rushmore
Extreme Android User
I have a 32GB S3 and have had some "quality" time with the S4. Here are my findings on some main stuff:
Build: Same materials but S4 seems better
Display: I do not notice a real practical difference at normal viewing distance, but the extra .2" with the same dimensions is impressive. The display is better though. S3 = VERY good and S4 = WOW
Touch response: S3 and S4 are both great
Sound: The S3 is very good and so is the S4. I still prefer the iPod 5, but they are close.
Signal reception: Only can test around a store so FWIW, dBm appears similar to the S3. No wifi test.
Speed: Though benchmarks are far better with the S4, I do not see this with games, how fast they load up, or the UI. The UI actually seems a tad slower (just like the AT&T version). I will test game emulators today to see how the real world cpu function is. I test the game Dead or Alive+ using MAMEreloaded. The only device that plays it even near playable is the iPad 4. Every other device chipset tested (Snap dual, Tegra 3, 4470) the game is sloooow.
Heat: The S3 gets hot in certain situations and the S4 gets hotter. In fairness, all devices this size get hot since a lot is happening with the cpu/gpu, radios and display. The 300 in the S4 uses the same fabrication process as the dual Snapdragon in the S3. It does not take much to figure and expect a device running faster and twice the pixels to push will get even hotter and it does. The S4 display to the touch gets hotter than the S3. Not a surprise to me and understandable.
Camera: I always thought the S3 had a good camera, but the S4 has an amazing camara and is an optical zoom lense away from making a lot of standalone cameras pointless. Digital zoom regardless of software tricks is still just a digital zoom of an image (not a real zoom).
I must admit that I now feel less ticked-off about Verizon not offering a 32GB model. Yes, the display is better and the camera amazing, but the reception seems no better and the actual speed when using does not seem much of a step up. I wonder if part of the issue is the 1080 display, since twice the pixels for the GPU. The reason the iPad 4 blows all other current devices aways is the bigger GPU to handle the extra pixels.
Of course, if I get to venture beyond the perimeter of a store and discover the reception really is better and I test Dead or Alive+ out and it plays smooth (I am a gamer & love MAME)- I will go back to being very ticked-off at Verizon.
Simple summary is IMO the S4 is not the same mega step up the S3 was, but if you are fine with 9GB of app storage (many are), the S4 is a worthy upgrade. If storage is an issue, the S3 is more than fine until something else with more storage does come along.
Added: I find about all the extra sensors and the stock software a bunch of fluff and not worthy of losing almost 2GB of storage for. The camera features I like, but not sure how much space is taken up by that (my guess is not too much is).
Build: Same materials but S4 seems better
Display: I do not notice a real practical difference at normal viewing distance, but the extra .2" with the same dimensions is impressive. The display is better though. S3 = VERY good and S4 = WOW
Touch response: S3 and S4 are both great
Sound: The S3 is very good and so is the S4. I still prefer the iPod 5, but they are close.
Signal reception: Only can test around a store so FWIW, dBm appears similar to the S3. No wifi test.
Speed: Though benchmarks are far better with the S4, I do not see this with games, how fast they load up, or the UI. The UI actually seems a tad slower (just like the AT&T version). I will test game emulators today to see how the real world cpu function is. I test the game Dead or Alive+ using MAMEreloaded. The only device that plays it even near playable is the iPad 4. Every other device chipset tested (Snap dual, Tegra 3, 4470) the game is sloooow.
Heat: The S3 gets hot in certain situations and the S4 gets hotter. In fairness, all devices this size get hot since a lot is happening with the cpu/gpu, radios and display. The 300 in the S4 uses the same fabrication process as the dual Snapdragon in the S3. It does not take much to figure and expect a device running faster and twice the pixels to push will get even hotter and it does. The S4 display to the touch gets hotter than the S3. Not a surprise to me and understandable.
Camera: I always thought the S3 had a good camera, but the S4 has an amazing camara and is an optical zoom lense away from making a lot of standalone cameras pointless. Digital zoom regardless of software tricks is still just a digital zoom of an image (not a real zoom).
I must admit that I now feel less ticked-off about Verizon not offering a 32GB model. Yes, the display is better and the camera amazing, but the reception seems no better and the actual speed when using does not seem much of a step up. I wonder if part of the issue is the 1080 display, since twice the pixels for the GPU. The reason the iPad 4 blows all other current devices aways is the bigger GPU to handle the extra pixels.
Of course, if I get to venture beyond the perimeter of a store and discover the reception really is better and I test Dead or Alive+ out and it plays smooth (I am a gamer & love MAME)- I will go back to being very ticked-off at Verizon.
Simple summary is IMO the S4 is not the same mega step up the S3 was, but if you are fine with 9GB of app storage (many are), the S4 is a worthy upgrade. If storage is an issue, the S3 is more than fine until something else with more storage does come along.
Added: I find about all the extra sensors and the stock software a bunch of fluff and not worthy of losing almost 2GB of storage for. The camera features I like, but not sure how much space is taken up by that (my guess is not too much is).
