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So long Galaxy S3
- Thread starter jimbo1mcm
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Congrats!
Curious on why you chose the IP5 over the S3, if there are any reasons besides the ecosystem you are part of with your prior iphones and other Apple products.
I ask because I just bought an S3 alongside an IP5 and am going to use them both for 2-3 weeks and see which I like better. Hearing from those who have used both would be really helpful.
I am honestly sort of having more "fun" with the S3 in limited use so far...the widgets, the customizable homescreens, the NFC, bigger screen, the settings in the notification center dropdown, integration of Google Voice, etc. I am especially loving the widgets, as I have a social networking homepage with my FB and Twitter feeds, a "news" page with Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance feeds, a music homepage with widget music players for Spotify, Google Music and Pandora, a Sports page with score tickers and an espn video player..and they all run well without slowdown really.
I would really miss imessage, Facetime and the Apple app store. and I do love the design and weight of the new i5. Also I think the new i5's camera is amazing and the phone is more fluid and fast than the S3 it seems. Just a bit bored of the UI after all these years with an iphone. Seems a bit boring to use after experiencing an S3. Going from all this customization and fun widgets to rows of squares on a smaller screen.
S3 vs Ip 5
I think I had kind of gotten a little "bored" with IOS also, so when the S3 came out, I got it. One of the features I really liked on the S3 was voice to text for email and text messages. It was really accurate. I didn't have that on my Ip4. I also liked the widgets and the blue notification light plus the bigger screen. Make no mistake, the S3 is a wonderful phone. I had the 32GB plus a 32GB card. Why did I come back to the IP5? Well, the voice to text feature on Ip 5 is just about as good as the S3, although you have to wait a second to see what you say on the Ip5 vs instantaneous printing on the S3. The S3 was a little twitchy hooking up bluetooth in my car. It would hook up about 2 out of 5 times. I make a lot of car calls and my Ip4 hooked up all the time without any problems. I don't think the screen makes a lot of difference. Yes the screen is bigger in the S3 but the Ip5's screen is very clear, vibrant and is plenty big enough for me. I was familiar with both OS's, having a DroidX before my Ip4. There really isn't a whole lot of difference between the two phones. The S3 is plastic and the IP 5 is aluminum, but when I put the case on it, you really can't tell what it is made of. I do like being able to sync everything on my IP5 with my MBP and Ipad. The IP 5 processor is lightning fast, just as good or maybe even better than the Snapdragon S4. Enjoy both. Hope you end up with the one that works better for you.
I think I had kind of gotten a little "bored" with IOS also, so when the S3 came out, I got it. One of the features I really liked on the S3 was voice to text for email and text messages. It was really accurate. I didn't have that on my Ip4. I also liked the widgets and the blue notification light plus the bigger screen. Make no mistake, the S3 is a wonderful phone. I had the 32GB plus a 32GB card. Why did I come back to the IP5? Well, the voice to text feature on Ip 5 is just about as good as the S3, although you have to wait a second to see what you say on the Ip5 vs instantaneous printing on the S3. The S3 was a little twitchy hooking up bluetooth in my car. It would hook up about 2 out of 5 times. I make a lot of car calls and my Ip4 hooked up all the time without any problems. I don't think the screen makes a lot of difference. Yes the screen is bigger in the S3 but the Ip5's screen is very clear, vibrant and is plenty big enough for me. I was familiar with both OS's, having a DroidX before my Ip4. There really isn't a whole lot of difference between the two phones. The S3 is plastic and the IP 5 is aluminum, but when I put the case on it, you really can't tell what it is made of. I do like being able to sync everything on my IP5 with my MBP and Ipad. The IP 5 processor is lightning fast, just as good or maybe even better than the Snapdragon S4. Enjoy both. Hope you end up with the one that works better for you.
Straight out the box, the S3 will be a lot more fun but that will change once the jail beak is released for the iPhone 5. However, that will probably take months. Be mindful of that when making a decision. You'll be able to get widgets, etc soon on the iPhone 5.
I had been an iPhone user since the first one. I got bored of IOS, so I switched to S3 a few days ago the verdict: Im going to take it back to get iPhone 5. Heres why:
1. S3 is too big. I thought I wanted a big screen thats why I switched. However I like to use maps while driving and holding the phone in one hand. Its very unwieldy to hold it in one hand (eventhough I have larger than average hands).
2. The battery runs out fast. I have been charging it twice a day.
3. Email looks terrible on Android. You can not zoom out to see the full HTML email. You have to pan around even though the screen is huge. I tried various Mail apps and they all suck.
3. Colors are way too saturated that it hurts my eyes.
4. Auto-Brightness set the brightness too low. I have to turn it to manual (brighter). But then it drains battery like crazy.
5. Auto-Correct is terrible. I have so many mispelling since I switch over to S3.
6. Finger stain/grease seems to affect the visibility of the screen. I think it might be the Pentile screen it creates a moire/rainbow effect. I have to clean my screen constantly. Test it on an 4S phone and it doesnt have this problem.
7. Overall interface is not as solid or streamlined as apple. Very inconsistent. The design is all over the place and interface/fonts is unique for each app. A very chaotic experience.
Overall. I believe that phones are small for a reason. Tablets can take over when you need a bigger screen. I love that the S3 is great with the expendable Mini-SD slot and swappable battery but I can do without these things. I need a solid and reliable experience even if that means its a little boring.
Apple designs philosophy is similar to BMWs. Design a classic and stick to it, and overtime it just has more value. American cars companys philosophy is like Android disposable design onto the next. But in the end, it doesnt have much resonance and longevity.
And for the IOS Maps problems, Google will release their app for IOS any day now. Problem solved.
1. S3 is too big. I thought I wanted a big screen thats why I switched. However I like to use maps while driving and holding the phone in one hand. Its very unwieldy to hold it in one hand (eventhough I have larger than average hands).
2. The battery runs out fast. I have been charging it twice a day.
3. Email looks terrible on Android. You can not zoom out to see the full HTML email. You have to pan around even though the screen is huge. I tried various Mail apps and they all suck.
3. Colors are way too saturated that it hurts my eyes.
4. Auto-Brightness set the brightness too low. I have to turn it to manual (brighter). But then it drains battery like crazy.
5. Auto-Correct is terrible. I have so many mispelling since I switch over to S3.
6. Finger stain/grease seems to affect the visibility of the screen. I think it might be the Pentile screen it creates a moire/rainbow effect. I have to clean my screen constantly. Test it on an 4S phone and it doesnt have this problem.
7. Overall interface is not as solid or streamlined as apple. Very inconsistent. The design is all over the place and interface/fonts is unique for each app. A very chaotic experience.
Overall. I believe that phones are small for a reason. Tablets can take over when you need a bigger screen. I love that the S3 is great with the expendable Mini-SD slot and swappable battery but I can do without these things. I need a solid and reliable experience even if that means its a little boring.
Apple designs philosophy is similar to BMWs. Design a classic and stick to it, and overtime it just has more value. American cars companys philosophy is like Android disposable design onto the next. But in the end, it doesnt have much resonance and longevity.
And for the IOS Maps problems, Google will release their app for IOS any day now. Problem solved.
I have both right now, S3 for a few days. I agree with a lot of what you said.
1. I personally like the screen size, except that I can't reach top of screen with my thumb, but got i5 and found i also cannot reach anymore either. Big screens are curses in some way and blessings in others. I love web surfing and video watching on S3.
2. Agreed, today I am using both, unplugged from charger about an hour ago, both at 100%, going to compare the batteries today, try and use them about equally
3. AGREED - the mail app is bad, some emails I can't even read. I use Gmail and Yahoo so downloaded their apps and check them separately, but on ios the mail app is so good I don't have to do that
3a. I do think the colors are a bit oversaturated, but the screen still looks very nice, and it definitely doesn't hurt my eyes. It's still a very sharp screen with good contrast. Overall the i5 screen is sharper, wish I could see the iphones display in a S3 size.
4. Agreed, but then again I don't use auto brightness on the iphone either, never have on any device
5. In general the keyboard on S3 is not as good as the iphone, agreed. Although you can get 3rd party ones to replace it, I got one called Swiftkey that's much better, possibly even with the ios one.
6. Haven't noticed this one
7. Agree the interface isn't as uniform, hate how different apps can be different sizes, a no-no design wise. But I also feel what they lack in polish in the OS they make up for in flexibility and "fun".
Even with agreeing with many of your points (as I read it I was nodding my head mostly), I am finding the S3 more fun to use thus far - the customization, widgets, face unlock (gimmicky i know but cool), NFC.
I integrated Google Voice with my messages app, so I am sending and receiving messages for free with no need for a SMS plan, but within the stock messaging app of the phone - I have done this with ios, but it requires a jailbreak.
Although I am having more fun with the S3 now, I am sure some of that has to do with the fact it's more fresh to me, I've been using nothing but iphone for 4 years.
Which is why I am using both of them for a month before I decide, doing tests, etc.
For example, today I am testing the batteries against each other. Yesterday I ran speedtests on both on LTE next to each other. I also ran a geekbench at the same time (Iphone 5 1630, S3 1050).
I am going to be as objective as possible I hope, I have no loyalty to any company, only to myself to end up with the best phone for me.
And actually I am leaning towards iphone right now. I have more fun with S3 right now, but my 7 year old daughter who I don't live with Facetimes me - trumps everything else. Also love the new iphone's design and feel, the camera is superior, Siri is better than the S3's voice capability, the app store is better, I like Itunes match and icloud, etc.
I just find rows of apps boring at this point. The entire iphone GUI = the S3's app drawer.
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Like you I grew a bit tired of iOS and went and bought the S3, I've been using iPhones since 3GS. I sold my 4S couple months ago when I switched to the S3. I held onto the 4S for 2-3 weeks before I got comfortable enough with the S3 before I sold it. Going from iOS to Android can be a jarring experience. I think many people will give up and go back to iOS. Once I got used to the S3/Android, some things I do with the S3 now it's hard to go back to iOS, the back button is a big one. Some things done with a single tap on the back button can take 6 steps on iOS. Being able to store multiple items in the clipboard also makes life much easier when composing some emails. I love being able to choose my own camera controls on the camera app - I ditched all the default buttons and put my own most used buttons in the camera. On the iPhone you have zero ability to change anything in the camera (picture size, metering mode, how about burst). Many little things like these you won't learn to appreciate until you've given it enough time. I don't know if it's Android itself or the S3, but yes the S3 is definitely more glitchy than iOS.
BUT, I miss many of the apps I've bought from the Apple app store, so I've been looking for good deals on a used 4S. Yesterday I bought a mint month-old 4S from a local guy who just took delivery of his 5. iOS (still on 5.1.1) is definitely more polished than the S3, general OS operation is consistently silky smooth, but I was surprised how laggy it was scrolling and browsing a long web page which the S3 just breezed through.
Yes at times I feel the S3 is a bit big, but after picking up another 4S I remember why I wanted the big screen. Look at the screen shot. It is a trade off for sure.
I don't know what happened, but my S3's battery life has improved since about a month ago. For the first month I felt it was worse than the 4S, now it is at least equal if not better. One day this week I had 4.5hrs screen time out of 15hrs total since a full charge and it still had >20%. When I travel to NYC where there's LTE coverage, oh yeah the battery drops pretty quick, constantly running Speedtest to marvel at the awesome LTE speeds certainly didn't help
I'm guessing you have constant LTE coverage?
The iPhone 5 is almost as saturated as the S3 is now, and all of a sudden it's a great thing on the iPhone 5 The 4S looks washed out in comparison. But yes I agree somewhere between the 4S and S3 would be preferable, and I guess that'd be the iPhone 5
Yes auto brighness is terrible on the S3, and I think it was a dumb move to have a separate brightness setting just for the browser. Well there was an update a few days ago, now I can change the brightness from the notification screen and it did away with the separate browser brightness setting. At least adjustting the brightness now is only a swipe away.
Oh yes I hate so much that you cannot zoom in email, not just the stock email app but even the dedicated Yahoo mail app is the same way. The result is that even with the much bigger screen and resolution, it shows about the same content as the 4S. This was one of the reason I bought another iPhone.
Seriously I would really love to go back to the iPhone for the beautiful apps, but it's hard to go back after I'm used to the big screen to browse the web and the back button. I'll just be switching back and forth between them for now..
BUT, I miss many of the apps I've bought from the Apple app store, so I've been looking for good deals on a used 4S. Yesterday I bought a mint month-old 4S from a local guy who just took delivery of his 5. iOS (still on 5.1.1) is definitely more polished than the S3, general OS operation is consistently silky smooth, but I was surprised how laggy it was scrolling and browsing a long web page which the S3 just breezed through.
Yes at times I feel the S3 is a bit big, but after picking up another 4S I remember why I wanted the big screen. Look at the screen shot. It is a trade off for sure.
I don't know what happened, but my S3's battery life has improved since about a month ago. For the first month I felt it was worse than the 4S, now it is at least equal if not better. One day this week I had 4.5hrs screen time out of 15hrs total since a full charge and it still had >20%. When I travel to NYC where there's LTE coverage, oh yeah the battery drops pretty quick, constantly running Speedtest to marvel at the awesome LTE speeds certainly didn't help
I'm guessing you have constant LTE coverage?The iPhone 5 is almost as saturated as the S3 is now, and all of a sudden it's a great thing on the iPhone 5
The 4S looks washed out in comparison. But yes I agree somewhere between the 4S and S3 would be preferable, and I guess that'd be the iPhone 5 Yes auto brighness is terrible on the S3, and I think it was a dumb move to have a separate brightness setting just for the browser. Well there was an update a few days ago, now I can change the brightness from the notification screen and it did away with the separate browser brightness setting. At least adjustting the brightness now is only a swipe away.
Oh yes I hate so much that you cannot zoom in email, not just the stock email app but even the dedicated Yahoo mail app is the same way. The result is that even with the much bigger screen and resolution, it shows about the same content as the 4S. This was one of the reason I bought another iPhone.
Seriously I would really love to go back to the iPhone for the beautiful apps, but it's hard to go back after I'm used to the big screen to browse the web and the back button. I'll just be switching back and forth between them for now..
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On the GS3, I'm able to zoom all the way out by pinching in and doing the opposite to zoom out using the stock email app.
You guys must be talking about the gmail app, which sucks and I don't use. But the stock email app was mentioned, so I don't know what your talking about.
You guys must be talking about the gmail app, which sucks and I don't use. But the stock email app was mentioned, so I don't know what your talking about.
This is one of the main reasons I switched, and am still loving my S3. It's a bit scary at first and Android is still a tad glitchy, but there are so many benefits to the S3 over the iPhone 5.
On the GS3, I'm able to zoom all the way out by pinching in and doing the opposite to zoom out using the stock email app.
You guys must be talking about the gmail app, which sucks and I don't use. But the stock email app was mentioned, so I don't know what your talking about.
I agree. Not had a problem with zooming in and out on stock e mail app.
The biggest problem of the SGS3 is the home screen redraws. It gets really annoying.
I installed CM10 and no more redraws, but battery life is worse than on stock.
This kind is things really annoy me. Imagine you would have to wait 5 seconds for the home screen to reload like 5 times every day, and it looks like Samsung won't fix it.
WI-FI is also much worse than on my previous iPhone 4 and current iPad 1. And I mean horrible WI-FI.
I installed CM10 and no more redraws, but battery life is worse than on stock.
This kind is things really annoy me. Imagine you would have to wait 5 seconds for the home screen to reload like 5 times every day, and it looks like Samsung won't fix it.
WI-FI is also much worse than on my previous iPhone 4 and current iPad 1. And I mean horrible WI-FI.
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Well my buddy just picked up a Galaxy S3. He actually stood in line for the iPhone 5. It took just a day before he realized the phone just wasn't what he wanted. For him the screen wasn't the upgrade he was looking for. He's coming from a BB Torch with a 3.7 inch screen, and the 4 inch screen just didn't offer the browsing experience he wanted. He thought it just look oddly long. But he did say the phone felt cheap like some Chinese knock off of a real iPhone. And I must admit, after holding it myself, there is something I just can't put my finger on, but the thing does feel kind of.... well I won't say cheap, but it didn't feel expensive or premium the way Apple users usually have said about Apple products. And I couldn't shake the feeling that it would easily break if I wasn't extremely delicate with it. I'm still trying to decide myself what I want as it will be the overall experience of the phone that determines what I chose. That being said, the GS3 did feel very substantial and solid as a phone when I handled it. I think in terms of weight, Samsung have got it just right (in respect to the 4.8 screen that is.) After my next phone, I won't be upgrading for another 3 yrs, so I want to get it right. We've both been longtime BB users, so I will be going with a lot by his words as he explores Android. So far he's amazed with what it can do in terms of....well everything.
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I dont have that problem so i cant relate to what you mean. It just refreshes randomly? Not sure what you mean by a redraw since i havent noticed it.
EDIT* Looking at the post below my last post, ...are you using TouchWiz? I dont use TouchWiz so maybe thats why i dont have that problem. I use Apex and Nova. Apex 80% of the time.
For those saying the battery isnt good(the guys who have had it only a few days), go in your apps management and disable bloatware you wont use like Chat On, S Suggest, Bonus apps if you have that,and All Share play and whatever else there is you dont want. If it doesnt have a disable choice, you have to undo the updates first to be able to disable if you have updated those apps.
Also in S Voice, click on it and go into settings and uncheck 'Launch S Voice" .
Do those things and your battery will be MUCH better. I know it takes 5 minutes to do this but it is worth it. Once you get things dialed in on the GS3, imo it is a much better experience than iOS.
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Why do you have Homescreen redraws so bad? I might get a redraw 3 times a day at the most and it's only for a split second that's noticeable to the eye. No way have I experienced 5 second redraws or redraws on such a frequent basis. Maybe it's certain widgets that make things worst?
I dont have this problem either. I use the stock mail client with my Yahoo. It worked so well i deleted the Yahoo app.
+1 for Nova Launcher. That's what I use and it runs smooth as butter with no redraws. That's why I don't have CM10 or ParanoidAndroid. Just pure Google, man.
We don't want android traitors like you back here!
YEAH!
Just kidding
Welcome back
...oh.
-puts up pitchfork
Mintymintyfresh: interesting post and I agree with some of your points (especially about the S3 being too big, and the iPhone just being overall better hardware) but I think some of what you said is wrong and shows a lack of experience with Android (understandable, since Android does need some customization in order to make it work at its best)
Overall, I think the choice between android and iphone is a straight tradeoff between better apps and a phone that feels much nicer in your hand (iphone) versus a more powerful, flexible, and customizable OS(android). The iphone5 is gorgeous and I really want one, but there are just too many annoying things about iOS for me personally.
Samsung phones have removable batteries. A spare S3 battery costs less than $20 and is light enough to carry around. This is one of the big advantages of Android phones over iPhone; an android with a spare battery will give you far more life than an iPhone
There are many different Android email clients; if you dont like the stock one then there are other options. And who sends HTML email anyway? I only ever get these in spam mails that I dont want.
The stock Android keyboard isnt great, but the keyboard can be repalced with Swiftkey, which is amazing. Imo swiftkey is the best keyboard on any mobile device, and better than both stock android, and the iphone. I think this is one of the major points in Android's favor.
This is true, the iphone is more integrated since Android is many different componetns working together. However one area where Android phones are more integrated than the iphone is the hardware backbutton. The lack of one on the iphone really irritates me; different apps put the soft back button in different places, and if you have (eg) used an app to open an attachment in an email then you cant just press 'back' and go straight back to the email.
Overall, I think the choice between android and iphone is a straight tradeoff between better apps and a phone that feels much nicer in your hand (iphone) versus a more powerful, flexible, and customizable OS(android). The iphone5 is gorgeous and I really want one, but there are just too many annoying things about iOS for me personally.
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The home screen reloads happens with Touchwiz. Its kind of a serious bug on what is suppose to be Samsungs flagship phone. You would never see something like this on iOS or WP8. Not even stock Android of the Nexus.
Im not criticizing Android here. Im criticizing Samsung. Android is awesome.
Anyway, I already rooted and have found several solutions: a ROM like Omega, CM9 or 10 or use Titanium Backup to freeze Touchwiz and use Nova or Apex.
Theres no perfect phone. HOX has wifi problems, Nexus bad battery life, SGS3 the home screen reloads and bad wifi for me (it disconnects on its own and then connects again several times a day), etc. These are not hardware problems, but rather software problems, due to Samsung ********* pure android.
Maybe some people havent noticed this, but on touchwiz theres not even a spell checker! I installed CM9 and 10 and on stock android there is. Im talking about the red line that appears under a mispelled word, just like on iOS.
Can someone please tell me why Samsung would do this?? I need a spell checker for emails, notes, etc. Its so stupid from Samsung to do this that just proves my hate for them.
Thats why my next phone will probably be a Nexus.
The reloads happen specially if you have many widgets. The Samsung Weather widget is the one that makes the redraws happen more often. But whats the point of having widgets if you cant have more than 4 or 5 to avoid many screen reloads?
Also let me say stock android keyboard is awesome. Much better than stock iOS. After trying it on CM10 you can see how BAD samsungs keyboard is.
Android has many benefits, but also some drawbacks. Widgets eat battery faster, but also many background processes. I hated iOS multitasking before, but now I really think is the best way to go. If you install many apps on android there can be so many background processes eating battery life without you knowing it.
I also miss the lockscreen iOS notifications, and how they show more información than on Android. Still, iOS is really lacking. It would be awesome if Apple included a swype-like feature on iOS 6.1 or 7.
Android is better than iOS, but iOS wins in some basic stuff: battery, multitasking, notifications, etc.
Android wins in keyboards, customization, the AWESOME back button, widgets, ability to jailbreak (root) easily always (and not waiting months for a jailbreak only to be pointless after the next Apple update. I hated that cat and mouse game), file browser, etc.
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