Wait for iPhone5 or get GS3?

[Kuo]

Why would you need/want a Chipotle app for any platform.

Their food isn't bad, but an app?

So I can order online before getting to the store, lol. The Chipotle by my work always has 20+ minute long lines, so I like to order as I'm heading there, so that I can show up, pick up, and go home.

Not anymore. Newer Sprint and Verizon phones allow data and voice simultaneously on CDMA.

Oh cool. I'll have to read up on that later.. curious how the technology works on that now. But to the OP, the iPhone 4GS on Verizon is an "older" phone, and that's why you couldn't get data & voice at the same time.

 

[hellosky]

Which Sprint phone allows simultaneous data/voice on CDMA only?

 

[entropism]

Their 2 piece of shit LG phones (The Viper & Elite), the EVO LTE, and the GS3.

 

[Huan]

If I can charge an S3 and play music from the same cable, i'd give it a definite shot when my upgrade path became available .. Sometimes my Iphone4 I swear when i'm in a lesser coverage area, every button push I do takes a moment longer as if every damn thing I do is sent to apple for logging... Even if its just opening the notepad... Its not so bad in areas with a better signal is the reason why I wonder about it...

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I just picked up my GS3 yesterday.

By far the better phone than my previous iPhone 4, as well as 4S's I've used.

The battery runs out more quickly on the GS3 when on LTE, but if restricted to 3G it lasts much longer.

I can't tell the difference between the pentitle display and the iPhone screen during normal use. Only time I can tell is when my contacts are out (-7.25 prescription) and I am holding the phone super close to compensate. All other times they look just as crisp.

Color is much more vibrant on the GS3, the iPhone looks faded by comparison.

The extra real estate from the bigger screen is a godsend.

Also having gone from AT&T to Verizon my coverage is much better now.

All around super happy with it.

Of course we have no idea what the iPhone 5 will bring, so I can't make a good comparison.

 

[refraxion]

I just picked up my GS3 yesterday.

By far the better phone than my previous iPhone 4, as well as 4S's I've used.

The battery runs out more quickly on the GS3 when on LTE, but if restricted to 3G it lasts much longer.

I can't tell the difference between the pentitle display and the iPhone screen during normal use. Only time I can tell is when my contacts are out (-7.25 prescription) and I am holding the phone super close to compensate. All other times they look just as crisp.

Color is much more vibrant on the GS3, the iPhone looks faded by comparison.

The extra real estate from the bigger screen is a godsend.

Also having gone from AT&T to Verizon my coverage is much better now.

All around super happy with it.

Of course we have no idea what the iPhone 5 will bring, so I can't make a good comparison.

To be honest I highly doubt the new iPhone is going to bring much of anything. I've been with Apple since the iPhone 3G and iOS6 is underwhelming to say the least, and the rumors for the phone are even more disappointing.

I'm waiting for the real A15's to come out for Android phones before I make the jump. Apple has dropped the ball (though who knows? I may be wrong come sept 12.)

 

[Ocellaris]

To be honest I highly doubt the new iPhone is going to bring much of anything. I've been with Apple since the iPhone 3G and iOS6 is underwhelming to say the least, and the rumors for the phone are even more disappointing.

What exactly has Android been bring to the table aside from increasing device size and bumping specs (often at the expense of batter life)? People crap on Apple for not innovating, then go go crazy for spec bumps on Android devices, even though the device perform similarly to other devices already on the market.

 

[refraxion]

I want a slightly larger screen, and the ability to customize a bit more. AndroId allows that, but nothing out right now is enticing me to move to Android. I'm waiting for faster chips.

Don't get me wrong, I own a lot of Apple products, but it is becoming too stale for me.

 

[Huan]

I want a slightly larger screen, and the ability to customize a bit more. AndroId allows that, but nothing out right now is enticing me to move to Android. I'm waiting for faster chips.

Don't get me wrong, I own a lot of Apple products, but it is becoming too stale for me.

I'm starting to get fed up with itunes... I just don't want to put up with propriety software any more...

 

[rudy]

why dont you just drop another battery in your 3gs?

 

[BeavermanA]

What exactly has Android been bring to the table aside from increasing device size and bumping specs (often at the expense of batter life)? People crap on Apple for not innovating, then go go crazy for spec bumps on Android devices, even though the device perform similarly to other devices already on the market.

I've upgraded each year for my last 3 android phones. Each one brought a substantial improvement over my prior phone.

ICS is far superior to GB and older android versions.
Battery life is significantly improved on the S3 versus earlier LTE phones, despite having a larger and higher res display.
Performance in everyday apps, like Google maps, but also 3d gaming is much much smoother. So is everything else. It's just painful to even use my now wife's Thunderbolt.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm starting to get fed up with itunes... I just don't want to put up with propriety software any more...

This is a big benefit as well.

I am so glad I no longer have to have iTunes installed my computer.

I used to only run iTunes once every time it was time to upgrade IOS on my phone. Every single time I launched iTunes, there would be a new version I needed to upgrade to further frustrating me.

To me it is inexcusable that I need a proprietary piece of software to manage my iPhone. Having the phone mount as a mass storage device is the obvious way to do this right.

I feel so liberated now that I have an Android phone, after having three iPhones (original, 3G and 4) since 2006. I'm ecstatic!

 

[Huan]

Im also sick of safari being the only true broswer for the iphone.. They really need to stop with the competiton blocking of some of the software

 

[rudy]

If your sick of it dont buy one =] We get what we support thats the end of it.

 

[Huan]

im getting there. Its been a decent phone , but gradually more and more stuff seems restricted. /shrug to each their own

 

[refraxion]

So I had a chance to play with the Nexus 7. Is this a good indicator of how Android phones are at the moment? My brother bought one and I've been able to play with it quite extensively.

Right now, I still prefer iOS even with its shortcomings.

 

[farscapesg1]

why dont you just drop another battery in your 3gs?

Because the 3GS feels ancient

Not to mention I don't feel comfortable hacking it open to replace the battery as my primary phone. When I get a new one, I'll take that risk as we usually like to keep a backup option just in case something breaks while we are in contract. Of course we had just donated our old phone (Samsung Blackjack) one week before because we figured we would be upgrading soon anyways

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

So I had a chance to play with the Nexus 7. Is this a good indicator of how Android phones are at the moment? My brother bought one and I've been able to play with it quite extensively.

Right now, I still prefer iOS even with its shortcomings.

I have never played with a Nexus 7.

There is a little bit of a matter of getting used to Android coming from iOS, but it is just that. Getting used to it. Certain things are in different places or feel a little different from iOS.

Once you get used to them though, Android can be superior. (I say CAN BE, since the open nature of it means that both great and not so great phones are equipped with Android). For me, this getting used to period took one or two days. Don't get me wrong, I could use it straight off the bat, but that comfort level came in a day or two, and now its second nature and feels better than iOS.

One aspect of it I particularly like is the unified nature of the GUI. On iOS in every app things can be different. On my new GS3, the back button is always in the same place, regardless of which app you are in. You never need to go searching for it in a new app. Same thing for the options/menu button. It is in the same location no matter what.

Add to that, the beautiful screen on this thing. (I can't go back to my iPhone now, it feels to cramped), and not to mention how extremely liberating it feels to no longer have to have iTunes on my computer.

I used iPhones from the very beginning.

Original -> 3G -> 4

Now I don't think I'll ever own one (or any other Apple product for that matter) again.

I could not be happier with my GS3. (the Verizon network, compared to AT&T I had before is no small part of this either. I just speedtested 35Mbit/s down over the network, not WiFi). I haven't dropped a call or entered a dead zone for data since getting this phone on Saturday, a frequent occurrence with the iPhone 4 on AT&T.

If you have the opportunity, I would recommend taking the GS3 for a test drive in your local phone store. It is awesome now, and will only get better with Jelly Bean due to drop in Q3/Q4 (so, pretty soon, or today, if you root it and install your own).

 

[refraxion]

I have never played with a Nexus 7.

There is a little bit of a matter of getting used to Android coming from iOS, but it is just that. Getting used to it. Certain things are in different places or feel a little different from iOS.

Once you get used to them though, Android can be superior. (I say CAN BE, since the open nature of it means that both great and not so great phones are equipped with Android). For me, this getting used to period took one or two days. Don't get me wrong, I could use it straight off the bat, but that comfort level came in a day or two, and now its second nature and feels better than iOS.

One aspect of it I particularly like is the unified nature of the GUI. On iOS in every app things can be different. On my new GS3, the back button is always in the same place, regardless of which app you are in. You never need to go searching for it in a new app. Same thing for the options/menu button. It is in the same location no matter what.

Add to that, the beautiful screen on this thing. (I can't go back to my iPhone now, it feels to cramped), and not to mention how extremely liberating it feels to no longer have to have iTunes on my computer.

I used iPhones from the very beginning.

Original -> 3G -> 4

Now I don't think I'll ever own one (or any other Apple product for that matter) again.

I could not be happier with my GS3. (the Verizon network, compared to AT&T I had before is no small part of this either. I just speedtested 35Mbit/s down over the network, not WiFi). I haven't dropped a call or entered a dead zone for data since getting this phone on Saturday, a frequent occurrence with the iPhone 4 on AT&T.

If you have the opportunity, I would recommend taking the GS3 for a test drive in your local phone store. It is awesome now, and will only get better with Jelly Bean due to drop in Q3/Q4 (so, pretty soon, or today, if you root it and install your own).

Thanks! This what just what I needed, very informative. I'll have to test out the NA GSIII. I was able to play with the international version and it was neat. Does the NA version suffer from screen refresh like the international does?

 

[mope54]

So I had a chance to play with the Nexus 7. Is this a good indicator of how Android phones are at the moment?

no, it's a quad core whereas most android phones aren't and it's on jelly bean whereas most phones aren't

as far as how it looks aesthetically people who are hyping android will tell you drastically different it is from preceding versions but it's not


in terms of smoothness and some features that you most often have to dig around for, it's different and more noticeable for some than others, but in terms of whether you will see major differences while just turning it on and flipping through your phone log or apps, nope.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Thanks! This what just what I needed, very informative. I'll have to test out the NA GSIII. I was able to play with the international version and it was neat. Does the NA version suffer from screen refresh like the international does?

Not sure. I am not familiar with the issues with the European version. I haven't noticed any screen issues that have bothered me though. Everything seems smooth to me.

What issues have you read about? I can test it on mine if you'd like.

 

[refraxion]

I think it might be the 1gb of ram limitation? I've seen when returning to home screen after having some apps open, the screen would have to refresh completely, kind of like a memory dump.

@mope: thanks for the info!

 

[Durvelle27]

iPhone 5

 

[Vermillion]

I think it might be the 1gb of ram limitation? I've seen when returning to home screen after having some apps open, the screen would have to refresh completely, kind of like a memory dump.

@mope: thanks for the info!

Yeah, that sounds like the launcher is being closed in order to free up memory for other apps. Which is why so many launchers now have the option to "stay in memory". Guess Samsung forgot that option in Touchwiz.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I think it might be the 1gb of ram limitation? I've seen when returning to home screen after having some apps open, the screen would have to refresh completely, kind of like a memory dump.

@mope: thanks for the info!

I've never seen this happen on mine, but then again, I'm fairly certain mine has 2GB Ram?

 

[refraxion]

I've never seen this happen on mine, but then again, I'm fairly certain mine has 2GB Ram?

Yeah the North American has 2GB of RAM, so I guess it really is the 1GB limitation on the international version. That was what turned me off from the phone... that was a major gamebreaker for me.

 

[refraxion]

Yeah, that sounds like the launcher is being closed in order to free up memory for other apps. Which is why so many launchers now have the option to "stay in memory". Guess Samsung forgot that option in Touchwiz.

Haha, completely plausible! So other Android phones have the option to keep the launcher in memory? Kind of weird how a flagship phone wouldn't have that..

 

[mope54]

Haha, completely plausible! So other Android phones have the option to keep the launcher in memory? Kind of weird how a flagship phone wouldn't have that..

it's just the touchwiz stock launcher. any launcher from the play store will have that option as will aosp and probably even custom touchwiz roms

i.e., it's not a phone (hardware) limitation it's just the samsung engineers leaving that option out of their UI for whatever reasons

 

[Vermillion]

it's just the touchwiz stock launcher. any launcher from the play store will have that option as will aosp and probably even custom touchwiz roms

i.e., it's not a phone (hardware) limitation it's just the samsung engineers leaving that option out of their UI for whatever reasons

This ^^^

Samsung just simply forgot. Or maybe they didn't. Maybe TW is just that much of a memory hog and they figured they'd get better performance if they allow it to be shutdown on occasion.

 

[jellytee]

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is pretty much the polar opposite in its approach. It lets you use microSD cards and uses the microUSB standard.

 

[farscapesg1]

Well...10 days down and at least 30 more to go Need to get into a Verizon or AT&T store and play with the GS3 some more. I actually like both OS's (though not the limitations/restrictions Apple imposes like itunes, no SD, and no direct "drag and drop"). Luckily I'm not one of those who got tied into the Apple ecosystem. I think I've purchased 2-3 apps total for each OS. I'm familiar with Android from using it on my touchpad, so as long as a phone running Android is as stable or more stable, I'm good with that.

Impatiently waiting for iPhone news to make a final decision

 

[refraxion]

Well...10 days down and at least 30 more to go Need to get into a Verizon or AT&T store and play with the GS3 some more. I actually like both OS's (though not the limitations/restrictions Apple imposes like itunes, no SD, and no direct "drag and drop"). Luckily I'm not one of those who got tied into the Apple ecosystem. I think I've purchased 2-3 apps total for each OS. I'm familiar with Android from using it on my touchpad, so as long as a phone running Android is as stable or more stable, I'm good with that.

Impatiently waiting for iPhone news to make a final decision

If apple miraculously announces widgets and quad core lte, I may be sold. I much prefer iOS quality apps, instead of ports... Flash is going away for android (can side load) so HTML5 will become prevalent anyways.

 

[Aurelius]

I'm one of the rare ducks here who's had substantial use of both the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 4S, so I'll weigh in:

-- The screen on the GS3 is a mixed blessing. Great for viewing the web, photos and video? You bet. But it's absolutely too big from an interface standpoint. Hold it mid-phone, and you can't reach the home button using one hand; hold it at the bottom, and you can't reach the notification bar. Even a bigger iPhone won't have that problem. Folks: it's not about having a bigger screen at all costs, it's about having the screen that makes the most sense.

-- iOS devices are a lot more iTunes-independent than they used to be. You'd still want to have iTunes if you value a local backup; if you live in the cloud, though, you don't really need to touch the app at all. Google has the cloud services nailed, of course.

-- S Voice is... dumb. There's no way to sugarcoat it. You might think Siri flubs it now and then, but it's a genius by comparison: it has better voice accuracy, it's more likely to produce a relevant answer and it takes less time on average. Samsung's app is really just a reskinned Vlingo meant to copy Apple on the surface looks, rather than the substance; there's no contextual understanding or concepts like geofenced reminders. Google Now takes care of the accuracy and relevance issues, although my experience (I normally use a Galaxy Nexus as my Android device) suggests that iOS will be better for accomplishing some specific tasks.

-- Battery life is surprisingly good with the GS3 if you're not very aggressive, although we'll see how the iPhone stacks up. In-cell touch and newer processing technology could give the iPhone similar or better battery life, if Apple plays its cards well.

-- The iPhone 4S camera (and likely 2012 iPhone by extension) wins. You have more theoretical control with the GS3, but the iPhone's images are just sharper, have a more pleasing color balance and are a bit more resilient in low light.

-- I honestly like the iOS app ecosystem more. You can theoretically do more with Android, but what it amounts to is a lot of apps that still feel decidedly home-brew. iOS has the game market down pat, and the apps tend to have more polish when it's not a major company's cross-platform title (where you'd expect a polished experience as a matter of course). There are also a few apps outside of games that I use myself which have no Android parallel.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm one of the rare ducks here who's had substantial use of both the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 4S, so I'll weigh in:

I agree, with most, not all.

-- The screen on the GS3 is a mixed blessing. Great for viewing the web, photos and video? You bet. But it's absolutely too big from an interface standpoint. Hold it mid-phone, and you can't reach the home button using one hand; hold it at the bottom, and you can't reach the notification bar. Even a bigger iPhone won't have that problem. Folks: it's not about having a bigger screen at all costs, it's about having the screen that makes the most sense.

Maybe I have bigger hands than you, but I have never had this problem. I could see this being a problem with the Galaxy Note, but not the S3... The bigger screen is an absolute blessing. Now that I have gotten used to it, I absolutely can not go back to the iPhone (I've had three iPhones prior to this, last one being a 4) It seem small and restricted in comparison, and is very frustrating.

-- iOS devices are a lot more iTunes-independent than they used to be. You'd still want to have iTunes if you value a local backup; if you live in the cloud, though, you don't really need to touch the app at all. Google has the cloud services nailed, of course.

I never used Apple's could service on my iPhones. Didn't trust them. I feel so liberated now that I no longer have iTunes on my computer. It was a nuisance to have to upgrade the damned software every time I launched it. Good riddance.

-- S Voice is... dumb. There's no way to sugarcoat it. You might think Siri flubs it now and then, but it's a genius by comparison: it has better voice accuracy, it's more likely to produce a relevant answer and it takes less time on average. Samsung's app is really just a reskinned Vlingo meant to copy Apple on the surface looks, rather than the substance; there's no contextual understanding or concepts like geofenced reminders. Google Now takes care of the accuracy and relevance issues, although my experience (I normally use a Galaxy Nexus as my Android device) suggests that iOS will be better for accomplishing some specific tasks.

Yep, S-Voice is a dumber version of Siri, which in its turn is really really dumb. I never had a 4s, (I only made it up to 4) but I did play with it a lot, and determined that I would never use Siri outside of it being a silly toy. Same thing with S-Voice. They simply are not a useful tool for either platform (though rumors have it that Siri becomes better in iOS 6, we'll have to wait and see.

-- Battery life is surprisingly good with the GS3 if you're not very aggressive, although we'll see how the iPhone stacks up. In-cell touch and newer processing technology could give the iPhone similar or better battery life, if Apple plays its cards well.

Yep, this is a wait and see game. The batter on my iPhone 4 lasted longer than my GS3, but that's with LTE enabled. If I turn off LTE my GS3 lasts much longer than my iPhone 4, still according to android settings power monitor, most of the power is going to the screen.

-- The iPhone 4S camera (and likely 2012 iPhone by extension) wins. You have more theoretical control with the GS3, but the iPhone's images are just sharper, have a more pleasing color balance and are a bit more resilient in low light.

Agreed, the iPhones camera is a little better. Doesn't bother me though. I never really use the cell phone camera anyway. When I want to take pictures, I use one of these:

By comparison I find the cameras in both terrible, and I rarely if ever use them.

-- I honestly like the iOS app ecosystem more. You can theoretically do more with Android, but what it amounts to is a lot of apps that still feel decidedly home-brew. iOS has the game market down pat, and the apps tend to have more polish when it's not a major company's cross-platform title (where you'd expect a polished experience as a matter of course). There are also a few apps outside of games that I use myself which have no Android parallel.

I was expecting this to be a problem, but when I switched to Android, I could find almost all of the same apps by the same developers as I had on my iPhone, and the ones which I couldn't find had fully acceptable substitutes.

I have yet to play a game on either my last three iPhones or my GS3 though, so I can't speak to games. Games on cell phones just aren't appealing in the slightest to me. I understand the concept of having something to do if you are stuck somewhere and bored, and cant get home to your vastly superior gaming rig, but the games I have seen for mobile platforms are just not entertaining at all. I'd rather spend that time reading articles and then play a real game when I get home

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

This ^^^

Samsung just simply forgot. Or maybe they didn't. Maybe TW is just that much of a memory hog and they figured they'd get better performance if they allow it to be shutdown on occasion.

Before I started playing with Android devices, I was expecting to be really annoyed by TouchWiz, but it turns out I'm really not. While I would prefer vanilla Android (and may just go ahead and root it and install vanilla Jelly Bean) TouchWiz on the GS3 is really not bothering me. It's less obtrusive than TouchWiz has been in the past, and much MUCH better than that blur nonsense (which is no longer named blur, but still just as bothersome) Motorola uses.

 

[AT101ET]

Personally I'd get the S3. It's a top phone and the iPhone may be a disappointment. No use always waiting in the dark. If the iPhone 5 does prove to be better, sell the s3 and buy the handset and you'll sacrifice a few dollars.

 

[farscapesg1]

I may have to do this. Phone was fully charged last night and died during a conference call while driving to work 40 minutes after leaving the house. Of course I had forgotten to put my car charger back in after our trip to the beach this weekend. Not good!!!

Doesn't look like I'll be able to wait for the new iPhone release, and with being out of town for a week at VMWorld... I really need a phone to work reliably for my wife to be able to reach me....

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I may have to do this. Phone was fully charged last night and died during a conference call while driving to work 40 minutes after leaving the house. Of course I had forgotten to put my car charger back in after our trip to the beach this weekend. Not good!!!

Doesn't look like I'll be able to wait for the new iPhone release, and with being out of town for a week at VMWorld... I really need a phone to work reliably for my wife to be able to reach me....

I don't think you'll be unhappy with the GS3, and you'll quickly wonder how you ever got by with that tiny iPhone screen

 

[mope54]

that's why I keep my old blackberries around. they're over 5 years old and still hold a charge for days to a week.

 

[summy]

for those complaining about Siri / S-Voice...

Wait until you try Google Now in JB ^^ Wife has an iPhone 4s, I have an S3 so I've used all three. Google Now wins hands down in convenience and accuracy