Advice re switching to S3

[Lyn2012]

I'm still debating whether to go for the IP5 or make the change to the S3. My concerns about switching are as follows and I would appreciate any advice or help you can offer.

1. If I buy the phone SIM free (probably online), what is the warranty likely to be like? If I need to send the phone away for example, will I be left without a phone for however long it takes? This would be a serious downside in comparison to just going along to an Apple store.
2. I use multiple calendars in iCal and never use any cloud based storage, this is by choice, no iCloud or Google for me. Is it possible to sync my multiple calendars and contacts directly from my iMac to the S3 via USB cable?
3. What about syncing music from iTunes including playlists? Drag and drop is too long winded for a large library with lots of playlists. All my music is ripped from owned CDs, no downloads and once again, I don't wish to store my collection in the cloud. I have read about Kries and another possibility but there seem to be alot of problems when using a Mac. I'm looking for a stable connection that actually works without the need to spend hours working out why it doesn't.
4. Lastly, emails without using Gmail, is this possible? I have a Gmail account but don't use it as the POP version doesn't play nicely with all my devices whereas all my other accounts do. No, I don't want IMAP as I don't want all my mail the same across all devices and do want everything stored locally on my iMac for easy accessibility when offline.
5. I really like the curvy design of the S3 and the plastic doesn't bother me but I do wonder about the ease in which it scratches in comparison to say the metal back of the IP5. I realise nobody can answer this for certain until the IP5 is released later this week but would appreciate any opinions.

I am seriously considering the S3 so thanks for reading the long post and for any helpful replies.

 

[Lyn2012]

No replies?? Please tell me if it is impossible to sync calendars and contacts to the S3 without uploading to Google first. I would really like to get this phone but can't afford the £440 only to find out I can't keep my information synced.

 

[Cavalier777]

im sure your 4s still has plenty of service life left in it — why not wait for 6 to make a decision... in the meantime you will have saved the depreciation of your 4s and the cost/depreciation of a 5.

 

[Blackberryroid]

You are in an Apple ecosystem. One incompatible device and everything else fails (Google sync vs iCloud). Just stay Apple.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I'm still debating whether to go for the IP5 or make the change to the S3. My concerns about switching are as follows and I would appreciate any advice or help you can offer.

1. If I buy the phone SIM free (probably online), what is the warranty likely to be like? If I need to send the phone away for example, will I be left without a phone for however long it takes? This would be a serious downside in comparison to just going along to an Apple store. I don't know where you're located, but I bought my S3 from Best Buy off-contract and I got their protection plan that's either $169 up front or $10/month (I opted for the $10/month since I change phones frequently and didn't know if I'd use this one for 2 years). It covers the phone, in full, for 2 years. You can just walk in to a Best Buy, show them what's wrong, and they'll replace it free of charge. It's a great thing!
2. I use multiple calendars in iCal and never use any cloud based storage, this is by choice, no iCloud or Google for me. Is it possible to sync my multiple calendars and contacts directly from my iMac to the S3 via USB cable? This I'm not certain about, but I feel pretty safe in saying you CAN do what you're looking for. Hopefully someone else can chime in and help.
3. What about syncing music from iTunes including playlists? Drag and drop is too long winded for a large library with lots of playlists. All my music is ripped from owned CDs, no downloads and once again, I don't wish to store my collection in the cloud. I have read about Kries and another possibility but there seem to be alot of problems when using a Mac. I'm looking for a stable connection that actually works without the need to spend hours working out why it doesn't. I believe you can import your iTunes music using a third-party app/software, but since I don't put music on my phones, I don't know the exact names to tell you. Try Googling and see if you can find a solution. I know this can be done, though.
4. Lastly, emails without using Gmail, is this possible? I have a Gmail account but don't use it as the POP version doesn't play nicely with all my devices whereas all my other accounts do. No, I don't want IMAP as I don't want all my mail the same across all devices and do want everything stored locally on my iMac for easy accessibility when offline.
5. I really like the curvy design of the S3 and the plastic doesn't bother me but I do wonder about the ease in which it scratches in comparison to say the metal back of the IP5. I realise nobody can answer this for certain until the IP5 is released later this week but would appreciate any opinions. I use a case on all my phones, so I can't really tell you for sure, but I think you can expect the back cover on the S3 to scratch if you're always laying it on it's back. The one nice thing is that, obviously, the back is replaceable and can be had for cheap (something like $15 or so). So if it started looking a little rough and you wanted to refresh it's look, you could always just grab another battery door and pop it on.

I am seriously considering the S3 so thanks for reading the long post and for any helpful replies.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I can't recommend the S3 enough, though. It's a wonderful piece of tech and I'm glad I made the decision to go with it.

 

[teltras]

im sure your 4s still has plenty of service life left in it — why not wait for 6 to make a decision... in the meantime you will have saved the depreciation of your 4s and the cost/depreciation of a 5.

When the Galaxy S4 is released you need to wait to the new iphone 7.

Get the S3, wont regret it!

 

[lavrishevo]

If you are ready for a change the S3 or maybe the Note 2 are two great options. I gave my 4S to my father and have had my S3 for two weeks now. I am really enjoying it. The amount of customizations is amazing.

 

[Sincci]

Ok, I'll try to answer your questions (except the #1 since I don't know your location):

#2 and 3: I think you can just export the calendars and contacts from iCal into .ics fileformat and then import it with one of these apps in your phone. However, before you do that, you might want to go to Settings -> Accounts and Sync -> Your Google account and disable the syncronization for calendar and contacts if you really don't want to have them synced in Google's system.

There also a way to do this with Samsung's own Kies program, but since it's very badly coded and doesn't even install on OS X Mountain Lion (I don't know if it has been updated since I checked last time), I wouldn't recommend using it. I think this app is also able to sync your music, but instead I would recommend using programs like iSyncr or DoubleTwist that lets you sync your music and playlists and the latter one also has a very nice music player (I don't use it personally since I find Poweramp more suitable for my needs).

#4: Galaxy S3 comes with two email clients, gmail and 'email' for pop/imap/exchange servers. You can add pretty much any account to the latter one.

#5: As for the scratches, I usually keep my Galaxy S3 in my front pocket and the phone doesn't have any scratches on the screen or on the back cover. I'm not saying that it's immune to them, but the plastic on that phone is damn durable. Also you can replace the back cover (you can even have a metallic one if you so desire).

 

[cotak]

The only scratches (not a S3) on my Gnex is from my wife's diamond ring. Diamond 1 fortified glass 0. Somehow she scratches mine but her's pristine

 

[Lyn2012]

Ok, I'll try to answer your questions (except the #1 since I don't know your location):

#2 and 3: I think you can just export the calendars and contacts from iCal into .ics fileformat and then import it with one of these apps in your phone. However, before you do that, you might want to go to Settings -> Accounts and Sync -> Your Google account and disable the syncronization for calendar and contacts if you really don't want to have them synced in Google's system.

There also a way to do this with Samsung's own Kies program, but since it's very badly coded and doesn't even install on OS X Mountain Lion (I don't know if it has been updated since I checked last time), I wouldn't recommend using it. I think this app is also able to sync your music, but instead I would recommend using programs like iSyncr or DoubleTwist that lets you sync your music and playlists and the latter one also has a very nice music player (I don't use it personally since I find Poweramp more suitable for my needs).

#4: Galaxy S3 comes with two email clients, gmail and 'email' for pop/imap/exchange servers. You can add pretty much any account to the latter one.

#5: As for the scratches, I usually keep my Galaxy S3 in my front pocket and the phone doesn't have any scratches on the screen or on the back cover. I'm not saying that it's immune to them, but the plastic on that phone is damn durable. Also you can replace the back cover (you can even have a metallic one if you so desire).

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions so fully. Yes, I should have said that I'm in the UK.

Just one more thing I need to make certain of before I go and buy my new phone. It's still about calendars - I am self-employed and use my phone to schedule clients then sync to my iMac where I do my accounts using the data in iCal. For this reason I need some reliable method to sync multiple calendars from my phone to the iMac. I've no problem exporting ics files to start with, but how do I keep calendars and contacts synchronised after this? I've read about applications such as SyncMate and the Missing Sync but they all seem to have problems and I can't afford to either lose data or have it incorrectly synced. Have you any experience with these or suggestions about reliable apps to use?

----------

Thank you to everybody who has replied to my post. I am nearly ready to buy a red S3 from Digigood. I'm in the UK and don't need to go through a network supplier as I have a good SIM only contract - 1200mins, 2500 texts, 1500 mins to landlines and 1GB data for £9. Reading the underwhelming response to iOS6 is helping me make the move - yet again Apple has released something that is very dysfunctional in the UK - last year Siri, this year Maps.

 

[b24pgg]

I am self-employed and use my phone to schedule clients then sync to my iMac where I do my accounts using the data in iCal. For this reason I need some reliable method to sync multiple calendars from my phone to the iMac.

Here are instructions on how to sync iCal with Google Calendar: http://osxdaily.com/2011/04/22/sync-google-calendar-with-ical/

As for your contacts, I would import them into Google Contacts. Every device I can think of (iOS, Android, Windows Phone...doesn't matter) can do two-way sync with Google Contacts (i.e. if you add a contact from your phone, it automatically adds to your Google Contacts list, and vice versa.) Plus they are basically impossible to lose since you can restore deleted contacts for 30 days.

 

[ixodes]

I'm still debating whether to go for the IP5 or make the change to the S3.<snip>

I never use any cloud based storage, this is by choice, no iCloud or Google for me.

once again, I don't wish to store my collection in the cloud.

No Google for you?

No SGS 3 for you.

Android is a Google friendly OS.

I use it without hesitation, as do millions of others around the globe. If you're on the Internet you're already in the cloud...

 

[Twixt]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions so fully. Yes, I should have said that I'm in the UK.

Just one more thing I need to make certain of before I go and buy my new phone. It's still about calendars - I am self-employed and use my phone to schedule clients then sync to my iMac where I do my accounts using the data in iCal. For this reason I need some reliable method to sync multiple calendars from my phone to the iMac. I've no problem exporting ics files to start with, but how do I keep calendars and contacts synchronised after this? I've read about applications such as SyncMate and the Missing Sync but they all seem to have problems and I can't afford to either lose data or have it incorrectly synced. Have you any experience with these or suggestions about reliable apps to use?

----------

Thank you to everybody who has replied to my post. I am nearly ready to buy a red S3 from Digigood. I'm in the UK and don't need to go through a network supplier as I have a good SIM only contract - 1200mins, 2500 texts, 1500 mins to landlines and 1GB data for £9. Reading the underwhelming response to iOS6 is helping me make the move - yet again Apple has released something that is very dysfunctional in the UK - last year Siri, this year Maps.

I also have a mixed eco system with macbook imac but also HP around
My iphone is well synced at the moment but isync should manage good connectivity with next non idevice
I am using an exchange server on top for pro emails and some colleagues doing the same did not have any portability issue when moving to samsung earlier this year.
I will finally buy Note 2 when available in EU and quite happy with my choice, no worry about integration to be honest

 

[Dolorian]

No Google for you?

No SGS 3 for you.

Android is a Google friendly OS.

I use it without hesitation, as do millions of others around the globe. If you're on the Internet you're already in the cloud...

Hehe, yep...very much

 

[hulfordp]

just got the S3 last night

Just got the S3 last night. Found apps called smoothsync for calendar an smoothsync for contacts. Syncs both ical and icloud contacts with S3 and what you edit on the phone is change and edited in icloud thus also your macs and iPad! SWEET!

 

[Oohara]

If you're coming from iPhone, make sure you actually physically test a S3 before ordering one online. To me the feel of the device turned out to be so cheap that I couldn't stand it, it feels like a toy. I was very disappointed when I first laid hands on it.

At least check out the Galaxy Nexus and HTC One X before making a decision. Both those are on a whole other planet as far as build quality and user experience is concerned. Or better yet wait for the next Nexus phone to be announced, it shouldn't be long now.

 

[Lyn2012]

Just got the S3 last night. Found apps called smoothsync for calendar an smoothsync for contacts. Syncs both ical and icloud contacts with S3 and what you edit on the phone is change and edited in icloud thus also your macs and iPad! SWEET!

Sounds good but does it work without iCloud, just from S3 straight to iCal and reverse?

----------

No Google for you?

No SGS 3 for you.

Android is a Google friendly OS.

I use it without hesitation, as do millions of others around the globe. If you're on the Internet you're already in the cloud...

"Android is a Google friendly OS" - if this means I can't use my phone properly (including syncing with my computer) without using Google cloud storage then this is a more closed system than iOS. At least at the moment I can use and sync my phone perfectly without using iCloud at all.

 

[dmelgar]

When the Galaxy S4 is released you need to wait to the new iphone 7.

Get the S3, wont regret it!

Don't worry about insurance. If you break it next year, s3 will be dirt cheap or the s4 won't be that much more. Android phones don't stay at the top of the pile for long and the price drops quick. The s3 has already been available for $99.

 

[Mac.World]

If you're coming from iPhone, make sure you actually physically test a S3 before ordering one online. To me the feel of the device turned out to be so cheap that I couldn't stand it, it feels like a toy. I was very disappointed when I first laid hands on it.

At least check out the Galaxy Nexus and HTC One X before making a decision. Both those are on a whole other planet as far as build quality and user experience is concerned. Or better yet wait for the next Nexus phone to be announced, it shouldn't be long now.

This is why if you want to change the back of the S3 to something different feeling, you can. I really like the feel of my carbon fiber looking soft battery cover. Looks and feels good. So the option to change is there.
The iphone on the other hand felt like a brick. Like a dead, cold slab. No warmth to it and having a homescreen of nothing but read icons, just reinforced that feel. And if you don't like that, stick a big rubber case over it negating the looks of the phone, which is what many of you claim looks so good.
Now we have the iphone 5, which the back is now made from then aluminum and *gasp* CHEAP PLASTIC. Oh yeah, and apparently it scuffs and scratches really easily. So I am guessing the iphone 5 isn't for you? Cause it will feel cheap.

I do agree with you though, that at this point I would wait for the new Nexus phone. The S3 or Note 2 would be a 2nd choice. Then Lumia 920. Then the Optimus G. Then the iphone 4S.

----------

Don't worry about insurance. If you break it next year, s3 will be dirt cheap or the s4 won't be that much more. Android phones don't stay at the top of the pile for long and the price drops quick. The s3 has already been available for $99.

And same with the 4S. And the 4 is free. Iphones are cheap and the majority of sales will not be from the 5, but the cheap 4 and 4S. And yeah, I have seen special offers from Amazon and what not for 1 day deals on S3 for $139, WITH a 2 year contract.
But I consider the drop in price a good thing. You get a much better phone and you aren't ripped off by Apple. How many $30 plug adaptors do you think Apple is gonna sell? They should have included one in your purchase, but that's Apple for you.

 

[zbarvian]

Now we have the iphone 5, which the back is now made from then aluminum and *gasp* CHEAP PLASTIC.

Oh, my good friend, you are mistaken. The back is aluminum and ceramic/pigmented glass. No cheap, flimsy plastic to be found here

So go spend the money to manually replace the glossy, crappy battery cover of your GS3. You are merely changing the backplate; the plastic buttons/body remain. I'll enjoy the better-built, higher quality iPhone 5 hardware.

 

[Oohara]

This is why if you want to change the back of the S3 to something different feeling, you can. I really like the feel of my carbon fiber looking soft battery cover. Looks and feels good. So the option to change is there.
The iphone on the other hand felt like a brick. Like a dead, cold slab. No warmth to it and having a homescreen of nothing but read icons, just reinforced that feel. And if you don't like that, stick a big rubber case over it negating the looks of the phone, which is what many of you claim looks so good.
Now we have the iphone 5, which the back is now made from then aluminum and *gasp* CHEAP PLASTIC. Oh yeah, and apparently it scuffs and scratches really easily. So I am guessing the iphone 5 isn't for you? Cause it will feel cheap.

Oh come on man If there's one thing you really just have to give the iPhone credit for, and here I actually think even 99% of all Android fanboys would agree with me, it's that it feels like a quality product in the hand. My 4S compared to the S3 is like a japanese sushi chef blade compared to a plastic picknick knife, no back cover in the world will change that, you'd have to replace the whole chassi.

I'll happily blame the iPhone for many things, and I'm about to get out of the iOS loop myself, but the quality feel of the construction isn't one of them. And I'd be utterly surprised if the iPhone 5 didn't feel just as awesome in the hand as it's predecessors.

 

[tbayrgs]

Just got the S3 last night. Found apps called smoothsync for calendar an smoothsync for contacts. Syncs both ical and icloud contacts with S3 and what you edit on the phone is change and edited in icloud thus also your macs and iPad! SWEET!

Sounds good but does it work without iCloud, just from S3 straight to iCal and reverse?

I use both SmoothSync apps with my Galaxy Nexus and they work great syncing with iCloud but they only do just that, sync with iCloud. Sorry but I have tried syncing my GNex directly with my computer so can't offer you a solution. Considering the volume of apps out on the Google Play store, I'd guess there has to be some type of option for this.

----------

Did a quick Google search and found that Missing Sync appears to be an option, though user experiences seem to be mixed at best.

 

[Mac.World]

Oh come on man If there's one thing you really just have to give the iPhone credit for, and here I actually think even 99% of all Android fanboys would agree with me, it's that it feels like a quality product in the hand. My 4S compared to the S3 is like a japanese sushi chef blade compared to a plastic picknick knife, no back cover in the world will change that, you'd have to replace the whole chassi.

I'll happily blame the iPhone for many things, and I'm about to get out of the iOS loop myself, but the quality feel of the construction isn't one of them. And I'd be utterly surprised if the iPhone 5 didn't feel just as awesome in the hand as it's predecessors.

I still have an iphone 4 and a 5 on the way. The iphone may give you the impression of quality, but to me it is a cold, dead slab of metal and glass. No soul. The edges don't contour to the hand at all, giving it that brick feel. I prefer the feel of the S3 over the iphone 4 series. I could care less if it is made out of polycarbonate. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I love both the look and feel of this back cover. Just my preference. (Had to use the Nex7 camera, so quality of the images suck.)

 

[Oohara]

I still have an iphone 4 and a 5 on the way. The iphone may give you the impression of quality, but to me it is a cold, dead slab of metal and glass. No soul. The edges don't contour to the hand at all, giving it that brick feel. I prefer the feel of the S3 over the iphone 4 series. I could care less if it is made out of polycarbonate. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I love both the look and feel of this back cover. Just my preference. (Had to use the Nex7 camera, so quality of the images suck.)

Well, I'm happy that you like your phone But to me it's more like this

Galaxy S3:

iPhone:

 

[sgl24]

I have friends who own the S3 and I own a 4s, however i wouldn't even doubt it. I would buy the iPhone 5. The apple store is very convenient, plus apple quality is the best. Some people ctiticize the new phone but I am pretty sure it must be amazing.

I'm still debating whether to go for the IP5 or make the change to the S3. My concerns about switching are as follows and I would appreciate any advice or help you can offer.

1. If I buy the phone SIM free (probably online), what is the warranty likely to be like? If I need to send the phone away for example, will I be left without a phone for however long it takes? This would be a serious downside in comparison to just going along to an Apple store.
2. I use multiple calendars in iCal and never use any cloud based storage, this is by choice, no iCloud or Google for me. Is it possible to sync my multiple calendars and contacts directly from my iMac to the S3 via USB cable?
3. What about syncing music from iTunes including playlists? Drag and drop is too long winded for a large library with lots of playlists. All my music is ripped from owned CDs, no downloads and once again, I don't wish to store my collection in the cloud. I have read about Kries and another possibility but there seem to be alot of problems when using a Mac. I'm looking for a stable connection that actually works without the need to spend hours working out why it doesn't.
4. Lastly, emails without using Gmail, is this possible? I have a Gmail account but don't use it as the POP version doesn't play nicely with all my devices whereas all my other accounts do. No, I don't want IMAP as I don't want all my mail the same across all devices and do want everything stored locally on my iMac for easy accessibility when offline.
5. I really like the curvy design of the S3 and the plastic doesn't bother me but I do wonder about the ease in which it scratches in comparison to say the metal back of the IP5. I realise nobody can answer this for certain until the IP5 is released later this week but would appreciate any opinions.

I am seriously considering the S3 so thanks for reading the long post and for any helpful replies.