Samsung Galaxy SIII

[Glycerine]

So I am seriously contemplating getting one and I have read many reviews on the phone along with speculative reviews on IPhone 5. Any thoughts or experiences with the phone?

 

[Fluffywolf]

I have a galaxy S, the first, and despite dropping it on a regular basis, it still functions (and it doesn't look beat up). Though the battery life has been shortened a bit over the years (But isn't that an issue with all phones/batteries?).

Just saying, the brand seems worth while from my one phone personal experience that is.

 

[swordpath]

So I am seriously contemplating getting one and I have read many reviews on the phone along with speculative reviews on IPhone 5. Any thoughts or experiences with the phone?

Don't do it! Don't join the dark side.

Apple til death.

 

[Stanton Moore]

I'm thinking of making the move away from Apple too. I'm just tired of their 'gate keeping' and copyright BS with MP3s and the fact that everything I do must be shunted through Itunes, which is a piece of shit bit of software, and a blatant front for data aquisition, as is the Iphone itself.
Oh, and Jobs was not an uber-genius. He was a marketeer, not a savior. Only in a super-consumerist society would anyone be conditioned to think that...(rant over)

 

[Glycerine]

I'm thinking of making the move away from Apple too. I'm just tired of their 'gate keeping' and copyright BS with MP3s and the fact that everything I do must be shunted through Itunes, which is a piece of shit bit of software, and a blatant front for data aquisition, as is the Iphone itself.
Oh, and Jobs was not an uber-genius. He was a marketeer, not a savior. Only in a super-consumerist society would anyone be conditioned to think that...(rant over)

haha. What got me thinking about contemplating other options was the Apple vs. Samsung battle over patents. Both sides are being a bit childish but it made curious about whether or not Apple seriously had the better product and why.

My carrier isn't carrying any other flagship phones other the different variations of Motorola so It mostly comes down to Samsung vs. Apple as my options.

 

[Stanton Moore]

haha. What got me thinking about contemplating other options was the Apple vs. Samsung battle over patents. Both sides are being a bit childish but it made curious about whether or not Apple seriously had the better product and why.

As for which is better, I don't really want to be in a gilded cage anymore, which is what Apple feels like...based on the horrors I've endured from shitty Macs.
Well, I've also contemplated getting a simple cell phone, since I know that all cell providers sell information...

 

[Kierva]

Get the S3, don't go for an iPhone. You're only limiting yourself.

You can't use your iPhone like a thumbdrive unlike Android devices, where you just simply drag and drop whatever files you need.
You can't customize your home screen with iPhone (unless you jailbreak it, which voids warranty) unlike Android.
You can't multitask on iPhone unlike Android.
You can't expand the memory on iPhone, unlike the S3 (I know that some other Android phones don't have expandable storage, but S3 has)

I'm running my Motorola RAZR MAXX on Android 4.0.4 and I'm extremely impressed because it's just as smooth as iOS and it brings me more options to tweak the look as and when I please. The major thing that got me to love my phone is the fact that I can use it as another thumbdrive. I have Warcraft III sitting in my phone.

I will say that the stock music player on Android sucks though, that's one area that iOS has it better. Though with an app it could be just as good. I am also jealous of the keyboard in iOS because it's so much more accurate -- but again, this could be rectified with another app.

edit: Quality sucks though, on the S3 -- with that cheap plastic battery cover. I'd wait for the RAZR HD to come out if you're bent on quality; it's the same as an S3 just that it has a premium feel to match the price. Kevlar backing and what not.

 

[Glycerine]

Awesome. Thank you. I was actually thinking about waiting until the Razr Maxx HD came out to decide. I was hesitant about the Razr series but since Google bought Motorola out and the resolution is greatly improved, it should be pretty good. I am getting my new phone in November-December so I can afford to wait.

 

[spirilis]

I haven't owned an iphone but I've played with the ipad (my wife's), same O/S, and I have an android phone (Droid Bionic) and tablet (HP touchpad with Cyanogenmod 9 [Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich])...

Android is definitely the way to roll if you like to tweak/hack your phone, and like Uwace said it shows up as a USB mass storage device which is convenient. Guess it depends on how close you like to be to your computer hardware/how versatile you want it to be. I like having a device I can "just use" but then dive into its rusty innards and hack if need be, so Android suits me very well. That and having a phone in my pocket running Linux has been a dream of mine since the day I got my first cellphone.

But on the iPhone side of things, I've heard the application ecosystem is more mature/controlled and I've read developers tend to release iPhone apps before they release comparable Android apps. But that's a market thing, and bound to change as time goes on (and as Android gains marketshare). Oh and at least for the iPad, the media on the phone is married to iTunes--adding pics, music, etc. requires you run iTunes to manage it all. My Droid Bionic otoh works with Windows Media Sync and the picture/music folders are exposed for manually drag&dropping stuff when you plug it in. There are more hardware gadgets, i.e. docks/alarm clocks/etc. compatible with the iPhone.

Hardware-wise, I think the iPhone 5 puts Apple back on even footing with the Android offerings (all 4G LTE capable, dual-core 1GHz+ processors, etc.)
I've heard Siri is mostly a gimmick, a coworker bought the 4S and everyone was impressed & playing with Siri but since then I've never heard him use it. There are Android apps out there which provide similar functionality.

 

[Kierva]

I haven't owned an iphone but I've played with the ipad (my wife's), same O/S, and I have an android phone (Droid Bionic) and tablet (HP touchpad with Cyanogenmod 9 [Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich])...

Android is definitely the way to roll if you like to tweak/hack your phone, and like Uwace said it shows up as a USB mass storage device which is convenient. Guess it depends on how close you like to be to your computer hardware/how versatile you want it to be. I like having a device I can "just use" but then dive into its rusty innards and hack if need be, so Android suits me very well. That and having a phone in my pocket running Linux has been a dream of mine since the day I got my first cellphone.

But on the iPhone side of things, I've heard the application ecosystem is more mature/controlled and I've read developers tend to release iPhone apps before they release comparable Android apps. But that's a market thing, and bound to change as time goes on (and as Android gains marketshare). Oh and at least for the iPad, the media on the phone is married to iTunes--adding pics, music, etc. requires you run iTunes to manage it all. My Droid Bionic otoh works with Windows Media Sync and the picture/music folders are exposed for manually drag&dropping stuff when you plug it in. There are more hardware gadgets, i.e. docks/alarm clocks/etc. compatible with the iPhone.

Hardware-wise, I think the iPhone 5 puts Apple back on even footing with the Android offerings (all 4G LTE capable, dual-core 1GHz+ processors, etc.)
I've heard Siri is mostly a gimmick, a coworker bought the 4S and everyone was impressed & playing with Siri but since then I've never heard him use it. There are Android apps out there which provide similar functionality.

S3 is quad core.

 

[spirilis]

S3 is quad core.

Ah yeah now that I'm looking at the specs, Samsung's already raised the bar again. Seems the android mfr's are about 1 year ahead of Apple in hardware.
I was drooling all over the S II before it came out, then was disappointed when my carrier didn't have it (Verizon) but I may look at the Samsung line again next year.

 

[INTP]

buy iphone only if you want an easy to use phone for retards that is limited in pretty much every way and doesent offer what other smart phones only 5th of the price offers. buy galaxy s3 if you want the best.

 

[MXZCCT]

I own a Galaxy SIII. My only complaint with the SIII is due to my geographical area, where there are areas of spotty coverage. The SIII really shines when your near a 4g coverage. If you have anything less than 50 percent of reception the phone is nearly useless when making phone calls and browsing the internet or using apps that require internet service, which nearly all apps require.

 

[INTP]

I own a Galaxy SIII. My only complaint with the SIII is due to my geographical area, where there are areas of spotty coverage. The SIII really shines when your near a 4g coverage. If you have anything less than 50 percent of reception the phone is nearly useless when making phone calls and browsing the internet or using apps that require internet service, which nearly all apps require.

is this some issue with that particular phone, or does this happen with other phones too and is just due to crappy connections in the area?

 

[MXZCCT]

is this some issue with that particular phone, or does this happen with other phones too and is just due to crappy connections in the area?

My area is not the best in terms of connection. But comparing the Galaxy SIII to the Motorola RAZR and RAZR 2, well, there is no comparison. The RAZR's get much better connectivity in my area than the SIII. It's the same situation with a buddy of mine who has the same phone as I do. And both SIII's and the RAZR's are all under the same cell phone carrier.

Edit: That being said, the video sharpness/clarity and other features on the SIII are of higher quality than the RAZR's. At least in my opinion.

 

[Glycerine]

S3 is quad core.

That's for the international version. In the U.S., it's a Snapdragon dual core processor because the quad core doesn't work with LTE yet from what I heard. However, I think the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (speculated to come out in mid-November) will have quad core for LTE.

The Galaxy Note 2 has better overall specs but GSIII has a higher resolution screen. Also, there is a a noticeable screen size difference: 5.5 inches vs. 4.8 inches.

[MENTION=16031]MXZCCT[/MENTION]: there is a big difference in resolution between the RAZR and the GSIII but RAZR HD has slightly higher resolution than GSIII.

Since I have been spoiled by the Retina Display of the IPhone 4, screen resolution is something I am carefully considering.

 

[MXZCCT]

That's for the international version. In the U.S., it's a Snapdragon dual core processor because the quad core doesn't work with LTE yet from what I heard. However, I think the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (speculated to come out in mid-November) will have quad core for LTE.

The Galaxy Note 2 has better overall specs but GSIII has a higher resolution screen. Also, there is a a noticeable screen size difference: 5.5 inches vs. 4.8 inches.

[MENTION=16031]MXZCCT[/MENTION]: there is a big difference in resolution between the RAZR and the GSIII but RAZR HD has slightly higher resolution than GSIII.

Since I have been spoiled by the Retina Display of the IPhone 4, screen resolution is something I am carefully considering.

If that is the case, then you cannot go wrong with the Motorola HD's...

 

[Glycerine]

After that, it will all come down to the user experience.

 

[Glycerine]

I am strongly leaning towards the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It has good specs (so it should keep up after two years), going to come out with Jelly Bean out of the box (I have read Samsung can be spotty and slow with updates even with the Nexus), the stylus functionality seems cool.

Cons: the potential price, it might be too big (I am going to have to test it out), some people complain of reception issues on Samsung phones.

Motorola Razr series sounds way too thin and fragile much moreso than the iphone (a few report the glass shattering after a little pressure/phone vibrations and VZW won't help if that happens). I am not willing to risk it. Although it has the biggest battery, hi res screen, good overall reception.

HTC does not seem to get good reviews regarding battery life.

 

[Eugene Watson VIII]

I heard it was good. What's more interesting is why they've advertised S4 already after releasing this one. It's like they hate microsoft or something.