Hopefully they're not Apple ass-rape $100 price tiers.
Hopefully it's $200/$250/$300 at worst.
There are 3 models (per color) - 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB - so there will be 3 different price points, I assume?
There are 3 models (per color) - 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB - so there will be 3 different price points, I assume?
Or if precedence is to be trusted the carriers will chose to only sell the 16GB version in MAYBE two colors.
Nonsense. The times of s1 and s2 is over a long time ago. On a s3 go select neutral instead of dynamic or standard, that is the standard, and you are nearly there - its a striking difference on the startscreen - and you can just select it yourself. On the new S4 we have the option of selecting professional photo - RGB adobe. That kinds of end the discussion. (edit: se earlier link http://connect.dpreview.com/post/6074233481/hands-on-with-the-samsung-galaxy-s4)
Secondly, there is much more to colors that hitting the right spectrum. The dynamic contrast within each color is vital - as it is on good cameras. And thats why Oled probably wins down the road - for all high-end phones.
The new model uses a PenTile AMOLED display, the same type as on the S3 before it. A PenTile display arranges the display's subpixels as red, green, blue, green, an arrangement that helps counter the fact that blue subpixels often degrade faster on AMOLED displays. It also accounts for the display not appearing as crisp as an RGB display, such as the one found on the Galaxy Note II.
Yah. And I am also interested in LTE inter-operability. It's now clear that US/Canada will get Snapdragon 600 version, does that mean the S4 will follow iPhone 5's step, each carrier with exclusive SKUs? I seriously hope not.
Also, does the international version (Exynos 5 Octa + whatever modem) will work in the US w/ LTE?
Dunno. I'm pretty used to it on my GS2. Sure it's not as fast as having a single button, but it's still easy to use. Maybe I don't use my phone the same way as y'all, but I use the Home button far more.
As for the menu button, the issue with eliminating this is that the menu button fails to work in plenty of apps now like Foursquare, etc. However, many other apps still use the menu button well.
This is one essence of fragmentation that really screwed us over. Google has a certain implementation, but your biggest handset manufacturer has a totally different implementation. Yuck.
The search button was important for me before. It's a long press on SGS phones from what I remember... Long press menu? But anyway, once again since Google eliminated that button, in-app search is broken for half the apps out there.
Whatever our use patterns are, I'm just irritated there's fragmentation. It's partially Google's fault, Samsung's fault, etc. It's just a mess IMO.
The only issue with the N10 is the black bar wastes quite a bit of screen space due to the 16:9 aspect ratio. Like you said, it shouldn't be a problem on a phone where it was designed with a longer screen and less bezel from the outset. On a tablet, capacitive keys are not the answer either since it requires holding the device a certain way. I think the Paranoid ROM PIE controls are an interesting idea, but I also think Google should look into multi-finger gestures like the iPad uses.Maybe future Nexus devices won't have siblings that impact them negatively. I can imagine soft keys UI working better on devices designed so from the ground up. I have the N10 as well, while less offensive there, soft keys still aren't up to par.If the soft keys did much better on the N10 than the N4, I would just written it off as N4's design flaw or rather Optimus G's flaw. Resorting to ROM's isn't the ideal solution either.
Without the Optimus G as baseline, N4 could have been a 1/2" shorter. As it is on my N4 today, I would rather have a bottom notification bar with the 3 keys placed in the left half. I'm optimistic that bezel reduction is a trend and not an exception. Android needs phones with 5" displays and >85% display to bezel ratio because it doesn't have much else to fight Apple for that 1st look appeal.
I suppose I have hit the soft keys by accident once or twice while typing, I've never seen it as a major problem though. I'm not sure what inconsistencies you're referring to, other than the Back button, but that will be the same whether it's a soft key or hardware key. Recent apps is not really superfluous...it's the fastest way to get to something you just used without navigating the home screen again. I use the equivalent feature in iOS all the time.One reason I hate Google's software keys is that I often hit them while typing. Very, very irritating. Plus, they use up precious screen real estate, and are implemented in confusing ways that are inconsistent, even amongst Google's own apps. The recent apps button is totally superfluous, and IMO it's just there to be different from iOS.
Plus it's nice being able to turn on the screen from the front home button, instead of the power button.
If I were designing the phone, within the confines of Android, I'd put a physical home button, and physical back and forward buttons (on the left and right of the home button respectively). If that's not possible, then I'd put a physical home button with capacitive back and forward buttons. The separate menu button would disappear and would be dependent on the usual app location , and the recent apps would be a long hold of the home button.
Menu is the only key you could say is more "consistent" as a hardware key, but really, it only ever appears in one of two places within apps, upper-right and bottom-right, and even bottom-right is only in a very few apps that use the split action bar (Gmail, Google Voice). Which personally I think is a good thing - the most sensible location is right at the end of the bar that holds all your other commands.I can tell you why I prefer hardware keys, because of consistency of location, and it frees up screen space.
I also really hate how the menu button is now in a different place for each app, but I never had issues with the menu button (though I understand why many are against the concept from a ui perspective, its been around for longer than Android has).
Menu is the only key you could say is more "consistent" as a hardware key, but really, it only ever appears in one of two places within apps, upper-right and bottom-right, and even bottom-right is only in a very few apps that use the split action bar (Gmail, Google Voice). Which personally I think is a good thing - the most sensible location is right at the end of the bar that holds all your other commands.
Bottom right is the best IMO. There's no reason I should have to stretch my fingers to the top of my phone or reorient my phone in my hand when Galaxy S users can hit the menu button from the bottom. The inconsistency in Play Store versus Gmail is kinda annoying. There are other apps too.
But I'd like for other apps to keep the menu functionality seeing as it's a recurring theme in Samsung's phones. Just because Google got rid of it doesn't mean I need to go digging. The new Foursquare requires me to reveal the left navigation bar to find a Settings button there. Not sure why we all have to suffer because google decided to axe a button in the Nexus line.
Is there any comparison/charts between the Snapdragon 600 that SGS4 LTE has vs Exynos 5 SGS4 International?
No, so far benchmarks have been for the Qualcomm version:
Ahh, it all makes sense now. The blue dies faster so they need to make it larger so that it can still be around throughout the life of the display. But, because the pixels are larger, the screen will look more bluish. Damn, that's a hell of a compromise. Not one I am willing to take. But I will stop by Best Buy in the near future to see changing the screen to "Natural" will do anything...
Display mate rated the iPhone 5 above the SGS3. I haven't seen an OLED on a smartphone that I actually liked. The S4 may change my mind, but I'm not holding my breath.
Well you will be surprised then, you might take a look at the s4 also, and change to rgb setting. I understand your rage about the color acuracy of oled, because the standard setting on s3 is way of. Because thats what consumers like. And i completely agree, it looks awfull.
I am not to support the selection of oled for samsung. I am used to work with new ips and pls panels, and would have preferred a sharper pls screen on the s3, than the contrast and color dynamics. But i am confident the s4 will get there regarding sharpness, and as every other parameter have improved, i am quite confident it beats everything hands down. The S3 have a little bit of this 3d to the picture - and liveliness - and s4 will probably get it right.
Your quote about note beeing sharper than s4 is a lie for real usage, and you know why. Its even worse than saying the s2 is sharper than the s3. The rage about pentile is nonsense when we go to 440ppi.
The problem about oled is obviously cost secondly brightness. Samsung and LG claim they can get better cost than lcd types 2015, but i like to see that happen before i trust it. The progres for Oled takes time.
We simply need better benchmarks for screens. As it is they dont capture the benefit of Oled, but instead its a ppi race with rgb. And there is much more to it. dxomark.com is showing how its done for the cameras, i am sure something similar can be done for screens.
I don't know the intricacies of OLED enough to determine whether you or the author is telling the truth, but common sense would say that a higher resolution would indeed be sharper...
But I suspect Pentile won't be an issue for me at 440ppi.
Well since you dont rely on your own eyes for judgement, why dont go a place to learn some more fx. anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6022/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-review-att-and-tmobile-usa-variants/7
And have a look at the display pixel subtense graph, that show the sharpness, regardless if its called pentile or not.
"I present the following graph, which has the angular subtense in arcminutes along the stripe (when a device is held portrait, this is the x direction) of one logical pixel. That is to say, two subpixels if were talking about an RGBG PenTIle display, or three for an RGB display. For reference, human visual acuity is most often cited as being around 1 arcminute for the human vision system corrected to 20/20, which isnt perfect vision (20/15 or slightly better is). Anything below that should be indistinguishable at a distance of 12 inches (standard viewing distance)."
"This is what Im talking about when I say that in implementations such as the SGS3, even though PenTile is present, the logical pixel is still smaller than visual acuity, and the subpixels are half that. Theres still a case to be made for whether you can see fringing on black text on a white background to some extent, but personally I cannot see it."
No, so far benchmarks have been for the Qualcomm version:
I sure hope so. I will look at it with a critical eye (especially black text on white backgrounds) before I get one.
Excactly. And at the same time know that there is a difference from beeing able to see the individual pixels and then the sharpness. Meaning, we might no be able to see individual pixels on the s4, but sharpness can improve beyond seeing the pixels. And needs to suit your needs.