Samsung Galaxy S5 black 16GB

I bought this Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus (SM-G901F) instead of the Galaxy S6, which I had been waiting for. After weighing up the options of a OnePlus, S6, Note 4 and several other devices, I settled on this. I have a Galaxy Note 8 tablet, so have no need for a huge phablet. I need the microSD slot for all my music as I have a large collection ripped from my CDs, so the S6, OnePlus and Nexus devices are all out. Plus I bought it at a very reasonable price. I’ve had a Galaxy S3 for 3 years as it was a good phone and I couldn’t justify upgrading it when the newer models came out. It had become increasingly slow even after wiping it several times and installing Cyanogenmod 11 on it. The S5 is twice as fast as the S3, and the S5 Plus, which this model is, benchmarks higher than the Note 4. (I’ll come back to benchmarks when I edit this again later). Out of the box the phone came installed with Swisscom firmware. This hasn’t caused me any issue with using UK SIM cards. The screen is superb and so far with limited use, I’ve found the 16MP camera to be more than adequate. The audio quality has improved over the S3, again, I’ll come back with more detail with edits. I also bought a tempered glass screen protector for it and you can find my review for that under the same username, Zetan. I very highly recommend getting one of these screen protectors, they are superb! Overall, I’m really happy with the phone. [Edit 1] I think I've had the phone long enough now to update my review with other some thoughts. Since I've rooted the phone, I can't really comment on how it performs without root. I can't get OTA updates, so I've updated manually, and while I was initially very apprehensive about Lollipop, I actually quite like it. I've switched from Swisscom firmware to EE. As there wasn't a completely stock firmware available, EE seemed like the next best choice. It had minimal bloatware and again, I haven't found any problems with using it with my Tesco Mobile SIM. For some stats; The phone boots up between 1:03 seconds and 1:08. Benchmarks: 3D Mark scores in at 23468 and gleefully reports; "Good news! This is one of the most powerful devices around and everything seems to be working normally". Well, that's great. I didn't notice any significant glitches or stutters, but it's how it performs with real world everyday use that really counts*. More on that later. AnTuTu Benchmark reports; My SM-G901F: 53174. According to the stats, this outperforms Meizu MX 4 and the Galaxy Note 4. It sits comfortably at the top of the chart above OnePlus One, HTC One M8, Huawei Mate 7, Xiaomi MI 4 and the Galaxy S5. The difference in performance between the S5 and the S5+ seems quite significant. Quadrant Standard reports a benchmark of; 26198, which according to the next listed device is a million miles away. The HTC One X scores below 5000. The devices listed don't appear very comparable, so I'll take this result with a pinch of salt. *How does it perform in the real world? I tinker with all my devices, so these scores will vary widely. I've thrown a lot at it, installed several games and quite possibly abused it. Yes, it has stuttered from time to time, but I think that is more to do with too many background processes running at the same time. I've now installed Startup Manager which prevents the apps I've selected from starting their background processes when the phone is rebooted. As with all devices I've used this app on, I notice a significant difference in performance. On the whole, the phone is silky smooth. I use Next Launcher with the settings maxed out and it doesn't protest. While I haven't tried all the games I have on the Play Store, Riptide 1 & 2 both run flawlessly. What I still find annoying is the menu/recent app button switch between the home button and menu, not because I can't get used to, but precisely the opposite.. I now find myself using the same keys on my Note 8, which now have different functions. It's tiresome and I still can't see the point of Samsung changing it. [Edit 2] The camera on this phone is SUPERB! It’s no SLR, granted, but it’s better than good enough. I’ve now taken videos, full 360˚ panoramas and general holiday snaps. Everyone who has seen any of my photos that have been taken with this phone has been blown away with the quality of the pictures. I never use zoom, once you’ve taken your shot, you can review the image and zoom in nearly all the way and still have good clarity. Panoramas are a doddle to take. As with any panorama, keep the camera in portrait, keep the phone steady with the horizon line dead straight (turn on gridlines!), press the shutter button, wait a second for the pana to start and then turn quickly, but steadily around. The pana will start to fill the preview window and when you’ve turned around in the full 360˚, the camera will automatically stop and start processing the image. I’ve taken quick sweeping panoramas and with my photo editing app I have cropped entire scenes into new photos. I have seen some people complain about the fingerprint scanner. I agree that it can be temperamental. I’ve found that if I use all three fingerprint registration allocations for three different fingers; my thumb and index finger on one hand and a finger of my other hand, and record the eight swipes with different areas of my fingerprint pads, like the edge of my thumb, a full print, the tips etc.. the fingerprint scanner has far better success when unlocking your phone. And now for one thing that I’m finding to be really annoying, the phone will occasionally lockup for no apparent reason. I have no idea what causes the phone to hang. I’m guessing that it’s a user app that I’ve downloaded and installed that is hogging resources. I’ve uninstalled several apps that get little use and several others that tend to run in the background, but I haven’t yet isolated the culprit. It grates on me that much that I might start deducting stars.. but as I’m unsure whether it’s something I’ve downloaded, or the phone itself, I’ll leave it with the 5 stars I originally gave the phone.

Good phone and excellent German supplier, however it has had a couple of issues to date. The SD card reader has failed twice, first time the phone was replaced and the latest time was corrected with a factory reset. The finger scanner also failed the first time it was replaced.

ease to use

I upgraded from a Galaxy S3 which I enjoyed owning. The S5 was great for two weeks but then a battery defect caused the battery to swell and the phone to get burning hot and warp separating the screen from the body and rendering the phone dangerous. I know this is probably bad luck but I am deducting two stars for Samsung's poor Customer Service. After the phone broke I took it into the Samsung shop expecting a quick replacement, but after a day with the offsite Tech Support they said nothing was wrong which the in shop tech support disagreed with and suggested returning it for further analysis or back to the seller. So after three weeks I'm back to square one with the refund issued by Amazon (quick service as usual) but no phone, all the data from those two weeks lost and only an email apology from a Samsung customer service rep. In summary the phone is great, just pray nothing goes wrong with it as Samsung won't help you.

Bought this from DeepOceanStoreUK. Shipped from UK by Amazon. You'd expect it to be a European friendly UK store shipping it with a name like that. Setup screens were in English and phone was initially happy to take network and email confidential info in English - then it jumped into Cantonese on the keyboard, and started repeating everything in (I guess) Cantonese. Attempted to shut if off - the power off button would not work - sounded very odd hearing "Power Off" in Cantonese accent. Only way to close was to remove the battery. Three more attempts to start it and change default language to english (and turn off the interminable Cantonese translation) failed. I hope Amazon are looking at these comments because I've (now, with digging) seen several comments about misleading by sellers. That said Amazon have been prompt on refunding, and I can't see DeepOceanStoreUK (or should be NOT in UK) on here. Will take the plunge again on an S5 though.

Fullfilled by Amazon from Entrepôt électronique! (Electronic Warehouse). I am very pleased with this. It came next working day. It came sealed but it looked like it had been opened and had a new seal over it.but It was definatly new. The outer label referrered to a European model. It came with a samsung UK charger (2A),together with headphone/extra buds and usb lead. It was english instructions from turning on. t connected to the network no problem and It also detected a OTA update which it installed again without issue. I gave it a factory reset and again it came up English . It did have 4 apps that mentioned 'ch' ie Switerland but these were uninstalled without issue. I am really pleased. I am satisfied that this is not an Asian import.This is a G900F and is not rooted. Happy days!

Wow - really love this phone! Only had it for one day, but it rocks so far! Speed, Camera and screen are simply amazing! Please see reviews on the other unlocked G900H model for more details, but here are a few things I can add regarding the G900F: This is the F model, which includes LTE (4G high speed internet), but note that this feature does Not work in the USA under AT&T - it seems that you have to get the AT&T (locked) version for that, only available from AT&T so far. Even so, using AT&T in the USA, I get great down and upload speeds using H+. I will be in Europe next week, and hope that I'll experience the extra speed of 4G while I'm there. Everything about this phone is FAST. Upgrading from the S3 - you will instantly see the difference. My wife has an S4, and this phone would be a smaller upgrade from the S4 (maybe wait for the next model?) My phone originated in Malaysia - Having bought several international phones in the past I was expecting this - it really doesn't matter too much where your phone comes from. Please note that you may have to supply your own power adapter for your country - no big deal. My box stated that the phone came with a full warranty - "just return it to your closest Malaysian dealer" - haha! Again, as expected. Get a SquareTrade warranty if you want protection. One thing that worried me a little was that the box had been opened, and the back cover plastic protection sheet had been tampered with. I worried about this a little until I thought about it: probably the dealer had to insert a US SIM card to avoid hassles with sales overseas. The unit was factory reset and worked perfectly, so I didn't worry about it afterwards. Oh, one last (embarrassing) thing. The camera was working really well, and I didn't notice the TINY piece of plastic covering the lens. Once I removed it, the camera went from good to fantastic! :-)

Ich habe das S5 gewählt, - weil es dafür gute alternative Firmware gibt. - weil es eine große Full-HD-Anzeige hat - weil es einen wechselbaren Akku mit guter Laufzeit hat und trotzdem weitgehend staub- und wassergeschützt ist. Alle Punkte sind zur großen Zufriedenheit erfüllt. Ich habe AICP (einen LineageOS-Ableger) darauf geflasht, den boeffla-Kernel nachgeflasht (sehr einfach) und die CPU-Spannungen um 75mV gesenkt. Damit habe ich eine Akkulaufzeit von zwischen 8 Stunden (Dauersurfen oder Navigation) und vier Tagen (wenig Nutzung). Im Normalfall gehe ich alle zwei Tage an die Steckdose. Auf den Kauf eines größeren Akkus habe ich unter anderem deswegen verzichtet, weil ich annehme, dass dann die Staubdichtigkeit nicht mehr gewährleistet ist, und da ich das Telefon in einem Smartcase in der Hosentasche trage möchte ich keine Undichtigkeit riskieren. Alles funktioniert einwandfrei, nur mit dem Fingerabdrucksensor komme ich nicht klar (interessiert mich aber auch nicht). Das Gerät unterstützt GPS/GLONASS/BEIDOU und fixt (ohne AGPS!) in weniger als 45 Sekunden beim ersten Mal. Ist das GPS länger in Betrieb, geht der Fix in wenigen Sekunden. Das Branding ist natürlich nach dem Flashen entfernt.

Ich nutze dieses Phone nun seit fast 5 Monaten. Keinen einzigen Tag habe ich diesen Kauf bereut und jeden einzelnen Tag erfreue ich mich an diesem genialen Stück Technik. Ich will nun nicht erneut alle Features aufzählen, diese wurden schon zur genüge aufgelistet und sind sicherlich längst bekannt. Es geht mir mehr um die Langzeiterfahrung. Ich nutze das S5 in einem StilGut Ledercase. Damit ist es vollumfänglich geschützt. Ich trage das S5 nie in der Hosentasche, sondern im Sakko, Jacke oder Mantel etc. und grundsätzlich gehe ich sorgsam damit um. Von Beginn an wurde eine Dipos Displaschutzfolie Ultra Clear angebracht. Das S5 hat mich nicht ein einziges Mal im Stich gelassen. Die Bedienung ist intuitiv (hatte zuvor alle Vorgänger der S-Reihe bis auf S4 und alle Modelle der Note Reihe - derzeit besitze ich zudem Note 4) Besonders hervorheben möchte ich das extrem klare und scharfe Display des S5, dass immer wieder beeindruckend ist. Und in Bezug auf Schwarzwert und Helligkeit wohl zu den Besten zählt. Auch der Fingerscanner funktioniert bei mir einwandfrei. Eines der Top Features ist aber sicherlich die Kamera, die ich neben der Kamera des Note 4 (die noch einmal besser ist) zu der besten derzeit in einem Mobile Phone vorzufindenden Kameras zählen möchte. Was diese Kamera zu leisten vermag ist einfach vorzüglich. Scharfe und klare Bilder, sehr viele Konfigurationsmöglichkeiten der Kamera und zudem die Möglichkeit weitere Modis herunterzuladen, die interessante Automatiken bieten. Die im S5 verbaute Kamera kann es ganz locker mit normalen Kompakt Kamera aufnehmen, in Bezug auf die Bildqualität. Das fand und finde ich immer sehr erstaunlich. Anmerkungen muss ich dabei, dass Fotografie mein großes Hobby ist und ich dies recht professionell ausübe. Auch die integrierte Health App in Verbindung mit dem Pulsmesser und Schrittzähler etc. finde ich gelungen. Der Schrittzähler läuft immer und ich finde es interessant zu wissen, welche Strecken man so zurücklegt. Die Verarbeitung des S5, auch wenn dieses nur aus *Plastik* besteht, wie immer wieder despektierlich gesagt wird, ist absolut überragend. Samsung versteht die hochwertige Verarbeitung aus Polykarbonat vorzüglich und das S5 macht einen insgesamt optisch sehr wertigen und edlen Eindruck, der auch der Haptik stand hält. Zudem ist das S5 durch gerade diese Materialauswahl wunderbar leicht. Aber gut - dass ist sicherlich Geschmacksache und ein jeder muss für sich entscheiden. Als letztes möchte ich die enorme Akku Kapazität hervorheben. Der Akku, einmal voll geladen hält sehr lange, jedenfalls deutlich länger als alle zuvor besessenen S-Modelle. Zudem ist das Aufladen in 1,5 Stunden erledigt und das alleine ist schon einzigartig. Was soll ich sagen, ich bin sehr zufrieden und kann guten Gewissens sagen, dass das S5 das mit Abstand beste Mobile Phone der S Reihe ist und sicher auch eines der besten Smartphones überhaupt, wenn nicht sogar d a s beste . Übertroffen wird es lediglich vom Note 4. Doch das ist größer und verfolgt eine grundsätzlich andere Philosophie. Ich erfreue mich jedenfalls jeden Tag am S5 und denke, dass S6 kann auf sich warten lassen.....

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I purchased this phone in order to support our need for maximum flexibilty both at home and during frequent and extended international travel. During the 5 months I have been using it, it has met or surpassed my expectations in every way. Being a GSM phone it works best in most international venues, although in the US you are limited to 2 major carriers, ATT and T-Mobile. Swapping carriers is as simple as pulling out one SIM and replacing with another. During a 2 month trip to the Philippines, I chipped with both SMART and Globe prepaid networks without issue. The phone is fully 3G and 4G capable on published bands where signal is available. Of course there is no such thing as a phone that works on every band everywhere, so you need to check phone specs against carriers and countries where you are planning to use it most. I most appreciated the built in USB and Bluetooth tethering which allowed me to surf the Net with my laptop in fairly remote areas using the phone as my modem. All in all a great choice for those fellow globe trotters out there.