This works great with my PS4. Got rid of that stock 500GB and replaced it easily with this 2TB. If you're a PS4 owner, I'd highly recommend this for more memory. I have about 20 PS4 games and my catalog will only get bigger as new games continue to release. 500GB isn't enough space. Unless you're one to complete the game and delete it. Definite must have!
I have been a follower of PES since it was only Konami and all they were doing was Winning Eleven. At that time I used to live in Europe, more than 15 years ago. I still remember playing Winning Eleven 4, which was re-released in Europe under the name of ISS Pro Evolution. Graphics looked like a joke compared to the fancier FIFA's, but the game-play was always, always light years ahead. And so on during the following years. ISS became PES, and it was always my choice for soccer gaming on PlayStation. I have been a follower of their legacy for almost 20 years, back when only Winning Eleven was available and I had to download the Japanese version from the web and burn it onto a CD for my PlayStation 1 and navigate through the Japanese-only menu. Since then, I have probably played over 10,000 matches by myself or with my friends throughout the whole series. Just to let you understand how a hardcore of fan I have been.
Now, back to our days. Last year PES (2014) was terrible, everybody knows that. Konami screwed us and they were sorry. This year, after buying the PS4, I started having that feeling -I don't know why- that this year's PES was going to be different, because I know that Japanese people might do a mistake once but they won't repeat it. They will actually surprise you back. After buying the game, downloading the mega update pack (1.3GB) and configuring all my favorite settings for the first game (I recommend setting up the speed of the game to the maximum and using the analog arrows to control the game, not the 360 stick), I sat down and waited to be amazed.
I am still in shock of how good of a video-game they made it. I just can't make-up to that feeling. It looks and feels extremely neat, and the game-play it is just SUPERB. There is no other way to put it. I can spend hours writing how this year's PES is fantastic, but do yourself a favor and go get it and have a wonderful time playing it. If you are a looking for a video-game with all the licenses for naming teams and championships and with all the fancy looking boys and jerseys but with a Pac-Man style game-play, get FIFA and be one of many. But if you truly love soccer and you can't live without it and you want a realistic, heart-beating gameplay within an over-the-edge soccer simulation, you will find your happiness into this.
All I can say is that, given my experience with the Konami series, this is the best PES they have ever done. And, simply put, the most outstanding soccer video-game ever made. Kudos to the whole Konami team, and THANK YOU for FINALLY adding live updates of rosters and names and teams and everything else.
Horrible graphics, could of done a better image on my old printer.. Not worth it.
Horrible graphics, could of done a better image on my old printer.. Not worth it.
Well, I waited for hours outside for the PS4 to come out, finally got one. Grabbed a game soon after and thought LEGO Marvel Super Heroes would be fun. I've played a few other LEGO games in the past, Indiana Jones, Batman, and some others. All of which I liked, but, after a while, it was the same old thing. Picking this up I knew what I was getting into... or so I though.
I popped it in (after hours figuring out how to update the PS4 with a USB/PSN being down). I was agitated and had a feeling this game might let me down as well. It starts you out with the basic entry movies (very good animation and voice overs). It moves to game play and you instantly recognize your favorite Marvel heros. This was a nice intro. Tons of hidden humor! Kids will love it, but adults will definitely pull out the "Did he just say that?" parts. I played through a few hours (1-2) with the classic gameplay.
Then, out of nowhere, it sets you in a city with LEGO Ironman / The Hulk. OK, I thought, I'm stuck and as soon as I get too far it will stop me. NOPE. It was open world, GTA style. I immediately took a car and starting chasing people down the sidewalk. (Thank you GTA). I was happy they added this. The city has a lot of quests and missions packed nearly everywhere.
But the really big game changer was when I hopped out of the car and turned on Ironman's suit. I was off in a sonic boom. They really captured the feeling of flight in this one. It's hard to explain, but it really did feel right. The city is huge with tons of secrets and passages. I've been playing for 5 hours and am only 3.5 % finished O.o I checked the ability to change characters... I changed to Dr. Octopus, then Venom, then a henchman, then Spiderman, and finally The Sandman. There are TONs of additional marvel characters you can play as you open them up. At least 30 or so that I saw, maybe more. All with unique abilities.
The only thing this game lacks is online gameplay. Maybe they will incorporate this in the future. But that's OK with me there's too much to do as it is!
If you are thinking of buying this and you are into Marvel and/or LEGO, DEFINITELY pick this up. It's worth it.
I really wanted to like this game. I, like many others, was really excited when I saw the screenshots and gameplay trailers. This was the the first game for PS4 that I really wanted, and I pre-ordered it almost the moment it became available. The first hour was pretty neat getting to know this new world of hacking in an open world setting. Ultimately though, the game really disappoints. Watch Dogs tries to be innovative with the everything-is-hackable environment and giving its NPCs individual personalities. Unfortunately the story is lackluster at best, the supporting cast of characters is forgettable, and after the shine of the hacking gameplay wears off (very quickly), it feels like GTA without the inspiration or, frankly, fun.
First, the positives. The visual presentation is amazing. This is a next-gen game that really takes advantage of the hardware the PS4 packs. Chicago looks amazing, and feels like a busy-bustling city. It also feels huge. There is plenty in the city to see and explore, and the game's built-in Foursquare-esque mechanic gives the player a reason to find interesting spots in the city. The small details are very well presented as well, from sounds a people talking on the phone around the city, the thread patterns on Aiden's clothing, different sounds from the cars you "borrow," the sound of the trains; it gives Chicago life.
There are aspects of the hacking mechanic that are also very cool. Hacking an item is as easy as holding down a button and watching your work take effect, and some of the puzzles created to access certain items can be pretty interesting. By far the most gratifying effect is causing a blackout: watching all the generators explode, the lights going out, and sneaking away like a crafty ninja. Some of the available cars are also pretty cool. I also found breaking into boats and cruising on the water a cool experience as well (especially when escaping the police or enemies).
The biggest weakness of the game is the story. I'm a big fan of immersion plots, getting thrown into the story and learning about your character as time goes on. Tomb Raider and Red Dead Redemption did this really well. But in Watch Dogs, you are thrown into the story and never given much reason to care moving forward. The most basic plot line is that in a previous mission (played as the prologue to the game), a mistake made leads to the death of one of his loved ones. The rest of the game is essentially getting to the bottom of who was responsible. Yes, the story takes some twists and turns, but ultimately they're formulaic and uninteresting. Without any type of meaningful surprises or character development, the story really falls flat.
Aiden's character is also a difficult character to attach to. The game has a morality system (like so many others), but the story thoroughly casts Aiden as an antihero, making the morality system feel meaningless. The Infamous series did a good job of making the morality system feel like it had an impact in the game. The story changed, the way the city interacted with your character affected the gameplay, and ultimately the morality choices unlocked and locked parts of the game in interesting ways. In Watch Dogs, it feels like a tacked on system that was thrown in as an afterthought. Yes, citizens will become more afraid of you if you are more evil and will be more sympathetic to you if you act justly, but the game really forces you to play Aiden's character as evil (which is saying something since I tend to play my characters through the "good" tracks). It's far too easy to kill someone than spare them, and ultimately I don't really have a reason to care how I act. Again, compared to Infamous, my choices felt more impactful. Killing a civilian meant the breaking of a multiplier streak or gaining a super ability in Infamous: Second Son. In Watch Dogs, it just feels like an unimportant part of the game.
Another weak aspect of the game is also the side missions. Now, there is a lot of content to do on the side. There are mini-games that can be played, exploration tasks, and online missions (more on this later). The problem is that they're not original (Texas Hold'Em, the shell/hat game, running collecting coins while avoiding obstacles), they don't really unlock anything useful, and they're not very fun. But these side missions are literally everywhere and they take up a large portion of your map. Sure you can turn those icons off, but it really shows how empty the game.
The most frustrating thing to me (and probably the most debatable/controversial) is the online missions. The concept is a neat idea: as you roam through the city, you are also playing with other people in the game and you can initiate certain side games/missions against other players. This can be tailing other players, hacking their characters, and other types of intrusion missions. In theory, that sounds fun and a pretty unique style of gameplay, and for most things, it generally works (when the servers have actually been working to support this, though I expect that will get smoothed out over time). But the problem is that for some of these missions, you have no choice to back out. If a character starts hacking you, you have to drop everything and find them, and the game gives you no option to ignore it. You can't continue with the mission you're currently on, and you can't start new missions. All of your focus goes to finding the character hacking you. An example: I was working to hack one of the ctOS towers to open up more of Chicago, and while these ctOS towers aren't necessarily difficult puzzles to find, they do take a bit of work. Right as I arrived at the tower to hack it, I was informed that my player was being hacked. I didn't have the option to hack the tower then deal with this player. I have to climb back down the building, find the player, deal with them, and then re-climb the building from the beginning. In a game where things are already not feeling very fun, this was an extreme annoyance. Now, depending on your style and preference of gameplay, this may be an enjoyable feature, and that's fine. This is not something I was thrilled with. I'm a player that like to keep single player and multiplayer in controllable realms (i.e. I like to choose when I'm interacting with others and when I'm playing alone). So if you're a player like me, this aspect of the game will probably be very annoying. If not, then this may not be as big an issue to you. But to me, this was a big turn off.
[UPDATE: Some commenters have correctly pointed out that it is possible to turn off the multiplayer aspect of the game. However, by turning off the "online interactions" (the online tailing and hacking), you will also erase any progress and skills you gained using the online interaction missions. When you try to turn off the online interactions, it gives you a big warning message giving you that information. So if you disable it before beginning any part of the story, you're fine to turn this off. If you've done any part of it enough to unlock skills or progress, that will be erased if you turn it off. Again, to me, this is the most debatable part of the review. If this part of the game is something that is really enticing to you, then you can safely ignore this section. If you don't think you'll like this aspect of the game, know that you can turn it off but that you're also locking out part of the gameplay and progression. To me, it again emphasizes a poor design concept that's present throughout the game. But I want to make sure I'm being fair and giving accurate information. If this is the only part of the game that's preventing you from buying it, know that you can disable it from the outset. I still think at its heart, Watch Dogs is a two-star game, so it doesn't effect my overall rating or thoughts on the game, but hopefully this will help you make a more informed decision.]
Overall, I'm really just disappointed with the game. There are definitely some cools features and this planted a seed for potentially better games in the future. Unfortunately, this game is just not that fun. It was almost going to be impossible for this game to live up to the hype that was created around it, which I'm taking into account. After sitting with it for awhile and trying to assess, it is ultimately a dull game that tries to do what other open-world games have already done much better. Hopefully Ubisoft can take the foundation they've laid here and build it up into a more interesting, tighter game next time around.
I have been an Xbox gamer for the past 8 years, I decided to make the switch to PlayStation. I am not going to lie at first I was bummed when I made the switch...No more gamerscore, none of my friends played Platstation and truthfully I do not care for the user interface on PSN. I really thought I made a horrible decision....THEN CAME THIS GAME!!!
This game alone has made me a true believer in the Playstation.
Graphics - This is the best graphics I have ever seen. The Wife even stopped what she was doing and watched me play this game for 30 mins. straight. She thought at first I was watching a cutscene, after I told her I was actually playing the game her jaw dropped (literally). The color saturation is beautiful, it is colorful with daytime scenes but in darker scenes it emerses you with a feeling of loneliness.
Naughty Dog, the developer, paid a lot of attention to the lighting and physics of the game. Just to give you an example the flashlight when lit up actually has the rainbow color hue at the brightest spot of the light. The light also bends and reflects off of objects, extremely realistic.
This game runs at 60 frames per second. This is the standard that every developer should strive for. Running at this framerate everything is silky smooth. There is no glitching or lag, evening turning 360 as fast as I could I could not see any ghosting or motion blur. Character movements are spot on.
Audio - I have a more than adequate setup, my home theater is actually tailored for gaming more than anything else. The audio is just as well made as the visuals. I can clearly hear people conversing, from what direction they were talking and could still make out the full dialogue on top of my conversations. The background noise is amazing. You can hear the emptiness in sewers, the wind coming through the windows and the footsteps and movement from the zombies. The sound is refined, you do not just hear it but the depth is astonishing. You can guess how far something is.
This experience is based on your home theater system. The only other game that I felt was better as far as audio goes was the Dead Space Series.
Bonuses - Do not look at this game as $49.99 but rather $19.99. This is due to the fact that you are getting $30.00 worth of additional content with the Remastered version. One of which is another game with the prequel to Ellie's story.
Story - The graphics are what drew my Wife in but the story and character connection is what my Wife watch it. SMALL SPOILER AHEAD...She actually teared when Joel's daughter dies in the begining. This may be a zombie game on paper but it is so well recieved because the characters pull you in. You will relate to the characters, they are not super heroes, just average Joes with which people can relate to.
There are few games out there that are better as far as individual aspects go. Bioshock has a slightly better scripted story. Dead Space makes you feel terrified just a hiccup more, especially with the audio. The shooting mechanics are not as tight as a First Person Shooter but...You will not find a game that has all these aspects wrapped up into one package and is as polished and refined as this game here.
THIS IS THE GREATEST GAME I HAVE PLAYED UP TO DATE!!!
Fans got FIFA 14 last year on the new consoles and in all fairness it was a high resolution version of the current gen models. While it had a few tweaks here and there, fans still eagerly awaited what the new FIFA 15 version to see what it could do.
After playing a few games, FIFA 15 has a noticeably weightier feel to it. And by that I mean that the game feels less arcade-like that it has in past years and more strategic in gameplay. Gone are the days when you can pinball passes around hoping for an easy score when now every pass you play needs to be played right but more on that in a moment.
Graphics
In this department, I have to say that there are times when FIFA 15 shines and times when it really doesn’t. EA did a lot of work in fixing some of the players’ facial models to make them look more like their real world counterparts but in a lot of places they still miss. Also EA Sports still really needs to take cues from 2K Sports in really bringing players to life as you still don’t get to see a lot of what sets players apart including their tattoos.
The stadiums for the most part looks better and it looked like EA finally squashed one of the weird lighting bugs that has been occurring since the FIFA 12 iteration that caused the game to go to night time temporarily when players subbed in and out. While the crowds do look less like 2D pop outs, It’s still too many clumps of people doing the same thing that really keeps them from looking individualized but, we really didn’t come to this game to watch the crowd, right?
The lighting effects while better still leaves a lot to be desired as there are times I am wondering why a game played at 9pm still has the look of a 3pm afternoon affair.
Presentation
One of the bigger improvements in FIFA 15 is in the menus. One of the touches I really liked is the ability to create and save your starting line ups so with a few easy clicks you can easily plug in your Starting XI with little fuss. But now there is so much more one can do within those menus such as creating and improving formations, deciding what particular players will do as far as possibly defending or attacking, widening or closing his space and much more. You get to tinker so much with your formations and tactics, and once you find what you like, you can save it.
The commentary this year is much more dynamic in years past and so far what I have noticed is that there are very few dead spots in the game when there isn’t commentary going on. EA Sports has also improved how the ticker looks as well as in game graphics including scores from other matches. EA Sports has really started taking lessons from 2K Sports in how to actually present a game and give it a lifelike feel.
Gameplay
This is the biggest improvement made to the same since FIFA 13. Now instead of canned animations, there will be more jostling for the ball, shirt pulling and even some shoving. A big improvement is also how players bring in passes. The ball just doesn’t “stick” to the foot when passed. Players have to be conscious of the fact that passes may get away from time to time and balls may take unexpected bounces like what occurs in real games. One thing I did notice is that sometimes, there may be instances when passes are made and a ball gets loose and sometimes the AI doesn’t always respond right away and on the flip side of that, I have noticed now when players are in the box, if shots are missed, especially as the bang off the posts, players on both sides now make more of an effort to get to the ball. Also depending on the score situation, one can notice how the AI’s demeanor can change. They will make more of an effort to secure a win if they are ahead by playing more defensively or get more aggressive to get the ball if you are ahead. A few other tweaks I have noticed is that you can give team mates instructions during corner kicks such as to crowd the goalkeeper, or go to the near or far post. Also the goalkeeper can give instructions during goal kicks. Either way, as you play, games do tend to have a certain feel to it as it’s not as arcade-like as it has been, it’s not as easy to always get the ball back and forth on the pitch and score as depending on your opponent, they can and will play aggressively. Also I am not too sold on EA’s touting of the emotions engine. You can see players get happy or frustrated during games but to me, it nothing that you haven’t seen before.
This year’s FIFA 15 is a nice strep forward into the next gen lifecycle. While there are certainly a few more issues that EA could improve on, FIFA 15 is moving in the right direction to further its claim of being the better game over PES. While the graphics may have improved somewhat, the presentation and gameplay is a big step forward in keeping fans wanting to play.
I got this as a gift from my best friend and I thought it was like, wow. I have been using my new PS4 system for the last 3 months now, and have been a common victim for some of the most common problems affecting these devices. To start with, I am no fan to charging my controller from the console. I have also had those annoying experiences when both the controllers power off due to charge when I’m doing my favorite game and I unfortunately cannot charge them at the same time in my college apartment room. I have been using this charging station and made several observations about its use and effectiveness. Based on this, this review will give you most of the info that’s important if you’re in the balance regarding whether or not this is what you need to get for your PS4 system.
Simultaneous Charging
Probably the most impressive thing about this is that you get to charge your two controllers at the same time – that means no interruptions when you have some free time and just need to relax and game and game. The charging based dock looks pretty good and matches the description in this product page, something I like. An AC adapter makes it possible for me to charge my controllers without having the switch my PS4 on. This gives me a lot more convenience than my previous charging mechanism with a single USB cable. Basically, this item takes over your ps4 charging requirements and takes care of everything, so that all you’re left to do is enjoy the game.
Long Micro USB Cable
There’s a pretty long (10 ft) included micro USB charging cable, and this is another huge plus for this item. Compared to the typical 1-meter or so USB cables, this is definitely a game-changer, at more than three times the length. The cable gives you some breathing space, portability and some flexibility. So if your bed is on the other corner of the room away from the power outlet, you don’t have to be worried. I remember on a number of occasions I’ve had to camp near the power outlet, as well as position my entire Ps4 system there, just to make sure I’m charging everything up. The cable is something I love about this charging station. It’s probably something every charging equipment manufacturer should learn from, as most of us need a little more length between the power source and where we’re operating our devices.
Great Use
I haven’t seen a single defect for the while that I have been using this product. Everything works as is told in the product promise and the experience gives me some peace of mind, so I can enjoy my ps4 without having to worry about power or charging. The quick installation guide is perfect – direct to the point and as easy as a, b, c. All the same, I have hardly given any product 5 stars in an amazon review but I feel that this one deserves it.
What a awesome bundle... loving my new PS4 wow NHL has come a long way! Lets go Caps!!!
To start, I am a Rockstar games fan, especially the Grand Theft Auto franchise. I own GTA V for PS3 and I’ve played my moneys worth and more. In the past 6 months, GTA online has started to go downhill, less people, less DLC, the fading promise of heists online. Even I, as an avid GTA player, has gotten bored with it. When the Next gen announcements came, I wasn't to excited, I figured a few more shiny objects to please the masses. Then I looked deeper. I purchased the game for PS4, and i purchased a PS4 to play this game. There are so many improvements and changes, it is worth $60 more.
The Aesthetics, Rockstar is known for detail. The previous gen was very detailed, but the new gen blows it out of the water! The way the grass moves and The rain falls. The graphics are not quite as great as the trailers, but impressive to say the least. The way vehicles respond to impacts is more realistic. The draw distance Is amazing, You can pick A car's headlight in the distance, zoom in with your rifle and see it the car. There are more people, more traffic, a variety of weather, all making for a more immersive experience.
New modes and Items, I couldn't possibly cover everything, so I will just cover my favorites. The first person mode Is awesome! Fully functional gauges in a cockpit view is something i've always liked in games, GTA V does it great. Flying is my absolute favorite activity in GTA, I am an aircraft mechanic and though the gauges aren't perfect, I really enjoy this new mode. If you've already beaten the single player, I suggest playing it again in first person mode, it's well worth the time. Now I did own the previous gen, so I recieved a few extra things for upgrading, the rail gun and the modified Duke. All insignificant extras, but it was nice to have some extras thrown in for the players that upgrade.
The online: I was concerned that upgrading and transferring from my ps3 to ps4 would have issues. The transfer was smooth and easy. All vehicles, weapons and items transferred just fine for me. The limit is still two properties, there was a rumor a player could own 3. Unfortunately not. The collectors edition items such as the carbon RS, Hot Knife, and Bullpup shotgun are now unlocked for everyone. That's somthing I've been waiting a long time for. Unfortunately, I was hoping for animals in gta online, but that isn't a feature, maybe in future updates. Rockstar has also promised heists to be the first update, but that promise comes with allot of warented skepticism.
My verdict: If you couldn't already tell, I liked it. Its not just the common re-release, It improves and adds to the already great experience. Its well worth another $60 if you've owned it before, and if you haven't played it yet, You're missing out!
Let's just start with this: it is completely your opinion whether Xbox one or PS4 are better. There are ups and downs for both, but the main reason you buy one or another is what your friends get. This is why I don't get on xbox ones people's case, and I hope they don't get on mine.
After saying that, I'll talk about the bundle. There isn't really anything special about the bundle. You save like 10$, but even that is not true. You can buy a ps4 for 400 and the game new for 42, so it's cheaper to go that way. That said, if you are a person who likes bundles, there is a Black Friday bundle which includes: A BLACK 500GB PS4, GTA V, and THE LAST OF US. You can get this for only 400$. My recommendation is to go for that, and if you don't like gta v you can just sell it.
As a long time Microsoft supporter and someone who has never really liked the PS3, I felt it necessary to post this.
I picked up the new DS4 controller last night for the upcoming PS4, and I have to say I am blown away at how much better they made this controller.
Everything about this controller feels better than the old DS3 and prior units. The joysticks are farther apart and actually have resistance for more precise movements.
The grips are elongated and this makes the controller fit much better in my bigger hands.
It is not heavy in the hand, so while using it I forget I am holding it. The movements feel more like second nature rather than thinking about which button to press.
I knew awhile back I was not getting the Xbox One and I had hitched my wagon to the PS4 train. This just makes that decision all the more grand.
This DS4 is the best controller I have used on any system to date. Will it beat the new Xbox One? Not sure, but I would have to say maybe. Even if it didn't I would say it won't matter, Microsoft lost my money this time around.
We've had our PS4 since launch day (Knack, Killzone and Assassin's ordered separately, a bunch of downloads added as they appeared on the Plus) and we are very happy so far. As soon as we got it out of the box (pretty), we connected to our Wi-Fi, did a rather thorough tour of the system and took note of its capabilities (good stuff but some disappointments), checked out the new menu system (impressive), ran the mandatory update and did a quick round of Knack (fun). Many more rounds of Knack followed, especially by our 10 yr. old with occasional co-op help from me or one of her older brothers - yes, you can easily drop into a game and help out if you feel like it.
Given the DualShock 4's rather short life on a charge, getting a bundle with a second controller makes a lot of sense. Or just order one separately because, even if you are a lone player you will almost certainly miss a standby, charge controller if you don't have one.
So, without regurgitating published specs... let's talk about what we're getting.
THE AWESOME AND THE GOOD
Here they are, first briefly, then discussed below. Still under 'first impressions' so I may add or remove some as we keep playing, learning and exploring.
- Awesome, flawless graphics. Day one games are just that, probably not taking full advantage of the system but Knack hints at what's possible.
- Near-revolutionary new DualShock 4 controller.
- 10x the processing power of a PS3 and it shows.
- 32x more RAM
- Games on physical disks can be borrowed, traded
- Digital content made available at whatever PS4 you log into
- HDD still upgradeable without voiding warranty - our 1TB 7200 RPM upgrade should arrive later today.
- No power brick
- Game and chat audio can be sent to a headset through DS4's 3.5mm port
- All or most media apps (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) currently on PS3 are available on PS4 as well.
- Online access is 100% optional. Yes, you can do it all, including system patches without ever connecting your PS4 to the Internet.
- PS Plus subscription only required for (most) multiplayer games, not for media services
- Remote play (tested it on a Vita with Killzone and it works)
- Plenty of sharing, social features
- DualShock 3 chargers can be used with DualShock 4 controllers
- Move is supported with the new camera
I will rate the system's graphics capabilities as approaching the level of 'awesome. They are good enough to make me a little concerned that some of my current favorite PS3 games may lose some of their appeal. The graphics improvement is not as radical as in PS2 vs. PS3 but, believe me, it's significant and you just can't miss it and if you got used to frame rate drops and 720p or less resolution well... be prepared to get yourself unused to them because they're not going to happen much on the PS4.
The DualShock 4 controller, while looking familiar from a distance, is a major redesign and everything that changed or was added was for the better. The touchpad (clickable, multi-touch, etc.) is the most visible addition or... actually the light bar is more visible and games may or may not take advantage of these two but they are not the only changes. The better designed (concave tops) analog joysticks, the trigger-like R1/L1s, the in-controller little speaker, the audio jack, the more precise Sixaxis motion detection, the new hand-filling form factor make of a significantly better controller. Sony calls the DS4 'evolutionary' and clearly it's not a full redesign but it improves over the DS3 in a big way.
Sony claims that the PS4 has 10 times as much processing power than its predecessor. I don't know how this is measured but the PS4 is clearly and without a doubt much more powerful than the PS3. Everything appears to be smoother, more responsive and after one hour or so with Knack's sometimes super-busy environments, it seems that frame rate drops and low-res games are going to be very much things of the past, even when hundreds/thousands of little particles are moving independently on the screen as things break, explode or in the case of Knack re-form.
Then there is the memory. It's not something that we 'see' but, when compared to the PS3, there is 32 times as much system RAM (8GB of GDDR5) and, without going into technical details, it's a lot faster and a lot easier for a game to use than PS3's memory. I tend to play 'huge worlds' RPGs and I expect to see some awesome ones for the PS4 in the near future and the extra memory should help a lot.
As Sony's PR guys keep reminding us every time they get a chance, physical discs are not tied to individual accounts so you can still sell them, swap them with a friend's game or give them away. It should be great for as long as the publishers don't do 'online passes' and they won't if enough of us refuse to buy the titles that have them. Speaking for myself, that encouraged me to order three 'big' games at launch time knowing that I may be able to swap or sell one or all if I didn't feel like keeping them after trying them out.
The PS4 should allow us to access our digital content on someone else's PS4. It's something that I may try over the weekend because we are going to be at a friends' house that got their PS4 at about the same time we received ours. I will update my review if it doesn't work.
A few PS3 digital downloads are already available for the PS4 and are 'free' if already purchased for the PS3. We should ask that the list is greatly expanded.
The HDD is still upgradeable. Yes, it's something that we had on the PS3 and I am happy to see that Sony kept this option alive. My original 60GB PS3 was upgraded twice to the point where it became a 500GB PS3 and everything would have become very very frustrating if upgrading it wasn't an option.
Online is completely optional if you are willing to jump through hoops. Patches can be downloaded on a PC and ran off a USB drive if you really, really want to avoid ever going online.
We already have a PS Plus subscription and we are happy with what get out of it but not everyone wants quick access to indie games or online multiplayer. Yes, it's not as good a deal as PS3's always free online but it's still 'good' when compared with other platforms.
And, of course, there's a bunch of things I didn't try yet such as sharing stuff with everybody and some things that were promised but not implemented yet such as the ability to drop into someone else's game and help them out. I will update my review once I experience them.
THE UGLY AND THE BAD
And... yeah, not everything is awesome and here it is what needs to be fixed or get better so that we all become a happy gaming family. This may seem to be a long list but I am confident that quite a few of the items below are going to be addressed sooner rather than later and nearly all of them before the end of 2014.
- No MP3 support (how dumb is that?)
- No Media Server/DLNA support (see above)
- No support for audio CDs (no big deal to most but still dumb)
- No support for Bluetooth headsets (I bet they'll fix this soon)
- No support for mice of any kind (Bluetooth or USB)
- No support for an external, USB-connected HDD (it's probably coming with a future update)
- DS4's lightbar can't be turned off, camera or no camera
- Doesn't play PS3 games (inevitable but worth noting it because it's a fact)
- Not too many games at launch (see above, but it's getting better already)
I can't believe that Sony decided not to support MP3 and DLNA and they MUST fix this ASAP. These were good features on the PS3 and taking them away to force us into Sony's paid Music Unlimited service is not going to work and it's not going to win Sony any friends. And while at it, where's Pandora? Most of the shortcomings above are fixable and, if Sony wants us to be a bunch of happy gamers they better address them all as soon as possible.
[NOTE: I just read a couple of news stories stating that Sony will in fact add MP3, audio CD and DLNA support very, very soon. They better. They also claim that the PS4 lacking them at launch has had nothing to do with Sony promoting their Music Unlimited service.]
WHY GET ONE TODAY?
Unlike the original PS3, this one won't play most previous generation games except for those you can get at the PS store. There's a couple dozen launch titles and big promises for some really big games to be released soon, some of them big exclusives but I predict that my PS3 and the PS4 are going to sit next to each other for at least a couple more years in my living room unless Sony makes playing PS3 games possible on the PS4 and they just might do that soon through some 'off the cloud' service.
These being said, now that I have one, I am happy that I placed my preorder back in June. Anyone buying their first console should probably go with the PS4. Yes, there are great PS3 games out there but Sony will stop developing anything major after Gran Turismo 6 and lots of great games are coming to the new generation. As for those like me who already have a PS3, I know that we'll all end up with a PS4 or Xbox One or maybe both at some time in the future. Speaking for myself, PS4 or not, I'm still going to get my Dark Souls 2 on the PS3 and play it all throughout 2014 and beyond unless they announce a PS4 version but I'm looking forward to play at least half a dozen announced and soon to be released PS4 titles.
WHY FIVE STARS
The big MP3/DLNA/CD disappointment notwithstanding - and this WILL be fixed - the PS4 has the potential of becoming a great gaming platform. Seven (in the case of Xbox actually eight) years between consoles generations is a lot of time and gaming changed a lot over all these years. The technology improved and there was a lot of innovation, some of which is going to play a lot better on the new gen platforms.
I love the PS4 for all the technical improvements over the last gen and for being a new and improved gateway to great and greater games, for the greatly improved but still familiar DS4 controller to the not so familiar but easy to navigate new menus and for all of its raw power. I also appreciate it being a lot more affordable at launch then the PS3 was 7 years ago and for keeping tradeable disc-based games and offline playing still viable. Not everybody has access to the Internet all the time and some of us want to be able to play offline every now and then, Internet access or not. It's possible that my rating will change after another day or another week or month of using the PS4 and it will definitely change if most of the issues I noted above don't get fixed but, as of right now, it's a five star rating for the great experience so far and for the promise of it actually getting better in time.
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UPDATE:
Just upgraded the HDD to a HGST Travelstar 2.5-Inch 1TB 7200 RPM SATA III 32MB Cache HDD (awesome). It was all done in minutes and we now have some 820 GB free space vs about 320 GB before the upgrade. And game loads appear to be faster too. As for the original 500 GB HDD, it's not going to waste. It's now inside an inexpensive Sabrent Ultra Slim 2.5-Inch SATA to USB 2.0 External Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure and attached to our Wi-Fi router as shared storage for our media files that, hopefully, the PS4 will soon be able to access.
--
>> Brush your teeth, it's the law! <<
I suspect that most shopping for a PS4 bundle don't have a PS4 yet so, let me talk a little about the console:
We've had ours since launch day because... we preordered one the day preorders were possible. Our expectations were high for the console build and features and realistic for the launch date games and both expectations were generally met. In other words, we are happy so far and we are happy to see that every firmware update gets us a slightly more capable gaming console and every month there are new good, sometimes great and every once in a while awesome games released, some multi-platform, some exclusive.
So, without regurgitating published specs... let's talk about what you get out of a PS4
THE AWESOME AND THE GOOD
Here they are, first briefly, then discussed below.
- Awesome, flawless graphics. No, I am not comparing the PS4 to gaming PCs that cost 2-3-4 times as much. For what we pay, and comparing the PS4 to the previous generation of consoles, the graphics a quite impressive. And it's not just resolution but the console's ability to keep track of a lot more independently moving objects without slowing down or dropping frames.
- Near-revolutionary new DualShock 4 controller. Battery life is not that great (get a second if you can spare the extra cash) but I do appreciate the added in-controller speakers, the clickable touchpad and the way the slightly beefier controller feels.
- When compared to the PS3, 10x the processing power, 32x more RAM and it shows.
- Digital content is available at whatever PS4 you log into
- HDD still upgradeable without voiding warranty - popped in a 1TB 7200 RPM upgrade and it was easy.
- No power brick
- Game and chat audio can be sent to a headset through PS4's 3.5mm port.
- Many media apps: Netflix, Amazon, etc. and the list is constantly growing.
- Online access is 100% optional. Yes, you can do it all, including system patches without ever connecting your PS4 to the Internet.
- PS Plus subscription only required for (most) multiplayer games, not for media services.
- PS Plus offers a couple of good 'free' games, some older AAAs, some new indies every month and you can play them for as long as you are subscribing.
- Plenty of sharing, social features
THE UGLY AND THE BAD
And... yeah, not everything is awesome and here it is what needs to be fixed or get better so that we all become a happy gaming family. This may seem to be a long list but I am confident that quite a few of the items below are going to be addressed sooner rather than later and nearly all of them before the end of 2014.
- No Media Server/DLNA support and this is one of the few reasons our old PS3 is used almost as much as the PS4
- No support for audio CDs (no big deal to most but still dumb)
- No support for Bluetooth headsets (I bet they'll fix this soon)
- No support for mice of any kind (Bluetooth or USB)
- DS4's lightbar can't be turned off completely even though it can be dimmed a little
- Doesn't play PS3 games except for the few available as streaming rentals and the price for that service is not 'right'.
THE REST OF THE BUNDLE
GTA5 is available on both 'new gen' and the older generation platforms and, surprise, surprise, is roughly the same game but added features make it sometimes feel like a new game or anyways, like a much better 'old' game, probably worth buying again.
First of all, it's the much better graphics. The most notable change is the graphical upgrade. It's not just the old graphics upscaled. The PS4 version is significantly more polished and realistic, almost cinematic in quality, taking advantage of PS4's ability to track many more particles - think of dust particles blown by the wind or raindrops splashing on a window pane.
Then, of course, there's the first person mode which is very different gaming experience. Not everyone is going to like this and I will probably stick to the 3d person mode myself but it's still something that I will try every now and then. It's very easy to switch from one mode to another so I can see myself doing it.
I would definitely get the GTA5 on the PS4 if I didn't have one for the PS3 or Xbox already. I would also get one if the GTA games were among my top 5 favorites. Maybe not if I preferred a different genre.
THE LAST OF US... same as GTA5 on graphics improvements. Add to that the included DLC content. Definitely worth getting it if you missed it on the PS3, maybe worth it if you are a fan.
FIVE STARS IF THIS SUITS YOU
There are different bundles available so it's good to be able to pick the one that fits you best.
--
>> Brush your teeth, it's the law! <<
If Amazon allowed reviewers to post half stars, I'd give my new PS4 4&� stars.
Some of my "peeves" have to do with "Destiny" (see below), but as I bought the Destiny Bundle, I think it's still fair to include it in my overall score.
I own every Playstation from the original on up, so I knew it would be a great console, and it is:
Small, sleek footprint - no power "brick" (I am no Xbox One basher, but it is pretty funny to watch those YouTube comparisons). The build quality seems good, it runs fairly quiet, and Glacier White is a nice change of pace.
In my opinion, all of the improvements to the Dualshock 4 controller are welcome, including the slightly bigger and rounder handgrips and improved trigger (shoulder) buttons. The new touch pad is also a big "button" itself, and has some interesting possibilities.
The operating system is (for the most part) cleaned up and pretty easy to navigate (much improved over PS3).
System utilities are improved - you can charge the controller without the console needing to be fully powered up, you can download updates in the background, etc. You can change the brightness of the lightbar on the controller, and you can adjust the controller speaker's volume. One weird thing is that to turn off your controller (which I did a lot while playing Blu Ray movies on my PS3), you have to drill down a couple menu steps - on the PS3, this operation is a lot quicker.
Most important of all of course, currently available PS4 games look good and play very smoothly and are great fun - really looking forward as the PS4 exclusive titles pick up momentum in the next few months!
I did some research before buying, so I knew some things this system would be missing, but in case you don't know:
The PS4 will not play PS3 games, and let's face it, there's still a lot of play left in PS3 titles.
Unlike its predecessors, the PS4 doesn't have a dedicated RCA audio output - if you are just using your TV's onboard speakers, then sure, HDMI is a one connector solution, but if you want to route the PS4 audio to a separate sound system, that system needs to have an HDMI or optical input. I've got an Onkyo amp that isn't ancient and has hosted my PS3 for several years - but all it has are RCA ins, so I can't use it with my PS4. Sure, RCA is old technology, but Sony STILL puts cassette players in most of their boom boxes, for cripes sake! How much would it have cost them to include RCA outs like they've always done?
The hard drive is only 500Gb - that might seem big, it's really not, considering that some games now require a minimum of 50Gb, and it'll probably go up. Yes, you can buy a DIY drive upgrade, but not everybody wants to dive into their PS4's guts. I wish Sony would have tiered the product - i.e., made it also available with a 1Tb drive - I think a lot of people would have paid the extra cost if it were an option.
I knew about the non backward compatibility, the lack of RCA outs and the smallish hard drive -what I didn't know was that for "Destiny," a "sufficiently robust WI-FI connection may be required". Yep, even if you just play the campaign, you have to be online because apparently even the campaign has multiplayer elements. I can appreciate that they have a grand plans for this game, but I hope this isn't the start of a trend for other titles. I have a decent WI-FI setup, but not the best. Every PS4 title I had purchased loaded without incident, but I struggled with the online requirements of "Destiny," and that was frustrating. When I finally got the update downloaded, I was able to play for about 45 minutes without a glitch, and yes, it is no doubt an awesome game. I just don't like the idea that every time I fire up "Destiny" I'll also have to power up my network and hope that it's "sufficiently robust" that day. :)
Worth mentioning:
Several people have been having trouble with the coating on the thumbsticks (joysticks...whatever) on their PS4 controllers disintegrating with regular use, and others have had no such issues. I don't think it's mishandling, it might be an interaction with the oils & sweat from some people's hands and that particular formulation of material. I have a not too old Logitech mouse with a rubberized coating that's doing the same "shedding" thing. Anyway, if you have a new PS4 controller, it might be worthwhile to buy one of the many brands of protective "caps" out there - this is what I bought: Grip-iT Analog Stick Covers and they work fine.
I don't regret my purchase at all - just wanted to document my opinion of some pluses and minuses...
I bought a golden 6 iphone, unlocked on 16 December and brought to Brazil because I live here.
Arriving had the unfortunate surprise to discover that it is LOCKED.
Do not understand what happened because the specifications of the product and according to the almost $ 800 price was clear that this was an unlocked product.
Now I have a cell blocked by AT & T operator, which does not work here in Brazil.
I paid $ 800 for an unlocked cell phone while a locked cost me only 200.
To unlock my phone here in Brazil I have to pay a fee, but I know of no reliable place to make it unlocked.
I am very upset and dissatisfied with the product.
I bought a golden 6 iphone, unlocked on 16 December and brought to Brazil because I live here.
Arriving had the unfortunate surprise to discover that it is LOCKED.
Do not understand what happened because the specifications of the product and according to the almost $ 800 price was clear that this was an unlocked product.
Now I have a cell blocked by AT & T operator, which does not work here in Brazil.
I paid $ 800 for an unlocked cell phone while a locked cost me only 200.
To unlock my phone here in Brazil I have to pay a fee, but I know of no reliable place to make it unlocked.
I am very upset and dissatisfied with the product.
I bought a golden 6 iphone, unlocked on 16 December and brought to Brazil because I live here.
Arriving had the unfortunate surprise to discover that it is LOCKED.
Do not understand what happened because the specifications of the product and according to the almost $ 800 price was clear that this was an unlocked product.
Now I have a cell blocked by AT & T operator, which does not work here in Brazil.
I paid $ 800 for an unlocked cell phone while a locked cost me only 200.
To unlock my phone here in Brazil I have to pay a fee, but I know of no reliable place to make it unlocked.
I am very upset and dissatisfied with the product.
I bought a golden 6 iphone, unlocked on 16 December and brought to Brazil because I live here.
Arriving had the unfortunate surprise to discover that it is LOCKED.
Do not understand what happened because the specifications of the product and according to the almost $ 800 price was clear that this was an unlocked product.
Now I have a cell blocked by AT & T operator, which does not work here in Brazil.
I paid $ 800 for an unlocked cell phone while a locked cost me only 200.
To unlock my phone here in Brazil I have to pay a fee, but I know of no reliable place to make it unlocked.
I am very upset and dissatisfied with the product.
I've been using the iPhone 4 (Verizon) for about a month now. Prior, I had an HTC Droid Incredible for 2 years and before that, a Blackberry Curve--so my vantage point for comparing the iPhone to other smartphones is pretty good.
First APPEARANCE... the phone is sleek and beautiful. The materials Apple used for this phone put all of my previous phones to shame. They now feel cheap, like a dumpy car next to a Lexus. KEYBOARD: the phone has an excellent virtual keyboard--much better than the Androids. But, of course, there's nothing like an actual QUERTY keyboard. On the iPhone 4, I can type quickly and accurately most of the time. It doesn't have a built in mouse (like my Droid Incredible did), so you have less control of the cursor's position, but there is something wonderful about the screen that I can't describe. The auto-correct is also incredibly intuitive at fixing typos. WEB BROWSING: excellent but equal to the android. APP STORE: Apple charges for many of the applications that Android gives away for free, but the App Store has a nice selection and most of the apps work well. With the Android App Store, you sometimes get apps that totally don't work or force-close all the time. CUSTOMIZATION: yes, it's true--the Android gives you a zillion times more control over customizing your phone. For 2 years, I goofed around with all the layout options. And now, after one month of having a pretty fixed iPhone setup, I've come to the following conclusion. "Who cares?!" The iPhone has such a nice and easy-to-use layout that there's really not much need to change it around. BATTERY LIFE: It's not bad. If you keep the Location services shut off and close down applications when not in use, the battery can give you a decent run for your money. Battery life on this phone is much better than what I've experienced with the Andriod. (Also, Apple recently sent a battery-life fix to all iPhone4/4S users and I've definitely seen improvement.) With this phone, I don't feel overly pressured to conserve the battery. CALL/VOICE QUALITY: No distortion or breaking up. My phone hasn't dropped any calls and the signal strength has been slightly better than on my Android.
Now, some of the cons... This phone's screen seems much more likley to break if dropped on it's face. If you're a clutz, get the Otterbox or another super protective case. The volume for the phone's different functions is not very customizable. Meaning, you can't make your ringer loud and email notification soft. They're linked together. I find this annoying b/c I'd prefer to keep my ringer volume up at night in case of an emergency. However, I'd rather not be woken up by email notifications. Another small con, the phone's comfort on the ear is mediocre. (My old phone felt better.) Also, the grip isn't excellent. It's not slipping and sliding like a soapy dish, but the grip could have a better feel. I suppose Apple was more concerned with the sleek shape when designing the phone.
In conclusion, I really like the iPhone 4 and recommend it. So far, it hasn't given me a single problem. However, if you're crossing enemy lines from an Android, the iPhone does take some getting used to. For my first 2 weeks , I complained nonstop about every single thing the iPhone couldn't do (like live wallpaper or landscape mode on some applications)--but then I started appreciating its beauty and simplicity. Today, I'm really happy to be an iPhone 4 user. I say give it a try!
I bought a golden 6 iphone, unlocked on 16 December and brought to Brazil because I live here.
Arriving had the unfortunate surprise to discover that it is LOCKED.
Do not understand what happened because the specifications of the product and according to the almost $ 800 price was clear that this was an unlocked product.
Now I have a cell blocked by AT & T operator, which does not work here in Brazil.
I paid $ 800 for an unlocked cell phone while a locked cost me only 200.
To unlock my phone here in Brazil I have to pay a fee, but I know of no reliable place to make it unlocked.
I am very upset and dissatisfied with the product.
Sony VAIO SVD13223CXW 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen Ultrabook (White) is a great laptop and tablet for $1,399 dollars. The only real drawback I found was this product does not come with a DVD drive. But this ultrabook is very lightweight and works as both a laptop and tablet.
This laptop has all the features that you will find with most desktop PC's and in some respects this laptop has the ability to access the hard-drive faster than a typical desktop. Once you boot up this device you will notice right away the sharp images it can display. The screen is 13.3" and will allow you to do anything you could do on a desktop. The screen displays at 1080p (1920 x 1080) HD.
This laptop is filled with many great features. I have listed a few that I felt were important for you to know before making a purchase. I also want to say please email me if you have any questions, I would be happy to help. It is important to do your research when buying a laptop and I enjoy helping others with fun, cool technology like this. I tried to make the features sound less confusing and they are as follows:
* Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-4200U
* Display: 13.3-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 4400
* Memory (RAM): 4 GB
* Storage (hard drive): 128 GB Solid-State Drive
* touchscreen allows for a snappy and responsive touch experience.
* LED backlight ensures a bright display while conserving battery power.
* Genuine Windows 8.1
* Anti-Virus Software: Microsoft Windows Defender
* USB 3.0:2
* Battery Type: Standard Lithium Ion Battery (VGP-BPS34 3650mAh)
* Battery Life: Up to 10 hours
* Dimensions (Approx.):14.84 x 3.15 x 12.24 inches
* Weight (Approx.): 2.9 pounds
Again I think you will love this laptop like I do and I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you for reading my review, if you have any questions feel free to email me, I would be happy to help you with any questions you have.
I have now had this laptop for a little over a month and am still very impressed. For this price point (mine was just under $600) this is an amazing deal. The reason it is such a good deal is that it has most of the features of a higher end laptop but at a medium range price point. For instance, it has a very responsive touch screen, a huuugeee amount of ram, a backlit keyboard and a high end exterior look.
The Good:
- I really did not care about the beats audio but I am very very happy with the look of the laptop, it looks and feels like I spent $1500 on it and I have been getting lots of interest and compliments on the look. The colors and feel of it overall are just top notch high quality, you will feel great carrying this around.
- The numbers are fantastic and translate well to usage, cpu, ram, hdd are all very good for the price and it runs like a high end laptop. The RAM is the highlight here as it can handle tons of programs running at the same time without any issue, I think the high level of RAM is what makes me like...
-Windows 8.1 , I know its got some haters, but on this laptop I have been enjoying it! With the RAM on this machine windows runs fast and looks great on the screen, it is a lot different but you can use it like older windows versions too.
-TOUCH SCREEN, this touchscreen is so responsive that I use it all the time. Win8.1 is built for touchscreen but I have found myself using the touch for all kinds of different programs, it is not only cool, but can be a time saver too. It is also another great high end feature that you can impress your friends with.
- General Program Handling, this laptop can run most any program flawlessly, I am using firefox for web browsing and it is lightning fast as are the download speeds. As far as games, it is limited by the gpu but I have run wow, witcher enhanced, and rift with no problem, it cannot handle the newest games though.
The Bad-
- Battery Life, it runs down pretty fast with high usage but it is also small and light, This is upgradable if you really feel the need, I usually can get about two hours of heavy to moderate usage out of it.
-integrated graphics cards, this is an issue with almost all laptops, now this one has a very good graphics card for being integrated but it has limitations still, as I said above, you can run WOW without any issue but something like Witcher 3 has no hope of running. Sadly the cpu and the ram are more than beefy enough to handle the new games, but the integrated card trips them up. However unless you are getting a gaming laptop (and really, if you are just get a desktop instead) then this laptop is about the best you can do as far as handling games in your lap.
-Beats Audio. This is not really a negative or positive for me, i really like the beats special edition looks, but I will admit that the speakers (while very clear for a laptop) are not all that impressive (even beats cant work miracles) so do not expect to feel your chest thump from the beats audio. However, there is a ton of sound editing software for free which could come in handy. Overall I like the beats logos and colors, but wanted people to be aware that the sound wont knock your socks off (still better than your average laptop though)
Summary-
So while there are two "negative aspects" of this laptop, I am giving it five stars and you may wonder why. I did about 20 hours of research before I purchased a computer and the HP 15-p030nr is straight amazing for the price point. It can handle nearly anything you throw at it, looks amazing from exterior to screen, and has all the fun features of a high end notebook, all for half the price of a high end machine. If you are in the market for a laptop under $1000 then I would get this one, if you only have $400 to spend, i would save up and get this one, it really is worth your money in every way.
thanks,
Adam
I really want to love this laptop, and by all rights I should. Speed is smoking, screen resolution is great, I love everything about it, but...
Sony appears to have saddled ALL of its new FITs with a sub-par (and/or defective) Broadcomm wi-fi card. As I write this, I am sitting less than 2 meters from my router (itself less than one year old). The laptop is showing five bars, but the speed is 5.5 mbps. If I move the laptop farther from the router, say 5 meters, bars drop to 1-2, speed frequently drops to 1-2 mbps, and frequently the signal cuts out entirely. Any farther out and you can forget about a signal. I expected more from Sony, particularly on a laptop being sold at this price point. I have been following an increasingly frustrated discussion of this topic on Sony's community website (started 01JUL2013, and closing in on 300 comments), waiting and hoping for a solution from Sony, but the silence has been pretty deafening. So far, the best solution from the group appears to be replacing the defective wi-fi card on my own dime, quite likely voiding Sony's warranty on the machine. Not cool.
The charging port cover cracked off right away. Other wise it's a great phone
Pros-
1. Gorgeous display.
2. Slim and light. Great portability.
3. Very fast, good performance.
4. Good battery life.
5. Fingerprint sensor.
6. Micro SD card support up to 128 GB.
Cons-
1. The tablet comes with a lot of bloatware.
2. No S Pen support.
3. Camera is mediocre.
I have managed to get my hands into the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 for the last couple of weeks. I was very excited to give it a try when I saw the Samsung announcement. I have to say after a trying it out for some time I can honestly say I am impressed. Below I will give you my thoughts on the tablet.
Pros-
1. By far the most compelling reason to buy this tablet is the display. It looks really amazing. It has top of the line resolution of 2560 x 1600 giving it 359 pixels per inch. But it is not the resolution that makes the display so unique but the Super AMOLED technology that creates bigger contrast in colors. Colors look saturated and slightly unrealistic but there is no denying they look great. At the end I think it is a matter of preference, if you like the display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 then you will certainly like the display of the tablet. You can tell Samsung made this particular tablet for content consumption. Everything from pictures, videos to magazines look very impressive.
During sunlight exposure the display has to be cranked up almost all the way up for you to read comfortably. I noticed that videos look better in direct sunlight that previous Samsung tablets I have used. I put my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2012) model tablet side by side and it just pales in comparison.
2. This tablet is one of the thinnest and lightest tablets in the market. It is even lighter than the IPad Retina Mini and that is certainly saying a lot. In terms of weight it easily rivals 7 inch tablets. It weight the same as the Nexus 7 (2013). Keep in mind the Nexus 7 screen is only 7 inches as opposed the Tab S 8.4 inch display. I can easily hold the tablet one handed for extended periods of time. In terms of weight it is as close to the Amazon Kindle E-reader as I experienced. As far as the outside of the tablet is concerned it is made of the exact material and texture of the Samsung Galaxy S5. It is plastic but it has a soft, very comfortable dimple back that does not collect fingerprint. Not as nice looking as the IPad but a great improvement from previous generations. Besides that plastic back is what allows the tablet to keep the weight down.
3. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is considered a high end tablet and it has the specs to back it up. The Wifi model that I have been using has a Samsung made Exynos 5 Octa core processor. Four of the cores are running at 1.9 GHz and four cores running at 1.3 GHz. It also comes with 3 GB of RAM memory. What does this all mean? That it can handle just about everything you can throw at it and more. The processor in this tablet is designed for optimum performance. In my time using the tablet I have not discovered any slow down at all. Multitasking works incredible well. The only thing I did not like was the Samsung Keyboard. I personally do not use it because it tends to lag. Instead I installed the Google Keyboard. It performs much smoother. The rest of the interface however is fluid and smooth. Games open very fast and browser performance is better than ever. I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to performance.
4. The battery in the tablet has a capacity of 4900 mah. Samsung claims that the battery life is for 10 hours of web use. On a typical day after using it to catch up on morning news, listening to some music, a couple hours of Netflix and YouTube I still go to bed with around 40-50% battery. That is with the brightness at a little less than half. One day I was reading outside and decided to crank up the brightness all the way up. I lost about 20% in an hour. Games also tend to use the battery faster but that is to be expected. For normal everyday use you should have no problem getting through your day with it.
5. Android has a lot of different locking method for your devices. I feel that other than a long password the safest way to lock your device is by fingerprint. The fingerprint scanner in this tablet is the same model found on the Galaxy S5. You have to swipe your finger across it as opposed to the one in the IPhone 5S where you only have to place your finger and it unlocks itself. I found the fingerprint scanner to be more accurate than the one on the S5. You still have to be careful how you swipe the finger but it fails less often than on the Galaxy S5. You have the option of using several fingers to unlock the device that way more than one person has access to the tablet at all times.
6. The tablet supports Micro SD cards up to 128 GB in capacity. This is great because the tablet itself only comes with 16 GB of storage built in which is lacking in today’s world. I myself use a 64 GB card with the tablet and there I have been able to store over 10 movies, over 1000 songs and a few hundred family pictures. The Micro SD cards now a day are cheaper than ever and they provide so much flexibility. It is a real convenience and I am glad Samsung has decided to support its use for so long.
Cons-
1. If you have ever used a Samsung Galaxy phone in the past you know they usually come with a lot of prepackaged apps. That is not the exception here. It comes with a TON of Samsung apps. The vast majority of them I have not even touched until this day.
2. One of the things that bummed me out a little bit about this tablet is that it doesn’t support the S pen. The S Pen is useful to take notes and to make drawings and it has been a staple of Samsung tablets over the last couple of years. I have a feeling they did not included because the S Pen might not be compatible with the Super AMOLED screen.
3. You can clearly tell that manufacturers just don’t place much emphasis on the camera for tablets. Even though the Galaxy Tab S is a premium tablet the camera looks more like one found in a mid-range phone. The camera on the back is 8 MP. That is above average for tablets but is not really anything that will impress you at this point. Photos in good sunlight came out fairly good. Indoors and at night the pictures looked grainy and you had to be really still for them not to get blurry. The same performance was seen during videos. The camera has no image stabilization therefore you have to have a very steady hand or else the video looks very shaky. I can’t really say I am going to be using it much. The front facing camera is 2.1 MP and it performs as well as you could hope for. It is all right for the occasional Skype call but nothing too spectacular. It is average.
Overall, do I recommend this tablet? I whole heartedly do, especially if you are looking to use it for entertainment and media consumption. The display is fantastic for movies, pictures and reading. The design of the tablet itself is very thin, light and comfortable to use. In terms of overall size and weight the tablet is rivaling the 7 inch models from last year. The exclusion of the S Pen makes this tablet not the best in terms of productivity. If you are looking for productivity on a tablet maybe the Samsung Note series might be a better option for you.
I hope this review was useful and I will be looking to update it in the coming weeks.
If you are still unsure whether to purchase this tablet go to a local retail store and see for yourself. Compare it side by side with other tablets once you take a look at the display and the overall aesthetic I promise you will be impressed.
Met my expectations. Works perfectly in Venezuela.
Warning, this phone, despite being a Samsung Galaxy S5, DOES NOT come with 4G capability.
I did not think it was possible for a phone, as new and advanced as the S5, to NOT have 4G capability.
The first month I owned the phone, I thought I wasn't getting 4G due to poor network connections. Then I finally looked at my friend's phone, an older Samsung Note 3, and saw he had 4G. We both have the same network.
Then I reread the specifications. Now I realized, why they included so much nonsense specifications such as: "B10 (E-GSM 900MHz), B13 (DCS 1,800MHz), B14 (PCS 1,900MHz) 3G UMTS B1 (IMT 2,100MHz), B2 (PCS 1,900MHz), B5 (US 850MHz Cellular), B8 (GSM 900MHz)"
Have you ever read one cell phone review, mentioning any of the above specifications? No. All they are trying to do is HIDE the fact that it DOES NOT contain 4G.
Thankfully, I called Amazon, complained, and as Amazon always seems to do, they saved the day by accepting a return with FULL refund =).
Just FYI,Samsung S5 SM-G900H translates into NO 4G. You have to purchase the S5 SM-G900F in order to get 4G.
Same price, too.
I have no clue why they are selling a phone as advanced as the S5, WITHOUT 4G, and at the SAME PRICE, no less.
Completely mind-boggling.
If you HATE 4G, then this phone is for you. ;)
Now what is there to say about the galaxy S5 that has not been said in the specs already.
I bought this phone for my wife's birthday. when it got here she was so happy.
Its a original unlocked S5 so we took it to the provider and as soon as it got booted up we saw that it was in Chinese language, my wife got scared and said that it wasn't original.
So let me explain this model is for Europe so the 2 languages that are preset are Chinese for some reason and English so we switch that quickly to English and started the activation process.
Everything works fine if you have LTE in your area it works and if not it just switches to what ever network is available at your provider. its a blazing fast phone compared to the exynos version.
we are located in the Caribbean for those of you that live near these parts and it works fine with our providers. no issues so far with the phone itself. Why i give it four stars and not five is the fact that nothing is perfect, don't get me wrong its a great phone it has all the bells and whistles but its too big for me.
Okay, if you're here you probably have made your research about the S5 so you know it's an awesome phone. I do, however, wanna talk about some aspects of this version since it's and unlocked version.
First of all, yes, do you get the SM-G900F version. So don't be afraid you'll pay for that one and get a SM-G900H instead (that was one of my concerns when searching for it since a read different reviews that talked about that). Also, I read in some of the questions that it didn't came with a box; that it was new and had all of the plastics but that it didn't came with a box. False, the box is there with no signs of being opened since all of the stickers are still intact. If you compare it with the box of a phone that has been bought at a carrier, the specs list is in a different order, uses different words but in the end it's all the same. The biggest difference, I think, is the fact this one says LTE while carrier ones say 4G LTE. But then again, no big deal.
However, although 4G capable, I am NOT able to get 4G signals all the time. I have an AT&T sim card and for the first days I wasn't able to get 4G at all. I then called costumer service and they updated my phone info (cause apparently the system registered it as a 2G phone rather than a 4G device) and guided me through creating the specific APN settings for AT&T's network. Sadly, even after that it didn't worked. But after that though, I started having problems with my network signal. I didn't always had all of the signal bars and my phone even started disconnecting from the network completely displaying the "Only emergency calls" sign. To which in many occasions I had to reboot it more than one time in order for it to get signal again. Long story short, I am now able to get 4G speeds in SOME areas for a little amount of time. And it's 4G, not 4G LTE. The rest of the time it's stuck at H or H+. Yes, I know that not every single area is 4G capable, but I live in Boston and I know for a fact we're pretty much set. Also, it's frustrating to be sitting next to someone on the train and seeing how their phone has 4G LTE even underground, when mine disconnects from the network and enters "only emergency calls" mode. And, to make things worst, although my browser and apps work, I'm am NOT able to send multimedia messages. I've spent more than 3 hours total speaking with AT&T's technical support and they assure me they've done everything in their power but that the problems seems to be my phone. Of course, they can't guarantee that a phone that isn't bought from them will get 4G speeds or any data whatsoever and the only thing they can recommend at this point is for me to reset my phone and call back again in order to be guided though the process from the beginning.
Honestly, I don't even have an unlimited internet plan, so I have to be cautious with my data usage and there for only use it when I'm on the train. The rest of the time I'm either at home or at work, both of where I have wifi connection. H+ is almost 4G and the speed isn't bad, really. So if this isn't a deal breaker for you, buy it! Also, I'm not saying every single phone and carrier will have this problem, I tend to be a little unlucky when it comes to this things so it could just be me! I'm just disappointed because the phone itself says 4G on the back where it usually says "Galaxy S5" so it's quite ironic that I can only get 4G speeds at certain locations for a couple of minute...
Also, the phone does NOT bring a USB 3.0 cable, it brings a 2.0 cable with no Samsung branding... I don't really know it that means anything at all, but been the SM-G900F version I did expected it to bring the USB 3.0 cable.
Okay, if you're here you probably have made your research about the S5 so you know it's an awesome phone. I do, however, wanna talk about some aspects of this version since it's and unlocked version.
First of all, yes, do you get the SM-G900F version. So don't be afraid you'll pay for that one and get a SM-G900H instead (that was one of my concerns when searching for it since a read different reviews that talked about that). Also, I read in some of the questions that it didn't came with a box; that it was new and had all of the plastics but that it didn't came with a box. False, the box is there with no signs of being opened since all of the stickers are still intact. If you compare it with the box of a phone that has been bought at a carrier, the specs list is in a different order, uses different words but in the end it's all the same. The biggest difference, I think, is the fact this one says LTE while carrier ones say 4G LTE. But then again, no big deal.
However, although 4G capable, I am NOT able to get 4G signals all the time. I have an AT&T sim card and for the first days I wasn't able to get 4G at all. I then called costumer service and they updated my phone info (cause apparently the system registered it as a 2G phone rather than a 4G device) and guided me through creating the specific APN settings for AT&T's network. Sadly, even after that it didn't worked. But after that though, I started having problems with my network signal. I didn't always had all of the signal bars and my phone even started disconnecting from the network completely displaying the "Only emergency calls" sign. To which in many occasions I had to reboot it more than one time in order for it to get signal again. Long story short, I am now able to get 4G speeds in SOME areas for a little amount of time. And it's 4G, not 4G LTE. The rest of the time it's stuck at H or H+. Yes, I know that not every single area is 4G capable, but I live in Boston and I know for a fact we're pretty much set. Also, it's frustrating to be sitting next to someone on the train and seeing how their phone has 4G LTE even underground, when mine disconnects from the network and enters "only emergency calls" mode. And, to make things worst, although my browser and apps work, I'm am NOT able to send multimedia messages. I've spent more than 3 hours total speaking with AT&T's technical support and they assure me they've done everything in their power but that the problems seems to be my phone. Of course, they can't guarantee that a phone that isn't bought from them will get 4G speeds or any data whatsoever and the only thing they can recommend at this point is for me to reset my phone and call back again in order to be guided though the process from the beginning.
Honestly, I don't even have an unlimited internet plan, so I have to be cautious with my data usage and there for only use it when I'm on the train. The rest of the time I'm either at home or at work, both of where I have wifi connection. H+ is almost 4G and the speed isn't bad, really. So if this isn't a deal breaker for you, buy it! Also, I'm not saying every single phone and carrier will have this problem, I tend to be a little unlucky when it comes to this things so it could just be me! I'm just disappointed because the phone itself says 4G on the back where it usually says "Galaxy S5" so it's quite ironic that I can only get 4G speeds at certain locations for a couple of minute...
Also, the phone does NOT bring a USB 3.0 cable, it brings a 2.0 cable with no Samsung branding... I don't really know it that means anything at all, but been the SM-G900F version I did expected it to bring the USB 3.0 cable.
I've had an iPhone 4 and now an iPhone 5 and can't see what the allure to Apple products is after buying this phone. I needed a separate phone for work and this one fit the bill nicely. Affordable price, factory unlocked, stellar reputation with Samsung. I paid nearly three times this price for my iPhone 5 and this phone annihilates it in performance. The screen is the same size as my iPhone, and I've added a micro SD card to equal my iPhone's storage (actually exceed, including the phone's internal 8GB). I might order a second one for personal use and toss the iPhone 5 on eBay!
This Samsung Galaxy S Duos II S7582 was a GREAT choice and I am very happy with it.
I needed a Dual SIM Phone for my daughter while she is traveling across multiple continents, so I can stay in contact with her, and she can use a local pre-paid SIM card. I only had the phone a few days before sending it out again, so this review is limited to that. She had a GT-S7562 and was happy with it until it was stolen out of her hand in India (Travelers Beware!)
Helpful info:
Came with Android 4.2, the phone updated to 4.2.2 as soon as I connected it to the internet.
This phone has slots for two of the larger SIM cards – not the mini-SIM.
My US carrier's SIM card (AT&T) plugged in and worked fine for both Voice and Data. Phone calls and voice quality worked fine. I did not test the data speed on AT&T but it seemed fine. Google Maps worked great using GPS and AT&T data.
This is the same size as the Galaxy Mini phones – it just has dual SIM slots.
This phone came in a small, factory sealed, Samsung box with: the Phone, plastic back, battery (1500mAh), USB-A to Mini-USB cable (18 inch?), “In ear” style earphones with microphone, and an EU plug wall charger.
Pros:
Unlocked from Samsung, designed for international use – so it should work with most any WMA/SIM carrier in the world.
Great size for travel. Big enough for the Android experience - slightly larger screen than an iPhone but not nearly the size of the more expensive 5 inch phones.
Great screen, very easy to read and worked well even in sunlight.
Phone worked great. Very responsive. First power up screen asked for the language with a LOT of choices. WiFi connected first time. AT&T SIM card worked first time.
Price – paid 158USD with free overnight shipping from Prime.
Cons:
Battery life - Though I did not get much of a chance to test this phone, all Android phones (smart phones in general??) seem to lose their charge in less than a day. Plan for it.
Only 4GB internal Flash.
Minor: Wall Charger is an EU Plug. But I have many US Chargers and it is an international phone...
I suggest ordering/having the following for this phone:
1) Case – I got the 7USD Amzer AMZ95155 TPU case and it works fine for basic protection.
2) Micro-SD card – the phone had over 1.5GB available, but for travel (taking pictures, storing music/video) I got the SanDisk SDSDQU-016G-AFFP-A 16GB Micro-SD card for 13USD.
3) Additional Battery or portable USB charger.
4) International AC Adapter, or Micro-USB power source for charging.
Over all I highly recommend this phone and I would buy another one if needed.
One last note: This order was fulfilled by Amazon Prime and the seller was “aSavings” – Kudos to Amazon and aSavings for a perfect transaction.
