Looking to upgrade to Android Phone

[Yt Trash]

So my contract has been up for a few months. Was waiting for the Iphone 5 and I'm no longer impressed by Apple. Having been a user since 2007 I'm taking a leap into the unknown. I've tried researching for Androids and I just get blitzed with information. I'm looking into the Galaxy S3. Where do I start once I switch?

Let's keep the jokes about being an Apple fanboy for so long to a minimum. I have 30 days to switch back, so In that 30 days I want to be comfortable using a new OS phone. If you suggest another phone, please list pro's and con's.

I can also switch carriers, but I'd like to stay with the bigger ones since I can have the "family plans." TIA

[Jezter]

The switch shouldn't be too difficult. Android is very easy to learn to use, but if you want to spend any amount of extra time playing with it, you can harness it to do more than what it does out of the packet. That is a definite bonus in Android. I wont spend time mocking Apple as I do it enough already, but I want to congratulate you for seeing the light and shedding your sheep skin. ;)

What comes to the phones, you can't go wrong with the Galaxy S III. It is rather large handset though and that is pretty much only thing I don't like about it. Sure, the screen is big and beautiful, but it is almost like carrying a tablet in your pocket... I still like my phones compact sized, but I know the trend is now to go bigger. Like mentioned, the screen is absolutely amazing cuz it is so big and excellent quality. Performance is top notch with the 1.5GHz dual-core and Adreno GPU. Battery is huge 2100mAh. Plus as usual, expandable storage, NFC, FullHD camera etc. Really is the king of smartphones at the moment.

Another interesting one in my opinion is HTC One X. It is like a copy of Galaxy S III. Size is about the same as in the S III and they've tried to mimic the specs and get pretty close. But the main difference is the price; HTC is a lot cheaper. So in that sense, it has a very good quality-price ratio.

I don't know for which carriers these are available and how differently they price them as it is so confusing over there... different carriers may give a slightly different name to the phones etc. and so the market becomes a little confusing as the same phone (maybe with slight branding differences) may range in price a lot. But once you get the phone, no matter what carrier, you can get rid of all the bloatware and branding if you so wish. May void warranties tho...but atleast you'd get to unleash the full power of your phone and get a longer life out of it. No need to buy a new same phone every year, with a minimal change like in Apple... ;)
And just for fun...

SIII specs on left vs iPhone 5 specs on right


screen
Appreciably higher screen resolution 720 x 1280 px vs 640 x 1136 px 27% higher screen resolution
Bigger screen size 4.8" vs 4.0" 20% bigger screen size 94%
connectivity
Has NFC Yes vs No Near-field-communication (NFC) allows wireless transactions like payments
Has an HDMI output Yes vs No Video and movies can be watched on a TV with HDMI input
Has a MicroSD slot Yes vs No Internal Storage can be extended with MicroSD cards
Has DLNA Yes vs No It can stream videos and movies to other devices over-the-air
os
Plays Adobe Flash Yes vs No Adobe Flash with Video and Sound is supported in the phone's browser
The browser has word wrap Yes vs No The web browser has automatic word wrap when zooming, the user can easily read long lines without scrolling horizontally.
power
Has a removable battery Yes vs No The battery is removable and can be replaced by the user if broken
Can be charged via standard USB cable Yes vs No It can be charged with a standard USB cable with your computer or with USB power supplies
Wireless charging Yes vs No It can be charged w/o any plugs and wires similar to electric shavers or toothbrushes (as extra)
Appreciably more battery power 2,100mAh vs 1,418mAh 49% more battery power 87%
camera
Vastly faster maximum shutter speed 1/10000s vs 1/2000s 5x faster maximum shutter speed . A faster maximum shutter speed allows taking pictures of fast moving subjects without blur.
Vastly longer exposure 1.0' vs 1/15s 0.934s longer exposure. Exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the image sensor during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds. It allows to take shots in the night capturing the movement of lights.
Has manual focus Yes vs No This allows to manually set the focus.
Substantially more megapixel (photo, front camera) 1.9 vs 1.2 1.6x more megapixel (photo, front camera)
Has a serial shot mode Yes vs No You can shoot multiple pictures in a row
cpu
Explicitly faster CPU clock speed 4x 1.4Ghz vs 2x 1.0Ghz 2.8x faster CPU clock speed

[redred]

if you do make the change this may come in handy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9faYTj4T5s&feature=player_embedded

i'd make the change over if i was you, that new iphone doesn't seem to offer anything in the wow factor imo and some of the 'new' features are on the galaxy s2 which has been upgraded by the s3 ,but like jez the only thing that bugs me is the size of it so get one in your hands to test before you buy :tup:

[Goofy]

I absolutely love my S2, if i was buying a new one right now it'd be the S3 for sure :tup: I never had any fancy phones prior to it but it didnt take me too long to figure it all out....... if i can do it then anyone can :lol:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

My wife switched from iPhone 4 to the s3 and she loves it. It super slim and fast as hell. I have the galaxy nexus witch is a bit older. But in my opinion you can't go wrong with the Samsungs

[Yt Trash]

if you do make the change this may come in handy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9faYTj4T5s&feature=player_embedded

i'd make the change over if i was you, that new iphone doesn't seem to offer anything in the wow factor imo and some of the 'new' features are on the galaxy s2 which has been upgraded by the s3 ,but like jez the only thing that bugs me is the size of it so get one in your hands to test before you buy :tup:


So I picked up the phone last night. Great phone. Playing with it, I can now understand some of the lawsuits going back and forth from Iphone to Samsung. There are quite a few similarities between the phones and gestures alike. The learning curve is easier than expected.

I used the above app to move my contacts and music to the new phone, Including DRM stuff I bought from Apple surprisingly. Something the guy at Verizon told me was not possible.

Also I see quite a few security apps. Is this something I should be concerned with? Do I need an Antivirus app on this thing? I never had one on the iphone. Just wondering.

Thanks for the input.

[redred]

Tbh I've now had 2 droid phones and not 1 virus imo if you get your apps from a known source ie play store you should be ok .but i have installed app brain ad aware which warns you if there's any naughty push ads

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I run Lookout Mobile Security on my SII

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout

It's free (but also has a paid version) and very highly rated, I like it a lot

[Jezter]

So I picked up the phone last night. Great phone. Playing with it, I can now understand some of the lawsuits going back and forth from Iphone to Samsung. There are quite a few similarities between the phones and gestures alike. The learning curve is easier than expected.

I used the above app to move my contacts and music to the new phone, Including DRM stuff I bought from Apple surprisingly. Something the guy at Verizon told me was not possible.

Also I see quite a few security apps. Is this something I should be concerned with? Do I need an Antivirus app on this thing? I never had one on the iphone. Just wondering.

Thanks for the input.
It is full of bloatware and since it is the US, they probably packed it with the Antivirus stuff just cuz people would complain if they didn't and probably sue someone. There aren't many confirmed cases of Viruses spreading on Android devices and the couple that did surface were quickly killed off by Google. As Google does have a kill switch feature where it can delete the harmful app from users devices and from market. If you plan on mostly using stuff from Play store, you should be safe without any. If you plan on playing with your phone more and load stuff outside from Play store, you can run an antivirus just in case. I personally haven't found it necessary.

[Noilly Pratt]

I'm not wanting to turn this into an Apple bashing contest...I like Apple for their innovative thinking in this area.

I've heard a lot of minor frustration is that now Apple has changed their docking connectors - their adapter costs $30 + dollars when the part should be $10 at the most. It's that kind of thinking that'll cause some to switch.

My sister in law was thinking of getting an Android phone, and, like you, was overwhelmed with info, so she got one of those simple Android for Dummies book and it really cleared a lot of the geeky fog for her.

[Jezter]

...I like Apple for their innovative thinking in this area.



I disagree with that... they haven't been very innovative with their phones at all. Same old shit repacked and losing in specs and features to Android devices time after time... And your example of the connector change is a very good example of their greed. No innovation there, just greed. Unless changing the size and adding shitty maps and camera is innovation by Apple standards. :razz:

/ENDAPPLEBASH

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Like Siri? That android had since the beginning :lol:

[Muddy]

I feel like I've entered a weird place with a bunch of Fbd's that are insane over a stupid phone..

[Jezter]

Like Siri? That android had since the beginning :lol:

Yeah... they are masters at stealing others patents and then quickly suing others. As soon as they stopped with using Nokia's antenna solutions, they had the antennagate..now switched to their own maps and massive fail. Wonder whose camera patents they were using before, cuz now they fucked that up as well. The only thing they have is the Retina display. And the panels are Samsung made... :D