Phones iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S3

[nooaah]

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/samsung/galaxy-s-iii-pebble-blue.html

It's $549 directly from AT&T as well. I assume BB = Best Buy? If so, go in and tell them to look up AT&T's price (assuming you have an AT&T close by). if so, they will honor it. I believe they require the AT&T to be in the same town as the Best Buy. Even so, for a $150 savings that might be worth a bit of travel, depending.

Forgot about price matching. Thank you, sir! $349 is definitely affordable (with my reward dollars included). And considering I'm lazy and still have a 3GS, 4, and GSM 4S 64GB laying around, this should be more than doable if I actually bother selling them haha.

 

[chiefpavvy]

Best Buy price matching can be hit or miss. Depends on the manager and if you enjoy arguing

 

[nooaah]

Best Buy price matching can be hit or miss. Depends on the manager and if you enjoy arguing

I've spent over $10,000 there since April. If they don't want to give on $150 I'll just take my business elsewhere. I'm sure they'd understand haha.

 

[lordofthereef]

I've spent over $10,000 there since April. If they don't want to give on $150 I'll just take my business elsewhere. I'm sure they'd understand haha.

I'd be shocked if they didn't (regardless of how much you've spent there). It's their standard policy.

 

[LSUtigers03]

I'd be shocked if they didn't (regardless of how much you've spent there). It's their standard policy.

I tried to get them to match at&t's price on the inspire last year and they wouldn't. Are you sure it's a standard policy and not up to the manager?

 

[chiefpavvy]

I tried to get them to match at&t's price on the inspire last year and they wouldn't. Are you sure it's a standard policy and not up to the manager?

Manager always has discretion.

 

[Technarchy]

?

Took a picture of the difference on my PS Vita (all I really had to take a picture with) and it looks worse than it actually is but you can still definitely see a big difference.

Image

This is no small problem. I say this as a person whose last 3 phones prior to the iPhone had AMOLED displays.

AMOLED displays are very dim, and if you turn up the brightness you end up with bloom, bleed and massive power drain unless you are staring at anything other than an all black screen.

Also, the bluish hue to everything is something I regard as unpleasant, if for no reason other than it exacerbates the dim nature of AMOLED tech. It's even worse on raw ICS or gingerbread because the overall theme is based on blacks and dark blues.

 

[ndpuckhead]

Man, this thread has my head spinning. I want to get a new phone by the 28th to keep unlimited data. I currently have the droid2 and have no complaint except for the crappy camera. I got it before iPhone came out for Verizon. I am heading to Verizon on Monday and I was originally going to get the iphone4.however, after reading this thread and doing some research online, I'm really leaning towards the S3. I love my MacBook pro and wouldn't think of going back to pc. My biggest issue is that I can't wait for the iphone5 to come out, so if I go iPhone now, I would really be buying an outdated phone. With the S3, I'd be getting the latest stuff as well as 4g, which I couldn't get with the iPhone. I also like the bigger screen, but am worried it would be hard to fit in my pocket with a case on it. Any thoughts?

 

[blairh]

This is no small problem. I say this as a person whose last 3 phones prior to the iPhone had AMOLED displays.

AMOLED displays are very dim, and if you turn up the brightness you end up with bloom, bleed and massive power drain unless you are staring at anything other than an all black screen.

Also, the bluish hue to everything is something I regard as unpleasant, if for no reason other than it exacerbates the dim nature of AMOLED tech. It's even worse on raw ICS or gingerbread because the overall theme is based on blacks and dark blues.

Thank you for saying this. I haven't seen the SIII in person just yet, but it amazes me that this issue didn't get brought up in professional reviews until CNET and a couple other major sites mentioned it.

Even though I do see a slight bluish hue on my iPhone 4 screen, it appears to be nothing compared to what the SIII produces with respect to bluish whites. Also appears to be a somewhat dim screen too.

I'll reserve judgement of course until later this week, but I don't think it's a coincidence that the universally praised One X screen is IPS.

LG is launching a device in Europe this week called the Optimus 4X HD. ICS and an IPS screen. No idea if or when it's coming to the states but it's mighty impressive in video reviews.

 

[DanteMann]

This is no small problem. I say this as a person whose last 3 phones prior to the iPhone had AMOLED displays.

AMOLED displays are very dim, and if you turn up the brightness you end up with bloom, bleed and massive power drain unless you are staring at anything other than an all black screen.

Also, the bluish hue to everything is something I regard as unpleasant, if for no reason other than it exacerbates the dim nature of AMOLED tech. It's even worse on raw ICS or gingerbread because the overall theme is based on blacks and dark blues.

Your FUD about Samsung is always a great laugh.
Bottom line is if the display was so horrible, EVERYONE would be calling it out. So many have complained about the Iphone 4/4S cool/warm screens, bleeding, yellow tint, etc... Should we just say the LG display sucks?
The Galaxy S line has to put up with a whole lot of competition in the Android world, and there is a very good reason why it has come out as THE LEADING Android phone.


From GSM ARENA: Sunlight legibility is splendid too - the HD Super AMOLED isn't the brightest around, but its reflectivity is so low that even outside in the brightest day, you'll still be able to see what's on the screen quite clearly. As a matter of fact, the Galaxy S III managed to top our sunlight legibility charts.

 

[Funkymonk]

It's a year old phone vs a brand spanking new one. Of course gs3 would be better. Would be more fair to pit it against the next iPhone.

 

[0m3ga]

I have the S3 and have been playing with it for a few days. Downloaded Nova Launcher for it and made my own custom theme.

I can confirmyou can see it outside in sun, but I'd say it is about the same as the iP4 in viewability.

And anyone knocking this screen needs their eyesight checked. You would struckle with a magnifying glass to see the pixels. 306ppi for a 4.8" screen is pretty damn good.

Picture quality is slightly better than the iP4, but being able to alter camera settings, plus being able to take photo's while taking a video is a nice touch.

This is by far one of the best phones ever made.

 

[mbell1975]

It's a year old phone vs a brand spanking new one. Of course gs3 would be better. Would be more fair to pit it against the next iPhone.

Wrong, it's only 8 months old. By the time the new iPhone is out, the S3 will be going on 6 months old but should still be the better device.

 

[nickchallis92]

It's a year old phone vs a brand spanking new one. Of course gs3 would be better. Would be more fair to pit it against the next iPhone.

That's strange, you were all happy comparing the iPhone 4s to the galaxy s2, but when a new iPhone is compared to an older galaxy device, that's totally acceptable...

 

[matttye]

This is no small problem. I say this as a person whose last 3 phones prior to the iPhone had AMOLED displays.

AMOLED displays are very dim, and if you turn up the brightness you end up with bloom, bleed and massive power drain unless you are staring at anything other than an all black screen.

Also, the bluish hue to everything is something I regard as unpleasant, if for no reason other than it exacerbates the dim nature of AMOLED tech. It's even worse on raw ICS or gingerbread because the overall theme is based on blacks and dark blues.

Screen looks great to me and it's incredibly clear in the daylight/sunlight.

As to whether people prefer cool or warm hues, it's highly subjective. Personally I prefer a cool hue and that's what you get with AMOLED.

As for the screen being dim; I never use my phone at full brightness unless I'm outside as it gives me a headache. The fact that the screen is dimmer makes no difference to the daylight legibility.

All in all the dimness of the screen isn't a problem at all for most people.

 

[depths]

I use mine at 50% brightness max, usually around 25% (nexus).

For those that haven't used android recently, there's a lot of very simple ways to adjust screen temp and gamma so the 'tint' really isn't an issue.

 

[ipodlover77]

got mine yesterday, sold mine yesterday.

cool phone but hot damn that back is gaudy.

 

[nooaah]

got mine yesterday, sold mine yesterday.

cool phone but hot damn that back is gaudy.

Gaudy?? Can you elaborate?

 

[alphaod]

Gaudy?? Can you elaborate?

It's smooth plastic. Not a big fan out it myself.

First thing I did was find a good back film to make it more matte.

 

[ipodlover77]

Gaudy?? Can you elaborate?

in low light (lol. i know) the color is very nice. Its a very deep shade of blue. Once you get into sunlight or anywhere thats lit up in general, while the front still looks really nice, the back becomes a mirror. It doesn't help that the battery cover has a brushed look when its really plastic.

TO ME, 80% of what makes it gaudy (again to me) is the reflective look of the back, the other 20% is the design they chose to use, which is brushed aluminium when its plastic. hyperglaze ftw.

edit:
@nooaah, if you're looking to get the pebble blue sgs. I recommend you take alphaods advice. Finding a nice matte back film will def help with the overall look of the device.

 

[matttye]

in low light (lol. i know) the color is very nice. Its a very deep shade of blue. Once you get into sunlight or anywhere thats lit up in general, while the front still looks really nice, the back becomes a mirror. It doesn't help that the battery cover has a brushed look when its really plastic.

TO ME, 80% of what makes it gaudy (again to me) is the reflective look of the back, the other 20% is the design they chose to use, which is brushed aluminium when its plastic. hyperglaze ftw.

edit:
@nooaah, if you're looking to get the pebble blue sgs. I recommend you take alphaods advice. Finding a nice matte back film will def help with the overall look of the device.

How often do you look at the back of the phone?!

It battles me that some people would return it for such a strange reason.

 

[wayneholbrook]

Let me first start off by saying I've had every iPhone since the start, but every time a great new device comes out I'm always willing to try it. I pre-ordered my G3 through AT&T and got mine on the 21st. As with the Skyrocket and all of Samsungs products, it was plastic and felt cheap from the get go. The screen look great but the phone was just a tad to big for one handed operations and to throw in my pocket.

With that said the OS is still not even close to the iPhone. I've been using the beta iOS6 on my iPhone for the past week and to compare Andriod to iOS is still no compatition. I know some of you will be screaming and yelling saying the apple to locked down and you want more customization. Well you can have it, I want simplicity and I want my device to work without having it freeze or having to re-start it all the time. With iOS6, it just got even better. I can't wait for the next generation of the iPhone I'm sure within the next 60 days.

My G3 was sent back. It was barely a thought.

 

[ipodlover77]

How often do you look at the back of the phone?!

It battles me that some people would return it for such a strange reason.

Oh. I didn't return the phone because of that. That would be just silly. I just pointed out a design decision that really stood out to me.

I returned the phone because i need imessage. me and the significant other send each other videos of our dogs and only imessage can send them in HD. kakao/chatnow etc is a bit clunky in the video sending department.

imessage is VERY important to me. Coupled with the fact that macs have it now, an android phone would have to be mind blowing to pull me away from iOS. Thats not saying that the SGS3 was bad. It just wasn't for me.

 

[nooaah]

in low light (lol. i know) the color is very nice. Its a very deep shade of blue. Once you get into sunlight or anywhere thats lit up in general, while the front still looks really nice, the back becomes a mirror. It doesn't help that the battery cover has a brushed look when its really plastic.

TO ME, 80% of what makes it gaudy (again to me) is the reflective look of the back, the other 20% is the design they chose to use, which is brushed aluminium when its plastic. hyperglaze ftw.

edit:
@nooaah, if you're looking to get the pebble blue sgs. I recommend you take alphaods advice. Finding a nice matte back film will def help with the overall look of the device.

Ah, got it. I'm getting the white version. Very slick looking, IMO. Thanks for clarifying!

 

[matttye]

Oh. I didn't return the phone because of that. That would be just silly. I just pointed out a design decision that really stood out to me.

I returned the phone because i need imessage. me and the significant other send each other videos of our dogs and only imessage can send them in HD. kakao/chatnow etc is a bit clunky in the video sending department.

imessage is VERY important to me. Coupled with the fact that macs have it now, an android phone would have to be mind blowing to pull me away from iOS. Thats not saying that the SGS3 was bad. It just wasn't for me.

Ahh fair enough, that's a more valid reason (even though all reasons are technically "valid")

I too use iMessage extensively (the mrs and I both have iPads). I just wish Apple would take Google's approach of making their stuff work on most platforms!

The closest equivalent of iMessage, Google Talk, just isn't the same because you have to remain logged in.

I would use Whatsapp if it was on iOS.