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I'm a n00b to smartphones - GS2 vs. GS3 actual differences?

chihlidog

chihlidog

Senior member
SO I finally have a real phone on the way, got an amazing deal from T-Mobile on it. It's a Galaxy S2. I read a lot about the S3 and it had some really neat features, but it ended up being more than I wanted to pay, so I worked a deal with them for a stupidly cheap new S2.

I was reading the updates for ICS vs. Gingerbread, and it looks like I get basically everything the GS3 has except for S-Voice once I update my phone. I understand there are differences in the camera software and that the screen is a little nicer on the S3 but those are so minor to me I dont think I care. I also see that the S3 has an extra gig of RAM. OK, again, I'm not bothered by that as the S2 by all accounts runs extremely well.

Can someone explain to me like I am a complete idiot (because I am) what the other actual differences are between the S2 running ICS and the S3?

Thanks!!

(By the way, when I say I an a smartphone n00b, I really mean it. I've never owned one. Researched a lot before deciding what I wanted, thought I wanted the HTC One S, then saw the SG3 was due out. Ultimately decided I wanted the GS2 over the One S because of the expansion slot and that big beautiful screen (T-Mobile's version is GIANT).
 
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There's not enough of a significant difference between the two devices for most people's use. Unless you had some specific use case in mind that required the S3's power, you'll enjoy the device.

The only catch I would likely look at us that your ICS upgrade will likely be the last major version of Android you get upgraded to. You'll have to flash ROM's to go higher than 4.0.x most likely.
 
bearxor said:
The only catch I would likely look at us that your ICS upgrade will likely be the last major version of Android you get upgraded to. You'll have to flash ROM's to go higher than 4.0.x most likely.
Click to expand...

Luckily for Exynos-based SGS2s the new SGS3 is basically a souped up version of the same thing so many of the drivers should work for both.
 
If you are a smartphone newbie, the SG2 is more than fine for you.
The biggest difference to me is the higher resolution screen and the much better camera.
 
bearxor said:
There's not enough of a significant difference between the two devices for most people's use. Unless you had some specific use case in mind that required the S3's power, you'll enjoy the device.

The only catch I would likely look at us that your ICS upgrade will likely be the last major version of Android you get upgraded to. You'll have to flash ROM's to go higher than 4.0.x most likely.
Click to expand...

I dont think this will ever bother me to be honest. And I will learn to ..."customize" I am sure should I ever feel the need to go to Jellybean or further. I appreciate your response, you've basically reinforced what I was thinking when I decided on the S2.

Thanks for all the info in this thread guys. I really think I made the right decision. One more question I cant seem to find a solid answer to, will I be able to use the NFC once I update to ICS? I love the idea of the little magnetic tags to trigger actions on the phone.
 
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I got my SGS2 last night. I've spent about 24 hours with it now and I absolutely love it. Got 3 compliments today on the display. Still things I havent quite figured out, but I do not regret going with the GS2 one tiny bit.

Thanks all.
 
The gs2 is a great starter phone, less the battery life. I have the galaxy nexus but I still miss the brightness on the gs2 whenever I use the nexus in broad daylight.
 
PeeluckyDuckee said:
The gs2 is a great starter phone, less the battery life. I have the galaxy nexus but I still miss the brightness on the gs2 whenever I use the nexus in broad daylight.
Click to expand...

Yeah, by the time I left work I was down to 30 percent and I wasnt gaming or watching movies, just a lot of texting and what not. I understand updating to ICS will help with this somewhat.

Still, it's a great device and I love it, I'm still figuring out things it does. The voice recognition is actually really useful.
 
Don't leave your data on if you don't need it, keep your brightness down and you should be fine on battery life.
 
Battery life always sucks when you first get a phone because you use it so much. If you go into your settings and go to "About Phone" --> "Battery," then tap on "Screen," it'll show you how much time your screen has been on. This is probably the #1 factor in determining how much battery life you'll get. My wife's Galaxy Nexus lasted a day and a half on a single charge recently because the screen was only on for a little over an hour. Mine died in less than a day with 2 hours 40 minutes of screen on time.
 
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