Galaxy SIII or S4 Mini

[anonymous2037]

My girlfriend needs a new phone. She's not looking for the most powerful phone out there, she just wants a phone with good reception, good call quality and a decent camera. A phone she can use Facebook, Instagram and Feedly on. She also says she'd prefer a smaller phone.

The comparisons I've been looking at tend to say the SIII is better than the S4 Mini, but what I'm worried about is longevity. My girlfriend tends to use things until they're completely dead. For the past year, she's been using a Nexus S that is unbelievably slow, crashes all the time, has a cracked screen, drops calls constantly, doesn't send texts, etc.

She doesn't want to have to buy a new phone mid-contract, and I'm worried that Samsung will drop SIII support in no time.

Thoughts?

 

[srkmagnus]

My girlfriend needs a new phone. She's not looking for the most powerful phone out there, she just wants a phone with good reception, good call quality and a decent camera. A phone she can use Facebook, Instagram and Feedly on. She also says she'd prefer a smaller phone.

The comparisons I've been looking at tend to say the SIII is better than the S4 Mini, but what I'm worried about is longevity. My girlfriend tends to use things until they're completely dead. For the past year, she's been using a Nexus S that is unbelievably slow, crashes all the time, has a cracked screen, drops calls constantly, doesn't send texts, etc.

She doesn't want to have to buy a new phone mid-contract, and I'm worried that Samsung will drop SIII support in no time.

Thoughts?

Is cost a factor? Because that could also determine which phone might be the most ideal. If it's not, then go with the S4 Mini. Otherwise, the S3 will be just fine and should be cheaper to purchase off-contract. Regarding updates, I wouldn't worry much about that. It's got a good foundation and would work fine. It won't always have the latest and greatest, but then again, neither with the Mini at some point.

 

[Golfdriver97]

My girlfriend needs a new phone. She's not looking for the most powerful phone out there, she just wants a phone with good reception, good call quality and a decent camera. A phone she can use Facebook, Instagram and Feedly on. She also says she'd prefer a smaller phone.

The comparisons I've been looking at tend to say the SIII is better than the S4 Mini, but what I'm worried about is longevity. My girlfriend tends to use things until they're completely dead. For the past year, she's been using a Nexus S that is unbelievably slow, crashes all the time, has a cracked screen, drops calls constantly, doesn't send texts, etc.


She doesn't want to have to buy a new phone mid-contract, and I'm worried that Samsung will drop SIII support in no time.

Thoughts?

Welcome to the forums!
You are right about the S3. It is rapidly approaching the End of Life. However, that doesn't mean you can't root it and flash a custom ROM either. I don't know that much about the S4 Mini, but as I recall, you are correct that the S3 matches the mini in specs.

I see you have the Moto X, so why not that phone? I turned in my S3 for the Moto, and I find the Moto to be just as fast, if not a bit faster. I was rooted, debloated, and running a custom ROM on the S3.