• Hardware

  • Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 in Lebanon?

I am talking about the i9505 because CTC has only the i9500.
It's not only a matter of LTE but more for a matter of roms and XDA support.
If someone spotted the i9505 somewhere please share your info
Yeah it's snapdragon 600 so you can also install the AOSP ROM extracted from the google version of the S4. Besides there's LTE.
If you find any please make sure to tell us :-)
LifeEngineer wroteYeah it's snapdragon 600 so you can also install the AOSP ROM extracted from the google version of the S4. Besides there's LTE.
If you find any please make sure to tell us :-)
First of all, even if you install a US or UK ROM, LTE won't work because simply the i9500 doesn't have the LTE chip. The reason the i9505 isn't octa core is so that there is sufficient power and capacity to run an LTE chip. Samsung is releasing a newer variant of the S4 called the Galaxy S4 LTE-A (SHV-E330S), which has even better speeds than the LTE S4 and includes the Snapdragon 800 chipset, which beats the two other S4s in the benchmarks. Second, you also have to consider the frequency of the 4G used here in Lebanon. We have yet to know what it is. It would be a waste to buy a phone with LTE and turn out to work on a different frequency than that of Lebanon.
Sorry for the double post, but here is more information about the 4G band that will work in Lebanon from Joe Solutions:

Just a notice for anyone who is buying a 4G capable phone. If you phone is an iPhone 5 please make sure that its the European model (look on the back, the model should be A1429 NOT A1428, A1428 is the USA/Canada model and will not work on the 4G network that will be rolling out hopefully in April). If you are getting a phone other than the iPhone 5, make sure that the 4G/LTE band that the phone supports is Band 3 at frequency 1800 Mhz.

Also, you can go to GSMArena, go to phone finder on the bottom of the left column, and search for phones that have a 4G band of 1800MHz. Hope this helped.
I don't care about 4G,I am still using WAP ;)
Though I care about roms dev at XDA and the i9500 is nothing compared to i9505 in terms of CM based roms
I have the i9505 and the first thing i did was disable 4g. First of all it got my nerves as it kept switching networks between 2g,3g,4g. And when i had a good 4g connection and happened to transfer data, about 2gb. It heated up to a point i could have fried an egg on the phone. Th 4g overheating issue applies to other vendor models as well since there is only a couple of vendors that manufacture 4g supporting chips. I would wait for better 4g chips if 4g stability and usability is a requirement.
Aveline wrote
LifeEngineer wroteYeah it's snapdragon 600 so you can also install the AOSP ROM extracted from the google version of the S4. Besides there's LTE.
If you find any please make sure to tell us :-)
First of all, even if you install a US or UK ROM, LTE won't work because simply the i9500 doesn't have the LTE chip. The reason the i9505 isn't octa core is so that there is sufficient power and capacity to run an LTE chip. Samsung is releasing a newer variant of the S4 called the Galaxy S4 LTE-A (SHV-E330S), which has even better speeds than the LTE S4 and includes the Snapdragon 800 chipset, which beats the two other S4s in the benchmarks. Second, you also have to consider the frequency of the 4G used here in Lebanon. We have yet to know what it is. It would be a waste to buy a phone with LTE and turn out to work on a different frequency than that of Lebanon.
Yeah bro that's what I said! I9505 has LTE while I9500 doesn't! I know frequency might be an issue. However seeing gsmarena you can see that the supported frequencies for LTE are LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 so I guess it will work in Lebanon!
LifeEngineer wrote
Aveline wrote
LifeEngineer wroteYeah it's snapdragon 600 so you can also install the AOSP ROM extracted from the google version of the S4. Besides there's LTE.
If you find any please make sure to tell us :-)
First of all, even if you install a US or UK ROM, LTE won't work because simply the i9500 doesn't have the LTE chip. The reason the i9505 isn't octa core is so that there is sufficient power and capacity to run an LTE chip. Samsung is releasing a newer variant of the S4 called the Galaxy S4 LTE-A (SHV-E330S), which has even better speeds than the LTE S4 and includes the Snapdragon 800 chipset, which beats the two other S4s in the benchmarks. Second, you also have to consider the frequency of the 4G used here in Lebanon. We have yet to know what it is. It would be a waste to buy a phone with LTE and turn out to work on a different frequency than that of Lebanon.
Yeah bro that's what I said! I9505 has LTE while I9500 doesn't! I know frequency might be an issue. However seeing gsmarena you can see that the supported frequencies for LTE are LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 so I guess it will work in Lebanon!
Ah, I must have misunderstood your post, since it was a bit vague and you mentioned AOSP ROM.
Also, what part of 'Aveline' implies bro? >.>
Aveline wrote Ah, I must have misunderstood your post, since it was a bit vague and you mentioned AOSP ROM.
Also, what part of 'Aveline' implies bro? >.>
Hehe sorry sis! I thought it was some kind of nickname!
So nobody cares about AOSP roms and i9505?
Anyway S4 Active could be a good alternative as it's only S600
I asked him,it's not new nor really used,he's using it for 2 days already but with nylon.
I told him to lower the price as it costs 680$ with CTC card and 615$ new without warranty.
He refused to lower under 640$.
If only it was 100% new black I would consider it,perhaps once he sell his actual one and bring another one
It all depends on your needs. If your ROM is working fine and are satisfied with its performance, you can keep the stock ROM. Also, there are many other alternatives of phones with at least 1GB RAM besides Samsung that can use 4G, like the Sony Xperia Z LTE. Do your own research and see which phone's specifications satisfies your needs.

Regarding the method to buy these phones that aren't available in Lebanon, the best way to do so is to buy the goods and use an address of someone you know outside the country, and have him/her bring it when they come to Lebanon. DO NOT use the LibanPost online shopping service. They don't dare to mention that the lowlife customs charge ridiculously over the original price for every DHL package that comes to Lebanon. In other words, you'll pay double.
I have a HTC One LTE but dunno why this time I wanted to switch to S4,it was for S4 with CTC but these st*p*d people brought the useless S4,they also made a political partnership with someone I hate
The i9500 is the international model. Makes sense why CTC would stock that one.

Why would you want to switch from an HTC One to a Samsung Galaxy S4?
Samsung Lebanon is affiliated with a politician? Can you PM me the source of this information?
Aveline wroteSamsung Lebanon is affiliated with a politician? Can you PM me the source of this information?
Check their Facebook page (Samsung Lebanon) and you will see what ''Like'' CTC did as politician.
I always respect business that don't enter politics,why CTC why?
Who said i9500 is the international version? i9505 is the most sold S4 in Europe and Asia,only poor countries aka 1/3 world have the i9500
vegetaleb wrote
Aveline wroteSamsung Lebanon is affiliated with a politician? Can you PM me the source of this information?
Check their Facebook page (Samsung Lebanon) and you will see what ''Like'' CTC did as politician.
I always respect business that don't enter politics,why CTC why?
Who said i9500 is the international version? i9505 is the most sold S4 in Europe and Asia,only poor countries aka 1/3 world have the i9500
Not to defend Samsung, but Liking the minister of telecommunications is more like common courtesy than political affiliation. Samsung certainly don't need him to be as successful as they are now, rather it's Sehnaoui needs Samsung :P

As for the i9500 being the international version, it's like Samsung politely saying, "We will also offer a version to countries that aren't civilized enough to keep up with our target markets. We've even called it international version just to make them feel special!"
Aveline wrote
vegetaleb wrote
Aveline wroteSamsung Lebanon is affiliated with a politician? Can you PM me the source of this information?
Check their Facebook page (Samsung Lebanon) and you will see what ''Like'' CTC did as politician.
I always respect business that don't enter politics,why CTC why?
Who said i9500 is the international version? i9505 is the most sold S4 in Europe and Asia,only poor countries aka 1/3 world have the i9500
Not to defend Samsung, but Liking the minister of telecommunications is more like common courtesy than political affiliation. Samsung certainly don't need him to be as successful as they are now, rather it's Sehnaoui needs Samsung :P

As for the i9500 being the international version, it's like Samsung politely saying, "We will also offer a version to countries that aren't civilized enough to keep up with our target markets. We've even called it international version just to make them feel special!"
Dude we are in Lebanon,and this minister is a very controversial guy in politics,even in ''normal'' countries like France and UK neither Samsung or Apple will put a poster or ''like'' the minister of telecommunications.
Business has nothing to do with politics and should not.
They got the i9500 because it's just cheaper and they can sell it at the price of the i9505,and who win in that? the black market again who can bring i9505 without warranty.