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So who's seriously thinking about spending $649 on Google's special edition GS4?

sean76

sean76

Android Expert
Ok so I was pretty shocked that this is actually really going to happen! We will all have the availability to buy an unlocked Samsung GS4 flagship phone directly from google running the latest version of Android... Wow I really love how that sounds!

Only one tiny issue, it's going to come at the steep price of $649...double wow!

So my question is, who's jumping in to grab one of these in June.

I for one will be giving it a try in white ; )
 
I'm considering it even though I got the N4 not too long ago.

It's essentially what some of us have asked for: a top of the line phone with no skin and faster updates. An HTC One version would have been nice too.
 
If it was available on Verizon I would at least consider it. Now, if they released a Google edition note 3 on Verizon I would mail them a blank check! (I know, never gonna happen lol)
 
Why do people think it is outrageous? Because of the current nexus pricing or because they are comparing it to the 200 dollar price when resigning a contract?

I know a lot if people who have to pay full price for phones. This phone isn't meant for those trying to use an upgrade.

This isn't as cheap as a nexus but the nexus phones don't usually have bleeding edge technology when they are released.

This is the same price as a galaxy s4 at the carries just not subsidized.

This is good for certain types of people, the mass amount of people won't even know this exist. But those who don't resign contracts will love this.

I know this isn't exactly what people call cheap but it is the same price im paying off contract right now for my Verizon galaxy s4 and this has stock android.

This is a great option for those looking for stock android and willing to pay full price.

Samsung doesn't want the mass consumer to have this either it would take away from touchwiz and they don't want that.

Hopefully google partners with more manufactures and we have more options.
 
I already have a Samsung Galaxy s4 and the one thing I'm trying to make sense here is... Isn't all the Samsung software that comes with the s4 half the reason you want one? I understand that the Nexus devices are stock and run butter smooth. But the s voice, air view, air gesture etc.. are all things I like about the phone. Otherwise I may have gotten a HTC One. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand the move.
 
What the hell were they thinking? That's double the price of the Nexus 4!

I'm really disappointed they resorted to "rehashing" the GS4 this year. I was hoping for a Nexus from Moto.
 
ANewDay said:
What the hell were they thinking? That's double the price of the Nexus 4!

I'm really disappointed they resorted to "rehashing" the GS4 this year. I was hoping for a Nexus from Moto.
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The Google gs4 isn't officially a nexus phone. I'm sure they will release a nexus 5 later in the year. There is also talk of a white nexus 4 with android 4.3 being released next month. Apparently, the ge s4 was a project that was put together just a short while before the conference
 
Wouldn't do it only because even buying the phone at full price I am still going to be paying a lot for monthly service on my AT&T account. I never thought any device was worth that much, even an iPhone considering Apple builds them for just under $200, that is a huge profit. I love the Note II, but that phone is not worth $300 thru AT&T, or $700 unlocked, no way.

I am sure Google will drop the price once they realize they will not be selling a lot of those, especially it is only available for GSM, leaves VZ and Sprint customers in the dark, not that I mind, but there are those who do.
 
If I hadn't just bought a Nexus 4, I would be waiting until after release to find out info from people who had it in hand. I have questions on rather fastboot would be blocked out like on normal Galaxy phones or if it would be enabled like on the Gnex. Odin is such a pain to use in comparison that I don't like to bother with it if possible.
 
I plan on selling my T-Mobile S3 and picking up this phone in July. I never sign contracts and being with T-Mobile I'm stuck paying full price regardless. The Google edition of the S4 should be faster than the Touchwiz version since it is running vanilla Android.

wicked1 said:
Wouldn't do it only because even buying the phone at full price I am still going to be paying a lot for monthly service on my AT&T account. I never thought any device was worth that much, even an iPhone considering Apple builds them for just under $200, that is a huge profit. I love the Note II, but that phone is not worth $300 thru AT&T, or $700 unlocked, no way.

I am sure Google will drop the price once they realize they will not be selling a lot of those, especially it is only available for GSM, leaves VZ and Sprint customers in the dark, not that I mind, but there are those who do.
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Just because the parts cost $200 doesn't mean it cost $200 to create them. There's a lot of the R&D with the software and hardware that will increase the overall cost of the phone. Designing the software, hardware, etc. isn't cheap.

And Google has been selling only GSM versions of their phone for awhile now. I don't think they're expecting high sales for this phone. They have to know that only a small percentage of people are willing to pay for this device, that's why it's only going to be sold through Google Play.
 
I am 100% getting one! But I have a few reasons...

First and foremost- most of the money for me to buy it will be from me selling my other White iphone 5 for around $500- only leaves me with about $200 to put in with tax and shipping. So I'll write it off as $200 for the phone!

Next is the fact that I really really love stock Android! I just can't shake the fact that I am so over skins and really just like a phone that is running stock Android. I have the HTC one right now but am returning it tomorrow to at&t mostly for the fact that I can't get use to sense. Don't get me wrong it's not terrible at all, it's actually really nice and so much better then previous versions of sense, but plain and simple I like stock Android the way it was meant to be with no limitations or rules.

And yes the camera! Samsung makes really good shooters, and the S4 follows that trait. For me to have a stock Android phone, with a relatively awesome camera, and expandable storage is just kind of my dream phone. I know that the hardware is not as good as the HTC ONE, but IMO the pros heavily out weigh the cons.
 
ANewDay said:
What the hell were they thinking? That's double the price of the Nexus 4!

I'm really disappointed they resorted to "rehashing" the GS4 this year. I was hoping for a Nexus from Moto.
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It would be detrimental to samsung if they decided to let google offer an unlocked galaxy s4 for only 349.99 while wanting you to buy it on contract for nearly as much. With these things its hardly ever possible to satisfy everyone.
 
iNeedMoreMoney said:
I plan on selling my T-Mobile S3 and picking up this phone in July. I never sign contracts and being with T-Mobile I'm stuck paying full price regardless. The Google edition of the S4 should be faster than the Touchwiz version since it is running vanilla Android.



Just because the parts cost $200 doesn't mean it cost $200 to create them. There's a lot of the R&D with the software and hardware that will increase the overall cost of the phone. Designing the software, hardware, etc. isn't cheap.

And Google has been selling only GSM versions of their phone for awhile now. I don't think they're expecting high sales for this phone. They have to know that only a small percentage of people are willing to pay for this device, that's why it's only going to be sold through Google Play.
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Wholey agree with your statement regarding google's desicions with this phone. I think a part of the reason they did this is to settle down all the buzz for the supposed nexus 5 or x phone (atleast until theyre ready to start teasing us)
 
After selling my current devices this ends up not being that steep, which a lot of people tend to forget. I'm considering it.
 
JunBringer said:
After selling my current devices this ends up not being that steep, which a lot of people tend to forget. I'm considering it.
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That's pretty much what I'm doing, I'll get some really good coin for my iphone 5 (amazing how much they keep they're value) and just put the difference in!
 
Yeah, I figured I should be able to sell my S3 with 2 screen protectors, a Seidio Active Case and a UAG case on Craiglist for around $300..Maybe a little more. Leaving me paying around $350 for the phone. It's really not that bad. People in this country(USA) have been spoiled with subsidized phones...
 
ANewDay said:
What the hell were they thinking? That's double the price of the Nexus 4!

I'm really disappointed they resorted to "rehashing" the GS4 this year. I was hoping for a Nexus from Moto.
Click to expand...
You are comparing apples to oranges, the Nexus4 does not even come close to specs compared to the S4, you get what you pay for. S4 comes with LTE, large removable battery, removable micro SD card, 1080P screen, 13 Megapixel camera, Snapdragon 600 Chip and 320 Adreno GPU. The Nexus 4 is not even in the same league, you are comparing a minor league double AA team to a Major league team here. You are buying an unlocked, bloat free powerhouse S4 with pure JB sweetness, this phone will fly, and yes you are paying full retail for the phone, since it is not carrier branded with all their bloatware, even if you decided to purchase the phone full retail from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or any other carrier, you will pay $649.
 
I'm on Verizon with unlimited data. I plan to keep that as long as I can. I must have missed it but which internal memory version is the Google S4? If it is the 32 or 64 Gig version I might consider leaving Verizon for it. If I buy off-contract from Verizon to preserve my unlimited plan it will likely be available in only the 16 Gig version and we don't yet know whether it will be possible to unlock the bootloader. Off contract price will likely be near the Google price but for less phone. I am given to understand that with all the Samsung and Verizon bloatware, that only about half of the 16 Gig will be available to the user. Since they apparently no longer let you put apps on SD card the 8 Gig available would not be enough. I already have about 12 Gig of apps on my 32 Gig GNex. Either way, I am going to get it at unsubsidized price.
 
wtherrell said:
I'm on Verizon with unlimited data. I plan to keep that as long as I can. I must have missed it but which internal memory version is the Google S4? If it is the 32 or 64 Gig version I might consider leaving Verizon for it. If I buy off-contract from Verizon to preserve my unlimited plan it will likely be available in only the 16 Gig version and we don't yet know whether it will be possible to unlock the bootloader. Off contract price will likely be near the Google price but for less phone. I am given to understand that with all the Samsung and Verizon bloatware, that only about half of the 16 Gig will be available to the user. Since they apparently no longer let you put apps on SD card the 8 Gig available would not be enough. I already have about 12 Gig of apps on my 32 Gig GNex. Either way, I am going to get it at unsubsidized price.
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You do know that the Google S4 only works on GSM networks, AT&T and T-Mobile, and yes it will only come with 16 Gigs internal, and most likely will have 11-12 gigs free "no Samsung and Carrier bloatware", this phone will fly, too bad it will not be on Verizon. I am in the same boat, have an S3 on Verizon with unlimited data, but I can wait till next year, since I am Unlocked and Rooted running CM 10.1 RC2/ JB 4.2.2, and the phone is BUTTERY smooth and FAST, getting rid of Verizon and Samsung bloat has breathed new life into this device.
 
PhRe4k said:
It's not much better than the Nexus 4 IMO, and definitely not worth it at twice the price.
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Come on, really?

It's got a better processor, an LTE radio, a wayyyyy better camera, an SD card slot to add memory, a removable battery for those that care, and some pretty dam good screen technology along with Gorilla glass 3.

Seriously... It's a flag ship phone without the nonsense! How much do you think a phone of that nature should cost? $299-$349 like the nexus 4? It's impossible man, how can something that's better cost the same or less?

People have been whining for years that they want a true blue flag ship phone with stock Android! So Google is going to give the masses what they want and people are going to harp on the nexus 4 pricing? No can do my man! $649 is fine with me, I have no problem paying for what I've been wishing would happen for some time now.
 
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