[Q] coming from s2 - Galaxy S III Q&A, (US Carriers)

Are you satisfied with the jump from your SGS2, or do you feel you should have waited? Thanks

I had the epic 4g touch on Sprint and I LOVE the S3, but it doesn't feel like a HUGE upgrade for me. It is a upgrade but not a HUGE one. Not upset that I got it and don't wish I would have waited. At least until the next nexus comes out and I can't get it because I am locked in. Overall, I am happy!

I'm coming from S2 (used for 3 months), after upgrading to S3 i loved it and feel happy :laugh:

i love this phone coming from the s2.
things i love: screen size/resolution, battery life, speaker volume, call quality, gps and radios ARE INSANE!!! gps locks in less than 10 seconds. This phone also gets great 3G speeds compared to my iPhone and s2 so not having wimax is not that big of a deal til LTE rolls along. The new software features are cool but nothing to write home about
things i miss: viewing angles of the s2. that screen was insane. I feel the camera on the s2 is better. that thing took amazing pics without needing to tweak the camera or the photos. Im pretty disappointed with the cameras on this phone.
I also miss gaming performance. sure its not a fair fight with the s2 only pushing half the pixels, but the s3 stutters in a lot of games the s2 was butter smooth in. even with that, I wouldn't trade this phone for any other phone out up to this point.

First, let me give a little bit of a background.
I came from an iPhone 3G and went to the S2 to try out the Android OS and to get superior hardware than the 4S. I fell in love with the S2 and after a few months got into rooting and loading custom roms, etc.
At the beginning of June my S2 decided that it had a good run and went for a swim. I had my old iPhone 3G and used that and kept banging my head on my desk because it was so slow and painful to use.
I jumped at the HTC One X (AT&T US) and had that for a week. While it was a great step up from the iPhone 3G it was still not what I really wanted.
A week later I picked up my SGS3 (AT&T US 16GB) and have been very happy and have had no buyer's remorse like I did with the One X. As far as the jump from the S2 to the S3, the bigger screen is nice, I feel that the battery lasts longer, and I love the fact that it only has 3 buttons versus the 4 on the S2. I don't know if I would have purchased the S3 had the S2 not died on me (my fault, BTW). But regardless of that, I am not regretting my purchase like I did with the HTC One X.
As previously said, I liked the camera better in the S2 and the viewing angle was insane on the S2. Overall, I am happy with the S3 and would recommend the phone to anyone.
Hope that helps someway.
Cheers!

no remorse
I had the s2 for about 7 months, did a lot of toying and tinkering with it. I believe I had the perfect set up (for me) and I absolutely loved it. I found the perfect ROM / kernal combination that gave me optimal performance / battery life combination.
Initially, I had buyer's remorse, because my s2 was just as 'smooth' as my s3. Honestly the only thing that I considered an upgrade was the resolution jump...and the battery life! The screen really does look a lot more vibrant. However what I realized was that this phone is still young, and as devs catch on, its going to get a lot better. Just like the s2 did. I remember when the s2 initially came out there were a LOT of issues with it (modem loss of signal issues was the worst).
Soon enough we'll have a wide variety of ROMS and kernels for this phone as well that will make the performance and battery life even better, that's what's keeping me from having remorse at this .
... well that and the fact that my s2 was on SPRINT, which had god awful internet speeds. The LTE upgrade alone is enough to make me forget about the s2 now that I think about it.

Related

Please be honest - How do you like your SGS2

So Im debating on buying the Galaxy S2 or the Atrix. Iv been a long time Galaxy S user (i9000 since the beginning) and as much as a disaster it was, I still held off and kept with it.
The thing I like about Atrix is gps works, super fast, (I never use GPS except for weather and I CANT see weather on my SGS cuz my gps doesnt work ) size of it, speed,
-Bad things are moto blur im not a fan of, bootloader locked (I have never flashed roms on my galaxy s, but iv done a ton of research and will want to in the future), no gingerbread
The things I like about SGS2 are unlocked BL (just like above), screen looks a bit nicer then motos. Gingerbread.
This I dont like - size is pretty big, and im afraid im going to be settling just like I did with the SGS
My buddy just bought the SG2 and says the wifi sucks, battery sucks, and the GPS still isent the greatest.
Now my question is, is this just a bad batch like the first galaxy S's? or is this going to be the future of the SGS2? To be honest Samsung left a bad taste in my mouth after my SGS
Wifi seems to have some compatability issues with certain routers and there is a bug for some people with battery drainage. So, as I see it, not the end of the world, but annoying for those affected.
GPS works fine for me at least.
Dunno which batch I got but I never had such a perfect phone before. Even get Gps signal indoors in 10 secs.....
Wonder why some folks here have so big probs ........
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Thanks for some of the comments guys, I know its hard to be un bias but im just trying to watch out for bad apples. The SGS was my first Android phone and it was great... for a while. I even went back to my Iphone cuz of the problems on my SGS (And im sooo anti Apple lol) and not to mention the 4 SGS's I had to exchange, what a nasty time in my life.
troed said:
Dunno which batch I got but I never had such a perfect phone before. Even get Gps signal indoors in 10 secs.....
Wonder why some folks here have so big probs ........
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Same here. no problems at all.
Sounds like a troll. The wifi is very fast, with great reception. The GPS takes a reading in seconds and is extremely accurate, and the SGS2 runs all day on a charge - unlike my last phone, I don't need a way to charge this phone at work. Beyond that, it is fast to use, has a camera good enough so that now, I have a usable camera with me wherever I go, it plays games and movies to entertain the kids when needed, gives me full access to the Internet everywhere I go and it has a reasonably good connection to all communications outlets - social networking, IM, and email. Can any of these functions be improved? Sure, but the overall package is probably as good as any phone on the market and better than best-sellers like the iPhone 4. At the moment there is no better phone on the market, and this phone will hopefully remain useful for much longer than the HTC Touch Pro2 that it replaced.​
I currently own both the Atrix & Galaxy S 2. I'm currently trying to sell the Atrix. My Galaxy S2 is the best device I ever owned. If I had a 12 year old child, I would give my Atrix to them.....IT IS A PIECE OF OVERRATED CRAP!!!!!
Get the SGS2, I couldn't be happier!!!!
Atrix, don't even think about it. I feel its one of the useless phone out there. I used it for some time. Screen is really awful. I hate to compare this with SGS1. SGS 2 is way up in the sky.
troed said:
Dunno which batch I got but I never had such a perfect phone before. Even get Gps signal indoors in 10 secs.....
Wonder why some folks here have so big probs ........
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Quite simply because Samsung's quality control is terrible. I've had four Galaxy S Captivates and they've all had issues to varying degrees. I'm seeing the same issues with the SGS II as I did with the original: blotchy screens, yellow banding, and GPS issues. I attribute the complaints of poor battery life due to user interaction (read: constantly playing and running benchmarks) so that's more of a wash to me. But the hardware quality control seems to be right next to the original SGS: in the gutter.
Battery life is pretty good, 100% at 8am this morning & its now 10pm at 68%. Used for about 20 mins of calls, a bit of web surfing, downloaded a few apps & some general fiddling about.
I've had no problems with GPS. Initial fix took no more than a couple of minutes & it has performed like a champ.
The wifi though does seem to be quite weak.
I don't care if you get the sgs2 or not but the atrix is a piece of ****. It can't function right without motoblur.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Pretty tired of these "doomsday" posts with no general processing of the overall picture. This phone is fantastic, even with the minor bugs. This device makes the SGS feel like a beta prototype that should have never even been released.
Screen is gorgeous, web browser NEVER lags even when zooming/panning with flash on screen, GPS/Navigation is flawless, everything is just blazing fast with no hint of slowdown. So, if you think your last-gen Atrix is a keeper, by all means, keep using it.
ronj1986 said:
I currently own both the Atrix & Galaxy S 2. I'm currently trying to sell the Atrix. My Galaxy S2 is the best device I ever owned. If I had a 12 year old child, I would give my Atrix to them.....IT IS A PIECE OF OVERRATED CRAP!!!!!
Get the SGS2, I couldn't be happier!!!!
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I couldn't agree more. The Atrix had a LOT of potential but sadly was bogged down by a piss-poor implementation by Motorola. The big thing to note is: even though the SGS2 has superior hardware, it's not superior by much. Even this being the case, the SGS2's performance completely trounces that of the Atrix simply because of the optimization done by Samsung. I had one and ended up selling it because it just didn't feel like a next-gen phone to me and couldn't be happier w/ my Galaxy S2.
For me battery is great, screen fantastic, call quality spot on. in three weeks, no lag or crashing. Camera is superb, external speaker great. 2 & 3G sensitivity perfectly fine. 1080p video recording amazing. ummm...just trying to think of something negative..
I'll have to come back to you on that one..........
OP:
Many of the problems commonly found in the SGS1 can be cured with a ROM change. Darky's has been great for the GF; wicked good battery life (2 days), FAST and GPS even works!
The update fiasco that was the Galaxy S1 was (imho) due to the US carriers. The GF purchased her SGS1 from Telus Early Jan, and I installed Froyo that night through KIES.
Basically what I'm getting at is the SGS got a bad rap in the states, but I honestly don't believe the majority of the blame lies with the manufacturer in regards to the update issue. The GPS was fixable, but I have a feeling it wasn't fixed due to the difficulty encountered in updating the US versions of the SGS.
In regards to the Atrix, I am biased when it comes to Motorola as I owned a Milestone (non US, non CDMA Droid1). Now that device is a PITA as the bootloader is encrypted and Motorola has truly been atrocious with the updates. I would never buy an encrypted device after that experience, as I can't really update my phone on my own.
Moved to it from a Desire running Ginger Villain. Phone's great, screen's great, no problems with WiFi or GPS.
Chalk me up as another person struggling for a negative.
Just upgraded from the SGS1 to the SGS2, it's sooooo much faster. My GPS locks indoors WITHOUT AGPS (insight of a window maybe 8ft away), I like TW4 and the new apps, a good camera and the build quality is better than the SGS1 but..... it took me a while to get used to the new screen, at first I found the contrast a little odd and the audio is not as good as the SGS1 (with Voodoo) and may never be.
Overall though a great phone and a good upgrade to the SGS1, I think this phone will do well.
Had the GS1, only problems with it. Since I've got this one, no problems at all. Frankly, the only issues are reallyyy minor and the phone's speed makes up for it
I've also upgraded from an original Desire to the SGS2, it's amazing. The wi-fi gets one less bar than my desire but the speed is still 18mbps as it was on the Desire. Can't fault it tbh, awesome phone
I never use GPS except for weather and I CANT see weather on my SGS cuz my gps doesnt work
↑
Omg lol!!! Is this guy serious?
Go with a normal phone. I can see that you don't have the intelligence to handle a smartphone let alone SGS II. ...Unless you're Superman who fly to different cities every hour.

[Q] Opinions from Captivate to SGS2 users?

I currently have the AT&T Captivate and I have the chance to get a new AT&T phone. When I bought the Captivate it was my first Android phone and pretty amazing compared to my AT&T Fuze and before that my AT&T wizard. I just want to see if SGS2 will be what the Captivate wasn't. GPS sucked, no front facing camera, lack of OS updates but everything else seemed comfortable and fast to me. I just found a perfect battery life ROM for my captivate and if I buy this phone today I just want to make sure it will impress me more than the Captivate. I also want your opinions on your switch from the predecessor and why you stuck with another Samsung phone? (which I don't mind cause of the amazing community here)
BlakDye said:
I currently have the AT&T Captivate and I have the chance to get a new AT&T phone. When I bought the Captivate it was my first Android phone and pretty amazing compared to my AT&T Fuze and before that my AT&T wizard. I just want to see if SGS2 will be what the Captivate wasn't. GPS sucked, no front facing camera, lack of OS updates but everything else seemed comfortable and fast to me. I just found a perfect battery life ROM for my captivate and if I buy this phone today I just want to make sure it will impress me more than the Captivate. I also want your opinions on your switch from the predecessor and why you stuck with another Samsung phone? (which I don't mind cause of the amazing community here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switched from the Infuse.
1) GPS - the Infuse was a significant improvement over the Cappy, and so far, the GS2 seems to be a massive improvement over the Infuse
2) FFC - just like the Infuse, we have it. That's about all I can say
3) Lack of OS updates - get used to this on AT&T - but just like the Cappy (and unlike the Infuse), the deltas from the international variant are small enough that this doesn't really matter.
Reasons I stuck with Samsung, including paying full outright purchase price:
1) Samsung's clear developer support policies - device donations to Cyanogenmod, they even donated an Infuse to supercurio for Voodoo work, source code dropping BEFORE device release
2) Samsung ease of development - Samsungs are really damn hard to brick and easy to flash
3) sAMOLED+
I too had a Captivate. Coming from a Tilt/E71/N97 Mini, it was amazing. It had gotten sluggish, but I wasn't planning on re-setting it back to stock or flashing another rom on it until my year was up (I was rooted). When I first got it I really thought it would do me for a couple of years. The more I read about the SGS2 though, the better it sounded. So I caved.
I bought one the day they were released and haven't regretted it at all. It makes the Captivate seem like it's slogging through molasses in January. Everything is instantaneous, the GPS gets a lock inside my house within a matter of seconds, the battery life is greatly improved, etc. Oh, as a plus, it also seems to pick up signal where no other phone has before - actually, that's a HUGE plus for me.
If you know of anyone with an SGS2, it might pay for you to at least mess with it a bit so you can see for yourself "in the real world".
I'm now ready to use the Captivate to flash roms and experiment (yay), then when my 30 days is up, I'll root the SGS2 and see from there.
I recommend the SGS2, but as usual, ymmv.
as Entropy said (which is pretty much hitting the "nail on the head"), samsung devices are hard to brick, easy to modify and they've supported independent developers, which is cool in my book.
I got my SGS2 from Radio Shack for 179.99 upgrade contract. Coming from Captivate running Pinnacle with Samurai kernel, I would say it is barely worth the 180$ (80 of those being for the front facing camera and a flash , another 20 for the GPS).
What about the amazing 8mp camera compared to the cappy the sgs2 is an amazingly huge improvement. And of course the crazy out of the box speed its like besides removing bloatware you don't need any other ROM to make it fast...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA Premium App
pupochek said:
I got my SGS2 from Radio Shack for 179.99 upgrade contract. Coming from Captivate running Pinnacle with Samurai kernel, I would say it is barely worth the 180$ (80 of those being for the front facing camera and a flash , another 20 for the GPS).
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"Barely"!?
I came from the captivate (made a short stop at the Thrill on my way) and could literally not be more impressed with this phone.
Its amazing, its got the dev support, its thin, its light, its bigger screen, bettery battery life, FFC, flash, tons of RAM, plenty horsepower. I cannot start enough Apps to bog this phone down, I have never seen it lag or hesitate.
With the Galaxy Nexus exclusivity confirmed (phandroid) on Verizon, if you want a high end android phone on AT&T, you only have one choice. If you want mid-range phone with decent specs, and no dev support give Thrill or Atrix 2 a try for half the price. I have no doubt that the GS II is worth the upgrade, especially if you can sell your captivate to pay for it.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
pupochek said:
I got my SGS2 from Radio Shack for 179.99 upgrade contract. Coming from Captivate running Pinnacle with Samurai kernel, I would say it is barely worth the 180$ (80 of those being for the front facing camera and a flash , another 20 for the GPS).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is one thing that kills me though, the price. It might be worth it to me though. I actually miss using GPS with me and my brother battling on Foursquare, and now that my family uses their front facing camera on their iphone 4's to talk I can actually put it to a lot of use. ( I feel kinda left out with the cappy haha.)
pupochek said:
I got my SGS2 from Radio Shack for 179.99 upgrade contract. Coming from Captivate running Pinnacle with Samurai kernel, I would say it is barely worth the 180$ (80 of those being for the front facing camera and a flash , another 20 for the GPS).
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Click to collapse
HATERS GONNA HATE...give me a break the captivate ain't even on the same playing field as this phone PERIOD. Loved my Captivate but this statement is plain nuts.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
quarlow said:
I have no doubt that the GS II is worth the upgrade, especially if you can sell your captivate to pay for it.
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Click to collapse
haha If I didn't put my cappy through hell in my pocket (no scratches on the screen though!) I hope I still can get a decent price for it.
quarlow said:
"Barely"!?
I came from the captivate (made a short stop at the Thrill on my way) and could literally not be more impressed with this phone.
Its amazing, its got the dev support, its thin, its light, its bigger screen, bettery battery life, FFC, flash, tons of RAM, plenty horsepower. I cannot start enough Apps to bog this phone down, I have never seen it lag or hesitate.
With the Galaxy Nexus exclusivity confirmed (phandroid) on Verizon, if you want a high end android phone on AT&T, you only have one choice. If you want mid-range phone with decent specs, and no dev support give Thrill or Atrix 2 a try for half the price. I have no doubt that the GS II is worth the upgrade, especially if you can sell your captivate to pay for it.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
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Click to collapse
Well, I got the Captivate as a free upgrade, coming from HTC Aria (which was also free), so my upgrades are gradual in terms of phone quality. When I said barely, that's what I meant - paying actual money for SGS2
---------- Post added at 09:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 PM ----------
bykr_dude15 said:
What about the amazing 8mp camera compared to the cappy the sgs2 is an amazingly huge improvement. And of course the crazy out of the box speed its like besides removing bloatware you don't need any other ROM to make it fast...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
I use a DSLR for photography, and megapixels are not a selling point for me.
Speed out of the box is great, that's true, but again, I was coming from a speedy smooth running custom kernel/rom on the Captivate...
I also came from Cappy and tried almost every iteration of roms then stuck with CM7. I had two cappys (3 if you include my wife's) a d I sold MY second cappy for $160, went down to a Walmart store and got the SGS2 for $148.88 and something like $164 after tax. So basically it was free for me and I still have my cappy as a backup even though I haven't needed it. This seems a lot more stable and harder to even softbrick than the cappy. So YES it is worth every penny.
I Love my cappy but it really doesn't compare to the SGS2. Besides all the difference you already mentioned this thing even at stock performs VERY WELL. This phone is guaranteed the next generation of OS (ICE CREAM SANDWICH). It has the same dev support as the captivate. It is a very fast and I THINK still the fastest phone in the market. You CANNOT go wrong with it. I could reiterate the OTHER pluses but they have been covered above. Just pull the trigger and you wont look back.
Sent From My KICKASS CM7 AT&T SGS2
Well I finally gave in and bought one. So far I love it!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
BlakDye said:
I currently have the AT&T Captivate and I have the chance to get a new AT&T phone. When I bought the Captivate it was my first Android phone and pretty amazing compared to my AT&T Fuze and before that my AT&T wizard. I just want to see if SGS2 will be what the Captivate wasn't. GPS sucked, no front facing camera, lack of OS updates but everything else seemed comfortable and fast to me. I just found a perfect battery life ROM for my captivate and if I buy this phone today I just want to make sure it will impress me more than the Captivate. I also want your opinions on your switch from the predecessor and why you stuck with another Samsung phone? (which I don't mind cause of the amazing community here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from the Captivate. Totally worth the upgrade. GPS works, The screen is awesome. So much awesome in this phone. You can get it at WalMart for $160 on 2-year contract.
BlakDye said:
haha If I didn't put my cappy through hell in my pocket (no scratches on the screen though!) I hope I still can get a decent price for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha! I just updated from a Captivate because I *ran over* it the other night. Luckily, it wasn't in my pocket at the time. The Gorilla Glass is impressive. The display panel behind the glass faceplate is shattered, 100s of cracks. The faceplate itself is completely undamaged. The phone still worked, though no display. Luckily I'd left it in USB Debug so I could get all my crap off it still.
The S2 is a noticeable improvement over the Cappy. Speedier, with much less lag, a brilliant display (though I think my Cappy display had faded and gotten some burn in so the comparison my not be all that fair).
As with so many other owners, I was exasperated by the S1's GPS. I'd gotten it to work OK after lots of fiddling (changing to a larger battery and the non-conductive plastic back plate that came with it seemed to make a significant difference) but it was still marginal at best.
The Bluetooth at last can finally initiate a hands-free voice-activated call, though it's annoying it can't do that with the screen off (wondering if I can fix that with Tasker), and I'm thinking of swapping in the stock voice APK since the Samsung Vlingo thing is a bit slow... Voice response via BT has always been an Android disappointment, it's something that for all their faults, Blackberry has honed to a fine art.

[Q] Did I really mess up by getting an Amaze 4g?

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I'm happy to finally become a member of this community after shedding my buggy LG touchscreen phone.
I got this Amaze 4g on Monday at the T-Mobile store since they had very limited phone stock and the sales reps highly recommended it since they had dropped its price to the same as the SGS2. This is my first smartphone but I'm now disappointed to find out that the Galaxy S2 has much more dev support and is a bit better for gaming and power-using. I keep seeing youtube videos that hail the Amaze 4g as the winner in most if not all head to head reviews.
I'm now contemplating returning this for a Galaxy S2 since gaming is a big part of my spare time, but I'd have to pay a damn $50 restocking fee. Is the Galaxy S2 that much better to justify paying the $50? Am I really missing a lot?
I would love to hear more from gamers using the Amaze 4g. Most reviews of heavy games on the Market like Modern Combat 3 and Dead Space have reviews of SGS2 users, and I could find no Amaze 4g users among the reviews. I'm not really much of a picture taker, so the camera on the Amaze isn't something I would miss too much. I'm not looking to start a flame war or anything of the sort. I just want to make sure that I have a capable phone to play these games before I buy them.
They have the same processor so gaming shouldn't be too different performance wise.
The reason your seeing more reviews for the galaxy s 2 is because the gs2 is a more popular phone world wide compared to the amaze.
I work for tmobile and the most popular phone people ask for is the gs2, maybe due to proper ads by Samsung where HTC kinda stopped with advertising their flagship phones since they roll out a new one every month.
So don't worry, u got urself an amazing phone!
Sent From My HTC Amaze
howhi50 said:
They have the same processor so gaming shouldn't be too different performance wise.
The reason your seeing more reviews for the galaxy s 2 is because the gs2 is a more popular phone world wide compared to the amaze.
I work for tmobile and the most popular phone people ask for is the gs2, maybe due to proper ads by Samsung where HTC kinda stopped with advertising their flagship phones since they roll out a new one every month.
So don't worry, u got urself an amazing phone!
Sent From My HTC Amaze
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey.. leak out some kernels and phone info so we can grow the development...
Just stick a usb in.. copy, paste, and no one will ever know.
Just get a Galaxy S2 and feel good about it.
It's your choice not mine and if you don't feel like just get a right one for you.
You are stuck with this phone for Maximum 2 years.
Get a phone you want to use for 2 years.
I am a bit of a heavy user on my phone when it comes to games, all i use my phone for is games, facebook, text, and some other things xD haha. that said, i havent recieved my Amaze yet BUT i played Deadspace and Eternal Legacy (big game, over 1GB) on my Sensation and they ran butter smooth. now with the CPU underclocked and less RAM it would obviously not run as smooth as the Amaze.. the sgs ii will run just as smooth as the amaze in games. they have the same CPU/GPU/amount of RAM.
I'll vouch for this, I had the SGSII for a week and I hated every minute of it...the resolution is lower even though its a amoled screen, I don't think the colors are even that much better to be honest, the blacks are just darker, thats all.....I hated everything about it, the camera, how big it was, how big everything on it was...I did a direct sunlight test, and HTC IS better even though they advertise that super amoled is better, its BS. it has more dev support becauses samsung doesn't put as much restrictions on their phones as HTC does. That's the reason.
Camera is immensly better on the HTC. I absolutely hate Touchwiz, where as Sense seems much better.
Its ultimately your choice
Just to be clear when you're talking GS2 are you talking the GS2X with the Snapdragon or S2 with Samsung's more powerful Exynos processor?
Either way the Amaze has the upper hand in terms of resolution and Camera, keyboard if you're using stock Sense keyboard vs TouchWiz IMO. Game play goes to the Amaze if you're comparing Snapdragon's but if you're looking at the Exynos I'd give gaming to Sammy.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Love my Amaze, although I don't like the feel in my hand. My hands aren't that big so the curved back makes it difficult to hold it tightly.
Actually wished it was squared off more, like the SGS2, but it's a minor issue.
Held the DROID RAZR and that thing holds very nicely, but no removable battery (and not being on T-Mobile) kills it for me.
Overall, very satisfied with my Amaze, although it took installing LauncherPro & disabling a bunch of preinstalled apps using ADB using ZergRush 1-Click Temp Root.
I love the amaze as well.
Did a lot of researching before picking one up, but so far it's been worth it (other than battery life, and possible video recording issues.). Got a nice score of 1057 on Vellamo, so I'm plenty happy about performance. In terms of hardware specs, it's pretty much one of the high end ones, with a balance of storage and features. (Unlike a couple of other options out there.)
Hasn't locked up/random reboot on me yet!
Of course, I came from the Motorola xt720 (extremely buggy at times), which was my first android device. So my experience isn't as great as some others.
Currently on stock ROM, but it's unlocked and rooted. Just waiting for a nice stable ICS build to come along!
I came from an SGS1 and I loved that phone, especially since it had so much development. To be completely honest, if WIND Mobile had the SGS2, not a single doubt in my mind that I would've gotten that handset instead of the Amaze, simply because the SGS2 is leaps and bounds ahead of the Amaze in terms of custom ROMs and whatnot.
That being said, I still love my Amaze because it is by no means a bad phone. It's just a lot newer than the SGS2 and it's a shame that HTC is making it harder for developers to get into coding for the Amaze.
I love HTC I guess you could say I'm a fanboy so take this with a grain of salt. My friend has the Samsung C(r)aptivate and my mom the Samsung Galaxy Tab (1st gen), and when ever I upgrade either one I f**k it up in some way or another, because for some reason I always have to go back to stock before I do anything but having an HTC I forget this. I don't know about the SGSII since I've never rooted/flashed one but I love my HTC Amaze it should be better than the SGSII by a bit since it is clocked faster stock, however SGSII have an accelerated internet browser so it is a bit faster in web browsing. So all in all it is looks, feel and preference. I love the heft of this phone and the way it feels in my hand, Sense is the best interface other than AOSP although it is a bit heavy, IMO TouchWiz is garbage. So they are pretty damn similar phone (unless it is the SGSII Hercules which is exactly the same). As mentioned before Samsung has better development since it is a joke to root it and have no Nand lock etc...
WikusVanDeMerwe said:
Hello everyone, this is my first post and I'm happy to finally become a member of this community after shedding my buggy LG touchscreen phone.
I got this Amaze 4g on Monday at the T-Mobile store since they had very limited phone stock and the sales reps highly recommended it since they had dropped its price to the same as the SGS2. This is my first smartphone but I'm now disappointed to find out that the Galaxy S2 has much more dev support and is a bit better for gaming and power-using. I keep seeing youtube videos that hail the Amaze 4g as the winner in most if not all head to head reviews.
I'm now contemplating returning this for a Galaxy S2 since gaming is a big part of my spare time, but I'd have to pay a damn $50 restocking fee. Is the Galaxy S2 that much better to justify paying the $50? Am I really missing a lot?
I would love to hear more from gamers using the Amaze 4g. Most reviews of heavy games on the Market like Modern Combat 3 and Dead Space have reviews of SGS2 users, and I could find no Amaze 4g users among the reviews. I'm not really much of a picture taker, so the camera on the Amaze isn't something I would miss too much. I'm not looking to start a flame war or anything of the sort. I just want to make sure that I have a capable phone to play these games before I buy them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 2cents worth, the Amaze has only been out a few months, the Devs are working on it, so custom roms are slow coming out. Personally I really like the Amaze, and have never had a Sammy, so can't say on that. Finally it's all up to you and your preferences.
You my good sir did not mess up... The amaze is waaaayyyyyy better than that sgs2. First, just look at how the amaze is made compared to the same old plastic on the sgs. Second, the camera, don't even get me started, this phone has the best camera I've ever owned to be honest, I don't buy expensive cameras, infact I've only owned one camera. Third, there is more developement on sgs2 because its pretty obvious, Samsung has managed to put their galaxy line in the mainstream, popular enough to be competing head on with the iPhone. And remember that HTC doesn't release their phones the same way everytime, they change how their phones are made every few models, take a look at the sgs line and its pretty much the same. Also the amaze has a qhd screen, the sgs has has a 480p screen if I'm not mistaken, and when I look at the sgs it looks all pixaleted if you know what I mean. And finally, the dev here is still in its baby steps, its all about patience.
And as for gaming, my experience has been great, I've been playing gta3 with no fcs no lag, I've also played asphalt 6 and worked awesome.
Sent from my HTC Amaze 4G using xda premium
Plus, the Amaze is one of the few to receive the ICS update (hopefully this month). And once that drops, I believe development for the Amaze will pick up substantially.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using xda premium
someone mentioned that the gs2 has lower clock speed, i think for the original one.. yes. but the tmobile hercules t989 it has the same clock speed.
anyways, there's too much exaggeration that the tmobile gs2 development is light years ahead of us. they do have a few devs, but they're not light years ahead of us. a lot of their devs are leaving, and its mostly just tweaked touchwiz, like how ours is tweaked sense. Yeah there are some asop roms, but don't think by having a gs2, you'll be flashing roms like crazy.. because you're not (yet).
I've had the amaze for 2 months before switching over to the gs2. Don't get me wrong, the amaze is a beautiful and fast phone with the better camera... much better. The only thing that bothered me is the battery life. the battery life is simply okay.. this could be fixed by running something other than sense or having a spare or two (one should be enough). but yes sense kills the battery. if it wasn't for the battery life, i would still be using the amaze.
listen to everyone else about the screen. the washed out screen isn't as bad as it sounds. you won't notice it at all when playing games. i played games on both phones. the amaze will give you more details and it will pop out more with more accurate colors. like i said on one of my breakdowns of the two phones.. if you're a gamer, you would want to go with the amaze simply because the games look better. functionality is the same for both phones. You're gonna kill your battery playing games on either so buy a spare anker and you're good to go.
As far as gaming the amaze is pretty bad as far as touch screen compared to the SGS2. i noticed this on few games that my buddy at work(who has t-mo sgs2) informed me about where multi touch gets faulty the more you play or longer you go with out rebooting you phone. This is not the case on his galaxy.
few games that come to mind are jelly defense, jet car stunts, flick golf, also on GTA3.
Well, I'm happy to hear more people have been gaming on the Amaze 4g. I've downloaded Zenonia 3 and Dead on Arrival and they make my phone's left side of the screen really hot. Yesterday whenever I would quit Zenonia 3 and go to the Task Manager, the phone would lock up and do a restart. It did this consistently 3 times! On the last time it switched off the mobile network by itself which was very frustrating.
I find the Amaze to be a bit laggy when navigating menus, especially regarding the touch-screen's feedback. I have yet to take a pictture with this greaest of cameras. Can Sesnse be removed? I just would love to know if this will get better but it is more of a gamble than anything. I hope when ICS comes out things get better. If the T-Mobile store doesn't get a SGS2 by next monday I'll have to stick with the Amaze.
Thank you all so much for the comments and advice.
I did a lot of soul searching when I was deciding on SG2 or Amaze.
What I like in the Amaze:
1) Camera buttons
2) Notification Light
3) Better form factor, SG2 feels too wide and square (personal preference)
4) Higher resolution
5) Solid/higher quality build perception
What I like from SG2 is:
1) AMOLED screen
2) Better battery life out of the box
3) Better benchmarks (bragging rights but doesn't translate into better everyday use)
4) Lighter feel
5) Better brand recognition
I initially ended up with the Amaze because they were out of SG2. I don't regret it after comparing it with two of my friends with SG2. I can still return the Amaze but I guess I'll keep it. The only thing I hate so far with the Amaze is the softkeys light bleeds onto the screen. Battery life so much better after I rooted and custom rom.
You guys shouldn't regret having the amaze, I am not happy with the sgs2. I use to have an amaze I really miss my amaze its impossible to get use to this stupid resolution. More devs don't matter when the roms aren't up to quality a lot of them haven't been updated in a long time. Juggernaut is the best so far IMO but the amaze feel is better x makes quality roms. No notification light is annoying to now I have to use bln.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
ebatr8 said:
You guys shouldn't regret having the amaze, I am not happy with the sgs2. I use to have an amaze I really miss my amaze its impossible to get use to this stupid resolution. More devs don't matter when the roms aren't up to quality a lot of them haven't been updated in a long time. Juggernaut is the best so far IMO but the amaze feel is better x makes quality roms. No notification light is annoying to now I have to use bln.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed with every point. the amaze community is much better imho... that explains why we're still over here lol. I would most likely be back to the amaze in a little bit.

to keep or not to keep that is the question..

As no-one has asked this question I thought I might as well.
How many gs3 owners are so dissatisfied that they are considering returning their product?
Also state reasons please.
I know this won't be a popular thread with some diehard fans, might even get abuse from some but I'm sure there are people not happy with gs3.
I for one after playing around with gs3 aren't convinced this product is a huge improvement on the gs2.
I absolutely hate the build quality more so now then before, it feels and looks cheap.
Led notification is way too bright and visible through the surrounding body rather then just the actual place this makes the build quality look even cheaper.
S-voice not accurate at all.
Screen is good but not much of an improvement on the gs2.
Surprisingly it lags.
You might not be happy with camera quality?
Video playback quality?
To add galaxy s3 is more fragile then s2, 4s, HOX. This is maily due to design and material usrd Is this of putting for you?
It would be interesting to see how many people hate their device so much so they are considering returning it, selling it. Or are very happy with it.
I don't have the Galaxy S III yet, ordering from Handtec but then the bank holiday and diamond jubilee thing so I won't receive it until maybe the 11th.
I am currently using the Galaxy Fit.
Even if it as bad as you describe I'd still love it.
It's way better than what I currently have so yeah.
I had three one x's which I ultimately returned and replaced with a galaxy s3 due to defects and problems. I'm way impressed with s3 so far. The hox lagged, overheated, died within 3 - 4 hours with average use. Even the galaxy s3 screen is ultimately better in my opinion. The only thing I would of kept hox for was tegra games, otherwise an awful device that they probably released way to early to get into the market before Samsung.
rickssj4 said:
I had three one x's which I ultimately returned and replaced with a galaxy s3 due to defects and problems. I'm way impressed with s3 so far. The hox lagged, overheated, died within 3 - 4 hours with average use. Even the galaxy s3 screen is ultimately better in my opinion. The only thing I would of kept hox for was tegra games, otherwise an awful device that they probably released way to early to get into the market before Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had three HOXs?
Why not just one?
Sir-Awesome said:
I don't have the Galaxy S III yet, ordering from Handtec but then the bank holiday and diamond jubilee thing so I won't receive it until maybe the 11th.
I am currently using the Galaxy Fit.
Even if it as bad as you describe I'd still love it.
It's way better than what I currently have so yeah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you will love it since its best galaxy phone.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
rickssj4 said:
I had three one x's which I ultimately returned and replaced with a galaxy s3 due to defects and problems. I'm way impressed with s3 so far. The hox lagged, overheated, died within 3 - 4 hours with average use. Even the galaxy s3 screen is ultimately better in my opinion. The only thing I would of kept hox for was tegra games, otherwise an awful device that they probably released way to early to get into the market before Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree first batch of HOX did have several issues, did seem HTC rushed them through but since then HTC have sorted the issues out. I had 4 and the last one was brilliant no issues.
I disagree the sg3 screen is better, certainly colours are more vibrant but not natural. The viewing angles on the HOX are far superior, the text is clearer and sharper this especially evident when surfing the net. The text becomes blurry when scrolling on the sg3.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Are you serious? Return it because i`m disappointed??
I`m sorry but I disagree with some of your points and i`ve come from a Galaxy Nexus.
I absolutely hate the build quality more so now then before, it feels and looks cheap. I love the build on it. Ok a bit plasticy and not iPhone standard but its way better in the hand than i originally thought it would be.
Led notification is way too bright and visible through the surrounding body rather then just the actual place this makes the build quality look even cheaper. I like the fact a larger area glows. It makes it easy for me to see it when i come into the room for missed calls etc.
S-voice not accurate at all. Did we ever think it would be? Its not so great on the iPhone either. But I can text with it and so far its been pretty accurate.
Screen is good but not much of an improvement on the gs2. This I cant comment on as I havent had a S2. Compare to my Nexus though i think it looks stunning.
Surprisingly it lags. I have had a few instances of this. Mainly when returning to the home screen from within the settings or app menu. I`m sure this will be fixed with an update.
You might not be happy with camera quality? Noooo way!!! So impressed.
Video playback quality? So far so good. Downloaded a few 1080p`s to try. So i`ve still to see on this one.
Considering all the above there is no way I would return it. I have it down as the bset phone i have owned to date. And I have had a few!!
No returns thus far but 50% people were expecting more for their money, this is very understandable.
Screen is good but not much of an improvement on the gs2.*This I cant comment on as I havent had a S2. Compare to my Nexus though i think it looks stunning.
Having owned nexus, note, sg2, 4s, SXL, HOX I can tell you its not hugely impressive probably just behind HOX and 4s as far as screen quality is concerned.
Coming from nexus you will be impressed with gs3 camera, infact pretty much on all accounts screen etc
I've always been a smartphone addict and I've had a decent amount over the years. Untill i bought myself an Iphone 4 and i was completely happy with it for 2 years (my absolute record, smashed all other records by 18 months atleast).
I decided it was time for a change and bought myself an android device. I was curious to see if Android had caught up with IOS. In almost every aspect it has or it's closing in, except for the Marketplace, companies are still focussing IOS over Android which is annoying.
Also 5 homescreens hardcoded ? The ****?
The only real Galaxy problems I have atm:
The battery is said to be awesome, it's not. My Iphone performed better under a full days use than this device does.
It should've been metal, even though I'm getting used to the plastic.
The only people "disappointed" in this phone are the ones that believe all the pre release hype, or the ones that even after it was announced expected more. So far from what I've seen it lives up to what was announced by Samsung and then some, what';s there to be disappointed about?
no screen improvement from sgs2 to sgs3??? time to check your eyes.
it seems you have clearly decided to return the device and making reasons for that
bala_gamer said:
no screen improvement from sgs2 to sgs3??? time to check your eyes.
it seems you have clearly decided to return the device and making reasons for that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I think you could do with visiting opticans yourself.
I never said no improvements but not much improvement.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Already ordered one. No 30days return privileged here. So I'm going to stuck with it whether I like it or not. But coming from Inc S, I'm sure I will like it very much
Sent from my Incredible S using XDA
ive had the hox the gnexus gs1 iphone 4 and 4s. This phone is the best by far. About same camera quality as 4s and sometimes even better!. Screen is fabulous! I find it the most beautifull screen ive ever seen on a phone. I think its because the glas is so thin so everything is much clearer!
Its going to be the same as the iPhone it has the same sensor & I am probably one of the few that wants to return the device. It is an amazing device but I just prefer sense and the one x so I will try and get one of those again
Gone from 4s > HOX > GS3. Been using a few days now. I like it more than I like either the 4s or the HOX.
The only issue I have right now is that reception seems to be worse than both my 4s and my HOX. I havent heard anyone else talking about that, so I suspect I may have a faulty handset.
If anyone can care to comment about their (cell) reception I would appreciate it, thanks.
eldorado89 said:
Also 5 homescreens hardcoded ? The ****?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Number of screens is launcher-dependent: apex and nova launcher allow for 9, I believe, while launcher 7, for example, doesn't really have screens at all.
Looks like most people who have voted are happy with their GS3, mainly inmho due to their previous mobile being a far inferior handset possibly a last year model.
quite satisfied with SGS3
Not suprinsingly, I am quite satisfied with the phone, since my previous phone was a Google Nexus One which, although it has served me well (stock -> CM7 nightlies -> texasice ICS 4.0.4), was showing his age and the ICS ROM has some glitches (camera, SoD, random reboots, etc.)
I have been reading about SGS3 for several months, and before the official anouncement, I was dragged by the hype (full hd, 1.5GHz, 2 Gb RAM, 12 Mp camera, flexible screen, liquid, ...). That said, I find the final hardware more than enough.
However, SGS3 notable strenghts for me are:
* unlocked bootloader
* rooted before release and extremely easy to follow instructions to root
* odin
* easily SIM unlocked
* alive & knowledgeable community @xda
* separated partitions
* removable battery
* external sdcard
all in all, 8/10

Is the sgs3 worth upgrading to?

As subject says, also does the sgs3 have cm10 support?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Owning both, and returning the gs3. I would have to say if you can get the gs3 for a good price, go for it. Do not pay almost $300 for it. The gs3 is not a huge improvement over the gs2. If you own the gs2 already just flash jovy's darthstalker, it damn near represents a gs3 in every way. The gs3 also is very easily broken. Do not drop that thing! The gs2 just feels stronger.
---------- Post added at 06:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:42 AM ----------
As far as anything jelly bean, expect the gs3 to be stable because there is already jb releases for it. The gs2 in my opinion will get jelly officially, give it time. For now any from based on jelly will be unstable on the gs2.
Thanks for the quick reply, the reason I asked is I have an upgrade available on my account, my roommate is using an old G 1 still , I was thinking if the galaxy s 3 was worth it I would get that then give him my old galaxy s2. I am extremely happy with it so I was only thinking if it was a good enough upgrade. Its to bad the g2 doesn't have cm10.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Ugh. This topic again. Half the people in this forum are biased and naive. The gs3 is a much better handset. Go to a T-Mobile store and compared them side by side for yourself instead of listening to these guys. I play with my friends almost daily and it makes me hate my t989.
-Side by side app loading is faster
-games and the ICS UI run faster and smoother (dead trigger runs at a smoother FPS despite the huge increase in pixels over the 480p screen on this phone
-high def 720p screen
-2gb of ram (the phone doesn't stutter and spurt like this one while updating apps for example)
-better front and rear camera sensors
-4.8 inch screen
-a bigger battery
-a hybrid cortex A15 CPU
-better GPS chip. My friends gets a GPS lock almost instantly while mine still takes 10-20 seconds even with the AGPS patch.
Everythig just works. The phone is so good my friend hasnt even bothered to flash a different ROM and we both owned the t989 simultaneously. He just rooted and called it a day. He loves it. BTW he works for tmobile. My only gripes against it is that I think its ugly and is a bit too expensive on T-Mobile. 280$. Though you shouldn't have too much trouble selling this phone for a good 200-300$. Like I said. Go to T-Mobile store and compare them yourself. Its a bad question to ask here.
Btw Davwman didn't you "own" the gs3 already last month? You claimed you owned it and now you own it again?? Lol.
Someone PLEASE CLOSE THIS TOPIC.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Apparently you didn't read. I had it three months ago and went back to a gs2 ever since. Never said I got another one. Yes its a better phone but not worth the large amount of money they want. Like I said flash jovys darthstalker and see what I mean.
---------- Post added at 08:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------
How am I biased and naive? Most of your points are user related. As far as dead trigger goes, not everyone plays it, so that point is moot. I play it on my gs2 and have zero issues. Apps loading faster? What by a micro second? My GPS locks instantly on darthstalker rom. Personally the difference in screen quality isn't that great. Its a phone not a 50" HD TV. If you have the $300 to burn on a slight upgrade go for it. There will be better stuff out in the near future that I'm sure won't be as fragile as the gs3.
The difference is I was stating facts. You stated your opinion. In the end the GS3 is a better handset no matter which way you look at it. And flashing a rom ( that's nowhere near perfect and has issues.. from a dev that just popped up out of nowhere... :-/ ) that mimics the s3 doesn't magically turn the gs2 into an gs3. Not arguing with you anymore as I've made my point. Btw when you say "Owning both and returning the s3" ...that's present tense. Obviously you can't read your own posts. Try proof reading for once.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
As someone who has never owned a GSII but has played around with it for a good time after getting my GSIII, there is no comparison.
(This was before I rooted my GSIII, both of the phones were stock for the most part.)
The GSII felt sturdier to me, I could get a good grip of the device and it felt right to me. The GSIII feels weak without a case to me.
From a specs perspective, there is no competition. The GSIII has better hardware no doubt. UI felt smoother and more intuitive as well, the new TW felt pretty bloated in my opinion, but it still worked well. As far as battery life goes, the GSIII battery was crap for me the first few days. After about 4 days of usage i'm getting a solid day of heavy heavy usage and finishing the day with around 20-30% left.
I got my GSIII during the Magenta Days Sale and it was something like $100--which was a steal to me.
Switched over from Verizon to T-mobile and it was definitely worth it to get a nice phone for a relatively low price.
Like the post above, you can make your GSII damn close to the GSIII but it will never be a GSIII.
If it's too far out of your price range the One S is at a pretty slick price right now.
khoikn said:
As someone who has never owned a GSII but has played around with it for a good time after getting my GSIII, there is no comparison.
(This was before I rooted my GSIII, both of the phones were stock for the most part.)
The GSII felt sturdier to me, I could get a good grip of the device and it felt right to me. The GSIII feels weak without a case to me.
From a specs perspective, there is no competition. The GSIII has better hardware no doubt. UI felt smoother and more intuitive as well, the new TW felt pretty bloated in my opinion, but it still worked well. As far as battery life goes, the GSIII battery was crap for me the first few days. After about 4 days of usage i'm getting a solid day of heavy heavy usage and finishing the day with around 20-30% left.
I got my GSIII during the Magenta Days Sale and it was something like $100--which was a steal to me.
Switched over from Verizon to T-mobile and it was definitely worth it to get a nice phone for a relatively low price.
Like the post above, you can make your GSII damn close to the GSIII but it will never be a GSIII.
If it's too far out of your price range the One S is at a pretty slick price right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i was looking at the HTC One S, Looks good and is a bit more affordable. I have CM10 on my GS2 and it works pretty well.Up until the GS2 i had always had HTC phones. My big deal breaker is whether it will have Cyanogenmod support or not. So far that has been my favorite rom. i do like HTC Sense but never had a phone that cam stock with it. When i had my MT3G i tried a few Hero Roms and liked em and there was never really any good ones for the G2 so i never really did mess with Sense all that much.
I really hated touchwiz... My only Concern with Samsung at this point is the Repercussions of the Apple Lawsuits.

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