Do not read this if you intend to buy the Samsung Galaxy S4! Trust me. I know. I wrote it.
Here, I’m going to tell you why, you (or rather why I) should not get the Samsung Galaxy S4, despite the fact that most hardware components have improved from the award winning Samsung Galaxy S3.
Firstly, it feels like the Samsung Galaxy S3. I don’t get it. You pay RM2,199 for the phone, and you get a plastic back phone which feels ‘cheap’. I know it’s light, but it feels cheap. It’s like a toy phone!
The bigger 5 inches screen is amazing to look at. It’s vivid, crystal clear, and plays HD. Awesome, but not until you decide to carry the phone around. At 5.38 inches long and 2.75 inches wide, this phone is no where ‘pocket friendly’. You’d probably end up yanking it in a hard case, and carrying it in your hand like a tablet. Well, might as well get a tablet then, huh?
Sometimes I wonder why they keep making bigger phones. There was a moment in life when people wanted mobile phones to be, yeah, mobile. Guess that gen has passed =(
And that huge crisp screen will definitely give you a power headache. I know you saw the battery specifications which said that the Samsung S4 is equipped with a 2,600mAh battery, but numbers mean nothing with a energy draining screen which comes at 5 inches. Hey, the Samsung S2 came with a 1650mAh battery, and it lasted about 9 hours on 3G talktime. The S3 came with a whopping 2100mAh battery, and it lasted a little above 10 hours thanks to it’s 4.8 inches screen. I bet the S4 will improve this time frame, but it will not be that significant.
Now, the physical look of the S4. I was expecting something better from Samsung, probably something like LG’s Nexus 4 or, something more futuristic. However, the ‘clone’ of S3 emerge. I never fancied the S3 design, so I have to say the S4 does not look awesome as well.
But not all is bad about the phone. The amazing 13 Megapixel camera is of its own class, and the smoothness of the phone’s Android 4.2 would make you go WOW! in no time. Add in that additional expansion SD card slot to the already ready 16GB internal memory, and you have something close to a dream phone.
But then again, at an expected RM2,399 price (my asumption), a Samsung S3 looks more realistic.
After all, why do you need a phone with a freaking high resolution camera, with such a huge memory available. If you badly need a camera, get a DSLR.
For now, my trustworthy Samsung Galaxy S2 looks pretty darn amazing with its small, pocket friendly size, its sharp 8.0 megapixel camera, and its 16GB internal memory space. And… it only comes at RM1,200 now.