Phones Waiting on iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy SIII v. Other Android

[nefan65]

I know. Why bother with a new Samsung phone that will keep adding technology every 6 months, when you can buy an iphone and know it won't change for nearly 3 years. I mean not like anyone can tell if you have a 4 or 4s, and i doubt most people will even be able to distinguish a 4 from a 5 without looking closely to see a .4" difference. Since June 2010, what have we seen from the iphone? A minimally faster cpu, gpu, slightly better camera and siri. We saw a similar lack of upgrade between the 3g and 3gs.

You can be pretty sure you won't see much if any change to this upcoming phone until Oct 2014. The longer Apple goes between design and tech upgrades, the further behind they get. And I am of the belief that we need Apple to force vendors to use new tech, i.e. NFC. I personally need and want Apple to succeed and push the envelope, like they did with the original iphone, the ipad, the MBA, the 'retina' display tech, thunderbolt, etc... Without Apple's focus and ability to dictate where and how tech flows, this world would be very different and I might be typing this from a pos Blackberry.

I could care less what anyone thinks of my phone. Most of my family and close friends don't either. And I add people to my life based on them as a person, not what electronic device they use. But who am I to judge if that's what you do?

But on topic; my reply to him was a joke, because he was ribbing someone else. All in all, lighten up. I agree Apple needs to start pushing the envelope more, like they once did. They can do it; they've proved that with the initial release of the iPhone, as well as the MBA. The latter is now the bar for all lightweight portables/ultrabooks. Personally, I think some of the lag has to do with the passing of SJ. Not because of some sappy memorial, but a change in leadership. Granted Tim Cook has been at the helm for some time, even when SJ was there. But we all know Jobs was still in control, in some form/fashion...

 

[mappyman]

I do understand where your coming from OP.

I can see the writing on the wall for the iPhone. I feel the reason it did so good was the OS and the other smartphones werent as nice to use.

Now it feels compared to the competition has caught up and there are viable alternatives. They only thing apple can do now is beef up the hardware as the competition have so much better phones out there right now.

If the iPhone 5 still has the same puny 512MB RAM, processor and no LTE, NFC... I wont be buying it.

 

[Mac.World]

Yea, around the time DSL became the norm. AOL's software turned into one huge malware.



Is MS even giving developers a real incentive to create apps?

Only for the new OS. Anything not Metro/Apollo based is already dead. Nokia slashed their Lumia 900's in half and I expect to see that drop to 75% before the release of wp8. and by that I mean the phone will be under $100 'off-contract'.

Biggest thing for wp8 users though... Being able to take a screen shot of tiles that can be 3 sizes.

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I could care less what anyone thinks of my phone. Most of my family and close friends don't either. And I add people to my life based on them as a person, not what electronic device they use. But who am I to judge if that's what you do?

But on topic; my reply to him was a joke, because he was ribbing someone else. All in all, lighten up. I agree Apple needs to start pushing the envelope more, like they once did. They can do it; they've proved that with the initial release of the iPhone, as well as the MBA. The latter is now the bar for all lightweight portables/ultrabooks. Personally, I think some of the lag has to do with the passing of SJ. Not because of some sappy memorial, but a change in leadership. Granted Tim Cook has been at the helm for some time, even when SJ was there. But we all know Jobs was still in control, in some form/fashion...

I need to remember to use more emoticons. My first paragraph about the iphone looking the same was a tongue and cheek response to what was likely your tongue and cheek response to the op.
As you saw, my second paragraph was actually what I wanted to say.

There I used emoticons.

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I do understand where your coming from OP.

I can see the writing on the wall for the iPhone. I feel the reason it did so good was the OS and the other smartphones werent as nice to use.

Now it feels compared to the competition has caught up and there are viable alternatives. They only thing apple can do now is beef up the hardware as the competition have so much better phones out there right now.

If the iPhone 5 still has the same puny 512MB RAM, processor and no LTE, NFC... I wont be buying it.

Seeing more rumors that it will be 1gb ram, 1.2-1.4 dual core processor similar to the S4 found on the HOX and S3, will be LTE, but the jury is still out on NFC. If the back of the phone is all metal, it will be impossible to use NFC. If the back has a glass or other non-metallic area cut out, it will have NFC. Plus, more rumors are persisting about Apple taalking to banking institutions and potential vendors. I don't know why they would do this if they didn't have plans for NFC in the next iphone?

 

[w00t951]

Nexus phones tend to not push the envelope on the hardware front. It's usually a reflection on the year's established hardware. I'd predict the specs to be very close to the S3, with only slight improvements. Not that the S3 specs are bad.

Key Lime Pie is also unlikely. I predict an update to JB. Maybe 4.1.2 or something.

Nexus phones are released with major updates. Nexus One, S, and now the Galaxy for ICS. Android is updated in the Intel "tick tock" fashion. ICS was a tick, and JB was a tock. It's time for a tick, and that will be Key Lime Pie.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Nexus phones are released with major updates. Nexus One, S, and now the Galaxy for ICS. Android is updated in the Intel "tick tock" fashion. ICS was a tick, and JB was a tock. It's time for a tick, and that will be Key Lime Pie.

So certain, are you?

Heh, j/k. Yeah, you may be right.

 

[batting1000]

If the iPhone 5 still has the same puny 512MB RAM, processor and no LTE, NFC... I wont be buying it.

Puny 512MB? The iPhone 4S runs smoother than most devices with 1GB of RAM, lol.

 

[rman726]

Get a Nexus 7 first. See how you like it. See whether the apps that you like on the iPhone are available on the Nexus 7. The worst case is you waste $200 on a tablet you don't like that is still very functional...

Me personally? I've had my Nexus 7 for four days now, and no longer have any desire to get a the next Nexus phone (the only one I would have considered). And for the record, it is a nice tablet for $250, and I plan to use it because it's portable and fits in my pockets. I just don't like the app selection and it's customization aren't as great as some make them out to be IMO.

Seeing more rumors that it will be 1gb ram, 1.2-1.4 dual core processor similar to the S4 found on the HOX and S3, will be LTE, but the jury is still out on NFC. If the back of the phone is all metal, it will be impossible to use NFC. If the back has a glass or other non-metallic area cut out, it will have NFC. Plus, more rumors are persisting about Apple taalking to banking institutions and potential vendors. I don't know why they would do this if they didn't have plans for NFC in the next iphone?

Maybe that's why it has the weird back design? To accommodate NFC? I honestly don't know enough about the technology to say that with certainty... just a thought.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Puny 512MB? The iPhone 4S runs smoother than most devices with 1GB of RAM, lol.

So, how many tabs can Safari open?

 

[batting1000]

So, how many tabs can Safari open?

A lot, they just reload if there's a small amount of RAM left. That wasn't my point though.

 

[shikari89]

I think I'm going to buy the S3 now, and then use my upgrade to get the new iPhone when it launches. I have played with the s3 quite a bit, and am loving the large screen. I have android in the past and hated it, and if the s3 gives me problems I will welcome the new iphone with open arms.

 

[Mac.World]

Get a Nexus 7 first. See how you like it. See whether the apps that you like on the iPhone are available on the Nexus 7. The worst case is you waste $200 on a tablet you don't like that is still very functional...

Me personally? I've had my Nexus 7 for four days now, and no longer have any desire to get a the next Nexus phone (the only one I would have considered). And for the record, it is a nice tablet for $250, and I plan to use it because it's portable and fits in my pockets. I just don't like the app selection and it's customization aren't as great as some make them out to be IMO.

My god, you must a friggin sasquatch!

 

[The iGentleman]

Nexus phones tend to not push the envelope on the hardware front. It's usually a reflection on the year's established hardware. I'd predict the specs to be very close to the S3, with only slight improvements. Not that the S3 specs are bad.

Key Lime Pie is also unlikely. I predict an update to JB. Maybe 4.1.2 or something.

That would go against history AND what the Nexus program is about. The Nexus is the reference hardware for the next version of Android. In other words, with a new Nexus comes a new OS version. It will come with Key Lime Pie. BTW, it wouldn't be the first time they released two OS versions in a 12 month period. Android moves at a faster rate than iOS' one version upgrade per year interval.

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Really, it just depends what you need your phone for.

All of my friends have iPhones and communication between our devices is great. We use a lot of the samea pps, and the phone is as functional as ever.

One of our friends decided to jump from the 3GS to the Galaxy S3. He swears by it, but we all laugh at him because he spent 40+ hours rooting his phone (and bricking it in the process), getting another new phone, putting a different kernel and ROM on his phone, and so on and so forth...

...And at the end of the day (well, more like after a couple weeks) he has a phone that while a bit faster and has some small functionality advantages, isn't as compatible with his circle of friends as his old phone. As it stands now, the only thing his phone does that our phones don't do is turn by turn navigation. There is some functionality added, but virtually all of that could've been done by jailbreaking which would have taken way less effort than he went through by rooting his phone.

He loves his phone at the moment, but I have a sneaking suspicion when we all upgrade to the iPhone 5 and know we have a phone that will be supported for 2 years, he will be disappointed. The 5S or 6 will be out for the better part of a year before he is eligible for another upgrade.

If it took your friend 40+ hours just to root a phone, then your friend must be quite remedial. It took me less than 5 minutes to root my GS3, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're either greatly exaggerating the time it took, or you hang out with the mentally retarded.

PS
If he knows how to root and such, he would have no reason to be "disappointed" at your partial software updates for the next 2 years. He will have access to full updates for more than 2 years by way of roms (since he already is familiar with it). But hey, great story.

 

[w00t951]

That would go against history AND what the Nexus program is about. The Nexus is the reference hardware for the next version of Android. In other words, with a new Nexus comes a new OS version. It will come with Key Lime Pie. BTW, it wouldn't be the first time they released two OS versions in a 12 month period. Android moves at a faster rate than iOS' one version upgrade per year interval.

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If it took your friend 40+ hours just to root a phone, then your friend must be quite remedial. It took me less than 5 minutes to root my GS3, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're either greatly exaggerating the time it took, or you hang out with the mentally retarded.

PS
If he knows how to root and such, he would have no reason to be "disappointed" at your partial software updates for the next 2 years. He will have access to full updates for more than 2 years by way of roms (since he already is familiar with it). But hey, great story.

That's what I was thinking. Who takes 40 hours to root and flash some ROMs? Rooting takes minutes, and flashing takes seconds.

 

[Twixt]

The trend is not to upgrade and to get a without handset package, getting a unsubsidized phone from any other seller (i view subsidizing as a really expensive loan...)

Anyway I would wait (that is my personal plan as well) to have all the required info to take best decision. As long as iphone 5 is not out how could you really know what your best option is ?

 

[mcman77]

I guess the rumors are still saying that the iPhone 5 will be out in October? I am up for an upgrade with AT&T, and like so many people, I'm trying to decide whether to hold off and wait for the iPhone 5 or go with the SIII.

But also, it seems like new Androids come out so often, I'm not sure if I should wait for the next "best" Android. Is there another one coming down the pike soon that is supposed to be even better than the SIII?

By the time the next iphone comes out there will also be a Galaxy note 2. That should be a great phone and according to rumors it will be more narrow so it will become more phoning than tablet.

Another option will be the next Nexus phone out around that time. Or even better if rumor has it right the next Nexus phoneS (plural) might be made by 5 different manufactures ie Nexus Sony, Nexus Samy, Nexus motorla etc. etc.

Those are some options but personally I think I might opt for the iphone 5 this time round.