Android

Google Play Editions of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Now Available

A lot of people loved the Nexus line of devices because they offer pure Google Android experience.  The Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets and the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 phones are all hits to Android lovers.  These devices are not the best when it comes to hardware, however, and a lot wished that top devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One had stock versions.

Google listened to Android users and now these two superphones are available in Google Play editions.  That’s how Google calls them, not Nexus.  The obvious phone missing in this announcement is the Sony Xperia Z.  But maybe that’s already asking a lot.  These two phones run on stock Android Jelly Bean but the important features still work.  The Samsung and HTC versions are loaded with custom skins and not everyone finds them appealing.  Some like the pure Android experience the way Google intended.

samsung-galaxy-s4-htc-one-google-play-edition

The HTC One and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Google Play editions are priced at $599 and $649, respectively, and Google will start shipping by July 9th.  To be able to get one, you have to buy from the Google Play store.   Stock versions also get the updates first so that’s another advantage to using stock Android.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition comes with 16GB of internal storage while the HTC One Google Play edition with 32GB of internal storage.  I personally think the HTC One version is a better buy considering it’s cheaper and has more storage.

If you’re from the Philippines, you’re out of luck since the Google Play store is not yet available in the country.  If you try to access the online store you’ll just guess this message.

google-play-notification

The best way to get one of the Google Play edition phones is to let someone but it in the US or wait for some stores to offer them in the country.

Technobaboy.com is one of the most active tech sites in the Philippines. We enjoy sharing interesting and relevant stories about the latest trends in technology, developments in mobile phones and social media, and modern digital and geek culture.

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