Galaxy S5....anyone have one?

[Bitter Clinger]

Just like the title says. Anyone have one and what are your opinions? Also looking at the new HTC one. Iphone.....over my cold dead body.

[KAPA]

If it has tons of bloatware or apps that you can not remove, I am not interested. Nothing is worse than having a phone that you pay for and it is held hostage by crap that you can't remove. Had and HTC before I had the Samsung S3 and the HTC had no bloatware, it was my phone to put on it what I wanted. My current Samsung has tons of apps that are unable to be removed.

[Monky]

Kapa that is exactly why I went away from droids! Could not stand the bloat ware. If I wanted NFL apps... Or any of the other 6 that constantly wanted interaction I would have loaded them myself.

As much as I hate apple, for the most part I can at least remove useless apps


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

[lex137]

They will just come out with an S6 next week! Android users....

[mtnrider]

If it has tons of bloatware or apps that you can not remove, I am not interested. Nothing is worse than having a phone that you pay for and it is held hostage by crap that you can't remove. Had and HTC before I had the Samsung S3 and the HTC had no bloatware, it was my phone to put on it what I wanted. My current Samsung has tons of apps that are unable to be removed.

Even the HTC's now have a lot of bloatware (although not as much as Samsung typically does) With that said, if you are a little computer savvy it's not that hard to Root any of these devices and run a custom Rom of remove the stuff you don't want.

[rockhound]

i can tell you that my HTC had a much better antennae than my galaxy s 4

[blacklabel]

Nexus 5. No bloatware, awesome dev support.

[MarkCO]

Just got a Droid Mini. Every app can be disabled and then you never see it again. Happy suprise for me.

Buddy has the S5 and loves it.

[Ah Pook]

I read "Galaxy SS" and thought it was going to be a car thread. Guess I'm showing my age. [Shy]

[Jer]

If it has tons of bloatware or apps that you can not remove, I am not interested. Nothing is worse than having a phone that you pay for and it is held hostage by crap that you can't remove. Had and HTC before I had the Samsung S3 and the HTC had no bloatware, it was my phone to put on it what I wanted. My current Samsung has tons of apps that are unable to be removed.
Unless you buy one of only like two phones directly from Google they are ALL like this and it varies only from provider to provider. It's the provider that lock root access and deny bloatware because it's how they make money. Don't blame the phone.

[Jer]

Kapa that is exactly why I went away from droids! Could not stand the bloat ware. If I wanted NFL apps... Or any of the other 6 that constantly wanted interaction I would have loaded them myself.

As much as I hate apple, for the most part I can at least remove useless apps
Saying you run an Apple for the sole purpose of better performance, more user control & less intrusion makes me lol.

[Jer]

Even the HTC's now have a lot of bloatware (although not as much as Samsung typically does) With that said, if you are a little computer savvy it's not that hard to Root any of these devices and run a custom Rom of remove the stuff you don't want.

You don't have to run a custom ROM if all you want to do is remove bloatware. Simply root and remove. Done & done.

[Jer]

i can tell you that my HTC had a much better antennae than my galaxy s 4

With today's phones this is subjective at best as they're all really close and differences in reception are barely measurable. Real wold differences are likely due to other variables.

[Jer]

Nexus 5. No bloatware, awesome dev support.

If you don't want bloatware this is your only option from a current device. It's the only Android device that offers the true Google Experience free of provider BS.

[Jer]

Just got a Droid Mini. Every app can be disabled and then you never see it again. Happy suprise for me.

Buddy has the S5 and loves it.

Removing an app from your app try isn't disabling or uninstalling so be careful with this because depending on the app and permissions this can get you in trouble.

[Jer]

Man, I need to learn to use multi-quote. lol

What phone are you coming from OP?

[blacklabel]

If you don't want bloatware this is your only option from a current device. It's the only Android device that offers the true Google Experience free of provider BS.

There are developer editions from Google that don't have bloatware but you're also looking at $600+ for a phone. I'm curious to see how successful the OnePlus One will be.

[Jer]

There are developer editions from Google that don't have bloatware but you're also looking at $600+ for a phone. I'm curious to see how successful the OnePlus One will be.

Exactly, and people don't want to pay that. They don't realize that carriers subsidize the cost of equipment through service contracts and 3rd party contracts to install their apps. You don't want those? You pay a LOT more for your equipment. Personally, I buy the cheap phones and root them to delete whatever bloatware I don't want. It's a simple and quick process and most models have an option to plug your phone into a PC and click a single button and it automagically roots your phone for you in a matter of minutes.

[crashdown]

Galaxy S5 will be a discontinued antique and this thread will still be around.
Pretty much the same story for any android phone.
iPhone 4 was released June 2010 and is still being made.

[blacklabel]

iPhone 4 was released June 2010 and is still being made.

And that makes it relevant from a technological standpoint how? The only reason its still being made is so that Apple can tap into lower priced markets. Android having a ton more hardware options is not a negative.

[TheWeeze]

I've had one of the new Droid phones (mine is the Droid Ultra, but the Droid Maxx and Droid Mini all run basically the same) that have come out in the last year or so. Since Google owns Motorola Mobility now, they are pretty much as bare bones Android as you can get on the market, very little bloatware, updates often, generally a higher version of Android overall, with a smooth operating system and fast speeds. I can't recommend them enough. My wife on the other hand has an S3 and she never really learned to like it at all. Slow, freezes, almost no updates, lower version of Android. I know it's an S3 and not a 4 or 5, but still, not impressed.

[ZERO THEORY]

LG Optimus G Pro, here. Stock root to remove bloatware/free WiFi and you're good.

-2GB memory
-16GB internal memory/expandable micro SD slot up to 64GB
-5.5 inch, 1080x1920 display at 401 PPI
-13 megapixel rear camera, 2 MP front
-1080p video recording at 30 FPS
-Adreno 320 GPU
-1.7 GHz CPU
-Snapdragon 600 chipset


Best part? I can watch YouTube, Netflix, listen to Pandora and poke around on the net all day and still be at 40% battery come dinner time. Impressive considering I'm out of the house from 6AM-8PM (if not later).

[crashdown]

And that makes it relevant from a technological standpoint how? The only reason its still being made is so that Apple can tap into lower priced markets. Android having a ton more hardware options is not a negative.

Or it is still in demand, and a contender with newly released phones.
A 200 dollar with new contract android is free (or discontinued) in less than 6 months from it's release, so the fact that this one is free after 4 years is a non issue.
I fought getting an iPhone for years, and wish I would have caved sooner.
My point was that Apple has it's game together and can release a product that can stand the test of time, not that the iPhone 4 is cutting edge by today's standards.

[Jer]

I've had one of the new Droid phones that have come out in the last year or so. Since Google owns Motorola Mobility now, they are pretty much as bare bones Android as you can get on the market, very little bloatware, updates often, generally a higher version of Android overall, with a smooth operating system and fast speeds. I can't recommend them enough. My wife on the other hand has an S3 and she never really learned to like it at all. Slow, freezes, almost no updates, lower version of Android. I know it's an S3 and not a 4 or 5, but still, not impressed.

The phone manufacturer doesn't put the bloatware on the phone. They have no control over that. The carrier determines who's bloatware goes on THEIR devices. Not the manufacturer. Has nothing to do with them other than their own suite of apps which also get added. If you want a phone w/o bloat you have to pay $600 and buy a Nexus directly from Google via their market. They come unlocked and bloatware free because Google is selling a device with their OS on it and nothing more. There are no kickbacks or other strings attached. Your wife's S3 isn't getting updates because her phone is old and yours isn't. In another year your phone will also stop getting support. Just like my SGS4 will soon stop getting support. There's no motivation for them to update old phones because they're trying to sell the NEW phones. This is common in the industry and I don't know any manufacturer that supports phones that are several years old with regular update and feature additions.

I'm still waiting to hear what phone the OP is currently using.

[Jer]

Or it is still in demand, and a contender with newly released phones.
A 200 dollar with new contract android is free (or discontinued) in less than 6 months from it's release, so the fact that this one is free after 4 years is a non issue.
I fought getting an iPhone for years, and wish I would have caved sooner.
My point was that Apple has it's game together and can release a product that can stand the test of time, not that the iPhone 4 is cutting edge by today's standards.

You're right, it's not. It's a turd. They still sell Jitterbug's and flip phones. What does that prove other than there's a market for just about anything? As long as technology is 'scary' you'll have people lining up to pay for old stuff because it's what they know.

[MrPrena]

Irrelevant, but I am saving my money for Virgin Mobile pre-paid Samsung Galaxy S3 right now. :)

[ShipDate]

My wife has an S5 and loves it. Awesome looking screen. Battery lasts a couple days. She'd have no problem telling me if it wasn't good.

I have an HTC One, not the new one, and also love it. Battery life is shorter than the S5. Not sure if that is improved on the M8. If so I'd go with either one.

[al_g]

I've had an S5 for a couple weeks now. It replaced an HTC One X. So far I like the S5 far better than the HTC phone. It isn't perfect, but it is very good, better than the iPhone 5S I have to carry for work. One problem with the S5 is auto-brightness isn't always very good and don't count on using the fingerprint scanner it is very picky.

I haven't checked in a few days but I will root the phone so I can remove the bloatware, but it really isn't all that noticeable. Yesterday was the first time I dropped below 10% battery during a day's use, so pretty good battery. I've just played with the ultra power saving mode but it looks promising for those times when I'm not near power for a couple of days.

[mtnrider]

You don't have to run a custom ROM if all you want to do is remove bloatware. Simply root and remove. Done & done.

That's what I said (meant). Looks like I typed "of" instead of "or" ..typo.