a device that they might be trying to "thin out". If an S Pen was included similar to what we have with the Note II, the device would have to be about 9.1mm in thickness to house it inside of the case.

Everyone knows that the race is on to make the most paper-thin smartphone on the market. In my opinion, this is not practical, and it provides no advantage. How slim do we need a smartphone to be before we stop the maddening race-to-paper-thinness? I think it has gone too far. But the smarphone manufacturers don't seem to agree with me.

Therefore, with thinness being the call of the day, I seriously don't see Samsung switching from selling a super slim sliver of a smartphone to make a fatter S Pen-packing phablet just for the stylus nerds like myself. Sad as it seems, this is the reality of the situation. My Galaxy IV S Pen dreams will likely be dashed on March 14th, 2013.

That begs the question... will I still desire a stylus-less Galaxy S4 device? Possibly. Here's why.

If they diss the stylus nerds and leave out the S Pen on the S4, they will more than likely include touchless gestures for scrolling and selecting. This would liberate the user from gunking up the screen while manipulating the device. It is an exciting and welcomed feature. Not exactly a replacement for a stylus, but a nice concession.

If Samsung figures out a way to bring the multitasking, window-floating, and video preview features without the aid of an S Pen, it might be just as good of an experience as with the Galaxy Note II. And the obvious benefit would be that you could have the same powerful features without a stylus to misplace.

I would say that a Galaxy S IV without an S Pen would probably be used more like a smartphone and less like a phablet. Maybe this would be Samsung's slick way to force me into considering the Galaxy Note 8... and spend more of the money I already don't have.

Oh well.

Carlton Flowers
S Pen Enthusiast