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My S3 vs my 4s - might be a deal breaker!

mlc331

Member
Nov 21, 2009
88
19
I had a thread which asked for help to keep my S3. Great responses. In that thread I basically said that I'd give my S3 some time and get to know her a bit. It's been almost a week now and there are MANY things that I like.

PROS:
1. GREAT SCREEN!!!!
2. GREAT SCREEN!!!!
3. I really like that I can schedule when my exchange (work email). I get to tell it when I will recieve email :D
4. I really like my Live Aquarium wall paper.
5. The notifications in the important areas are clean, useful, and seemingly very user friendly. Calendar, Email, Text and App Updates.
6. I really like the camera operation. All the reviews say that the cam in my 4s is a scratch better... But I'm not seeing it.
7. When I'm in a good 4G area, LTE is AWESOME!!!! :D
8. I've got NAV back (google). It's awsome.
9. To a degree, I do like all the flexibility.
10. LOVE that most of the apps I use are free. MUCH more expensive in the App Store from apple.

CONS:
1. The accuracy of my typing is... WELL it SUCKS on the S3 when compared to my 4s. I realize that it's me that's not accurate, but the 4s is extremely forgiving and seemingly smarter as to what I wanted to say. The keyboard is bigger on the S3, but not even in the same ball park (IMO) of the 4s.
2. Too many menus, sub-menus, and paths you need to memorize in order to get to the different menus in different apps. This is only a problem if you simply want to use a phone.
3. The battery, well in my opinion... It just sucks. I've got everything off that can be off, only use GPS location services (no verizon or google), have picasa turned off etc. etc. For my normal use, it doesn't get me through the day. Yes, I've cycled the phone a few times on and off. I've NEVER had that issue with my 4s. EVER! It's bad enough that I tend NOT to use my phone because of battery concerns and so that I can last the entire day.
4. There are times when opening and changing apps/tasks that the phone is a hair sluggish. Not a lot, but enough to notice. Almost like when you have not been on your desktop for a bit and when you come back it has to wake up. 4s... never happens.
5. Looking at the S3's screen outside is pretty much sad. As beautiful as it is inside, it's equally as bad outside. The 4s isn't perfect but definitely a cut above when I'm outside.
6. I have to pay for visual voice mail. 4s has free visual voice mail built in to the phone... don't ask me why.
7. Apps are free, but DEFINITELY not as refined. Concerning number of apps in both stores... I think it's not that big of a difference to matter. Just wish that the apps for the Android phones were less buggy. I mean it seems as if there are quirks in every single apps. Far less issues with the apps for the Iphone.


All in all there are 2 things that may have kicked me off the Android cliff. If I can't figure something out in the next couple days, the 4s gets turned back on. Everything else (Cons), I can live with and quite frankly the Screen (inside) makes up for sooooo many other issues.

My top 2 issues:
1. Typing is the worst! For me, this might be the biggest issue. Not sure If I'll get accustomed to it and it will be a non-issue.... Don't know.
2. This battery thing is really a problem for me. I've read about people going 2 days, people saying do this and do that.... or your phone is the problem... I dont' want a huge battery with a new back plate. Simply make the battery last longer! I can't trade so-so 4g in Las Vegas for bad battery life.

Side note:
Even back in the day, the forums and different Android communities have always been saying "wait till this update or that update comes out". I remember when everybody was waiting for Froto. ICS is here and now it's wait for JB. I'm not sure this will ever stop.


Finally, I seem to be back where I started....
This new Samsung is AWESOME. It's where phones should be going!. The android system holds it back. The 4s ui is still simple, and almost an extension of my mind (at times). Apple is still TOO restrictive, and they don't have enough NEW product launches... They get boring.

Basically, the perfect cellular device still hasn't been made. ARGH!!!!!:banghead:

I REALLY want to get through my top 2 issues. I'll continue to work on it through this weekend, research and hopefully solve them. If not, it's back to BIG BROTHER :eek:

Thanks for listening.
 
Download a new keyboard. Swiftkey is pretty good. You might have a bad battery... I am consistently getting 15 hours out of my phone. That is with everything turned on but screen brightness as low as it goes.

Ditto. I HATE the stock samsung keyboard. I downloaded swiftkey and immediately experienced better typing experience. The battery on my phone has been amazing.
 
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looking into keyboards now. I'll try anything.

Concerning the Screen brightness. No way can I turn it down that low. Just looked at that setting. If I were to do that... why have such a beautiful screen. yes, I'm sure that would help the batter though.

Thanks for the input. Truly appreciate the fine folks here.
 
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3. The battery, well in my opinion... It just sucks. I've got everything off that can be off, only use GPS location services (no verizon or google)

This is backwards. This way you are leaving the device GPS on always and not using cell towers for approx location.

Turn off GPS and use the Google option. This should greatly increase battery performance.
 
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1. Typing is the worst! For me, this might be the biggest issue. Not sure If I'll get accustomed to it and it will be a non-issue.... Don't know.

With regard to the keyboard, if you are using a new phone, it will take time to really get used to the new keyboard. Every phone that I used had a different keyboard whether physical or screen. Every phone seems to take me at least a few weeks to a month to really get used to a new keyboard. You said you only used it for a week. I think it is simply not enough time.

Others have suggested using Swiftkey. I also concur. I find Swiftkey makes it easier to type. I can access punctuation and numbers more easily than with the stock Samsung keyboard. If you are a fan of auto correct and text prediction, Swiftkey does a pretty good job. I'm not a fan and I still am impressed with it.
 
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SWIFTKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In fact there should be a neon flashing window in these forums that basically says "FOR ALL YOU IPHONE CONVERTS OR OTHERWISE NEW GS3 USERS PLEASE NOTE....THE STOCK KEYBOARD SUCKS ROYALLY AND COULDNT PREDICT WHAT TIME IT WAS 10 MINUTES AGO, LET ALONE PREDICT ANY TEXT. GO GET SWIFTKEY OR SWYPE BETA BEFORE B*TCHING ABOUT THE KEYBOARD"

Seriously I can't imagine how Samsung can allow the stock keyboard to be SOOOOO bad as it does negatively reflect on people's opinions. There are probably lots of buyers who haven't surfed to these forums who are right now struggling with the crappy typing and wishing they still had their postage stamp screen IPhones.
 
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In all fairness... You should know that you are comparing Apples to Oranges (sorry had to) when it comes to battery life. The reason it has taken so long to come forward with an iPhone variant that has 4G LTE is due to the battery requirements that Apple levies against themselves. This is both good and bad. They have not given their customer base the same speeds due to a trade-off. Great speeds poor battery life. Great battery life poor speeds.

Now some could argue that 3G is enough and maybe pseudo 4G is enough and therefore battery life can remain strong. That has been Apples argument over the past few years.

The S3 somewhat bridges that gap. They have what I consider to be reasonable battery life while maintaining very good speeds (this is subjective based upon your network/area).

About that network/area thing. Your battery consumption can go through the roof if you are constantly searching for signal. Sometimes if you are in an area that has difficult signal for say 4G you may be better off turning off 4G in those areas and allowing 3G to take over. This is the same for any phone out there.

Good luck in your endeavors. Try multiple keyboards. Swiftkey was mentioned already so how about Thumb keyboard, Swype Beta, ...?

This is the beauty of Android. You can tailor the device specifically to your own needs.

PS. Maybe try turning off predictive text in the default keyboard? I did this as I had horrible results with that.
 
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Basically, there are two keyboards you should try: Swiftkey and Swype. I'd suggest first giving Swype a try to see if you like that input method because it is very different and it is also free. If you like Swype, Swiftkey just won't do (I tried Swiftkey, quickly went back to Swype). If Swype isn't your thing, get Swiftkey.

For Swype, go here to sign up for the beta and download it:
Swype | Text Input for Screens
 
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With respect to the battery, there are lots of threads right now discussing this issue.

You gotta start by realizing that the ENTIRE IPHONE fits inside the screen real estate of the GS3. By definition the GS3 screen is going to eat electrons faster.

People complaining don't acknowledge that they're comparing apples and oranges.

It's like "Man I am TOTALLY going back to my Honda Fit because the new 10 cylinder Mercedes I bought seems to run out of gas MUCH FASTER than my Honda Fit!!!! Mercedes SUCKS!!!!! This is BS!!!!!"

Sounds kinda ridiculous doesn't it.

Now there may also be situations where people have a bunch of stuff syncing every 2 minutes and/or they're in spotty cell areas and that eats battery too.
 
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again,,,,, I've got SWIFTKEY and it's AWESOME! Much closer to the Iphone experience. I don't think it's about getting familiar with the keyboard, please don't take offense. It just does a horrible job of predicting anything. As mentioned by Hogan773, it just plain sucks.

Battery... it's something that I'll have to continue to work with. I understand all the particulars with searching for signals, 4G vs 3G, speeds etc. etc. And I'm willing to accept that while using LTE, and the AWSOME screen that battery life will suffer. I get it.....

Doesn't mean that it's right though, and yes when the new Iphone comes out :rolleyes: it may be an issue for them as well. Who knows. Maybe it's just how things are going to be until they come up with some sort of nuclear-powered phone :eek:

I have to go now... have to go plug my phone in :D
 
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I came from a iPhone 4 and totally agree about the keyboard. I quickly got both swiftkey and swype. LOVE swype as I'm a crap typist! Friend of mine was using it last night and was amazed at its accuracy.

My battery is better than the 4 but still need to charge every day - but I can live with that.

Never go back to Apple. As much as I liked my iPhone it was only an enjoyable experience when jailbroken.

And the new iPhone (if leaks are to be believed) still does not have a big enough screen!!
 
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not to sound like an ass, but seems like your just nitpicking....

1. The keyboard issue can easily be fixed, by dling a keyboard on Google play.

2. the problem with the screen, i've read numerous times on here that people complain its not bright enough outside.... if your doing outside activities working, sports, etc what is your phone is doing with you in the first place??
but the best you can do with the screen is up the brightness.

3. the battery problem, i've also read numerous complaints about it, i've had this phone up and running since this monday, not once has my battery drained any lower then 76%. maybe you should try not having so many apps running at once.

The Iphone is a great phone, but IMO the GS3 is better. but i guess its preference... good luck what ever it is you do
 
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Got the swift, definitely an instant relief and far better experience. Wow.... Impressed with
Concerning the locations services for better battery life. I'm on it! Changing the setup now.

Thanks


I would be very surprised if you don't see an immediate improvement in battery life after changing your GPS settings. Standalone GPS services will suck the life out of your battery and should only be used when the location mapping needs to be the most accurate (i.e. turn on while using, turn off when finished). I usually leave both Google and VZW services turned on all the time for apps that use location services that don't need extreme accuracy. When I'm driving and need to use Google Maps I'll turn on Standalone GPS for the added accuracy, then turn it off immediately when finished.
 
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The only practical reason for full brightness is when you are outside and in the sun. Otherwise, it just waste the battery. I would rather get though the whole day then look at a beautiful screen all the time. I mean, you can turn it on when you show off the phone or whatever.

Well, after reading the thread. You said you love the full brightness screen, live wallpaper, and you keep your GPS on. Haha I can tell why you have the worst battery life. If you would cut the brightness down to 30% indoors, got rid of the live wallpaper, you would see drastic improvements.

It really annoys me when S3 users come in here and say how can the iphone last so long on its battery and my S3 does not? Its a much smaller screen that only runs on 3g. There is a reason why Apple does not want 4G and hates multitasking.

You can't blame the S3 for not getting through the day on your very taxing and extreme use of the phone. It can get through the day, you just have to be smart.
 
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Finally, I seem to be back where I started....
This new Samsung is AWESOME. It's where phones should be going!. The android system holds it back. The 4s ui is still simple, and almost an extension of my mind (at times). Apple is still TOO restrictive, and they don't have enough NEW product launches... They get boring.

Basically, the perfect cellular device still hasn't been made. ARGH!!!!!:banghead:

I REALLY want to get through my top 2 issues. I'll continue to work on it through this weekend, research and hopefully solve them. If not, it's back to BIG BROTHER :eek:

Thanks for listening.

You are soooo like me. To begin with, there is no such thing as a perfect device (close but not quite) so stop chasing it.
As for the keyboard - have you tried swype? First time I tried it, I had serious doubts about getting used to it. Took me day or two but now - I LOVE swype. If you use that, it won't much matter what the keyboard is like.
Next: STOP comparing iPhone apps with android. Apps for the iPhone are thoroughly tested and vetted so naturally they will work well all the time (not so hard since they only have to work on 3 different iPhones vs MANY Android devices). Android apps are written by everyone and his brother. You have to put in a little more effort when choosing whether to keep it. Pick a wrong app and it could cause you to have lagging/freezing problems and such. Such is life in the Android world but there are so many ways to customize the look of your phone and of course the size alone makes it worth it for me. 4S just to small for my needs (I gave mine to my daughter to move to the SGS3). As for the battery - do NOT compromise what you want running. I don't. I do throw my phone on the charger here at work when I need to but I stop getting aggravated about this because most smart phone are like that. If you can't plug yours in when you're running low, get an extra battery just so you have it. I would much rather give into that slight irritation than to compromise the way I want to use my phone. I'm sure when Jelly Bean comes out, it may improve a few things. Project Butter is touted to make lagging a non-issue so that will be nice. In the end though, just go with your gut. The 4S is a good phone just not big enough for me and because there is just so much you can customise on it, it tends to bore me but that's just me. :eek:
 
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I get all your thoughts. I am please try to remember that I'm only giving you.... Or trying to give you an honest opinion while trying to give the S3 an honest run. Yes, I the 4G really seams to such the battery down when I'm in a spotty area. I never said that my screen was FULL bright. I am its on auto and up about 75 percent. Yes, I I have a live wall paper and yes I use my phone e quite a bit of I'm on it now :)

I'm not on here to gripe or to complain about just looking for help in order to enjoy the experience. I've gotten some really good help from you folks. Swift, and location services etc etc. That said and with all due respect, I don't have to toggle things with the 4s. I turn it on and I go.
Remember the old Honda commercials that depicted a car salesman saying 'its just like the accord, and or its as good as the accord? That's what this feels like. This is a tremendous phone with all the right gadgets. The right speed, and the right screen.

Some time ago I tried to explain my apple devices to a friend. I told him that the worst part about apple was that it was so restrictive. Then I told him that the best part aboutDon apple was that they were SO restrictive. I still feel that way. Man, I I wish I could add up this phone with iOS.

About the phone being outside. Open your mind Donmeca, and I'm not outside multitasking on my cell phone. I do however walk to my car and get phone calls, emails and text messages. I would like to know who is calling before I pick it up if possible. By the way, I nobody said the I phone is perfect. I am many, many many trade-offs.
 
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