Galaxy S III

[mikelove]

Figured that the sequel to a phone which something like 20% of Pleco Android customers are using deserves its own thread.

Anyway: any reactions? I know a lot of fans were disappointed at the lack of any major improvements, but the same was true with the iPhone 4S and they still sold a bajillion of those.

 

[mfcb]

currently too happy with my SII, so i will wait for the SIV

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

I'd definitely upgrade from my S2, if only for the extra screen real estate and resolution. But with my Note, I don't see any reason to bother with the S3, even for messing around purposes. Unless I hear big reports about improved performance or a quantum leap in user experience, the Note's larger screen and higher resolution (1280x800) are crucial to my workflow, enabling me to use it as a paper substitute in all situations. Greater pixel density isn't so relevant when you're reading text--you need that larger screen, and also the greater resolution to show more of the document. I don't think you could dual pane Pleco on the S3, whereas dual pane is passable on the Note. And the Note is about as one-handable as my S2, so the S3 wouldn't help there either.

 

[mikelove]

I'd definitely upgrade from my S2, if only for the extra screen real estate and resolution. But with my Note, I don't see any reason to bother with the S3, even for messing around purposes. Unless I hear big reports about improved performance or a quantum leap in user experience, the Note's larger screen and higher resolution (1280x800) are crucial to my workflow, enabling me to use it as a paper substitute in all situations. Greater pixel density isn't so relevant when you're reading text--you need that larger screen, and also the greater resolution to show more of the document. I don't think you could dual pane Pleco on the S3, whereas dual pane is passable on the Note. And the Note is about as one-handable as my S2, so the S3 wouldn't help there either.

Good point - 5 inches is about the maximum for a conventional smartphone but it's also a bit too small for dual-pane with a finger-driven interface. Honestly I wish they'd stuck with the S2's screen size - it would signal to developers that Samsung is finally starting to settle on a few standard sizes and that we should design our interfaces around those - though I imagine there may have been technological considerations in this case since producing OLED screens with a high pixel density is not easy.

 

[Loriquero]

I guess it would be great for someone who doesn't have the SII. But I don't see what can I do on a quadcore that can't be done on a dual core right now. I won't be buying any other cellphone until SIV or SV, unless some weird thing like using the phone like a credit card starts getting popular in China.

 

[Ronalds]

I have never tried to catch up with all recent gadgets, it is almost impossible. I'm happy to have my Galaxy 5510 and I will change it in a year, may be...

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

Update: I switched to the S3, and it's certainly preferable to the S2 because of greater screen real estate and better battery time. But here's why I like it better than my Note:

1) Battery time is comparable to my Note in that it's enough to get me through a full day with lots of tethering. It doesn't actually matter to me which gives longer actual battery time once a certain threshold is crossed, and the S3 crosses that threshold (as opposed to the S2).

2) The Note is the largest possible one-handable form factor, but I must admit that the S2/S3 form factor is more comfortable and secure than the Note, to a degree that it matters especially if you're frequently in crowds.

3) The Note is fast, but it micro-lags too frequently for me, marring the subjective experience. It might be a perception thing in that that if you actually timed user interface results they'd be comparable, but the S3 just feels better to a degree that it matters--it's iPhone-smooth, and the Note isn't. And my Note has measurably laggy button presses is some contexts, which the S3 never exhibits.

4) The Note's power button gets actuated in my pocket unless I keep it in a case. The case is no big deal, and makes the Note more secure in my hand (more friction), but bigger in my pocket to the degree that it makes a difference.

When I heard that the S3 had very good battery times, I went out and bought one to give it a try. To my surprise, it's totally knocked my Note into backup position. The only real sacrifice is going from the Note's 1280x800 to the S3's 1280x720.

 

[mikelove]

Update: I switched to the S3, and it's certainly preferable to the S2 because of greater screen real estate and better battery time. But here's why I like it better than my Note:

Very interesting to read this, as you were one of the staunchest Note supporters here; perhaps the "phablet" trend was fleeting after all, people really just wanted an upgraded S2. Was your Note still running Android 2.3? That would explain most of the lag difference right there.

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

Yes, my Note's still on 2.3. I wouldn't say I'm giving up on the Note. I always need a backup, so presuming that the Note 2 will finally eliminate the microlag, I'll probably get one. For ordinary everyday use, I have to say that the smaller form factor is more appreciated. But I frequently need to give public presentations using MS Word outlines for my notes. In that case, the larger (but still one-handable) screen really pays off because viewing more of my outline gives me more context to prepare my off-the-cuff comments. The S3 is manageable in that situation, but sometimes disorientingly small at times where I can't afford to become disoriented. If I could totally adapt to the S3 form factor, that would be best, but I expect I'll end up going back and forth between the two until I can maybe settle someday. I've given up on the 7.7 and larger form factors because if I can't have secure one-handedness, then an ultrabook is the better choice.

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

One more negative consideration with the Note: Swype is a little too wide. On tablets, there's an option to shrink the Swype keyboard so that it's the same as on a standard-size phone. Otherwise, Swype would be all but useless on a full-size tablet. On the Note, Swype is perfectly usable, but wide enough to be a little annoying and a little more error prone than when using it with its standard width. These kinds of small irritations add up.

 

[Michaels1980]

I just got my s3 a few days ago and I'm loving it. Rooted it within an hour of getting it, used stock rom for a few days until I got tired of it and then installed Cyanogenmod 9.

Pleco is running very smoothly on it and I have not seen any problems so far. Live OCR is FAR better on the s3 when compared to my previous Desire S - it recognises almost everything, even big blocks of text! I see about a 5 second hang when starting/stopping OCR, which I guess is the camera being started/stopped, but not sure if this is just normal. The screen is now big enough to allow the two pane layout in portrait, which is very useful. Handwriting, flashcards and dictionaries all work perfectly and very fast.

For me, I think the upgrade was worth it because my previous phone was a 'mid range' model (Desire S) still on Gingerbread. Probably, if I had the s2 or other high end model I would not have been able to justify the upgrade to the s3 for what I do, but I guess everyone is different.

 

[Sarevok]

As an owner of a Galaxy S II, I will probably pass on this one - I don't see any practical advantage of a quad-core processor on a smartphone, since the system and apps are not yet optimized for it and I'm not a heavy mobile gamer. Though I like some of the featuress like the screen-not-turning-itself-off-while-I-am-looking-at-it, they are probably part of the new TouchWiz, which would be the first thing to get rid of... and I'm not sure how well would they work on CM or MIUI (if/when ported). That leaves the (allegedly excellent) battery life as the only point worth considering, but it is totally off-set by the form factor and size. I don't see how this device (or Note for that matter) can be one-handable for anybody with standard sized hands. I tried various grips and all with the same outcome - when I hold the device in a way to be able to pull down the notification panel, then I can't operate those three buttons at the bottom without changing the grip... and vice versa. That is a huge deal breaker for me...

Hope the next Nexus will be more one-hand friendly...

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

As an owner of a Galaxy S II, I will probably pass on this one - I don't see any practical advantage of a quad-core processor on a smartphone, since the system and apps are not yet optimized for it and I'm not a heavy mobile gamer. Though I like some of the featuress like the screen-not-turning-itself-off-while-I-am-looking-at-it, they are probably part of the new TouchWiz, which would be the first thing to get rid of... and I'm not sure how well would they work on CM or MIUI (if/when ported). That leaves the (allegedly excellent) battery life as the only point worth considering, but it is totally off-set by the form factor and size. I don't see how this device (or Note for that matter) can be one-handable for anybody with standard sized hands. I tried various grips and all with the same outcome - when I hold the device in a way to be able to pull down the notification panel, then I can't operate those three buttons at the bottom without changing the grip... and vice versa. That is a huge deal breaker for me...

Hope the next Nexus will be more one-hand friendly...

As a longtime user of the S2 and others, I assure you you'd love the S3 that much more. To address your main concern, which is also mine at this form factor: the S3 is no less one-handable than the S2. I mean, they're about the same size, so why would you think the S3 is more difficult one-handed? And since the S3 is totally smooth like the S2 (and unlike the Note), you can only like the S3 at least as much. And then there are the clear advantages: the S3's much greater resolution is pure gravy; and I can personally vouch that the S3 has better battery life than the S2. Sure, you might see the S3's upgraded technology as not really an attraction in itself--same here. But I'm no gamer either. I just know that the bigger battery, upgraded processor, etc. give me an S2-like experience, but with longer battery time and higher resolution.

One-handability is important to me. At first, that was the only reason I bought the S3 in addition to my Note. I've used some tricks to make my S2, S3, and Note more one-handable. These depend on what you personally experience as comfortable, or worth the time fussing with, but here you go:

1) I use Widgetsoid for my main home screen. That allows me to pack in more app icons and phone controls within the range of my thumb when one-handing. No wasted space, and Widgetsoid is quite flexible as to the icon density you prefer. That leaves the portion of the phone that's out of your thumb's range for less-used apps, or things you just look at, like a clock.

2) I use Button Savior and sometimes Virtual Button Bar to unobtrusively give me quick access to the back button, which my left thumb can't reach. It also gives more comfortable one-handed access to the home button, the apps button, and others. Virtual Button Bar gives one-handed access to the notifications, since my thumb won't reach up that far.

I customize a combination of Widgetsoid, Button Savior, and Virtual Button Bar to optimize my S2's, S3's, and Note's one-handability. It's a bother at first to determine the config that best suits you, but quite worth it.

That's why the iPhone one-handed philosophy is so full of shti. Sure, a 3.5 inch phone is totally one-handable. But I can pretty easily customize the same 3.5-inch area of my Android phones. That leaves the excess for other stuff that you can't stuff into the 3.5-inch form factor. There's just one downside, but it's substantial: some apps don't allow customizing their layout (toolbars, controls, etc), and insist on putting these things where users of larger phones can't reach them one-handed. That's letting down everyone who uses a phone bigger than 3.5 inches, which is a huge proportion.

Oh, and I'm definitely going to go for a Note 2 on day 1:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/360512/ ... lybean.htm

Simply because I frequently have professional situations where I need to refer to a substantial portion of text at a glance at 1280x800 without holding a device three inches from my nose. I might be able to get used to this with the smaller S3, but I'm still buying myself a Note 2, because it's there.

 

[driftwork]

I'll be purchasing an S2 (32gb) and installing PLECO today. First Android phone and very much looking forward to using PLECO on it.