11. "sprint's n3 isnt triband LTE. " In response to Reply # 5
it only supports the overcrowded, slower band 25. it was the last sprint flagship phone to not support triband. the n4 is going to have band 25, band 26 and super fast band 41 (spark) Its basically like having access to the HOV lanes. And the HOV lane having 4 lanes instead of the single lane highway that has congestion. basically these triband phones will be sprint's saviour. They already testing faster than other carriers in certain cities.
Verizon n3 had reception issues too. I'm not sure if a fix was issued, but a lot of people have had issues with it.
8. "My 3's still feeling pretty fresh, honestly." In response to Reply # 0
The main updates that I could see making a 4 more desirable would be major advances in the S-Pen interface, and we all know Samsung hasn't exactly mastered implementing Android OS customizations.
While I know I'm not upgrading anytime soon, it'll be interesting to see what they're packing into this thing.
A lot of times the "rent to own" plan is basically a 0% loan. And there can be other savings involved too.
On AT&T this happened to me.
I was paying $170 a month for two iPhones. Both were on contract and had an ETF fee. (One ETF fee was $250, the other was $275) Neither were eligible for the upgrade. Both phones were locked. One phone had "unlimited" data, the other had 2GB. (Unlimited data is 5GB per month in reality.)
AT&T offered a plan called "Mobile Share Value savings" whirring you no longer were able to get the next phone on an upgrade plan but each line decreased by $25 dollars per month.
So in one year the savings totaled $600 for both lines, which is $50 less than the new phone. So basically getting a "free" phone once a year. The plan also switched the lines to 10Gb shared data and enabled hotspot. I switched to this plan.
So the new iPhone comes out, and I've saved about $400 since the switch.
I could buy the phone outright, cash for $749 (it's the 64GB model) and then pay the tax and pay a $40 activation fee and keep the $250 ETF fee (which would decrease to 0 over the next year.)
OR - I could sign up for the "Next Plan."
The Next Plan (in it's simplest form) is the price of the new phone divided by 24. So $31.21 a month. But activation is free ( $40) , and the ETF from the contracts is completely removed. (I still paid tax on the full price upfront.)
At anytime I can just pay the reminder of the phone cost and the monthly fee goes away.
So end the end my monthly cost decreased $25 per line, my ETF is nulled out on one (so I can switch if I want to with no penalty), I saved $40 on activation, and the cost of the phone I spread out over 24 months with 0% interest.
It's definitely complex and in the end I'm paying for the entire phone but removing the ETF and the activation res was a better deal than buying on contract or buying the phone outright with cash.
18. "Verizon is doing something similar" In response to Reply # 16
only they let you out of the phone after a year/60% of it "paid off"
it smells like some bullshit (esp. when Forbes and the like are selling it as a "win for consumers")
but we'll see. I'll probably hold on to this S5 until something really superior comes down the line (I like that Note 4. I was gonna get one before my phone died)
19. "If youre on an old plan then its a double dipping." In response to Reply # 16
cause the subsidy was built into those old plans. even after the 2 years you kept paying the subsidy. but on those new plans it actually works out. cause you stop paying it after 2 years. so if you are on an old plan pay the 249 upfront. new plan do the monthly lease.
22. "so far in my 24 hours..." In response to Reply # 0
Writing this in my handwriting. sSo far so good I suppose. Very responsive so far, multi window works nicely for the apps that works with it, and among other nice extras the tap to payment right out the box with Google wallet (at supported stores of course lol). Lastly this S-pen works better in some apps than others as far as the real time hand writing to text thingy goes.
Also, finger print detection isn't so bad for me lol. Maybe it's how one registers their finger prints? But no prob for me tho.
25. "Aight...I'm loving this thing..if choiced between this & Note 3.. go for..." In response to Reply # 0
Between the note 2 and 4... this is surpassing my love affair with the Note 2. The Note 3 was pretty much a -eeeeh- trade in. Ish just felt bleh buggy & sluggish compared to the Note 4 which so far feels very much worth the trade in + extra cash outta pocket & then some. Only dealt with the Note 3 for the universal remote lol.
Kept saying I'm using this as a buffer until the Galaxy Edge drops, but at this point my love affair for this thing is to the point I may keep it even with the even nicer looking Edge on horizon (don't quote me on that lol).
If I can get past my desire for the Note Edge's extras, this phone may otherwise be a 2 year keeper. No noticeable lag.. at... all - even with GPU fancy live wallpaper. Nifty on several angles I've taken it through and multi-window is becoming a lovely luxury for the apps it works with.
========================================= I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and not having much to show for it. (c) mad
30. "Got the S-View myself, I -might- just sell it & get screen cover" In response to Reply # 29
Those screen protectors for 49'ish bucks served me well in protecting phone screen on my last two Notes & S-View while making phone look handsome sometimes leave me feeling kinda meeeh @ times. May go that route eventually... not sure just yet.
31. "no real complaints two weeks in" In response to Reply # 0
this is really a serious upgrade for me and the stuff i can do with the pen is great. more points of pressure would be nice but its pretty good with what it has
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