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Samsung Galaxy S 4 Is Today's Best Android Smartphone: 10 Reasons Why

That site is really hard to read on my S2.

Starting with the company's Galaxy S2 and on down to its latest launch, the Galaxy S 4, Samsung has been offering some of the finest handsets available in the entire mobile space, let alone the Android ecosystem. And the company's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, is the very best option for any consumer or enterprise customer.Read on to find out whySamsung's Galaxy S 4 is today's very best Android handset.Apps on BlackBerry 10: What Every Developer Should KnowDownload Now1. Apple has validated SamsungBranding matters in the mobile phone market. Consumers and enterprise users need to be convinced that particular mobile device makers will deliver consistently strong products. Apple is one of those companies that does that. But by targeting Samsung so heavily in lawsuits around the world, the iPhone maker has validated Samsung as its arch-nemesis and thus, its chief market rival. In other words, Apple has practically told the world that it's worried about Samsung's high-quality products. And customers have listened.2. Samsung has proven its worthAt the same time,*Samsung needs to be given credit. Like every other company in the Android marketplace, it's only selling devices that it hopes customers will like. Unlike HTC, Motorola and many others, however, Samsung has been delivering the kind of products that customers are immediately drawn to. In other words, Samsung has proven itself in customers' eyes.3. That big screen mattersGetting to the Galaxy S 4, it's hard to not point out that the device's 5-inch display could be a major selling point for customers. The device's display is huge compared with the iPhone 5's 4-inch display, and although companies like HTC have been offering 4.7-inch screens, the extra 0.3 inches matter quite a bit.4. A solid Siri competitorSamsung's Siri competitor S Voice is probably not as strong in terms of its feature as Apple's Siri, but it comes close. The best part is it's a proprietary offering that Android competitors can't bundle with their own products. In a world where being Apple-like matters greatly, Samsung is doing an awfully good job of doing just that.5. Samsung's software is superiorAlthough it might seem like all Android devices would be equal when it comes to software, Samsung is taking a different tack. Samsung tosses its own Android flavor atop the standard operating system, allowing it to customize the experience and bring out some features that other products don't have. Samsung*has essentially turned an open platform into a proprietary experience. Some people might say it's a mistake to go this proprietary route. But it's working for Samsung.6. A fully integrated environmentLike Apple, Samsung has realized that in order to be successful in the mobile market, it needs to offer several complementary applications that help customers do more than just surf the Web and buy apps. That's why the company's mobile devices,including the Galaxy S 4, come with several bundled products, like its Samsung Apps marketplace along with a video and music store. It's a fully integrated environment.7. A phone that you can use all dayThere are some devices, like the BlackBerry Z10, that are useful during the workday, but are of limited value after leaving the office. Products like the HTC One are great when home, but not so nice when at work. The Galaxy S 4, however, has the whole day covered. The device comes with ample security and enterprise-friendly features to appeal to the IT department, but can also double as an entertainment companion when away from the office. That's a huge plus in today's always-connected mobile environment.8. Serious storageAlthough the Galaxy S 4 comes with the customer's choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of space, it also has a micro slot that owners can use to bundle another 64GB of storage. In other words, out of the box, the Galaxy S 4 can store 128GB of content. That's a massive improvement over the vast majority of Android devices that typically only support 32GB of space. And that's probably why customers are so keen on buying Samsung's device.9. There's an eight-core processor out thereAlthough it's not currently available in the U.S., Samsung offers an octa-core processor in the Galaxy S 4 that is blazingly fast. For all others, the company's quad-core processor is far superior to nearly all chips available in other devices. In either version, the Galaxy S 4's processor is impressive.10. What a camera!Samsung shocked the world earlier this year when it showed off the Galaxy S 4 and announced that*it comes with a 13-megapixel camera. Better yet, it features an outstanding lens and is capable of capturing absolutely stunning photos that can be blown up to be displayed on a wall or as a portrait. Yes, the Galaxy S 4's camera is that good.
 
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It was a good read but I have to agree with OptimusL. It really does come down to the end-users experience with their devices. Every phone user has an opinion and they're all valid to that particular user.

Yep you have to consider that people have different preferences and not all products will bring the same value to customers. If someone wants a good mid ranger with an affordable price tag and nothing more, you won't convince them that the S4 or the One or the G Pro is the best for them.
 
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Lol these "lists" are always subjective. "Samsung's software is superior" - not for someone who doesn't like Touchwiz or it's gimmicky features. It's one of the best phones no doubt, but it's not the best phone. Many people consider the HTC One to be the best.

It was a good read but I have to agree with OptimusL. It really does come down to the end-users experience with their devices. Every phone user has an opinion and they're all valid to that particular user.

Yep you have to consider that people have different preferences and not all products will bring the same value to customers. If someone wants a good mid ranger with an affordable price tag and nothing more, you won't convince them that the S4 or the One or the G Pro is the best for them.

No, no, no.
A person on a website put together a top 10 list, they wouldn't have gone through all of that trouble if every person had their own preferences and opinions.

Personally I didn't think the S4 was the best, but now that I've seen a top 10 list...
 
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It's all about preference. My brother in law has the HTC one and it's a pretty neat phone. I simply prefer the gs4 because my first smart phone was the galaxy Blaze, then the GSII and now the GS4. My girlfriend had the first Galaxy and the GSIII so I'm just way too used to the galaxy to hop on to HTC. Like I said it's all based on preference.

We can all agree that both phones are better than the iphone though :D
 
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There's no "best" phone, sadly to say, since everyone has a different opinion on UI, Hardware, etc.
There are the "top" phones though. I'd say the top phones of 2013 so far are the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, and the Apple iPhone 5.
That list will probably change as well since we still have 5-6 months left with new phones expected to be announced and released.
 
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Just to poke at the list a little bit:
1) "Apple validating Samsung by suing them". Apple has sued every android oem for the most part. HTC has recently settled with Apple with licensing deals which is why you don't hear about it much any more. This point is basically worthless.

2)Pretty much on the money. "That Galaxy" phone has replaced the "DROID" branding with the casual consumer so it is a statement of arrival.

3)The big screen is subjective, some people love it, some people hate it. The Galaxy S4 clocking in at 5 inches doesn't put it on a class of it's own because the DNA/Butterfly J released last fall also had a 5 inch screen.

4)Voice recognition in Google Now is better than both and comes on all Jellybean devices. It might not be as much of a personal assistant as siri/svoice, (svoice btw is based off of vlingo) but it's much better at transcoding one's voice. Either way, I don't buy as much stock in it as some people do. If you enjoy it, that's great.

5)Samsung adds little gimmicky features on top of android. Some are pretty nifty like multi-window, some really meh. Either way they take up space which I'll get to in a later point. Some people don't need or want these features and hence run AOSP roms or use other devices.

6)While Samsung might have it's own integrated system, Google and Apple's are much more mature. Most people who download apps to it from the iTunes store or Google Play, not samsung's market.

7)Some people don't need to use their phone for their job, so it's yet again another subjective topic. For basic functions at work like needing it to last, and having good reception, I'd still prefer a Motorola Maxx device over a GS4.

8) The serious storage point is one of the biggest joke points on this list. Saying that there's a 16, 32 and 64 gb option is such a lie. Almost every version released is a 16GB with only AT&T having a 32GB. However, Even though it's a 16GB, you really only get 9 usable because Samsung's software is so bloated. SD card is nice for media, but apps cannot be saved to the SD card which means 4 big games and your internal memory is gone.

9) The "oct-core" version isn't an 8 simultaneous device. It's a dual-quad-core device meaning that you can only use 4 at a time, not all 8. It's nice for battery life, but doesn't grant you serious processing power over the normal quad-core version. It's all marketing ploy.

10) I'll give it it's props when it comes to the camera. It's is very good and most people will be quite happy with it.

Overall the GS4 is a good phone, but best is completely an opinion. It's not my cup of tea, but I'm sure many people would be quite happy with it.
 
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9) The "oct-core" version isn't an 8 simultaneous device. It's a dual-quad-core device meaning that you can only use 4 at a time, not all 8. It's nice for battery life, but doesn't grant you serious processing power over the normal quad-core version. It's all marketing ploy.
Not, it seems, a successful one either.

For whatever reason, it's only been available in a minority of S4s, and the pre-release hoo-ha about the Exynos Octa left a lot of people feeling that they were getting the "inferior" version. Then when it does arrive it turns out not to be strikingly better in real use, if at all (usage depends on the individual). And now they are releasing, at least in some markets, a more powerful update using a (quad core) Snapdragon 800, and in the process annoying some customers because their bragging rights are being superseded already. That's a long way from a clear and consistent marketing strategy!

I can only imagine what the blogosphere pundits and "analysts" would be saying if another manufacturer had done something similar. Fortunately for Samsung, most customers are probably unaware of any of this - it's just a minority like us who notice/obsess about this stuff :)

And what's with the Snapdragon 800 in the LTE-A model? Surely it must be more economic to use your own chip fab, rather than buy someone else's products (unless your capacity is being used to make something more profitable). So is this that they can't produce the Exynos Quad in sufficient quantity, that it can't handle LTE-A, or that they're worried about being overshadowed in the benchmark game if they stick with it? Will be interesting to see what the Note 3 uses.
 
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No, no, no.
A person on a website put together a top 10 list, they wouldn't have gone through all of that trouble if every person had their own preferences and opinions.

Personally I didn't think the S4 was the best, but now that I've seen a top 10 list...

Oh I see, so a person makes a subjective top 10 list and therefore that automatically makes it the best phone? Plus that's not even a well thought out list, they just paraphrased from other sites.
 
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Lol these "lists" are always subjective. "Samsung's software is superior" - not for someone who doesn't like Touchwiz or it's gimmicky features. It's one of the best phones no doubt, but it's not the best phone. Many people consider the HTC One to be the best.
I am never bothered by Touchwiz or Sense, or any of those.
The first thing I do is switch to the launcher of my choice anyway, so manufacturer launcher doesn't even figure into my choice of favorite/best device.
I must say that of all of the smartphones I have ever had, S4 is my favorite so far, and the best choice for me. I do still love my Note 2 screen, though.:)
 
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6)While Samsung might have it's own integrated system, Google and Apple's are much more mature. Most people who download apps to it from the iTunes store or Google Play, not samsung's market.

I've actually started using Samsung Apps for paid stuff. Because it doesn't impose geographical restrictions on where paid apps and games are available. Google Play is free apps only where I am, except for Hong Kong, and the Amazon Appstore is just not available at all(United States only?) Paid content is available from the iTunes Store where I am as well, but that would obviously require me to have an iOS device.
 
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I am never bothered by Touchwiz or Sense, or any of those.
The first thing I do is switch to the launcher of my choice anyway, so manufacturer launcher doesn't even figure into my choice of favorite/best device.
I must say that of all of the smartphones I have ever had, S4 is my favorite so far, and the best choice for me. I do still love my Note 2 screen, though.:)

Yea i'm not saying i'm bothered by it either or anything, it's just that an absolute statement like that is silly.

Sorry if im wrong here lol but im fairly sure Pool Shark was being..... sArCaStIc? :p

You're probably right, but to be fair it's not easy to convey sarcasm over text without the use of smileys.
 
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