When will the Galaxy S5 32GB be available?

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@minorthird wrote:

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@Man_of_Steel wrote:

G3 user here and yes, it took me a bit to get used to the buttons on the back.  After many years of using devices with buttons on the side, I was skeptical at first but the more I used the G2, the more natural it felt.  When I upgraded to the G3, I was right at home with using the buttons on the back.  An interesting observation, although it seems more natural to have the buttons on the back now, with the knock features from LG, I find that I hardly have a need to use the buttons on the back these days.  The G3 is a great option if you don't want to wait for the S5 with 32GB

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Very cool. Glad to hear my thoughts confirmed. Digging the rounded area where the cover flap is punched out. Reads the time like an analog watch or you can display icons for quick access without opening the cover flap.

But don't you find the thing slippery? That was my first observation and probably the only one holding me back.

For those who don't know, it's a very lightweight device as well. Still too big for a pocket IMO.

 

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No more than my LG G2.  The curved back and edges make it feel very comfortable.  I understand that LG is selling textured "slim covers" overseas which actually look nice.  Hope they make it to the US too.

Just in case anyone is interested, I'm officially hooked on the LG G3. Super fast and slick interface. Great screen, excellent job by LG on the OS layer over KitKat, incredible camera in low-light with fastest focus I've used, smart flip cover that activates functionality in the case's window. Virtual buttons and ability to add navigation menu items is aces. Great speaker. Perfect size. Frankly, I didn't think I'd be able to get over the Note 3. I stand corrected. When you consider you get all this phone (32GB) for the same price as the 16GB S5, it's a home run by LG.

If anyone gets the G3, I highly recommend the LG flip case that integrates with both the custom screen window and wireless charging.

The biggest issue with US wireless carriers vs the rest of the world is they have ALL of the control when it comes to what goes on their network, what works on their network and what they will sell for their network.  Verizon phones suck in terms of choice becuase they cripple them and delay introducing phones and AT&T phones are what they are and sure we can get an international phone but it won't have AT&T LTE on it since the mfg's are not going to bother due to cost and benefits to the international users.  They can come over here and use 4G on AT&T or T-Mobile and still get better speeds than Verizon's LTE period.

So I gave up a while ago and while I am not happy with the carrier choice right now I will be looking to make a change and likely get the Note 4 since Samsung seems committed to only offering 32GB in the US on that phone.  Remember the Note 2 came in 16 & 32GB options and every US carrier chose 16GB and Samsung had to go the 32GB route on the Note 3 to get it done.  Seems that must be the way they need to go with the S6 next year.

@minorthird wrote:

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Don't get me wrong - I'm sold on Android.

I also used to listen to FLAC but decided that my Cowon J3 was a much better platform for audio. iPhone audio is dismal. Maybe the J3 wouldn't satifsfy the analog-only audiophile purist, but I think the Cowon's DSP technology is stellar. I used to use my FiiO e7 with my iPhone using the FiiO line-out connector. Definitely improved sound quality but silly carrying that around.

iPhone was good in its time, but I've moved on. I need file directory access, and I hate iTunes. Always had to use workaround like Syncios. Expandable memory is a must these days. Although I decided I'm okay with 320 kbps instead of FLAC, I fill up my 64GB microSD card very quickly (for my Note 3 and Android Tablet). And no replaceable battery on the iPhone? Apple needs to get with the times.

Friend just bought the LG G3 -- a completely viable alternative to the S5. They're pretty much head-to-head flagship models. At 32GB it's at the same pricepoint as the S5 16GB, and it has a better processor (if my memory serves), the best screen in its class, optical image stabilization and laser-assisted focus. It is very slightly larger than the S5. S5 has slightly better quality pics in good light, and the G3 has much better low light capabilities.

 

My only issue is that I found it to be very slippery in my hands. Weird physical button placement (in back of device), but really on a par with the S5 (I've used both and owned a Note 3 with Kit Kat). Also has its own form of split screen. Considering the S5 will likely cost more than $199 with contract, the G3 may be my next phone if I can find a way to keep it in my hand. The G2 was the perfect size.

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Oh, I wasn't really trying to bash the iphone suggestion, my reply just devolved into a rant.

Anyway I snagged a Samsung Galaxy light from Walmart for $50 this past week, the deal was too good to pass up. So now I've got something to hold me over until phones start supporting band 12 and then I'll have a decent spare when I do finally buy a high-end phone. Maybe 2015 will be the year Samsung drops the 16gb option from their flagship. I also hope more manufacturers bring back removable batteries and SD slots.

I'm only a partial audiophile, I just use FLAC for PC playback and CD backup. That way I know I have a good source to use when I have to convert for playback on another device and I just delete the converted files when I need to load different songs. I think 160k is where I start to notice LAME mp3 quality drop off but if I'm cramming onto a small card I'll go to 128k since I don't have super high quality portables.

I had been using a Winamp Plugin to remote control and stream to an old airport express base station (found at good will for $3) for an Airplay speaker. When I heard Winamp was shutting down I ended up converting to Foobar2000 and Monkeymote and that let me just stream my music instead of having to maintain a whole other music library just for itunes. It even works over the internet using port forwards and a DNS account. It's been a great combination, but so far I haven't seen anything close to monkeymote on the Play store for android. It looks like its all just DLNA or remote apps and nothing that can do both control remote playback and stream to the device directly.

@RaptorOO7 wrote:

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The biggest issue with US wireless carriers vs the rest of the world is they have ALL of the control when it comes to what goes on their network, what works on their network and what they will sell for their network.  Verizon phones suck in terms of choice becuase they cripple them and delay introducing phones and AT&T phones are what they are and sure we can get an international phone but it won't have AT&T LTE on it since the mfg's are not going to bother due to cost and benefits to the international users.  They can come over here and use 4G on AT&T or T-Mobile and still get better speeds than Verizon's LTE period.

 

So I gave up a while ago and while I am not happy with the carrier choice right now I will be looking to make a change and likely get the Note 4 since Samsung seems committed to only offering 32GB in the US on that phone.  Remember the Note 2 came in 16 & 32GB options and every US carrier chose 16GB and Samsung had to go the 32GB route on the Note 3 to get it done.  Seems that must be the way they need to go with the S6 next year.

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Bingo! I would go as far as to say the carriers have non-compete clauses with the manufacturers in most cases and that thats why the majority of unbranded, unlocked phones sold in the US are European imports.

At this point in the game samsung is looking at the s6.  I doubt with its age now the s5 will see a 32gig version.  I really think samsung wants to forget about the s5 as its been there biggest downfall this year.  they have dropped to 24.7% of the globel smart phones sold.  They were 42% a few years ago.