Help me decide on s8 vs s8 active for international travel
I have an aging Galaxy S5 that needs replacing. I have the bottom half of the screen freaking out on occasion, and it's time to upgrade.
Primarily I need a rugged phone. I do search and rescue missions internationally. I've seen drop tests with the s8 and have been impressed enough to consider it (with a case) over the active.
My main concern is the bands that each phone can access. I really don't understand them well enough to make an educated decision. The link below is a band comparison taken from GsmArena.
The places I've traveled to in the last 2 years are: Nepal, UK, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico & Peru. I'm planning to visit Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay later this year. Depending on international disasters, I might go anywhere else in the world.
My question is, I require fast internet wherever I go. Seeing as the s8 has more bands, is this a better purchase vs the lesser bands of the s8 active? Or is this something I shouldn't concern myself with? (I've heard that some of these bands aren't integrated yet)
Posted Aug 18, 2017, 5:02 PM UTC
I'm pretty sure all the bands that the regular S8 has over the Active are CDMA bands that are only used in North America for some carriers like Verizon. Rest of the world uses GSM so you should be fine with the Active, but it's currently sold as an AT&T-exclusive. You might be able to contact AT&T to unlock your device, or you can wait for the unlocked version. That's kinda a hassle though so you maybe get the S8 now, which is also cheaper.
Personally I'm waiting for the unlocked version of the S8 Active which I prefer thanks to its rugged build and significantly better battery life.
Thanks for your info. I ended up going with the reg s8. I couldn't pass up the deal and I had to buy something on the way out the door to hurricane Henry.