Switching from iPhone 5 to Samsung Galaxy S4

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Three years of using the iOS and I feel that it is becoming a bit stale for my taste, so I decided to take a little faith and make that huge leap to Android. Mine was the Black Slate iPhone 5 before switching to the Samsung Galaxy S4. Yes, I got the Galaxy S4, white colour this time since I have never been a fan of black. I convinced myself that I am going with this “plastic” phone and ditched the metallic iPhone 5 for a change. Apple made the iPhone, which is without a doubt an amazing phone in terms of built and quality.

Here are some of my thoughts as a new Android user.

Making the Switch

After the change, I managed to worked out the kinks such as transferring my contacts, calendar and media to the new device. All I needed was a Google account to start using Android. Then I exported the contacts from my iCloud to Google and used the Android File Transfer to transfer the media to the device. Later on I installed Samsung Kies (equivalent to iTunes) on my Mac to sync the device and my Mac. Hola, had the new phone set up within less than an hour. It wasn’t that scary at all, no hiccups, no sweaty palms.

The huge difference I notice is before this I have to sign up for an iTunes account and was given an iCloud email by default which I rarely use. With Android, I only have to use my existing Gmail to set up the device and was hooked up quickly to Google Play store.

Size Does Matter

All these while I’ve been depriving myself with a 4-inch display. Life is more beautiful with a 5-inch display. Anything bigger than 5-inch is just too big to hold in one hand, I can still hold and type text on the Galaxy S4 with one hand, the advantages of having longer fingers and bigger palm. As for the display, I’m satisfied with the colour though some might argue the iPhone has brighter display thant the S4. Super Amoled or Retina display, it doesn’t matter much because the standard human eye will not be able to discern the individual pixels .

Being Notified

I very much welcome the notification light on the S4. The red LED light indicates the device is charging or when the battery level is low. The green LED light indicates the phone is fully charge. When I’m doing voice recording, it shows blue. Missed calls, messages and events alerts are also indicated with LED light. Reminds me of my old Blackberry Curve 8520. This feature is very useful since I don’t have to turn on the screen, especially during a conversation or while watching movie just to check if I missed any incoming messages or calls. Thumbs up.

Lesser Taps

One thing I always complain about the iPhone is I need to go through a lot of steps to get things done. On the iPhone, you have to dig deeply into the main settings menu.

For example, I want to switch of my cellular data, I have to adjust the setting by going to: Settings > General > Cellular > Toggle On/Off or to turn on/off the WiFi: Settings > WiFi > Turn On/Off

The same goes to adjusting the brightness, sound and turning on/off bluetooth and location. Many redundant steps are involved. Whereas on Galaxy S4, I just have to pull down the Notification Panel from the top and just select the things I want, whether turning on or off WiFi or cellular data and even adjusting brightness. These short cuts are very convenient and handy.

Cool Stuffs

I found out the Samsung Galaxy S4 can do a lot of cool stuffs, for example answering a call with just waving your hands, pausing the video when I look away, scrolling the webpage by swiping my hands over it or even controlling the TV in my living room. Air Gesture, Air View, Smart Stay, Smart Scroll and Multi Window are packed in the device waiting for me to explore. Even the iPhone lacks the Near Field Communication (NFC). There’s an alternative, what I did was installing Bump to transfer photos by dry humping my phone with another friend’s phone.

Google Play Store or App Store

I did invested on quite a number of apps on the App Store, like Garmin StreetPilot, Tweetbot, Documents To Go, just to name a few paid apps. The transition from iOS to Android means I have to invest on the paid apps again. Nay. Anyway the Google Play Store just got a revamped and browsing through the apps are very convenient, furthermore the collection of apps are fast catching up the App Store. I would want to have Tweetbot for Android one day *fingers crossed*.

Customisation

What stale me is the lack of customisation on the iOS. Everything looks pretty much the same starting from day one though I can arrange the apps and create folders. On my Galaxy S4, I can add widgets, arrange the apps the way I want them, customise the lock screen, choose how I want to protect the phone (swipe, pattern or PIN) and many more. Explore different features is what keeps Android so customisable.

Camera

The iPhone 5 camera is something I definitely miss. Although the Galaxy S4 takes good pictures with its 13MP camera in outdoor and under sufficient lighting, it performs rather badly in indoor and low lighting condition. The field of view (FoV) is noticeably smaller than the iPhone, meaning I would need to step a few steps back in order to capture the exact view the iPhone could. Then again, Galaxy S4 has packed in a few features in the camera, Drama Shot, Sound and Shot, Dual Shot, Panorama, Night Mode, HDR and also object removable. Plus points.

More Juice

I can whack up the juice on my iPhone 5 in less than half a day. On the new Galaxy S4, the battery life is generally better. I no longer have to plug in the phone to the charger during office hours, instead I have the S4 dock in just before I retire to bed. I think the S-view flip cover plays a role here, when the cover is closed the screen display turns black. Unlike the iPhone notification system where incoming alerts pop up and the screen lights up for a good few seconds, the S4 notification (with the S-view cover on) will only show briefly on the black screen through the view window.

What sold me?

Back in 2010, I was really taken aback with what the iPhone can offer. The iPhone is superior at easy to use on day one, but plateaus after a while. I like being wowed with new features and functions. It’s 2013 now, the iPhone simply no longer suits me, that’s all. That said, the switch from iOS to Android is something new to me and I don’t foresee myself declining to try out devices made by other brands/powered by other OS.

P.S.: I still love my MacBook and have no plans to change it.

Want to Sell iPhone 5

UPDATE: THIS PHONE HAS BEEN SOLD ON 16 MAY 2013.

If you don’t already know, I have expressed on my twitter and facebook account that I intend to let go my iPhone 5 in exchange for an Android phone.

Sell iPhone5

Bumper

What’s the catch? Nothing, really.

It is a 32GB Black iPhone 5 that I bought in Dec 2012, 5 months old. Another 7 months warranty with Maxis. Phone is in top condition since it always stay in its casing. Asking price RM2100 (negotiable). Comes with original box, earpod, lightning adapter, screen protector and bumper (Air Jacket). Drop me your request here.

Collection of Ads by The Star

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Post election. I have some new stuffs for you, well not exactly new, but some ads ran by local English daily The Star during the campaigning period. I am not here to judge but I shall let you be the one who judge.

Have a good read!

Who to vote for?

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It is just 19 days away from the day Malaysians get to exercise their right to vote in the 13th General Election. Like many first time voters, I am, so to say, rather anxious as I booked my flight ticket home on the day the Parliament was dissolved.

May 5! Mark down your calendar. Take a day off, go home and vote for your country, for your community, for yourself, and for your next generation.

In case anyone of you are still reading this blog, here’s a video for your reflection. Though the title says “A Christian’s Reflection”, it does paint a picture for us all to reflect upon some of the key issues very dear to us as a nation.

Who to vote for?

We vote to ensure that our nation is guided by the ethics of respect for the human dignity and the principle for the common good.

Apart from the video, I’ve also made downloadable the 13th General Election Manifesto unveiled by the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. I am still hoping for some kind soul to do a head-to-head comparison of what both coalitions promised.

BN’s Manifesto – Menepati Janji, Membawa Harapan (Download BM, ENG)

PR’s Manifesto – Pakatan Harapan Rakyat (Download BM, ENG)

God bless Malaysia!

Tribute to the Iron Lady

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Meryl Streep’s Eulogy for Margaret Tatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013)
Source: Wikipedia

Margaret Thatcher was a pioneer, willingly or unwillingly, for the role of women in politics. It is hard to imagine a part of our current history that has not been affected by measures she put forward in the UK at the end of the 20th century. Her hard-nosed fiscal measures took a toll on the poor, and her hands-off approach to financial regulation led to great wealth for others. There is an argument that her steadfast, almost emotional loyalty to the pound sterling has helped the UK weather the storms of European monetary uncertainty.

But to me she was a figure of awe for her personal strength and grit. To have come up, legitimately, through the ranks of the British political system, class bound and gender phobic as it was, in the time that she did and the way that she did, was a formidable achievement. To have won it, not because she inherited position as the daughter of a great man, or the widow of an important man, but by dint of her own striving. To have withstood the special hatred and ridicule, unprecedented in my opinion, leveled in our time at a public figure who was not a mass murderer; and to have managed to keep her convictions attached to fervent ideals and ideas — wrongheaded or misguided as we might see them now — without corruption — I see that as evidence of some kind of greatness, worthy for the argument of history to settle.

How will you be remembered?

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 “How often do you look back and really reflect on what you’ve done? The insignificance of it all. Pointless arguments. Inside jokes. Funny haircuts. But do you ever wonder how you’ll be remembered? Or if what you’ve done and what you’re doing means anything at all? What will your songs sound like when you’re dead and gone? Will tears fall when the last note is sung? And how will your story be told? Will your words leave a bitter taste in their mouths or will they even remember you at all?

Compassion. The concept is rather simple, most know what it means to be civil, but there truly is a fine line between sweet and sour.

Give too much of yourself away, and you’ll be all used up. Not enough, and no one will be around to share this with. So what is it that motivates us to be better, gentler, more refined, I’d like to think it’s those close to us, close to the heart and soul. Those who carried you to the car after you puked on their shoes, those who took the blame for breaking the window when it was you who cast the stone, those who will be by your side when reality knocks on your door both good and bad, but more importantly, those whose stories you will share with your kids, and grand kids and their kids and their grandkids in hopes to somehow keep this all alive.

Chivalry. Decency. Kindness. Compassion. Desire. Strength.

How will you be remembered?”

— John O’Callaghan, Said and Done

Simplicity

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Simplicity

“I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run. ”
― Henry David Thoreau