Galaxy S3: Apple Better Wake Up!

[NJRonbo]

This thread is not intended to start a debate war between the fans of two different phones, though I suspect it will. I am a hardcore Apple fan who has owned a plethora of Mac products over the past years.

However...

It all started with one co-worker recently purchasing a Galaxy S3. Since then, two more of my co-workers have bought one as well -- one of them has been an iPhone owner for the past 4 years.

The iPhone owner plans to hold on to his Galaxy S3 for the next 30 days until iPhone 5 is announced. If the iPhone 5 looks better, he can return his phone.

....but I have to tell you, Apple is really up against a tough one here. That Galaxy 3 is an outstanding phone. Though the screen is not retina, it is quite amazing to look at. When you shoot and play back video the larger, wider screen makes it look a-mazing.

The phone fits perfectly in the hand, and comfortably in the pocket.

There are so many bells and whistles hidden in that phone that it seems to almost put the current iOS to shame....

...of course, the downside to the phone is that it's not iOS. Even my co-worker who switched from iPhone to Galaxy admits that while the Android OS is very good, it falls just short of iOS. He is also struggling with being able to sync it to his Apple products in an iCloud fashion.

....which leads me to my dilemma....

As an owner of an iMac, Macbook Pro and iPad, I have to stay with the iPhone. I need everything to sync perfectly between devices. At the same time, I am a bit saddened that after all these years and the introduction of competing phones, that Apple only slightly reinvented theirs. As one or two critics have already cited, it's the same old thing for Apple.

I am not expecting any surprises next month. I believe what has been leaked is what we are getting -- a slightly taller (but not wider) iPhone.

I don't need a response from anyone that says "If you want the Galaxy get the Galaxy." That's not the point. I just hope Apple is taking cues from what Samsung has done with their premier phone. It would be very difficult for some of you to look at the Galaxy S3 and not be envious.

Apple needs to reinvent their phone, but alas, we won't see much of that this year.

 

[MacDawg]

It would be very difficult for some of you to look at the Galaxy S3 and not be envious.

I've looked at it and used it a bit
I am not envious at all

I still prefer my iPhone 4s

I prefer iOS
I prefer my batter life
I prefer my screen size over the S3
I prefer Apple's app store

I can see why some are enamored with the S3
And I may even get one from my work just to have one to play with
But my personal phone is and will remain an iPhone until it no longer gives me what I need

 

[zbarvian]

I am not tempted at all. Ugly design, worst excuse for software (TouchWiz is atrocious), and cheap build quality. I almost bought a One X, but Android personally has too many issues.

Specs do not make a device, the experience does. And I don't think any rabid Android fan could claim that an out-of-the-box GS3 can match an iPhone in terms of user friendliness, fluidity, elegance, and simplicity.

 

[alent1234]

i played with one for a few minutes and it does look very nice

but for now my iphone can
connect to my car's USB port and music apps will play
photo stream shares photos to Mac's, idevices and my windows laptop
iOS 5 has the best notifications. i don't know about ICS, but android 2.3 notifications suck in comparisson

 

[Mac.World]

Apple needs to reinvent their phone, but alas, we won't see much of that this year.

I shortened your post for brevity. I agree with everything you said, except about the Android OS, as that is not my opinion, but on the whole you hit the nail on the head. I am one of those previous "all Apple" users that now has an S3 and typing (or should I saying talking) this response from my Nexus 7. I sold off all my iDevice after I got the S3.

this is what is happening and apple has every right to be worried. Samsung took a page out of apple's playbook and is now distributing the Galaxy S3 like Apple does with an iphone. One physical standard for the world. This means accessory makers will be more willing to make stuff for the phone. Samsung also really upped the ante with the addition of a very fast cpu and 2gb of RAM for North America and Korea. And now it appears all their new high end mobile devices will have this standard.
As you said, Apple has changed much of anything over the last 3 years. No innovation (other than buying and adding Siri to the 4s, but that wasn't apple's invention), no changes to the ipad, iphone, Macbook air, atv, the remote (which sucks!)... It is like they gave up. And now when they add something like maps, LTE, Notification Center, etc... They either stole the idea or are years behind.

People are leaving the iWorld, because the iWorld keeps getting further behind. Look at what you get with the S3! It makes the iPhone look antiquated. Even the new iPhone already looks outdated and old and it hasn't even been released. On top of that trying to deal with jail breaking on new updates and new devices got old after doing it for years. Got tired of the cat and mouse game with Apple, and their very slow rate of putting out new tech in the mobile devices. These were some of my reasons for leaving the iWorld.

 

[Mac.World]

I am not tempted at all. Ugly design, worst excuse for software (TouchWiz is atrocious), and cheap build quality. I almost bought a One X, but Android personally has too many issues.

Specs do not make a device, the experience does. And I don't think any rabid Android fan could claim that an out-of-the-box GS3 can match an iPhone in terms of user friendliness, fluidity, elegance, and simplicity.

Subjective post, but I respect your opinion. Although I prefer the design of the S3 to the e iphones brick shape and feel. The S3 just feels better in the hand.

And if specs aren't part of the equation of user experience, why has Apple bothered to update the iphone at all? Why add a faster gpu, faster cpu, better camera, add a 'retina' screen and so on. If that doesn't matter why did Steve Jobs tout features like these in his Keynotes?
And I would say the S3 doesn't match an iphone out of the box... It blows it away. It's faster, smoother, more powerful, has more features, better battery life, more memory and yes... A much better experience. iOS is more friendly and simpler, I acknowledge that. These are nothing but opinions though.

 

[HishamAkhtar]

This thread is not intended to start a debate war between the fans of two different phones, though I suspect it will. I am a hardcore Apple fan who has owned a plethora of Mac products over the past years.

However...

It all started with one co-worker recently purchasing a Galaxy S3. Since then, two more of my co-workers have bought one as well -- one of them has been an iPhone owner for the past 4 years.

The iPhone owner plans to hold on to his Galaxy S3 for the next 30 days until iPhone 5 is announced. If the iPhone 5 looks better, he can return his phone.

....but I have to tell you, Apple is really up against a tough one here. That Galaxy 3 is an outstanding phone. Though the screen is not retina, it is quite amazing to look at. When you shoot and play back video the larger, wider screen makes it look a-mazing.

The phone fits perfectly in the hand, and comfortably in the pocket.

There are so many bells and whistles hidden in that phone that it seems to almost put the current iOS to shame....

...of course, the downside to the phone is that it's not iOS. Even my co-worker who switched from iPhone to Galaxy admits that while the Android OS is very good, it falls just short of iOS. He is also struggling with being able to sync it to his Apple products in an iCloud fashion.

....which leads me to my dilemma....

As an owner of an iMac, Macbook Pro and iPad, I have to stay with the iPhone. I need everything to sync perfectly between devices. At the same time, I am a bit saddened that after all these years and the introduction of competing phones, that Apple only slightly reinvented theirs. As one or two critics have already cited, it's the same old thing for Apple.

I am not expecting any surprises next month. I believe what has been leaked is what we are getting -- a slightly taller (but not wider) iPhone.

I don't need a response from anyone that says "If you want the Galaxy get the Galaxy." That's not the point. I just hope Apple is taking cues from what Samsung has done with their premier phone. It would be very difficult for some of you to look at the Galaxy S3 and not be envious.

Apple needs to reinvent their phone, but alas, we won't see much of that this year.

Similar boat here, my iPhone 4 is due for an upgrade and if the 5 doesn't impress, I might jump on the S3 and see what it's like.

 

[Mac.World]

i played with one for a few minutes and it does look very nice

but for now my iphone can
connect to my car's USB port and music apps will play
photo stream shares photos to Mac's, idevices and my windows laptop
iOS 5 has the best notifications. i don't know about ICS, but android 2.3 notifications suck in comparisson

Ahh, car USB integration. This is one thing that Android devices can not and will never be able to do, do to Androids code. New iPhone users are gonna be pissed off though when they find out they have to use a dangle or an adapter of some kind to get their new iPhone to work. And I'll bet Apple charges a premium for that bit of kit too!

Photo stream can be done with any phone that has a camera and an Internet connection. Just use SugarSync or Dropbox and set photo's to auto upload. This way, any pc, phone, tablet, or Mac can access the photos, and you can even set the permissions up so families members can see the new photos immediately.

And notifications.. I knew this was gonna start. iOS stole the notifications right from Google. They weren't even subtle about it during the iOS5 keynote. And Apple is gonna pay dearly once the uspto approves Google patent on it (which was submitted 4 years ago). Anyway, notifications can be altered to look anyway you want with Android. Can even make them look exactly like iOS's. I prefer Androids less obtrusive notifications though.

 

[zbarvian]

Subjective post, but I respect your opinion. Although I prefer the design of the S3 to the e iphones brick shape and feel. The S3 just feels better in the hand.

And if specs aren't part of the equation of user experience, why has Apple bothered to update the iphone at all? Why add a faster gpu, faster cpu, better camera, add a 'retina' screen and so on. If that doesn't matter why did Steve Jobs tout features like these in his Keynotes?
And I would say the S3 doesn't match an iphone out of the box... It blows it away. It's faster, smoother, more powerful, has more features, better battery life, more memory and yes... A much better experience. iOS is more friendly and simpler, I acknowledge that. These are nothing but opinions though.

Specs obviously contribute, but you can't call one phone better than the other purely due to specs.

Android is decent, but has yet to match iOS in quality. You might call upon some obscure, slightly useful option or ability, but I haven't seen any Android features that would ever sway me.

 

[alent1234]

Ahh, car USB integration. This is one thing that Android devices can not and will never be able to do, do to Androids code. New iPhone users are gonna be pissed off though when they find out they have to use a dangle or an adapter of some kind to get their new iPhone to work. And I'll bet Apple charges a premium for that bit of kit too!

Photo stream can be done with any phone that has a camera and an Internet connection. Just use SugarSync or Dropbox and set photo's to auto upload. This way, any pc, phone, tablet, or Mac can access the photos, and you can even set the permissions up so families members can see the new photos immediately.

And notifications.. I knew this was gonna start. iOS stole the notifications right from Google. They weren't even subtle about it during the iOS5 keynote. And Apple is gonna pay dearly once the uspto approves Google patent on it (which was submitted 4 years ago). Anyway, notifications can be altered to look anyway you want with Android. Can even make them look exactly like iOS's. I prefer Androids less obtrusive notifications though.

iOS and google notifications are nothing alike. i have a droid phone too.

take ESPN as an example. on my droid i get a line saying that i have a notification from ESPN. on my iphone i get a few lines of detail so i can follow a game from the notifications without unlocking my phone

----------

I shortened your post for brevity. I agree with everything you said, except about the Android OS, as that is not my opinion, but on the whole you hit the nail on the head. I am one of those previous "all Apple" users that now has an S3 and typing (or should I saying talking) this response from my Nexus 7. I sold off all my iDevice after I got the S3.

this is what is happening and apple has every right to be worried. Samsung took a page out of apple's playbook and is now distributing the Galaxy S3 like Apple does with an iphone. One physical standard for the world. This means accessory makers will be more willing to make stuff for the phone. Samsung also really upped the ante with the addition of a very fast cpu and 2gb of RAM for North America and Korea. And now it appears all their new high end mobile devices will have this standard.
As you said, Apple has changed much of anything over the last 3 years. No innovation (other than buying and adding Siri to the 4s, but that wasn't apple's invention), no changes to the ipad, iphone, Macbook air, atv, the remote (which sucks!)... It is like they gave up. And now when they add something like maps, LTE, Notification Center, etc... They either stole the idea or are years behind.

People are leaving the iWorld, because the iWorld keeps getting further behind. Look at what you get with the S3! It makes the iPhone look antiquated. Even the new iPhone already looks outdated and old and it hasn't even been released. On top of that trying to deal with jail breaking on new updates and new devices got old after doing it for years. Got tired of the cat and mouse game with Apple, and their very slow rate of putting out new tech in the mobile devices. These were some of my reasons for leaving the iWorld.

what can the S3 do that my iphone 4S can't

 

[NJRonbo]

Interesting replies all around.

One of the major plusses of owning an iPhone is jailbreaking and the amount of customization that is available under it.

 

[Mac.World]

iOS and google notifications are nothing alike. i have a droid phone too.

take ESPN as an example. on my droid i get a line saying that i have a notification from ESPN. on my iphone i get a few lines of detail so i can follow a game from the notifications without unlocking my phone

----------



what can the S3 do that my iphone 4S can't

Just a few examples would be use NFC, utilize LTE, have a video play on screen while I surf the web (a nice feature when you need to read instruction or a recipe while a YouTube video or recording plays showing you what to do), be able to use a PS3 controller to play Nintendo, Android and Sony games, download info from any computer via sd card, add memory, replace the battery on the go, watch flash video, disable any app (including bloatware like that Newstand and stock iOS icons!), change the look of my icons, launcher and notifications at will, attach any type of document to an email, access files and folders on my phone, etc... And these are all stock out of the box features. If I root, I can do more.

As I said, the iphone is antiquated by comparison. And the looks are now dated as well. Hardware is woefully lacking. App selection and development is the only bright spot.

 

[teltras]

I am not tempted at all. Ugly design, worst excuse for software (TouchWiz is atrocious), and cheap build quality. I almost bought a One X, but Android personally has too many issues.

Specs do not make a device, the experience does. And I don't think any rabid Android fan could claim that an out-of-the-box GS3 can match an iPhone in terms of user friendliness, fluidity, elegance, and simplicity.

About cheap quality check tihis for your retina iphone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Iphone-4S-C...000?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b692a310




http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Display...841?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d44521d9

 

[cynics]

iOS and google notifications are nothing alike. i have a droid phone too.

take ESPN as an example. on my droid i get a line saying that i have a notification from ESPN. on my iphone i get a few lines of detail so i can follow a game from the notifications without unlocking my phone

----------



what can the S3 do that my iphone 4S can't

That don't have to be identical to infringe on a patent.

http://www.google.com/patents/US20090249247

And I'm sure people will start a list but do you mean simple things for convenience like stream to any Xbox, PS3 or even ATV? Or nerdy things like easily play emulators like super Mario from NES to gran turismo on PS1? Maybe simple things like attach a PDF file in email without needing to use a bunch of other apps? Pay for things with NFC? Maybe torrents?

I'm not sure the specific area you are looking for.

 

[zbarvian]

About cheap quality check tihis for your retina iphone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Iphone-4S-C...000?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b692a310




http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Display...841?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d44521d9

I don't understand your point, or how this could possibly be construed as the iPhone 4/4S being cheap and low quality.

Have any Android fans stopped to contemplate why the iPhone is by far the best selling phone, and why iOS has such a large, continually growing market share? Seriously, don't just say "iSheep" or something stupid like that.

 

[teltras]

Yes it´s cheap and low quality. Low price... it was good a 2 years ago...

I do not want to initiate nothing here, but open your eyes.

Wake up

 

[thekev]

I will never understand the need to obsessively upgrade phones. To me the month by month thing doesn't really matter as long as the device accomplishes all of your requirements. I could see much bigger jumps over the first few phone generations where many of these features didn't exist to the degree they do today.

 

[zbarvian]

Yes it´s cheap and low quality. Low price... it was good a 2 years ago...

I do not want to initiate nothing here, but open your eyes.

Wake up

The panel is 2 years old, that's really outdated in the tech world. Prices, as you may know, tend to come down in time. I prefer my glass and stainless steel, you can have your plastic. To each his own.

 

[Mac.World]

I don't understand your point, or how this could possibly be construed as the iPhone 4/4S being cheap and low quality.

Have any Android fans stopped to contemplate why the iPhone is by far the best selling phone, and why iOS has such a large, continually growing market share? Seriously, don't just say "iSheep" or something stupid like that.

This is an over simplified, all to frequently used argument by Apple fans. If I have a good product that people want, but only release one phone once a year or year and a half, it is likely to be the best selling phone, because if you want a new phone made by Apple, well you get one choice. If you want a phone made by Samsung, you have multiple choices at multiple price points. Compare number of sales of smartphones and Samsung sold more by a 2 to 1 margin last quarter. Will likely be even higher this quarter.

The iPhone is a safe, simple phone made by a company that has a reputation for quality. Until that changes in the minds of the public or until a company like Samsung pairs down their phone selection to just a few, the iphone should always be the best selling single phone.

 

[teltras]

iPhone = old tech with high prices man.

No excuses...sorry.

 

[ixodes]

Yes it´s cheap and low quality. Low price... it was good a 2 years ago...

It's only been on the market for less than one year, and the quality is excellent. However when one speculates, erroneous posts like the one above are the result.

 

[teltras]

It's only been on the market for less than one year, and the quality is excellent. However when one speculates, erroneous posts like the one above are the result.

Released before iPhone 4

Galaxy S again better product than iphone 4 and cheaper.

Sorry again

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FOR-SAMSUNG...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item43b2bd6a02


This should be the end of my posts here in this topic.

You can flame me if you want, but in my country I have freedom of speech.

 

[Mac.World]

The panel is 2 years old, that's really outdated in the tech world. Prices, as you may know, tend to come down in time. I prefer my glass and stainless steel, you can have your plastic. To each his own.

There is no stainless steel. Guess you don't know your phone very well!

 

[zbarvian]

You cherry-pick some deficicency in iOS or strength in Android, but can never prove Android to be wholly superior to iOS. Likewise, I can never stated that iOS is wholly superior to Android. It's all preference, all personal. So please, let's give this exhausted argument a rest.

 

[Wrathwitch]

iOS and google notifications are nothing alike. i have a droid phone too.

take ESPN as an example. on my droid i get a line saying that i have a notification from ESPN. on my iphone i get a few lines of detail so i can follow a game from the notifications without unlocking my phone

----------



what can the S3 do that my iphone 4S can't

Yeah but unless you are staring at your screen you will miss those notifications. Whereas with Android, you can see them as a notification icon at the top of your phone, or get a LED or vibration notification when you pick up/look at your device. The quote below answers some of your questions about what the S3 can do that your phone can't.

Just a few examples would be use NFC, utilize LTE, have a video play on screen while I surf the web (a nice feature when you need to read instruction or a recipe while a YouTube video or recording plays showing you what to do), be able to use a PS3 controller to play Nintendo, Android and Sony games, download info from any computer via sd card, add memory, replace the battery on the go, watch flash video, disable any app (including bloatware like that Newstand and stock iOS icons!), change the look of my icons, launcher and notifications at will, attach any type of document to an email, access files and folders on my phone, etc... And these are all stock out of the box features. If I root, I can do more.

As I said, the iphone is antiquated by comparison. And the looks are now dated as well. Hardware is woefully lacking. App selection and development is the only bright spot.

As for my personal experience, what I am finding that the S3 does that my iP4 or the new iPhone won't be able to, will be finding reading or surfing the web as pleasurable as with the S3. It is no longer a pain for me to do any reading or research using the S3. Oh, and although it's a Sammy feature, I am LOVING not having to touch my screen every 28 seconds to keep it from going dormant.

For others that say they miss photo stream etc. I rely on my iPhoto to save all of my photos. I have Automator import them directly to my iMac when both devices are on the same internet connection. Easy Peasy. It pulls the images into iPhoto through dropbox.

To sync contacts I just added gmail to my OSX mail version and set up the address book to sync with google.

The ONLY thing I am missing is that damn PvZ hasn't upgraded either for my device or my country. Not sure what their problem is!