Pros and Cons from real users!

bacK_N_87

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Seeing that the Razr HD is failing to spark my interest, I was wondering from some owners of the GS III what were some pros and cons. For instance any radio issues like the Galaxy Nexus? I could simply keep my Razr because there's nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately I'm human I want more than I need. Really want a new device. Thanks in advance.
 

bsweetness

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Pros

- 4.8" 720p screen. This might be a con for people who don't like large screens, but I love it. And the fact that there's no on-screen navigation buttons make it even better for me. On-screen navigation buttons take up about 0.3" of the usable area of the screen in nearly every aspect of use (except for watching videos). With the S3, you're getting the full 4.8" (unlike with the Galaxy Nexus, where the on-screen buttons take the 4.6" down to around 4.3" of usable screen area). Until we can get a phone that is all screen on the front and zero bezel, I'll stick to preferring physical/capacitive navigation buttons.

- Performance. The S4 processor plus 2GB of RAM makes the S3 snappiest phone I've ever used, even with TouchWhiz bogging things down. This thing would be unbelievable with stock Jelly Bean.

- Fantastic camera. HTC's One series are the only Android phones out there with a better camera right now, and they aren't better by much. Having previously owned an iPhone 4S, I can also say that I've been more impressed by the shots I've gotten from the S3.

- Battery life. Except for the RAZR MAXX, it definitely gets the best battery life of any Verizon LTE phone with a stock battery out there at the moment, even with the 4.8" 720p screen.

- Removable battery. It's sad that this has to be considered a pro, but with the recent moves HTC and Motorola have been making to non-removable batteries, it's nice to see Samsung sticking with it. It's great for those times when you have a spare battery and no time/ability to plug into a charger.

- MicroSD slot. It's also sad that this has to be considered a pro, but with the direction Google has been trying to push Android in, it's a major selling point for me.

- Accessories. All versions have exactly the same dimensions (except the Korean super duper version), so accessories for the S3 are universal.

In-between

- Reception. The reception on the S3 is good, but for many users (myself included), Samsung's CDMA/LTE smartphones have all had noticeably poorer reception compared to devices from other manufacturers, and this holds true with the S3. The reception on the S3 is the best I've seen from Samsung, but it's still weaker than Motorola and HTC in my experience. This is definitely a major consideration if you are often in areas with weak signal. It will impact not only your ability to send/receive calls and use mobile data, but also your battery life. That said, I've found the reception to be more than acceptable, and I haven't had any of the issues I had with the Galaxy Nexus. It tends to stick to 3G more often in weak LTE areas than my previous LTE phones, but several users who have updated to the leaked radios have noted an improvement in that and in reception as a whole. Hopefully that will hold true whenever the first update might hit (and at this point, there's no word on when that will be).

Cons

- Touch Whiz. This is really personal preference here, but I don't like Touch Whiz. There are some nice additions here and there, but overall, I don't care for the UI. The UI that Motorola uses, especially on ICS, is much nicer and far less intrusive. A custom launcher can remedy much of this though (and a custom ROM can take care of all of it), so it's not a huge con.

- Build quality. Even though it feels cheap, I think the S3 is built pretty well. That said, many people don't care for the light, plastic feel of it. Also, while I haven't had any issues, there have been more reports of cracked screens than normal. Of course the users with cracked screens will be far more vocal than those without, but it does seem to be happening more often than usual.

Overall, I really haven't run into any major cons, and most of the cons/in-betweens I did list can vary from user to user. I was a little hesitant to make the move to the S3 after having bad experiences with the Galaxy Nexus, Droid Charge, Stratosphere, and Fascinate, and especially after absolutely loving the RAZR MAXX, but I've been very pleasantly surprised. This is the first Samsung Android phone on Verizon that I can completely recommend to people. It really is a fantastic device.
 

War_Machine

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Agree with all of the above outside of the reception issue. Haven't had one problem with it.
 

Qui3tStorm

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Interesting I was going to post this exact message, but it seems as though my question was answered. My only real concern with going with another Sammy is the reception. At home I get 85-93dBm, however at work i get 120dBm = CRAP :blink:, which destroys my battery.
 

War_Machine

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Interesting I was going to post this exact message, but it seems as though my question was answered. My only real concern with going with another Sammy is the reception. At home I get 85-93dBm, however at work i get 120dBm = CRAP :blink:, which destroys my battery.

I'm in Texas with numbers like that i imagine you are in the nyc?
 

bsweetness

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Agree with all of the above outside of the reception issue. Haven't had one problem with it.

After thinking about it, I decided to place reception in-between a pro and a con. For me, it's definitely weaker than most Motorola/HTC devices, but it's better than any Samsung device I've previously had. Unlike the experiences I had with the Galaxy Nexus, it's very usable, even if it is a bit weaker. For people coming from a Samsung device, it's definitely a pro. For people coming from Motorola/HTC, it could be a pro, a con, or the same, depending on where they're located and their usage. So, putting it as a con is slamming it a bit harder than it deserves to be.
 
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bacK_N_87

bacK_N_87

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bsweetness said:
After thinking about it, I decided to place reception in-between a pro and a con. For me, it's definitely weaker than most Motorola/HTC devices, but it's better than any Samsung device I've previously had. Unlike the experiences I had with the Galaxy Nexus, it's very usable, even if it is a bit weaker. For people coming from a Samsung device, it's definitely a pro. For people coming from Motorola/HTC, it could be a pro, a con, or the same, depending on where they're located and their usage. So, putting it as a con is slamming it a bit harder than it deserves to be.

Thanks you actually helped a lot. Its not that couldn't trust the reviews but they don't compare to REAL users in my opinion. Never had a Samsung smartphone but I like what you said. Guess I need to get over that home button and just go for it. Plus with those specs its definitely future proofed.
 

Qui3tStorm

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I'm in Texas with numbers like that i imagine you are in the nyc?

I'm in Upstate NY. I guess I will go with the GS3, I'll never own a Iphone, and Moto is dragging it's feet again on the HD Razr. Extended battery in the GS3 seems like a win.
 

CaptainSS

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Coming from a Maxx I was leary about the battery and the first day or two I did think "ut Oh" but as the phone adapted its memory the battery life actually became a non-issue.
I then became concerned over the lack of reception BUT my Maxx had taken a crap in that department anyway so I stopped paying attention to signal and started noticing the device seems to work fine even when all indicators would point towards it not.

It is a very different phone than the Maxx (or any of the Moto offerings) somewhat animated in its presentation which I like more than I thought I would. Life is dour enough one doesn't need it in their phone as well.

IF someone has to have the Maximum battery life AND radio reception the Maxx (probably) is the front runner but for Fun factor I will tip the hat to the S3.
Just my opinion.
 

DroidBoardr

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I feel it has far better reception than my brothers Razr, but not as good as my old Rezound. Based on numbers. That being said, i haven't had any drops, so i have nothing to complain about. I too was worried, but i am very comfortable now.
 

bsweetness

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I feel it has far better reception than my brothers Razr, but not as good as my old Rezound. Based on numbers. That being said, i haven't had any drops, so i have nothing to complain about. I too was worried, but i am very comfortable now.

And that's what really matters - how the phone actually performs for you. It's one thing to look at the reception represented by some numbers, but at the end of the day, the numbers don't matter if your phone is or isn't working. The numbers have been weaker on the S3 for me, and it prefers to stick with 3G in weak 4G areas (areas that my previous Motorola and HTC 4G devices would be on 4G), but it's consistently held some sort of signal for me with a minimal amount of drops.
 
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