New S3 convert. A couple of questions

[spartanrob1]

Good afternoon. About 48 hours into my ATT S3. Coming over from an iPhone 4S.
The size is definitely an adjustment, harder to use one handed and the screen outside is not great.
But I love the size and clarity of the screen

A few questions
1-Any way to search for apps on the phone (like you can on iOS)? or do you simply have to memorize where everything is

2-I have the 'wifi orange down arrow always on' issue. Any resolution to this yet? Should I exchange my phone for a new one?

3-Battery life, getting better i think. first day was awful. I have Juice Defender running. Was told not to leaving it charging overnight, fully charge then un-plug. What do you think?

4-Screen protector? what do you use/like?

5-NFC cards, anybody using them? sounds convienent for turning BT on/off when getting in/out of the car and changing the profile at night.

6-Facebook app. Sometimes notifications work, sometimes they don't. is this normal?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MangoPowah]

Welcome aboard! The S3 is one heck of a phone, no doubt. I'd have to agree with you about sunlight visibility, it was disappointing.

1. Not that I know of, sorry.

2. It's an indicator of network traffic, I had this on my S3 but didn't have a negative effect.

3. I let mine charge overnight, and it was all fine. Battery life was phenomenal.

4. I like Spigen screen protectors, they're good. AT&T slapped a Moshi iVisor AG (anti glare) on my S3 and it was pretty good too.

5. I've never tried NFC cards, maybe I'll try someday.

6. Try going into the Facebook app's settings and check that all the things you want to be notified are checked. Notifications weren't working for me either, but it turns out I had nothing checked that I wanted to be notified about.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[Dubg]

Congratulations on getting a great phone. I got two the week they come out - one for me and the other for my wife. We've never regretted getting these phones. In fact I've talked numerous people into getting one. Too bad Samsung doesn't have a referral program.

1. Like the previous poster - I don't know of anything like this. Either you have to know which screen/folder you put the app in or go to the applications listing and look for it there. If you have the apps sorted alphabetically it will help.

2. Again like the previous poster said - this is just a traffic indicator. It is basically saying that your phone is communicating via wi-fi.

3. Yes it will be fine to plug your phone in overnight and leave it on. I actually have a docking station at work that I use to listen to the music through a stereo in my office. So my phone charges every day while I'm at work and leave it alone at night.

4. As far as screen protectors I use the ZAGG Invisi-shield. I've used them on several phones and only once had to replace the protector. My wife was taking the cover off so much on her HTC Inspire to change out the battery (very poor battery life so she carried an extra one) and ended up pulling up a corner off of the phone because of this. Went to the local mall and they gave us a new one no questions asked. We just pulled off the old one and handed it to them. They want to charge around $5 to install a new one or you can do it at home. It isn't too difficult to do and that is what I do.

5. NFC Tags - I use these all of the time. At night I have one beside the bed to turns off data and wifi and it also turns down the volume for notifications. When I get in the car I have another one to turn off wifi and turn on GPS. At work I have one to turn on wifi, turn the ringer down and start the music player. I even programmed one for my wife to use at work. She scans the tag and it sends me a text to let me know that she is on her way home. I then can start dinner and know that it will be done around the time that she gets home. There are numerous things that you can use these for.

6. Facebook notifications - I think that you should check the settings within the app. I haven't had a problem of not receiving the notifications unless I have the data turned off on my phone.

 

[spartanrob1]

Thank you for your replies

 

[KreepyKen]

1. Yes. Download Google's Gesture Search app. It's a bit cumbersome because you have to draw the letters with your finger, but it searches for apps and everything else on your phone. Click Here

4. I don't use a screen protector, but I'm considering getting this one. Looks amazing (I'm just worried that with a wet application, I'll get some of the liquid down around the home button, so I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet.

6. Facebook app is horrendous. Yes, sometimes notifications work and sometimes they don't. Just the way it is right now. They supposedly have a native app in the works. So hopefully it works better than this awful web app.

 

[spartanrob1]

Thanks. I'm going to give gestures a try

 

[Evoken]

1-Any way to search for apps on the phone (like you can on iOS)? or do you simply have to memorize where everything is

I am a little surprised with the answers given to this question by other posters. My S3 came with a Google search bar widget by default turned on and it can be used both to search apps within the phone and also stuff on the web. You just click on the input field, type the name of the app, it will come up in the suggestions and then just tap on it to open.

Or is this widget not available for everyone?

 

[D16RR]

Maybe went away with an update. Google "Apple ratf*cks universal search." It's easy to put the feature back, because the S3 is not locked down like ios devices.

 

[KreepyKen]

1-Any way to search for apps on the phone (like you can on iOS)? or do you simply have to memorize where everything is

I am a little surprised with the answers given to this question by other posters. My S3 came with a Google search bar widget by default turned on and it can be used both to search apps within the phone and also stuff on the web. You just click on the input field, type the name of the app, it will come up in the suggestions and then just tap on it to open.

Or is this widget not available for everyone?

It's available for some, but has been removed for most of us as a result of Samsung trying to avoid being sued by Apple. There are a bunch of threads and articles about it. Here's one: Samsung removes universal search functionality from Sprint, AT&T Galaxy S III smartphones

 

[Evoken]

It's available for some, but has been removed for most of us as a result of Samsung trying to avoid being sued by Apple. There are a bunch of threads and articles about it. Here's one: Samsung removes universal search functionality from Sprint, AT&T Galaxy S III smartphones

Oh I see, thanks for the link. Damn, Apple and their lawsuits. I love Apple and everything but I don't like their patent trolling.