yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III General] Toss3:
Eh, taking out the battery != restarting the phone by holding down the power button.

32GB? I've already used up the 48Gb I've got available on my SGS2, and have now ordered a 64Gb MicroSDXC card to replace the old 32Gb one, so 32GB is definitely not enough for some. Also having your music/movies with you on the go also saves battery life, as you don't have to stream everything from the cloud. I also don't think having a slow external sd-card would slow down your phone by a whole lot, considering Android scans the memory card every time you restart your phone.

I can also use disk drive mode on my SGS2 so I don't see what your are getting at?
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
I disagree with you. Based on what people (not XDA'rs) do with their phones, they're completely interchangable. Hell, when you look at the way phones are typically used the SGS2 is still overkill. Buying a newer more advanced phone is an emotional decision not a practical one. If you look at the top consumption and creation tasks while you may

want

one, you certainly don't

need

a quad-core processor or HD display.

But since both phones are obviously capable, and it's an emotional purchase, things like the display, design, and even status are bigger influencers. Choices made by both Samsung and HTC have nothing to do with the 5% of us power users on XDA; we don't pay the bills. So based on the needs of the average user, things like a non-replacable battery, fixed storage, and a PenTile display, which are practical probably play a secondary role in the purchase decision. Things like Beats audio, S-Voice, burst photos, and Sense/TW, things we don't get excited about, appeal to the masses. If everyone on XDA boycotted Samsung and they sell 20MM SGS3's that's 1MM phones; phone they'd probably be able to sell elsewhere. We are not the audience either Samsung or HTC are aiming to please. And our opinions won't effect sales of the One X or SGS3 one way or another.

This was a survey taken last month of the way college students (a younger demographic) use their smartphones.
[Galaxy S III General] Arsaw:
+1.... Designed that doesn't benefit consumers must not be supported. Even Sony is doing much better than HTC with their new flagship - SE GX and SX. Stunning phones :D
[Galaxy S III General] tbong777:
I agree with you to a point and The proof of your statement lies in the fact that people are still buying the iPhone in droves. :eek: The point I was making is in the hardware dept the HOX is closer to the iphone than the S3 and that is a major difference, as are the launchers. although I don't use native launchers.

I do seem to remember Motorola was pressured into unlocking their boot loaders. Given that such a small percentage of users even care about that sort of thing, I have to think those of us who are more or less "hobbyists" about these things have some sway through the social networks technolological review websites like Engadget. Everyday people do seek out reviews of technological devices from washing machines to TVs and these cellphones, which are written by the likes of the "emotional about these things" people who frequent sites like XDA.

Bad news can get out quickly about a device whether or not that information is applicable to actual logic or application by the end user.

We are more emotional about these things as evidenced by this thread. But the general public at the end of the day ether reads reviews or is swayed by the sales person and if enough people pan something, it's not gonna fly. EVEN if it's better!!

Beta vs VHS all over again.....
[Galaxy S III General] lucidox:
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned much, but Sprint's variant of the One X includes Micro-SD support, as well as a kickstand. It'll be called the EVO 4G LTE.

For me, this is the only alternative to the SGSIII, though I'm still deciding between the two for my upgrade. It'll probably come down to which CPUs they come with in the U.S.
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
I debated this, a lot. Then I thought about how I used my SGS2. When I got it I also ordered two additional batteries because I travel frequently. In the eleven months I used the phone I needed to swap the battery probably five times. Even though I had extra batteries I still plugged the phone in while driving, on airplanes, and docked it at home. In the end I decided my need for a replaceable battery was more psychological than practical. That's me, YMMV.

This is always going to a big YMMV. Again, when I got my SGS2 I also got a class 10 32GB SD card for it. With 48GB of storage available I never passed the point of needing what was available with the stock 16GB. Primary consumers of space were music and photos/video I took. I have a 32GB 3G G-Tab 10.1 and use that for video consumption as I'd imagine a lot of people with both tablets and phones do. Even there, I use Plex and PlayOn and primarily stream vs. store movies locally. I’ll download movies for long flights and then replace them with new movies the next trip. While it's nice to replicate a 1K album music library everywhere it's, to me, overkill. I rotate the music on my phone based on my mood and if there's something I feel like that's not on it I'll buy it, download it from the Amazon cloud, or pull it off my home server. So 32GB of fixed storage with online access to the rest of my stuff is fine (for me). With "the cloud" becoming a household word and 25/50GB of storage being free I think the acceptability of remote vs. local storage is going to grow. At least with remote you're not constantly moving files around only to find out what you're looking for isn't there.

Keep in mind that as we debate this stuff, our very individual wants and needs may represent the single digit percentages of users. Both Samsung and HTC spend gazillions of dollars on market research before landing on a design decision; they’re not made in a vacuum. I’m guessing in HTC’s case that they thought the customers they’d lose because of the non-replaceable battery and fixed storage would be more than made up by people attracted to the phone’s design. Same thing with Samsung’s decision to focus on the soft aspects of the SGS3 vs. power and h/w. No phone is ever going to please everyone equally.
[Galaxy S III General] tbong777:
Makes sense for Sprint who still promotes low cost unlimited data plans to want to have more users with their media on board and not streaming. LOL ATT wants people to USE DATA...They eliminated the FM radio! I do use the radio to record talk shows I listen to later or live. Far less battery used and no data.
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
1MB d/l speeds if you're lucky, CDMA which is useless outside the U.S., and a company that's losing subscribers at a horrifying pace; I'll pass. Besides, while it's personal opinion, Sprint's pimped out version of the One X took away what attracted me to the phone in the first place.
[Galaxy S III General] Arsaw:
I cannot see why having a replaceable battery and sd card slot would effect HTC designed. SGS3 is still thinner than HOX by 0.3mm. I think HTC is just trying to catch the attention by having a designed that no other OEMs have ever produce before for Android. Is bad strategy for HTC in long run. Very bad.
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
For your scenario and experiences it seems like you wouldn't need a removable battery at all times. But let me ask you this.What about if your battery malfunctions for whatever reason? And you need to take the battery out and replace it? Most consumers aren't going to know or want to take the phone completely apart to get to the battery.

Or if something happens like your phone gets wet? I've saved 3 friends phones when their phone got wet I immediately took it from them, took the battery out and let it air dry. My friend and his GF got pushed into a pool as a joke. Her iphone broke and his Dell Aero was saved thankfully.

I've also had to swap batteries with a friend on the go when they were expecting a call and their battery died.

Sure being able to replace your battery seems like a luxury feature at times, but if you could choose between having a non-replaceable one and a replaceable one wouldn't you choose the latter?
[Galaxy S III General] funb0b:
I completely agree with you :)

I have made similar statements before & they always seem to get ignored ;)

In 12/18months when the battery in said sealed device starts to degrade or goes completely DC, what then !!! :confused:
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
Given a choice I'd choose a replaceable battery. I think most people would; there's no downside really. But, at least for me, it wasn't a deal breaker. If it meant changing the design of the phone though I'd have to think about it. The design's what attracted me to the phone in the first place. I also have a Sparq which is high output and can get me to 30% in less than an hour in case I ever get stranded. I freaked out a little when I first got it because the battery life seemed awful. After a few cycles it's about 90% of my SGS2 which, to me, isn't bad. I get through the day pretty easily. It would be great to pick and choose the best features of the SGS3 and One X and combine them in to a single phone but life's not that simple. ;)

---------- Post added at 11:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 AM ----------

That's physically impossible. The One X’s battery is rated for 800 charge cycles. And a cycle is defined as a full charge (100%) from a complete discharge (0%). A charge from 50% is a half charge cycle. So if you went from 0% to 100% every day the battery wouldn't need to be replaced for over two years. And it'll last longer on average because 0% to 100% every day consistently for two years is pretty extreme. The same debate takes place with every device with a sealed battery. If replaceable batteries were as an important selection criteria as you guys were making it out to be no one would buy Apple products or Android tablets. I'd still prefer it though.
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
I part of me wonders if Samsung has some kind of patent on the way they keep their covers latched onto the backs of their phone. I haven't really seen anyone really design something similar and that would be a good explanation as to why a removable cover with that thin of a device is difficult. Another part of me knows we can dig through the patents but I'm way too lazy to search for it.

I know material has a lot to do with it as well. No one wants to use that thin of a durable ceramic or sheet metal as well.

I design flight simulators with often times very large bezels, but when I look inside of a phone it freaks me the hell out. It sure takes a lot of trial and error for these designers to design the way they do. Makes me really appreciate cellphones that much more.
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
You give the manufacturers way too much credit. As an engineer you can appreciate function over form. Marketing gets ahead of the engineers some times and it's a disaster. Antenna-gate on the iPhone, Wi-Fi-gate on the Sensation, and Wi-Fi on the iPad2 being worse than the original. The Asus Prime has been a wireless disaster because the back cover is solid metal. No engineer would green light such a stupid decision. Sometimes form over function works, sometimes it doesn't. No doubt HTC took risks with the One's; we'll have to wait until they report their earnings to see whether they paid off. Same thing with Samsung when we compare sales pace of the SGS3 to the SGS2. You get *****ed at for being complacent when you don't change the formula and you get *****ed at if you do. Rock and a hard place. I hope they both succeed, it's good for the industry and competition.

What do you guys think of this design? It's Sony's new high-end device with similar specs to the SGS3 and One X. It's not as radical but is that good or bad? I'm just curious about your thoughts on the design, not Sony or the phone in particular.
[Galaxy S III General] funb0b:
Really so nothing ever goes wrong? Hardly convenient, impossible or good design.

Strange as my sis is having to charge hers twice a day FACT as she is a Heavy user, so from your own calculations if that basis is sound that's less than 18months :)

From personal experiences with my DHD which is 14months old the battery is getting weaker & weaker. :( , before that I had a Iphone 3G which is a good few years old now and the battery life is now pathetic from when it was new.

I would expect 5+ years service from a flagship device that costs on average £500+ ;)

Tablets are a different ball game as there batteries are much much larger. ;)

Given the choice I would never ever entertain an every day personal device without.

A, Removable Battery

B, Removable/Expandable Storage.

Personal choice(READ:NO BRAINER) for me :)

---------- Post added at 09:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

I like it :)

I wonder when there will be a departure from the Rectangle?
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
I get your point but I and probably a lot others swap phones fairly frequently making longevity kind of a mute issue. And manufacturers typically EOL (stop supporting) a product in the 30-36 month time frame. My record was 11 months with the SGS2. If I keep the SGS3 the One X will be the shortest at two months. I had a O2X for a month once but since it only was able to remain on for half that time and was soon replaced I don't count it. ;)
[Galaxy S III General] nebsif:
Absolutely love the sony design, that curve on the back is so smexy :P

Is the battery built in there 2?
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
They don't say anything about the battery or storage. Here's the link.

http://www.sonymobile.com/cws/corpo...pressreleasedetails/xperiagxxperiasx-20120509
[Galaxy S III General] funb0b:
I know & understand what you mean RE: changing regular, but it scares me that we (I include myself) look at £500+ devices as disposable items.

The disposable mind set is something these companies want.
[Galaxy S III General] samuel109:
Samsung disappoints because they didnt release a 10ghz phone? The gs3 has better specs than the one x
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
Here's how to rationalize it. I spent $700 for my SGS2 and got $450 by selling it. The One X was $625. So $625 - $450 = $175. So in my little mind the One X only cost $175. Warped I know, but I'm sticking with it. A lot of us in the U.S. also save a ton on data by using international phones. I save about $35 a month. The savings goes in to my phone replacement fund thus subsidizing my habit.

You guys are going to laugh but the phone I'd pick over the One X and SGS3 is the Panasonic Eluga Power. It's got a screen almost as large as the G-Note with far less bulk. It only support EU HSPA bands though.
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
I work in defense, and only did a little bit for consumers so marketing hardly if ever challenges me or changes my design which I am lucky. What I was talking about is how these phones are put together. When you take them apart, they're not just simple bolt ones sometimes. They are locked in place with plastics, etc and that's what amazes me. The molds and plastics I have designed have been quite simple and never as complex. My point is that I appreciate these small design details the engineers and designers in HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Apple, etc perform.

And that phone is quite nice.
[Galaxy S III General] Maik82:
HTC Steals The Show?

What show? Maybe the muppet show..

Nobody cares about this Htc phone.
[Galaxy S III General] vinuneuro:
How is that.
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
Get a dumb phone plan with unlimited internet. They can only detect IME numbers of their own phones, they won't be able to tell what your international phone has.
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
In addition, you can get any post paid plan you want without having to sign a contract since they're not subsidizing your equipment. 450 minutes (39.99) with unlimited MMS and mobile-to-any-mobile calling ($20) and unlimited data for non-Smartphones ($10) is $69.99 which as AT&T goes is a pretty good deal. Also, I went over 3GB last billing cycle and wasn't warned or throttled so the new soft caps might not apply to theoretically dumb phones. Too early to say for sure but the soft cap could be 3GB if they start enforcing it. This applies to any international phone (including the SGS3) that AT&T can't identify. They can identify the Nexi for some reason.
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
You get 4G LTE?

The reason I haven't attempted any of this is that I have a pretty big family and we all work so we split a family plan making it pretty cheap. But I've always prepared for the worst just in case.
[Galaxy S III General] bTrizzy:
Whoa, did not know this. Hmm, might end up with SGS3 if I can swing this loophole.
[Galaxy S III General] darkamikaze:
All the features seem to be software based.. with custom AOSP based roms like CM9 and AOKP does this version of TW really justify the SGSIII?

I've seen a good amount of videos regarding features and it does seem pretty cool but with custom ROMS like those, I dunno.. I'm not really sure what I'm asking but lol

I guess with these features is it really that much of an upgrade from SGSII?
[Galaxy S III General] teiglin:
You can't get LTE with the dumb phone plan, and in most areas I've tested--throughout Washington state, in the LA area, and northern Austin)--both the phone and pta APNs (for the fauxG and LTE plans, respectively) give ~50% better throughput on HSPA+. However, I rarely drop below 2Mbps anywhere and usually top out around 5Mbps, though I did see 8Mbps from one speedtest in Austin. Note that all this testing is super-non-scientific, just me using a couple of different phones with SIMs on different plans.

The dumb phone plan does work great with a family plan though. If you have the $30 unlimited text for your whole family, it's only $10/month for the data, or $15/month on a line without an unlimited text plan.
[Galaxy S III General] ph00ny:
Higher resolution screen (wvga to 720p hd)

Dual core to Quad core CPU (and faster clock speed with 32nm HKMG)

Bigger battery capacity

I think those are pretty significant upgrades from the S2
[Galaxy S III General] Basil3:
I guess it all comes down to contracts. Definitely the case in the UK/Ireland. Most people could tell you when they are due their next shiny new phone.

When I signed up for my 18 month contract on Vodafone, the guy was trying to get me on a 24 month. I asked him whether I would have to wait 2 years for a new phone on the 24 month, and he said no, all upgrades happen after 15 months regardless.

To be honest, its the main reason I went back on contract, knowing I'll get a new phone every year or so.
[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
HSPA+, or as only AT&T defines it, 4G. I can get as high as 8MB down in TX and as low as 2GB down in Manhattan. Fast enough for me the way I use the phone. I think it'll be a long while before you can buy an LTE phone off the shelf because of all the different frequencies and sub-frequencies the carriers are using.

For the family plan it's $30 for unlimited MMS and mobile-to-any-mobile calling covering every phone on the plan. It's $9.99 to add a line and another $10 to add data. AT&T's trying to beat VZW to market with shared data plans which will be fantastic. My tablet's on my plan as a non-smartphone and between it and my phone I'll have a pool of 6GB of data for $20.00. Just be warned that while this has been going on for a while, AT&T could kill it at any time.

---------- Post added at 10:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 PM ----------

An early review. Ouch.

"The 3G connection was strong, even in a hotel room, and speeds were what you'd expect from Sprint's 3G network. Out of eight tests using Ookla's Speedtest.net app, I had an average download speed of 477Kbps and an average upload speed of 422Kbps. Downloading the Speedtest.net app took two minutes over 3G. On Web browsing, the mobile version of the New York Times site took nine seconds to load, the full New York Times 40 seconds, the full CNET site one minute and 24 seconds, and Airlines.net one minute and 50 seconds."
[Galaxy S III General] SlimJ87D:
Well I'll put it this way. I live in LA county, north of LA. 4G LTE is suppose to be in the heart of LA and it doesn't reach me up here with the One X. I think it's going to take a long while before 4G LTE has a wider coverage area.

That's why I decided to import an international version seeing as to how 4G LTE doesn't reach this area, I'm caped on a limited plan and I have wifi at home and work.

So don't feel like you're missing out with the 4G LTE shenanigans as it's suppose to be in LA and it's only in a small area of LA and parts of OC.
[Galaxy S III General] :
I found that SGS3 follows GNex in terms of storage available for apps. Common partition to store both apps and data.

Check this article from AP: Samsung Galaxy S III - Already The Most Interesting Phone Of The Year So Far, And We're Only Just Scratching The Surface.

Quoted from the article:

Let's get this out of the way - the Galaxy S III in person feels and looks about a metric crapton better (that's the scientific term) than it does in press photos.

The screen is absolutely gorgeous - even though it's using the same technology as the Galaxy Nexus, it still somehow looks better.
[Galaxy S III General] bluebobx:
Not necessarily the case with all plans - e.g. my current teleco (Three) seem to be pretty rigid about upgrade dates - in my case they're telling me that I need to be at least at month 22 of my current 24 month contract before I can upgrade - and even then there might be a fee charged.

Being stuck with a "lemon" (in my case SE X10 - although it's actually a pretty reasonable device, just very, very slow now, i.e. BrowserMark < 30k) is one reason why I'm not renewing my contract and instead buying the damned phone myself and getting a SIM-only deal.

Coincidentally, doing this also allows me free reign to (a) pick any damned device I want, and (b) not have it "improved" will all the crap that the telco's like to add (although - from my limited experience - the amount of bloat added seems to be falling - yay!).
[Galaxy S III General] Toss3:
Don't you have the option of paying off the remaining sum of the old device, in order to switch to a newer model?
[Galaxy S III General] bluebobx:
Oh, so agree with what you're saying - that said wasn't there some famous engineer (Soichiro Honda?) who said something like "a correct design is also beautiful".

As to the Sony's - I'm biased (because I own an X10) but I think they can turn out some of the most gorgeous designs. I've yet to see ANY phone that's more beautifully sculpted than the old Arc/Arc S. If the SIII looked like that they I would have pre-ordered NOW. I'm not so sure about their new designs (Xperia S/P/U) overall, but even in those there's some elegance about some of the design - that said, they're too slab-sided/rectangular from the front to be easy on my eye. But what do I know, I actually like the curved design of the SIII's front.
[Galaxy S III General] Fysi:
Well with any network over in the UK, you usually have to pay off your whole contract and then get a new one.
[Galaxy S III General] Toss3:
So you can't just pay off the phone and switch it for another one? I do it all the time. :o
[Galaxy S III General] tbong777:
What a great review.....Looks like a phone to Root and run with as is..