Galaxy S II or Galaxy S III? - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm looking for a new device to replace my Galaxy S I and either one of these will be upgrades, but I want to see if the GSII can actually fulfill my needs. If I buy a GS II I'd only expect it to last a couple of years before I make the jump to something even more superior in like 2014, but if it's a GSIII, I hope it's a long term investment and last me at least 3 years.
I use my phone mainly as a web browser, camera, and for all my social integration stuff (emails, facebook, etc.). I watch videos on my phone a lot, and I've got like 80 GBs of Asian dramas and tv shows waiting to be loaded on my phone. Frustratingly my GSI can only handle 720p so I could only play the 720p ones but I'm sure either the GS2 or 3 can play even 1080p mkvs.
Thus, the most important aspects of a smartphone for me include the Screen, the Camera, speed, and durability.
Here are the pros and cons I weighed out:
Pro GS2:
Much more compact
RGB instead of Pentile
Literally indestructible
Con GS2:
Quite a few cases of "screen burn"
Shorter battery life
Pro GS3:
720p instead of WVGA
Better CPU, GPU, and almost everything else
Longer battery life
Con GS3:
Quite large IMO, not sure if I'd be happy holding it for a long duration
Relatively easy to break, + - same level as the iPhone 4/4s
So what do you guys say? Would the GSII suffice for my video watching needs or would the GS III be a much better choice if I want to use my phone that way?

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Hi, I have the galaxy s2 and I am getting the s3. I don't recommend you get the s2, even though it is good cpu & gpu wise the screen, to be blunt, is crap in my opinion. I have to admit I was unnerved about the size of the screen on the s3, and all I can tell you to do is go to the shop and play with it. For me the screen was no where near as big as I thought it would be and was no longer an issue after playing around with it. I could touch everything with one hand. (I am 6'2 with decent sized hands)
The s3 is massively more future proof than the s2, so it could be a better investment of money. Also, I can't stress enough the amount more detail you could see on a pentile 720p screen than my wvga rgb s2 screen, for me that made me want to buy the phone alone. I'm not going to sugar coat it, if you look quite close you can make out the signs of pentile and see pixels. But from a usable distance it was so much more clear and crisp than my s2.
I should also mention the amount of people I have seen on xda saying how they dropped the s2 form wast height and it smashed. The s2 isn't as strong as people make it out to be. For the s3 I believe the drop testes weren't very controlled. As in one it survived being throw into the air and on to the floor, yet it didn't survive from a simple small height drop. I would just recommend you buy a case that protects the corners of the s3, like a tpu one that are really cheap.
Lastly, after I played around with the s3 it made my s2 feel laggy. I couldn't believe android device could be so smooth, and it did feel quite a bit faster. Overall, I honestly believe you should get the s3 over the s2 if money isn't a problem, and if it is bare in mind the s3 should be more future proof and you may not need to upgrade as fast as if you got the s3. I hope this helps you is some way.
Edit: Should mention, I was in a phone shop today, comparing my s2 next to the s3 for quite a while to make sure I actually like the s3. Also, look wise I thought the s3 was ugly and not a patch on the one x from the press photos and reviews. But after having it in my hand my first thought is that it looked beautiful, and I actually prefer it now to the one x, and it fitted so snugly in my hand next to my s2 and the one x. Photos don't do the phone justice, the phone looks so nice in life in my opinion of course.
Also, the s3 had a notification light and the s2 doesn't. I know the s1 also doesn't have one but coming from my old htc desire, I missed the notification light so much and I think if you got the s3 you may find you won't want a phone without one. Although I have to admit I really didn't like the color of the blue one at all, I have never had a white phone, but I really loved the white s3's.
For video watching the s2 is no good, the wvga screen just makes everything looks so soft and kind of lifeless. The s3's screen also had a lot less glare meaning, it should be nicer to watch videos on, and the much better battery is a massive plus for video watching.

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While I don't own a SGS2 (only the SGS1 and SGS3) I've played around enough with my gf's SGS2 to give a somewhat accurate comparison.
Both phones match your requirements just fine.
The SGS2 is beefy enough to provide enough CPU/GPU performance for casual games in the coming years and should get updates and fixes at least through community-support (I strongly recommend Cyanogenmod with Siyah-Kernel) for a long time to come.
It's true that the SGS3's size is quite large, but whether it's too large depends on your hands. I can reach any spot on the screen (except the notification-area which requires a bit of stretching) just fine, while my gf is unable to use it one-handed.
Go to your local shop and try fiddling around. Either it matches or it doesn't; you won't get used to an oversized screen.
Now to your question regarding app usage; I'd recommend the SGS3 over the SGS2 big time. While the SGS2 runs your apps just fine, the SGS3 is able to really switch between them easily and browsing with the Chrome Beta is just as fast as on your desktop browser.
The SGS2 sometimes feels sluggish especially with larger websites, multiple tabs or while running other stuff in the background.
Additionally the SGS3's larger screen REALLY works wonders when surfing the web, it requires far less scrolling around than SGS1 or even SGS2.
Software-features such as hovering multimedia player could possibly be backported to the SGS2, and I haven't used them add all yet so I'll not comment on their usefulness.
The SGS2's camera is MP-wise identical to the SGS3's, however the latter has FAR faster reaction times. However in comparisons with CM9's camera-app on SGS2 to the SGS3's stock camera, the SGS2 wins big time in image quality and fidelity. E.g. the SGS3 shows a large aura around a TV-set in a darkened room and the on-screen image is really fuzzy while the SGS2 shows a clear and clean image.
But that could be due to software-limitations; Samsung has never be known for their good software-capabilities, but rather their excellent and usually very endurable hardware.
Screen burn-in could -and most certainly will- be an issue on the SGS3 like on the Note since both use a very similar screen (minus the Wacom digizier).
It simply is a problem with all light sources including CRT screens and even LCD. You just don't see it on LCD's and Beamers because the actual light source is not on a per-pixel base but covers a large area.
However the average screen burn-in is not noticeable in everyday-usage. My (nearly) 2year old heavily-used SGS1 which was used as night-stand clock and showed instant messaging chats for hours has yet to show any important distortions.
Depending on your country and carrier you'll get 2 years warranty; if nothing big has shown by then you got a good unit.
I can't say anything on durability (yet ) but depending on how you use and treat it, that should not be a big issue with any device.
If you don't treat it like a Nokia 3410/3510 but like the 580$ high-end smartphone it is, it will survive. It's gotten Gorilla Glas II afaik, so the screen _SHOULD_ survive most drops.

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Thanks for the comments guys, very detailed and helpful posts!
I was wondering if the S2 would be future proof enough but from your comments I guess probably not. I just want a phone that is lag free and does whatever I want it to do (software wise) provided it's not something like computing the 100,000th digit of Pi in 3 seconds.
My hands are of medium size (probably medium-large for Asians), spanning 22cms from my thumb to my pinky. I've yet to find a local store here in UK near where I live with the GSIII in stock so I didn't have the chance to fiddle around with it, but I've held my friend's Galaxy Nexus with a case and it felt quite manageable.
However, I'm sure I won't be able to 1 hand operate the GS3 like I can with my GS1 (oh, the joys of swype!), but that wouldn't be that big of a problem as I don't think I'll risk holding the GS3 and using it 1 handed!

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Mine span the equal length, so I'd say you're good to go.
The S2 is as future-proof as it can be for your need. If you're willing to shill out the approx. 100-150Euro for a S3 with a 2year subscription I'd say go for it.
I'm using my S3 one-handed nearly all the time, especially when walking the dog.
So far no issues, however I've ordered a case with extra grip in case my dog tries to hunt some wildlife and I fly/slide behind.
Since my language (luxembourgish) is not Swype-supported (and most certainly never will be), I've come to love Messagease (freeware). Sure, it takes some time to learn but it can be used one-handed with very high accuracy.

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Thanks for the help mate.
I really wish the GS3 can actually last me longer than my GS1. I had the prospect of it lasting me for 3-4 years with good performance and it started to lag on the 2nd day when I tried to use a live wallpaper. Hope it's a different story with the GS3...and I'd love to get my hands on the S4+2GB RAM variant if possible (but Hong Kong only seems to be selling the international version).

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i had an s2 and when you use the s3 for a few days then go back to the s2 you can tell how much clearer and better the screen looks on the s3 its amazing
movies looks fantastic

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I love my s2 but plan to wait for the upcoming nexus devices and see what they have to offer before jumping ship to my next device. While there are differences in the s2 & s3 they are not glaring enough to make me want to switch this very moment. It's going to take more for me to put my gs2 to sleep, much more not slightly more. Google better bring it with the next nexus line of devices or I'll be waiting even longer.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

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questions ?

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avetny said:
questions ?
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Yes...tell me about the one on the right.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA

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In one ERA the S2 was a legend,,,, That doesnt mean that now its outdated... When compared to other phones which r single core its far better in performance and screen clarity... S3 is a new one, if u doubt give some months then see the development here and buy s3.... S3 specs r too gud.. But for me S2 gave a gud battery life(~1-2 days), dropped it twice.. And yes the processor burns like hell in S2.. Unless ur using it in cool room.. It all depends on ur taste and budget.... Eagerly waiting for S4 in future.. which may come after 1.5-2 years later