Just switched from iphone 4S, please help.

[insertnickname]

Hello, I just changed over from a 4S to an S3 and thus far it has been tough to make the change. I have a couple of issues that I'm hoping can be resolved on this new phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
1. I have no idea if there is an update to Jelly Bean, I've read that there is but my built in updater says nothing is available. Can I update with factory software?
2. I used Samsung's Easy Phone Sync program to move over contacts, pictures, etc. The only problem is that I had a lot of text messages on my iPhone and have let it sync overnight and it has only finished with one person's text thread. Everytime I try to go into that thread I can scroll up about one screen and then it crashes the ap. I have removed the 200 text limit so that I can keep all my old text messages, but it appears that the built in messenger does not archive old texts like the iphone does. Is there any way to keep all my texts, or archive them like the iphone? Or is the Galaxy limited to having only 200 texts in storage. Seems like a pretty big drawback so far.
3. I had to manually stop the Easy Phone Sync process, because it drained my battery from full to zero overnight, and I'm guessing it uses a ton of computing power. Is this most likely the sync application and not just normal battery life for the S3?
4. The front of the phone seems extremely hot all the time, and this is fresh out of the box with auto-dim enabled, is this phone always this hot?
5. The built in browser also seems very slow to react to button pushes and clicks on the device, is this normal?

Please let me know any tips and tricks for an Android noob, I would like to love this phone but these issues are a little strange. Please let me know what I should do with the text syncing process, since I manually stopped it after one text thread, and I have 4 years of texts that function fine on my iPhone. I know that most people will say delete them, but that doesn't seem like a great indicator of the Galaxy compared to the 4S if the 4S stores them with no problem and the Galaxy can't. Is there any way to keep them? If not, then will I constantly only be able to have a running limit of 200-500 texts saved?

Thank you.

 

[jontalk]

I think if you do a search in this forum you'll find TONS of tips as a new Android user.. I had an iP3G for 4 years and have had my GS3 for about 5 months now and couldn't imagine returning to the dinky little iPhone. That said, let me see if I can throw out some ideas:

1. Re: Update. Since I'm a PC guy and I have no idea whether you're PC or Mac, let me just say that you first need to install Kies on your computer. Once it's installed, fully charge your battery. Then you'll need to take the USB cable that came with your charger and plug into the PC with Kies installed and let it recognize your phone. It may take a couple of tries, but it will happen. Once it recognizes your phone it will show you the latest update available for Android version 4.1.1. You click to install it and just sit back and wait until its finished.
2. Re: Easy Sync. I don't save text messages though photos are usually saved in a folder in iTunes which can be imported to your phone. I have a Scandisk 32 gb Class 10 MicroSD which is where my photos are saved. Contacts are best imported into a Gmail account which will sync with your phone.. That's the best solution. Remember you're a Google user now, so let go of the Apple thinking, LOL
3. Re: Temperature. Your phone shouldn't be hot, but since you're saying the Easy Sync is running non-stop, that's probably the reason. You can also go to:Support - AT&T Cell Phones SGH-I747 | Samsung Cell Phones and either live chat or call Samsung with any questions. They're really great both chat and phone. Also make sure you set up a Samsung account.
4. Re; Browser. The stock browser sucks in my opinion. Since I use Chrome on my PC I immediately installed Chrome and set up the Chrome to Phone sync. Now all my bookmarks, tabs, etc. sync on my phone. I also have Dolphin browser installed which totally rocks too.
5. I honestly don't know what to tell you about storing text messages since I don't save mine. Some other more savvy Android users will probably be able to help, or just chat with a Samsung rep

Also, I would install the SwiftKey 3 keyboard, Visual Voicemail app (and have ATT set it up for you), Juice Defender and Aquamail instead of the stock email app..but that's just my opinion. I liked the look and feel of the stock email app but it doesn't support HTML viewing. Aquamail free allows you to set up 2 accounts and works great; the stock Gmail app will automatically notify you of any emails too.