Review: Samsung Galaxy S3 (Sprint/VZW/AT&T)

by at 12:42 pm August 7, 2012

While the court battle between Apple and Samsung ensues, we are left wondering who copied who. Even though us here at GS know where innovation started, and where copy cats came in. That is neither here nor there, this is a review of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and in all honesty, it isn’t a bad phone. I am Apple through and through, but lately I’ve been requesting some Windows Phone and Android devices to get a feel of the “competition” and to also see if I can nail home the fact that Apple and iOS are still the top dog!

The Specs

  • 4.8″ Super AMOLED 1280×720 Display
  • Dual-Core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Processor
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 16/32 Internal | up to 32GB MicroSD
  • WiFi/Bluetooth 4.0/4G LTE (Sprint)
  • Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • 2100 mAh Li-Ion Battery

Hardware & Design

There is no doubt that the Android lovers out there were drooling to get this hunk of Samsung in their hands. The phone actually takes a jump back in time with more of a retro style design. The S2 had more of a rectangular design a la iPhone 4, but the S3 rocks more of a rounded corner design. I’ll call this a retro design, but that is my opinion. This is also since 3 years ago I had a 3GS, which almost rocked this shape.

The S3 is no slouch on specs as you can see above. Samsung is packing quite a workhorse that’ll fit comfortably in your pocket. Visually it isn’t something that will make you weak in the knees. It’s a glossy plastic mess that seems to be a step backward in design for Samsung. Inspired by a pebble somewhere in the lands of Korea, I guess you can get past it. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t horrible. I found it growing on me after a couple weeks. It might of been that screen, oh boy the screen. I love my iPhone, and honestly for a long marathon usage of a device, I am not sure I could love such a big screen. But this 4.8” display was absolutely gorgeous, colors looked incredible, movies were crisp, and photos were beautiful.

When looking at the phone from the side, it actually looks quite cheap. The white plastic wrapped around the odd fake aluminum band looks horrible. Sticking with the sides, on the right sits the power button, and the left gives you the volume rocker. Pretty minimal which is nice. They are positioned perfectly that actually looks great with the design of the phone. The headphone jack is placed on the top as is the fingernail slit to remove the back casing. The front gives a physical Home Button (something I personally love), and the Samsung logo under the earphone. Something I like about the S3 is the fact that it is named the same across multiple carriers, this is less confusing for consumers, another copy, err, step that Apple has mastered. It’s nice to not see different names for different carriers.

The bent piece of plastic you see on the left is the back casing that covers your battery and guts. It’s a flimsy piece of plastic that would scare me if I was to drop the device. What is nice about the removable back plate is you have the option to swap the battery if the time comes. But minus the ugly faux-aluminum band and the glossy flimsy plastic, it’s actually a decent looking phone. But this is probably all because of the display…

Display

The 4.8” piece of beauty on the front of this device is one of the main reasons why I would own this phone. I’ve used devices with larger displays than my iPhone, but none that really make me want to own that piece of hardware. But this thing was incredible. Samsung’s track record in displays is quite impressive. The Super AMOLED displays on devices have been nothing but gorgeous. And the S3 is no slouch in this department.

Yes, the S3 does have a PenTile screen, but because of the screen size and high definition resolution, you don’t notice a loss in quality (almost). When compared to the One X’s RGB stripe display, you’ll most likely see a more noticeable difference in terms of sharpness, color accuracy (S III still displays blue-ish whites). But on it’s own you really won’t have a reason to complain. One other aspect besides sheer image quality that AMOLED favors - efficiency. The AMOLED display gives the S3 a longer lasting battery compared to, say, the HTC One X and it’s better looking but more power hungry Super LCD 2. All things considered, Samsung really knocked the display out of the park with this device. The screen looks absolutely beautiful without sucking the battery dry.

Camera

Samsung delivers an outstanding camera baked into the S3. The dual-core cpu does a great job at giving great speed and performance with virtually no lag. I was really impressed with the speed of this camera, I was able to snag shots with incredible speed. During the review period, I found myself using the S3’s camera over the 8MP shooter in my iPhone 4S. While grabbing pictures of my 3 children running around downtown Portland, it was easier to snag the pictures with the S3 because of the unbelievable speed.

The quality of the pictures are almost perfect, with the images looking crisp and colors vibrant. I was very happy with the pictures I took of a family day on the Riverfront in downtown Portland. Some images really popped with beautiful contrast and color ranges, but then some seemed a little washed out, especially when compared with the same image snapped with my iPhone 4S. You can see in the comparison below that the colors look deeper in the 4S samples than they do on the S3. Without something to compare to, you’d probably never really notice. And like I said, some images came out beautiful. I snapped a picture of a fountain (above) and it looked absolutely amazing on the S3 and didn’t have the same effect with the 4S - unless I Instagrammed it ;) .

Battery

This was probably my second favorite part about the Galaxy S3 behind the screen. The battery was incredible. With my normal Twitter, email, pictures, a few phone calls and some heavy internet usage, my iPhone dies after only a few short hours. The S3 would last my entire day, and give me an extra push after getting home at night. The S3 rivals a tablet in regards to the batter. Hands down the best battery life I’ve every had in a smart phone.

During a looped video, the S3 ran down at around 9 hours and 15 minutes. I decided I screwed up somewhere and had it plugged in, so I gave it the same test with the same movie looped and was given 9 hours and 25 minutes. The 2100 mAh battery really works hard at giving you a fully functional smart phone - all day long. Given the 4.8” screen, 9+ hours is incredible and will be a huge selling point for the S3. Samsung does a much better job with the battery than their 2500 mAh attempt in the Note which I reviewed here on Gadgetsteria early last month.

Performance

The Galaxy S3 is a beasty device and will crush any device you can hold in your hands. Even while using the crappy TouchWiz software, I never noticed lag while using the phone. Opening and using tons of apps never crippled the S3. I was really impressed with the strength of this device. It makes up for a lot of the faults that the device has, especially when adding in the display and battery life. I feel that if I could throw at the S3 what I throw at the new iPad, the S3 might be able to bench press more than Apple’s latest and greatest tablet.

Samsung sent me the Sprint version of the S3. This might have been the reason behind a lot of the call problems I had with the device. The first couple of days gave me outstanding performance. Call quality was acceptable. I noticed having such a huge phone stuck to the side of my face made it hard for me to actually find the earphone. I found calls quiet until I adjusted the placement next to my bearded round brain canister. But even when I had it placed right, I still had to listen carefully and ask the caller to speak up, or repeat themselves. After the first couple of days, I had calls dropped continuously. So much that after a couple of days I stopped testing it. I couldn’t continue my daily routine of phone calls if I had to keep re-starting them. This happened for about 4 days straight, every call would drop randomly, and after re-calling the other person, it would again drop. I can’t say for sure if this was the device itself, or the carrier. I’d like to believe it was Sprint and not Samsung.

Overall, the S3 performed well above my expectations. Considering the US carriers were not given the 1.4 quad-core processor, the extra gig of ram over the international version helps push this device to it’s limits. I at no point felt that TouchWiz was becoming a problem during my time with the S3, so that is saying a lot about the speed and performance!

Software

Ice Cream Sandwich was a great offering as a mobile OS. I have used older versions in the past, especially on the TouchWiz skin, and been horribly disappointed. But with ICS, Samsung actually has a respectable attempt. I mean, it’s still TouchWiz, don’t get me wrong. But it’s as snappy as I would ever hope a UI would be. It’s most likely the powerhouse of a processor the device has, but I would actually choose this over any other device if I had to leave my iOS roots behind. (And that is saying a lot because I despise TouchWiz.)

Swiping across home screens is a breeze. It’s as quick as I find swiping in iOS, and that is something huge. I noticed no lag as I have in past TouchWiz devices. I did notice that multi-tasking seemed to take a while versus previous Android devices I’ve used. Maybe it was because this is the first device I’ve used with a physical home button apposed to the capacative buttons I’m used to with Android. I’m not sure if it is like this with all Andoird phones with real buttons, but it just seemed slower than what I’m used to, which is disappointing seeing how the rest of the experience is snappy.

Overall, the software experience isn’t as bad as I’ve used in the past on Android devices. ICS is a great update, even considering the crappy layer of TouchWiz. With Jelly Bean released, hopefully it’ll make it’s way to the S3 and give it the boost it needs.

I found myself using the S Memo app more than I use the Notes.app on iOS. Having the ability to scribble, type and add pictures is a handy app to have in your arsenal.

Another great feature is the swipe to message and swipe to call in your contacts. I used the crap out of this after loading my contacts. Saves a lot of time from clicks and taps that it takes in iOS. Even with the Favorites feature in iOS, this was a little nicer to use. I’d like to think that we will see this implemented into iOS seeing as how Apple is so gesture-heavy in it’s desktop OS and mobile OS.

And one last note on the software to all those Siri-haters out there - S Voice sucks. I found this useless in my travels with the S3. It’s slow and stupid compared to what Siri is capable of. I know that Siri is somewhat of a dud, considering it was a big selling point for the 4S, but S Voice is a horrible piece of software. Sorry for this, but I gave it a try because of all the crap that is talked on Siri, but still, Siri came out on top in usefulness and speed.

Which Carrier Should You Choose

While Jordan had the pleasure of poking and prodding Sprint’s Galaxy S III above, I had a Verizon review unit as well picking up an AT&T model for myself as a daily driver. In my few days with the VZW model I came to many of the same conclusions as Jordan - battery life is awesome; screen is great albeit slightly behind the One X in terms of quality; and Samsung has managed to de-suck Touch Wiz a bit in ICS. As for the AT&T model, I’m just as impressed if not more-so. The 3G-only nature of my home town means battery life is better yet. Still, even when LTE comes knockin’ and steals my S III’s electrons away, faster, I’m perfectly happy with getting an extended battery to keep me going long into the night — something the HTC One X can’t do because of the sealed battery, and actually one of the reasons I returned it for the S III.

So which carrier is best? Because Samsung went ahead with a unified branding across carriers and managed to keep hardware differences to pretty much zero, the choice of carrier based on the phone’s hardware is non-existent. Choose the carrier that best caters to you in your location. Another page out of Apple’s book, yes. But hey. It works.

~ Mike

Conlusion

If you are in the market for a new Android device, the S3 will not disappoint. Compared to the other big hitter in the Android world at the moment, the HTC One X, Samsung narrowly edges out HTC once again. The design isn’t up to my 2012 standards (the HTC One X is a sexy device) but what is packed inside is really worth the $200 price tag (with a new 2-year contract). Great battery life and a gorgeous screen really put this in the front of the line for a smart phone purchase. TouchWiz has always been an issue for me, and other users, but it isn’t as noticeable on the S3 as previous devices. A great camera and an insanely powerful processor, the Galaxy S3 is great for anyone (even some iOS users) that are looking for a beast of a device.

It comes down to this: if you’re a light to moderate data user and aren’t all that worried about widgets, apps updating in the background and shudder at the words “social butterfly”, the One X and it’s gorgeous styling are for you. If, however, you need a top of the line smartphone to power you through (most) of the day while belting out update after update and game after game, the S III and it’s larger 2,100 mAh battery (and ability to have additional batteries swapped in) get the nod for true power users. In the end, the nerds came calling and Samsung answered, better.

Gadgetsteria’s Rating: 8.5/10

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  • justsaying916

    I don’t understand all the bashing of Touchwiz in this article(this is my first Samsung phone since the a670 flip phone I had in 04) because I really do like everything about TW. Its fluid and pleasing on the eyes with 4.8 inches to emerse yourself into. My one gripe was the stock keyboard’s predictive text but that was fixed easily in the Google Play store. The locked bootloader on Verizon is a red flag for some but I honestly don’t think I’d root this device regardless given how well it has ran out of the box. The home button being a tad sluggish is simply not true. By default double tapping the home button launches S Voice. You can disable that and once you do the home button is as quick as on any other device. The screen could be brighter but it in no way limits the user experience on the s3. I own an iPod Touch and it isn’t steller in direct sun either, which device these days actually is?

    • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

      Because Touch Wiz isn’t that good. I much prefer HTC Sense. Still, TW has come a long way in even just the last year.

      In regards to the display, AMOLED is notoriously bad in sunlight. And depending on which generation ipod touch you have, it’s not a good comparison either. An example of an awesome display even in direct sunlight is the HTC One X - super bright and clear. And much easier to read than the S3.

      • justsaying916

        I’m not 100% sure but I think I have the same iPod Touch as the iPhone 4. Truth be told I don’t know exactly what Sense UI is but if its the reason for the ugly black ring/phone button on the bottom of my friends Evo 4g I really hope they updated it as well but we are talking about personal preferences. I will admit I like how my friends HTC stock weather widget looks but in my experiences its not as up to date as the weather channel one in the Play Store and that’s what really matters with a weather widget. I’m sure you can’t go wrong with either the new iPhone, HTC, or the s3 but AMOLED screens do give better blacks and with the screen being so pleasant to watch movies and TV shows on I have no complaints about the S3. I’m sure both look stunning in your hands. But I think it should be said the s3 doesn’t feel flimsy in your hand. I do worry about dropping it because if my iPod Touch screen shattered as easily as it did, I can’t see a bigger screen meaning more durable.

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      TouchWiz of the past is horrible. But as you can see in my post, this latest attempt on the S3 is actually quite nice. It still has it’s downsides, but it is the best I’ve used.

      • justsaying916

        I’m constantly looking for anything to complain about with the s3 but I really can’t think of anything wrong with TW. I might be too close to notice such things though. Besides the sluggish home button you can easily remedy I was wondering what downsides to TW you noticed.

        • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

          TouchWiz on the S3 was great, as I said in the review. TouchWiz of the past has always been a sluggish piece of garbage. Samsung’s Android skin has always needed help, lots and lots of help. But the ICS version on the S3 isn’t sluggish at all, like previous attempts. I noticed nothing, not even a delay with the Home Button on the S3. I enjoyed my time with it, and it makes me like the OS more because of my time with it.

          Did you actually read the review? Cuz I said I liked it.

          • justsaying916

            Yes I read the review, which is why I mentioned the default setting of the home button to make it faster at returning home. Have you been able to compare Google Now to Siri yett? I’ve seen some videos on YouTube of people using Google now and it seems much faster than S Voice(not much of an accomplishment though)

  • Charley

    One important point I forgot to mention. For those getting an SGS3 phone, get the pebble blue (dark blue), not the white.

    A white phone reflects light, which could reflect some glare into the camera lens, reducing photo quality.

    A dark phone absorbs light, which will aid in getting better quality photos.

    You can see this principle in action on full size cameras that have lens hoods to prevent side lighting from creating glare on the lens. A lens hood greatly increases photo quality. The inside of lens hoods is matte black for a reason.

    Applying that same principle to smart phones suggests a dark, light absorbent phone body will take better photos than a white, reflective phone body can.

    So even though the photos taken by the SGS3 in this article are very good (and better than the IP4S - see my other posts), the SGS3 would probably take even better photos if you get the pebble blue (dark blue) version.

    I also plan to get the 32 Gig version of SGS3 because if I do need that much memory, internal memory is faster than external memory you add. So I’m getting 32G in case I need it. Who knows, it might be very helpful when taking photos and videos. I need a FAST responsive camera.

    • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

      There’s a black version that was spotted roaming around out in public. IMO the Pebble Blue is ugly. The black version, though, looks sharp. :P

  • Charley

    P.S. - I do greatly appreciate the author taking the time to do this review, even though I disagreed with some of his photographic opinions.

    P.P.S. - I would also like to add another thought to this phone comparison. I’m sure the I-Phone 5 will try to one up the camera of the SG3S, and the IP5 might succeed, but it won’t matter. Why?

    Because myself, and many others like me, will buy the SGS3 now and be very happy with it for a year. After that year is up, we can easily afford to buy a SGS4 will have one upped the IP5.

    I can afford to upgrade to a newer model Samsung Galaxy phone every time a new model is released because it costs half as much as an I-Phone as it just as good or better. I can buy two Galaxy S phones for the cost of one I-Phone.

    As far as which is better, they will keep leap frogging each other. At the moment, Samsung is the best IMO, but within 6 months Apple will be the best again, then Samsung, then Apple, and so on as the arms race continues. If I were an I-Phone user, I could only afford to upgrade every other model. With Samsung I can afford to upgrade to every new model. That is the ultimate superiority.

    • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

      Competition is great isn’t it? (But not for our wallets)

  • Charley

    I disagree with the author’s conclusion that the IP4S takes better photos than the SGS3. I am a computer programmer and professional photographer, making my living equal parts from both. As a professional photographer, I am an expert photo reviewer.

    The author says the IP4S photos are more saturated and therefore better. Let’s examine that claim while looking at his 4 photos of the paddle wheel boat. I agree that the IP4S photos are more saturated, but at what cost? Who says more saturated is better? Too saturated is a bad thing. Let me show you why.

    The top two photos (taken by each camera) are both good photos, but the SGS3 photo is better because the SG3S photo has photo realistic color. i.e. - real life color. I prefer realism. The IP4S phone photo is excessively saturated and dark. That is not what real life looks like. But I also admit that it’s a matter of personal preference whether you want realism in you color, or a super saturated look. Some of that is personal preference.

    However, there detail (or lack of) is not a matter of personal preference. It’s simply a fact. You either have good detail or you don’t. In photography, one of the most difficult challenges for cameras and photographers is to get good detail in the darkest and lightest parts of a photo. Any camera and photographer can get good detail in the medium exposed parts of a photo, but only a good camera and photographer can get good detail in both the darkest and lightest parts of a photo at the same time.

    Since these photos were all done by the same photographer, of the same subject matter, in the same lighting conditions; we can conclude that the quality and fineness of detail in the darker and lighter parts of the photo are caused by the quality of the camera.

    Look again at the paddle wheel boat photos. This time look at the bottom two boat photos that show the paddle in side view.

    Look at the bottom-left of the SGS3 photo, in the dark area that in shade/shadow. It has good detail. Look at the same area of the IP4S and you’ll see it lacks details in the shadows because the over-saturation lost the shadow/darker details.

    Now look near the top-left of the SGS3 photo in the lightest area and you’ll see highlights on the water, which is the sun glinting off the water. That’s beautiful! Now look at the same area of the IP4S photo and you’ll see no highlights of sun glinting off the water because the over-saturation lost the highlights details. In fact, it totally lost the highlights to the point they don’t show at all. With the IP4S you don’t even know the sun was brightly reflecting off the water in the top-left area highlights because the IP4S totally lost the highlights due to over-saturation.

    To compare it to music… The IP4S plays the mid tones well, if over exaggerated, but it lacks sufficient base and has no treble at all. The SGS3 is playing all the notes accurately.

    • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

      Good analysis and thanks for the lengthy, informative responses.

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      Okay, look at the two photos comparing the boat. Look at the sky in both of those, if that isn’t a washed out light ridden mess, I am not sure what is. I have many photos that I took, that didn’t make it into the review were the same level of quality. I mentioned a crap ton of times about how much I liked the camera and the pictures, but in comparison, the quality was in favor of the iPhone 4S a majority of the time. There was a lot of stuff missing from the pictures that the S3 missed that the 4S had no problem getting, sometimes that was important to me.

      But thank you for your very lengthy reply. No where in this review did I trash the camera, I said it was incredible, but in certain photos, not moving an inch, I lose detail and even items that should be there because of the light, it brings down my happiness. haha

  • Chris916

    The physical home button does have a small amount of lag out of the box but that’s because of ‘S Voice’ being set to launch by pressing it twice. I turned that feature off and it’s much quicker at returning to my main home screen. He really bashed the plastic, but in my opinion the phone does feel very premium in my hand and I could not tell the back was flimsy until I took it off. If you’re objective going into it I find it hard to believe you wouldn’t enjoy this device.

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      I am not objective to design going into any review, when it is a competing phone to my 4S. I will be harsher on the OS, but that is because I have something incredible to compare any mobile OS to - iOS.

      But as far as the design, I didn’t have one thought either way going into it. Pulling it out of the box, I really got a feel that it was a couple years ago with the design. And, it feeling ‘premium’ in your hand, is your opinion. The phone, it’s plastic glossy backing, just doesn’t feel that sturdy. I am not saying it would crack the second you dropped it, but it DID give me that impression.

      I bashed the idea of the plastic. It wasn’t my phone, so I didn’t chuck it at the ground to see if it survived. But holding that back piece in my hand, on and off the phone, it didn’t seem and give the impression of being the toughest plastic on the block.

      I really enjoyed this phone, as you can clearly see. It isn’t going to give me 100% butterflies. Every devices will have it’s flaws, these are the ones [I] found.

      Thanks though!

      • justsaying916

        If you think its not durable watch the cnet tourture test of the s3. It even wanted to work submerged in water.

  • NINA GAIL

    IS WHITE THE ONLY COLOR

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      No, there is a pebble blue, and possibly a black version that has been rumored to be out in the wild blue yonder.

      • justsaying916

        I personally like that the blue doesn’t have the fake metal ring on it but fml if a black one is released at a later date. I’m aware of the red at&t variant but a solid red phone is a tad flamboyant for me anyways.

    • justsaying916

      Also I think At&t has a red one.

  • Spikey01

    This is 10x better phone than any Apple!!

  • MexiMelt

    iOS is just SO boring though. It’s been almost the same thing since the original iPhone.

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      I do agree with the overall look of it being somewhat boring. But…It’s still a better experience than Android and Windows Phone. Also, I haven’t had stock iOS in years, I really rely on jailbreaking and themes/tweaks to create an experience that isn’t so boring and dull.

      I know that isn’t for everyone, but it works for me, and has for years.

  • http://twitter.com/Ridethesky84 Kenny

    So how would you compare it to the iphone 4s? Better or worse? Only asking because I’m thinking of buying a galaxy s3. I have a iphone right now, but I like both android and ios.

    • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

      That depends on several factors. First and foremost, do you like large screen phones? If no -> iPhone. If yes -> S III.

      Other factors to think about are battery life. Large screen phones (and in this case Android phones) are typically less efficient. The iPhone is known for its battery life. That said, the Galaxy S III is phenomenal with battery life too, considering the dual-core 1.5 GHz processor and 4.8″ display.

      If you’re the type for “eye candy”, iOS is pretty much the only option. While Android apps are finally starting to get “pretty”, most look like windows 98/windows mobile style apps. Again, this is changing. Take for example instant messaging app “Hike” - it’s gorgeous.

      I’d say in the end it will come down to either the screen size aspect I mentioned above or what mobile OS you prefer, Android or iOS. In terms of power, both will power any app on their respective platform’s app stores. Likewise, both a frugal with battery life.

      The S III edges the iPhone out in terms of “bleeding edge” features, though. Things like NFC, Android/S beam for sending information and data back and forth over NFC and a decent helping of built-in gestures give the S III a more futuristic feel.

      Long response, sorry. :P

      • http://www.facebook.com/mark.chinsky Mark F Chinsky

        I have Ipads, ipods, and the GS3 on Sprint. I think your being a bit harsh on the physical traits. I honestly thought the ‘metal’ bands were metal, that’s how good it looks to me. That ‘flimsy’ back cover you show flexing, can actually flex 180′. Scary thought but a unique material that is almost impervious.

        The Gorilla Glass 2 on the GS3, is WAY stronger and more scratch resistant than Apple. My IOS devices got so scratched with kids around I don’t dare use them without ugly annoying ‘screen wraps.’. I keep my GS3 in my pocket with keys and zero scratches. Incredibly strong. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cracked screen on one. Bottom line, the 4/4s may have a super strong metal side, but from and back are fragile glass throwing the whole ‘cheap plastic’ argument out the window.

        That being said, almost every iphone I see is wrapped in a bulky case because it is so delicate and most GS3′s are in a case because its so thin and large it needs more ‘grip’. Once you put a case on both devices, how ‘beautiful’ the materials are become really moot because all you see is the front and both look great in that department.

        I find IOS’s lack of anything comparable to widgets and Windows 3.1 like icon mess sorely in need of some kind of redesign. In addition, the GS3 truly multi-tasks tons of apps (with that 1 gig of RAM) while the iphone only supports a few hard coded Apple authorized background processes and yet it kills the iphone on battery life (and takes about 30 seconds to swap if you need to). it’s time for Apple to truly multitask like the Palm Pre did 3 years ago.

        • http://www.gadgetsteria.com The Gadgeteur

          You have some valid arguments. Personally I think the S III is a step backwards in design and build quality. The door, though, as you said, is highly flexible instead of brittle and prone to snapping.

          Agree on case argument. Ditto for iOS, too.

        • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

          I do not use a case on my iPhone, well, I do when I have some for review, but 95% of the time it goes without a case. I know if I drop it, there is a 150% chance it’ll crack and I’ll be a pissed off guy. But, while I had the S3, I felt differently about it’s outcome after a fall. I was never worried about the screen, it was that cheap feeling plastic. It gave the feel of cheap. The screen doesn’t, like the glass on my 4S, it was that plastic that did it.

          I am sorry, but I will disagree about the brushed aluminum band, there can’t be any way you thought that was real. Even in pictures it looks fake.

          And as far as iOS, widgets are a joke. At least widgets on Android. They are clunky and somewhat unattractive. I wouldn’t trade an ounce of iOS for a flipping widget. iOS attempts, not necessarily a widget, but items like TwitkaFly are executed the way a mobile app should be. I have never got joy by using a widget on the Android OS. 1GB of RAM compared to 512MB of RAM doesn’t hold an argument 90% of the time. It’s how the device utilizes it and runs. My 4S will outrun almost every device you put in front of it with more RAM.

          I do agree that Apple needs to get up with the times in a lot of areas, but, Android and different manufacturers attempts are poor tries at something and they fail miserably.

          I really liked the S3, a lot. If I was to leave the Apple camp, it would probably be for the S3, for many reasons. But again, as I said in the review, the design is too retro for me. My 3 year old 3GS was a rounded phone. Where we are with devices, I just feel it isn’t up to par.

    • http://Gadgetsteria.com Jordan Carpenter

      I couldn’t of answered it any better myself. Mike has it spot on.

      Also, one more thing to keep in mind, Apple is better ;)

    • justsaying916

      Another little hing to consider is apple is going to release a new iPhone in a matter of weeks. While it does ultimately come down to which mobile OS you prefer and screen size you might also want to consider the S3 is the new kid on the block and the iPhone 4s while still capable is getting long in the tooth (hooray for cliche). If I were you I’d wait to see the new iPhone and then compare it to the s3 before buying either.