Which Samsung?

jrswizzle · Jan 3, 2013

Note 2 or Galaxy S3?

I would buy either off contract and the GS3 is cheaper. My main goal would be to get a feel for a larger screen and the Android/customROM scene. Anything cheaper ya'll would recommend?

F123D · Jan 3, 2013

At this point, it's the Note II or wait for the S4. Unless you're getting the S3 for really cheap.

Stooby Mcdoobie · Jan 3, 2013

I'm partial to the S3. I had a 'hard enough' time adjusting to the 4.8" screen coming from my iPhone 4's screen. I can't even imagine going to the Note 2 (S3 barely fits in my pocket as is), but many here seem to like it. Don't think you can really go wrong with either - just go to a store and play with the display models so you can get a feel for which one you like more.

jrswizzle · Jan 3, 2013

F123D said:
At this point, it's the Note II or wait for the S4. Unless you're getting the S3 for really cheap.

Hmm - I just realized the N4 is pretty cheap - since LTE isn't a huge factor for me for a secondary phone, how does it compare? I've read some decent things about it, save for the LTE and microSD missing (both of which I can do without)

What do you see as "really cheap"

LSUtigers03 · Jan 3, 2013

I would go with the Note 2. I have an S3 and I want a Note 2. The S3 is an awesome phone but the Note 2 is on a whole different level. I've spent a good amount of time playing around with the Note 2 and I love it. My reason for not buying the Note 2 is I'm going to wait and use my upgrade for the S4.

jrswizzle · Jan 3, 2013

LSUtigers03 said:
I would go with the Note 2. I have an S3 and I want a Note 2. The S3 is an awesome phone but the Note 2 is on a whole different level. I've spent a good amount of time playing around with the Note 2 and I love it. My reason for not buying the Note 2 is I'm going to wait and use my upgrade for the S4.

I currently don't have an upgrade to use and I would still be using my iP5 as my primary device - just looking for a high end Android phone as cheap as possible haha....

The Nexus 4 looks good - though out of stock.

3bs · Jan 3, 2013

I would go with the S3 because it'll be easier to adjust to. You're already coming from a pretty small phone and the Note 2 might be too big but that's just my opinion. The battery life on the Note 2 is insane and that's the main thing I'm jealous about.

I had an international S3 for a few months and I loved the phone. Everything about it. I even miss it now and I own a Nexus 4 which does better in most aspects (except camera).

The smart thing would be to wait for the S4 but that'll be bigger and in between the S3 and Note 2 but performance will obviously be better. It might take some time for the custom ROMs to start showing up for it while there are a bunch of custom ROMs and mods already out there (at least for the international S3). You should take that into consideration too.

Irishman · Jan 3, 2013

jrswizzle said:
Note 2 or Galaxy S3?

I would buy either off contract and the GS3 is cheaper. My main goal would be to get a feel for a larger screen and the Android/customROM scene. Anything cheaper ya'll would recommend?

The Galaxy S3 really is the best choice if you're only into Android.

rans0m00 · Jan 3, 2013

I jumped ship to a note 2... It's large but not so large I can't get used to it. Another to consider is the HTC dna... The nexus 4 is a sweet phone for the price.

Right now I would wait to see what the s4 is going to have and go from there.

I learned quickly that how happy I am with a phone comes from how much support is available for it. Android phones are not like Apple.... An update might be out for the note 2 but since you are on att the update is unavailable. So comes down to rooting and flashing a custom rom that has all the updates on it.

Support from Samsung seems almost non existent and carrier support is very slow.

Also support always seems to be better for the international versions instead of carrier specific but you make trade offs for that... Like maybe no lte.

3bs · Jan 3, 2013

rans0m00 said:
I jumped ship to a note 2... It's large but not so large I can't get used to it. Another to consider is the HTC dna... The nexus 4 is a sweet phone for the price.

Right now I would wait to see what the s4 is going to have and go from there.

I learned quickly that how happy I am with a phone comes from how much support is available for it. Android phones are not like Apple.... An update might be out for the note 2 but since you are on att the update is unavailable. So comes down to rooting and flashing a custom rom that has all the updates on it.

Support from Samsung seems almost non existent and carrier support is very slow.

Also support always seems to be better for the international versions instead of carrier specific but you make trade offs for that... Like maybe no lte.

Yeah I saw a guy complaining about the lack of custom ROMs and devs working on one of the US variants of the Note 2. He ended up selling it and getting an S3 but he's really into custom ROMs.

strausd · Jan 3, 2013

I had a 4S and bought a Nexus 4 to test out Android with the intention to keep my 4S as my primary phone. Now my 4S is in its box and hasn't been touched in a long time.

I would suggest the Nexus 4 as it is most comparable to an iPhone IMO. That is mainly due to instant updates, carrier bloatware free, and manufacturer bloatware free.

And if you are interested in custom ROMs, the S3, Note II, and Nexus 4 will all have a lot available. But it seems that developers prefer working for Nexus devices.

LSUtigers03 · Jan 3, 2013

jrswizzle said:
I currently don't have an upgrade to use and I would still be using my iP5 as my primary device - just looking for a high end Android phone as cheap as possible haha....

The Nexus 4 looks good - though out of stock.

Getting the S3 will be the cheapest option. If you get one used in good condition you'll pay less that you would for a new Nexus 4 and you won't have to wait weeks.

daveathall · Jan 3, 2013

I have both the S3 and N4 and would recommend either as a superb phone, the Nexus, IMHO is the better value but the S3 has extra features that you may (or may not) like to have. I preferred the S3 over the iPhone 5 I previously had, I say preferred as opposed to thinking it was better, neither are better, they are both brilliant, but just do things differently. From what you say you can keep your iP5 and have either a N4 or S3, great position, you may want to wait slightly longer and sample the S4. Good luck on your decision, I predict that whatever you choose, you will enjoy.

cheezeit · Jan 3, 2013

Im local to you (frisco) Go with the Nexus if you want the pure android experience. if its going to be a backup phone it'll stay up with the updates from android a lot better than the S3. You'll get the best of both worlds and have a true google experience google wants you to have.

You should be able to snag some on clist for not too much over retail after you factor shipping and tax.

rans0m00 · Jan 3, 2013

3bs said:
Yeah I saw a guy complaining about the lack of custom ROMs and devs working on one of the US variants of the Note 2. He ended up selling it and getting an S3 but he's really into custom ROMs.

I'm on the att note 2 and if you want to keep the Samsung touchwiz features I have found roms that are good for me.... If you don't care about the Samsung stuff and want a stock Android experience I don't see why people would buy a note anyways but the roms seem a little lacking. On the att note 2 might want to look at cleanrom or jedi. I went with jedi... Keeps all the touchwiz stuff with a little bit of nice.

3bs · Jan 3, 2013

rans0m00 said:
I'm on the att note 2 and if you want to keep the Samsung touchwiz features I have found roms that are good for me.... If you don't care about the Samsung stuff and want a stock Android experience I don't see why people would buy a note anyways but the roms seem a little lacking. On the att note 2 might want to look at cleanrom or jedi. I went with jedi... Keeps all the touchwiz stuff with a little bit of nice.

I agree a Note 2 should be used with TouchWiz because of all the cool features. On my s3 I used CM10/Paranoid Android most of the time but eventually went on to Omega.

rans0m00 · Jan 3, 2013

3bs said:
I agree a Note 2 should be used with TouchWiz because of all the cool features. On my s3 I used CM10/Paranoid Android most of the time but eventually went on to Omega.

Been wanting to try out omega and tried out the cm10 port also the pa one... Both good but if I lose most of my spen function then I might as well picked up an HTC dna or something without the spen

3bs · Jan 3, 2013

rans0m00 said:
Been wanting to try out omega and tried out the cm10 port also the pa one... Both good but if I lose most of my spen function then I might as well picked up an HTC dna or something without the spen

I know that some AOSP based ROMs have S pen features but I can't remember which.

rans0m00 · Jan 3, 2013

Hmm haven't found one yet with good enough support for spen. Could be a lack of looking too... After I decided I was content with jedi I mostly quit looking and instead of playing with my phone I just use it and minor playing with theming

jrswizzle · Jan 3, 2013

I think the Nexus 4 is going to be the one. I've never been a fan of Samsung and would like quick updates and the "pure Android experience" so to speak.

Will be replacing my iP4S at work.

Edit: I realize I asked which Samsung - I hadn't really looked at the Nexus 4 until now!

rans0m00 · Jan 3, 2013

I thought about grabbing a nexus 4 too. Hope you enjoy it!

jrswizzle · Jan 3, 2013

rans0m00 said:
I thought about grabbing a nexus 4 too. Hope you enjoy it!

Hope I can get one before the next Nexus phone arrives! Haha....thanks.

maflynn · Jan 4, 2013

The N4 is a great option because you don't have to wait for samsung to release an android update. The downside is that samsung has some really great features.

If you like the size of the NOTE, I'd go with that. Great battery life, lots of features and performance.

Sounds Good · Jan 4, 2013

jrswizzle said:
Note 2 or Galaxy S3?

Welcome to MY dilemma.

Although at this point I might wait to see the S4, then choose one of the three.

Esoom · Jan 4, 2013

For me it would be the Note II, because of the giant screen and quad cores.

The S3 is a great phone, I have one, but I lust after the Note II.

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