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I have been told several times to wait for the Thunderbolt to come out, and I'm kind of underwhelmed. It's got the same 1ghz CPU that phones have had for a year or so now, and if I read it correctly, 700 something mb of RAM. I didn't think they even released phones that had less than 1gb of RAM nowadays. I have heard people say that this phone stock is screaming fast, faster than hacked last gen phones. Can anyone explain to me what makes this phone so much faster? Should I go ahead and use my ugprade on this or wait for dual core phones?
Well, it's a second gen snapdragon processor which is faster and more efficient. 768MB of ram isn't low at all.
As far as dual-core phones go, you'll be waiting a bit to actually take advantage of both cores as Android isn't dual-core optimized yet.
The TB is fast, no question about that.
Also the dual core phones' battery consumption will be even worse on Lte. Finally exactly what do we need dual cores for?
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
Exactly. Dual core has been talked for years and yet no one really makes software. My wife and I just switched from the mytouch 4G to the thunderbolt and it is way faster.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
I would say get the TB and by the time you are due for another upgrade they should have the software setup by then along with better batteries to make dual cores useful.
You should wait, definitely wait...
Of course, by the time those new better-than-the-Thunderbolt phones are actually available, you'll have waited 2-3 months and have been using your not-better-than-the-Thunderbolt phone for that much longer.
And then, when you can finally get those newer/faster/better phones in hand, they'll have announced that the quad-core phones with 5G will be out in 4-6 months and you'll be back here asking if you should wait for them.
I'm being facetious, so don't take it personally, it's not an attack on you. I'm just trying to drive home the fact that there is ALWAYS a better device on the horizon in 2-3 months, and that whatever you buy today won't be the top of the line device for very long. Just get what best suits your needs today at the price you want to pay.
For me, the Thunderbolt's a mixed bag. I love the VZW coverage and voice quality. LTE is amazing fast, it rivals my Verizon FIOS internet line on the download speeds in some tests. On the other hand, I'm just not thrilled by the TFT display. Not that it's bad, but I'm a real SAMOLED-addict and the lack of real blacks on this thing makes me nuts. It's a keeper, I don't plan on returning it, but I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't mind having multiple phones, on multiple carriers, and upgrading a device every quarter. (In just the last year I've gone through a Nexus 1, Galaxy S i9000, EVO 4G, iPhone 4, Nexus S. I still own and sometimes use each of those except the EVO (Sprint service in LA is just too slow). YMMV.
A bit offtopic I would wait for Samsung 4g. I love tb but it lacks nice app like readerhub, musichub, mediahub. I feel like Sammy is a tad ahead of HTC when it comes to apps
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I love it personally, id say go with it.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
distortedloop said:
For me, the Thunderbolt's a mixed bag. I love the VZW coverage and voice quality. LTE is amazing fast, it rivals my Verizon FIOS internet line on the download speeds in some tests. On the other hand, I'm just not thrilled by the TFT display. Not that it's bad, but I'm a real SAMOLED-addict and the lack of real blacks on this thing makes me nuts. It's a keeper, I don't plan on returning it, but I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't mind having multiple phones, on multiple carriers, and upgrading a device every quarter. (In just the last year I've gone through a Nexus 1, Galaxy S i9000, EVO 4G, iPhone 4, Nexus S. I still own and sometimes use each of those except the EVO (Sprint service in LA is just too slow). YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you doing that you are not thrilled by the TFT display??? Anyone who uses a phone as a primary gaming or movie viewing device it whacked. A phone will never replace a quality TV, gaming PC, or xbox, and why would you want it to. The screen looks great. I just don't get it.
Aerogriff said:
I love it personally, id say go with it.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would get the thunderbolt now... Very nice phone and a great improvement over the DINC.
Love the big screen
fillyo said:
What are you doing that you are not thrilled by the TFT display??? Anyone who uses a phone as a primary gaming or movie viewing device it whacked. A phone will never replace a quality TV, gaming PC, or xbox, and why would you want it to. The screen looks great. I just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing like gaming...I don't expect my phone to replace a gaming device.
There's no comparison of a TFT screen to a SAMOLED, though. Blacks on a SAMOLED are inky black...a TOTAL absence of color or light emissions. Blacks on the Thunderbolt are not real black...they're a back-lit purplish black. Bring up a pure black image full screen on the Nexus S and the Thunderbolt in a dark room at the same time. The Nexus S will emit zero light, the Thunderbolt will seem like a flashlight by comparison. It's just my preference; and like I said originally, not a deal breaker for me, I'm keeping the phone for all its other plusses, but the screen is not the best in my opinion...good enough, but not the best.
I was torn between this & the Bionic.
I love the dual-core concept with it's processing efficiency - that is, once Android can properly support & use it. If you buy the Bionic this summer you might not be able to take advantage of the 2 cores for several more months.
I hate the idea of a locked bootloader (like the Moto phones have). Once I saw that the Bolt was rooted pre-release, and had an unlocked bootloader within 36 hours I hatched a plan. I bought the Bolt on a 1 year plan (it is MUCH faster than my old Eris).
Part 2 of my plan: hopefully by next January when I can upgrade HTC will have a dual core or quad core that we can crack. This way I have better hardware for the next 10-12 months, an unlocked dual core next year, and a grandfathered-in unlimited 4g data plan. As a bonus, I might be able to sell the Bolt to help pay for it's replacement!
so my contract will be up in May 4th.
after my horrid experience with the Backflip, im kind of on the iffy side about the atrix since its running motoblur.
the atrix seems like a good candidate. espcialy because of the lapdock. as im going to college and wanted a android tablet. but the atrix seems way better ATM and i can get it for around 450 at radio shack.
but first of all. i would want some general feed back from owners as you all.
pros and cons basically.
Atrix is a great phone to upgrade too. I myself came from a Backflip (CM6 installed). BLUR shouldn't be an issue since the phone is so powerful...but use LP or ADW etc as your launcher
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
rjayflo said:
Atrix is a great phone to upgrade too. I myself came from a Backflip (CM6 installed). BLUR shouldn't be an issue since the phone is so powerful...but use LP or ADW etc as your launcher
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
backflip, was a good attempt at a design of a phone unique, but with that they equipped it just sucked. i moved on to a HTC HD2 which is what i have right now. but i want my 3G back and 4G as my area will be available for 4G.
thanks for the tip on the launchers.
This phone is very well built especially in an otterbox case. It just feels like a sturdy phone. The camera is really good. I just upgraded from an Xperia X10 with loads of tweaks. I thought that was running really fast, and this manages to run even faster at stock. You can literally click almost anything and it will open immediately. Cons: I really like motoblur actually, but I wish there were more settings for syncing.
i keep on viewing more videos on youtube regarding the phone. called att today in the morning. i want it. but they are slapping a 45 tethering fee to my plan, becuase of the lapdock. i dont want to go over 200 bucks a month as its what we are paying right now right around 170ish 80ish.
but i want it.
but hen again, it makes me think about the whole motoblur thing. on the backflip, it was laggy and useless. i ended up putting a deblured rom on it.
by any chance does anybody know if you need to have a tethering plan?
You can get past the need for the tethering plan, I don't know personally because in Canada there are no tethering charges (except for the iPhone) but there are threads on bypassing it in the Dev forum. As for your original question, take a good look at the screen in a store or somewhere before you buy it. For a screen that is 960x540 the PenTile effect completely ruins it for me, and the color saturation is terrible. If it doesn't bother you than that its a great phone.
ill look that up. as for the screen. PenTile? imma hit google up. lol. but ill take a good look and compare to my HD2. screen doesnt really bug me. unless its low quality. then yes we have an issue. but other than that. were fine. thanks for the tip.
Silent8Strike said:
You can get past the need for the tethering plan, I don't know personally because in Canada there are no tethering charges (except for the iPhone) but there are threads on bypassing it in the Dev forum. As for your original question, take a good look at the screen in a store or somewhere before you buy it. For a screen that is 960x540 the PenTile effect completely ruins it for me, and the color saturation is terrible. If it doesn't bother you than that its a great phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely disagree. The screen looks very good, albet a little pixilated when displaying solid colors. My friend's droid x's screen looks washed out and low quality in comparison.
Pros
Most powerful phone. It is more powerful than most android phones coming out even the SGS2 can't touch it. Look at some benchmarking threads the Atrix gets in the 2900 with android 2.2 the SGS2 has 3000 but it is android 2.3 and does not push out as many pixels.
Great Battery life
1080p will be coming soon
4G coming soon
Very good build and very slim as well
Cons
Locked bootloader (Not a problem unless you like custom roms)
A bit laggy with a couple bugs (Could be fixed soon)
- AT&T
RacecarBMW said:
Pros
Most powerful phone. It is more powerful than most android phones coming out even the SGS2 can't touch it. Look at some benchmarking threads the Atrix gets in the 2900 with android 2.2 the SGS2 has 3000 but it is android 2.3 and does not push out as many pixels.
Great Battery life
1080p will be coming soon
4G coming soon
Very good build and very slim as well
Cons
Locked bootloader (Not a problem unless you like custom roms)
A bit laggy with a couple bugs (Could be fixed soon)
- AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
like i said screen isnt really a big issue. as long it looks okay and a bit on the HD side im good.
ive been reading review alot lately (dont wanna **** up liek i did with the backflip) i hear battery is a drag. that it dies quickly because of the dual core processor. the 4G has to come eventually as its has 4G slapped on to its name
AT&T is not really a big issue. ha i got service where i live. not one single dropped call.
now here are two noobish questions.
1) what exactly is a locked bootloader? and is it good or bad?
2) can someone explain the whole dual core thing? i have heard and read two different things. i read that it is a 1 GHz processor thats it. i have heard from video reviews that its a processor with 2 1Ghz chips, that making it 2 Ghz. jsut wondering.
How are you getting it for 450 from radio shack? If you don't mind me asking.
I returned mine for the zoom and will prolly grab it again for that price.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
i visted my local radio shack about 3 days ago.
Phone 150
lapdock 329.99
so correction about 479.99
Atrix & lapdock deal @ radioshack
Oh with an upgrade? Damn that's a pretty good prove. I paid for it in full, 650 is crazy for a phone...
Alex2x3 said:
Oh with an upgrade? Damn that's a pretty good prove. I paid for it in full, 650 is crazy for a phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah. 600 for the phone is whack! i got a HD2 currently got it off cragislist for 150 guy needed the money.
best buy has the phone for 99.99 and the dock for 399.99. a total of about 500+
radio shack seems the best option. around 480 not bad 20 bucks is 20 bucks i can buy a case or something.
You guys are lucky you don't live in Australia, to buy any decent phone will set you back 800ish, Atrix 4G online in an Australian store (MobiCity.com.au) will set you back $1000 its stupid.
As for the question, I like my Atrix, its heaps better than my HTC 7 Trophy and faster than my iPhone 4 in some cases. The locked bootloader basically stops you flashing custom ROMs onto the phone entirely, only fake ROMs that are essentially very well built themes. Considering this is my first android though, I have yet to care about custom ROMs. The screen is good unless you're viewing solid colors which is when it goes pixelated and motoblur did annoy me as soon as I saw it, which is the reason I shoved GingerBlur on it as soon as I could.
- DarkRyoushii
sal2708 said:
now here are two noobish questions.
1) what exactly is a locked bootloader? and is it good or bad?
2) can someone explain the whole dual core thing? i have heard and read two different things. i read that it is a 1 GHz processor thats it. i have heard from video reviews that its a processor with 2 1Ghz chips, that making it 2 Ghz. jsut wondering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) In simplified terms, a Bootloader is low-level piece of software that loads the main OS (Android in this case). It's roughly equivalent of the PC BIOS.
Being locked means that its going to be very difficult to replace it.
You'd want to replace it in order to replace the Android OS with a newer version. The Manufactures and carriers are terribly slow to release new versions. The version of android on the atrix is version out of date (2.2) and almost a year old. It also means you can easily remove the extra 'value' crap motorola and the carriers like to add (like motoblur).
2) The chip runs at 1Ghz, but it's two cores on the chip which means it can 'theoretically' do twice as much per hertz. In practise, Android isn't that dual-core aware. It's likely Ice-Cream will bring more optimizations for dual-cores. Which we think is due late this year.
But Motorola would rather sell you a new phone than update it, hence why a locked bootloader is a pain. Consumers provide far better support than the manufactures or carriers
I see. I wonder if they will skip 2.3 and just go ahead to ice cream since ice cream is for dual core phones.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
I am still within the window of returning my G Note (which i love except for a few things) and possibly getting a SGS3.
I really like the GNote and the massive screen, the extra real state is really nice! I am on AT&T and really like the idea of the HSPA network backup to the not yet present LTE here in South Florida. I am getting avg between 4-6 mbps DL.
NOTE (AT&T):
Likes:
* HSPA Network on AT&T
* Screen Size
* S-Pen (I actually use the thing)
Dislikes:
* LAG!!! It's minimized using TW, but any other launcher seems to slow it down. Over all it sometimes does not feel as responsive as expected from the specs.
* No OC on ICS (might be wrong here)
* Potential for less Dev support once SGS3 comes out.
SGS3 (VZW):
Likes:
* Camera...I have toddler at home and a quick camera would be great (this is my biggest factor for considering this phone)
* Power...this things seems like a beast!!!
* form factor
* ICS, although I am not as concerned about software bcs it's a matter of porting by one these great devs in XDA.
Dislike:
* Smaller Screen
* Slow 3G speeds when not on LTE area about 50% of time!
Any thoughts that might help me rationalize this decision is greatly appreciate it!
Thank you!
Crey23 said:
Dislikes:
* LAG!!! It's minimized using TW, but any other launcher seems to slow it down. Over all it sometimes does not feel as responsive as expected from the specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is lag only in the launchers? If so, try Launcher Pro. No perceptible lag for me.
Good luck figuring this out, it's a tight race between these 2 devices.
davaj said:
Is lag only in the launchers? If so, try Launcher Pro. No perceptible lag for me.
Good luck figuring this out, it's a tight race between these 2 devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not limited to Launchers, but they do affect normal navigation. I had ran GO, ADW EX, and Holo....and Holo being the "fastest". I just installed Go Ex and it's really fast. I think it more to do with one the widgets that I was running.
But lag can be seen while unlocking, but I hear that the SGS3 is the same...something to do with deep sleep that Samsung uses. It can also be seen while playing some games like Angry Birds. It ran kind of choppy on my old htc Vision(G2) Oc'd @ 1.2 Ghz, but the Note sometimes shows that choppiness too.
One thing that also concerns me is that the RAM is ually running at 65%-75% capacity anyone else?
I can't decide either. My problem is that I have would have to return my note before ever seeing the gs3. I sold my international note for the one x and didn't like that phone so I would probably regret trading for the gs3 as well. Once you get used to the screen on the note its hard to downgrade. Believe me when I say that the note's screen looks way better than the one x, even the guy at Walmart's at&t store agreed with me. Hopefully when we get a kernel source it will speed up our notes, although my note isn't that bad now.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
First and foremost determine what you need in a phone, do you need the Horsepower of a quad core? Most apps aren't designed to work with the quad cores and I would believe that the support of them in ICS is kind of like windows, yes they will use them, but will it use them effectively? Do you want the screen or the camera more? I know for my needs I prefer the screen and the camera is plenty quick enough for what I do, but I don't have kids. As for lag, if it's really that bad, I'd exchange it for another. I only saw lag on my phone after I had launched 20 or 25 apps, running tons of widgets and hadn't shut my phone down in 3 weeks.
So in the end, the trade off is what will you utilize more and what would be best for you. I for one wouldn't trade my note for anything, but again I came from a streak and make full use of my very large screen and not the camera so much. Not to mention, you could wait to get the S3, get it, and in a year they'll probably release a phone that has 3.2GHz quad cores with brand new LTE system that's 10x faster than what we have now.
Technology has always grown faster than we can keep up with, the real question is, how long will you wait to get the latest and greatest? That's the reason why I haven't upgraded my home PC. There's always a new CPU coming out with a new form factor, or the next best graphics card is going to be released in a month or two. My current logic with it now is, hey it works, it works well, I'll keep it until it doesn't suit my needs anymore.
Just my thoughts on it.
Apex launcher is the best launcher for the note no lag on my end. I couldn't see myself going to a smaller screen. My hands fit the phone perfect.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
I will share my views with my days with the ATT Note. If you are running stock ROM..it was a HORRIBLE experience. I had my Captivate at the time and it was super smooth compared to the ATT Note stock.
If you are cool changing ROMS, which I think you are since you are here, I would expect it to be a lot better.
As for the dev on the ATT one dying after the GS3 comes out...well , unless you are buying an international GS3, I wont expect the dev for it to be that huge either compared to the international version but this is just a guess.
davaj said:
If so, try Launcher Pro. No perceptible lag for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this.
lyall29 said:
I can't decide either. My problem is that I have would have to return my note before ever seeing the gs3....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly my concern.....Yes it might be all that, as the hox was when it came out, but after I played with it for a bit I was not convinced and actually opted for the GNote instead despite the additional $70 that it cost me.
I guess I like to be a s bleeding edge as possible, being that at the speed of industry... in two years, by the time my contract is over, there will be 6.8Ghz eight core, 0.5 TB solid state drive phones with 21MP cameras that wipe my butt too.... But reality is that it might be overkill.
The other thing that attracts me to the SGS# is that finally an Android phone will have as many accessories as an iPhone given the number of pre-sales, and the fact that it will be the flag-ship device for the 5 major carriers in the US/Canada. I am tired of walking into a best buy and see 90 different cases for the iPhone and, if I'm lucky, finding the $hitty Speck case for my Note lol.
Lastly, my other concer is that in order to get the SGS3 I would have to go from AT&T to VZW, and I am not convinced at all of going from lightning fast VZW LTE to crawling speed 3g EV-DO signal. It is reliable in the area, but LTE does not reach 50% of my territory.
I guess I'm going to keep the GNote, root it and wait for a kernel to break 2.0 Ghz blazing fast phone. I have read a few reviews that measure web processing throughput and the Note beats the SGS3 in the benchmark. Also some of the ROMs available have been tweaked to improve DL perfromance quite drastically.
The camera is pretty snappy too....It seems to take long, but when the picture is revealed it look amazing!
Alrighty, a couple of things to keep in mind.
1. While most apps arent designed to utilize quad cores, this isnt likely to stay that way for long. Since quadcores are fairly new and Android app developers can actually update their apps without some sort of approval process, expect support to happen fairly quickly.
2. The SG3 has a stylus too.
3. ICS will be available for the Note probably in the next month or so. The latest rumour is July 13th. It was delayed 2 weeks because Samsung was fixing a kernel bug that caused the international Note to hard brick when flashing ICS roms.
4. The stock apps are interchangeable. The apps on the Note are available for the SG3 and the SG3 apps are available to put on the Note (this will become easier once ICS is official on the Note).
5. While yes, the Note is bigger, it isnt by much.
Now that Ive addressed those points, I want to talk about ram usage and lag.
The very first thing I am going to recommend is a simple factory reset. Strange as it may be, my Note had nothing but problems first day I had it. I should interject here, my Note was brand new, NOT a refurb. I had only installed a few of my own apps (Audible, BeyondPod, Go Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, and Widget Locker) and had NOT (and still havent in fact) rooted it. I also updated as many of the stock apps manually from the market as I could find since I noticed the stock apps were not linked to the market. And apps began force closing left and right, battery was dead within 6 hours of just streaming audio over bluetooth (hardly any screen time), poor performance, etc. Before I returned it, I did a factory reset and it has been running great since (on probably month 3 now of having it, I bought it very shortly after it came out in the states).
Strangely enough, my brothers Samsung GNexus had poor network performance out of the box, we did a factory reset WHILE driving home with his brand new phone (we drove 2.5 hours to pick up his phone so we had the time) and since then, it has been working fine since.
Ram usage is normal for it to be in the 75% range. Android works a bit differently than Windows and their is no negative to high ram usage TO A POINT. Ram usage exceeding at or exceeding 90% however would be troubling and actually cause poor, laggy performance but under 90% is fine. I dont want to go into the details here but a quick Google search, difference between windows and linux ram usage, might be beneficial.
Finally, my raw opinion, the SG3 is the better phone. The screen is better (albeit smaller), slightly faster, etc. Software differences are a moot point since all of that will be changed in a month when ICS is official for the Note and you can just install software from the phone you DONT have on the phone you DO have. Source code has been released for the Note and the SG3 so we may actually begin seeing some decent rom development begin to happen here in the coming weeks for both phones. What I would say is this, if you want a better quality screen and a slightly faster phone spec wise, go with the SG3. If you want the bigger screen, stick with the Note. Personally, I prefer the screen size and since I spent money on an extended battery for the Note (the Mugen 5400 mah), I wont be switching phones any time soon.
I guess the only thing that bugs me with the at&t note is opening apps. When I had the international note it was twice as fast at opening apps and the international gs2 was even faster. The app I use the most is cash flow for my check register. It takes almost 5 seconds to open with the at&t note and like 1.5 seconds with the gs2. I know I'm being picky but I like things to be fast. The HTC one x to me, was even slower than my gs2. Maybe because of the sense UI, but that's what scares me about the gs3 seeing how it has the same processor as the one x. Maybe I need to be content with what I have and quit wanting all the latest and greatest. After all this worrying I'll probably still get the gs3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
littlewierdo said:
Alrighty, a couple of things to keep in mind.
1. While most apps arent designed to utilize quad cores, this isnt likely to stay that way for long. Since quadcores are fairly new and Android app developers can actually update their apps without some sort of approval process, expect support to happen fairly quickly.
2. The SG3 has a stylus too.
3. ICS will be available for the Note probably in the next month or so. The latest rumour is July 13th. It was delayed 2 weeks because Samsung was fixing a kernel bug that caused the international Note to hard brick when flashing ICS roms.
4. The stock apps are interchangeable. The apps on the Note are available for the SG3 and the SG3 apps are available to put on the Note (this will become easier once ICS is official on the Note).
5. While yes, the Note is bigger, it isnt by much.
Now that Ive addressed those points, I want to talk about ram usage and lag.
The very first thing I am going to recommend is a simple factory reset. Strange as it may be, my Note had nothing but problems first day I had it. I should interject here, my Note was brand new, NOT a refurb. I had only installed a few of my own apps (Audible, BeyondPod, Go Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, and Widget Locker) and had NOT (and still havent in fact) rooted it. I also updated as many of the stock apps manually from the market as I could find since I noticed the stock apps were not linked to the market. And apps began force closing left and right, battery was dead within 6 hours of just streaming audio over bluetooth (hardly any screen time), poor performance, etc. Before I returned it, I did a factory reset and it has been running great since (on probably month 3 now of having it, I bought it very shortly after it came out in the states).
Strangely enough, my brothers Samsung GNexus had poor network performance out of the box, we did a factory reset WHILE driving home with his brand new phone (we drove 2.5 hours to pick up his phone so we had the time) and since then, it has been working fine since.
Ram usage is normal for it to be in the 75% range. Android works a bit differently than Windows and their is no negative to high ram usage TO A POINT. Ram usage exceeding at or exceeding 90% however would be troubling and actually cause poor, laggy performance but under 90% is fine. I dont want to go into the details here but a quick Google search, difference between windows and linux ram usage, might be beneficial.
Finally, my raw opinion, the SG3 is the better phone. The screen is better (albeit smaller), slightly faster, etc. Software differences are a moot point since all of that will be changed in a month when ICS is official for the Note and you can just install software from the phone you DONT have on the phone you DO have. Source code has been released for the Note and the SG3 so we may actually begin seeing some decent rom development begin to happen here in the coming weeks for both phones. What I would say is this, if you want a better quality screen and a slightly faster phone spec wise, go with the SG3. If you want the bigger screen, stick with the Note. Personally, I prefer the screen size and since I spent money on an extended battery for the Note (the Mugen 5400 mah), I wont be switching phones any time soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Littleweirdo ...thanks for the explanation and opinion. I share much of what you are saying regarding the SGS3, and I think dollar for dollar the SGS3 is far more powerful than the Note. I looked at our bill, and with the new plans that VZW is pushing out on June 28th, we would actually save about $32 a month from our phone bill (which allone is an enticing reason to change). My concern is the LTE to 3G connectivity of the VZW network...not sure if that is a strong enough argument not to change to VZW. Something can be said about the quality of the VZW network that does, in a way, outweigh sheer DL speeds.
lyall29 said:
I guess the only thing that bugs me with the at&t note is opening apps. When I had the international note it was twice as fast at opening apps and the international gs2 was even faster. The app I use the most is cash flow for my check register. It takes almost 5 seconds to open with the at&t note and like 1.5 seconds with the gs2. I know I'm being picky but I like things to be fast. The HTC one x to me, was even slower than my gs2. Maybe because of the sense UI, but that's what scares me about the gs3 seeing how it has the same processor as the one x. Maybe I need to be content with what I have and quit wanting all the latest and greatest. After all this worrying I'll probably still get the gs3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My concern with dropping my Note for the SGS3 sight-unseen is that the SGS3 will not meet my expectations based on the hype.
This is the most annoying cellular phone decision (purchase) I have ever done!! LOL!
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Thanks ✟
Moving to Q&A
lufc said:
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Thanks ✟
Moving to Q&A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks lufc, hadn't realized that I wasn't in Q&A. :
Well I bit the bullet..... I switched to VZW. Specs wise the sgs3 seems to be superior, but push come to shove, a $35 a month savings with unlimited voice and text and 4gb gigs once the new pricing plans kick in at the end of the month.
I will miss the huge screen and te s- pen. And I might regret it, but I had to do it from a logical perspective.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Crey23 said:
Littleweirdo ...thanks for the explanation and opinion. I share much of what you are saying regarding the SGS3, and I think dollar for dollar the SGS3 is far more powerful than the Note. I looked at our bill, and with the new plans that VZW is pushing out on June 28th, we would actually save about $32 a month from our phone bill (which allone is an enticing reason to change). My concern is the LTE to 3G connectivity of the VZW network...not sure if that is a strong enough argument not to change to VZW. Something can be said about the quality of the VZW network that does, in a way, outweigh sheer DL speeds.
My concern with dropping my Note for the SGS3 sight-unseen is that the SGS3 will not meet my expectations based on the hype.
This is the most annoying cellular phone decision (purchase) I have ever done!! LOL!
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Ok, Im not a fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. BUT, Samsung hasnt created a crappy phone since prior to the Galaxy S line of phones - I cant speak to anything prior to that because I never owned a Samsung phone prior to the Captivate. They have proven that they are ready to play with the big boys, they are even taking on a certain fruit company in court.
Why WOULDNT the Galaxy S3 not live up to all the hype? All the tech enthusiasts love it, ask anyone who has it outside of the US, they all love it as well. I think its a fantastic device and other than a smaller screen, its an upgrade from the Note in EVERY aspect, including a much higher quality screen.
If I wasnt invested in the Note already (ie a contract & a $100 extended battery), Id be looking very seriously at the S3 because the Note is older tech. Honestly, Id be laughing at the Note's screen size (I did originally before I decided to just see if I could live with it) because hell, its big.
If Im GOING to buy a phone, Im going to get the latest tech because I know that living with a phone for two years is going to be painful during the last 6 months of the contract.
Although I dont see myself wanting to upgrade my phone after two years due to the limited things I actually USE my phone for (podcasts, audiobooks from Audible, driving directions and checking for app updates for the 15 or so apps I have installed), my Note is plenty adequate. Hell, I would still be using the Captivate if it hadnt died on me. It did everything the Note does for me (that I use it for that is) and it even had a MUCH better sound processor (the Note's sound processing is TERRIBLE).
I'm still curious why people talk about the sgs3 like it's a pentium 4 to the notes pentium 2. The us note is a 1.5ghz dual core, the us sgs3 is a 1.5ghz dual core. The sgs3 has more ram, which means very little when appropriate customizations can create a silky smooth experience on either device. And to top it all off, with the right optimizations in the rom and kernel, a 1ghz tegra 2 is just as smooth as these 1.5 ghz chips. My atrix was buttery smooth on cm9, my note is buttery smooth on cm9, and I'm sure the sgs3 will be buttery smooth on cm9. In my opinion, it comes down to aesthetics and screen, because everything else is a variable if you plan to flash.
SGH-i717 mesosphere
littlewierdo said:
Ok, Im not a fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. BUT, Samsung hasnt created a crappy phone since prior to the Galaxy S line of phones - I cant speak to anything prior to that because I never owned a Samsung phone prior to the Captivate. They have proven that they are ready to play with the big boys, they are even taking on a certain fruit company in court.
Why WOULDNT the Galaxy S3 not live up to all the hype? All the tech enthusiasts love it, ask anyone who has it outside of the US, they all love it as well. I think its a fantastic device and other than a smaller screen, its an upgrade from the Note in EVERY aspect, including a much higher quality screen.
If I wasnt invested in the Note already (ie a contract & a $100 extended battery), Id be looking very seriously at the S3 because the Note is older tech. Honestly, Id be laughing at the Note's screen size (I did originally before I decided to just see if I could live with it) because hell, its big.
If Im GOING to buy a phone, Im going to get the latest tech because I know that living with a phone for two years is going to be painful during the last 6 months of the contract.
Although I dont see myself wanting to upgrade my phone after two years due to the limited things I actually USE my phone for (podcasts, audiobooks from Audible, driving directions and checking for app updates for the 15 or so apps I have installed), my Note is plenty adequate. Hell, I would still be using the Captivate if it hadnt died on me. It did everything the Note does for me (that I use it for that is) and it even had a MUCH better sound processor (the Note's sound processing is TERRIBLE).
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Yeah I hear ya.....I have seen multiple videos on the the SGS3 and it seems like an incredibly fluid device. I have to say the screen real state i will miss, but since I am returning my Note today, and will get the SGS3 in early July I am back on an Blackberry Pearl 8130...the screen size is about 1/4 of the Note's....maybe less LOL. So I think by the time i get the G3 it will seem like a huge screen!
I will miss the S-Pen....I did use it quite a bit. I stopped taking my notebook to meetings bcs all I needed was my note.
pyro254750 said:
I'm still curious why people talk about the sgs3 like it's a pentium 4 to the notes pentium 2. The us note is a 1.5ghz dual core, the us sgs3 is a 1.5ghz dual core. The sgs3 has more ram, which means very little when appropriate customizations can create a silky smooth experience on either device. And to top it all off, with the right optimizations in the rom and kernel, a 1ghz tegra 2 is just as smooth as these 1.5 ghz chips. My atrix was buttery smooth on cm9, my note is buttery smooth on cm9, and I'm sure the sgs3 will be buttery smooth on cm9. In my opinion, it comes down to aesthetics and screen, because everything else is a variable if you plan to flash.
SGH-i717 mesosphere
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You are right in the sence that many phones just need to be optimized in order to get them smooth. I did that with my htc Vision/G2 once I rooted, swaped kernels, flashed a "few" ROM's including ICS and had it OC'd to nearly 2x it's rated processor speed. BUT, and you know a but was coming....
There is something to be said of the posibilities of a device being launched nearly simultaneously on all 5 major carriers in the US...no other device has ever done that (at least under the same name, and never in so close proximity of one from the other).
The other thing impressive about the G3 is the hardware, it's got 2GB of ram, and incredible camera, a very good processor (though not the latest), and note like beautiful screen. For me the camera alone draws my attention, and the fact that the spec are as close to bleeding edge as we can get in a production device, makes me pretty happy to know that I can pull of 2 years of no upgrades.
In fact, when I purchased the htc G2 on T-Mobile nearly 2 yrs ago, it was the only phone on 4G network, and it was the best phone out there for a while, and I found no reason to envy any other devices. I switched from it bcs I got tired of the poor data strength of T-mobile in my area, and the fact that sitting at my office, getting signal was a hit/miss situation, but the device itself it's still kicking....it's my toddler's mini tablet at the moment.
littlewierdo said:
my raw opinion, the SG3 is the better phone.
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Amazes me that people make statements like this without ever seeing, touching, or using a phone..
wase4711 said:
Amazes me that people make statements like this without ever seeing, touching, or using a phone..
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Ive seen it first hand (the international version). The screen is probably the biggest thing about the SG3, its a better quality screen than the Note.
Samsung has NAILED every phone. Would people be buying it otherwise? Look at the world wide sales, look at the tech reviews, there is hardly anything negative to say about it.
In fact, the only negative is that it doesnt have the latest processor, big whoop in my opinion. Oh, and maybe touchwiz, but touchwiz is decent now, nothing like the pile of poo it was on the Captivate.
Come july 1st i have an upgrade on sprint. Now i have been following the news surrounding the galaxy s III closely and when it was released, almost imediately i was sure i wanted it. However now that the us version has been released and reviewed I am not so sure. The specs on the galaxy s III on both versions are miles ahead of my original epic's. But, i am not so sure about the gpu of the us version. Its using a gpu from last year's (galaxy s II) phone. This is an issue for me because I like to play the gpu intensive games (at least the ones that my phone can run) nova, me, gta ect. I don't want to be put at a disadvantage when the adreno 300 series comes out later this year aswell as other new gpus. Also i am extremely woried about the gs3 fragileness. I was extremely fortunate that the epic was built like a tank. I dropped it a lot, while talking, texting, out of my pocket ect. It has survived through a combination of luck, build quality, and the active x seido case. However the gs3 from what i have seen breaks easier than an iphone 4(s). I am also not a big fan of svoice. I think the google speak thing works better. So as you can see my cons seem to be stacking up more and more. I don't care that it is dual core vs the quad core international, because quad core isn't optimized but like i said b4 the gpu on the s4 is old. Also I saw the upcoming specs of the lg eclipse and it seems better than the gs3. If it were by any other manufacturer, it wouldn't even be a question. I would just get that. But because i hate lg here is my question(s)
p.s. i hold onto phones for the whole duration of the contract so my next phone HAS to last me the two years
1. Should i get the gs3 or wait?
2.If i wait should i get the lg eclipse or no because lg software and build quality is crap?
3. Any chance the new nexus phones could have the specs i want?
A new nexus is around 8-10 months away and LG phones suck like crazy
And if you can play ganes on your of epic I'm pretty sure they will play nicer on the gs3
Its less worth it for me going from an et4g to the gs3 but I'm a phone junkie ill get it
And I'm pretty concerned about the easyness in breaking the phone so ill get some sort of protection plan
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
gtuansdiamm said:
A new nexus is around 8-10 months away and LG phones suck like crazy
And if you can play ganes on your of epic I'm pretty sure they will play nicer on the gs3
Its less worth it for me going from an et4g to the gs3 but I'm a phone junkie ill get it
And I'm pretty concerned about the easyness in breaking the phone so ill get some sort of protection plan
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Its more like 5 months away ---> http://www.talkandroid.com/113162-b...ember-5th-to-celebrate-androids-5th-birthday/
GS3 All the way
I love the GS3. I just got it the other day and it is an awesome phone. Very fast and blows my old Nexus S 4G away. I don't game much so I don't know how it performs playing a game. I ran a quadrant benchmark test and it ranked #2 right under the ONE X, but I believe that was for the international version.
It does seem a bit fragile though. I'm ordering an Otter Box as soon as the Defender model comes out.
All I can say is I love the phone and I would recommend it to anyone.
I just paid $550 for it because I didn't have an upgrade. I came from the s2 and I wouldn't say it's a huge upgrade but it's definitely a awesome phone and I'm glad I bought it
A few things are preventing me from getting the S3 now. The major one is Sprint's network as in Sprint's delay with LTE deployment and (currently) molasses slow 3g. More minor: I have an OG Epic and know that I will miss my physical KB. The last reason is I am hoping to see the 28nm low-power LTE chip phones, which will happen in 6 months or so but this is not a deal-breaker.
Wife's VZW S3 is on order.
dohturdima said:
A few things are preventing me from getting the S3 now. The major one is Sprint's network as in Sprint's delay with LTE deployment and (currently) molasses slow 3g. More minor: I have an OG Epic and know that I will miss my physical KB. The last reason is I am hoping to see the 28nm low-power LTE chip phones, which will happen in 6 months or so but this is not a deal-breaker.
Wife's VZW S3 is on order.
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So your pretty much in the same position as me. I guess i will go to the sprint store and check out the gs3 to see if its worth it ( when they get it in...)
Upgrade! Do it! This phone (GS3) is great. I love it.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA
samdsox said:
Its more like 5 months away ---> http://www.talkandroid.com/113162-b...ember-5th-to-celebrate-androids-5th-birthday/
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Were on sprint
We nver get first dibs on the nexus
I tool that into account
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
samdsox said:
However the gs3 from what i have seen breaks easier than an iphone 4(s).
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If you're referring to the video made by those case makers I'd take it with a grain of salt. The GSIII is pretty tough, although it might be more fragile than the GSII.
Sprint's 3g is crapola here in Seattle so I can't do without the wimax on my E4GT. Lately 3g has gotten worse and wimax is better. I have an upgrade in September so I'm going to hold out until then. I might have more options like a new Nexus LTE rumored for November or maybe a Galaxy Note 2 on Sprint.
See whats worying me is i asked this on a forum for the phone itself. I would have thought i would have gotten a bunch of biased yeses. If i asked on the evo4glte forum i would expect to get a bunch of biased nos. But i seem to be getting maybes and yeses. So this is making me more afraid to take that step to a new phone.
I have been looking at upgrades to my SGS2, and I am a bit torn between the two phones - Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Samsung Galaxy S III (AT&T).
Looking at the stats, there is very little difference, and the Nexus is about half the price for an unlocked one straight from Google.
Battery life should be close, but the specs all show a much lower number then I would expect, so I am guessing that it is from the quad core version, and not the US version.
Has anyone done a comparison? I have been looking and always end up with the Quad core version rather then the Dual core one for the US.
The Nexus isn't an upgrade from the S2, it's a sidegrade at best (and possibly even a downgrade depending on what's important to you in a smart phone).
I've been having the same trouble . It just seems like the SGS3 is a better choice. Also the SGN isn't LTE and the SGS3 is.
According to your question it's undoubtedly the Samsung galaxy S3
but on the other hand if you are a pure android fan and want fast updates from google then it's definitely the Galaxy Nexus...
I would say that the SGS3 would be the better one unless you want pure Android.
i would say wait for the next nexus phone with lte capabilities..that's gonna be my next smartphone maybe, want pure android not pure bloatware from carriers and delayed updates
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Nexus for sure
Jelly Bean makes it feel like a whole new phone, I am probably going to order mine next Week.
crimsonconcepts said:
I have been looking at upgrades to my SGS2, and I am a bit torn between the two phones - Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Samsung Galaxy S III (AT&T).
Looking at the stats, there is very little difference, and the Nexus is about half the price for an unlocked one straight from Google.
Battery life should be close, but the specs all show a much lower number then I would expect, so I am guessing that it is from the quad core version, and not the US version.
Has anyone done a comparison? I have been looking and always end up with the Quad core version rather then the Dual core one for the US.
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Click to collapse
As much as you would hate this... I'll say waite.
There is nothing wrong with the SGSII. Its freaking awesome, and for me, it's even better than the G Nexus.
As for the SGS3, Android as for now, is in no need of 4 cores, specially samsung ones that are a brand new technology that is still in developement. Even Tegra 3 are equaled in performance by S4 dual core chips, while consuming less power. (as seen on One X series)
I bet around fall we will see a new and decent Nexus device, that i say its worth the waite.
rich.x87 said:
As much as you would hate this... I'll say waite.
There is nothing wrong with the SGSII. Its freaking awesome, and for me, it's even better than the G Nexus.
As for the SGS3, Android as for now, is in no need of 4 cores, specially samsung ones that are a brand new technology that is still in developement. Even Tegra 3 are equaled in performance by S4 dual core chips, while consuming less power. (as seen on One X series)
I bet around fall we will see a new and decent Nexus device, that i say its worth the waite.
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The at&t s3 only has 2 cores
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I'm waiting for the next batch of phones with a new SoC.
The only thing I want from the SGSIII is that screen.
I would say look at reviews of both and see which fits your needs and then make a decision. No one can make this decision for u
Sent from my SGH-i777 using XDA
IMO, the only reason to pick a Galaxy Nexus over any other phone is because you want quicker updates. It has nothing else over any other device, imo.
I too am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have 1 line available for an upgrade now and another on Aug. 1st. Problem is my SGS2s work perfectly and even though the S3 has some nice features (zero shutter lag for one). It does not feel like enough of an upgrade harware wise. The GNexus is pretty much on par with the S2 except a slightly larger screen size and NO removable sdcard. So I decided to just wait. But my daughters handed down SGS1 Cappy sdcard just failed a few days ago. She was runing it with CM7 still and liked it. So since I am STUCK with having to get a new phone my dilema is this. Get the SGS3 and hand down my SGS2? Get the Gnex from the play store which I like the updates available but give it to her, then I STILL have 1 phone available for upgrade and another soon so IF something better comes along I can jump on it. OR third choice get a SGS2 I777 for her and waste one upgrade. Decisions decisions...
Sent from My SGH-I777 Running UCLE5 SANGRE AZUL 2 Rom
RockRatt said:
I too am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have 1 line available for an upgrade now and another on Aug. 1st. Problem is my SGS2s work perfectly and even though the S3 has some nice features (zero shutter lag for one). It does not feel like enough of an upgrade harware wise. The GNexus is pretty much on par with the S2 except a slightly larger screen size and NO removable sdcard. So I decided to just wait. But my daughters handed down SGS1 Cappy sdcard just failed a few days ago. She was runing it with CM7 still and liked it. So since I am STUCK with having to get a new phone my dilema is this. Get the SGS3 and hand down my SGS2? Get the Gnex from the play store which I like the updates available but give it to her, then I STILL have 1 phone available for upgrade and another soon so IF something better comes along I can jump on it. OR third choice get a SGS2 I777 for her and waste one upgrade. Decisions decisions...
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That middle option sounds good to me. It'd be nice to have an upgrade available late in the year or early 2013 when new phones start coming out...
Wait for the Next Nexus that will hopefully come out in the fall/winter season.
mattdm said:
That middle option sounds good to me. It'd be nice to have an upgrade available late in the year or early 2013 when new phones start coming out...
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That's what I'm edging towards with my upgrade. I was considering selling my SGSII and buying the GNex in order to have the upgrade available for the next batch of phones (Krait Quads) or just wait until then with my SGSII although I would be able to sell if for much less at that time.
SGSII is such a great phone but seeing the SGSIII, that screen is just making me so tempted to upgrade. I'm a sucker for bigger screens with better res. Someone smack the temptation out of me!
RockRatt said:
I too am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have 1 line available for an upgrade now and another on Aug. 1st. Problem is my SGS2s work perfectly and even though the S3 has some nice features (zero shutter lag for one). It does not feel like enough of an upgrade harware wise. The GNexus is pretty much on par with the S2 except a slightly larger screen size and NO removable sdcard. So I decided to just wait. But my daughters handed down SGS1 Cappy sdcard just failed a few days ago. She was runing it with CM7 still and liked it. So since I am STUCK with having to get a new phone my dilema is this. Get the SGS3 and hand down my SGS2? Get the Gnex from the play store which I like the updates available but give it to her, then I STILL have 1 phone available for upgrade and another soon so IF something better comes along I can jump on it. OR third choice get a SGS2 I777 for her and waste one upgrade. Decisions decisions...
Sent from My SGH-I777 Running UCLE5 SANGRE AZUL 2 Rom
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Well... Give your daughter the SGS2 and get a SGS3 or One X. And you'll have the extra upgrade to get any of the phones coming later this year.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
Now when you say s3, att crap or real, int s3? Because if att one, id say stick to s2 or maybe Note.
raduque said:
IMO, the only reason to pick a Galaxy Nexus over any other phone is because you want quicker updates. It has nothing else over any other device, imo.
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Well I know that the idea of getting updates quicker is what is would seem, but in reality, that is not the case. The Nexus models may be a Google phone, but they still have to go through the carrier to get updates.
I think that although a new phone may be nice, many of you are right that the S2 is an amazing phone, and should be good for a while. As far as the comment about no need for Quad cores, I thought the same thing when I got my Eris, and thought it was lighting fast... until the new apps came out and then the phone ran like a slug, even rooted and modded.
The software will push the hardware limits at all times, so if new hardware comes out, software will start to use it, which means that eventually the old ones just don't work right. This is the bane of technology. I also have an iPad, and as of later this year I am out of luck and will not get any software updates before iOS 6 won't install on it. (But that is whole different conversation)
Looking at the specs between the two on phone arena is actually funny, since they are both SO close. I have worked in computers for long enough that I know that a .2 or .3 different in CPU speed, isn't going to make or break a difference. Memory, Cores, and Storage tend to make the biggest difference.
crimsonconcepts said:
Well I know that the idea of getting updates quicker is what is would seem, but in reality, that is not the case. The Nexus models may be a Google phone, but they still have to go through the carrier to get updates.
I think that although a new phone may be nice, many of you are right that the S2 is an amazing phone, and should be good for a while. As far as the comment about no need for Quad cores, I thought the same thing when I got my Eris, and thought it was lighting fast... until the new apps came out and then the phone ran like a slug, even rooted and modded.
The software will push the hardware limits at all times, so if new hardware comes out, software will start to use it, which means that eventually the old ones just don't work right. This is the bane of technology. I also have an iPad, and as of later this year I am out of luck and will not get any software updates before iOS 6 won't install on it. (But that is whole different conversation)
Looking at the specs between the two on phone arena is actually funny, since they are both SO close. I have worked in computers for long enough that I know that a .2 or .3 different in CPU speed, isn't going to make or break a difference. Memory, Cores, and Storage tend to make the biggest difference.
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Click to collapse
Nexus updates except for Verizon and sprint do not go through any carrier
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