iphone vs galaxy s4 - Advice please

Danny_Boy13

Another point to make / consider is that there are more apps on the App Store then the Play Store. Now a days when an app is being developed they do it first for iOS and then Android but those days I see are coming closer to an end with Android getting more and more of the markets share.

CookieGem

I was split between the S3 and the iphone 5, by a stroke of luck the shop where I was buying ran out of the iphone. So by a stroke of poor supply chain I ended up with the S3 - and I'm so glad I did!

Instead of blindly claiming allegiance, here's a couple of reasons why: (in no particular order of importance)
...

Fantastic review. great to see some solid reasons why you like it. Thank you

vtmoon

I think this new Samsung GS4 is finally gonna be the one that knocks of the iPhone. My upgrade is in August, can't wait!

I am eligible for a discounted upgrade.. and can get several different phones... Here's my issue..

I am grandfathered into UNLIMITED data... as soon as I upgrade, I lose that AND, Verizon now charges $30 to upgrade a phone...

I also have the unlimited data with Verizon-- I've upgraded (resigned contract) several times and they still kept me at the old 'unlimited data' plan. Did someone from Verizon tell you that your plan will change? I hope this is not true because I don't want to switch to Sprint when I'm eligible for an upgrade.

Sometime last June it changed I believe, anyone using the 2 year upgrade to get a new phone will be forced into their new share plans. If you want to pay full price for the phone then you can keep your unlimited grandfathered plan.

free8gent

Once you go Mac, you never go back! iPhone!

I have had the iPhone4 two years this December... I am on my 5th replacement due to software issues..

I currently have 100 photos (including my photo stream) and 1 video and 14 apps on my 8gb phone..

I cannot back my phone up or update it because there isn't any local storage... my iCloud is empty and I can't sync to it either...

I am going back to either a droid or the new BlackBerry... I am OVER IT!

I went back and I am absolutely without a doubt going back. Admittedly, I do love my iPad, but my future phones and laptops will not fall into the fruit category.

dad106

I asked myself the same question - and did the research on how compatible Samsung would be with a Mac OS. Everything I run at home is an Apple product, and I've had my iPhone4 for a couple of years and really haven't had any problems with it at all.

After doing some reading I learned that the Galaxy and the Mac don't get along well and some fixes and installs would be needed, and I'm a plug and play kind of girl, that I'd just upgrade to another iPhone, unless at some point I won't need to sync my calendar and email.

This actually is not true.

All you need to download is the Kies software from Samsung, plug it in and you go. The interface of Kies is a lot like Itunes, except you can't purchase anything in there I believe.

Plus you can add google calendar to I-Cal, and it syncs right up.

kennie2

samsung most deffinately. if i didnt just get a nexus id get myself an s4
and my android phones syncs perfectly with my mac. the calendar and such is perfect and now its easier than ever to put things from a mac to your phone (it was a bit of a pain before due to SD card formatting options)

rduhlir

I just got the S3. I was torn on the Iphone or the S3, but ultimately went with the S3 and so glad I did. I love my phone and the capabilities of it is crazy cool.

prudism

I'm not too fond of Iphones (Any apple products)- I'd go with the new Samsung S4 that is coming out.


www.cnet.com I love this website, great reviews and comparisons.


Nancy
'Android girl'

* I use a Motorola Razr ( I need an upgrade) :-)

Oh I used to love my razor the first design the very thin one I wish I had kep it I use a iphone 5 now and its crap pardon my language

PomegranatePriestess

I hate this thread every time it comes up. But the mentality and devout attachment to platforms fascinates me.

It also fascinates me how people can make character judgements on others just because of their choice of phone manufacturer.

^^ THIS.

I prefer Apple and trust me, I've been preferring it since the "cool kids" were still in diapers.

rosehippy77

I have a Galaxy SIII and I love it. Have been using it a year now, before that a blackberry curve, and before that iphone. Won't use anything other than Samsung now, Apple products are too limited, and I made my choice after discovering that the sound quality on my ipod nano was in fact much inferior to the sansa disc clip I bought for my son which was a fifth of the price of the ipod!

I went right off Apple products then and there. The sound quality on the SIII is far superior to the iphone, as is the camera function, the Samsung Galaxy takes far better pictures and has a better range of functions too.

I say Samsung all the way!

nskerr

I had the Iphone 3GS. I was waiting for the 5 when the 3GS basically died. I didn't want to go back to AT&T or Apple and see if they could replace it on my dime. I had heard the Samsung phone was awesome and did some research and almost as a spur of the moment purchase bought the Samsung. In general, the only thing that you will need to get used to is the size difference. The phone is much larger (width and height) than the Iphone. If you can tolerate that it is a great phone. Most of the apps you can find in the Android store. Android actually has more apps but some of the ones I liked on Apple are not available yet.

One of the best things I found with Android was with the Iphone you needed huge memory to download all of your pictures and songs. On Google, they are stored on Google+ for backup. The songs are streamed to your phone like Pandora so you can have a 16G card and tons of apps and still have room. Plus if you run out of room can take the back panel out and change cards to a larger one. I am not a programmer computer geek but if you are the Google system is much more open to root apps or download the latest Google software before your carrier does. One thing that is a little annoying is that when Google launches their latest version of the software, each carrier does it at a different time as opposed to Apple which is self contained.

The camera on the Samsung S3 is very good. It doesn't have that panoramic feature which Apple does although I think it is a gimmick. Plus I heard the 4 will have it. It has this burst feature (which I don't use a lot) where it takes 8 pictures in rapid succession and knows which one is best. It also has face recognition software.

I have no regrets switching although I will say if Apple has the best phone on the market when my contract is up I would have no regrets going back but the fact that I can stream my music from a free cloud server with massive memory as opposed to Apple which gives you very little before charging will probably keep my with Samsung/Android.

CookieGem

All your replys and feedback is awesome! Thank you x

diddyk

I was split between the S3 and the iphone 5, by a stroke of luck the shop where I was buying ran out of the iphone. So by a stroke of poor supply chain I ended up with the S3 - and I'm so glad I did!

Instead of blindly claiming allegiance, here's a couple of reasons why: (in no particular order of importance)
1. bigger screen
2. removable (and easily replaceable) battery
3. expandable storage - need more just pop in a SD card, much cheaper than paying Apple's exorbitant memory prices
4. widgets! I love having weather and email notifications on my lock screen, not having to go into the actual app to see the weather
5. not locked into an ecosystem - this has pros and cons, but I've never like the "walled garden" concept
6. location based switching of settings - when I leave home the phone turns off wifi, increases the ringer volume and when I arrive at work it quiets the ringers and turns on wifi. seems kind of silly but I don't have the embarassment of being in a meeting and having the phone go off because I forgot to silence it and turning wifi off while out in public saves battery.
7. was worried about app availability (use an ipad at home) and there is a replacement (some even better) for eveything I normally use in the Google store.
8. Swype - I can type even faster now, it's incredible!
9. micro USB charing, no proprietary (read: $$$) charging stuff)

Couple of things I don't like:
over-reliance on Google - after the annoucement of Reader's impending shutdown it makes one wonder what is next
almost too many settings to tweak and you can end up getting too bogged down in minutiae instead of use
the shell is a little slippery, but can be remedied with a case
local stores (I live in a rural area so choice is very limited) have poor accessory choices

I've only had the phone since Thursday, but I'm very impressed. I can be rough on phones so we'll see how it holds up, but so far, so good. Play with both, go by what matches your needs the best and forget about marketing hype.

Excellent summary, I have the SG3 and LOVE it. I can't comment on the iPhone as this is my first smart phone. I'm a bit of a tech junky, but I held out on a phone for a long time.

But I have to add a little of info about your cons:
Reader: You can use Feedly, and if you install and set it up before Reader goes out it'll transfer all your subscriptions etc.
Settings: The amount can be over whelming to the less tech savvy, but I LOVE having the ability to change how my phone works. You don't have to play with all the settings.
Case: I live/work in Toronto, and Amazon had cases as cheap as anywhere I could find, with more selection.

The camera on the Samsung S3 is very good. It doesn't have that panoramic feature which Apple does although I think it is a gimmick.

It does have panorama...

nskerr

I was split between the S3 and the iphone 5, by a stroke of luck the shop where I was buying ran out of the iphone. So by a stroke of poor supply chain I ended up with the S3 - and I'm so glad I did!

Instead of blindly claiming allegiance, here's a couple of reasons why: (in no particular order of importance)
1. bigger screen
2. removable (and easily replaceable) battery
3. expandable storage - need more just pop in a SD card, much cheaper than paying Apple's exorbitant memory prices
4. widgets! I love having weather and email notifications on my lock screen, not having to go into the actual app to see the weather
5. not locked into an ecosystem - this has pros and cons, but I've never like the "walled garden" concept
6. location based switching of settings - when I leave home the phone turns off wifi, increases the ringer volume and when I arrive at work it quiets the ringers and turns on wifi. seems kind of silly but I don't have the embarassment of being in a meeting and having the phone go off because I forgot to silence it and turning wifi off while out in public saves battery.
7. was worried about app availability (use an ipad at home) and there is a replacement (some even better) for eveything I normally use in the Google store.
8. Swype - I can type even faster now, it's incredible!
9. micro USB charing, no proprietary (read: $$$) charging stuff)

Couple of things I don't like:
over-reliance on Google - after the annoucement of Reader's impending shutdown it makes one wonder what is next
almost too many settings to tweak and you can end up getting too bogged down in minutiae instead of use
the shell is a little slippery, but can be remedied with a case
local stores (I live in a rural area so choice is very limited) have poor accessory choices

I've only had the phone since Thursday, but I'm very impressed. I can be rough on phones so we'll see how it holds up, but so far, so good. Play with both, go by what matches your needs the best and forget about marketing hype.

Excellent summary, I have the SG3 and LOVE it. I can't comment on the iPhone as this is my first smart phone. I'm a bit of a tech junky, but I held out on a phone for a long time.

But I have to add a little of info about your cons:
Reader: You can use Feedly, and if you install and set it up before Reader goes out it'll transfer all your subscriptions etc.
Settings: The amount can be over whelming to the less tech savvy, but I LOVE having the ability to change how my phone works. You don't have to play with all the settings.
Case: I live/work in Toronto, and Amazon had cases as cheap as anywhere I could find, with more selection.

The camera on the Samsung S3 is very good. It doesn't have that panoramic feature which Apple does although I think it is a gimmick.

It does have panorama...

Now that I went back into settings I see that it does. Must have come with the upgrade to Jellybean which I downloaded recently.

misslovalova7

Hubby has an Iphone4s, I prefer my SG3

CookieGem

Fantastic feedback everyone. Appreciate every post YOU ROCK!

Timshel_

I think there are a couple smartphones that finally offer comparable features and functionality that the iPhone has been praised for. Much of that has to do with Adroid becoming more user friendly and robust as an OS. Definitely worth a look at the Samsung.

Fact is, they both do essentially the exact same thing with almost exacty the same specs, but what varies is how they do it. Whichever seems to fit your workflow and needs, buy it. My advice to clients is to handle both.

App wise they both have great offerings.

All the best.

04ward

Love my Galaxy S3! My sons both have Iphones but my screen is so much larger and nicer to view. I feel like I have a great selection of apps for Android. I love how it syncs with my Fitbit (one of the few phones that do) and with MFP. You definitely won't regret getting one!

CookieGem

Galaxy 4 has been pre-ordered! Get it on the 26th WHOOP WHOOP!

SerenaFisher

Motorola DROID

Edit: should have bought a DROID