Galaxy S 3 Switch - Persuade me not to!

[dall121]

Hey All,

I just joined this forum and was pleased to see how much great info is on here and how helpful everyone is!

I bought my galaxy nexus 6 days ago and was very dissatisfied with the battery life (I knew going into it that batt life wasn't great). I was prepared to buy an extended battery, but learned that a lot of the accessories don't fit the large 3800mah batteries.

Anyway, the S3 is pre ordering on VZ in two days, and is rated with stellar battery life reviews so I am considering returning my Galaxy nexus. I do like the stock ICS and I like the ease of ability to root the phone as I wanted to use it as a mobile hotspot...

But I am sure with the support behind the S3 there will be ways to do it on there as well?

Can anyone persuade me to stick with the galaxy nexus? (other than the $35 restocking fee) because that is pennies over the 2 years I will own and have to be happy with the device.

Thanks all

-Dennis

 

[Cam]

I say go for it. I probably would in your shoes.

 

[atrain311]

Now I happen to really like my Nexus, but with the way technology advances, newer is USUALLY better, so if you're talking about going into it essentially at square one, I'd probably pick the newer phone too.

 

[zebug]

well first of all, that is the SUPER DUPER extended battery you were looking at, just get the normal extended battery, 2100 mah I believe, and that was a world of difference for me from stock and isn't noticeable at all other than being a little heavier (to me anyway).

As for talking you into staying with the Gnex, well that's the beauty of the android universe....there is a phone out there for everyone, go ahead and give it a try, if you think you like it more, then there you go.

 

[Cam]

I'd say the biggest arguments in favor of the GNex is stock Android and minimal bloat. The GS3 is going to have the Touch Wiz UI, which a lot of people don't care for, and it will probably have a good bit of bloatware.

As for the "pure Google" experience that is supposed to come with a Nexus branded device, forget it. We've all learned the hard way that there's no such thing as "pure Google" if you're on VZW.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Have you updated your Gnex to the recent official 4.0.4 through OTA? Battery seems quite better after that. If you manage screen time and brightness reasonably and avoid some known battery hog apps like FB, G+, it should do fine. I began to like Gnex more after OTA as it seems more stable on data connection and a bit faster in everything.

 

[red66charger]

Something I'd be cautious about is the "Verizon" stigma of that S3. I think GNex has proven not all variants are alike. S3 might be a great device, but will the CDMA variant measure up to the GSM? Take the battery life for instance.

There are several here who have ditched their CDMA GNex's for GSM variants and report a better experience. Your situation is different because you can still return your GNex. After my experience with this Samsung radio, there's no way I get a VZW S3 without first reading user reviews. Like a months worth of user reviews.

 

[rivera02]

I will be adding a line for my brother and seeing him my gnex for 100 bucks and having the gs3. Twice the ram, bigger screen, better battery life, much better camera, much faster processor i don't think you can go wrong. The s4 snapdragon includes the lte radio so battery life should be much improved over the gnex. I'm on the fence about touchwiz but I'll just end up running apex launcher anyways do no big deal to me. Also, the 4.0.4 update abortion killed any hope of receiving jellybean in a timely fashion so it made the decision much, much easier imo.

 

[dall121]

Yes I did just force my 4.0.4 update OTA. I also spent about I do realize for whatever reason CDMA phones seem to have worse battery life, but from my impressions the processor in the S3 seems to be better at battery management by clocking the speed down when doing easier tasks that don't require a faster processor. However after my update I still am calculating about 3.5 hours talk time based on the battery use. (I may need to reset the way it calculates percentage through a few cycles with the 4.0.4 update... but I'm still betting its going to be an improvement not a drastic one.

I do like the nexus but its just my luck that I buy the phone a week before an update to it comes out.

I really was only upgrading because I needed to get rid of my OG droid which died after about 5 hours... and I wanted to lock in another 2 years of unlimited data instead of waiting around for the S3. I talked to a sales rep and they said with the S3 pre order I can still lock in my unlimited data... so thats what im leaning towards doing.

thanks everyone for the input.

 

[jbdan]

Yes I did just force my 4.0.4 update OTA. I also spent about I do realize for whatever reason CDMA phones seem to have worse battery life, but from my impressions the processor in the S3 seems to be better at battery management by clocking the speed down when doing easier tasks that don't require a faster processor. However after my update I still am calculating about 3.5 hours talk time based on the battery use. (I may need to reset the way it calculates percentage through a few cycles with the 4.0.4 update... but I'm still betting its going to be an improvement not a drastic one.

I do like the nexus but its just my luck that I buy the phone a week before an update to it comes out.

I really was only upgrading because I needed to get rid of my OG droid which died after about 5 hours... and I wanted to lock in another 2 years of unlimited data instead of waiting around for the S3. I talked to a sales rep and they said with the S3 pre order I can still lock in my unlimited data... so thats what im leaning towards doing.

thanks everyone for the input.

I would definitely give it a test drive to see how it works for you....of course if you're cool with the $35 re-stock fee. It might just turn out to be "the phone" for you. I won't persuade you to not to switch

 

[AntimonyER]

If you want to be persuaded not to switch, then here is what I will contribute. Bloatware, and Touchwiz.

However all the third party skins seemed to undergo a nice weight loss program, and from what I have seen, are not nearly as intrusive (although still not perfect). As far as the bloatware, stock ICS allows you to disable any app you so desire. However if I am not mistaken, HTC disabled that feature in Sense, and its very possible Verizon saw this and will have Samsung do the same in their build of the phone... We will see.

Really it comes down to your preference. I am not going over to the GS3, but I am intrigued about better radios, and about the possibility of apple like availability of accessories, since the entire world will use the same accessories, like the iPhone.

 

[viebroccoli]

Is stronger hardware even necessary at this point? I'm a GNex owner, and even though OMAP cpu in the GNex is far inferior than the S4, I have zero lag. Although, I am rooted. Even such, I actually underclocked my GNex from 1.2 GHz to 700 MHz, and still, no lag whatsoever! Underclocking it was made battery life night and day, figuratively and literally speaking. I see no lag during navigation from homescreen to homescreen, viewing the app drawer, even playing highly graphic and cpu intensive games. So really, what's the point of gunning for a higher powered cpu nowadays? Sure, it'll be a safer bet for future, more demanding apps than today, but who knows. My point is don't go for the SIII because of the horsepower alone, you'll probably find the necessity for performance to be more than satisfying on the GNex.

 

[Turdbogls]

if you read the S3 review on AC this am, you will read "battery life is on par with gnex and 2000mah battery. so battery life isn't going to be much, if any, better than the gnex.

as for "hackability", the S3 already has root (although i am sure that is internation versions and the CDMA version will probably be a little different. ROMs will be all over the place for that phone.

i still think in the long run, the nexus is going to be the "more up to date" phone. stock android is something to be appreciated. once you use it, you start finding things here and there that bother you about manufacturer skins.

in the end it is up to you, i still probably wouldn't do it...but that is just me.
i have no complaints with the phone....i LOVE the software, i LOVE the Rooting community. constantly bringing new and exciting enhancements to the phone.

plus, i still dont like the look of the S3....lol

 

[rushmore]

SG3 for a new purchase seems obvious:

28nm chip
About twice as fast (per benchmarks)
Better battery life
Runs cooler
Sd slot
No fixed nav bar taking up space
Maybe better radio reception

 

[Sandroidfan]

if you read the S3 review on AC this am, you will read "battery life is on par with gnex and 2000mah battery. so battery life isn't going to be much, if any, better than the gnex.

They compared international GSIII with quad Exynos to GSM nexus which is already quite better than verizon Gnex on battery life. Also verizon GSIII will have more efficient processor/radio setup in S4 chip than global Exynos version.

I have no argument on OP going with GSIII for faster performance, longer battery life. If I'm on the market now, it's hard to pass on GSIII. The only thing I don't like in GSIII is physical home button. I became fan of on-screen button after using Gnex. But since I got Gnex, my phone upgrade schedule is set to winter unless I leave verizon. So I will look for whatever is best for me in Q4.

 

[jkc120]

After my experience with this Samsung radio, there's no way I get a VZW S3 without first reading user reviews. Like a months worth of user reviews.

Yep, it came up over and over in the pre-release thread that Samsung CDMA/LTE radios were dodgy, and we all were hoping for a winner in that department. While it's not horrible for me, it does disappointment me how badly it loses signal and speed when entering buildings.

 

[jkc120]

Maybe better radio reception

That's a HUGE maybe there...Unless the LTE radio is completely different. Either way, if I were the OP, I'd wait to see how the radio performs before buying the phone. But that's just me...

 

[dall121]

Thanks again everyone for all the feedback. I must say I do love love my g nex, however I do not love the battery life. It is still pretty terrible after my 4.0 .4 o t a update that I force courtesy with help of this forum. I'd do you recognize that the radio in the s 3 probably needs to be reviewed before I should commit. However I do not see how that radio could be worse than the 1 in the nexus. They should have read reviews of the nexus and taken into account will making me ask her. Either way I think I'm going to bite the bullet because I only have 1 week left on my return time limit for the nexus.

 

[jbdan]

Thanks again everyone for all the feedback. I must say I do love love my g nex, however I do not love the battery life. It is still pretty terrible after my 4.0 .4 o t a update that I force courtesy with help of this forum. I'd do you recognize that the radio in the s 3 probably needs to be reviewed before I should commit. However I do not see how that radio could be worse than the 1 in the nexus. They should have read reviews of the nexus and taken into account will making me ask her. Either way I think I'm going to bite the bullet because I only have 1 week left on my return time limit for the nexus.

I like your line of thinking I think you're making a good move.

 

[Trent Reznor]

That's a HUGE maybe there...Unless the LTE radio is completely different. Either way, if I were the OP, I'd wait to see how the radio performs before buying the phone. But that's just me...

Given that the GS3 has the S4 SoC Im optimistic that the radios will perform better than how the qualcom LTE radios and OMAP play together in the Nexus. The S4 chipset is already in use in other phones and I haven't read about any signal issues. Where as the signal issue seems common for both the GSM and LTE/CDMA versions of the GNex.

I'm preordering a GS3 tomorrow and the GNex is getting passed down to my fiancee.... it can't be any worse and I wanna lock in unlimited LTE on my second line. Rooting will solve any bloatware/touchwiz issues I may encounter.

 

[finn5975]

Thanks again everyone for all the feedback. I must say I do love love my g nex, however I do not love the battery life. It is still pretty terrible after my 4.0 .4 o t a update that I force courtesy with help of this forum. I'd do you recognize that the radio in the s 3 probably needs to be reviewed before I should commit. However I do not see how that radio could be worse than the 1 in the nexus. They should have read reviews of the nexus and taken into account will making me ask her. Either way I think I'm going to bite the bullet because I only have 1 week left on my return time limit for the nexus.

I think you are making a very wise decision. If you head over to the S3 forums, you will find that reported battery life blows the Nexus battery life, with extended battery out of the water. This was shown over and over in tests by tech sites but its nice to hear users backing up the claims. Plus, you are getting newer technology, a much improved camera, larger screen, more settings options, much more storage capability, etc etc. The signal is left up in the air until the cdma units are in the wild, but you always have two weeks to try it out and return it. Better to see how it works for you personally rather than place your bets on others' experience in the blogs. Fact is, they are on different phones in different areas under different conditions.
If all else fails, if you don't like the S3 then return it. If you are worried about committing a 2 year contract to the Nexus you can always buy it outright from someone. They are dirt cheep on Craigslist right now. I'll be pre-ordering right along with you in the morning!! Good luck!

 

[jkc120]

Given that the GS3 has the S4 SoC Im optimistic that the radios will perform better than how the qualcom LTE radios and OMAP play together in the Nexus. The S4 chipset is already in use in other phones and I haven't read about any signal issues. Where as the signal issue seems common for both the GSM and LTE/CDMA versions of the GNex.

I'm preordering a GS3 tomorrow and the GNex is getting passed down to my fiancee.... it can't be any worse and I wanna lock in unlimited LTE on my second line. Rooting will solve any bloatware/touchwiz issues I may encounter.

Well, it is a Qualcomm so it does have that going for it, I'll give you that. But no Verizon LTE phones have an S4 as of yet, right? Though, yeah, if the Rezound is any indication, the radios should be great. Although I still wonder how much the Rezound's unique antenna design has to do with it. I guess time will tell.

 

[dall121]

Just returned my Galaxy Nexus and Pre Ordered Galaxy S III. Couldn't deal with the batt life like that for 2 years.... THink i will end up getting an extended batt for the GSIII anyway but maybe since itll be a popular device someone will make a case for it that includes an extended batt or something.

Thanks all for the help. Now to try and deal with using my OG droid until the GSIII arrives.

Anyone have advice about how to speed that thing up or make it more fun to use until I get my GSIII? Right now its stock and seem like it runs at snails pace.

 

[jkc120]

You know, this phone IS tempting. Many ifs/conditions for me though:

- if the radio performs well and reduces LTE power consumption (since it's an integrated 28nm LTE radio in the S4)
- if the screen is better calibrated (e.g. videos don't look like !^@&)
- if I can get over the physical home button (big if here)
- if Samsung doesn't cave and lock the phone down on VZW (e.g. locked bootloader)

Then I would seriously consider this device to replace my Nexus. I love the soft buttons and look/feel of the Nexus, but at the end of the day the mic-muting and poor indoor radio performance are starting to get to me...

 

[trophynuts]

it's a samsung

there i done my part.