Samsung Galaxy S4

[Tonsils]

Thinking of buying a S4 in Thailand. My understanding is that there are two versions of the device: The i9500 which is sold at retail outlets in Bangkok but doesn't have LTE and the i9505 which does have LTE, but is not sold at most retail outlets here. The i9505 is being sold in MBK for a little more than the i9500.

With True being the only carrier in Thailand with LTE bands, does it make sense to buy the i9505 to take advantage of the network? Buying at MBK may have some risks, but is it better to buy the regular i9500 at TG Fone or JayMart so that you have warranty protection, etc. AOB mobile at MBK has the i9500 black at 17,800 and the i9505 at 18,000.

http://aobmobile.net/wc/?cat=14

[lomatopo]

Do you live in Thailand?

Do you travel to LTE countries?

How long do you plan to keep the phone?

Do you use 3G now?

If I were to buy an SGS4 I would buy the localized I9500 from an authorized dealer, and just use 3G. Grey-market phones carry some risk; some have fallen of the truck, others were factory re-works which 'slipped' out the back door instead of being scrapped, some may have been reported stolen or missing.

Going forward some service providers may offer LTE on 1800 MHz, the NBTC may auction 1800 MHz for LTE, while TrueMove H is offering it on some of their 2100 MHz spectrum.

Which LTE bands does the 'grey-market' 9505 version, which you may be able to buy, support?

[venturalaw]

Can't locate a telephone number online to ask DTAC, so I'm asking here: I have a mobile number through AIS. If I go to DTAC to purchase one of their plans including a purchase of a new phone, am I able to retain my AIS issued mobile telephone number?

[negreanu]

battery performance better on 9505 and less heat...

[Thaiaddict01]

hi guys which galaxy s4 do you have? I mean like the cpu, ram and how do you use it? what apps etc. I am thinking about getting one not sure about the spec that I want.

what can be upgraded in the phone? cpu, ram, others?

Do you guys have trouble carrying it? it's bigger than older phones do you guys have trouble sitting down when it's in the pocket? or walking around, jogging a little bit.

I will use it for GPS in the car, watch twitch stream sometimes. go online of course, possible to watch movie with it huh? but screen probably too small maybe just some small videos and youtube. any suggestions would be appreciate thanks guys.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Thaiaddict01

[oceaneyes]

Is anyone having battery issues with their S4? Mine is only 3 months old and has a very annoying issue which seems to be explained here http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-battery-swelling-free-replacements-samsung-284308/

[Pib]

Is anyone having battery issues with their S4? Mine is only 3 months old and has a very annoying issue which seems to be explained here http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-battery-swelling-free-replacements-samsung-284308/

The wife and I have S4s...no battery problems so far...we bought them in May/Jun 13 I think....good battery life. Thanks for the heads up...I will keep a closer watch on both our S4s.

Edited October 24, 2013 by Pib

[Medmanniska]

Do anyone know when Android 4.3 are getting released for the thai version of the phone? It's already released in most countries

[lomatopo]

Is anyone having battery issues with their S4? Mine is only 3 months old and has a very annoying issue which seems to be explained here http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-battery-swelling-free-replacements-samsung-284308/

Can you go into Settings, More, Battery and tell us the top three or four services, applications, sub-systems which are listed, along with the percentages?

Exchange Services is typically one culprit. Or maybe you have some other "leaky" application?

If Exchange Services is at the top please report back, and also let us know what your email requirements are, specifically re: hotmail, outlook, calendar push etc.

If Cell Standby is at or near the top of list report back.

Also maybe turn off NFC and some of that other dreck/bloatware like eye-tracking, air-gesture et al., unless you are overly attached to one or more of these.

Do anyone know when Android 4.3 are getting released for the thai version of the phone? It's already released in most countries

Maybe check with Samsung/Thailand, or trawl some Thai social/tech forums. Alternatively you could flash a stock 4.3 ROM from another geography.

Edited November 13, 2013 by lomatopo

[lomatopo]

Is anyone having battery issues with their S4? Mine is only 3 months old and has a very annoying issue which seems to be explained here http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-battery-swelling-free-replacements-samsung-284308/

Did you ever get this problem sorted?

I've successfully sorted out some SGS4 battery issues re: Exchange Services. but am now running into a lot of complaints re: "Google Play Services" (consuming 60+%). This seems to be a common issue of late, perhaps addressed by Android 4.3, but there is still no release for the SGS4/THL. Play Store rev. is 4.4.21 (I have 4.4.22 on my GNex 4/Android 4.4.)

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/11/19/its-not-just-you-google-play-services-seems-to-be-a-battery-hog-today/

[Pib]

Is anyone having battery issues with their S4? Mine is only 3 months old and has a very annoying issue which seems to be explained here http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-battery-swelling-free-replacements-samsung-284308/

Can you go into Settings, More, Battery and tell us the top three or four services, applications, sub-systems which are listed, along with the percentages?

Exchange Services is typically one culprit. Or maybe you have some other "leaky" application?

If Exchange Services is at the top please report back, and also let us know what your email requirements are, specifically re: hotmail, outlook, calendar push etc.

If Cell Standby is at or near the top of list report back.

Also maybe turn off NFC and some of that other dreck/bloatware like eye-tracking, air-gesture et al., unless you are overly attached to one or more of these.

Do anyone know when Android 4.3 are getting released for the thai version of the phone? It's already released in most countries

Maybe check with Samsung/Thailand, or trawl some Thai social/tech forums. Alternatively you could flash a stock 4.3 ROM from another geography.

The Thailand 4.3 version has just been released for the S4....I did an OTA/install this afternoon on my S4....679.63Mb file. Install went without problem. I ran Antutu benchmark and got a 26315 running 4.3....my previous Antutu benchmark while still running 4.2.2 was 25221. Nothing else really to report.

Doing an OTA download on the wife's S4 as I write this...hopefully her install will go smoothly also.

[Pib]

OTA install of 4.3 also went smoothly on the wife's S4.