Engadget Review

**Tkbredx** · 05-25-2012, 01:44 PM

Engadget did a full on review. I normally love their reviews but this one just felt plain, basic, something we've already seen. Not only that but it also seemed pretty biased.

Of course they made it seem like the One X is better. Lots of personal opinions on the UI, build of device, and screen. Apple makes another iPhone with 0 changes and the phone is praised on the build. Samsung takes well liked previous designs and enhances it and everyone criticisizes it. HTC moves away from stock Android and generally people like it. Samsung does the same thing with fancy new features and people say its like older versions of Android (which is irrelevant thanks to custom roms and launchers). I just dont get it. Everyones so hard on the S3 and Samsung

**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Tkbredx

Engadget did a full on review. I normally love their reviews but this one just felt plain, basic, something we've already seen. Not only that but it also seemed pretty biased.

Of course they made it seem like the One X is better. Lots of personal opinions on the UI, build of device, and screen. Apple makes another iPhone with 0 changes and the phone is praised on the build. Samsung takes well liked previous designs and enhances it and everyone criticisizes it. HTC moves away from stock Android and generally people like it. Samsung does the same thing with fancy new features and people say its like older versions of Android (which is irrelevant thanks to custom roms and launchers). I just dont get it. Everyones so hard on the S3 and Samsung

Or maybe everyone's being honest, and you have a soft spot for samsung so it looks biased to you. Or, they're being hard on it because they expect it to be better than it is.

Just to clarify: I think the reviews have been fair. The S3 is not the same type of handset as the S2. It is very iterative, and competitors are ready for it.
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**Crispy** · 05-25-2012, 01:57 PM

One of the worst reviews I've read - they spent almost no time on the the interface or user experience besides a small mention. On Apple products, they spend pages reviewing things in minute detail and always end with glowing praise. This review won't help anyone make a decision.

**dmmarck** · 05-25-2012, 01:58 PM

The Verge gave it either an 8.5 or 8.4 IIRC. Good review, but I'm biased b/c I love the Verge.

**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by ECrispy

One of the worst reviews I've read - they spent almost no time on the the interface or user experience besides a small mention. On Apple products, they spend pages reviewing things in minute detail and always end with glowing praise. This review won't help anyone make a decision.

They had an entire section on how bad the UI and several pieces of software were.

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**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

The Verge gave it either an 8.5 or 8.4 IIRC. Good review, but I'm biased b/c I love the Verge.

I agree. They didn't say whether the One X or S3 was better either, which was good

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**dmmarck** · 05-25-2012, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by JHBThree

I agree. They didn't say whether the One X or S3 was better either, which was good

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Yup. FWIW, the VZW GN is still the highest reviewed Android phone they've had (unless I'm wrong in thinking it had an 8.7), but most of that is due to ICS I reckon

.

The Verge just has better presentation, and more importantly, better writers. Which isn't shocking, since essentially the heart and soul of Engadget left and founded it lol

**tekhna** · 05-25-2012, 02:04 PM

I think your statement "but this one just felt plain, basic, something we've already seen" pretty much sums up the GS3. I'm going to buy one, but I'm not really excited for it. My reasons for buying it have nothing to do with the GS3 as something in particular that I want and am excited for, but instead, hopefully, it's released before the Verizon unlimited data cutoff.
It's pretty hard to be excited about drab software (although the launcher is awesome) and more specs.
More specs is great, but the GS3 is pretty meh. Not meh in a bad way, but meh, the GS2 was revolutionary and this is just very good. Truthfully I'd get a One S/X if it were coming to Verizon, but it's not, so I'm getting the GS3.

**dmmarck** · 05-25-2012, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by tekhna

I think your statement "but this one just felt plain, basic, something we've already seen" pretty much sums up the GS3. I'm going to buy one, but I'm not really excited for it. My reasons for buying it have nothing to do with the GS3 as something in particular that I want and am excited for, but instead, hopefully, it's released before the Verizon unlimited data cutoff.
It's pretty hard to be excited about drab software (although the launcher is awesome) and more specs.
More specs is great, but the GS3 is pretty meh. Not meh in a bad way, but meh, the GS2 was revolutionary and this is just very good. Truthfully I'd get a One S/X if it were coming to Verizon, but it's not, so I'm getting the GS3.

Wait, the GS3 has been confirmed for Big Red? Where have I been?

**tekhna** · 05-25-2012, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

Wait, the GS3 has been confirmed for Big Red? Where have I been?

I mean, it's not official, but the preponderance of evidence points to a VZW GS3.

**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

Wait, the GS3 has been confirmed for Big Red? Where have I been?

Its been popping up all over the place in app/web usage stats.

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**Tkbredx** · 05-25-2012, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by JHBThree

Or maybe everyone's being honest, and you have a soft spot for samsung so it looks biased to you. Or, they're being hard on it because they expect it to be better than it is.

Just to clarify: I think the reviews have been fair. The S3 is not the same type of handset as the S2. It is very iterative, and competitors are ready for it.
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Ok maybe there is the possibilty that I too am biased but just because the S3 isnt the clear cut winner in the android race like it was the 2 previous years doesnt mean its the loser. And it doesnt mean that they have to downplay the device

**jontalk** · 05-25-2012, 02:29 PM

GSM arena had an interesting editorial comparing the GS II with the GS III, though the GS II they were comparing has ICS installed, so it is either an international version of one with a custom ROM. The conclusion was that the GS III is a good bet if the $$ make sense to the buyer. As someone whose been carrying around a totally outdated iPhone 3G slug,it would seem the GS3 would be the way to go, but I'm not ruling out the Skyrocket as yet.

The GS3 screen looks impressive as does the camera and it's obviously very fast too. And all the reviewers seem to be fan boys of various hardware, like the Phone Dog whose quite clearly an Apple guy. The iPhone 4S did set some standards which were quickly blown away by the Nexus and other phones, not to mention the fact that it's NOT an LTE device. But since this thread is about reviews, they're all going to be subject to personal taste.

**Tkbredx** · 05-25-2012, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

Yup. FWIW, the VZW GN is still the highest reviewed Android phone they've had (unless I'm wrong in thinking it had an 8.7), but most of that is due to ICS I reckon

.

The Verge just has better presentation, and more importantly, better writers. Which isn't shocking, since essentially the heart and soul of Engadget left and founded it lol

Omg. I've never actually read the verge, just links that people have posted here. I did not know thats where Josh went! I loved him. Haha. Guess I better start reading over there huh? I mainly read Engadget because I feel that it covers the most technology out all the sites. And it does it pretty quickly.

**dmmarck** · 05-25-2012, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tkbredx

Omg. I've never actually read the verge, just links that people have posted here. I did not know thats where Josh went! I loved him. Haha. Guess I better start reading over there huh? I mainly read Engadget because I feel that it covers the most technology out all the sites. And it does it pretty quickly.

Yeah man, Topolsky's the EIC and a bunch of others like Nilay Patel went with him. They essentially took all of the talent from Engadget and packaged great writing in a fancier package. Love their podcasts and little tv show things too.

**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Tkbredx

Ok maybe there is the possibilty that I too am biased but just because the S3 isnt the clear cut winner in the android race like it was the 2 previous years doesnt mean its the loser. And it doesnt mean that they have to downplay the device

I didn't really get that. What they tried to do (and didn't do all that well) was say that the S3 actually has pretty stiff competition, which the S2 didn't. And since the One X is beastly in its own right, the S3 cannot get some of the free passes that the S2 got. Myriam tends to be as fair as you can get, so any claims of bias ring a little hollow.

The real interesting comparison will happen when the US S3 with a snapdragon comes out. Then any bias will be easy to spot.

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**Crispy** · 05-25-2012, 02:36 PM

TheVerge review was much better and much nicer layout too.

**tekhna** · 05-25-2012, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Tkbredx

Ok maybe there is the possibilty that I too am biased but just because the S3 isnt the clear cut winner in the android race like it was the 2 previous years doesnt mean its the loser. And it doesnt mean that they have to downplay the device

No, but that's exactly what the engadget review said. The GS2 was Samsung bringing a gun to a knife fight, and now it's a much more even fight between HTC and Samsung. That's not saying the GS3 is a bad phone, and I don't think engadget said it was a bad phone. It just means it isn't going to dominate the field like it did.

**Tkbredx** · 05-25-2012, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by tekhna

I think your statement "but this one just felt plain, basic, something we've already seen" pretty much sums up the GS3. I'm going to buy one, but I'm not really excited for it. My reasons for buying it have nothing to do with the GS3 as something in particular that I want and am excited for, but instead, hopefully, it's released before the Verizon unlimited data cutoff.
It's pretty hard to be excited about drab software (although the launcher is awesome) and more specs.
More specs is great, but the GS3 is pretty meh. Not meh in a bad way, but meh, the GS2 was revolutionary and this is just very good. Truthfully I'd get a One S/X if it were coming to Verizon, but it's not, so I'm getting the GS3.

Blehhh, the hardware may not be revolutionary, but I feel as if the software is. No other phone has features like it. And theyre pretty cool

**Mark_C** · 05-25-2012, 02:47 PM

Engadget are iPhone fans though, so this was to be expected.

The last couple of sentences basically say they took the HOX over the S3 because Sense is more aligned with ICS than touchwizz, which is something this site have said. Thing is, no-one ever says specifically what is better aligned in Sense. I've played with a HOX and to me Sense doesn't seem to be too different to my original desire.

If nothing else the S3 wins on a slight performance gain, better battery life and having the card slot.

Some of the comments on reviews are hilarious, all moaning about poor build quality and cheap feel when they haven't even seen the phone, let alone held it.

Another, quite detailed review here:

**Tkbredx** · 05-25-2012, 02:47 PM

Youre right. I was mainly speaking of when he said " The Snapdragon variant of the One X has similar computing power, battery life and photographic credibility, but it also has a much better user interface that sticks more closely to the guiding ethos of Android 4.0. It also has a more forward-looking physical design, while the GS III sticks to the tried and true styles of old. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice you'd make by going for the One X over the GS III is the loss of the cheap storage offered by the microSD card. That's a painful thing to give up, but given how deeply we feel about the need for Android to move forward and not get stuck in a Gingerbread-flavored groundhog day, we'll take the hit."Maybe I am too emotional? Lol.

**cdd543** · 05-25-2012, 03:12 PM

It wasn't a great thorough review imho--This thing is getting wildly varied reviews. Many of the international reviews claimed it easily trumped the one x except for build quality and screen, The verge claims it has one of the best cameras and yet others claim it's mediocre.
Verge claims TW is way better than sense on HOX and engadget claims TW feels like they are using gingerbread. I prefer the verge writers personally and will skip a the next review written by Sharif Sakr. I find it odd that neither review detailed fluidity of the phone as that was something that bugged me about the HOX(lack of). I look forward to making my own judgements

**planoman** · 05-25-2012, 03:33 PM

I thought it was a good review as I have come to trust Engadget's reviews. It was a bit shorter than others but still good. I saw enough in this review and others to confirm my decision to get the SGSIII over the One X. I do admit that I do not see a lot of differences with the TW ICS (4.0.3) interface on my International Galaxy Note and Gingerbread.

I admit I am biased in favor of Samsung and I am expecting a great experience once the SGSIII hits AT&T, hopefully in June!

**planoman** · 05-25-2012, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by jontalk

GSM arena had an interesting editorial comparing the GS II with the GS III, though the GS II they were comparing has ICS installed, so it is either an international version of one with a custom ROM. The conclusion was that the GS III is a good bet if the $$ make sense to the buyer. As someone whose been carrying around a totally outdated iPhone 3G slug,it would seem the GS3 would be the way to go, but I'm not ruling out the Skyrocket as yet.

The GS3 screen looks impressive as does the camera and it's obviously very fast too. And all the reviewers seem to be fan boys of various hardware, like the Phone Dog whose quite clearly an Apple guy. The iPhone 4S did set some standards which were quickly blown away by the Nexus and other phones, not to mention the fact that it's NOT an LTE device. But since this thread is about reviews, they're all going to be subject to personal taste.

I cannot see getting a NON HD screen at this point such as the skyrocket. I just sold one because I could not look at it after using my Galaxy Note. At this point all of my phones will have to have HD screens going forward.

**JHBThree** · 05-25-2012, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Mark_C

Engadget are iPhone fans though, so this was to be expected.

The last couple of sentences basically say they took the HOX over the S3 because Sense is more aligned with ICS than touchwizz, which is something this site have said. Thing is, no-one ever says specifically what is better aligned in Sense. I've played with a HOX and to me Sense doesn't seem to be too different to my original desire.

If nothing else the S3 wins on a slight performance gain, better battery life and having the card slot.

Some of the comments on reviews are hilarious, all moaning about poor build quality and cheap feel when they haven't even seen the phone, let alone held it.

Another, quite detailed review here:

Read Phil's thoughts on the new Touchwiz. While Sense 4 complements and adds to ICS, the new touchwiz sits on top of it, doing its own thing while sticking vaguely to ICS paradigms. With the new Sense, its very apparent that ICS is a part of it. The same cannot be said of touchwiz. (More than a few hands ons said the experience was not different than the old version)

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