Talk Me Into the S3 - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

Here is the situation:
I am a 23 year old CIS Grad who loves technology, computers, and my phone.
Current Phone - iPhone 4 (Needed trusty OS and previously had a Fascinate, Droid, iPhone 3G)
Carrier - Verizon
Upgrade Available? - Yes
Reasons I am on iOS
I steered clear of Android over the last few years because they release so many phones that I always feel that I will get the short end of the stick, see a newer, better phone, and want to kill myself.
Android Updates are just inconsistent (unless you have a Nexus, which is already outdated).
Reasons I Shouldn't Be on iOS
I love customizing my phone
I love rooting my phone
I love experimenting with the OS
So, should I get the Samsung Galaxy S III?
Wait for a newer, better phone this holiday season?
Other phones I am interested in -
HTC 8X

Only you can decide. The HTC DLX and the next Nexus are both due soon, you have to decide if its worth waiting. The GS3 is a fantastic phone, no doubt about that.

Get the S3. Just this year I've had the Rezound, Nexus, Razr, and now S3. So I've tried a ton of phones, and software. To me the S3 is perfect. It has good aosp roms now, so you get the Nexus feel on aosp jellybean, and still have the option of Touchwiz which has great camera features like panorama, and is super stable and glitch free like the older androids had. Jellybean touchwiz is starting to leak out but will be a little while before its stable. Also, Google Wallet is awesome, never tried it until now, but love it. The camera is amazing, by far the best I've ever had. And my last point, battery life is awesome, I easily go all day with average to heavy use, just charge overnight while I sleep and thats it

Related

[Q] Noob question - NS right for me?

I have about $500 to buy a new unlocked phone and I'm looking at the Nexus S. Until recently I'd just choose the cheapest phone the phone plan offered, so I'm really overwhelmed with this choice. Any advice is appreciated!
I need:
A fast phone (I HATE waiting on apps to open, waiting for screens to change, etc.)
A camera of some kind
Android OS
Ability to root and (probably) install Cyanogen
Good battery life
I don't need:
Music player
Super wonderful camera
HD whatever (I don't even totally get what that whole deal is lol)
I'd also like fast internet... but I have a 3g phone now and rarely even see it say 3g in the data icon. It doesn't seem to make a difference anyway because it takes a million years to load a web site no matter what. I've had it in two different states with supposed 3g coverage so I know it's available. In short, 4g would be nice but it's not a dealbreaker.
So... should I take the plunge on the Nexus S? Or look at another phone or wait for a new release? I've been looking at all kinds of phones for a couple days and I'm just confused. Thanks!
why not wait until Galaxy S II comes out in Aug/Sept
Your first 4 needs are pretty much standard in any high-end Android phone these days. Battery life is subjective on how you use the phone so it's a bit hard to narrow it down for you in that regard as well.
If you gave a more specific criteria, then maybe we could help you further but so far the Nexus S does fit the bill for what you need (but so do many other phones).
As usual, as soon as I post I find the answer... Nexus Prime coming out later this year. 4g and dual-core processor so it sounds like what I want now basically. I guess I'll have to suffer my chipped up old mytouch 3g snail for a little longer.
Thanks!
Hello,
When I consider your expectations, I can say that "yes Nexus S is right for you"
Because I have Nexus S since 10 days, i can not explain taste of pure Android
so fast, stability and reliable.
Absolutely when the nexus series is released, i will buy it
The Nexus S is a great phone for a variety of reasons. As someone who started as a complete novice and has since been bitten by the Android bug pretty hard, I'll try to give you some pros and cons.
The big "con," at least on first examination, is the hardware. Yeah, there are more powerful phones out there; but don't let specs fool you. I went from a Galaxy S to the Atrix because I was lured in by the dual core processor, gb of RAM, etc. Specs don't tell the whole story. The Nexus S is smoother, faster, and more stable than the Atrix, by FAR. I figured I could solve any problems with the Atrix by running CM7 as I had on my Galaxy S...but ROMs are in short supply for the Atrix. The Nexus S, on the other hand, is pretty much perfect straight out of the box (well, once you set it up to your liking).
The elephant in the room when it comes to choosing a new phone these days is Ice Cream Sandwich. No matter what, when ICS comes out, it's going to take time to make it onto most devices, even through unofficial channels. The Nexus S, on the other hand, will get an official update asap. As someone who also uses Honeycomb (3.2), I can tell you the ICS update is probably going to be fantastic.
So, you can get a phone with superior hardware and then jump through hoops to make it smooth, stable, and fast, or you can get a Nexus S. You'll have a great phone as soon as you power it on, and you'll have ICS as soon as it's available.
I've had a Galaxy S, two Atrix 4Gs, a Nook Color with Gingerbread, a Xoom with 3.0/3.1/3.2, and a Nexus S 4G- I can honestly tell you that nothing is better than pure Google. You will have official updates as soon as they're available, and you'll have those updates incorporated into custom ROMs sooner as a result. Everyone else will be jumping through hoops and dealing with buggy ROMs to get the same features.
I been thinking about picking up a Nexus S 4G but the only thing that's stopping me is fear of it not being dual core. not sure how smooth Icecream sandwich would be on it since it's not a dual core phone and the last thing on my mind would the next Nexus phone coming out... the thing is that there's been a lot of speculation that it's going to come out with a 4.3 inch screen which i don't really like in phones.... I like phones that can actually fit in skinny jeans -.-

[Q] Help me upgrade! (Used Droid, now on Sprint)

Hi I'm looking to replace my current crappy HTC Snap. Its a horrible device. I want to upgrade to another Android device, preferably without 4G. None of the devices seem like an upgrade though, even though its 2009 vs 2011!
I like an active developer community, and a good keyboard. The Droid I enjoyed using since I didn't need to get a case for it and it was just a 'perfect smartphone' even today, if it had a better processor + ram, and if the battery life was better it could easily compete with today's phones.
Droid didn't have a very good keyboard, so far the closest thing is the Evo Shift, I'm fond of the Blackberry style phones too, so the XPRT is worth considering... if it had custom roms I would have gotten it already.
A good battery life would be awesome too. I would love to have a phone that just doesn't need to be charged every day, every other day would be cool or even every 2 days. I am a heavy texter so a good keyboard is almost a must, I didn't mind swype and I like it now, but still love a tactile keyboard.
Thanks!
You mentioned the shift, nice phone, but you need to know that is a 4g phone. I would recommend to stay away from Samsung based on my own and my roommates bad experiences with the moment and epic 4g. I would not get an EVO 4G at this time as the new bootloader is locked preventing root. Most of the newer android devices from Sprint are either 4g or just not worth it. The new EVO 3d has been rooted and would be my choice if you don't care about the extra 10 a month for 4g service. If not, try out the new windows phone 7, It's not 4g and has a keyboard. The new UI is actually sweet. However, the development community is not as big as on android.
I'd recommend going into a Sprint store and trying them all out first before making a decision.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

This phone is still being sold?

Anyone have any idea why they are still producing this phone? It just seems strange they would still be making new ones when most early adopts are already up for an upgrade.. and the hardware itself is getting old(while still running ICS thanks to our great community, it raises the question how much farther will the phone be able to be updated..)
a cheaper alternative maybe? or its just that good..
That's exactly what manufacturers wants to hear from consumers. Why buy phones that have lasting dollar values and gets frequent software updates when you can buy a new expensive one every year that doesn't have great built quality and with zero to almost no software update?
Android can use a bit cleaning up on the performance side, even the Galaxy Note stock rom have hiccups because of the bloatness, with quadcore phones they'll have more excuss to bloat and put animations in. Windows Phone 7 seems to do fine with single core. It's not like my Galaxy S is struggling with any of the new games at 800x480 resolution.
Well we already know Samsung said "Nope, ain't gonna happen" for ICS on the Captivate even in spite of builds being made available by the talented folk here at XDA and at other places online. The excuse that "the hardware isn't capable of running ICS adequately" is always a crock because I'm running Doc's Master v8 right now, ICS 4.0.3 based, and I get higher benchmarks with this ROM than the stock KK4 AT&T Gingerbread 2.3.5 ROM with:
- Quadrant
- Antutu
- Vellamo (with Vellamo I actually get slightly higher scores than a Galaxy Nexus, unbelievable)
and several others I've tried recently. So much for being "inadequate" or an underpowered device...
So, Samsung, stop whining and making excuses and just give us some ICS source so people can make a pure ROM I suppose.
Doc's v9 is nice since it's currently a beta and completely unthemed, but a lot of stuff won't install properly on it from Play (although I can install them from the APKs if I remember to manually save them in between ROM swaps).
It's a great phone, it has a beautiful design overall (one of my all time favorites, with the HD2 still being the king of all smartphones to me), USB and headphone connections on the top - I hate it when they're on the sides or bottom, and the main draw being the Super AMOLED display.
People still buy 'em, so Samsung keeps making 'em and AT&T keeps selling 'em.
Works for me.
Snow_fox said:
Anyone have any idea why they are still producing this phone? It just seems strange they would still be making new ones when most early adopts are already up for an upgrade.. and the hardware itself is getting old(while still running ICS thanks to our great community, it raises the question how much farther will the phone be able to be updated..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The R&D and tooling have long been paid for and there are still people buying. It's practically free money for them. The longer they're made, the cheaper they can get. The cheaper they can get, the more they're sold.
I sought this phone out actively because I liked my Epic and knew how to root & fix it easily. I didn't want a contract and for $250 brand new vs $600 for a Note it was a no-brainer.
Snow_fox said:
Anyone have any idea why they are still producing this phone? It just seems strange they would still be making new ones when most early adopts are already up for an upgrade..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple, it sells. And with it running 2.3.5, it's very much up to date OS wise. It's not ICS, but at this point what is?
The early adopters are a rather small crowd of people that seems large to us because they are the tech obsesses folks that make xda what it is. They count for next to nothing compared to the "average user."
This phone is exactly what Samsung aimed for it to be, a Flagship. It was way a head of the curve when it first came out, and is still a great phone. It's been muddied by the early releases but, the fact that Samsung still won out (and is the top selling android manufacturer) means it really was an excellent device (and family of devices).
It's time is almost up though, because ICS really is beyond its abilities.
br0adband said:
The excuse that "the hardware isn't capable of running ICS adequately" is always a crock because I'm running Doc's Master v8 right now, ICS 4.0.3 based
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it can't. We don't even have half the features, almost everything new to ICS has been stripped out because we don't have the hardware for it. Sure, the core OS can be made to run on our phone, but even at that we can't run it properly. The things your comparing against are to that of 2.2, ICS is not some dinky internal tweaks. It's a whole new OS, it's 4.0 not 2.4. Now I'll admit that most of the new parts to ICS are little more then shiny buttons that don't serve us much good. But it's rather easy to dismiss things you've never been able to do before. Once you get your hands on a phone actually built for ICS, that is then made future-proof like the ours was, you'll look back at the cappy and laugh at it.
DaNaRkI said:
Once you get your hands on a phone actually built for ICS, that is then made future-proof like the ours was, you'll look back at the cappy and laugh at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had a Galaxy Nexus - the flagship Android 4.0 device - and couldn't stand it so I returned it and decided to wait on something better. Then the Galaxy Note came out and I can't wait to see what ICS can really do on that device, but since I can't actually afford one I guess that won't matter anyway.
Found this Captivate on craigslist for $60 and it's been fantastic since the moment I bought it. I swear the SGS feels more responsive and stable running a "hack" ROM of the same OS than the Nexus did/does. Yes it could just be some placebo effect, I suppose. A benchmark using Vellamo puts this SGS running an ICS ROM (at 1.2 GHz) outpacing the Nexus, go figure - a single core device running an unofficial hack of an OS besting the dual core flagship device for that very OS... ain't it cool?
There may be some aspects of ICS that the SGS can't do (NFC, etc) but they just so happen to be features I don't give a damn about, either so... it all works out in the end.
phone is sold
as long as ppl buy it.
u can get iPhone3gs u know - @ great price.
br0adband said:
Had a Galaxy Nexus - the flagship Android 4.0 device - and couldn't stand it so I returned it and decided to wait on something better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Galaxy Nexus is not a flagship, just like the Nexus S was not. It's a debut phone and like the other Nexus phones, a developers phone. It's mean to showcase the abilities of ICS, not push the limits of a phone. Our phone came out before the Nexus S, yet that phone has a lot of the exact same internals. Why? ours was made future-proofed, nothing better was needed for GB. The Galaxy Nexus was also not top of the line at it's release, just compare it to an SGS2. Future proof would have meant that LTE was designed into the phone at start, not added later.
But you do bring up a very good point that I already admitted to, most of the new abilities are rather unnecessary for a phone. But I don't doubt that once a good ICS phone comes out we'll find ways to work them into our daily life. Just like we have for all the unnecessary things that the Cappy can do now.
The Captivate is a pretty solid phone still. I still have mine kicking around that I use now for playing music since my Galaxy Nexus doesnt have external memory (and apps are getting bigger and bigger in size so I need all the space I can get) so this phone does quite well for that.
I think I would still be using this phone if it had a bigger screen (I got big hands) and if Samsung was continuing to update this.
i use my spare captivate as a skype phone (between rom tests).
and where is the phone still being sold?

Your Samsung Infuse experience? why the infuse & what will your next phone be?

I remember summer of 2011 when I bought this phone. I'd previously owned a couple of windows phones but took them back because a) nothing seemed to work, and b) nothing that didn't work seemed to be fixable. c) things that did work didn't work very well.
I bought an infuse 4g and my wife got an atrix 4g. (I'd considered the atrix as well, but heard stories of bricking and overheating... and moto's webtop strategy looked pretty half baked.)
I was on AT&T and decided to stick with them. The only other real android option at the time was the HTC inspire, which I didn't really like. I also considered the iPhone, but my experience with running itunes on a PC and using a 30gb ipod really soured me on Apple at least for a while.
Really why i opted for the Infuse boiled down to Samsung's promise to update phones for 18 months (didn't happen obviously) and the hackability. Samsung phones seemed easiest to hack in case support ever ran out and something needed fixing.
I waited patiently for gingerbread. When it took forever I found XDA and ran zeus 5.2 for months. Even with a few minor battery glitches and the very rare force close or reboot it was much nicer than stock FroYo. Then I tried CM9, which almost feels finished, but battery issues and random reboots seem to get worse over time and require reflashing. Then on to a couple other roms and now CM10. I do love the bells and whistles of CM10, but it does feel like it might just be too much for our outdated hardware.
Maybe I'd be better off had i never discovered XDA, because I've wasted more than a few hours backing up, flashing, re-installing apps, etc. :laugh:
I suppose when it comes right down to it, I'm not sure I've ever been 100% happy with my infuse, but my wife on the other hand is at least 99% unhappy with her atrix 99% of the time. That phone really is bordering on terrible, even the higher res display always looks grainier.
Now it's almost 2013 and I'm sure those of us on contracts will be moving on to something else in the next few months.
Phones with 2gb of RAM running jellybean sure look nice, and it looks like google is going to have a much more comprehensive nexus program.
i use a lot of google services for work and also have a nexus7, so I'm probably stuck with android for the long haul, but to be honest every glitzy new Android phone from a Carrier just looks like something that will be the next months forgotten red headed stepchild left for dead and never updated again after heavy promotion.
In the beginning of Dec 2011, no-one in my family had smartphones.
Then my wife decided we needed to outfit the entire family of five with smartphones for Xmas.
Faced with purchase of 5 phones, we looked only at the ones that were “free” (if you want to call a 2-year contract free..).
Infuse had much better hardware than iPhone 3 which was offered free at the time IIRC
It was also the biggest and baddest of the offered free ATT Android phones at the time.
Pantech Crossover was one of the only other free ATT Android choice at the time...'nuff said (doesn't hold a candle to our beloved i997)
Today, everyone else in my family is stil on stock Froyo. I moved to on rooted Gingerbread stock which I think makes me look really adventurous and with-it in their eyes (you have my permision to LOL). I haven’t ever used anything else except briefly trying a few custom GB ROMs.
I’m very happy with my phone and OS. I have a hard time imagining what it is that I’m missing because I haven’t seen what other phones/operating systems have to offer. I use my phone for a lot of things and spend a lot of time exploring the apps available on my current OS, but I don’t foresee upgrading my os again in the near future... perhaps not until the next phone in Dec 2013. Maybe if all my friends had SG3’s and Notes running JB and CM10, then I’d start being unhappy with what I've got. But I’ve got my Froyo family and most of my friends are iphoners.
Maybe if you want to be happy with your Infuse, you should surround yourself with people who use Froyo
I've loved my infuse. I was dying for a smartphone for a year lol hyping over the release of the iPhone 4. Then I saw on cnet the leak of the infuse. I decided I needed that phone lol. I got the infuse the day it came out, it was soo much fun. Then maybe 4-5 months later I found on some website how to flash Gtg's over lock kernel, starting my hacking journey. Used android forums, when I guy recommended xda. Switched to xda, and it's been really nice. Lol idk what my next phone will be, I picked up a iPhone 4S from my friend for a small price to pay (he wanted a tmobile concord, to replace his tmobile phone and he is a noob lol, never unlocked the 4s.) but I'm looking at the Optimus g, one x+, or the gnote 2, I was thinking of selling this 4s to get one, but it's really starting to grow on me, and I've invested enough mods in it I may just keep it forever . I used to be a die hard android fan, but really you have to look at the good and bad things about each operating system, like android moving files and easy hacking, or ease of use, no hang ups, and just plain simple to use. Being honest, the 4s was probably good for me to get, I was spending too much time of my life trying to develop/hack, while I've been letting some schoolwork slip by... Haha. Still love and use my infuse though, not going to let that go, my friend was like ill buy it from you for 300-350, I said no! I love my infuse. It's just an awesome phone, even better it was my first smartphone lol.
I'm not sure that you can throw anything at the Infuse that it can't handle!!!
I am running AOKP JB and its soooo much smoother than ICS ever thought about being. You owe it to yourself to try a JB ROM before you get rid of a perfectly functional phone.
My Infuse was my first Android phone and have actually have zero complaints.. no matter my noobish adventures, if something went wrong I was able to get it back and working again.. (with the help of the amazing community here) so it was a perfect introduction for me..
I moved to the note a couple weeks ago and don't even have my Infuse anymore, but I still read the infuse forum everyday..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
My wife was the first to get a smartphone, the iPhone 3GS, she loved it and I was jealous. I was stuck with a dumbphone and wanted to upgrade. Did my research and at the time (Oct '11), the Infuse seemed to be the logical choice. It combined all of the features I wanted in my new phone. I got it, loved it, and it was much bigger and better than my wife's iCrap. I had it for months without doing anything to it. Then I had just gotten the GB update from Samsung, so I was happy with them and my "new" phone. It ran great with GB, but it left me wanting more. I came to XDA and got started. I started with GB ROMs and the one I used was awesome and very stable. I still wanted more. Made the switch to JB. I loved the way it looked but the ROMs I tried were not very stable. I kept going back and forth from GB to JB to GB. I had a list of features I needed the devs to work out for JB for me to stay with it. Once those feature were added/stabilized, I made the permanent switch. I now run the ParanoidAndroid ROM from Scott Hart. He works tirelessly for the Infuse and we appreciate him for it.
For a while after a stated flashing, my wife was insanely jealous over my Infuse as compared to her POS 3GS. It was bigger, faster and ran newer software. She couldn't wait for the 5 to come out. I lobbied her to switch to an Android, but she was still loyal to the fruit. About a month before the 5 came out, she lost her 3GS. Without a phone, she asked me what she should do. I offered her one of our older spare backup phones. She didn't want that. She said let's go get the best one I can. Which was the Galaxy S3. Within an hour or two, she had forgotten all about Apple and was now fully a member of the Android community. She even wants me to root it soon! Even though it's an American company, and I should support it, Apple is so inflexible that it feels great to convert another one over to the dark side!
I am due for my upgrade in February, and I'm gonna wait for the Galaxy S4. I need quad core and at least 2GB of RAM or I'm just gonna keep my Infuse.
Let's see, before I had my Infuse I had these smartphones:
* Motorola 9qe that I flashed to make a 9qh. ((Windows Mobile 6.0)
* HTC Kaiser, (Windows Mobile 6.1)
* HTC Touch Pro 2, (Windows Mobile 6.5)
When I first heard of android, and learned that it was based on Linux, my initial thoughts were along the line of "Yeah, lets bring Linux to the phone because it's been SO successful on the desktop. NOT!!! This is going to be the biggest bust ever." I was wrong.
I switched to Android because out of all the user reviews that I read regarding Windows Phone 7 seemed to give only negative reviews, and it just seemed to suck. I decided that WM 6.5 was the last version of Windows Mobile that I would ever use, and decided to switch to Android because I don't really like PALM, and I hate Crapple products.
I bouught the Infuse because it was on sale for $9.95, and was running Android 2.2.3, (I think it was Froyo). No other reason for the initial purchase, as the Infuse is my first Android device. My next phone will likely be a Samsung Note, (or whatever is on sale next july).
I'm a Mac person for the most part. I've been using Macs since OS9 and don't see that changing in the near future (although I do like some Linux distros). However I'm not a fan of the walled garden model that everyone, including Google, is chasing right now, especially Apple's increasingly closed hardware. Seriously, you can't even change your own battery now! The iPhone and iPad represent the worst of these tendencies and for that reason, I've never wanted one. I knew I wanted an Android phone, but didn't know much about them. Basically, the Infuse was on sale, recommended, and looked nice.
It's not been easy. There are so many terrible guides out there on Android/Mac compatibility, I've wasted a lot of time and money trying to get my phone to work with my computer the way I want it to. It's all good now! I really appreciate the Android dev community and for that reason I'll stick with Android. I'll probably get another Samsung phone since I tend to like their designs and because I like how much they bother Apple!
Whizzpopper said:
I'm a Mac person for the most part. I've been using Macs since OS9 and don't see that changing in the near future (although I do like some Linux distros). However I'm not a fan of the walled garden model that everyone, including Google, is chasing right now, especially Apple's increasingly closed hardware. Seriously, you can't even change your own battery now! The iPhone and iPad represent the worst of these tendencies and for that reason, I've never wanted one. I knew I wanted an Android phone, but didn't know much about them. Basically, the Infuse was on sale, recommended, and looked nice.
It's not been easy. There are so many terrible guides out there on Android/Mac compatibility, I've wasted a lot of time and money trying to get my phone to work with my computer the way I want it to. It's all good now! I really appreciate the Android dev community and for that reason I'll stick with Android. I'll probably get another Samsung phone since I tend to like their designs and because I like how much they bother Apple!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Google will only chase this to an extent. Openness has it's appeal, and I think androids source code will always be open, even though 3rd parties like amazon will put pressure on it. I like what I'm hearing about google's new nexus strategy. I'd really prefer stock android of any manufacturer skin at this point. I have a nexus 7 and didn't even bother to root it.
4.2 or whatever they are calling it looks like manufactuers skins will only be a theme which can be easily removed, and of course after ICS you can disable any crapware you don't use.
While it might close android a bit, google needs to do something so that we are not always wading through manufacturer/carrier finger pointing for updates.
Android does have a weakness in apps. iOS still has more, but the quantity is not so much the problem as quality. Earlier this year I think Google finally laid down some solid guidelines for best practices for developers, but still many developers don't follow them. The menu button on my N7 for example. sometimes it's up at the top, sometimes it's down below with the soft keys.
Apple is obviously far more strict. Even so it has not seemed to hinder development at all. There's always jailbreak, and if I were to ever buy an iphone i'd do that ASAP if for nothing else other than widgets.
For Samsung I do really think they've dialed in their product line much better. Having one phone instead of a bunch of custom phones for carriers is a big deal. They no longer seem to take the shotgun approach. There's a big distinction between the note and the GS3, and they seem to be committed to releasing a new version once a year which avoids the option anxiety/paradox of choice we've had in the past. I'd guess that would make updates easier and more streamlined.
It also doesn't leave us feeling burned when you buy a brand new phone and 2 months later the newer better version is on the shelf. I suppose that's my one gripe about the infuse. It was a big deal for about two months. Samsung made promises and broke them almost immediately.
I do still love the display and form factor though. Although when i first got it i actually almost felt self conscious answering phone calls on it because it was so huge. Just a year later it's average if not slightly below average for phone size though.
I got my Infuse in January after washing my previous non-smart phone in the wash. I've been addicted to Android ever since! :victory:
Got my Infuse in August of 2011. For 4 years previous to that, I was using an LG Chocolate dumb phone on Verizon. I was sick of Verizon's prices, and knew I wanted to go Android but refused to get a Motorola (have had nothing but poor experiences with them in the past) so I went to the AT&T store to play with their phones. Ended up walking out with an Infuse that day.
Since then, my time with the Infuse has been sorta bittersweet. I can't see myself ever purchasing anything but a Samsung Android (hey! I actually like Touchwiz), but if I could do it over again I think I would've gone for the Galaxy S2. While GB ROMs were great for my phone, the jump to ICS and now JB has presented some annoying problems. Most notably is the Android OS battery drain bug, which always seems to attack my phone when I most need it on the go. It never happens at home on Wifi, but it ALWAYS seems to happen when I switch over to data when I'm leaving my house. Needing your phone for a 2 hour drive, and having it die in 45 minutes is NOT cool.
Problem is, I enjoy the added functionality of JB, so going back to GB isn't really an option. I don't necessary share the same opinion as other people that JB runs flawlessly on our 512MB of RAM. While it is smooth 99% of the time, those times when it isn't smooth seem to really cripple the phone. And, like I said before, the Android OS drain bug is really annoying. I like to reboot my phone every morning, and I never know if the drain bug is going to present itself after reboot. It's like Russian roulette.
So, while my experience with my Infuse has been pretty good, I definitely won't be sad to move on from it when the time is right. If Google can offer the Nexus 4 unlocked at a decent price, that might be where I go, unless I can find a Note 2 or S3 at a decent price.
Infuse is a great phone. It was my first android phone, and I really had no issues. I've been flashing lots of roms but I'm running Zeus 5.2 for couple of months now because It has best battery life plus It is error-free (No SOD, No dropping signal, mms etc). I like ICS and JB but I really want everything to work perfectly. And I already have Samsung Galaxy tab 2 running CM10...
One real problem I had with infuse... is that if you see other phones less than 4.5" I have problems lolzz.
I still have about 8 months before my 2 year contract is up so I'm still gonna enjoy it for a while.
I'm thinking of changing it to whatever they have the best (probably Note 2 or S 4).
I got my infuse about 2 weeks after it came out i wanted it because i was moving away from blackberry. I didnt like iphones and wanted an android because of all the things you can do. It was a 4.5 inch screen at the time the first screen that big and i just wanted it. my experience has been good at fist i had to get use to the size of the phone and it being touch now om bored i hate it and i want a new phone. My next phone will be the galaxy note 2 i was thinking about the galaxy s3 but changed my mind bigger screen quad and lte yay.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Two reasons why i bought samsung infuse:
1) 4,5 in. amazing Super Amoled Plus display
2) 8 px camera
If I'm going to change my smartphone I will be buy Samsung S II.
Why not Samsung S III? It's to big for me.)
picklnows said:
Two reasons why i bought samsung infuse:
1) 4,5 in. amazing Super Amoled Plus display
2) 8 px camera
If I'm going to change my smartphone I will be buy Samsung S II.
Why not Samsung S III? It's to big for me.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
c'mon dude its only 0.3" bigger...
slicingtaco said:
c'mon dude its only 0.3" bigger...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
old joke:
..for some, the extra .3" could mean the difference between, "Oh" ...and... "Ahhhhhhhhh"
slicingtaco said:
c'mon dude its only 0.3" bigger...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, the difference in size between Infuse and S II subtle.
Although the difference between them 0.2 ".
S III it's to big....
Sorry for bad english.
the infuse will back up my note2 on tmob. it was a damn good phone!well still is realy,but 5gbs and 100 mins for 30$ is good enough for me,just need to root and use an app for the wifi calling.now i just need wendsday to get here!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the time, I was looking at the Atrix, Infuse and Inspire. I originally got the Inspire but didn't care for the sound quality so, I got the Infuse. The screen was what attracted me to the Infuse. I would have like my next phone to have been a Nexus device. But with the lack of an SD slot, I don't think it will be the Nexus 4. Yes, Google probably wants folks to use their cloud services but the lack of an SD simply doesn't make sense to me.
The Infuse was handed down to me so it was not really my choice.
I initially hated it with the stock Froyo. It was too unstable. OS would get corrupted and I would have to reflash. As a result I would lose all my bookmarks and contacts. I would have to add these back manually. The bluetooth was also unusable.
Now I am on JB and it is a completely different phone. I realized it was the OS that was bad and not the phone. Everything works great: Phone, WiFi, music, GPS and bluetooth. Some people have issues with battery drain with 3G. I don't have a data plan and don't need one. I am near a WiFi connection for most of my day. I like the fact that I can sync my contacts and bookmarks to my google account.
I am not sure of my next phone. It would be a dual core GSM phone (not CDMA). Other than that I have not given it much thought.

[DISCUSSION]Nexus Brand Name

Before I start, I'd just like to say that this is just my personal rant and even though some of you may not agree, that's why I'm having this as a discussion thread.
Let's get this started then.
All I see going around XDA are people comparing their own devices to the latest Nexus device and saying 'Should I switch to the Nexus?' or a load of people rimming off the Nexus' as if they're the best thing since sliced bread.
Some of you may wonder why this bothers me. I'll tell you.
Just because a device has the Nexus brand name, it doesn't make it any better than any other phone of equal quality. A hell of a lot of people will see a device is a Nexus and immediately want to get it.
Why would you want to?
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
So with that being said, why buy the latest Nexus device when I'm reality it isn't any better than devices which are already available?
I know some of you may be Nexus fanboys and not agree with anything I've said, but I'm hoping that some of you agree just so I know that I'm not the only person who isn't being hypnotized by the word 'Nexus'.
As I said at the top of this post, I'm leaving this as a discussion so if anyone would like to add anything extra or disagree with what I've said, then you can feel free to do so.
But whatever you do, DON'T TROLL OR FLAME OTHER PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THEM!
Agree with all of the above! I'm getting it to replace my GNex.. it's a better device and I don't need two Nexuses
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??
My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
Being my first android experience, i didn't know what android offered until i physically had the phone in my hands... i had it for two weeks before deciding to root it and try out the latest Android at the time, 4.0 ICS... fell in LOVE with my phone after that... i only realized other Carriers/manufacturers added their own version of android after i got used to ICS and started looking for other devices to upgrade to... once i became educated with android, i realized that i got extremely lucky with my first android experience/purchase... because not only were other devices not officially updated to ICS, but the rollout of ICS took a very long time to even start getting stable ports/builds from developers... the skin thing also turned me off from wanting another device...
Simply put, even tho my phone is rooted, i can only vouch for devices that come with pure Google experience as that was my first real android experience... someone will say that you can always root your device and update as developers push out there latest ROMs for other devices... but i can't promote that to my friends/family that don't even know what rooting means (like myself before)...
i strongly promote the Galaxy S3... in fact just yesterday someone posted on Facebook asking if they should get the gs3 or iPhone 5... i was surprised to see out of around 20 replies, only 2 said to get the iPhone 5... i said gs3 but i also mentioned the Nexus 4 and its amazing price point... she looked it up but liked the gs3 look more... today she bought the gs3 because of that and because the N4 isn't available yet...
Before, if anyone asked me what phone to get, I immediately said the gs3 hands down... now my response is Nexus 4... i prefer the sleek/clean look and curved glass of the Nexus devices... the gs3 would be great IMO if it didn't have hard keys like back/home/menu at the bottom... so with that, the N4 looks better to me than any other device out there... i also loved the look of the Gnex... sadly, that one lacked in specs for me to upgrade my ns4g... and sadly the N4 lacks CDMA/LTE support for me to upgrade... now I'm kinda stuck as to what now?
Hope that was a civil response you want in this thread
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
FangV said:
True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ask in this thread mate
the1dynasty said:
My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
<SNIP>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good
Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
bendirkss said:
Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. noticed the same when comparing JB on my S3 to JB on my Nexus..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
KidCarter93 said:
Ask in this thread mate
I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know custom ROMs are available for other devices... but the only other phone on my radar was the gs3 but I hated those buttons... i enabled the on screen buttons on my ns4g and my kernel let's me dim the light on the capacitive buttons so its like they're not even there anymore lol... i lost some screen real estate but no biggie really...
I was really looking forward to the next nexus and was really disappointed to hear no CDMA/LTE support being that i have unlimited with Sprint now and I'm gonna be switching to a special unlimited plan with Verizon in a month or so... i really wanted to continue using nexus devices but looks like I'll have to go elsewhere for now... luckily, I'm content with this ns4g being that i got it tuned nearly perfect for good performance... the SD read is still a bit slow tho... i can survive until something wets my appetite again like the N4... or I'll just get the SGS4 if nothing comes out before then...
Btw, I'm on 4.1.2 right now running most apps from 4.2 system dump... so this 2year old phone can even take photosphere, and quite well i might add... no rush to upgrade devices... if rather put that money to getting the Nexus 10
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
Another reason is that all of the hardwares of Nexus devices are guaranteed to be open, unlike most Samsung touchwiz devices.
Another one is that new nexus devices are all have insanely low prices as they are subsidized by Google.
Also, now nexus devices have the greatest fastest socs in the market. Just look at nexus 4's S4 pro and nexus 10's Exynos 5.
In response to your opinion,
1. Not all nexus devices have great build quality, especially those ones made by Samsung. But in my opinion, all nexus devices have great design and look. Just look at the nexus 4. It's one of the most gorgeous phones in the planet.
2. For your information, the development of the Galaxy s2 is now dead. Also, the galaxy s3 is almost dead. Those are caused by their closed source drivers.
3. Nexus devices are the first to get the STABLE, latest android version.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
The reason is that the Nexus line keeps choices simple. Also, they don't have bloat (TouchWiz, Sense, etc) - and don't say get an AOSP ROM. I have heard that they are nothing but trouble. I quite like the idea of my tablet looking like it's running the same OS as my phone. And personally, the Nexus 4 is the best looking phone out there IMO, even compared to the iPhone 5 and the Samsung S3 (the style/position of the home button killed that design). I really like the UI design of stock Android too, it's not childish or cutesy looking like the bloat or iOS. I'm into the whole 'sci-fi' theme of it.
Also, looking at most other phones, they generally fall short in certain areas, whereas the Nexus devices as of late are looking relatively well considered. After using a Galaxy Nexus, I despise the current state of AMOLED tech. That rules out almost every Samsung phone under the sun. HTC One Xes supposedly have sucky battery life (plus, Tegra 3 vs a quadcore Snapdragon simply isn't a competition at all), and I've decided that lasting less than 5 hours with the screen on (for any mobile device, tablet, phone, whatever) just isn't good enough anymore.
Tablet-wise, for an Android tablet, there is no comparison to the upcoming Nexus 10. The Note sucks and the Infinity really sucks. The iPad wants you to get into the whole Apple ecosystem with Macs and iPhones to really get the best out of things like iCloud and whatnot, and Mac sucks for software & games.
The only real competitor to a Nexus is Windows 8 and WP8, which both look great (better than Android except for the whole 'Bing' thing) but their ecosystems aren't ready for real use yet. I have to say, the Lumia 920 is packing some awesome technology, and with the winter season coming I would really appreciate the touch screen you can use with gloves on. Not to mention the typical Nokia build quality, plus it seems to have everything covered.
The Nexus phones are the quickest to get updates and don't have any OEM skins or bloatware that is forced on the users. While an AOSP ROM can be ported to any phone in theory, it takes time and there are usually hardware issues due to closed source or unavailable drivers, and also locked bootloaders.
The problem with the Nexus line is its sort of like Apple's devices in the sense that there is limited hardware choice and device's memory can't be expanded. My personal hardware tastes are for a smaller device with no more than a 4.3" screen and it must have a microSD slot. I'll put up with OEM skins, bloatware can be frozen with root, as hardware is more important to me than software. But everyone it entitled to their own opinions and preferences.
Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Personally running Slim on my S3 is fast enough for me and my aged brain, any faster and I can't keep up!
Add to that my phone is my main music player hooked up to amp and speakers, I love that I can dual boot to get Samsung best bits(few!)
Not worried about lte
Glass back may be stylish.....but is utterly stupid on a phone.
......I am stupid!.....the reasoning?..... .this is all my opinion, nobody is really interested, and I'm not really interested in theirs......ergot......I MUST be stupid for posting in first place.....
jordanishere said:
Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was that your final answer? I use most of those... and last I checked, u can go to the play store and uninstall all of them... don't even need root if I'm not mistaken...
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
KidCarter93 said:
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I'll agree not all Nexus look great, though that's a real personal preference thing. I for one, would prefer the Nexus one look over the Nexus s. I currently own a Gnex and I'd be honest in saying it looks alright, but I would like some changes made (Nexus 4, comes close)
2) To be fair, of course the S2 (and noteably other handsets) will have a large dev support, in terms of quantity they sell a lot more than the Nexus family (exception of the Nexus 7, that's the first Nexus priced aggressively)
3) Quick =/= first to get updates. Some people just want the newest FIRST.
I personally choose the nexus because I don't want to be caught with a device that will have a short support life (mentioned above). History shows the Nexus WILL have the most official updates:
Nexus one: Shipped with Eclair, last official version was GB
Nexus S: Shipped with GB, officially supported till Jelly bean
Gnex: Don't know yet, but its gone from ICS to JB.
If you go to dev section, there are even newer (unofficial builds) I don't buy phones every year so I want a phone that will last me 2 years at least.

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