Galaxy S3, from an ex-iPhone 4 user

[dphorgan2#AC]

I do see that a lot. My friend does this to and he's a iPhone loverboi. iSheep compare their iPhone 5 to a very old Android phone they used to have. I see it ALL the time! "My iPhone is so much better than my T-Mobile G1!!" Lol

 

[Soundtrack to Chaos]

I don't know why there is an ios forum on this site if people don't use it

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[badbrad17]

I was at the Sprint store the other day and thought i would compare the iPhone5 and the S3 cameras, I don't own either of these phones. I picked up the iPhone and closed all opened apps and took a picture, I then picked up the S3, closed all open apps and fired up the camera, 7 seconds later I walked away when the camera app has not opened yet. This is not specific to the phone, it is Android, it has this massive random LAGs regardless of the phone make and model, I experienced this with 3 different Android phones. Does the iPhone lag, maybe, but not in the 8 months I have been using it. This is not a hate or fanboy post, this is experience.

My ancient SGS2 only took 2 seconds. Not sure what you are trying to do here but I'm sure its not helping the OP.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Android Central Forums

 

[badbrad17]

The GS3 is a better phone.

The iphone however is without a doubt more for the masses.

And if we are all honest here Android 4.0 is the first Android incarnation that beat out the iphone. Jelly bean begins to blow it away and by the time we hit 5.0 it will be world's ahead.

I should point out every computer in my house is an Apple.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

I wouldn't disagree in terms of touch screen tech and most apps, but in terms of features android has always owned ios. Jellybean is only making it better.

Have you seen this video series? It is pretty informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayx4XsBaJBI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Watch the first part too if you like it. Its a bit of an older comparison but really does make a big point about how feature rich android is compared to ios.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Android Central Forums

 

[badbrad17]

Anyone else notice how Htabbach's posts just side railed the positivity of this thread? It was going so well. Lets get back on track.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Android Central Forums

 

[Pugwash#AC]

I still love my S2. I use it every day for emails, weather widget, facebook messenger, google navigation on my bike (audio only). It replaced an old palm organiser, pocket camera, mobile phone and PSP as the device I carry everywhere.
My wife has recently taken a turn to the dark side and bought an old iphone 3GS after having had a HTC Desire for a year. She prefers the iphone, probably because it "Just works", or in my opinion, "Just about works". I can't offer her any help when it has wifi connection problems, I don't know why it renders some web sites wrong, and I can't explain why 3G is slower than H+. I guess I'm more into gadgets, have rooted and debranded my O2 handset, flashed CyanogenMod 10 to the latest nightly experimental build and chose a starfield live wallpaper and am in my element.

 

[xlDeMoNiClx]

I don't know why there is an ios forum on this site if people don't use it

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

I guess the S3 forum is the new unofficial iOS forum.

 

[Djhidro609]

I went the other way, from Android to iOS and I can tell the OP, the fascination with the customization and the openness of Android will wear out and you will be left with LAG and instability, Android maybe more open and Android phones stack many bells and whistles but at the end of the day, iPhone performs much better than any Android phone. Take it from someone who had used Android for years before I got fed up with the LAG and fragmentation.

Just my personal opinion.

I have no lag or instability on my stock GS3. I'm using nova launcher and therefore somewhat bypassing touchwiz but everything works well and is quite fluid. I've used every iphone except the 5 and while it def is a more fluid device it's just plain boring and lacks everything that I enjoy about android. If apple were to do a serious refresh of their os I'd have given the 5 a chance but I've become so accustomed to a larger screen that even the bump to 4 inches just isn't enough for me. I'm a fan of wireless tech and I love having android, ios and even WP to choose from but for me android is my platform of choice and it just keeps getting better.

 

[Maccorf]

I bought an iPhone 5 on launch day coming from a Nexus with 4.1 on it with a Nexus 7. I'm going tomorrow to switch back to my Nexus. I CAN'T STAND the iPhone, you can't do 1/10th the stuff you can do on Android. That is not my opinion. Its fact, I went into the iPhone with no opinion and a clean slate. I got the iPhone for the great battery life and undeniable beautiful HW. But with 2 chips in the aluminum only after 3 days of extreme babying and the list of "can't do this, can't do that" adding up, I got to the point I decided to dump it. Not saying the iPhone is crap, it just doesn't fit MY needs. Infact I just now have to add to my long list of can't do list lol. I was on my Nexus phone and wanted to switch to my tablet. So I just NFC'd the page over lol.

I'm wondering if you could please list some of the things you can't do on the iPhone 5 that you could do with the Nexus. Just curious, because I've had the S3 now for 2 weeks and I love it (I'm the OP so I wish it did run a little better, I'm taking it in today to have it looked at) but I'm not sure what I can do with it that I couldn't do with my previous iPhone 4 (and is something I would actually want to do, as well).

 

[xlDeMoNiClx]

I'm wondering if you could please list some of the things you can't do on the iPhone 5 that you could do with the Nexus. Just curious, because I've had the S3 now for 2 weeks and I love it (I'm the OP so I wish it did run a little better, I'm taking it in today to have it looked at) but I'm not sure what I can do with it that I couldn't do with my previous iPhone 4 (and is something I would actually want to do, as well).

Well it depends on what you would want to do.

This is from me, on my EVO 3D.

 

[LegalAmerican]

I'm wondering if you could please list some of the things you can't do on the iPhone 5 that you could do with the Nexus. Just curious, because I've had the S3 now for 2 weeks and I love it (I'm the OP so I wish it did run a little better, I'm taking it in today to have it looked at) but I'm not sure what I can do with it that I couldn't do with my previous iPhone 4 (and is something I would actually want to do, as well).

Wait. So I'm confused. Why are you asking him to compare for you the Nexus and the i5, but you then talk about how you've owned the GS3 and the i4? The comparison you request will not and does not apply.

But if you don't know the differences, you should do your research. Bigger screen, Near Field Communication, 4G. As far as the S3 goes, you can add to that list: expandable storage, pop up play, real multi tasking, and a true HD screen that wont jack up the ratio and distort HD images. That's just to name a few. You may have liked your i4, but I'm getting the sense that deep down, you think it was as good as the S3. Anyone who knows tech, will know the S3 is arguably better than the iPhone 5. At the very least, they are neck and neck. But the 5 is better than your 4. So that naturally means the S3 beats the 4 as well. I can't believe this has to be explained.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[funkylogik]

I guess the S3 forum is the new unofficial iOS forum.

there are an unuasaly high number of android converts to the s3 but that must say something about the phone (or most probably its marketing tbh lol)
to the dude in the Sprint store.. they must have chosen a VERY bad unit as a demo unit lol with under 100mb free ram my camera opens in (im being honest here because in the middle of typing this i tried) well under 2seconds

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

 

[lifties]

If you are tweaking the phone to maximize battery life, then it is no surprise that you don't have optimal performance playing games and watching videos.

 

[Maccorf]

Wait. So I'm confused. Why are you asking him to compare for you the Nexus and the i5, but you then talk about how you've owned the GS3 and the i4? The comparison you request will not and does not apply.

But if you don't know the differences, you should do your research. Bigger screen, Near Field Communication, 4G. As far as the S3 goes, you can add to that list: expandable storage, pop up play, real multi tasking, and a true HD screen that wont jack up the ratio and distort HD images. That's just to name a few. You may have liked your i4, but I'm getting the sense that deep down, you think it was as good as the S3. Anyone who knows tech, will know the S3 is arguably better than the iPhone 5. At the very least, they are neck and neck. But the 5 is better than your 4. So that naturally means the S3 beats the 4 as well. I can't believe this has to be explained.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

Yes, it seems you are a bit confused. I don't mean to be condescending, but you obviously missed the clear point of my post, as you started rambling off features of the GS3 compared to the iPhone 4, and insinuated that I have some inherent bias thats skewing my perspective. I clearly quoted another poster, who said they couldn't stand iOS because they had a list of things it "could not do" when compared to Android. I then asked him to list some, because I just came from an iPhone 4 and can't find many useful things that I can now do with Android that I couldn't do with iOS. I wasn't comparing the GS3 with the iPhone 4, or even the 5. I wasn't asking for a features comparison list. I was asking for things that Android can do that iOS cannot.

 

[ungibbed]

Yes, it seems you are a bit confused. I don't mean to be condescending, but you obviously missed the clear point of my post, as you started rambling off features of the GS3 compared to the iPhone 4, and insinuated that I have some inherent bias thats skewing my perspective. I clearly quoted another poster, who said they couldn't stand iOS because they had a list of things it "could not do" when compared to Android. I then asked him to list some, because I just came from an iPhone 4 and can't find many useful things that I can now do with Android that I couldn't do with iOS. I wasn't comparing the GS3 with the iPhone 4, or even the 5. I wasn't asking for a features comparison list. I was asking for things that Android can do that iOS cannot.

I can name a easy few for what can be done on Android over iOS regardless of hardware.

1. The ability to use a custom or alternative keyboard without having to root the phone. The iOS keyboard always felt small to me resulting in many typos and autocorrect failures.

2. Native access to the actual file system of the phone via a simple app. Astro was one of my favorites until they trashed the UI in favor of eye candy over usability. Aside from that, you can easily download a file on a web browser of choice and do what you will with it. Not limited to pictures and PDF's. One great example is a new live album release from a friend of mine. My Galaxy S2 was able to download and extract the zip file and add the new music to my media library. On the iPhone, that just isn't going to happen unless you jailbreak it. If you don't, such action is forbidden!

3. A clean simple home screen. This may be a nit-pick, but as both an iPhone owner and an Android owner, I have my widgets for easy up front info (weather, news headlines, etc.) when on my iPhone I still must launch an app to get to the same info or multiple apps to see all the same info as opposed to simply viewing home screen widgets.

I'm no hater or fanboy, just speaking honest truth as I own both a 4S and multiple Android phones. Performance of games on my iPhone 4S blows away my S2, which is why I want to get my hands on a GS3 for a real world test drive.

Typed this from my iPhone (time to hit the bomb shelter).

 

[EndlessDissent]

Yes, it seems you are a bit confused. I don't mean to be condescending, but you obviously missed the clear point of my post, as you started rambling off features of the GS3 compared to the iPhone 4, and insinuated that I have some inherent bias thats skewing my perspective. I clearly quoted another poster, who said they couldn't stand iOS because they had a list of things it "could not do" when compared to Android. I then asked him to list some, because I just came from an iPhone 4 and can't find many useful things that I can now do with Android that I couldn't do with iOS. I wasn't comparing the GS3 with the iPhone 4, or even the 5. I wasn't asking for a features comparison list. I was asking for things that Android can do that iOS cannot.

As for the GS3, it can do SVDO and use NFC, which the iPhone 5 can't (Edit: I was thinking of the CDMA iPhones with regards to SVDO; I forgot the GSM could do SVDO; Sorry) . SVDO may not be a deal-breaker, but from what I've seen on these forums, the NFC can become extremely useful. You can find possible applications of NFC all over the internet, but for now, the most useful things you can do with NFC are:

1.) Place NFC tiles in your doorway, car, desk, or whatever other places you frequent, that are set to turn on WiFi or your WiFi AP, turn off the cell radio, start playing a song, open your favorite game, whatever. It's like Tasker, but more specialized.

2.) I'm sure you've heard of NFC payments. I'm sure you've heard people with iPhones saying it's overrated because it's not widely adopted yet. That's kind of true. It's not widely adopted, but after using Google Wallet at a 7-11 a few times (the only place around here besides McDonald's that supports NFC; there's a Shell with PayPass, but it's broken, and I don't think they care to fix it), I can only expect it to become more prevalent, especially now that some carriers are finally rolling out ISIS. It's no more of a hassle than a credit or debit card, and I expect the phone to be a lot more versatile in the future. Mobile payment is going to be bigger.

3.) Initiate file transfers. I'm sure you've heard of S Beam and how it works. You may be wondering, if the file transfers over Bluetooth anyway, what makes this better than Bluetooth on the iPhone? Well, because you don't have to go through the hassle of pairing two devices together. The NFC connection takes care of the "hard part" for you.

For now, those are the main distinguishing factors between the GS3 (and Android in general) and the iPhone 5, in my opinion. I personally find a lot of Touchwiz features to be gimmicky and stupid. Some are good ideas with poor execution. Very few are actually useful (Smart Stay when it works, and Smart Rotation come to mind), so I don't consider Touchwiz much of a differentiator.

Does the iPhone 5 have Wifi Direct support? I'd assume any modern smartphone would, but if not, that's another useful thing that Android can do that iOS can't.

Oh, yeah, toggles. Turning radios/volume/brightness off/on/up/down via the notification pane is much easier than digging through menus. It's a small thing, but the frustration can add up when you have to go through settings menus to do everything.

Also, I was specifically avoiding talking about customization. If you want to get into that, there's a lot of "can't do"s for iOS that are "can absolutely do all day long"s in Android.

I know this kind of sounds like a features comparison list, but that's really the only way to explain what Android can do that the iPhone can't. I mean, technically, you could consider every little capability of the OS to be a "feature". If one has a capability that the other doesn't, it's exactly the same as saying it has a "feature" that the other doesn't. If this type of answer isn't what you're looking for, can you give an example of something iOS can do that Android can't that isn't a feature comparison?

Edit: The post above mine is a better answer. Oh, well. I tried.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Yes, it seems you are a bit confused. I don't mean to be condescending, but you obviously missed the clear point of my post, as you started rambling off features of the GS3 compared to the iPhone 4, and insinuated that I have some inherent bias thats skewing my perspective. I clearly quoted another poster, who said they couldn't stand iOS because they had a list of things it "could not do" when compared to Android. I then asked him to list some, because I just came from an iPhone 4 and can't find many useful things that I can now do with Android that I couldn't do with iOS. I wasn't comparing the GS3 with the iPhone 4, or even the 5. I wasn't asking for a features comparison list. I was asking for things that Android can do that iOS cannot.

Oh okay. I guess I thought a comparison list WAS showing what Android can do that iOS can't. So I guess you were hoping for a table? Or a scatter plot? I'm trying to think of things other than a list that would show the difference in two things.

If we're just talking operating systems, how about widgets, seperate app tray, various keyboard options, customizable sms and mms apps, flash, and live wallpaper. Sorry, i tried putting that into a scatter plot for you but the system said that would be a nonsensical thing to do.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[funkylogik]

ive honestly never used NFC in 5months of having this phone lol but i do see a future in it.
why didnt apple include it? the cynical part of me thinks it was stubborness lol but is there a better reason?... does it take up a lot of space?... would the desirable materials used in the body not allow it?.... etc

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

 

[apollooff320]

ive honestly never used NFC in 5months of having this phone lol but i do see a future in it.
why didnt apple include it? the cynical part of me thinks it was stubborness lol but is there a better reason?... does it take up a lot of space?... would the desirable materials used in the body not allow it?.... etc

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

I haven't used NFC at all. I talked my fianc? into upgrading her phone and she picked up a iPhone 5. Thing is sexy to see in person. HD videos play perfectly fine on IT and look great, so the person that keeps trying to spread the fud that it's messed up needs to stop. While looking in the app store and clicking on apps and pressing the back button I was shocked when I didn't get sent back to the top of the list. Phone is buttery smooth and fast. The battery is killing my SG3 and while watch videos the picture looks better on the i5, but not that big of a deal to me since I rather watch videos on my TV. I'm pissed that I see the MyNBA2K available for iPhone and still not for android...WTF. Going over their app store I'm seeing all kinds of nice looking apps. Not a bad os at all and not a bad phone...gonna play with her phone for a few days and may make a switch. Most of the features on my SG3 feel gimmicky and barely used.

 

[funkylogik]

I haven't used NFC at all. I talked my fianc? into upgrading her phone and she picked up a iPhone 5. Thing is sexy to see in person. HD videos play perfectly fine on IT and look great, so the person that keeps trying to spread the fud that it's messed up needs to stop. While looking in the app store and clicking on apps and pressing the back button I was shocked when I didn't get sent back to the top of the list. Phone is buttery smooth and fast. The battery is killing my SG3 and while watch videos the picture looks better on the i5, but not that big of a deal to me since I rather watch videos on my TV. I'm pissed that I see the MyNBA2K available for iPhone and still not for android...WTF. Going over their app store I'm seeing all kinds of nice looking apps. Not a bad os at all and not a bad phone...gonna play with her phone for a few days and may make a switch. Most of the features on my SG3 feel gimmicky and barely used.

you are the type of guy i always advise to get an iphone lol
i dont mean this as an attack but why did you decide to get an android phone?
and expect its app store app to work in the same way??

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess