Should You Get The Samsung Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy S3: Considering the Costs

June 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Samsung S3 are gaining much attention from Android fans lately. The two Android smartphones have managed to build a shared reputation that makes even some iPhone users think of switching. But if you’re interested in these two phones, you should also carefully consider one thing: the cost. Both Samsung smartphones are quite pricey, leaving the question: are they worth it?

And if so, which one’s the better choice?

Looking at the specs of both phones, it’s clear that Samsung held nothing back in creating their two premier flagship models. Given all that both phones offer, it’s not surprising that the two smartphones cost quite a lot.

If you’re really looking to invest in an all-around smartphone that can do practically everything but you prefer an Android smartphone rather than one from Apple, then the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Nexus are your top choices and are indeed worth every penny.

Which one should you get?

Let’s run through their similarities first. Both phones are created by top electronics company, Samsung. Both of them run on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. So technically, the experience they both offer would be similar.

The differences, however, begin with the internal features. The TouchWiz user interface that the S3 boasts of is nowhere to be found in the Nexus. It seems like Samsung saved its own technologies for the S3, while keeping the technology minimal when it came to the Galaxy Nexus, which it co-created with Google. Unfortunately, this was a bad call for Samsung since many Android users prefer the stock Android experience and would rather not be bothered with the animations and flourishes unnecessarily offered by the TouchWiz UI.

Smart Stay is a cool feature

The Samsung Galaxy S3 also has another technology that didn’t make it to the Galaxy Nexus. This one is called the Smart Stay, which proved impressive in terms of its software improvements. Smart Stay makes sure your phone does not go to sleep while you are still using it, minimizing those few wasted seconds needed to bring the phone back to life in the middle of a task. Now, this is a pretty useful feature, although we doubt it’s going to make you resolutely choose the Galaxy Galaxy  S3 over the Galaxy Nexus.

And then, there’s the display issue. Both phones offer similar Super AMOLED display panels, but the S3’s display is bigger at 4.8 inches. Some meticulous users, however, say that the larger size of the S3’s display lowers the pixel density a bit, which means the Galaxy Nexus has the advantage here despite the size discrepancy.

Consider the hardware

As for the hardware specs, many new Samsung fans will unquestionably go for the S3 because of its Exynos 4 Quad, which uses not two but four processors to support your apps. While this might seem like a major advantage, at closer look, it doesn’t really amount to anything against the dual-core model we see on the Nexus.

Since the S3 is flashier, it obviously needs more juice than the Nexus, so all the extra capacity of the four processors simply go to all those animations. Sure enough, we didn’t see any change in the way apps run on the Galaxy S3, despite its more powerful processor system.

So in conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is certainly still a highly competitive Samsung smartphone, despite the fact that it has been upped by the Galaxy S3 in many ways. Rather than sensible, meaningful updates, Samsung stuck with mostly flashy updates with the Galaxy S3. So if you can’t afford the Galaxy S3, which doesn’t seem worthy of its price hike over the Nexus, then the latter is certainly a good alternative.

Video Comparison: Galaxy Nexus vs Galaxy S3

Filed Under: Android Phones, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3 Tagged With: , , , ,

iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy S3 vs. Galaxy Nexus

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The verdict is out: the top 3 smartphones of today are certainly the Apple iPhone 4S, the Galaxy S3, and the Galaxy Nexus. This only means one thing: the smartphones battle is clearly being fought primarily by Samsung and Apple, with Apple’s own iOS battling it out with Google’s Android. After Apple announced its new upgrades while mocking the Android, Google remains unfazed, reveling in the attention of Android fans and the growing Android marketplace.

So if you’re thinking of buying a smartphone, the choice is not as easy as it used to be before Android started stepping up its game. In the past, the ultimate smartphone was definitely the iPhone. Now, that no longer seems to be the case, with Samsung’s two premier flagship models giving potential iPhone users some pause before buying.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung has had many Android phones that had been dubbed as the “iPhone killer” but none of them proved worthy of the title. The Samsung Galaxy S3, however, seems to come close enough, and the battle begins with the Galaxy S3’s significantly larger size. Versus the iPhone 4S, the Galaxy SIII certainly has many advantages.

Samsung Galaxy S3

It is lighter at 133 grams, and has a bigger 4.8 inch Super AMOLED 1280×720 display. It can also support 4G LTE. The front camera is already a 2-MP model, and its back camera has several other features not found on the iPhone 4S or on the Galaxy Nexus, including burst photography with best photo selection and sharing with friends through face recognition. It also has 1GB RAM whereas the iPhone 4S only has 512MB. And even though it comes in 16, 32, and 64 GB models, it still supports a 64GB card.

This only means one thing: if specs are important to you, then the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the clear winner.

iPhone 4S

The iPhone 4S does not lead by the specs, but Apple has a different approach to winning. It sticks to the more practical, more user-oriented level, with a good-enough 3.5-inch screen with Apple’s revolutionary Retina Display, which, we have to admit, still looks better than the S3’s bigger display. It is heavier than both Samsung flagships at 140 grams, though, but the iOS 5 still proves unbeatable even with Android’s TouchWiz UI and the ICS OS.

iPhone 4S Phone

iPhone’s front camera is a VGA one, which is a bit of a disadvantage considering how iPhone is offering FaceTime to its users. The 8-MP back camera with LED flash, however, matches that of the S3. And while the camera has a limited range of features compared to the S3’s, Apple focuses on the more important such as touch-to-focus, geo-tagging, face detection, and a special HDR mode.

iPhone seems adamant on sticking with its non-expandable memory rule, though, which heavy users may not be too happy about. Apple is also making no effort to improve the battery life of the iPhone, which continues to top at 6 to 7 hours. Compared to the Nexus, which can go for up to 9 hours, this is a major disadvantage.

Siri, however, is still the preferred choice despite Android’s coming out with its own S Voice voice command feature.

If you want a smartphone that’s so easy to use and provides a great experience overall, then the iPhone 4S is a great choice.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Then there’s the Galaxy Nexus, which Samsung created together with Google. This is like the Galaxy S3 or the Galaxy S 4G in many ways, albeit simpler in many ways as well. For example, although it comes with a 1GB RAM and in 16 and 32 GB models, it does not have a 64GB model, so this is definitely not for the heavy user.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Among the three, the Galaxy Nexus is the only one without a voice recognition feature; its main feature is only the Face Unlock feature. It also has a 5-MP camera, which is shamed by the other two’s 8-MP ones. Its camera functions are also very limited, although it has a unique zero shutter lag that the two other phones don’t have.

The Galaxy Nexus is also recommended for those who prefer Android phones but want the stock experience that is untainted by the TouchWiz UI of the S3. And even though its front camera is nothing like the S3’s, at 1.3 MP it is still better than the VGA camera of the iPhone 4S.

Perhaps due to its limited range of features compared to the two other options, the Nexus’ battery life is also significantly longer. So if you’re on the more practical side, then the Nexus is certainly your best option.

Filed Under: Android Phones, iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3 Tagged With: , , , ,

Samsung Galaxy S3 Android Smartphone Reviewed

June 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to tablet computers, Apple still has a good hold of the market. However, smart phones are a totally different story. Android smart phones have taken a good chunk of the market away from Apple and Samsung without a doubt is the leader in Android smart phones.

Samsung’s Galaxy line of smart phones have captured the hearts of many Android phones lovers and with Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the market, it looks as if more hearts are going to fall in love with Samsung.

What does the Samsung Galaxy S3 have that will retain Samsung’s lead in Android smart phones?

Let’s take a closer look at the S3 and find out if Samsung has really made a winner out of this Android smartphone.

Galaxy S3 Form Factor

In the not so distant past, the smaller a mobile phone became, the more the people loved it. When it came to mobile phones, smaller was always better. However, mobile phones became smart. A lot of functions were built into smart phones and unfortunately this meant that they had to get bigger. Paradigms started to change and people started believing that the bigger a smart phone was, the more features it had.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Form factor

However, big also means heavy and mobile phones are supposed to be light enough for people to easily carry them around. Not many smart phones were light enough to not make pocket’s sag with their weight.

The new Samsung Galaxy S3 gets the combination of big yet light weight perfectly. The S3 has a large 4.8 inch screen, but it is also extremely slim. A 4.8 inch screen may seem large for a smart phone, but you can be sure it will fit into your pocket.

The screen of the S3 is almost the whole front of the phone. There is about a centimeter of plastic showing on the top and bottom of the phone, but on the sides of the phone you can only see about a millimeter of plastic from either side.

The S3 is definitely sleek yet has a screen large enough for you to appreciate a good movie.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 performance

In terms of power, the Galaxy S3 is one of the most powerful smart phones today. It has a 1.4 Ghz quad-core processor. This is actually more than enough to run the applications on the phone, but higher Ghz numbers mean better devices to most people.

More processing power means that it eats up more energy, but the S3 has a battery life that is simply amazing. In fact, it can easily last longer than a lot of smart phones in the market with lower processing power.

Those who love taking pictures and videos on the phones will surely love the 8 megapixel camera built into the S3. Not many phones in the market today have a camera with the quality of an S3.

Can a phone this slim possibly have enough storage capacity? You can be sure that the S3 has more than enough storage capacity that you will ever need. The S3 has several variants there are 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. Each model has an expansion slot so you can add even more storage if you want to.

Galaxy S3 Performance

Will the Galaxy S3 keep Samsung in the lead?

The form factor, performance and features of the S3 are simply what people are looking for. It is definitely a smart phone that will capture the hearts of many people. It is also a smart phone that has started to change standards.

With the Samsung S3, next generations will have a base for what smart phones should be. Other phones may come out in the market place but Samsung has the lead and as long as the company continues to develop smart phones the way that it has in the S3, we can expect that they will continue to hold the lead in the future.

The Final Judgment

Some people say that the S3 is by far the best smart phone ever built. It may not be a perfect phone for it still has its flaws and some features still have room for improvements, but no other phone in the market is on the same level of that of the S3.

In terms of form factor, it’s hard to imagine how much better it can be improved. The phone is already so slim that a slimmer phone would need to be flexible as well. Someone will surely think of a way to improve the form factor some day and it wouldn’t be surprising if that some one were from Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the phone of today. It has created its own category and it may be the only phone in this category for quite a while. Will another phone take the lead? Only the future will tell.

Filed Under: Android Phones, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Galaxy S3 Tagged With: , , , ,