any device in direct sunlight nowadays will have a hard time viewing, but i find the glare not too obtrusive. the S3's battery life is pretty impressive, but beware of heavy usage of the LTE network, it does drain big time, especially using navigation. i got a second battery for the phone for...
do you have an old phone you can switch to temporarily, sell the iphone 4s off right now...the sooner the better as prices will drop as soon as the iPhone 5 comes out! if you're eligible for an early upgrade, upgrade to the iPhone 5 when it comes out, sell it, and then terminate your contract...