Samsung Galaxy S3

[Crafty_]

Try a 3rd party Carphone Warehouse / phones 4u etc. From what I've seen I don't think Vodafone are going to allow upgrades until its released either, but CPW said they could upgrade me no problem.

[N88]

For the people concerned about size. I wear a both baggy, standard jeans and skinnier jeans (not at the same time) and I don't have any problem fitting a HTC One X in there when standing up/sitting down. That's a 4.7" screen, so I can't see the S3 being a problem for anyone.

[Crafty_]

So, apparently someone got hold of an S3 and did back to back camera shots with a HOX

Michael's Album: http://www.htcmobileforum.com/album.php?albumid=1

Full size here: http://www.htcmobileforum.com/showthread.php?37-Ph...

My first thought was the S3 looks horrendous, washed out colours, soft, flare from lighting... but on second look its better at some pictures - the roses in the hallway and the apples are sharper than the HOX and less saturated. The image looking down a road with cars parked either side the HOX white balance is off (cold) and slightly underexposed.
Some shots show camera shake and/or loss of focus. Both of these could be user error (My HTC Desire can be a little awkward sometimes).

Note there is no EXIF data on any of these images, someone removed it.

Its also odd that Samsung let someone wander off with an unreleased phone that from what I read is still on pre-production software. I looked on a map and found the outside locations are up to a mile from Earls Court, but all reviews etc that I've seen no-one got allowed to be out of the building with the phone.
In the outside pictures there are no cars or people, which would indicate early morning ? I wouldn't expect that area of London to be that quiet in daylight hours.

The HOX uses the same sensor as the SG2, I don't know about the lens, but at any rate the S3 having a worse lens than the S2 or HOX doesn't really make sense.

Also found this that has a few detail pictures from an S3 vs S2 which would be more what I'd expect : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=256...

Edited to fix links

Edited by Crafty_ on Monday 7th May 10:40

[ZesPak]

ad551 said:

Obviously the traditional PHer is often seen out and about wearing these sort of jeans...



...but if you wear jeans with any sort of decent fit, then the new breed of enormo-phones are just too big to carry around comfortably in my opinion. I'd be more than happy for the next iPhone to keep the 3.5" screen.

False.
I wear well-fitting jeans and the S2 is barely noticeable in my pants. I also pull my textile "motorpants" over my jeans (very tight fit), and the iPhone/Milestone was very noticeable then, it had to be in the right direction not to be uncomfortable, the S2 however is hardly noticeable and has never been uncomfortable. For the most part it'll be down to thickness and shape.

People who state thins like: "the new breed of enormo-phones are just too big to carry around comfortably in my opinion" as a fact, have probably never tried carrying them around.

I will admit, I've held a Nexus and that feels pretty big (4,65"?), the S3 may be too big for my liking but I have yet to hold/test one. The Note is big no-no, but the OH really REALLY wants one as she carries a purse everywhere so putting it in your pocket won't be a problem.

[The Beaver King]

Foxtrot Oscar said:

Hmm seems o2 won't let me upgrade to the s3. New customers only. Do I wait until it comes round on upgrade or end my contract and take this out fresh?

That is really odd. I upgraded to the S3 yesterday and I'm with 02.

I'm making the jump from iPhone to Android and I'm a bit nervous. I've had iPhones since the 3G and never considered anything else, but the screen size is just too small now. My only concern is the connectivity with my car as it has an ipod port but I don't think this will work with the Samsung. I'm starting to think I should have waited for the new iPhone, but I have a few mates who have changed from Apple to Android and prefer it.

I was a little underwhelmed by the Galaxy S3 announcement, but I think this is purely because I've been watching the rumour mill for a few months and had hyped it up in my own head. Still, not disappointing specs and reviews so far seem very positive. Hopefully I can get used to how light it will be compared to the iPhone.

[ZesPak]

The Beaver King said:

I'm making the jump from iPhone to Android and I'm a bit nervous. I've had iPhones since the 3G and never considered anything else, but the screen size is just too small now. My only concern is the connectivity with my car as it has an ipod port but I don't think this will work with the Samsung. I'm starting to think I should have waited for the new iPhone, but I have a few mates who have changed from Apple to Android and prefer it.

I was a little underwhelmed by the Galaxy S3 announcement, but I think this is purely because I've been watching the rumour mill for a few months and had hyped it up in my own head. Still, not disappointing specs and reviews so far seem very positive. Hopefully I can get used to how light it will be compared to the iPhone.

Don't be nervous, I've done the same move and won't be going back .
It's all down to vendor lock-in. I was never an avid iTunes user, and although it works with android phones, it (of course) works better with the iPhone. I AM however an avid google/gmail/gcal/gapps user, and although they work with the iPhone, they work a lot better with android phones .

That said, I never had a dock for the iPhone. Also, in my cars, I have a regular USB port which can take a friends' USB stick, an MP3 player or any USB-mass-storage-compatible phone. I prefer it to the iPhone connector as I can tell my friends to bring a usb stick on a road trip, much easier than to get all their songs on your iPhone/iPod.

Anyway, nice you got the SGS3! I'd prefer to hold/feel a phone first. Tbh the weight of an SGS2 takes some getting used to (so big yet so light). The SGS3 will be in an other league, even bigger and barely heavier. The only gripe I had with the SGS2 is battery, but I got the original Samsung 2000mAh battery and that makes all the difference.

[The Beaver King]

ZesPak said:

Don't be nervous, I've done the same move and won't be going back .
It's all down to vendor lock-in. I was never an avid iTunes user, and although it works with android phones, it (of course) works better with the iPhone. I AM however an avid google/gmail/gcal/gapps user, and although they work with the iPhone, they work a lot better with android phones .

That said, I never had a dock for the iPhone. Also, in my cars, I have a regular USB port which can take a friends' USB stick, an MP3 player or any USB-mass-storage-compatible phone. I prefer it to the iPhone connector as I can tell my friends to bring a usb stick on a road trip, much easier than to get all their songs on your iPhone/iPod.

Anyway, nice you got the SGS3! I'd prefer to hold/feel a phone first. Tbh the weight of an SGS2 takes some getting used to (so big yet so light). The SGS3 will be in an other league, even bigger and barely heavier. The only gripe I had with the SGS2 is battery, but I got the original Samsung 2000mAh battery and that makes all the difference.

That's reassuring to hear

That is partly why I'm looking to change as well. The iPhone is so restricted it's annoying. I did jailbreak my 3G and 3GS, but haven't bothered with my 4. I do buy a fair bit of stuff of iTunes and the app store though, which means I will lose a lot of my purchases in the change over. That is one of a very few negative points though.

I've had a play on my GF's S2 and the weight will take a fair bit of getting used to, not to mention the size difference. I watch a lot of TV and films on my phone though, so the huge screen size will be very welcome.

Yeah, it's a bit risky ordering a phone without actually having a play with it first, but as it seems to be just an upgraded S2 (a la 4 to 4S), I thought it was worth a punt.

I haven't actually checked to see if my car will take a memory stick, I've always just plugged the iPhone in. Hopefully it will, but worst case I'll just sell my iPhone 4 when the Galaxy arrives and use the cash to buy an iPod.

ETA - Actually the other major point that has convinced me to go for the S3 is the expandable memory. I have always been annoyed at the constant juggling required to fit everything I want on to the iPhone. The first thing I'll be buying is a 64GB microSD so I can fit more of my music on.

Edited by The Beaver King on Tuesday 8th May 10:52

[ZesPak]

The Beaver King said:

Yeah, it's a bit risky ordering a phone without actually having a play with it first, but as it seems to be just an upgraded S2 (a la 4 to 4S), I thought it was worth a punt.

Hmm I don't think that's a good comparison, the 4S has a new processor & gpu (a very good one btw!) but not much else, the case is almost entirely the same. With the S2 -> S3, nearly nothing has stayed, it's a completely new phone. In car land it's the difference between a new model and a facelift...

The Beaver King said:

I haven't actually checked to see if my car will take a memory stick, I've always just plugged the iPhone in. Hopefully it will, but worst case I'll just sell my iPhone 4 when the Galaxy arrives and use the cash to buy an iPod.

Hmm in a lot of cars the option is there to go for OR the USB OR the Apple connector. Sometimes swapping them costs less than an iPod though. I think on the Alfa 159 it was about € 150 to change it.

The Beaver King said:

ETA - Actually the other major point that has convinced me to go for the S3 is the expandable memory. I have always been annoyed at the constant juggling required to fit everything I want on to the iPhone. The first thing I'll be buying is a 64GB microSD so I can fit more of my music on.

That's a lot, I usually get by with about 2GB of music.
I use most of the storage to store some films on it when on vacation. Most hotels have a tv with HDMI now, and I have the little MHL hdmi converter, works great to display your S2 screen on the TV.

The swapability I've used for putting my MicroSD (in adapter) in the camera, in my tablet/phone, very easy to look at the photos.

[The Beaver King]

ZesPak said:

Hmm I don't think that's a good comparison, the 4S has a new processor & gpu (a very good one btw!) but not much else, the case is almost entirely the same. With the S2 -> S3, nearly nothing has stayed, it's a completely new phone. In car land it's the difference between a new model and a facelift...

Yeah, sorry I meant as in that the S3 is an upgrade to the S2 rather than an new model line. Therefore the likelihood of it being subpar to the S2 is low. I can't imagine Samsung taking a step backwards.

ZesPak said:

Hmm in a lot of cars the option is there to go for OR the USB OR the Apple connector. Sometimes swapping them costs less than an iPod though. I think on the Alfa 159 it was about € 150 to change it.

I'll have to check the manual. It's an Insignia so who the hell knows, but I get the feeling it specifically mentions iPod connectivity

ZesPak said:

That's a lot, I usually get by with about 2GB of music.
I use most of the storage to store some films on it when on vacation. Most hotels have a tv with HDMI now, and I have the little MHL hdmi converter, works great to display your S2 screen on the TV.

The swapability I've used for putting my MicroSD (in adapter) in the camera, in my tablet/phone, very easy to look at the photos.

Ah, quickly looking at my phone I have 18 GB of music, 5 GB in films and the rest in apps and photos. I have quite a few big games like Football Manager and Grand Theft Auto, so they rob quite a bit of space too.

I've never bother hooking my phone up to the TV before, but I think I might with the Samsung.

How easy is it to drop music and films onto the Android phones? I've always found it to be a pain in the arse with iPhones, having to faff about with itunes all the time...

[ZesPak]

The Beaver King said:

How easy is it to drop music and films onto the Android phones? I've always found it to be a pain in the arse with iPhones, having to faff about with itunes all the time...

Plug in usb cable.

drag & drop

If you are concerned about filesize, you could convert them, but I never felt the need to do so.

[jjones]

ZesPak said:

Plug in usb cable.

drag & drop

If you are concerned about filesize, you could convert them, but I never felt the need to do so.

or ditch the cable and use wifi.

[ZesPak]

jjones said:

ZesPak said:

Plug in usb cable.

drag & drop

If you are concerned about filesize, you could convert them, but I never felt the need to do so.

or ditch the cable and use wifi.

Forgot about that, I actually get my movies directly from my NAS. ES File explorer -> go to nas -> select files -> "copy", go to SD card -> "paste".

[whoami]

ZesPak said:

I was never an avid iTunes user

What do you use as an alternative?

[Tycho]

whoami said:

ZesPak said:

I was never an avid iTunes user

What do you use as an alternative?

I find Windows Media Player is fine as the phone appears as a removable device. Winamp and Doubletwist also have Android sync capabilities.

[Crafty_]

I use mediamonkey which can sync to most devices (music only though I think). Its got alot of functionality to help manage your music collection and is extensible through a plethora of add-ons.

[ZesPak]

whoami said:

What do you use as an alternative?

I'm a winamp fan myself, but you can sync with nearly any player.

[MarkM5]

I had a play with a preprod version of one of these this week (slightly different casing, but same size), but to be honest, I'd stick with the S2 (I have an S2 and a i4S, like them both for different reasons). For me personally, it's just TOO big. Smaller than the Note obviously, but still just too damn big.

The camera fires off a salvo of pictures bloody quickly though!!!

If I were Apple, I wouldn't go any bigger than the current S2 size for the iPhone 5 (or NooNooNooNooNoo iPhone as it shall be called no doubt).

[SGirl]

I've had an HTC Desire for a couple of years now, and it's been a pain in the bum for the last couple of months - not ringing when people call, locking up, etc. My contract ended 2 days ago, and the One X was the obvious choice for a replacement. But now there's the SGS3 as well, and I can't decide which one to get!

Any views one way or t'other? The phone is used mainly for phoning (!) and email.

[Crafty_]

This might help: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_vs_ht...

Bit of an odd conclusion, S3 wins mosts "tests" they do, then they decide its a draw

[TotalControl]

Crafty_ said:

This might help: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_vs_ht...

Bit of an odd conclusion, S3 wins mosts "tests" they do, then they decide its a draw

Let's you choose depending on your requirements of the handset. Fair play I reckon.