smartphones

[M5V8 337]

I'm in the market for a new smartphone. My old iPhone 3G is dying a slow and painful (for me) death.

I'm thinking about the new iPhone 5 when it's released although I'm no fanboy.

I've had a brief look at the Galaxy 2 and it's not bad.

What does everyone think? IOS or Andriod ? & which handset is better? Does anyone have a Galaxy 3?

[sp8s 1]

Android + Galaxy =

IOS + Apple =

[liyi_92 37]

Windows phone 7 user for me. Although I want to change to Android

[Guest Simon*]

I'm waiting for Atta (crzyarb) to jump in here with why a Windows based phone is better than anything else on the market ;-)

Get what YOU like and YOU can live with. I have an iphone, it works for me - it's just a phone. Newer iphones are generally better than old iphones, just like newer [insert phone here] are better than old ones.

What I don't really care for is why every other manufacturer tries to justify why their particular phone is better than an iphone - just make your effin' phone and be done with it (without blatantly copying apple if you can help it). The punters will decide what's better for their needs.

Too ranty? :-) Didn't mean to be!

[tmase 19]

I've got a Galaxy S3. It replaced my SE Xperia X10 which was a great phone in and of itself.

The S3 has a large and very clear screen (720p) I don't think it quite matches the retina display for resolution but I think you'd be hard to pick it in real life. It is a big handset and takes a week of so to get used to holding. The battery life is pretty good, I can get two days easy with light usage which I think is pretty good for a smartphone. I often load up TV shows and movies when I go overseas to pass the time on flights and I can watch 6 hours of HD video (720p) with full screen brightness and still have nearly half battery left. My mate with an iPhone 4 reckons that'd be impossible on his handset. The camera is pretty decent has little lag and has some neat features like a burst mode that takes 8 shots and then selects the best one to keep. Call quality is good too, with a good speaker phone and I got an update to Android 4.04 the other day which boosts the internal speaker volume which is handy for louder environments. Good, fast internet connectivity, though NZ has such crappy mobile data allowances. I don't think NZ handsets are getting 4G LTE compatability - there's no network for it here yet anyway. Not sure what the iphone does but Android 4.0 ICS has the ability to turn your handset into a wi-fi hotspot which is handy and the tethering feature is fast and seamless. The quad core processor is fast, though I just leave my handset on power saving most of the time which disables some of the cores and it still runs flat out. The default email program is pretty average but it's pretty easy to get a better one from the app store, K9 mail works well for me. As for apps, the apple store may have more, but there is pretty much an android app for every useful iphone app nowadays and more are being added all the time. The S3 has a Siri type voice assistant, but it's pretty useless, but then again I hear Siri is pretty useless in a real application too though I haven't compared the two. The bluetooth seems to work really well, I use it to transfer photos to my PC and hopefully this week I'll get my bimmernav ULF so it'll interesting to see how well it integrates there too. One feature I do like a lot is if you are a Google Chrome user on your PC you can install Chrome for android (great browser!) on the phone and all of your bookmarks and search history automatically syncs, and you have an app that can send what ever page you are looking at on your PC straight to your phone, handy if you are leaving your desk.

I am not an Apple fan, but I do see why people like them. They are probably slightly more intuitive to use than android. I'd try to hold out until the iPhone 5 (or whatever they're going to call it) comes out and then compare. I'm not sure how much better the S3 is compared to the S2 but it is streets ahead of my girlfriends original Galaxy S.

Not sure what network you are with but I got my S3 through Telecom $200 down on a 24 month $80 plan. Pretty sure the S3 prices mirror the current iPhone 4S prices, though this'll change after the iPhone 5 roll out I'm sure. Though at the moment the S3 is probably better specc'd than the 4s in most areas.

I've had android since V1.6 and there has been a massive improvement since then, the early phones couldn't hold a candle to the iPhones of the time but they sure have caught up and are improving all the time. Though it'll be interesting to see what ramifications there are to Apple winning their big patent lawsuit against Samsung.

Anyways enough of my waffle - there are heaps of reviews out there for the S3 and the 4s and heaps of speculation about the iPhone5, I'm sure they'll be better informed than I am. If you want to know anything more about the s3, just ask!

EDIT-S3 has removable battery and upgradable storage (micro SD) which Apple don't do.

Edited September 9, 2012 by tmase

[Gaz 1042]

You are going to open up a can of worms here

Android is the way for me and I love my S2. The way android is laid out makes alot more sense that iOS to me. I find navigating my flatmates iPhone a pain in the arse and I get very frustated with it. S3 is a very quick and fun phone. I have had a jam on my brothers one and it is pretty awesome. For me personally, it is just a tad too big to use with one hand as I have little girls hands otherwise I would have brought one already.

Jellybean is pretty slick too and I am looking forward to the offical release.

Go to a store and have a play with all 3 and see what you like but it is hard to go past the S2 as it is a lot of phone for that kind of money.

[adams202 1]

iPhone + Jailbreak

I rate it because I can pretty much have it however I want..

FREE apps's anyone?

Pros

Eveything

Cons

... Nothing.

That's just my view

[Smac01 12]

I switched from an iPhone 4 to a Galaxy SIII about a week ago.

As stated above - the SIII is unbelievably good, especially on Telecom.

Data speeds are unreal (11Mbps on a speedtest in Auckland CBD)

[polley 916]

After seeing what some has patented and trying to sue for that can get f**ked imo

[westy 614]

This looks pretty smart

[antil33t 90]

I have an HTC One X. Better than a Galaxy S3. If you like your phone not to feel like a TV Remote build wise and not have a horrible blue AMOLED display.

Oh and not be a Samsung product, there's a good reason.

and if you were to buy a One X, DO NOT BUY THE TELECOM ONE. Telecom are VERY SLOW at pushing updates.

Waiting on the Lumia 920 Personally.

trollface.jpg

Edited September 10, 2012 by antil33t

[5amchris 45]

Waiting on the Lumia 920 Personally.

Agree have the iphone now but after using the 800 a little im very keen on windows.

But meh screw what everyone says and go test them yourself, and find out what feels better to YOU.

[polley 916]

But meh screw what everyone says and go test them yourself, and find out what feels better to YOU.

This.

Too many fan boys

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

you can get 4 and 4S for around $600 if your a smart and aggressive shopper. If this weeks unveiling is a 4GS instead of the 5, then the prices ail stay, otherwise may fall again. 1-day.co.nz had them at this price i think on friday or saturday, but any telecom/vodaphone shop will do this.

Im a Mac fan, but i honestly view iOS products differently, on the whole i think they are overpriced junk, (the viewpoint of Windows lovers on the entire Apple brand i know!) i do not own an iPod, and i dont use my iPad ever. but faced with the alternative android i had for quite some time, i found myself choosing an iPhone 4S anyways.

so my input is that the iPhones are the lesser of two evils, and i only have a smart phone at all because i needed to choose one for work. apart from Xero accounting and email, its just another phone to me. No experience with the Windows ones, but minimal market share combined with the fact i think their desktop OS is unstable made my mind up on those.

[my_e36 43]

I upgraded from iPhone 3GS into a HTC One X recently, I was going to hold out for iPhone 5 but my iPhone broke so it didn't work out. My One X was free on promo last month at Telecom ($80 per month on 24 month), which is a great. I could have had the Samsung S3 for free on the same plan but I picked the One X on its better feel in hand, better camera, nicer screen (colour-wise, Samsung screen seems to be a bit blue-biased).

Changing from my full Mac environment (iMac at home + iCloud + iPhone) into Android mobile (which doesn't sync with Mac out of the box), is easier than I thought. Rather than Mac Contact sync into Google sync into the phone (free but I had a lot of trouble with contacts duplicating itself this way), I paid for an App that read iCloud then put into the phone for me. Cost me $5.

I've had bad experience with earlier Android (1.6 and 2.2) on some cheaper handset, now with Android 4 and a top-tier handset, I think it is as good as (and in some respects better than) an iPhone. I like the fact that Android is open for a bit of tinkering but at the same time it could be confusing for the less technical minded.

My Android 4 experience so far has been pleasant and other than the iOS app that I've already paid for, I didn't miss anything by changing into Android. I can do everything that I did on iOS in my new Android, therefore I doubt I will go back to iPhone any time soon.

[Mikal 4]

Ive had a iphone 4, then an s2... now deciding on wether I want an s3 or the new iphone. The only reason I'm considering changing back to apple is for itunes music. Android wont play my purchased itunes music. Probably leaning towards the s3 and maybe an ipod to fill the void.

[mrad01 0]

On noes! Not this again!!!!!

Time for all the fanboys to come out with their "holden vs ford" mentality, lashed with a dose of "its the best because I bought it".

Fandroids are going to bang on about how Android has caught up to iOS, crapplites are going to cry that samsung copied them and how they were first, Windrones are going to wimper on about how their phones are going to change the world. eventually. one day. maybe.

Its pretty easy really.

1. Buy your mum an iPhone or a crappy nokia so she never asks you about how to use it. Don't buy your mum Android, she will be bloody confused when you try to tell her to root her phone before she can put a jellybean into it. Bugger that. Keep it simple. (no offense mum!)

2. Buy your dad a windows phone because he probably works in some old school business which still uses MS Exchange for email and his calendar. It will work and he will like you. Make sure you put on your serious "dad voice" when you explain to him how to use it.

3. Buy yourself an Android. Get the biggest screen you can so you can walk around with a bow-legged swagger and point out how awesome you are and how google are open and will never mess you around like apple do. Google gave us Android because they like us. No other reason. I think. Well, maybe not.

4. If you love crapple, you'll buy an iPhone regardless of 1,2 or 3. So you already know what to do.

So, there you have it!

Q&A:

What do I use?

iPhone 4S for business 1. Google Galaxy Nexus for business 2. WP7 so I can talk about it without sounding too much like a d*ck.

Which is the best?

Draw - between the iPhone and the Nexus.

What do I think of the S2 and S3?

Just no. Build quality is not their strong point - and I hate touchwiz and sense. Vanilla Android is the only way. Nexus.

Edited September 10, 2012 by E90 M3

[antil33t 90]

My iPhone fangirl flatmate Rages about the size of the S3/OneX ect.

"ITS TOO BIG" and actually has a big tanty about the size of it.

I went from a 3.7" phone to a 4.7" phone and you think I'll ever go back to a small phone? NEVER!

I'm so glad someone else actually agrees with the S3 being poorly made....

[Andre3000 55]

I'm a fan on Sony Ericsson's, had a X10i and a St18i, both awsome handsets and reliable warranty cover when i broke them :S. Better camera's and screen quality than most iphone/androids on the market. I'm about to buy my third, a Sony Xperia S (Sony has recently bought out Sony Ericsson), we have a Bravia at home so I'm excited to see how it will integrate.

IMO Windows phones suck arse. Go with a quality android with dual core at least and you will be very happy, unless you are an apple whore then I don't think paying $1200 for a handset is reasonable.

If i didn't have a personal vendetta against Samsung i would probably have an S2 as they are great handsets.

Check this site if you want genuine items at wholesale prices:

http://www.gimmedigi.com/

[deeveus 81]

I'm running a 4s but a phone is a phone to me, I hate the damned things. Have you tried :

And :

Edited September 10, 2012 by The Diesel Guy

[mrad01 0]

I'm so glad someone else actually agrees with the S3 being poorly made....

...and even worse, the plastico supremo - the Galaxy S2. I think the S stands for sh*t.

Just say no.

[MD13 459]

I like this site for handset reviews:

Phones

I prefer Android - I'm an IT geek...

[NZ BMW 368]

iPhone = easy to use for everyone, even you nana

Android = easy to use if you're a relatively savvy IT user

I have Android and find it fine but there are some quirks which Apple overcomes by having a locked down system. It is nicely designed.

IMO they're much of a muchness but I personally prefer Android. I have a tablet and a laptop so went with the Sony Experia Ray which is great for me as I use my other devices for browsing etc, my phone is just for text, calling, Skype and the odd app like weather and Instagram.

[jeffbebe 1559]

[jeffbebe 1559]

Box o' birds, mate.