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I know I'm posting this in the AT&T Note forums, so the responses might be a bit biased, but here goes anyways. I was very interested in the Note from the first time I heard about it. Today I finally got around to going to an AT&T store and comparing a few phones. I was very impressed by the Note's screen, but I found it to be just slightly too big. It almost seemed like it would be perfect if it were 5.0 inches, not 5.3. Anyways, I was also very impressed by two other phones: the LG Nitro HD and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. I've compiled a list of pros, cons, and prices, focusing directly on comparisons between the three phones. Pros are "+" and cons are "-".
Samsung Galaxy Note ($299)
+ Dat screen! Beautiful large Super Amoled display
+ Great battery life
+ Good development support
- Slightly awkward to type with
- Pen not as accurate as I hoped (perhaps problem with it being a worn out display unit)
- Phone was just too big for my hands.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket ($199)
+ Much nicer screen than expected, I was worried the low resolution would be a negative but it was hard to tell to my naked eye
+ Great development support
- Slightly too small
- HD Version coming soon
LG Nitro HD ($99)
+ Very nice sharp, colorful 720P IPS screen
+ $200 cheaper than the Galaxy Note
- Slightly too small
- Poor battery life
- Poor development
I dismissed the HTC One XL because it lacked a removable battery and SD card slot, but I might reconsider it because it seems like it would fit the screen size I'm looking for. I've just been waiting for so long before I was eligible for an upgrade, and the waiting is getting annoying. Is the Samsung Galaxy Note worth the extra cost and getting over the awkwardness? I was convinced I would fall in love with it when I finally got to use it, but that wasn't really the case, so I'm a bit hesitant. Let me know what you think.
Put it this way I paid 650 full price, so I'd say yes lol. Deff worth the extra "upgrade" price compared to those others you listed.
I had the skyrocket, it was a great device, but still prefer the galaxy note. So yes its worth the extra money. The battery life is longer, the screen is just goregous, you can definately notice the difference in screen quality from the 2 especially after using the skyrocket for a few months. My s-pen is accurate as long as i dont have it leaned too far sideways. also got use to the screen size in a day or 2, i can actually 1 hand text with ics keyboard
Wait for the HTC one x if you can. Sounds like that screen size will fit you perfect
I got the note and I m waiting got the one x
Personally, price for me wasn't even a thought. Not that I'm rolling in money... actually the note broke the bank for me. But this is something I use all day every single day. With something like that I don't consider price. It's more a matter of which phone you will enjoy the most and which will be most useful to you.
I am torn as well. I owned the skyrocker prior...the nitro is on sale for 49.99 and you can get the skyrocket refurbs for that price.. .hell the vivid refurb is a penny.
I have a ton of obligations i could put the money towards if I take the note back
I really like it but is it worth it....decissions decissions
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
100 bucks extra over the lifetime of the phone comes to $4.16 a month. But for me, it was worth 100 just to play with it in the last month. Love this phone!
jpeg42 said:
100 bucks extra over the lifetime of the phone comes to $4.16 a month. But for me, it was worth 100 just to play with it in the last month. Love this phone!
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I thought I was slow to upgrade. Don't remember the last phone I kept active for two years. Lol.
Disclaimer: This is not advice. It is just something that fell from between my ears.
Thats the other thing i keep telling myself....i have more upgrades coming up lol
biglittlegato said:
I thought I was slow to upgrade. Don't remember the last phone I kept active for two years. Lol.
Disclaimer: This is not advice. It is just something that fell from between my ears.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
One word yes!
Sent from the TermiNOTEr! ;-)
Similar to what JPEG is alluding to, the answer to "Is $100 worth it?" is heavily dependent on how you evaluate the situation. I use my phone so frequently and for so many things that $100 is well worth the increased productivity and avoided frustration. Those other phones may be cheaper up front but the cost of the frustration and decreased satisfaction from a cheaper phone every time you use it for the next two years is far larger than the $100 you pay. This is a top shelf phone with a top shelf price.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Is the Samsung Galaxy Note worth the extra price?
Absolutely to me
Is it worth it.....Hell yeah..... Besides all the great functions other memebers have listed, the ease of quickly pulling up the S note app has gotten me 2 really sexy ladies numbers....LOL.... I love this phone
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA Premium App
I got the phone for $150, but I think it'd definitely be worth full price as well. The screen is amazing and you adjust to the large size in just a few days.
tdude51 said:
Samsung Galaxy Note ($299)
+ Dat screen! Beautiful large Super Amoled display
+ Great battery life
+ Good development support
- Slightly awkward to type with
- Pen not as accurate as I hoped (perhaps problem with it being a worn out display unit)
- Phone was just too big for my hands.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Note worth the extra cost and getting over the awkwardness? I was convinced I would fall in love with it when I finally got to use it, but that wasn't really the case, so I'm a bit hesitant. Let me know what you think.
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I don't work for AT&T - and your money is your money so I can't tell you how to spend it. But I can address your cons from my perspective.
I agree that it seems slightly awkward to type with... or it did. I tried a bunch of keyboards and settled on Smart Keyboard Pro. I'm now just as fast on the Note as I was in the iPhone 4S. Spend a little time and you'll find the right fit for you and the screen (which may not be the same keyboard you used to use).
Pen accuracy - it'll improve as you adjust to the device. My first couple days with the phone I thought the pen was a gimmick. Now I've come to find it's a great tool and I take a ton of notes with it.
In the store the phone felt stupid big to me. And like you I felt it was just too big for my hand size. Reality is (and many here will tell you) - you adjust to the size and it takes on an almost normal feel. I think your hands are accustomed to the size of your current phone and so anything larger feels, well larger and out of place. Sure no matter what (unless you have Shaq hands) the far side of the screen is going to take an adjustment to reach, but the act of holding and interacting with the device will normalize in a short period of time. For me it was about a week and it stopped feeling awkward. Now after about 2 and half other phones just feel (and look) foolishly tiny.
The short period of time (even if it was an hour or two) in the store with the phone is (for me) - not enough to really get used to the Note or determine how you're going to feel about it. Its a fabulous device that's worth getting to know. Take the 30 days and if you don't like it pay the restocking fee. But I know for me - there's very little chance mine's going back to AT&T to get put back on the shelf.
Now, for one other recommendation: If you get the white - get a case or order the black back from Samsung fulfillment. The white back is slick as snot. I put the black one on and the grip is excellent.
netsyd said:
I don't work for AT&T - and your money is your money so I can't tell you how to spend it. But I can address your cons from my perspective.
I agree that it seems slightly awkward to type with... or it did. I tried a bunch of keyboards and settled on Smart Keyboard Pro. I'm now just as fast on the Note as I was in the iPhone 4S. Spend a little time and you'll find the right fit for you and the screen (which may not be the same keyboard you used to use).
Pen accuracy - it'll improve as you adjust to the device. My first couple days with the phone I thought the pen was a gimmick. Now I've come to find it's a great tool and I take a ton of notes with it.
In the store the phone felt stupid big to me. And like you I felt it was just too big for my hand size. Reality is (and many here will tell you) - you adjust to the size and it takes on an almost normal feel. I think your hands are accustomed to the size of your current phone and so anything larger feels, well larger and out of place. Sure no matter what (unless you have Shaq hands) the far side of the screen is going to take an adjustment to reach, but the act of holding and interacting with the device will normalize in a short period of time. For me it was about a week and it stopped feeling awkward. Now after about 2 and half other phones just feel (and look) foolishly tiny.
The short period of time (even if it was an hour or two) in the store with the phone is (for me) - not enough to really get used to the Note or determine how you're going to feel about it. Its a fabulous device that's worth getting to know. Take the 30 days and if you don't like it pay the restocking fee. But I know for me - there's very little chance mine's going back to AT&T to get put back on the shelf.
Now, for one other recommendation: If you get the white - get a case or order the black back from Samsung fulfillment. The white back is slick as snot. I put the black one on and the grip is excellent.
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Thanks for your advice! I'm glad to know that it just takes a little bit of getting used to. I'm very excited about this device, I was just surprised once I finally got my hands on it. I don't really have much to lose with the 30 day return window so I think I'm going to go for it. The development seems to be getting better every day, and I love tweaking my devices and getting the most out of them. I also am in big need of a new device for watching movies, listening to music and playing games (mostly on emulators). I think I will really enjoy doing that with the Note.
I was struggling with the same problem as the OP, just wasn't sure which to go with. I ended up deciding, mostly because I'm signing a 3 year contract, that I would go with the device with the best hardware, being the Note. I was worried about the size possibly making it awkward, but what I've found after owning it for just about a month now is that It's actually perfect.. My hands aren't small, but they're not huge either, and I can use it one handed for 90% of what I use it for, but I love tilting it on it's side and typing with two hands. I owned an HTC Touch Diamond prior to this, it has a stylus as well, and I found I'd always use the stylus for some of the smaller icons, well on the Note I hardly ever have to use the Stylus, just use it for editing photos really. The stylus is hardly noticable, if you use it great, if not then hey it's just an extra.
I think you'll get used to the size very quickly, and once you do, you'll have a super hard time going back to any other phone. I still have my Diamond Touch, use it as an alarm clock hah, and I get SO frustrated trying to manage it's tiny screen, and I remember when I first got it thinking it was perfectly sized haha... Oh how times change.
Imo phones like the Note are the future. I have a samsung laptop as well, 17" beast that I carry around a lot, and they make an awesome pair. It's kind of funny too, as they're both Samsung units, the stock back piece for the Note matches the edges of my laptop. Very esthetic combo. (RF711 laptop if anyone cares. )
( Also I type roughly 100wpm on a regular keyboard, so texting on phones has always been super tedious for me. When I tilt the Note on it's side and use the larger keyboard I can type faster then I ever have on a phone before. It's actually amazing I love it hah. )
I think the note has ruined me!!!! I've been using it for 7 days short of a month now and I have to say I loooooove it!!
I was skeptical of leaving IOS for android. I've played with android b4 setting up my GF's rooted nook color as a tablet
and its really buggy at times, I kept thinking to myself hmmm if the phones are this buggy then I'm gunna hate it!!!
But I took the plunge and haven't looked back since its very smooth and very few bugs. the size was giant to me
at first, but It has really become normal to me now. I pick up my old 3gs and I'm feel like its a tiny little toy!!!! LOL
So I say yes it is worth the price!!! I'm a photographer and I love showing off my photos on this phone!!!
I dont have a note so I cant speak on that front, but I can tell you the LG Nitro is what I would NOT go with. Played around on it a handful of times and every time it was slow and somewhat unresponsive.
If HTC one x is going to be unavailable for your network then go for Note. I moved 4s to nexus galaxy to Note and must say would not swap this device for any othrr device. Of course when One X is available that's a different story.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
I've had my One X on AT&T for a couple of weeks now, I quickly fell in love with the design and build quality of the hardware. The screen is simply the best I've ever seen. The camera and camera app are great. I'm coming from a Captivate so of course everything is an improvement. But there are a few minor but important to me things that are really bugging me, I was wondering if S3 owners could let me know how they are. I'm trying to stay with the stock ROM this time around.
First, I was looking forward to finally having a notification LED again. But the HOX's is utter crap. It's tiny, dim, green only, and dismisses itself after a few minutes. Is the S3's easy to see in a well lit room? Can you customize the colors for different notification types?
Second, the vibration is absurd on the HOX. It's too strong and too loud and completely uncustomizable. Can you change the vibration intensity or the pattern for notifications or other things on the S3? Is it noisy when it vibrates?
Lastly, I am surprisingly disappointed in the battery life. I feel like Anandtech's review really led me astray here. It seemed manageable for the first few days but now I really feel like I have to curb my usage during the day so I won't have to immediately plug it in when I get home. I've even tried to set it up for power saving but it seems like after 12 hours off the charger with pretty moderate usage (maybe 2hrs of screen time) it is begging to be plugged in. Any thoughts on the S3 in this regard?
Thank you for any input. I'm not looking forward to having to pay the restock fee or cover the price differential (got the One X for $120) but I'll do it if it will alleviate these little things that constantly bug me through the day.
My thoughts...
Short answer. It depends.
I had the One S for two months before switching to the T-Mo version of the S3. Though the One S and One X aren't identical, they're pretty similar in terms of hardware, UI, and features.
Modding
Though I can't speak for the One X, if you frequent XDA and love to tinker with your phone, I think the S3 is going to offer more opportunity. Its the same exact phone with all carriers so there will probably be more development. There weren't a ton of One S developers and the phone had already been out for some time. That being said, if you're less inclined to tinker, I really feel that Sense 4.0 has come a long way. Its clean and well put together (especially compared to the Touchwiz UI on the S3). Touchwiz has a thousand features you'll never use and misses features you'd always use (like being able to change a song on the lockscreen as opposed to having to unlock the phone).
Storage
Lack of expandable storage sucks. Even with Dropbox, if you're on a 6 hour flight (which I am frequently), streaming doesn't help. If you're one that can live without your whole media collection with you and don't mind streaming, I'd give the edge to the One X, but if you (like me) fly alot, the S3.
Battery
My brother in law has the One X, and I had the One S. Perhaps it was the smaller screen, but I never had an issue with the battery. It would last 18 hours commonly and seldom needed a recharge. I doubt the S3 battery is much better, but the fact you can carry around other batteries helps. Though.. IMHO, Duracell and others make a USB charger that you can plug in to your phone for a charge. Is it better to carry one of those around or a spare battery? Either way it sucks because you have to carry something. I'd say this is a draw.
Audio
I'm sure many will flame me and disagree, but the audio absolutely sucks on the S3 (at least the US version since we were robbed of the Wolfson chip). Bland, bass-less. Its like listening to music with a tin can on your head. I think this will get better over time as devs make modifications (like Voodoo sound), but for now, its crap. People around here seem to dislike Beats audio, but I gotta say.. It sounds significantly better than the stock S3. Hopefully that gets fixed, maybe it never will.
Camera
This is a tough one. I loved the camera on the One S (and presumably, One X). PM me and I'll send you some shots I took with it. You would have a hard time believing its not a DSLR. The S3 camera is good... It has some nice features. I'm not sure it holds up as well in low-light and I'm not sure it captures color as well as the One series. Just MHO. Both are great, but I felt with the One S the quality of picture I was getting eliminated my need to carry a second camera. I'm not sure I feel the same way about the S3. Pictures still seem like they were taken by a camera phone...
I'm not gonna lie... I've had the S3 for a little over a week. I like it. But there are still so many things I miss about the One series. I'm hoping as the dev community grows for the S3, eventually I'll be happy I made the switch.
Hey thanks for your thoughts on this. Pretty much what I was thinking... they're both great but each does some things better than the other. It's funny you mention the audio, I did think the One X sounds pretty impressive when I loaded some music on it. Hopefully I can find a demo S3 in store so I can find answers my nitpicky questions about the notification LED and vibration functions.
The LED is pretty bright, and stays on. I can easily see it from across the room.
not sure about the vibration, I rarely use it and have never experienced the One X
Battery life is surprisingly good one the S3, and as mentioned you can always get a second battery, I got a battery charger from Samsung and it came with an extra battery for $50 between those two I never run out.
I know you said you would like to stick with the stock ROM but if you are willing to load a custom ROM this one: http://goo.gl/WP6TC is giving me much better battery life than the stock one.
a coworker has the EVO 4G LTE (Sprints version of the One X) and it is pretty nice and feels a bit more solid but I like the removable battery and SD card slot on the S3 and considering Samsungs bootloaders are unlocked and they make the source code available immediately I knew there would be more development for the S3 than the One X.
both phones are awesome but the grass is always greener on the other side so I'm sure whichever one you go with you're gonna want the other, at least that's how I am.
I've been pretty happy with the S3 for the <2 weeks I've had it. now I just need Sprint to hurry up and flip the switch on LTE in LA.
Good Luck Man!
The only reason I would consider getting a One X over my S III is the screen. Not a fan of the PenTile display and its much dimmer than the One X. However, I'm keeping the S III because of a massive developer base.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Swapped my HTC One X for the SGS3...and absolutely love my decision. Best feature of all is the eye tracking, the fact that when im reading the phone and the screen never turns off is worth it alone. Then you have better battery life, I can actually get an entire day out of a charge on this phone unlike the HOX, I get better signal here in ATL and have less drop calls, then you still have the replaceable battery and expandable memory...and finally NFC
Like I said, got rid of my HOX for the SGS3 and LOVE IT!!! Do it today, tomorrow, yesterday
PS- I personally think the screen looks so much brighter and better than the HOX
I had the evolte this blows that out of the water hands down. The evolte really should have sold for $150 not $200 this is a $200 device
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
I bought the HTC One X and held onto it for 29 days, then returned it for the SGS3 (which i preordered a couple weeks before it came out).
I liked many things about the HTC One X. The screen quality was a little bit better on the HOX, but its smaller. The SGS3 uses a pentile display, which means that even at the same resolution as the HOX, you can still see the pixels, but its something that most people wont notice. The SGS3 is seems like its a little bit brighter than the HOX too, but not enough that the average phone user would ever even notice the difference.
They both have the same processor, but the SGS3 has 2GB ram vs the 1GB ram on the HOX. Now most people wont notice a difference with the RAM, but for all that multitasking, it really does help! Oh speaking of multitasking, the HOX cant do it and the SGS3 can! If you go to the task list on the HOX and click on a screenshot of a program you had open, it is what it is.. just a screenshot... The HOX literally runs the program again rather than holding it in memory, so you never get to keep your position when multitasking...
When it comes to audio, the HOX stock is definitely better with Beats Audio, and the phones speaker seems to have a little better sound as well, but it wasnt as loud as my GS3 is.. When it comes to headphones or streaming to your car stereo, or even your in home stereo, the HOX is definitely better, but for the SGS3 and even the HOX, you can download equalizers from the play store that brings the balance back to the SGS3 when compared to the HOX. Also, the device you have it connected too probably has its own equalizer or somewhat of one that helps as well.
Memory is a huge issue on the HOX, you have 16GB and nothing but 16GB. If you want or need more, too bad... SGS3 has the MicroSD slot so you can expand up to 32GB (or was it 64?). And for giggles, you could carry multiple microsd cards with you if you wanted!
Battery was ok on the HOX, and its significantly better on the SGS3, especially with bloatware removed and an active task killer (i've always had great luck with these, i dont understand how some dont see a difference?). I typically get around 20 hours with medium use of my SGS3, but my HOX would have to be plugged in by the end of the day, or by bedtime if i barely used it...
Speaking of the battery, the day i got the phone, it froze on me... Every possible combination of buttons and hooking it upto the computer in every possible way, running certain programs, adb, nothing would reboot the phone or turn it off.. Ended up waiting over 7 hours for it to die after i spent 3 hours trying to shut it off. I can not live without a removable battery!!! F U HOX! Anyway!
Overall, i think the SGS3 is a better phone. Not MUCH better, just better. The LED light is bigger, brighter, and the ear piece speaker doesnt block the it like the HOX. The battery is bettery, the removable battery and external storage is a huge plus, but the HOX's screen is barely better, has better stock audio, and Sense 4.0 is definitely better than Touchwiz, BUT!!! I dont use either... I typically install Apex or LauncherPro and use one of them. The HOX has a nicer looking lock screen, but the SGS3 lock screen features and the way it works is much nicer.. I prefer the watery stuff over the orb thing. And i like being able to say "Hi Galaxy" or whatever i choose to unlock it hehe
When it comes down to the decision, your not really caring about custom roms and things like that, so your decision should come down to the size of the phone. The SGS3 is bigger, but has a bigger screen, and with a case is even bigger. The HOX is smaller and has a smaller screen. Feel them both in your hands, and play with the screens. It wont take you long to decide which you prefer. Either way, if i were you i'd go with the SGS3 because if you decide in the future to root and install custom rom's, you'll have much less of a hassle with SGS3 than the HOX.
1: the led on th s3 is a lot stronger ive tested
2: havent compared vibrations so i am not sure
3:the battery life is a lot nicer on th GS3 so i would switch if i was you not to mention the GS3 has rremovable battery and external SD slot so battery and storage are better...
modding wise the SGS3 is known as a great phone for developers. if you ever want to not use the stock rom, there are many options for roms out and most developers havent had the sgs3's delivered yet! within weeks there should be a fix for just about any problems you encounter with the phone.
switching to the sgs3 would be a good choice as the it is better in about every criteria you mentioned. one problem is though, the super amoled pentile display is darker and a bit more saturated than the HOX unless you like that. hope i helped
Wow, tons of good info! Thanks everybody. I was leaning towards just keeping the One X, as several people have told me even if I switch, the grass is always greener on the other side. But from what people are consistently saying, battery life may be reason enough to switch. I don't like having to curb my phone usage to make it till evening without running on fumes.
I don't agree at all with the statement regarding the SGS3 screen being a bit brighter. I had an EVO 4G LTE (ONE X Clone) and returned it for a SGS3. The first thing i noticed is how much DIMMER the SGS3 screen is compared to the EVO 4G LTE. It is almost unviewable on a sunny day. The SGS3's max brightness is like 75% on the EVO 4G LTE. Also auto brightness is really bad on the phone. It defaults to a setting that is way too dim. I'm still undecided if I should return the phone or not. Unfortunately, i'm not really impressed with either phones. Both have their flaws.
PMad said:
I bought the HTC One X and held onto it for 29 days, then returned it for the SGS3 (which i preordered a couple weeks before it came out).
I liked many things about the HTC One X. The screen quality was a little bit better on the HOX, but its smaller. The SGS3 uses a pentile display, which means that even at the same resolution as the HOX, you can still see the pixels, but its something that most people wont notice. The SGS3 is seems like its a little bit brighter than the HOX too, but not enough that the average phone user would ever even notice the difference.
They both have the same processor, but the SGS3 has 2GB ram vs the 1GB ram on the HOX. Now most people wont notice a difference with the RAM, but for all that multitasking, it really does help! Oh speaking of multitasking, the HOX cant do it and the SGS3 can! If you go to the task list on the HOX and click on a screenshot of a program you had open, it is what it is.. just a screenshot... The HOX literally runs the program again rather than holding it in memory, so you never get to keep your position when multitasking...
When it comes to audio, the HOX stock is definitely better with Beats Audio, and the phones speaker seems to have a little better sound as well, but it wasnt as loud as my GS3 is.. When it comes to headphones or streaming to your car stereo, or even your in home stereo, the HOX is definitely better, but for the SGS3 and even the HOX, you can download equalizers from the play store that brings the balance back to the SGS3 when compared to the HOX. Also, the device you have it connected too probably has its own equalizer or somewhat of one that helps as well.
Memory is a huge issue on the HOX, you have 16GB and nothing but 16GB. If you want or need more, too bad... SGS3 has the MicroSD slot so you can expand up to 32GB (or was it 64?). And for giggles, you could carry multiple microsd cards with you if you wanted!
Battery was ok on the HOX, and its significantly better on the SGS3, especially with bloatware removed and an active task killer (i've always had great luck with these, i dont understand how some dont see a difference?). I typically get around 20 hours with medium use of my SGS3, but my HOX would have to be plugged in by the end of the day, or by bedtime if i barely used it...
Speaking of the battery, the day i got the phone, it froze on me... Every possible combination of buttons and hooking it upto the computer in every possible way, running certain programs, adb, nothing would reboot the phone or turn it off.. Ended up waiting over 7 hours for it to die after i spent 3 hours trying to shut it off. I can not live without a removable battery!!! F U HOX! Anyway!
Overall, i think the SGS3 is a better phone. Not MUCH better, just better. The LED light is bigger, brighter, and the ear piece speaker doesnt block the it like the HOX. The battery is bettery, the removable battery and external storage is a huge plus, but the HOX's screen is barely better, has better stock audio, and Sense 4.0 is definitely better than Touchwiz, BUT!!! I dont use either... I typically install Apex or LauncherPro and use one of them. The HOX has a nicer looking lock screen, but the SGS3 lock screen features and the way it works is much nicer.. I prefer the watery stuff over the orb thing. And i like being able to say "Hi Galaxy" or whatever i choose to unlock it hehe
When it comes down to the decision, your not really caring about custom roms and things like that, so your decision should come down to the size of the phone. The SGS3 is bigger, but has a bigger screen, and with a case is even bigger. The HOX is smaller and has a smaller screen. Feel them both in your hands, and play with the screens. It wont take you long to decide which you prefer. Either way, if i were you i'd go with the SGS3 because if you decide in the future to root and install custom rom's, you'll have much less of a hassle with SGS3 than the HOX.
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I'd say go for it. I was all HTC and then they dropped the ball on quality and overall build. I made the switch to Samsung phones and won't go back.
There's a reason why Samsung's SIII was more anticipated than any HTC phone out there. It wasn't just marketing.
spydc said:
I don't agree at all with the statement regarding the SGS3 screen being a bit brighter. I had an EVO 4G LTE (ONE X Clone) and returned it for a SGS3. The first thing i noticed is how much DIMMER the SGS3 screen is compared to the EVO 4G LTE. It is almost unviewable on a sunny day. The SGS3's max brightness is like 75% on the EVO 4G LTE. Also auto brightness is really bad on the phone. It defaults to a setting that is way too dim. I'm still undecided if I should return the phone or not. Unfortunately, i'm not really impressed with either phones. Both have their flaws.
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I turned up the brightness on both devices. You have to look at the same picture. The S3 is much more vibrant. It's not dimmer at all. With the black backgrounds on the E4GL, it looks flatter. Your decision is biased.
Since I don't think I saw anyone mention it. I the vibration is not too loud or too strong. You can also customize it with a few patterns. I think I there are like five or six to choose from. Also you can't customize the LED but it is plenty bright.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
benzin84 said:
Since I don't think I saw anyone mention it. I the vibration is not too loud or too strong. You can also customize it with a few patterns. I think I there are like five or six to choose from. Also you can't customize the LED but it is plenty bright.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
On the G S III its pretty prominent and audible. You can also create custom patterns.
There's a pp called light flow, but its currently being re-worked for the G S III, but you can change it.
chrischoi said:
I'd say go for it. I was all HTC and then they dropped the ball on quality and overall build. I made the switch to Samsung phones and won't go back.
There's a reason why Samsung's SIII was more anticipated than any HTC phone out there. It wasn't just marketing.
...
I turned up the brightness on both devices. You have to look at the same picture. The S3 is much more vibrant. It's not dimmer at all. With the black backgrounds on the E4GL, it looks flatter. Your decision is biased.
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Click to collapse
WRONG. It is MUCH dimmer.
Turn the screen to white on both in a store and compare. You will be sad.
AMOLED has severe flaws. One is it's just plain dim especially on whites.
Also PenTile sucks. It's not too bad with such a high resolution but it's still noticeable to me even at arms' length.
The S III screen is sh!t even compared to an old Droid. Everything else about it is awesome. Except Wifi dropping which is also a pretty big deal but other than that it's great.
But the screen is important to me. I'm having serious thoughts about keeping my VZ S III. I just ordered it mainly because of the unlimited data going away and S III being "the phone" of 2012. I'm so disappointed on the crap screen.
macdroid01 said:
WRONG. It is MUCH dimmer.
Turn the screen to white on both in a store and compare. You will be sad.
AMOLED has severe flaws. One is it's just plain dim especially on whites.
Also PenTile sucks. It's not too bad with such a high resolution but it's still noticeable to me even at arms' length.
The S III screen is sh!t even compared to an old Droid. Everything else about it is awesome. Except Wifi dropping which is also a pretty big deal but other than that it's great.
But the screen is important to me. I'm having serious thoughts about keeping my VZ S III. I just ordered it mainly because of the unlimited data going away and S III being "the phone" of 2012. I'm so disappointed on the crap screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your crazy dude. I LOVE the screen in the s3. I took my evo lte back. I much prefer the screen on the s3
I had the [email protected] one x for 3 weeks and brought it back for the S III. Reason: swappable battery, sd card and 4.1 upgrade this fall.
Yes, the one x has a better screen for outside, and the format factor is slightly better but the above won me over. Wifi and 4G speeds are the same. Quadrant score is also higher on the siii for some reason.
The ui on the siii really isn't bad considering and I don't regret my decision.
Someone mentioned the Siii having a dimmer screen. That's because the default brightness is lower than the default on the one x. Yes the one x can get brighter (not really viewable at that point) but not for what I saw. Once I made changes to equal the one x they were equal.
This from a guy who has had two HTC android phones previously.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I had one for 3 weeks too, but i was already worrying about space when the drop box promo was killed... I was upset and left without enough storage on my HOX for what I wanted, especially music. Multitasking was pretty poor too, it reloaded most apps most of the time, even swapping between just two normal apps.
Removable storage, battery, and proper multitasking/ram for the future sold me. I wasn't thrilled with the design when the GS3 was launched, it looked bad really. I still prefer the One X's sexy body and screen, but this is much better than I expected. Easily a solid 9 to the HOX's 10.
Accessory selection will be MUCH wider for the GS3 vs the AT&T One X. Higher numbers sold, more carriers carrying it, and matching versions around the world mean big things for cases, docks, etc.
Vibration feels a lot more higher class than the One X which almost felt like something was rattling . The LED light is diffused a lot to make a big light up area as well.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
Sweet, thanks for the input on the LED and vibration. Things aren't looking so good for my One X. Still hoping to find a working demo S3 to try out before making my decision.
I had the international One X and T-Mobile One S, I like them both but the deal breaker for me was lack of sd card and the kinda poor battery life. Not to mention the LED notification light was a joke.
Sent from my S3 using xda premium
OK, I think a lot of you are here from a note or note 2, am I wrong?
I came from a Tmobile note 2. When i saw the original note 2, i was hooked on the big screen phones. People don't seem to understand the no bezel thing. A 7 inch phone and 7 inch tablet are two completely different sizes, all because of the lack of bezel. And I will keep buying bigger phones until they don't fit in my pocket anymore.
Now, onto the specifics of the phone. Yes, I think it is a tiny bit slower that the note 2, but still, in some benchmarks it did even better than the note 2. And my test is, can i download using torrents (which suck the processor and ram) and still listen to skip free music, browse the web and navigate the phone. This champ can.
The screen is awesome. it just hits you its so bright. I would have loved a 1080 but hey...
Battery life is great. Ive got a few extra off brands until the oem's come out (if they ever do) but Ive said this before, If i have a 3,200 and a smaller phone has a 2,000-2,500. When the screens are on, we are evenly matched. But the screen is not always on. So when its off, we are both running the same radios and processors, but i have a bigger battery. People don't realize this.
I don't know about you early adopters, but i just paid 515 US, no tax for mine. I think that's pretty good.
Oh, the stares. I was one of the Note 1 early adopters. I loved all the attention and envy that poured in on all sides, call me shallow, but i loved it. Its been diminishing for a long time now, becayse the note 2 was basically around the same size and it came to all the carriers. The feeling is back in full force now. That's what you get for going up an inch.
The functionality of having a pocket-able big screen phone is amazing. It's a small pocket-able tablet, that also handles my calls and texts. You basically give up one handed use at this point, even though i have big hands, but you gain in every area; typing, watching videos, gaming, surfing, any app....
I'm curious how unpopular this phone actually is.... There is basically zero devs here. And correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been out for a month...
On a similar note, the lack of the Samsung battery/charger anywhere on the web is pissing me off. I like having the ability to keep batteries charges externally so my phone doesn't have to be tethered to an outlet. You just swap out the batteries and your back at 100%.
Discuss.
mottyengel said:
OK, I think a lot of you are here from a note or note 2, am I wrong?
I came from a Tmobile note 2. When i saw the original note 2, i was hooked on the big screen phones. People don't seem to understand the no bezel thing. A 7 inch phone and 7 inch tablet are two completely different sizes, all because of the lack of bezel. And I will keep buying bigger phones until they don't fit in my pocket anymore.
Now, onto the specifics of the phone. Yes, I think it is a tiny bit slower that the note 2, but still, in some benchmarks it did even better than the note 2. And my test is, can i download using torrents (which suck the processor and ram) and still listen to skip free music, browse the web and navigate the phone. This champ can.
The screen is awesome. it just hits you its so bright. I would have loved a 1080 but hey...
Battery life is great. Ive got a few extra off brands until the oem's come out (if they ever do) but Ive said this before, If i have a 3,200 and a smaller phone has a 2,000-2,500. When the screens are on, we are evenly matched. But the screen is not always on. So when its off, we are both running the same radios and processors, but i have a bigger battery. People don't realize this.
I don't know about you early adopters, but i just paid 515 US, no tax for mine. I think that's pretty good.
Oh, the stares. I was one of the Note 1 early adopters. I loved all the attention and envy that poured in on all sides, call me shallow, but i loved it. Its been diminishing for a long time now, becayse the note 2 was basically around the same size and it came to all the carriers. The feeling is back in full force now. That's what you get for going up an inch.
The functionality of having a pocket-able big screen phone is amazing. It's a small pocket-able tablet, that also handles my calls and texts. You basically give up one handed use at this point, even though i have big hands, but you gain in every area; typing, watching videos, gaming, surfing, any app....
I'm curious how unpopular this phone actually is.... There is basically zero devs here. And correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been out for a month...
On a similar note, the lack of the Samsung battery/charger anywhere on the web is pissing me off. I like having the ability to keep batteries charges externally so my phone doesn't have to be tethered to an outlet. You just swap out the batteries and your back at 100%.
Discuss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from the original Note so I can see and feel a big leap in performance. I guess if you came from a Note 2 then you might not notice any difference or maybe expect so much improvement that you think it's slower. Size wise I am very happy with it, friends and family actually didn't even notice that I'm using a Mega. You can only see the big difference if you set them next to each other, most of the time they see my phone from afar and think it's the Note. If strangers ask, I'll just tell them it's a mini tablet that can make calls rather than a huge smartphone.
Development is slow because they are waiting for a kernel to be developed by Philz and/or Chainfire. It's just been 2 weeks since its been available so I won't worry much about developer support. Right now I've just got root and deleted/uninstalled a lot of bloatware and disabled almost all features so my phone runs very fast. Also, using Foldermount I am able to install apps exceeding the internal storage capacity.
I got 2 extra batteries from eBay which are 3500 mah and I'm okay with the battery life so I'm just using one. As for popularity, I think it will be like the original Note where people started to like it when they saw it being used by others since just looking at the specs of it on paper is not as appealing as holding it in your hand and seeing that huge display for videos and games. Lots of other manufacturers are releasing phones over 6 inches and I'm sure it will be the norm next year.
gx3k said:
I came from the original Note so I can see and feel a big leap in performance. I guess if you came from a Note 2 then you might not notice any difference or maybe expect so much improvement that you think it's slower. Size wise I am very happy with it, friends and family actually didn't even notice that I'm using a Mega. You can only see the big difference if you set them next to each other, most of the time they see my phone from afar and think it's the Note. If strangers ask, I'll just tell them it's a mini tablet that can make calls rather than a huge smartphone.
Development is slow because they are waiting for a kernel to be developed by Philz and/or Chainfire. It's just been 2 weeks since its been available so I won't worry much about developer support. Right now I've just got root and deleted/uninstalled a lot of bloatware and disabled almost all features so my phone runs very fast. Also, using Foldermount I am able to install apps exceeding the internal storage capacity.
I got 2 extra batteries from eBay which are 3500 mah and I'm okay with the battery life so I'm just using one. As for popularity, I think it will be like the original Note where people started to like it when they saw it being used by others since just looking at the specs of it on paper is not as appealing as holding it in your hand and seeing that huge display for videos and games. Lots of other manufacturers are releasing phones over 6 inches and I'm sure it will be the norm next year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't realize it had only been two weeks. But yeah, same with me i guess. Rooted, got rid of the bloatware, uninstalled some apps. And now i can use the multi wondow manager.
mottyengel said:
People don't seem to understand the no bezel thing. A 7 inch phone and 7 inch tablet are two completely different sizes, all because of the lack of bezel. And I will keep buying bigger phones until they don't fit in my pocket anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm absolutely with you on that one mate. I'm actually hoping the go for the full 7" screen at some point.
I'm currently rocking the Note 2... I have bought a Mega 6.3" for the mrs and I'm waiting to see what the Note 3 will bring. However I think the Note 3 will be around 6" so the largest top spec device is going to be the Xperia X Ultra for some time, so thats what Im planning on going for (despite the limitations of non removable battery an no flash)... I'd love a 6.5 or 7" Note with small bezels, removable battery etc but I just cant see it being an option this year..
I do predict though that next year we will see some genuine top notch 7" convergence devices. Even with the new Xperia X Ultra if they had trimmed the top and bottom bezels they could have almost fitted a 7" screen into the same footprint. It would have to be "marginally" wider of course. Exciting times ahead I think. I know the tech industry moves fast, but its not moving fast enough for me lol
Bold move by Sony though. At least they are genuinely trying, even if they haven't quite hit it on the head yet.
baileyjr said:
I'm absolutely with you on that one mate. I'm actually hoping the go for the full 7" screen at some point.
I'm currently rocking the Note 2... I have bought a Mega 6.3" for the mrs and I'm waiting to see what the Note 3 will bring. However I think the Note 3 will be around 6" so the largest top spec device is going to be the Xperia X Ultra for some time, so thats what Im planning on going for (despite the limitations of non removable battery an no flash)... I'd love a 6.5 or 7" Note with small bezels, removable battery etc but I just cant see it being an option this year..
I do predict though that next year we will see some genuine top notch 7" convergence devices. Even with the new Xperia X Ultra if they had trimmed the top and bottom bezels they could have almost fitted a 7" screen into the same footprint. It would have to be "marginally" wider of course. Exciting times ahead I think. I know the tech industry moves fast, but its not moving fast enough for me lol
Bold move by Sony though. At least they are genuinely trying, even if they haven't quite hit it on the head yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear what you're saying, and I love the large screens, but that Xperia Ultra looks TOO damn big. I think they crossed the line with that one. I think that 6" is perfect for me, but i'm willing to do the Mega 6.3 because Samsung made it so thin and it looks stylish. But the Xperia Ultra kinda looks like a small brick. lol
This would be an ideal device for me if it only had apt-x support. Samsung build quality, large battery, great display, no Exynos(!!).
I have wireless speaker system at home and I use HS3000 headset a lot when I am commuting.
The difference in sound compared to standard Bluetooth A2DP is noticeable.
dante-fu said:
This would be an ideal device for me if it only had apt-x support. Samsung build quality, large battery, great display, no Exynos(!!).
I have wireless speaker system at home and I use HS3000 headset a lot when I am commuting.
The difference in sound compared to standard Bluetooth A2DP is noticeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it has apt X support as mentioned in the Engadget review
Anyway, we use Sonos so it's not a requirement for us.
Techngro said:
I hear what you're saying, and I love the large screens, but that Xperia Ultra looks TOO damn big. I think they crossed the line with that one. I think that 6" is perfect for me, but i'm willing to do the Mega 6.3 because Samsung made it so thin and it looks stylish. But the Xperia Ultra kinda looks like a small brick. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree and I'd have been happier with the mega form factor. Lets hope they see fit to outfit it with top specs at a later point.
baileyjr said:
I agree and I'd have been happier with the mega form factor. Lets hope they see fit to outfit it with top specs at a later point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a video of the Xperia ZU pocket test. I don't think you can walk comfortably with that in your pocket let alone sit or put it in your shirt pocket unlike the Mega. Even the ads for it never show it being put in the pocket, just in bags. The difference in screen size is just 0.1 inch (2.54 mm) which is almost negligible and for that small increase you get a phone that is 2.78 square inches bigger than the Mega plus onscreen buttons that take up to 10 mm of the screen. Also, on screen buttons can be a hassle specially when playing games because they are more prone to tapping.
Xperia Z
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
HTC One
Mega 6.3
Off screen buttons + bigger actual usable screen = better gaming experience
The price of the Xperia ZU is also questionable at the moment.
You can buy 2 Galaxy Mega 6.3s with over £110 left over with the pre-order price tag.
So how's the Mega like in low light? If you're using it in the bedroom at night with lamps turned off? Is it as bad as the Note 10.1 where light bleeds from the edges and blacks are grey?
GT-N7100 via Tapatalk 2
The pocket size is not really an issue for me. I wear loose bottoms most of the time at home/gym and don't even put my current phone (note 2) in my pocket while in the car or at work.
I admit the ultra certainly has its shortcomings, and without dismissing the mega 6.3 (I bought one for the mrs and she loves it), there really is noting else with real top end specs with the same real estate.
Give me a mega 6.3 with a 1080p screen and a snapgragon 800 and I'd be all over it. It just doesn't exist yet. While nobody can really say they really "need" all that extra horsepower I "want" it and thats enough for me to pay a premium. The device itself will only cost me £49 upfront on my current contract which is up for renewal.
Tubgirl said:
So how's the Mega like in low light? If you're using it in the bedroom at night with lamps turned off? Is it as bad as the Note 10.1 where light bleeds from the edges and blacks are grey?
GT-N7100 via Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using it right now in bed with the lights off and I can't see any light bleed on the screen. The blacks will not be as deep as AMOLED but it's very good. I actually like the fact that it's brighter than my original Note under sunlight and darker at night time which is great for the eyes.
---------- Post added at 11:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 PM ----------
baileyjr said:
The pocket size is not really an issue for me. I wear loose bottoms most of the time at home/gym and don't even put my current phone (note 2) in my pocket while in the car or at work.
I admit the ultra certainly has its shortcomings, and without dismissing the mega 6.3 (I bought one for the mrs and she loves it), there really is noting else with real top end specs with the same real estate.
Give me a mega 6.3 with a 1080p screen and a snapgragon 800 and I'd be all over it. It just doesn't exist yet. While nobody can really say they really "need" all that extra horsepower I "want" it and thats enough for me to pay a premium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure the Mega you wish for will be available next year. As for now, I'll enjoy the first gen Mega since I usually change my phone every year. Paying over double the price of the Mega for something which is not over double the advantage is not for me.
^^^^^^^^^ Logically your right of course, but been as my contract is up and its a case of having the mega 6.3 free of charge or paying £49 upfront for the Ultra Im not going to sweat it.. If i had to double down in cold hard cash and buy outright it would be a completely different senario.
baileyjr said:
^^^^^^^^^ Logically your right of course, but been as my contract is up and its a case of having the mega 6.3 free of charge or paying £49 upfront for the Ultra Im not going to sweat it.. If i had to double down in cold hard cash and buy outright it would be a completely different senario.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much do you pay each month and how long is the contact? Are they already offering the Xperia Z Ultra? What network is this?
gx3k said:
I'm using it right now in bed with the lights off and I can't see any light bleed on the screen. The blacks will not be as deep as AMOLED but it's very good. I actually like the fact that it's brighter than my original Note under sunlight and darker at night time which is great for the eyes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks... so what you're saying is that at night in bed you can actually make the Mega less bright than the Note2? If that's the case then it's great.
Brgds... /Tubgirl
gx3k said:
How much do you pay each month and how long is the contact? Are they already offering the Xperia Z Ultra? What network is this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im with 3 mobile uk. I pay £36 a month for 2000min 5000texts and unlimited data including teathering. Its a 2 year contract. Its been announced they will carry it in Sept. Upfront prices have been rumoured but not confirmed yet. The plan price will stay the same it always does its just the upfront cost that will vary. The £49 upfront sounds about right.
At the end of my contract I usually cancel and take another contract out with the same carrier through quidco the cash back site and get about 100 cash back
Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Tubgirl said:
Thanks... so what you're saying is that at night in bed you can actually make the Mega less bright than the Note2? If that's the case then it's great.
Brgds... /Tubgirl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I need an app to get the original Note's brightness down to acceptable levels at night which I don't need with the Mega.
---------- Post added at 10:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 AM ----------
baileyjr said:
Im with 3 mobile uk. I pay £36 a month for 2000min 5000texts and unlimited data including teathering. Its a 2 year contract. Its been announced they will carry it in Sept. Upfront prices have been rumoured but not confirmed yet. The plan price will stay the same it always does its just the upfront cost that will vary. The £49 upfront sounds about right.
At the end of my contract I usually cancel and take another contract out with the same carrier through quidco the cash back site and get about 100 cash back
Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. So the £49 up front is not official, being the most expensive phablet/smartphone at the moment I expect the upfront cost to be higher.
£36 x 24 months + £49 upfront = £913 is not bad if you use most of the included minutes, texts, and data.
I just use an Ovivo SIM which give me 150 minutes, 250 texts, and 500MB data every month for FREE so I just look at the actual cost of the phone.
^^^^^^^^^ The upfront cost is going to be same as a 32gb or 64gb iphone 5.
The ebay link posted on the previous page is inflated. You can order for Expansys for £639 http://www.androidorigin.com/sony-x...se-date-set-to-september-13-priced-at-639-99/
By comparison the 32gig iphone 5 is £599 and the 64gb is £699. But yeah using that rational the xperia Z Ultra upfront cost should be about £150... Three charge £129 upfront for the 32gig iphone.
Theres not that much difference in their price plans...The basic ones (with devices) start about £30, and the unlimited one is £36. I have been known to download torrents and teather my laptop to the phone so its nice just not to have to worry about worrying out of date etc
How's the loudspeaker compared to the Note2? Let's say if you're showing a YouTube clip to someone... which one is louder?
Brgds...
Tubgirl said:
How's the loudspeaker compared to the Note2? Let's say if you're showing a YouTube clip to someone... which one is louder?
Brgds...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a Note 2 to compare it with but I don't have to put the volume to max when showing youtube videos to others with my Mega 6.3.
I decided to go with the Alpha (Exynos) rather than the Nexus 6 for two reasons. First, having had a Note 2 and then a few phones later an LG3, I am tired of having a big phone, especially since I use a tablet to browse on the train. Second, I have always been jealous of the iPhone crowd having such nice looking phones.
The Alpha is the nicest Android phone to hold that I have ever had, and I have owned a few....
The pictures don't do it credit. The screen is simply beautiful. The metal feels fantastic. The whole feel is, to use a cliché, premium.
On the first day, I did a lot of remote desktop access and playing on the internet. It got very hot. Much hotter than the LG G3. Battery didn't last the day. What was worrying was that I if I used it for a short while, it got very hot very quickly.
On my second day, I turned battery saving on but only to limit the CPU (ie I left screen normal and location on). Totally different phone. Doesn't get hot at all and battery life much better ( I didn't have enough screen time to say I tested it properly - 83% from 9am to 9pm with minimal use).
Slowing the CPU made no difference to the ui. No lag and apps work fine.
As far as Touchwiz is concerned, it is OK. I have owned most of the Nexus phones and flashed many Cyanogen Roms and if I had a choice I would have preferred a GPE phone. However, once you get past the OCD about stopping all the Samsung bloatware draining the phone, you realize the ui is fine and you concentrate on the apps rather than the launcher. I switched off all the Samsung bells and whistles too....and there are a few!
I am waiting for the wireless charging back cover to arrive. Once I have that, I might disable the battery saving and see how it goes but on the other hand, I might just leave it on. I don't play games on my phone so I don't need a Ferrari engine to surf the internet or read my emails. And the heat it generated before can't be good for the phone or the battery.
All in all, very happy with the phone. I get a kick out of just holding it and looking at that screen... Sad! As a guy who changes phones every 3 to 4 months, I can give this phone a huge compliment: this is the first phone I really don't want to replace since my HTC HD2.
Update: After having used the phone for a few days, I am happy to report that the battery life is more than adequate. Starting at 7am, using 4G mobile hotspot for an hour, checking and responding to emails and making about three to four calls, I still have around 60 to 70% battery by 9pm.
I have the same situation and i pick alpha over any flagship fone for same reason Iike yours. Now Im waiting for spare batteries to be available in amazon or e abay, so I just swap the batteries if I run out... Instant 100% charge
you just say whats in my heart , i got many phones and they were awesome last one was the beast LG G3 and i was hating samsung phone due to many apps that included with UI touchwize but then when i saw galaxy alpha everything changed in my mind and i bring one as to be my long last phone to use each day , really smooth device even using battery saving mode and fits great in hand , you will love it more each day you will use it
I'm loving the look and feel of this phone I'll probably keep this one for awhile. I was upgrading from the nexus devices every year but the nexus 6 was a bit too big for me and I prefer the form factor of 4.7 inch phones.
It sems that we cant open ART in Developer option on Alpha,only Note 4 have this possability for now
And how is Your experience with galaxy Alfa and how it compare to Galaxy S5?
I just got an AT&T Alpha for $352.65 from eBay, which is supposed to be new but I think the seller lied (the home button has quite a number of scratches) but no big deal. I have to say I love this phone the most out of all the phones I've ever owned (iPhone 3G, 3GS, 5S, HTC EVO 4G, EVO 3D, S3, Note 2, Note 3, Note 4, Moto X). It's because of the look and build - very handsome and attractive, the size - I think it hits the perfect sweet spot of size for me, removable battery, and reasonably fast performance. I can now stop wanting to change my phone for a long while. Samsung should have continued with the Alpha and keep improving on it.
My first impressions :
1. Excellent design and feel
2. Powerful with 0 lag!!!
3. Very good screen ( super amoled in HD resolution is great for 4.7 inches )
4.Very good camera
5.Very good deep sleep of the battery
It's the first time i can't find something negative to tell about a smartphone. :good: Keep in mind that i don't play heavy games or surf the web a lot, so the small capacity of the battery is something that will not affect my opinion about Alpha.
Great work Samsung I was a hater all these years. Now i love you
Wow, sounds like a few of us are the same, I had the LG G3 but sold it. Probably the worst phone I've ever used, laggy, bad battery life and terrible camera. Planning on ordering an Alpha in the next few days, $300 brand new isn't bad. Can't wait!
Edit: its $260 new on eBay!
YOu know what I like about the ALpha is it square design, the ohter Galaxy devices are more rounded off and I think looks more childish instead this Samsung device looks more professional for my taste also it lays better in the hands wish it was a little bit smaller in the wide and it would have been perfect but then again I got woman hands ... I'm really happy with this phone except the finger scan kinda sucks, bcz it works half ass ...
But I'm on a big dillema now I received an email they gonna fix my Sony Z3 compact when I put in water but the sleeves werent closed off enough ... Anyway I don't know wich device I will keep now, I loved my Xperia bcz it fitted me better to the hand except it's little thicker and it's kinda plastic also the sound sucks ... Now the alpha dropped with 100 euros I can't ask as much as I wanted anymore don't know how much the Xperia dropped mean while ... I'm leaning more towards the Xperia bcz it's more compact to my woman hands But I love the design of the ALpha Really difficult choices to make also the price of selling the device will come in mind with this ...
I'm fed up with the growing size of modern smartphones, and really miss the good old days of sub 5" displays. Someone recently pointed out that the Galaxy Alpha was one of the last 4.7" phones that tried to be somewhat "premium" rather than watered down minis. I have to say, the Alpha does appear to check off a lot of my boxes re: what I'm looking for, but I have 2 somewhat major concerns:
1) Support seems nearly non-existent, with last official firmware ending at 5.0.
2) BATTERY APPEARS TINY. I mean, ridiculously small- even my last 4" phones had 2000+mah batteries. I used to carry spares for my Galaxy S4, and that was easily 50% more than the OEM on this thing.
I could deal with #1, 5.0 isn't that bad and I see there's some Cyanogen love up in here somewhere. The second issue is more concerning to me- I see there is a kit to extend the battery with a larger capacity cell and back, but I'm not sure if that's just a "good-enough" solution if you already owned the phone, or if it really is reliable enough to use going into this from the start. What do you guys think? Is there anything else perhaps I should be considering?
Elegant piece of hardware. Reliability, screen quality, weight, speed etc. all great... It's a great phone, but i you like AOSP / Cyanogenmod and/or hate Touchwiz, you'll have to deal with call quality anda camera problems when you install ROMs.
Battery is not an issue for me. Maybe because the resolution is 720p "only".
Light weight is a major plus for me. 115 grams!!!
Hi,
I've bought mine from a eBay seller from China. Paid US $195.00 for it. Quite happy as i was looking to buy a Alpha from some time. Charcoal Black. Indeed the battery lasts a bit quickly, but after i changed some settings, it holds almost for a day. Managed to buy the 2500 mAh battery + extended battery cover Samsung kit from a Estonian online store a few days ago. Totally happy now
(PS: Regarding the Samsung support, the Alpha may get Marshmallow, but it will be the last device to receive it, maybe around December 2016, early 2017...)
Hey Dishe,
I won't talk about the specs, just my personal experience.
I have my Alpha for over a year now and it's still snappy and satisfies all my needs. Because of it's elegant design, and the fact that it's a pretty rare phone, people think it's a new model. I like that the screen is 4.7" because I can use with one hand and don't even feel it in my pocket.
The only thing that bugs me a little is the small 1800 mah battery. Now my battery is pretty old and on moderate usage it can make it through the day, but When I'm heavy on maps, youtube and games I have to charge it twice, so powerbank is a must. You can flash duki994's kernel and undervolt the cpu to lower the power consumption, I'm planning on doing that.
I think this is still the best small android out there and to me it feels more premium than new flagship phones.
@RaceJay can you pm me with that estonian website where you got the 2500 mah battery kit?
yeah i have mine for 2 years .. iam fully satisfied .. as all people here the battery is the problem .. but guess what happened ,, 2 days ago i bought 3 batteries from a store .. i opened 3 alpha phones and bought 3 original batteries , i dont care what will this guy do .. but as a pro in android and samsung phone iam sure 100% original .. 3 batt fro 90$ and now iam using one and playing doom 3 on medium graphics it lasts 3 hours .. without any heating problems ..i took 2 batteries for me and one for my gf ...
yeah its worth buying ,, iam not like idiot people who buy every year a phone and they dont know what is the meaning of phone and os .. just for showing off .. i have 2 galaxy alpha phones one is doing my job and the other i left it for any accidental issues ... w.r.t roms .. xda forum has many roms and kernels so its not necessary to find a popular phone other alpha ... i have every thing .. tchaw
Wondering the same. But I heard the CM ROMs aren't very stable.
Yes, very good phone.
Can you give me the link with the info about MM for Alpha? Where you have seen it?
You could consider the xperia z5 compact or x compact. Batteries are non removable but I heard they could have 5+ SOT easily. Only thing is that they are quite ugly.