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Anyone have or considered Samsung Galaxy S III (phone)? Advice sought

Started 5 months ago by ltkxrxd33
Latest reply from FionaEnzo

goodgraces
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It's time to replace my 4-year-old iPhone 3GS and I'm really leaning toward a Galaxy S III instead of another iPhone or even one of the new Windows phones (like the Nokia Lumia 920). Everyone in my family thinks I'm insane and votes for those other two types over the S III.

But I really love how it feels in my hand, how well voice texting seems to work on it, and a few other details. I mainly use my phone for email and internet while on the go, as well as texting. NOT a big "app" user and don't actually talk on the phone all that much.

Hope to hear some of your experiences here!

Thank you!

Posted 5 months ago #
dhg
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I know of one person who thinks the S III is a little too large for his hands. A couple of people I know who have Windows phones do not really love them and say they will not get another (sigh). I'd like to see Microsoft dominate since they provide so much economic benefit to the Northwest. I'd also like to see Nokia make a comeback. It just looks like this ain't it. The problem I have with Android devices is that they are still half-baked. MS Exchange support is spotty on all the different versions; the cellular service decides what to update and when so they are behind the times and looking to cripple the OS.

Posted 5 months ago #
cjboffoli
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To me this phone seems like just another cheap imitation of the iPhone. And reviews have been mixed. Looks sleek but features are laggy and don't work. I saw a drop test in which the display cracked quickly. It apparently scratches easily too with normal use. Battery good but not great. Some features are clunky and overlapping. Haven't seen many complaints about e-mail and texting performance though.

Posted 5 months ago #
wakeflood
Member Profile

Agree with CJB above on those points. I looked into switching recently since I'm a free agent and I'm sticking with my iphone.

On top of what CJB mentions above, the form factor for the SIII is just too big for my taste. I was actually given a load of cr*p from a guy with and SIII when I told him it was too big for my pocket and didn't feel right in my hand. Apparently I'm not allowed to make those decisions for myself. ;-)

Good luck!

Posted 5 months ago #
FionaEnzo
Member Profile

I have a Galaxy Note and love it. I never had an iphone so no difficult size comparison. Fits my hand just fine and I'm just an average sized female. I would not be putting my phone in my back pocket so that's not my concern either. Love the stylus as I had trouble with lots of thumb typos - and screen shot feature with stylus has been very useful. I also use mainly for internet and email. Big screen a big plus. Had since june - no complaints.

Posted 5 months ago #
goodgraces
Member Profile

Thanks everyone! Hope to hear more reports, good or bad.

FionaEnzo: Would you mind conversing a bit with me directly about your Note? I just have a few questions for you. I can be reached at: gcmonroe106@gmail.com

Posted 5 months ago #
jamminj
Member Profile

while I don't have experience with the SIII, I do have the SII. I have been using it for about 6 months. And a former iPhone user. My main reason for switching was the bigger screen.

my thoughts on the two:

OS - prefer by far the iOS. just everything more fluid, and even on the smaller screen, found I could type faster on the iphone.

Build - the SII looks and feels cheap. like another toss away electronics when I'm done with it. While the iphone really seems like a solid device.

voice calling - both works fine and would call it even between the two.

Apps - while i could always find new (free) apps to download and try on the iOS, every time I look on the android market, nothing to enticing or any wow factor like I have found on the iphone.

texting - I love the voice texting on the android, but I am not a huge texter, so while its nice - I wouldn't stay on the android system for it.

Screen - this is my biggest plus for my SII. I love having a bigger screen and at the time really wanted the Samsung Note, but didn't want to pay the price. I read alot on the phone (mostly news), and the bigger screen made it much easier.
One quirky thing, when I zoomed on my iphone, it went perfectly to the block of text I tapped, fitting it perfectly to the screen. On my SII, i am always having to zoom in or out to what I want to read.

Crashes - my SII freezes all the time, mostly browsing, sometimes on a few apps. I always just wait it out, 15-30 sec, the app is forced shut and I relaunch the app (don't necessarily restart the phone). But just an annoyance that seems to bother me more lately.

Would I go back to the iphone, since I have awhile on my contract, who knows what will be out in that time. But the Android OS sure does need some work, stabilization.

I even catch myself using our ipod touch at home on our wifi for some apps instead of using my SII.

Not sure if either phone is perfect, but that is more dependent on the user than the phones themselves ultimately since we all have very different needs.

like do you really want to 'bump' phones??? who was demanding that feature???

Posted 5 months ago #
goodgraces
Member Profile

Such an awesome rundown, jamminj -- thank you!

Honestly, the screen size and voice texting is a huge reason why I am considering the S III. I did a trial voice text on the iPhone 5 and it was only about 50% accurate, whereas the S III was nearly perfect. I don't know why that is.

Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

I am not sure I can handle the 'cheapness' or 'freeze' issues, though on the S III, even with nearly flawless voice texting.

Posted 5 months ago #
hammerhead
Member Profile

I love my galaxy III. yeah it is bit big, but I got used to it. i don't use the voice stuff.

At first it was freezing, but it was an application software issue, and At&t fixed it and no issues since. I can do 3 things at once on it.

Make sure what ever you get, get an otterbox protector, talk about saving my phone. Lord knows as often as I drop it, i have yet to break the glass on the phone.

HH

Posted 5 months ago #
jamminj
Member Profile

maybe I need to take my SII into ATT to check into the freezing issue.

Like I said, the screen size is the biggest plus on the android.

I have also considered just moving to an ipad mini with service and switching to a regular phone when my contracts up. It does mean carrying two devices, but with the iOS and bigger screen might be worth it.

Posted 5 months ago #
EdSane
Member Profile

I'm currently using a Motorola Atrix HD (AT&T exclusive), it runs the same chip/graphics as the S3 (only 1 gig of ram though). Slightly smaller screen. I've had zero issues with my phone. Its blazing fast and can handle every app out there.

Besides screen size the main reason to choose Android over the iPhone comes down to whether you want to natively use third party software. Android phones are not limited to the "app store". In terms of specs and apps you can find in the marketplace there really isn't a difference. All major app designers will release for both markets.

@jamminj, have you downloaded the latest OS update for your S2? Also, with smartphones every 2-3 days its a good idea to power off and on to clear out the memory cache.

(edit, one thing to consider if you're on a network that does not use a sim card the latest iphone can not place a call and use data at the same time)

Posted 5 months ago #
jedifarfy
Member Profile

I LOVE my Galaxy S3. I haven't had any freezing or slow issues with it, and have heard nothing from the three other people I know with the same phone. Perhaps it's a carrier issue rather than a phone issue. For the record, I have T-Mobile.

I never had issues with the size of the phone. It fits just fine in my average women's hands. The screen is gorgeous.

In terms of operating system, I prefer Android over iOS by far. A family member that has a personal S3, a previous work Blackberry, and now a work iPhone feels the same. The app stores are pretty close to the same for what I want and need. I have an iPod and while there is one game that is not playable on Android, I've had no problems finding the same or comparable apps.

Posted 5 months ago #
beef
Member Profile

if you do get the S3, radio shack currently has it for $99 on verizon and you receive a free - $50 google play card and $10 coupon to radio shack.

i am currently trying to figure out if i want to pull the trigger. my remorse will be to lose my unlimited data plan. :(

Posted 5 months ago #
goodgraces
Member Profile

This is really helpful, thank you everyone. Hope to hear from even more folks.

Posted 5 months ago #
I Wonder
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5 reasons I like my Samsung phone (not an SIII):

Screen size
Expandable storage
No i-store apps
4G blazing speed.
I can take out/replace battery

Posted 5 months ago #
MercyMoi
Member Profile

When I was upgrading I couldn't decide between the Note and the SIII, and eventually took the plunge with the Note. I love it. The screen is enormous which is great for reading, emailing, texting - the main activities I use the phone for. I would be slightly self-concious composing something personal in public on such a large screen but I've worked around that. I haven't had any issues with the Note feeling cheap, but I'm careful with my phones anyway.

One of the reasons I chose the Note is because my husband got the SIII at the same time and I figured I could use his phone if there was some feature I totally wanted to try (which I haven't needed to yet). He uses his more for streaming movies and other fun data-sucking things. He is really happy with his SIII, though he does get frustrated with the funky zoom function jamminj mentioned. Neither of us have had freezing issues (should note we have TMobile).

It all comes down to what you like.

Posted 5 months ago #
LABlue
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I have the Samsung Galaxy II and I absolutely, totally adore it. Yes, it is a little larger than an iphone and so it is not quite as 'pocket friendly' but I still stick it in my pocket all the time. I think the screen is a big selling point though because I can comfortably read and watch videos on it easily. The camera is great quality (matching my partner's actual camera often!), the phone calls are clear and crisp, there are tons of apps of all varieties. The music/video sound quality is great with headphones (a bit tinny without). I absolutely recommend getting the Sprint unlimited plan for the Galaxy phone (they call the Galaxy II by that name and by Epic 4G, but it is the same phone). I love never having to worry about any data limits, call minutes, etc. and I find the plan to be reasonable.

Posted 5 months ago #
Spring Chicken
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I love my iPhone 3GS! I will never give it up. I'm on a $100/year prepaid voice plan, using wi-fi only at free hotspots. It's so durable I've dropped it 3 times and it has barely a scratch.

What about your APPs, your data, won't you lose them all if you switch?

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
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i chose the galaxy nexxus with verizon because it didn't come loaded with crapware from the carrier and i love it!

have been android now since the first DROID and love it.

Posted 5 months ago #
FionaEnzo
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Galaxy Note now on sale at Costco for $50 with tmobile. Not sure of the plan but i paid much more through best buy.

Posted 5 months ago #