Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

SR71

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
So, I was visited by my cousin yesterday and he recently got the Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile. The phone is very fast, much faster than my old HTC Thunderbolt, and the screen was very bright and its true, the display looks good even though it's got a pentile display, but it's not as good as the iPhone 4/4S's.

The GS3 very big, and I like big devices, but the GS3 simply felt too big. Now, I have large hands, I love phones with large displays (I've owned the Droid X and the HTC Thunderbolt which both have 4.3" screens and it felt just right -- not to big, not to small), but the Galaxy S3's 4.8" screen is just too big. My hand started to feel strained after having to reach the edges of the screen when browsing, clicking on apps, etc. It was very cumbersome. I've never used a 4.5" device, but I feel that if this was 4.3"-4.5", it'd have been a non-issue for me, but it really is just to big, there's no getting around it. For those with small/medium sized hands, I really don't think you'll like the GS3 for this one reason.

Now, onto the speed. The GS3 is very fast, and although it's got a dual-core processor (some versions have a quad-core processor) it still stuttered when scrolling quickly through lists (in the applications section of the Settings app, for example). Internet browsing was smooth, but again, quickly flicking through pages would also cause it to stutter as it scrolled. Little things like this can detract from the experience and make you feel like you're using a sub-par device instead of the powerful device that it could be. I'm guessing this is more of Samsung's TouchWiz UI, and not Android in general as from the reviews I've seen of Jellybean, it scrolls through lists smoothly. Zipping around the homescreen was smooth and fluid, no complaints there. App launching was quick and loading was equally as speedy.

Overall, the device felt very snappy (lol, people hate that word, which is why I used it ;)), but all jokes aside, the device was very fast, but little things like the scrolling made it feel slower than it is. It's probably the best Android phone out there right now, but if you're on Verizon, I still wouldn't get it because it's the only one with a locked bootloader, so you can't load stock Jellybean on it or anything at all for that matter. In the end, the iPhone is still #1 for it smoothness, fluidity, reliability, and ease of use, and it'll only get better with the next iPhone.

Thanks for reading. ;)
 

alex2792

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2009
1,126
2,973
I'm enjoying my GS3 it's very smooth, but I do miss some of the apps that I've purchased for the iPhone. I'm loving the big screen, but I'm still looking forward to iPhone 5 reveal and might switch back if it blows me away.
 

Wrathwitch

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2009
1,303
55
Hey thanks for the input! :)

Speaking on behalf of women with very small hands (can fit children's rings on my baby fingers), I have absolutely no problem handling this big boy :D

However, ain't it great that there are so many different screen sizes out there for individual people's tastes?

Viva la difference!!
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,877
10,987
I think the smoothness between the GS3 and the iPhone is the same. I've experienced no lag or choppiness of any kind yet.

As far as one handed operation goes, I have no problem with that and I have medium sized hands. GS3 doesn't even feel big to me anymore. Now the Galaxy Note is a differ story, I think that would always feel big no matter how long you have it. I was very close to getting the HTC One x, but side by side in the store the GS3 screen looked much more appealing. 4.8 makes a noticeable difference over 4.7.

IMO ease of use and out of the box integration is where the iPhone still wins. Reliabilty is still too early to judge. So far it's been flawless on the GS3. I already know the iPhone's reliabilty is rock solid. Also the iPhone wins with taking photos, but the GS3 seems to take better vids.

As far as speculating that it's touchwiz thay's making things choppy, I'm still running stock and not rooted. Maybe it's one of T-mobile's apps or an app your cousin installed. I'm on AT&T.
 

SR71

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
I think the resolution on the GS3 looks bettet than the iphone's... maybe its because the size
It's not the resolution that I'm talking about. I mean the colors, how the screen looks and feels as if it's right on the display instead of under it. I can't tell the resolution difference past retina lol, the pixels are too small... after that I just can't even see the lil' buggers.

I think the smoothness between the GS3 and the iPhone is the same. I've experienced no lag or choppiness of any kind yet.

As far as one handed operation goes, I have no problem with that and I have medium sized hands. GS3 doesn't even feel big to me anymore. Now the Galaxy Note is a differ story, I think that would always feel big no matter how long you have it. I was very close to getting the HTC One x, but side by side in the store the GS3 screen looked much more appealing. 4.8 makes a noticeable difference over 4.7.

IMO ease of use and out of the box integration is where the iPhone still wins. Reliabilty is still too early to judge. So far it's been flawless on the GS3. I already know the iPhone's reliabilty is rock solid. Also the iPhone wins with taking photos, but the GS3 seems to take better vids.

As far as speculating that it's touchwiz thay's making things choppy, I'm still running stock and not rooted. Maybe it's one of T-mobile's apps or an app your cousin installed. I'm on AT&T.

I feel like the size issue is something that'll go after using it for a week or so. It was a great device, don't get me wrong, but my hand did feel strained after using it for 10 mins or so, but this is coming from an iPhone that I've had for about a year and that also has a significantly smaller display that I've become accustomed too.

Hey thanks for the input! :)

Speaking on behalf of women with very small hands (can fit children's rings on my baby fingers), I have absolutely no problem handling this big boy :D

However, ain't it great that there are so many different screen sizes out there for individual people's tastes?

Viva la difference!!

Lmao @ the baby fingers. ;) Gave me a good laugh. I come to the conclusion that it's just a difference that I have to get used too, as I said in the previous quote to another member. I've become accustomed to the iPhone's display, and going to the GS3 which is over an inch larger (crazy when you think about it - 3.5" display compared to a 4.8" display) is a difference that I'll have to get used to, both physically and mentally. Granted that'd take a few days to a week, but it'd still be a big change for some people.

Other than that the device was great. About the lag, it wasn't really a lag, per say, but more of a jerkiness in the fluidity of list-scrolling. It was really only noticeable in scrolling through lists, but even then it was barely noticeable... but to me it was highly noticeable in the applications list in the settings. It seemed to be jumping very quickly from one app in the list to another when scrolling quickly. Maybe it was just his device? I dunno lol he's got some crap running on there that could also be bogging it down (ex. Lookout mobile security or something or other).

Let's put it this way, if I was switching to Android, I'd get the GS3 or possibly wait for the next Nexus device.

Now, with that said, I no longer want to compare the GS3 with the iPhone 4S since that is a 10-month old phone. I want to compare it to the next iPhone. That should be more fair of a comparison. Let the comparison games begin... starting september 21st lol. I'm planning on preordering the next iPhone when it's available and when I have it in my hands I plan on doing a side-by-side comparison with my cousins GS3 and my The New iPhone or whatever it'll be called haha. :)
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,877
10,987
Now, with that said, I no longer want to compare the GS3 with the iPhone 4S since that is a 10-month old phone. I want to compare it to the next iPhone. That should be more fair of a comparison. Let the comparison games begin... starting september 21st lol. I'm planning on preordering the next iPhone when it's available and when I have it in my hands I plan on doing a side-by-side comparison with my cousins GS3 and my The New iPhone or whatever it'll be called haha. :)

I agree, I can't wait for the next iPhone to be announced and shown. I also can't wait to see if iOS6 runs good or not on my iP4. One thing about the GS3, I might be spoiled with this screen size and don't know if I can go drastically smaller again. Even 4.3 might feel too small.
 

SR71

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
I agree, I can't wait for the next iPhone to be announced and shown. I also can't wait to see if iOS6 runs good or not on my iP4. One thing about the GS3, I might be spoiled with this screen size and don't know if I can go drastically smaller again. Even 4.3 might feel too small.

I dunno, I think the 4" will be a welcome change. Maybe Apple used some of its "magic" make it appear as if it's the perfect size. ;)
 

matttye

macrumors 601
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
The S3 is a very big phone, and I struggle to reach the top left corner (I'm right handed), but that's it. It's not often I have to reach up there and when I do, I just use my second hand.

It's a non-issue, but I've never had any qualms about using phones with two hands.
 

SprSynJn

Guest
Sep 15, 2011
362
1
Japan
Why are there so many threads revolving around this specific phone? Are there not other phones out there worthy of announcement? I've used it too, and there are better phones out there in my opinion.
 

matttye

macrumors 601
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Why are there so many threads revolving around this specific phone? Are there not other phones out there worthy of announcement? I've used it too, and there are better phones out there in my opinion.

Samsung is the most popular smartphone maker in the world and the S3 is their flagship phone, so it's bound to be popular.
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I agree with all the above comments, the size does not hinder me in any way, quite the opposite in fact, my old eyes prefer the larger size when reading and surfing. Smoothness is on a par with my iP4S, (It would be hard to beat either) apps open quickly with no choppiness.

The main apps that I used with my iPhone 4S all are available through the play store and work flawlessly (Tapatalk, Photobucket, Sonos, Photoshop and Kindle) the only one noticeable that I miss is the Apple remote that is very useful with my Apple TV, 1Password doesn't work as well on Android so I use an app called aWallet Password which works well.

I found that I liked the iP4S for taking photos better, Im not that technically minded and found it very easy to import photos on my MPB straight into Adobe Lightroom from my 4S, Kies does not work for me now that I have ML installed so I send my photos straight to photobucket without any processing using the app, Im sure that there are better solutions, just that I have not been clever enough to find them at the moment.

Overall I am very happy with my SGS3 and prefer it over my (Now sold) iP4S, I still have an upgrade pending and wait with interest and anticipation for what Apple have waiting for us in a couple of weeks.
 
Last edited:

SR71

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
was this review copy and pasted from all the others with tiny hands?

No it wasn't and if you actually read the other posts that I replied to in this thread, you'd see that I already said that the reason it caused strain for me is most likely because I've become accustomed to the iPhone's display and to it's form factor and have become used to doing things on the phone one-handed since I can reach everywhere with one hand. It'd probably take me a few days to get used to the larger display. This same things probably happens to a lot of other iPhone users that have tried to give the GS3 a chance.

Why are there so many threads revolving around this specific phone? Are there not other phones out there worthy of announcement? I've used it too, and there are better phones out there in my opinion.

It's the best Android phone out there, period. That's why. Or at least that's what I've heard.
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
Why are there so many threads revolving around this specific phone? Are there not other phones out there worthy of announcement? I've used it too, and there are better phones out there in my opinion.

I agree, the One X is a better phone in my opinion. The screen is better than both the 4s and GS3. Picture quality is better than the GS3 but not as good as the 4/4s and videos are better than the 4s and on par with the GS3. It's also pretty fluid and lag free for me since I'm running a custom ROM and battery performance beats out both the GS3 and 4s.
 

SprSynJn

Guest
Sep 15, 2011
362
1
Japan
It's the best Android phone out there, period. That's why. Or at least that's what I've heard.

I suppose that's a popular opinion, but it sure isn't mine. Fujitsu makes much better phones where I am. Even Sony's phones are better in my opinion.
 

dukeblue91

macrumors 65816
Oct 7, 2004
1,222
0
Raleigh, NC
No it wasn't and if you actually read the other posts that I replied to in this thread, you'd see that I already said that the reason it caused strain for me is most likely because I've become accustomed to the iPhone's display and to it's form factor and have become used to doing things on the phone one-handed since I can reach everywhere with one hand. It'd probably take me a few days to get used to the larger display. This same things probably happens to a lot of other iPhone users that have tried to give the GS3 a chance.



It's the best Android phone out there, period. That's why. Or at least that's what I've heard.

I may be a little biased here but having looked at both the SG3 and the HTC One X, The one x is a much better made phone by most standards.

That is why I purchased the HTC One X :D
But there are a bunch of great phones out there right now and each brings something different to the table.
 

aneftp

macrumors 601
Jul 28, 2007
4,374
570
I may be a little biased here but having looked at both the SG3 and the HTC One X, The one x is a much better made phone by most standards.

That is why I purchased the HTC One X :D
But there are a bunch of great phones out there right now and each brings something different to the table.

It's all in the matter of presentation. Believe it or not. But both One X and GS3 are polycarbonate. So made out of same material. Except HTC decided to go unibody and Samsung did not (probably cause Samsung wanted to keep the option to have replaceable battery and microSD slot)

Performance wise, it's just nick picking because they both use the same (at least in the USA). Both use the same exact Qualcomm S4 processor. The Atrix HD also uses the same S4 processor in the USA.

We are getting to the point where "specs" do not matter anymore.

The 2012 Android high end (or even mid tier like Atrix HD) are getting to look like windows phones in terms of all of them having same processors.

So it's just up to individual what they like in the phone. Screen is subjective but HTC One X and even Atrix HD look just a little better than S3. I think S3 has better features built in . Camera on One X is better than S3 but S3 shoots faster. Still think iPhone 4S has best camera overall. S3 has expandable memory and battery replacement if that's important to you.
 

dukeblue91

macrumors 65816
Oct 7, 2004
1,222
0
Raleigh, NC
It's all in the matter of presentation. Believe it or not. But both One X and GS3 are polycarbonate. So made out of same material. Except HTC decided to go unibody and Samsung did not (probably cause Samsung wanted to keep the option to have replaceable battery and microSD slot)

Performance wise, it's just nick picking because they both use the same (at least in the USA). Both use the same exact Qualcomm S4 processor. The Atrix HD also uses the same S4 processor in the USA.

We are getting to the point where "specs" do not matter anymore.

The 2012 Android high end (or even mid tier like Atrix HD) are getting to look like windows phones in terms of all of them having same processors.

So it's just up to individual what they like in the phone. Screen is subjective but HTC One X and even Atrix HD look just a little better than S3. I think S3 has better features built in . Camera on One X is better than S3 but S3 shoots faster. Still think iPhone 4S has best camera overall. S3 has expandable memory and battery replacement if that's important to you.

Yes those are exciting times for people that love technology.
Until the iPhone came out I really resigned myself to thinking this is as good as it gets in mobil, you know like the Palm, Rim and those type of phones.
And look at this now, every day there are new and better phones and platforms coming out that rival computers in function.

Same thing goes for all the tablets that are out and are coming out.
I have a 12 year old son and sometimes I try to explain to him how things where he just looks all cross-eyed at me and doesn't understand my excitement :D

----------


Yes and this has to be the best looking Brown I have seen on a device, if there is such a thing lol.
I'm sure UPS will love them.
 

sarcosis

macrumors 6502a
Apr 25, 2006
591
8
These United States
I think as the overall package goes, I have to hand it to the S3. It's really the perfect synergy between everything. Although i wish they would do something with that screen. For some reason, i really notice the Pen-Tile effects. I've got the Galaxy Note as my daily driver, and I don't notice the Pen-Tile effects from it, even though it's the same screen as the S3.
 

Stuntman06

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2011
961
5
Metro Vancouver, B.C, Canada
Why are there so many threads revolving around this specific phone? Are there not other phones out there worthy of announcement? I've used it too, and there are better phones out there in my opinion.

The SGS3 is the most popular Android phone out there right now. Also, in Canada at least, it is available across more carriers than any other Android phone as well.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.