Sold the 4S for a GS3 today - nice to be back to Android.

[Elropian]

Let me start by saying, I love iOS and Android, damn near equally. I simply get bored, being a techhead and all.

I know the screen on the 5 is the be all end all, blah blah, but man, I MUCH prefer the screen on the GS3. It may simply be because of the size, but I love this screen.

The iPhone 5 also felt kind of light and tiny in my hand, sort of like a toy compared to the GS3.

One thing that is REALLY blowing my mind is how quick the stock ROM on the AT&T GS3 is. I was dead set on flashing a custom rom the second I got the phone home, but this thing is freaking flying. I can't find a single scenario where the phone jerks or lags. It's bloody speedy.

LTE pulling down 50mbit isn't necessarily terrible, either.

I'll update as I get a few more days under my belt.

I do miss plenty of things about the iPhone already, but not enough to regret this at all.

 

[nsafreak]

Heh don't get too used to that speed, or you'll hit your cap in no time flat . Glad to hear you're happy with the phone. I'm still debating getting one on Verizon since I'm on Verizon & grandfathered into unlimited. Looking at my data usage though I'm typically under 2GB, not sure if that would change or not if I went to 4G. I think a good part of it though is how well JB has been written. I downloaded & flashed my Droid Incredible to an AOSP JB rom and it's smooth as silk.

 

[s44]

Heh don't get too used to that speed, or you'll hit your cap in no time flat . Glad to hear you're happy with the phone. I'm still debating getting one on Verizon since I'm on Verizon & grandfathered into unlimited. Looking at my data usage though I'm typically under 2GB, not sure if that would change or not if I went to 4G.

Two birds with one stone: buy the dev edition S3 while it's on sale for $480. Encourage unlocked models, and keep unlimited.

 

[Elropian]

Heh don't get too used to that speed, or you'll hit your cap in no time flat . Glad to hear you're happy with the phone. I'm still debating getting one on Verizon since I'm on Verizon & grandfathered into unlimited. Looking at my data usage though I'm typically under 2GB, not sure if that would change or not if I went to 4G. I think a good part of it though is how well JB has been written. I downloaded & flashed my Droid Incredible to an AOSP JB rom and it's smooth as silk.

I do have my grandfathered "unlimited" - which of course, thanks to throttling, means fuck-all, but hey, whatever.

With that said, I don't even think I've ever broken a gig in a month, so I'll live. I'm basically ALWAYS on wifi.

 

[WelshBloke]

My S3 is running the JB leak and it's pretty smooth, but as you said it's smooth anyway.
I'm just waiting for the wireless charging kit and that waterproof saido case to come out and I'll not need to buy any more phone stuff for awhile.

 

[jpeyton]

Also on an AT&T GS3, and I agree with you about the stock ROM: FAST!

AT&T/Samsung did their best to give us a bloated ICS, but Krait+2GB RAM just eats it up and spits it out.

I hope they release JB sometime before the end of the year, but I honestly don't need Project Butter on a GS3.

 

[Elropian]

The battery life has been OKAY so far, but it's only my first charge, so I know it'll improve.

Even though the stock rom is damn near flawless, I'm still tempted to flash AOKP on this bad boy. I want to mess with JB.

Either way, bloody loving this. I realize now how many little things I've been missing since I left Android.

I honestly don't think I could ever go back to a screen smaller than this.

 

[floogy]

Have had my S3 for less than a day. Love it, I was coming from a Moto Droid, the first one. So it feels stupid fast. I played with the iP5 but it was just too small. Same size as the Droid almost. The S3 is a pocket tablet!

 

[Elropian]

Have had my S3 for less than a day. Love it, I was coming from a Moto Droid, the first one. So it feels stupid fast. I played with the iP5 but it was just too small. Same size as the Droid almost. The S3 is a pocket tablet!

Pocket tablet says it perfectly for me, especially compared to my 4S.

I really do adore iOS, but it just feels so incredibly boring compared to what Android has become.

I know I'm going to crack soon and start flashing custom roms. I'm weak.

 

[kyrax12]

Let me start by saying, I love iOS and Android, damn near equally. I simply get bored, being a techhead and all.

I know the screen on the 5 is the be all end all, blah blah, but man, I MUCH prefer the screen on the GS3. It may simply be because of the size, but I love this screen.

The iPhone 5 also felt kind of light and tiny in my hand, sort of like a toy compared to the GS3.

One thing that is REALLY blowing my mind is how quick the stock ROM on the AT&T GS3 is. I was dead set on flashing a custom rom the second I got the phone home, but this thing is freaking flying. I can't find a single scenario where the phone jerks or lags. It's bloody speedy.

LTE pulling down 50mbit isn't necessarily terrible, either.

I'll update as I get a few more days under my belt.

I do miss plenty of things about the iPhone already, but not enough to regret this at all.

The iphone 5 or any smartphone are basically toys heh.

I like lighter phones.

 

[Elropian]

The iphone 5 or any smartphone are basically toys heh.

I like lighter phones.

I use them as tools more than* (EDIT) toys, honestly.

I have a couple of games to pass small amounts of free time, but my phone is my number one tool.

Smartphones are what you make them. If they're more of a toy to you, sweet.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I'm hoping to do the same as you soon OP. Looking to buy a used Nexus or GS3 and give the 4S to the gf. Figure that's the cheapest route into giving Android another go as opposed to getting a GS3 using her upgrade.

(So if anyone is trying to unload their Nexus or GS3 let me know. )

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

I'm hoping to do the same as you soon OP. Looking to buy a used Nexus or GS3 and give the 4S to the gf. Figure that's the cheapest route into giving Android another go as opposed to getting a GS3 using her upgrade.

(So if anyone is trying to unload their Nexus or GS3 let me know. )

The Nexus on JB is plenty fast, considering its price ($300) it's a much better value than a GS3 for double the price. That would be a very good way to get into Android and not be discouraged about the quirks that come with Android.

I've had experience with IOS since iPhone 3GS, then iPhone 4. IOS from 2yrs ago appear unchanged at face value, has become much too boring for my likings, while Android has experienced many changes and user experience changes have been quite noticeable.

I won't deny that the iPhone 5 has Apple's signature design that's quite attractive, but I'd like to see IOS overhaul before I would consider jumping ship again. Even then the change from 3.5" to the current 4" is Apple playing it too safe imo. What Apple has done is made it taller, but kept the width unchanged in order to cater to the widest audience. I don't like what's done as it is a compromise, compromises my user experience so they can maximize profit at my expense. They got the hardware semi-right, but the software needs work imo.

Android has caught up in terms of user experience with ICS, then a follow up with JB. Sure IOS was ahead of the game and ahead of the times before, but that gap has become much closer.

 

[jpeyton]

The Nexus on JB is plenty fast, considering its price ($300) it's a much better value than a GS3 for double the price.

Browsing Craigslist, I'm seeing a lot of GS3s in the $400-$500 range. It's more than a new Galaxy Nexus, but it's not going to be twice as expensive if you shop around.

I think getting the GS3 is worth it for the big bump in CPU speed alone.

 

[ponyo]

Browsing Craigslist, I'm seeing a lot of GS3s in the $400-$500 range. It's more than a new Galaxy Nexus, but it's not going to be twice as expensive if you shop around.

I think getting the GS3 is worth it for the big bump in CPU speed alone.

I say the battery life. Battery life on GNex LTE is not great from reports I've seen. GS3 has pretty good LTE battery life. CPU speed? I got the same impression of real world speed playing with GNex and GS3 side by side as I did with iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. I could feel the slightly faster speed but not enough to pay extra and upgrade. Neither experience wowed me.

Choosing between GSM GNex vs GS3? GSM GNex. Choosing between CDMA GNex vs GS3? GS3. Battery life is the difference maker.

 

[Elropian]

I say the battery life. Battery life on GNex LTE is not great from reports I've seen. GS3 has pretty good LTE battery life. CPU speed? I got the same impression of real world speed playing with GNex and GS3 side by side as I did with iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. I could feel the slightly faster speed but not enough to pay extra and upgrade. Neither experience wowed me.

Choosing between GSM GNex vs GS3? GSM GNex. Choosing between CDMA GNex vs GS3? GS3. Battery life is the difference maker.

I can definitely say now that a couple of days have passed that the GS3 battery life is pretty killer, especially for an LTE phone. I've got LTE here in Austin and have been loving it.

With that, the standby time seems to blow. I lose like 2-3% an hour, which seems like a lot, but I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Browsing Craigslist, I'm seeing a lot of GS3s in the $400-$500 range. It's more than a new Galaxy Nexus, but it's not going to be twice as expensive if you shop around.

I think getting the GS3 is worth it for the big bump in CPU speed alone.

not to mention battery life

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Two birds with one stone: buy the dev edition S3 while it's on sale for $480. Encourage unlocked models, and keep unlimited.

thats a reasonable price for a high end phone. i wish this was how all phones were sold.

 

[zCypher]

50 megabit? I've never been able to get more than 24mbps on my LTE Note, and I've tried a lot of different GB/ICS/JB ROMs with various kernels and modems. In most ROMs you can convert your signal to text/digits instead of a bar, and you can tell when you have a good signal (let's say -50). Even then I can't seem to get more than 20-24 meg.

The S3 sure is a sweet phone though. The screen doesn't feel all that much smaller compared to the Note, but holding the phone in your hand you can appreciate just how much smaller it is. They hit a really good size with the S3, looks sexy as hell too.

Not sure what ROMs are best for the S3, but the King Kang "unicorn swagger" JB ROM has been best for my Note so far!

 

[Elropian]

50 megabit? I've never been able to get more than 24mbps on my LTE Note, and I've tried a lot of different GB/ICS/JB ROMs with various kernels and modems. In most ROMs you can convert your signal to text/digits instead of a bar, and you can tell when you have a good signal (let's say -50). Even then I can't seem to get more than 20-24 meg.

The S3 sure is a sweet phone though. The screen doesn't feel all that much smaller compared to the Note, but holding the phone in your hand you can appreciate just how much smaller it is. They hit a really good size with the S3, looks sexy as hell too.

Not sure what ROMs are best for the S3, but the King Kang "unicorn swagger" JB ROM has been best for my Note so far!

I'm in Austin, Texas, and have got 50 down more than once.

Hell, I've gotten close to 40 up.

Maybe the network just isn't as congested, but with all of the iPhone 5's that were sold in the city, it MUST be getting hammered.

And yeah, it's the perfect screen size, IMO. I can't handle it with one hand no problem, but the Note is just a bit much.