# So I just got my first Smart Phone - Samsung Galaxy S4 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765 "2014-05-06T00:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/21 "2014-05-06T14:53:51Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Thanks for the info. This phone seems to be gimped. there is not bottom right button for linking either > > it has Contact Name > then the picture icon > then mobile > then phone number and on the right the call and mesage icons > > thats it I misspoke - I meant left. But there must be both a bottom right and a bottom left button. You have the centre button that you press like an enter key, right? Next to that, on the left, is a little picture that’s a square with the bottom cut off and two lines in it. It doesn’t stand out, so it’s understandable that it might not look like a button. It is, though. It will bring up extra options. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/22 "2014-05-06T16:47:27Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I misspoke - I meant left. > > But there must be both a bottom right and a bottom left button. You have the centre button that you press like an enter key, right? Next to that, on the left, is a little picture that’s a square with the bottom cut off and two lines in it. It doesn’t stand out, so it’s understandable that it might not look like a button. It is, though. It will bring up extra options. Oh, THAT thing, I barely noticed it before heh. The options while on a contact page are: Edit Delete (I was wondering how to delete too, so cool) Share Namecard Via Add to reject list Add shortcut to home I have no idea what the last three do yet. When in edit contact mode the right lower button does nothing ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/23 "2014-05-06T16:57:12Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Oh, THAT thing, I barely noticed it before heh. > > The options while on a contact page are: > > Edit > Delete (I was wondering how to delete too, so cool) > Share Namecard Via > Add to reject list > Add shortcut to home > > I have no idea what the last three do yet. > When in edit contact mode the right lower button does nothing Huh. Mine comes up with a lot more options. Since it’s about phone contacts, maybe it’s to do with the carrier? No idea otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/24 "2014-05-06T17:17:00Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Huh. Mine comes up with a lot more options. Since it’s about phone contacts, maybe it’s to do with the carrier? No idea otherwise. Possibly. The phone may be gimped. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/25 "2014-05-06T17:20:10Z")
All sorts of device specific info can also be found [here](http://content.samsung.com/us/contents/aboutn/aboutnIntro.do) ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/26 "2014-05-06T17:25:49Z")
> [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](#): > > You can use a program called Kies to do backups, updates etc. It’s available free from Samsung [here.](https://www.samsung.com/us/kies/) Grats on a very good phone choice, explore and have fun! It helps to know what kind of backup/sync you are wanting. Just photos? Contacts? Everything? As mentioned, Kies is kind of slow and bloated and it seems to choke or time-out on large media/photo/music libraries. What I do for the following: Pictures (use a removable memcard, then directly drag folders onto PC periodically) Music (sync with Google Music & Winamp, and/or memcard again) Documents (drag whole user directory to PC) Contacts (export as .csv every month or so) Notes/Settings/Config stuff (drag whole user directory over to PC) IMO the best thing to do is get the largest memcard you can slot (I think 64GB on the Galaxy?) and house as much as possible on it instead of your phone’s system memory. With Android/Galaxy phones, there is no “right” answer on how to use it best, it is insanely customizable. My wife and I both have the same phone, and after only a couple of months we can barely even use each others because we’ve tweaked them so differently 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/27 "2014-05-06T17:41:09Z")
Thanks **GargoyleWB** , Mainly pictures I suspect. I’d like to copy music from my Ipod to the phone but I doubt Apple would allow that to be possible! ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/28 "2014-05-06T18:07:47Z")
> **[gs4\_en.pdf](https://www.fido.ca/cms/pdf/en/userguides/gs4_en.pdf)** > > 12.20 MB Well, found that… So it isn’t my provider that gimped the phone. Maybe defective, or maybe Best Buy sells gimped phones? I’m gonna swing by there tonight ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/29 "2014-05-06T20:44:21Z")
I do not know about the S4, but on my Samsung Infuse, there is two ways to enter contacts, to the “SIM card” or “the phone”. If you choose to the SIM card, you can only enter one phone number and e-mail address, choose “to the phone” to enter multiple details. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/30 "2014-05-07T00:34:33Z")
> [@J-P\_L](#): > > I do not know about the S4, but on my Samsung Infuse, there is two ways to enter contacts, to the “SIM card” or “the phone”. If you choose to the SIM card, you can only enter one phone number and e-mail address, choose “to the phone” to enter multiple details. Yup, this was it, I was adding them under sim card. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/31 "2014-05-07T03:40:51Z")
Good choice! I’m still using an S2 that I remain very happy with, and wouldn’t hesitate to pick the S4 come upgrade time. You should get yourself an “external” SD card if you haven’t already, at least 16GB. (“External”=merely external to the so called “internal” SD card. It still goes inside the phone.) You want to keep important data, favorite tunes, backups, etc. on the external SD card so that if you ever need to do a factory reset–and I’m not saying you will–you’ll still have your data. Also when you upgrade to something else in a year or two, you will be able to move your data simply by moving your external SD card. If you’re of a mildly technical bent consider rooting your device and flashing a custom ROM. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/32 "2014-05-07T04:24:33Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Thanks **GargoyleWB** , > > Mainly pictures I suspect. > > I’d like to copy music from my Ipod to the phone but I doubt Apple would allow that to be possible! If you can get the songs off your ipod/out of itunes and onto your PC, you can load them onto the phone easy. Use the same method as you would to make an MP3 CD. ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/33 "2014-05-07T07:46:05Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Thanks **GargoyleWB** , > > Mainly pictures I suspect. > > I’d like to copy music from my Ipod to the phone but I doubt Apple would allow that to be possible! If you use Itunes you set up bidirectional syncing with your android phone using a desktop program called [Isyncr](http://www.jrtstudio.com/iSyncr-iTunes-for-Android). It has a companion [app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.iSyncr) that goes on your phone. If you use a compatible audio player app, it will even sync ratings and playcounts, which I find very useful for Itunes smart playlists. ---
**Author:** ![dublos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f08c70/32.png) [@dublos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dublos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/34 "2014-05-07T17:26:56Z")
Did you intentionally avoid the S5? I’m still adjusting to my S5 having upgraded from my Motorola Photon. My Samsung is just huge in comparison… I had a [Nutshell](http://tuff-as-nuts.com/) holster for my Motorola and it’s way too small for the Samsung. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/35 "2014-05-07T19:16:48Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Good choice! I’m still using an S2 that I remain very happy with, and wouldn’t hesitate to pick the S4 come upgrade time. > > You should get yourself an “external” SD card if you haven’t already, at least 16GB. (“External”=merely external to the so called “internal” SD card. It still goes inside the phone.) You want to keep important data, favorite tunes, backups, etc. on the external SD card so that if you ever need to do a factory reset–and I’m not saying you will–you’ll still have your data. Also when you upgrade to something else in a year or two, you will be able to move your data simply by moving your external SD card. My S4 is the third phone I’ve moved my memory card to. It makes life really easy. Besides music I have various want lists and lists of the books I have on the phone, loaded from my PC. When I go to a used bookstore I can check to see if I have something already. BTW, you should install a Find my phone app. It lets you lock your phone remotely and even better get its location if it gets swiped or misplaced. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/36 "2014-05-07T20:26:38Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > BTW, you should install a Find my phone app. It lets you lock your phone remotely and even better get its location if it gets swiped or misplaced. You don’t need an app for that anymore: [https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager](https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager) ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/37 "2014-05-27T00:42:00Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > If your phone didn’t come loaded with an antivirus program, it would [definitely be a good idea to install one.](http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/computer-security/you-should-put-antivirus-software-on-your-phone-14886208) I use the paid version of Avast for my PC and bundled my mobile device into the plan. How do you get avast for the android? I only see PC versions? SO, this thread went dead for a while because I returned the phone. Now, a few weeks later, I’ve gone and got a Galaxy S5 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/38 "2014-05-27T06:11:06Z")
You should have an icon somewhere for Play store. That’s the official google app store. Just do a search there for AVAST. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765/39 "2014-05-27T08:00:19Z")
Download from the [Avast](http://www.avast.com/en-us/free-mobile-security) site, or from Google Play. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-got-my-first-smart-phone-samsung-galaxy-s4/687765.md?page=1)