Buying S3 In Mid 2014?

[dankup]

Hi guys. I'm in the market for a new smartphone and the S3 fits the top of my list. Here's what I'm looking for:

Size - I have small hands but want to use the phone with one handed operation. The S3 is the absolute biggest I am willing to go. Even it, I consider, is a tad bit big but literally anything larger simply does not fit in my palm. I laugh at all the 5.5 inch phablet screens today.

Memory - I have a ton of music (8GB) and it's growing. This phone will be a 2-3 year investment so I need something with more than 16GB, the S3 has an SD card slot which I will absolutely be taking advantage of.

Camera - Relatively important. The S3 should suffice.

Budget - $300

What I use the phone for: music, texting, calling, browsing the web. Believe it or not that is it. No games. No videos. No YouTube. Nothing else.

The S3 fits all my must haves and would do it without lag. A close 2nd place is the Moto X (32GB, wait for a sale). I'm just really not sure of its camera and think the S3 outperforms it camera wise, with the Moto X winning all the other battles. Then again if I'm simply texting, do I care which phone I do it with? I doubt the S3 is going to lag to text a friend. My concern with the S3 is how old it's getting and how KitKat is going to be its last update seeing as I'm gonna be using the phone for 2-3 years. The Moto X should be relevant by then still. So there's my dilemma folks, please chime in.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

The S3 is still a perfectly good phone. It's not quite a fast as the latest flagships, but unless you're playing heavy duty games I don't think you'll have any complaints about performance. It's got a good screen, it's reliable, and there's a ton of support available if you're interested in customizing it, rooting it, installing custom ROMs, etc. If you're going to buy under contract with a US carrier, you can probably get it for free or close to it. It's got a replaceable battery, and the removable SD card you mention.

The Moto-X does have some really nice software features, though. If you're comfortable with the price, I think I would seriously consider it. It is likely to get future software updates, where 4.4.2 is likely the last update to the S3. Off the top of my head, I don't remember if it has a removeable SD or not, but the notification and voice control features are really slick.

Either will handle basic smartphone functions (web, email, texting, etc.) just fine.

 

[anon(8082935)]

I had an S3 and S4; currently have the Moto X. It has a little more than 11GB of usable storage out the box for the 16GB version. So that should be able to hold you over. And if you are into the cloud there's the 50GB of Google Drive and always Google Music to stream music from.

The Moto X will be relevant for at least the next device cycle. I liked the S3 when I had it though so I don't think you'd be too bad with either one, but go with the X lol.

 

[AxlMyk]

The S3 was/is/will be a good phone, especially with the SD slot.
If you really want to spice up the camera, look into one of these 2 options.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...ies/391761-telescope-gs3-review-pictures.html

 

[GSDer]

As long as you get the 32GB version (no SD card support) the Moto X would be my recommendation.

But you really want to handle both phones to be sure that you like the feel of the phone.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[dankup]

Thanks for the response folks!

The S3 is still a perfectly good phone. It's not quite a fast as the latest flagships, but unless you're playing heavy duty games I don't think you'll have any complaints about performance. It's got a good screen, it's reliable, and there's a ton of support available if you're interested in customizing it, rooting it, installing custom ROMs, etc. If you're going to buy under contract with a US carrier, you can probably get it for free or close to it. It's got a replaceable battery, and the removable SD card you mention.

The Moto-X does have some really nice software features, though. If you're comfortable with the price, I think I would seriously consider it. It is likely to get future software updates, where 4.4.2 is likely the last update to the S3. Off the top of my head, I don't remember if it has a removeable SD or not, but the notification and voice control features are really slick.

Either will handle basic smartphone functions (web, email, texting, etc.) just fine.

Sorry. Guess I forgot to mention a few details. I am not buying from a carrier, I want to buy the phone outright and that's why my budget is $300.

To be honest. Don't care much for the removable back/battery.

The Moto X has cool features but to me they are a waste, as in, I will not be using any of them. No to driving mode, no to "ok Google Now". The active notifications are cool and that comes in handy when it's in my pocket; I have never placed my phone screen down on a table, always screen up.

I do need to mention I prefer having a physical home button compared to on screen keys to unlock the phone. Yep, I don't hit the power key and then swipe to unlock. I hit home, then swipe.

I had an S3 and S4; currently have the Moto X. It has a little more than 11GB of usable storage out the box for the 16GB version. So that should be able to hold you over. And if you are into the cloud there's the 50GB of Google Drive and always Google Music to stream music from.

The Moto X will be relevant for at least the next device cycle. I liked the S3 when I had it though so I don't think you'd be too bad with either one, but go with the X lol.

Seeing as this is a 2-3 year investment for a phone, I don't think 11GB is workable. I'm looking at 10GB with music, apps, and photos/videos. Sorry, forgot to mention: no cloud storage for me, I will be on very limited data.

As long as you get the 32GB version (no SD card support) the Moto X would be my recommendation.

But you really want to handle both phones to be sure that you like the feel of the phone.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

Both feel nice but the Moto X feels a lot better. The S3 is a big phone in my book.

I know I'm gonna get bashed on an Android forum for mentioning this but, what about an iPhone 5 that has 16GB? Apparently its user storage is 14GB which is much better compared to the 11GB I get with the Moto X and I think I can squeeze in 4GB of free space over 3 years. Sure its screen might be a little small but it's easy to hold and it has a physical home button. More importantly though, its camera is much better than the X (looking for confirmation for the camera).

 

[anon(8082935)]

If your budget is 300 bucks, an iPhone 5 is going to be way out of your price range; brand new anyway it costs around 550.

The X's camera isn't anything to write home about. I can get some good pictures out of it but I've also been using it since September and I'm not afraid to edit the pictures. I wouldn't get the X in comparison to the iPhone if you are thinking about picture quality.

 

[GSDer]

Heck, if you don't need 4G the Moto G would be an even cheaper route to go, although it obviously has the same limitations as the Moto X. I don't know if it's available in a 32GB version though; you'd have to check that out.

Perhaps an iPhone 4 (of some flavor) would be in your working budget? I have no problem at all with a discussion of that if you're not already tied to the Google ecosystem - if the features (texting; picture taking; browsing; etc) meet your needs then that's all that matters. Why, if you could go back to a dumb phone and still meet your needs and save $50/month in charges then that would be the thing to do.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[dankup]

If your budget is 300 bucks, an iPhone 5 is going to be way out of your price range; brand new anyway it costs around 550.

The X's camera isn't anything to write home about. I can get some good pictures out of it but I've also been using it since September and I'm not afraid to edit the pictures. I wouldn't get the X in comparison to the iPhone if you are thinking about picture quality.

I can bump it up a bit if it's worth it. A friend has just offered her iPhone 5 for $350 so the iPhone just became a competitor haha. I change my mind way too easily on these things but after weeks of research it's really down to the S3, iPhone 5, Moto X. I'd like the Moto X for great screen size, easy to hold, yet it has a crap camera, and I need to wait until the 32GB version drops in price. For the S3, fits all my needs, big phone, small hands, tough to use with one handed use. The iPhone fits well, good cam, still a relatively new phone, small(ish) screen. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Ace though and with its 3.5inch screen, the 4 inches on the iPhone would be an upgrade.

After trying many combinations of searches on GSMArena, I've come to conclude that manufacturers simply don't care about the niche market I fall in to. Small (ish) size screen (4.3 - 4.5 inches) for one handed operation, high end specs that flagship phones have.

I have 8GB of music, and 1GB of pictures/videos + apps. Give it an extra GB just in case and I have 10GB of data. Seeing as I'm going to be using this phone for the next 3 years, I've got ~3GB to work with. That's about ~400 extra songs on top of my 1,000. A 16GB Moto X has less user internal storage than a 16GB iPhone 5 I believe. The winner here though is the S3 with its SD card. Again, physical size becomes a factor.

Heck, if you don't need 4G the Moto G would be an even cheaper route to go, although it obviously has the same limitations as the Moto X. I don't know if it's available in a 32GB version though; you'd have to check that out.

Perhaps an iPhone 4 (of some flavor) would be in your working budget? I have no problem at all with a discussion of that if you're not already tied to the Google ecosystem - if the features (texting; picture taking; browsing; etc) meet your needs then that's all that matters. Why, if you could go back to a dumb phone and still meet your needs and save $50/month in charges then that would be the thing to do.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

Actually, to my excitement, Motorola announced a Moto G that has 4G and an SD card. Really excited but that cam is even worse than the Moto X, and that's nothing to write home about.

Sorry I don't get what you mean 'you having no problems talking about an iPhone'?

I suppose you are right on that one. The Ace is my first Android phone and I am running a custom ROM on it but am I devoted to xda and the Android community? Absolutely not. Android is sleek and very customizable but I don't take advantage of running different ROMs everyday or making my own apps, putting on new launchers, etc. My Ace had Gingerbread on it when ICS/JB was the craze, so the only customizing I did was picking an easy ROM to flash and it's running to this day.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

It really sounds like any of these phones will provide the capabilities you want, except maybe for the camera on the Moto. The iPhone 5 is a very good phone. Not as customizable or configurable as the Android phones, but it sounds like that might not matter to you.

I obviously don't know how small your hands are, but I have pretty small hands (I wear a size small in some gloves, but in some I need to go up a size.) Anyway, I wouldn't want anything bigger than the S3, but I don't find its size to be a problem. I think you may get used to it pretty quickly. And the large screen really is nicer to use than an iPhone screen, in my opinion.

Regarding storage: I hope you're not keeping all those photos and music files ONLY on your phone. If so, you're only a single drop away from losing it all. If you back up that stuff to a PC or a cloud storage solution, you don't need to keep EVERYTHING on the phone all the time. Google+ will automatically back up your photos to the Google cloud.

 

[dankup]

It really sounds like any of these phones will provide the capabilities you want, except maybe for the camera on the Moto. The iPhone 5 is a very good phone. Not as customizable or configurable as the Android phones, but it sounds like that might not matter to you.

I obviously don't know how small your hands are, but I have pretty small hands (I wear a size small in some gloves, but in some I need to go up a size.) Anyway, I wouldn't want anything bigger than the S3, but I don't find its size to be a problem. I think you may get used to it pretty quickly. And the large screen really is nicer to use than an iPhone screen, in my opinion.

Regarding storage: I hope you're not keeping all those photos and music files ONLY on your phone. If so, you're only a single drop away from losing it all. If you back up that stuff to a PC or a cloud storage solution, you don't need to keep EVERYTHING on the phone all the time. Google+ will automatically back up your photos to the Google cloud.

Yeah if I take a step back and look at the iPhone 5, Moto X, and S3, they can all do what I want them to do. Really, any phone can. My Galaxy Ace lets me text, call, listen to music. But it is a b**ch waiting for an app to load for a minute while its little amount of RAM tries to get things going. My needs from the phone won't change in the near future; what I'm looking for is a lag free experience while doing what I do on the phone - music, texting, calling, web browsing. Either of these 3 phones can provide it for me, each having 1 or 2 downfalls. iPhone 5 - screen size, relatively limited storage. X - camera. S3 - size. Like I've said I've put weeks into GSMArena and its 'phone search' function looking for the perfect phone and have come up empty-handed for the most part. What I've searched for is an HD screen (720p is enough), an 8MP+ camera that can also shoot video 720p or higher, has 1GB+ of RAM and has a dual core or higher CPU with a screen size of 4 - 4.5 inches, all for $300 - $350. The market here struggles as there are no devices aimed (except the Moto X) at the consumer that doesn't want a phablet for one handed use, while still getting that speed that flagship phones have. Got real excited when I looked into the Moto X having 4.7 inches yet feeling like a 4.3 inch phone and went out to the store to hold it. Fit very well in one hand but I started reading tech articles and reviews and the camera obliterated all hope, even with the software patch. The S3 is a player merely because it's just a smaller flagship. If today's flagships are too big, consumers like I are forced to look a step below just for the smaller screen size and hope the CPU can still pack a punch. Secretly though, the S3 is a tad big too big for me - I really need to fiddle around with it in my palm to tap what I want to tap. If it's the S3 I go with it would have to be caseless because then it becomes purely uncomfortable.

Heh no all my music and photos are kept on the PC as a second copy in case my phone dies. Perhaps for photos I don't need to keep everything but for music I'd like to. I'll have limited data so streaming online won't be an option. Perhaps convert from 320kbps to 128kbps? I'm not using anything other than the earphones that come with the device so it's not like I'll notice a difference between 320 and 128 on crap earphones anyway?

I would think our hands are the same size. I too will never look at anything bigger than an S3 so if manufacturers want my money, they're going to have to try and come up with something new. Some have already tried with the Moto G/X, and the 'mini/compacts' that Samsung, HTC, and Sony got going. But their screens are not HD yet. It's funny how in 2018 these 'minis' are going to be the size of the LG G3. That's not mini. A mini is a smaller screen that packs the same hardware. Alas, we'll wait and see what happens in the future.

 

[twin100]

The tweaks are available within the settings of all recent Android phones in a section called “Developer options.”

This section might be hidden on some phones, but it’s very easy to access. On many phones, you just have to open a certain page in the settings and tap a button seven times. Use Google to figure out how to enable Developer options on your phone if it’s currently hidden (for example, search “enable developer options HTC One”).

Once you have access to Developer options, simply scroll until you find the following three settings, which may be located on the main screen or within an “Advanced” subsection:

Window animation scale

Transition animation scale

Animator animation scale

Tapping each of the three aforementioned settings will reveal that it’s set to “1x” by default. If you want to speed up your phone or tablet dramatically, simply change each of those three settings to “.5x” — that’s it...restart your device