This last 12 months has been a bit of a roller coaster when it comes to what phone is in my pocket. In fact, the number of phones used has been far too many, to the point that I have nearly lost track as to the exact sequence but it went something like this.

I had the Samsung Galaxy S3, then the iPhone 5 arrived. The screen on the 5 just felt too small, so along came the Samsung Note 2. Well, that lasted a weekend, as the 16gb model just didn’t have enough memory for installing all my apps. It would not have been a problem previously on the original Samsung Note, as this allowed apps to be installed on the memory card. But following an update to android, this feature was removed. So I then got a Nokia Lumia 620 to explore the Windows Phone experience. I enjoyed it but was missing my games and apps not yet on the platform. I also wanted a phone with a better camera.

So along came the HTC One. My plan was to keep the One as a stop gap until the Samsung S4 got launched. But then the S4 pricing was announced and this was through the roof. And then all the issues and bugs came to the forefront. Plus the lack of user memory from the 16gb model and no sign of the higher capacity 32/64gb versions. While all this drama was unfolding, I began to really enjoy the HTC One. Probably the best phone currently too for design, focus and attention to detail. With its great quality, speakers, camera tech and HTC tweaks it was a killer device. Only one issue, I liked taking landscape shots and the resolution/detail wasn’t good enough. Everything else was perfect.

During my One experience, I borrowed a friend’s S4 for a week in May. It was so buggy, I was more than happy to return it. Plus the HTC One just worked better. But after the HTC One received the 4.2.2. software update, I got bored and change was needed. So along came the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. And despite its lower specs as a phone, I loved it. It was really ideal and worked a treat. Being able to instantly attach it to my tripod was fantastic enabling me to take some great photos. But there was a but. Panoramic photos just could not cut it. The resolution was poor. So reluctantly, that got returned. I was able in the meantime to try a Nokia Lumia 925 and Huawei Ascend P6. The Lumia 925 was really really good. Great camera optics and a very fluid operation, but 2 apps I needed to use daily were not available yet on Windows Phone, so the Lumia 925 could not be used as my main driver. The Huawei Ascend P6 looked beautiful, but overheated when using GPS and bluetooth, plus was very buggy.

So what next then? Well, I had heard the Samsung S4 had had a huge software update released in June, that fixed most of the bugs and issues. So here I am with a S4. And cursing. I bought a Samsung S4 via Amazon, as a UK sim free phone. It still has the original firmware from 26th April 2013 and cannot officially be updated to the newer firmware that Samsung has already released to the UK networks, and other countries in Europe. I spoke to Samsung support, who confirmed the position. They then tried to provide some bullshit explanation that networks would get the update first due to additional resources they had allocated. I explained that normally it is the sim free devices to receive the updates first, then the networks test this and then release and not the other way around. I also explained that other countries in Europe had already received the update and that Samsung themselves following their BBC Watchdog appearance had confirmed a new update was available. This was back in May. So, I asked the question to Samsung support whether they were deliberately upsetting people without contracts to try and force them on to a network. There was no response. So my plan of trying the Samsung S4 with the latest software fixes has failed. Now, some of my tech savvy friends are saying but you can flash/root the latest firmware by other means. Yes you can, but if you spend £500 on a phone, I don’t expect to have to resort to such antics. So the S4 might be sanctioned to its grave shortly.

Update – Samsung Mobile UK on twitter confirmed the update is coming soon but couldn’t reveal how soon. Hmmm, that’s helpful!

So what next then? Well, coming up of interest is the Samsung Note 3, HTC One Max, Sony Honami and new iPhone. All I want is 64gb memory in one chunk, or 32gb internal plus micro sd card, a 8mp camera with optical image stabilisation, good audio quality via headphones, bluetooth apt-x, and a good speaker and screen. Replaceable battery would be great.

So will this goal happen?