Sarevok said:
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.