iPhone 5 vs S3, Can't make my mind up..

[fusi0n]

I have been using my Samsung Galaxy S3, while you can do A LOT on it, more on it than an iPhone.. But.. I keep having issues with my battery.. sometimes it works for 12 hours, sometime it works for 4, I can't stand the media players.. drives me nuts.. The best one I could find is Music Folders, but I have tired ALL the high rated ones.. I finally got a good keyboard (Swiftkey, but I prefer the iPhone keyboard better). My apps crash, and my phone freezes.. I have wiped my phone and started over..after a few months boom same thing..

What I do like about the S3,

-Emulators (Don't really play them

-Newsgroup Downloading (Don't really use)

-File System Access (Nice to have to email files to others)

-FTP Downloading (there might be an iPhone app for this

What I use my Phone for 98% of the Time,

Texting

Facebook

Twitter

Emails

Talking

Web Browsing

Camera

Thats it.

I like how the iPhone has the built in "iPod", I find it much better than any android phone I have had.. (HTC Hero, Samsung EPIC, HTC Thunderbolt. HTC Evo, Samsung Moment, Galaxy S2 SkyRocket, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S3,)

I am always back and forth on phones.. These are all the phones I have had this year,

iPhone 4S > Galaxy II Sky Rocket > Galaxy Note > iPhone 4s > Galaxy S3 > possible iPhone 5

What are your thoughts? Has anyone owned both? Which has the better camera? I have looked at comparisons and some look better than others..

[Nick H. Supervisor]

What I use my Phone for 98% of the Time,

Texting

Facebook

Twitter

Emails

Talking

Web Browsing

Camera

Thats it.

Either phone will do all of that. From the sounds of it you'll either need to think about what the other 2% usage is, or consider other options like whether you would want to jailbreak/root the device that you buy or not. Do you like the ability to customise your phone and so on?

I have the S3 and love it. I've briefly used an iPhone 5 at work and...well, it's an iPhone. I didn't notice anything remarkably different between the iPhone 5 and the other iPhones we have around, although as I said I wasn't reviewing it in-depth. There could be under-the-hood improvements that a regular iPhone user could tell you about that went over my head.

[Guest]

4S user here. Agree with the above the 5 offers nothing new. Issue I have though is I dislike Android so overall my choice would be the iPhone 5. Shame its just so boring :(

[fusi0n]

Either phone will do all of that.

Right, but it sounds like since that is what I really do most with my phone, the more stable, more contestant battery life, would be a good trade off.. I am just trying to give myself the voice of reason to buy it since I have to buy it without a contract.

Yes, the iPhone is just like the last 6 iPhones and it is boring. But, I never really had issues with my iPhone unless I jailbroke it

[ingramator]

I'm going to be honest, if it was out of those two then the iPhone 5 is the best choice because of app responsiveness, battery life and for you, the keyboard is more suited. If you were to broaden your horizon just a little :p I would consider a Lumia 920 (possibly 8X) because WP8 makes it easier to do all the things you listed with the benefit of the best smart phone camera available on the market :) I've actually used all 3 and the Lumia 920 wins straight out (except when I'm doing some serious power user stuff, thats the SIII's league).

Oh and one more thing, you will never experience lag on a Windows Phone ;)

[Luis Mazza]

Right, but it sounds like since that is what I really do most with my phone, the more stable, more contestant battery life, would be a good trade off.. I am just trying to give myself the voice of reason to buy it since I have to buy it without a contract.

Yes, the iPhone is just like the last 6 iPhones and it is boring. But, I never really had issues with my iPhone unless I jailbroke it

The Galaxy Note 2 has the best battery in the market. It lasts more than a full day with non-stop use. Also, the additional battery is very cheap. I have one of those, but I never used it as the battery that comes with the phone always takes care of the work until I have to recharge it.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Right, but it sounds like since that is what I really do most with my phone, the more stable, more contestant battery life, would be a good trade off.. I am just trying to give myself the voice of reason to buy it since I have to buy it without a contract.

Yes, the iPhone is just like the last 6 iPhones and it is boring. But, I never really had issues with my iPhone unless I jailbroke it

Well, we're making progress. But now you've raised a couple more points to consider which bring me back to my earlier comment about jailbreaking/rooting.

I would say that if both phones are untouched (no rooting, no jailbreaking) then the iPhone will offer you longer battery life. I could probably squeeze two days of battery out of my S3, but I think the iPhone could do 2 days more easily. Maybe an iPhone user could confirm that, though.

However, if you went for the S3 then you could easily root it and install a custom ROM on there that could help increase the battery life.

But if you root the device, there is the potential for the system to be less stable. Note that I say, "potential" as there are plenty of perfectly stable custom ROMS out there.

And you're right. The iPhone may be similar to previous iPhone devices, but you know what they say. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

For me the decision boiled down to tinkering. I like tinkering, and it is easier to mess around with an Android device than it is an iPhone. That's my opinion, at least. Others may disagree with me.

[Luis Mazza]

and I have the Galaxy S3 now.. Did you even read my post?

I did. But this is so weird that I couldn't possibly understand why get new phones in such short time. Unless you're a dev, that's not normal at all.

[reactionary007]

If you have a Galaxy S III already - then why not just stick with it and spend the money on a vacation? Drive to a near-by big city and visit a museum or something - spend the night in a hotel - sit in the hot tub. I have a Galaxy S III and love it. I also read blogs and think - I should buy an iPhone or a Lumia or an 8x, etc., etc. But I know the second I would go out and get it - I would think - I shoulda got a One X+ - or a Note II. It never ends :)

[fusi0n]

I enjoyed rooting my Android Phones, most of the time I got better results after flashing.. but I had a lot of problems with Custom roms with my Skyrocket and nightmares on the Note.. That is why I haven't flashed my S3.. I guess I could find a clean Android rom and start from there

[.Neo]

SK[' timestamp=1356015780' post='595405074]

4S user here. Agree with the above the 5 offers nothing new.

So far every iPhone 4/4S owner I came in contact with has been amazed by how much lighter and thinner my iPhone 5 is. On top of that it's blazing fast and the larger screen a welcome change. All in all in feels like a totally different phone. The only thing that could use a refresh is iOS' interface. Apps in general are still of way better quality and more polished than those running on Android.

How anyone can say with a straight face the iPhone 5 offers nothing new is beyond me really.

[ingramator]

Well, we're making progress. But now you've raised a couple more points to consider which bring me back to my earlier comment about jailbreaking/rooting.

I would say that if both phones are untouched (no rooting, no jailbreaking) then the iPhone will offer you longer battery life. I could probably squeeze two days of battery out of my S3, but I think the iPhone could do 2 days more easily. Maybe an iPhone user could confirm that, though.

However, if you went for the S3 then you could easily root it and install a custom ROM on there that could help increase the battery life.

But if you root the device, there is the potential for the system to be less stable. Note that I say, "potential" as there are plenty of perfectly stable custom ROMS out there.

And you're right. The iPhone may be similar to previous iPhone devices, but you know what they say. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

For me the decision boiled down to tinkering. I like tinkering, and it is easier to mess around with an Android device than it is an iPhone. That's my opinion, at least. Others may disagree with me.

For battery your suspicions are correct, the iPhone has far greater battery life then the GS3 under normal usage. As for jailbreaking/rooting, it completely depends on what you're installing. If you're just installing installous or a couple of non-service dependant apps then battery is going to be fine. Start installing stuff like Activator, frameworks and services- expect to suffer from battery life and performance. As for custom ROMs on Android increasing battery life, this isn't going to make much of a difference. Even skinning out services and/or applications in run time the main drain is from core components, video decoding but mostly WiFi, Bluetooth and Cellular connections (screen if you have it maxed out as well).

[fusi0n]

I did. But this is so weird that I couldn't possibly understand why get new phones in such short time. Unless you're a dev, that's not normal at all.

Some people just like to have new stuff.. Some people like to buy new guns, I like to buy new Phones.. If you don't have anything productive to post, please don't.

[.Neo]

But if you don't know what to get, you should stay with the iPhone 5. It's made for people like you :D

I did. But this is so weird that I couldn't possibly understand why get new phones in such short time. Unless you're a dev, that's not normal at all.

If you have nothing constructive to add to this thread it's best you stop wasting everyone's time with these pointless posts. No offence meant.

[shakey]

Since most of what you will be doing revolves around typing and reading text, I would go with either the S3 or Note 2, as they provide bigger screens that will be easier for what you are looking for. Not only that, but they provide actual multitasking, so you can watch a movie and text as the same time, or other things.

The Iphone5 is a great phone, but isn't much of a difference from the 4s, and is so small compared to the Samsung S3/N2 that it really can be a deal breaker. When the whole size of the I5 is the size of the S3's screen, you will understand how much of a difference it is.

Personally, after getting the S3, I wish I had waited a month for sprint to get the Note 2. While it is huge, you get used to it, and the extra power, size, and stylus makes a world of difference.

As for battery life on the S3, mine is stock. I get about anywhere from 18-48 hours of use, depending on how heavy I use it. If it is just for some texting and calls, I can easily go over 2 days. If I start youtubing it, or playing some need for speed, it will normally last around 20ish hours before I feel it needs a charge. I've never had my phone die on my within a day though. Good thing is though, you can get higher amp batteries that will make it last even longer, as long as you are fine with custom back cases. But on a normal day, I'll stream about 2 hours of Hulu while I do my paperwork, stream some music while going to the bank and other activities for about 2 hours, facebook/reddit/text for about 2 hours, and then other random things during the day, starting at 9am with a full charge. By 6pm, I'm normally around 58%. Just to give you some what of a clue on how well it actually does.

[Astra.Xtreme]

The S3 has a pentile display which looks like crap compared to the iPhone. Plus it's a bit oversaturated and the chassis is cheap plastic, which makes it look low quality. I switched back to the iPhone because of those reasons. Just seems like Samsung decided to cut as many corners as they could. Android itself is nice and fast, which was nice, but not anything superior to iOS.

The Note 2 has a better screen, but worse ppi, so it may or may not look better than the S3. I can't say for certain since I haven't seen one in person yet. Same cheap plastic chassis though. I do know that unless you have big hands, you can't make full use of it one-handed. And fitting it in a pocket would probably be impossible unless you have baggy clothes.

If you want physical quality, go with the iPhone. If you want millions and millions of features, then Android is probably your best choice. Both OS's are fine and stable, so it could come down to which one you like better.

[shakey]

The S3 has a pentile display which looks like crap compared to the iPhone. Plus it's a bit oversaturated and the chassis is cheap plastic, which makes it look low quality. I switched back to the iPhone because of those reasons. Just seems like Samsung decided to cut as many corners as they could. Android itself is nice and fast, which was nice, but not anything superior to iOS.

The Note 2 has a better screen, but worse ppi, so it may or may not look better than the S3. I can't say for certain since I haven't seen one in person yet. Same cheap plastic chassis though. I do know that unless you have big hands, you can't make full use of it one-handed. And fitting it in a pocket would probably be impossible unless you have baggy clothes.

If you want physical quality, go with the iPhone. If you want millions and millions of features, then Android is probably your best choice. Both OS's are fine and stable, so it could come down to which one you like better.

Please, provide proof of crap comparison of screens. Saying if you zoom in with a microscope to see each pixel isn't a real good way to determine how it actually looks to the human eye from half a foot away. To the naked eye, those little details just don't show up unless you get a magnifiying glass.

[Astra.Xtreme]

Please, provide proof of crap comparison of screens. Saying if you zoom in with a microscope to see each pixel isn't a real good way to determine how it actually looks to the human eye from half a foot away. To the naked eye, those little details just don't show up unless you get a magnifying glass.

It's the principle behind a pentile display. It has an inferior pixel pattern which makes it easily noticeable at normal viewing distance.

http://www.androidau...pentile-121182/

I still have the S3 at home in the box and have put the iPhone next to it, in which the difference is night and day. You can't pick out the pixels on the iPhone even if your face is mashed on the screen. You can pick out the jagged edges on the S3 from 2 feet from your eyes. A pentile display is crap quality, but lasts longer, which is a pretty stupid trade off, in my opinion. As if anybody is going to keep the S3 for over a decade.

You definitely don't need a microscope to easily pick up on the difference:

http://i-cdn.phonear...rison-3-jpg.jpg

http://i-cdn.phonear...rison-1-jpg.jpg

If I can survive driving home thru the blizzard today, I'll take a picture of the S3 and I'm willing to bet you'll be able to distinguish the pixels.

[Sandor]

The Galaxy Note 2 has the best battery in the market. It lasts more than a full day with non-stop use. Also, the additional battery is very cheap. I have one of those, but I never used it as the battery that comes with the phone always takes care of the work until I have to recharge it.

Does the battery come in it's own suitcase?

[Buttus]

if you're really a glutton for punishment and like old tech, go back to iphone... or if you really like an ipod like phone, at least wait a few months for the 5s or whatever they release next.

the 5 as it is now offers nothing over the s3 (besides the ipod part)

[Luis Mazza]

Does the battery come in it's own suitcase?

Nope. It is only the battery.

[fusi0n]

Thank you all for the advice. I may stick with the S3 or but a iPhone and keep the S3 until I decide which one is best for me. I can sell the iPhone 5 when the 5S comes out or give it to my wife. But I am thinking about putting a custom rom on my S3 to see if that helps the apps from crashing and battery life

[NEVER85]

Matter of preference. With the iPhone you know you're going to get a quality experience, but that comes at a premium price (usually). With Android it's always a crapshoot on what kind of experience you're going to get, but it works great on the Galaxy S III so you can't go wrong with either device.

[Scorbing]

The choice is obvious and a no-brainer: Galaxy S3

Why you may ask? Very simple:

1. Removable battery - battery lasts you all day.

2. SD Card slot

3. 2GB RAM

4. Dual Core (iPhone 5 is a dual core too)

5. 4.8 inch screen - super colorful and bright

6. Jelly Bean 4.1.1

7 Very fast phone.

8. Has unique features the iPhone 5 only dreams of having.

9. Much, much better multitasking than iPhone.

[OOOOOOOO]

I just got an iPhone 5 and Nexus 4 on order. I will use the iPhone 5 as my personal phone. Too many benefits for ME. That doesn't mean they'll be for you. You should ignore everyone here and just do your own research ... ie: Figure out what services you use, and how well they integrate ... for instance, you can forget iMessage or iCloud on the iPhone, but you will get great Google integration on the Android ... more than iOS... some Google apps are on iOS too but the level of integration on Android is far more like Apple's iCloud on iOS. Then of course, apps ... do you have hundreds of dollars worth of apps on iOS or Android? That could be a factor. Anyways ... I'd also try and get some experience playing with the phones.

2. SD Card slot

4. Dual Core (iPhone 5 is a dual core too)

5. 4.8 inch screen - super colorful and bright

Took out the irellevant reasons for you ;) Removable battery is utter rubbish ... I have had Apple phones since they came out, and every one of them has outlasted the Android phones I've had (S, S2, Galaxy Nexus, S3 etc). Fast phone? So is the iPhone. 2GB Ram really doesn't matter on phones. More Ram means nothing unless the apps are using it and well written. Honestly, for the most part, it makes very little difference having 1 or 2 gb Ram on a phone.

I'm getting Nexus 4 and iPhone 5. I will have the best of both worlds. But I'll use the iPhone 5 as my main phone. Better overall user experience and higher grade 3rd party apps for the most part.