Samsung’s newest Galaxy S4 smartphone is just a revamped version of its top-selling S3 phone with a bigger screen and a few software gimmicks, reviewers said.
“The Galaxy is still a beautiful, high-horsepower Android phone,” New York Times’ columnist David Pogue wrote.
“But basically, it’s an updated Galaxy S3. If this were Apple, who adds the letter S to denote a slightly upgraded model (“iPhone 4S,” for example), Samsung might have called this phone the Galaxy S3S,” he wrote. (http://r.reuters.com/cef67t)
Samsung unveiled S4 in March in New York. It sports a 5-inch screen, 1.9 GHz quad-core processor and a 13 megapixel camera. It runs on Google Inc’s Android platform.
The S3 comes with a 4.8 inch screen, a 1.4 GHz quad core processor and an 8 megapixel camera.
Samsung has so far sold more than 40 million S3 smartphones, rivaling that of Apple Inc’s iPhones.
“(The S4) looks for all the world like the Galaxy S III — despite having a bigger screen and more horsepower, at 7.9mm and 4.6 ounces it’s actually imperceptibly thinner and lighter than the S III. But copying the S III wasn’t a good idea.” Verge’s David Pierce said. (http://r.reuters.com/taf67t)
AllThingsD’s Walt Mossberg said the S4 is a good phone, just not a great one and urged readers to consider the more polished-looking, and quite capable, HTC One, rather than defaulting to the latest Samsung offering.
“It’s an evolution of the prior model and despite some improvements, it still is especially weak in the software Samsung adds to basic Android. I found Samsung’s software often gimmicky, duplicative of standard Android apps, or, in some cases, only intermittently functional,” he said.
Galaxy S4 will roll out over the next week on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the United States.
“This isn’t a phone that’s going to convert an iPhone user, and current Galaxy S III owners aren’t going to miss out on a whole lot as far as features go,” CNN’s Adrian Covert said. (http://r.reuters.com/kaf67t)
“I don’t like holding this phone, and I can’t overstate how much that informs the experience of using it. It makes an awful first impression, slippery and slimy and simply unpleasant in your hand,” Covert said.
The Galaxy S4 is so complicated that Samsung has given it an “Easy Mode” for the less mobile savvy users, Dan Rowinski at technology blog ReadWriteWeb wrote. (http://r.reuters.com/kef67t)
However, Mashable’s Christina Warren gave the new phone a big thumbs up.
“After spending about a week with the Galaxy S4, I feel it is not only the best Galaxy product to date — it’s one of my favorite Android smartphones ever,” she said. (http://r.reuters.com/pef67t)
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is a good phone, not a great one — reviewers
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is a good phone, not a great one — reviewers
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
