S3 vs Droid X frustrations

[Alphadinger]

Sorry all,
Needed somewhere to vent my frustrations.

I upgraded from a Droid X to an S3 and although I like the screen, overall speed and design of the S3 it does not feel like a 2+ year newer phone. I feel like it is style over substance.

I don't know if the difference is in Gingerbread vs ICS or Moto vs Samsung, but it is annoying.

Both the car and desk dock are hard to find in the S3 and were easy in the X.

Using a Bluetooth headset for phone calls with the headphone jack in use for music to vehicle is impossible. Maybe this works when in car dock mode but I have not been able to find a simple way to launch it and there are no S3 specific car docks available. I do not feel like using the infuse 4G dock or a universal dock as it is not a perfect fit and I want to use a thin hard case with it.

The nice Sense looking clock is nice but has no features like launching the alarm clock and it is not adjustable. Again it just seems as though they missed out on what could have been some simple features that would have made it nicer.

I am aware this is Android and if I do not like an App or Widget I can download another one from the Play Store. I just feel like very little thinking went into the basic function of the phone so they could add Samsung specific applications.


Thanks for reading, constructive criticism is welcome.

Alphadinger

 

[FishMeetFish]

Yes, it would be greatly appreciated if Samsung concentrate on S3 refinement for the next OTA update whenever that might be.

At first, I struggled to get my S3 to auto re-connect to my car. Fortunately I finally got it to work. But it should just work the first time...my Driod X never failed me on this.

Reception is definitely not as good as Droid X. Droid X has rock solid reception...I don't recall I ever experienced a dropped call with it.

 

[s14tat]

Sorry all,
Needed somewhere to vent my frustrations.

I upgraded from a Droid X to an S3 and although I like the screen, overall speed and design of the S3 it does not feel like a 2+ year newer phone. I feel like it is style over substance.

I don't know if the difference is in Gingerbread vs ICS or Moto vs Samsung, but it is annoying.

Both the car and desk dock are hard to find in the S3 and were easy in the X.

Using a Bluetooth headset for phone calls with the headphone jack in use for music to vehicle is impossible. Maybe this works when in car dock mode but I have not been able to find a simple way to launch it and there are no S3 specific car docks available. I do not feel like using the infuse 4G dock or a universal dock as it is not a perfect fit and I want to use a thin hard case with it.

The nice Sense looking clock is nice but has no features like launching the alarm clock and it is not adjustable. Again it just seems as though they missed out on what could have been some simple features that would have made it nicer.

I am aware this is Android and if I do not like an App or Widget I can download another one from the Play Store. I just feel like very little thinking went into the basic function of the phone so they could add Samsung specific applications.


Thanks for reading, constructive criticism is welcome.

Alphadinger

I think you misunderstand what style over substance means. This phone has more functionality over your droid x. I will admit that those two gripes must be very important to you, but I mean everything else is light years ahead. The droid X was barely a impressive phone even when new. Its processor was not even top shelve, and the phone lagged like a s.o.b.

 

[firetruck41]

Coming from a Droid X, I have no regrets at all. I have no problem with bluetooth automatically connecting in my car, but I do not use wired headphones simultaneously. I didn't even think about the clock, I just downloaded a widget app anyway, so no big deal. Phone call reception has been fine, with no dropped calls. My data connection experience is very similar to my Droid X. Overall, it is head and shoulders above the DX, and I have literally never given a spilt second though about going back. Hopefully you can work the kinks out and find satisfaction with the S3.

 

[B. Nasty]

Just for kicks I tried using my DX via Wi-Fi after using my S3 for a week and I actually started laughing out loud. Aside from the fact that the screen looks like it was made for a baby now, the processor is an absolute joke. I couldn't possibly imagine going back to that slow of speed.

 

[Suntan]

Just for kicks I tried using my DX via Wi-Fi after using my S3 for a week and I actually started laughing out loud. Aside from the fact that the screen looks like it was made for a baby now, the processor is an absolute joke. I couldn't possibly imagine going back to that slow of speed.

I felt the same thing when I spent the evening setting up my wife's "new" (my old) Droid 3. I didn't remember it being so slow and having to reload apps so often. And that was with a dual core OMAP.

I like how the OP complains that the phone is style over substance... and then complains about the clock.

Anyway yeah, if having a fully functional clock (without having to spend 45 seconds in the market) and having a custom car dock are at the top of the list, I can see how this phone might be frustrating. But saying that this isn't an upgrade compared to 2 year old phones because of those two gripes is a little misplaced.

-Suntan

 

[didiwags]

Just for kicks I tried using my DX via Wi-Fi after using my S3 for a week and I actually started laughing out loud. Aside from the fact that the screen looks like it was made for a baby now, the processor is an absolute joke. I couldn't possibly imagine going back to that slow of speed.

I tried to go back to my droid X when I broke the screen on my rezound! It lasted a few days and then I had to get a new sim and go back to the rezound! It was just to slow! Now we have the X on our extra line that we use as a house phone! My kids mostly use it now and I think it is a good pone for them since it is pretty solid!
I could in no way go back to my rezound either after the GS3! Lol

 

[Kodiak333]

The only thing I miss is being able to let Ford's SYNC handle text messaging. The S3 is incompatible with reading aloud texts.

Other than that, it was difficult to use my DroidX after having this phone since it was terribly slow and jittery. I'm letting my mother have it to play games on.

 

[NBChao5]

Same thing for me. I would only web browser on the Droid when I needed to. Now I find myself browsing the web on the S3 just because I want to. Don't get me wrong, it was a good phone and I definitely extended its life by rooting it and running Gummy/CM9, but this phone is in a whole other words as far as performance goes.

I also tried to go back to the X when I killed the battery in the S3. I gave up after 5 minutes and waiting for 3 webpages to load on WiFi.

 

[Kaad_g]

Alphadinger I feel your pain. I came from a Droid X and miss the better reception and car dock that I used a lot.. Too make matters worse, my wife has a Razr Maxx and gets better reception, longer battery life, real nice car dock, and can see the screen better in the sun.

I'm hoping for a software patch for the reception issues; as for everything else...well, I think we just have to relearn our new phone. We're used to everything working a certain way on our X but it took some time to get the phone just the way we wanted it. With updates and apps, we'll get our new phone up and running just the way we want it again.

Two years from now when we get another new phone we'll probably say "man I miss my GS3".

At least I hope we will.

 

[tmax1964]

I have to say. im also coming from the droid x and I love this phone. so many much improved features..Its faster, smoother, camera is like 110% better, its lighter, its multi functional, and the battery is better than my extended battery i had on the x..Im glad I made the switch

 

[MERCDROID]

I just came from the Droid 4, and dont get me wrong, I loved that phone. But, I only got it for the keyboard, and I started regretting my decision a month after I got it. The screen was ok on it, and the Wifi and mobile data worked as they should. Signal strength was great, but the GS3 seems to be light years ahead of the Droid 4, and it's not even a year old yet. I love the screen on this phone, and the audio and call quality are amazing. Not to mention the signal strength is stonger on the GS3 (I actually found that hard to believe )

 

[Srambo217]

I had an X/X2 and neither of those hold a candle to this beast!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[piper28]

I have to say I'm relatively happy with the S3 coming from the DX. Yeah, the reception isn't quite as good on the S3, but I've found it to be decent enough for my purposes. My building at work can be pretty flakey for reception, especially the basement. On the DX, I'd generally keep a *very* marginal signal in the basement (in fact, I'd often get surprised looks from people when my phone rang, because everyone was so used to the idea that the basement there gets lousy reception for everyone). On the S3, I do lose reception completely in some places in the basement, but for most of the basement I do still have signal. I do find it a little annoying that for the rest of the building, I get 4G everywhere except my office. Oh well, wireless in the building is pretty good these days anyways.

Battery life I've found for me is better than the DX. But really, for both my goal is just to make it through the day, and I charge every night.

Sound quality on the S3 doesn't seem quite as good either, but I'm still trying to figure that one out. It feels slightly worse to me, but I'm not completely positive.

 

[PeteJE]

I had a droidx - this phone blows it away.

 

[bigmook2]

you can modify the Droid x car dock to work with the s3. all it takes is a small cross head screw driver,and a spacer so the volume button doesn't get pressed