The Samsung S4 has now been released for nearly 2 weeks on a global scale. Despite a few shortcomings discussed yesterday around available memory on the 16gb version, it does have many strengths.

Whilst it is made of polycarbonate, it actually doesn’t look too bad. In fact, it’s non offensive styling does have a little charm about it. It also feels more comfy to hold in the hand, more so that the HTC One. It is also lighter than the HTC One, and feels better weighted in the hand.

If you don’t have many large apps or games, but do have a large music collection and or take tons of photos you are able to use a micro SD card, up to 64gb. That’s a lot of music and photos. As the memory card is optional, you could carry a spare should you need even more space. Another big positive for the S4 is the removable battery. It is a lot easier to slip a spare battery in your wallet or purse when travelling, or a few years down the line, it becomes a simple task to change the failing battery. In other words, this device has potentially a longer life span.

The camera. Having spent the weekend with the S4, I have been very pleased with the photos of landscapes and scenery. It has been perfect sunny weather for taking photos. The camera has many options, but the feature I like the most is being able to use your voice to activate the shutter.
Panoramic shots were stunning too. Landscapes were of better quality than the HTC One.

Samsung have included tons of software and whilst its bloated with it, some of it is useful. Also if you sign in to Samsung’s own hub, you will find even more freebies.

Gestures. There are so many it’s crazy. I found they don’t all work properly all the time but I did like some of them. I was using concrete and able to operate the S4 without getting concrete on to it by swiping my hands and using my finger in air view.

Early days on battery, so no conclusion yet.

The S4 did feel glitchy at times, but then I remembered when I got the S3 it was the same. After 4 months the S3 had been updated a lot by Samsung and worked a treat.

The S Cover flip case is so cool. I may keep the S4 just so I can use the case. There are also numerous other accessories that Samsung are launching for this phone. It really has potential.

My overall views so far is it appears Samsung rushed the S4 to market. Once it had several software updates it ill be a class act. But I still prefer the HTC One.

Samsung explained to CNET that it was okay to deceive buyers of its 16gb S4 that it only came with 8gb of usable memory, since it had a micro sd slot for expansion.

Samsung added, “For the Galaxy S4 16GB model, approximately 6.85GB occupies [the] system part of internal memory, which is 1GB bigger than that of the Galaxy S3, in order to provide [a] high resolution display and more powerful features to our consumers.”

So why not warn people prior to purchase and also explain that apps and games can only be saved in to the internal memory!

And it appears Samsung are only responding after a backlash of angry customers has started. It also doesn’t help that mobile phone companies are informing customers that the memory is expandable and that apps or games can be installed on to the memory card. This information is totally inaccurate.

I think Samsung’s response borders on the brink of arrogance and one must ask the question why on earth did the 16gb version ever get released for sale. Samsung should have offered on the 32gb or 64gb versions and then none of this lack of memory would have arisen.

The larger capacity models can’t come quick enough!