iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy S II vs Nexus Prime

[zinfamous]

wait for the Nexus announcement.

But if sticking with T-Mobile, I wouldn't bother with their Galaxy SII. ...it really isn't one, supposedly. consider switching to ATT for theirs if you want to go that route.

I went with the international GS2

 

[runawayprisoner]

If turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps is a priority, avoid iOS.

However, if you don't mind shelling out $50 for a very high quality offline turn-by-turn navigation app that does not need to download map data every quarter mile or so, iOS it is.

That's for navigation. The rest is whether or not you want a super sharp screen or a bigger screen. Also if you don't play games on your phone at all, or you do plan to take advantage of the big GPU in the phone.

 

[sygyzy]

Ok, thanks for explaining carrier fiddling. Now to continue to the rest of your statement, you said

It really isn't that big of a deal and quite easy to get around on Android. Unsubsidized phones are WAY too expensive.

What isn't a big deal? Carrier fiddling? How do you get around fiddling on Android?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Also if you don't play games on your phone at all, or you do plan to take advantage of the big GPU in the phone.

The SGS2's Mali and the upclocked SGX540 in the TI SOC are no slouches. They should handle every game released within ones contract period. Far far better than the iPhone 4's (non-S) GPU which I think is gonna weigh down that ecosystem for at least six months.

 

[sygyzy]

wait for the Nexus announcement.

But if sticking with T-Mobile, I wouldn't bother with their Galaxy SII. ...it really isn't one, supposedly. consider switching to ATT for theirs if you want to go that route.

I went with the international GS2

I am not hellbent on Android or iOS (probably prefer Android though). I also don't really care what carrier I am on. I am fine with switching (back) to AT&T and I would do so for the SGSII

 

[zinfamous]

I would prefer to see a Prime variant on a carrier for a subsidized price. Regardless of how awesome it is, I'd much rather save 200-300 bucks to deal with carrier fiddling. It really isn't that big of a deal and quite easy to get around on Android. Unsubsidized phones are WAY too expensive.

I paid $350 for my int'l SGS2. ^_^ (unique situation, but not specific to myself or any one individual)

 

[sygyzy]

I paid $350 for my int'l SGS2. ^_^ (unique situation, but not specific to myself or any one individual)

How did you do that zinfamous?

 

[zinfamous]

I am not hellbent on Android or iOS (probably prefer Android though). I also don't really care what carrier I am on. I am fine with switching (back) to AT&T and I would do so for the SGSII

for what it's worth, I'm still using my TMo SIM card in my unlocked SGS2 (for about 1 month now). ..which limits me to Edge, but I don't have a data plan so...whatever.

I'm Currently in limbo, though, working on maybe joining an ATT family plan or trying Straight Talk.

I love this phone, but it's probably best to take my advice with a grain of salt--I'm not currently pushing it through the ropes (I assume no 3G = better battery life), and I'm content, for now, with limited use.

 

[sygyzy]

Wait, what? You bought one of the top Android phones and are using it crippled on T-Mobile?

 

[zinfamous]

How did you do that zinfamous?

I received this offer ~the week I was looking to upgrade my phone (roughly 1 month after TMo contract expired)

http://www.bettercreditcard.com/

3rd one down. but my offer was actually for $250 cash back. I only have 2 credit cards, anyway, so I figured...what the hey?

again, everything simply fell into place for me (which never happens--especially with phone upgrades over the previous 2 cycles).

Plus, it's a nice card, so why not? I applied online and received the card in the mail about 5 days later (including weekend). activated that night, purchased sgs2 on Amazon, and received it 2 days later for $600 shipped, charged to card.

...of course, I'm still a few weeks from receiving those points, so crossing my fingers that converting to cash will be no hassle.

 

[zinfamous]

Wait, what? You bought one of the top Android phones and are using it crippled on T-Mobile?

yeah, so? 😀

like I said, I'm currently content.

I have pretty wide access to wifi just about everywhere I go, so it's no biggie right now.

I'm simply in a holding pattern--will move to ATT most likely.

 

[JS80]

I received this offer ~the week I was looking to upgrade my phone (roughly 1 month after TMo contract expired)

http://www.bettercreditcard.com/

3rd one down. but my offer was actually for $250 cash back. I only have 2 credit cards, anyway, so I figured...what the hey?

again, everything simply fell into place for me (which never happens--especially with phone upgrades over the previous 2 cycles).

Plus, it's a nice card, so why not? I applied online and received the card in the mail about 5 days later (including weekend). activated that night, purchased sgs2 on Amazon, and received it 2 days later for $600 shipped, charged to card.

...of course, I'm still a few weeks from receiving those points, so crossing my fingers that converting to cash will be no hassle.

There was a $300 deal going around. I only got the $250 and took that offer too.

 

[ponyo]

So you paid $600 for your phone. Very different from $350. You could have used $250 for hookers.

 

[zinfamous]

There was a $300 deal going around. I only got the $250 and took that offer too.

curses! 😀

funny thing, I received another offer (250) for that card last week. wtf, Chase?


also, lothar:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2194734&highlight=

got his SGS2 maybe two weeks after me, and it was $40 cheaper. 2x curses!

btw, OP: check out lothar's thread regarding getting the phone to work on Straight Talk for roughly half the price of the ATT monthly service ( same network)
I'm strongly considering this, but I moved over the weekend and am still getting things back and place and trying to work out a budget (something I have never done, lol)

 

[zinfamous]

So you paid $600 for your phone. Very different from $350. You could have used $250 for hookers.

:hmm:

curses!

 

[poofyhairguy]

So you paid $600 for your phone. Very different from $350. You could have used $250 for hookers.

You know of hookers that take credit cards? Sounds like there might actually be an exciting announcement today!

 

[runawayprisoner]

The SGS2's Mali and the upclocked SGX540 in the TI SOC are no slouches. They should handle every game released within ones contract period. Far far better than the iPhone 4's (non-S) GPU which I think is gonna weigh down that ecosystem for at least six months.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 4's GPU still gets more games and optimizations than whatever Exynos, Hummingbird and TI OMAP4 get... combined.

So even though it's a slower GPU, it still gets better-looking games and a lot more support and optimizations... until Google does something about the situation, or until someone other than Gameloft cares.

In fact, Gameloft doesn't even care that much. The same game (I'm talking about Asphalt 6 and Let's Golf 2) run better and smoother on the iPhone 4 than on the superior GPU on the Galaxy S. I know because I have a Captivate... which is worse than the iPhone 4 at handling Gameloft's games.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Unfortunately, the iPhone 4's GPU still gets more games and optimizations than whatever Exynos, Hummingbird and TI OMAP4 get... combined.

Root + ChainFire3D + TegraZone = Plenty of really good games

EDIT: I do get your point, iOS has a better game ecosystem right now I will admit. But Android gets better by the day, and the Fire is only going to help.

 

[YoungGun21]

Is the Prime's only draw the fact that it's a Nexus phone ... which means latest unadulterated OS updates? Hardware wise, I assume it's on par with every other high-end Android phone?

Dual-core, 4.6" super sexy screen, first ICS phone, etc..

I would put it just above most others.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Root + ChainFire3D + TegraZone = Plenty of really good games

EDIT: I do get your point, iOS has a better game ecosystem right now I will admit. But Android gets better by the day, and the Fire is only going to help.

Well, it's getting better, but I don't see the situation changing any time soon. Android gets a good 3D game every... couple of months, but iOS gets new games every Thursday night... and a major 3D game almost every month, or every other month.

For instance, after the announcement of iPhone 4S, we've just learned that Infinity Blade 2 is coming to iOS December 1st. Android has yet to even get Infinity Blade 1.

 

[zinfamous]

dude, I got this game where I swim around as a shark and eat people, and it was free....

that's pretty much all I expect of a game on a phone, though. 😀

 

[Capt Caveman]

In the same boat...I have a 3GS and was looking to upgrade to either the iPhone 5 (4S now, d'oh) or Nexus Prime. I guess I'd like a bigger screen, but it's not a deal breaker. I'm pretty platform neutral...guess I wait for Samsung's conference next week to see what they've got in store.

Same as you. If the 4S had a 4" screen, it wouldn't be a question.

To the OP - Google Maps provides turn by turn but no voice navigation for iOS. For free navigation, I'm happy using MapQuest.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Well, it's getting better, but I don't see the situation changing any time soon. Android gets a good 3D game every... couple of months.

You must not mess with the TegraZone much. Thanks to Nvidia's bribes they are pulling in on average at least one new decent 3D game per month, sometimes two.

Android can quickly catch up because it doesn't need original titles- just ports. As Android moves past the 50% of the smartphone market mark more and more game developers won't be able to ignore Android.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

That's for navigation. The rest is whether or not you want a super sharp screen or a bigger screen.

In the case of the Nexus prime vs the iPhone 4s it is a bigger, equally sharp screen with superior contrast, black levels, and response time.

 

[s44]

One big super-killer thing about the Prime is carrier-specific: the extremely likely presence of LTE. So far only Verizon has gone live with LTE for phones, but AT&T may be close enough that the Prime can launch on it this year. Sprint won't get LTE until 2012, so maybe just WiMax until then? But you can get an Epic Touch now.

T-Mo doesn't have the money or spectrum for LTE (until, perhaps, they get the $6 billion from AT&T for the merger failing), so they're going with dual-band HSPA+ instead. This should produce some nice results, but you don't need a Prime for that: it'll be on the TMo SGS2, formerly known as the Hercules.

Obviously you should wait to see what Samsung and Google announce on the 11th.