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Help What factors about the the S3 should I know before buying?
- Thread starter chrisdude70
- Start date
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- Tags
- samsung galaxy s3
Originally Posted by biggles
The fact that the phone cannot connect to a computer with usb due to bad drivers. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. A big oversight at launch date for such an important flagship phone. This means I can't transfer music from pc to phone.
What OS? I didn't have any problems with this on Win 7...
Both computers running windows 7. Verizon 32 gb model.
For Wifi issues try tips listed in this thread:I may have a dodgy handset here but the things that suck....
1. Wifi dropouts - constantly dropping and reconnecting to ANY router.
2. Screen locks when waking up phone (maybe associated with the above) it's unresponsive to touch (not all the time)
3. Home button is flimsy. The button has 'sunk' into the phone whereas before it was slightly raised.
Again, I may have a dodgy unit (which I'm hopefully going to get replaced by Samsung - when they call me back)
The jury is out for me ATM.
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/581958-my-galaxy-s3-phone-settings.html
dennygreen
Android Enthusiast
the multitasking kinda sucks. holding the home button just gives you a list of windows you've had open recently, instead of only ones that are currently running. so, I had to install the same app I used on my DX, multitask manager. I was assuming the built in one would do the job.
clubberlang
Lurker
My only two complaints so far after a week of use:
keyboard. Coming from the IPhone 4S typing on the Galaxy S3 is way less accurate and more difficult in portrait mode.
S Voice - pretty much useless for me; Siri was way better.
Other than that everything else has been great.
keyboard. Coming from the IPhone 4S typing on the Galaxy S3 is way less accurate and more difficult in portrait mode.
S Voice - pretty much useless for me; Siri was way better.
Other than that everything else has been great.
I downloaded ICS Keyboard from the Play Store. Others have mentioned other keyboards they like, also. ICS Keyboard has several different options for keyboards to use. I'm using the ICS one (as opposed to the Gingerbread one and others) and absolutely love it. The predictive text works very, very well and I like the common punctuation at the top of the keyboard.
I don't like Swype-type of keyboards, and this one is the one I'll be using for a long, long time. Plus, the price was right.
Mine worked first time. In any case you don't need to connect it to transfer stuff - you can connect to kies via wifi, or you could bluetooth stuff to the phone from your laptop ? Or buy a microSD card, load that with stuff on the computer then put it in the phone.
For me the biggest gripe is the build quality. The back cover scratches way too easily. I already have a small patch of scratches near the bottom that you'd normally see in phones that have been in use for at least 6 months and i've been really careful with it. I also don't like the feel of the power button. The top end gets stuck down after pressing and when you press down on the other end to fix it it kind of wobbles back into place.
These may be only minor issues but at its price range there shouldnt be such issues...
These may be only minor issues but at its price range there shouldnt be such issues...
I have the 32GB as well. But actually, now that I think about it, I believe I did get a driver installation error the first time I tried to connect via USB. I forgot all about it until just now. I tried it again and it worked the 2nd time so I didn't think any of it -- so it wasn't really correct to say I didn't have any problems. If you haven't already, you might try Googling bad drivers for Samsung S3 and see if anything comes up.
exwifeusesiphone
Well-Known Member
The best way to install the drivers is to, horror of horros, install the Kies software. This will install all the drivers.
I have not used it since. I tried once to get the Kies wifi to work, but it doesn't see anything. There are some poorly written instructions about Kies having a tray icon for Wifi to work, but none shows up on my computer. Not like I'm going to use it anyway...
scooter1942
Android Enthusiast
have you gone through all the settings in the launcher? i havent used that one yet but some launchers have an option to create a cache file for your homescreens so it doesnt have to reload them. you just need to swipe through them all once (youll notice some lag as its saving everything) and then it should be smooth. hope this helps
Hi, first post here. Sorry for the length.
Love my new S3. It's such a huge improvement over my nearly 2 year old DX, it's not even funny.
I do have a few gripes though, and that's what this thread is about.
The Power button placement is a maybe my main complaint. Might just be I'm used to it being up top, but I'm hitting the volume rocker by accident about 1/2 the time when powering on/off, it seems. Talked to the Verizon store guy I bought the phone from and he told me that change was due to most ppl preferring that button placement, so I may be in the minority here.
Similarly, the usb port being on the bottom is inconvenient. DX had it on the side which made it easier to type in landscape or navigate in portrait mode. Since you can't flip the phone completely upside down, there's no good way to get the usb cable completely out of your way. Minor issue though.
No MSC (Mass Storage (Class) that some have already mentioned) is a bummer too. MTP is available, sure, but isn't nearly as convenient for dragging & dropping files to your phone or sd card. I know rooting will solve this, but wished MSC was stock.
Minor things: putting shortcuts on the lock screen is great. Having to unlock the phone to run said shortcuts defeats the purpose. I'd like to, say, always access the calculator (zero security issues, right?) w/o unlocking the phone.
Phone is a bit slippery. The blue model is good looking enough that I don't want to put a case on it, but I think I'll have to so I don't drop it. As an aside, plastic or no, I don't think the phone feels cheap at all.
Some other minor ICS or generic software issues, but honestly, most of that can be fixed by d/l'ing better apps that what's stock. I've actually put off installing a bunch of apps from the DX, like LauncherPro, because the stock apps seem adequate, at least for now.
Love my new S3. It's such a huge improvement over my nearly 2 year old DX, it's not even funny.
I do have a few gripes though, and that's what this thread is about.
The Power button placement is a maybe my main complaint. Might just be I'm used to it being up top, but I'm hitting the volume rocker by accident about 1/2 the time when powering on/off, it seems. Talked to the Verizon store guy I bought the phone from and he told me that change was due to most ppl preferring that button placement, so I may be in the minority here.
Similarly, the usb port being on the bottom is inconvenient. DX had it on the side which made it easier to type in landscape or navigate in portrait mode. Since you can't flip the phone completely upside down, there's no good way to get the usb cable completely out of your way. Minor issue though.
No MSC (Mass Storage (Class) that some have already mentioned) is a bummer too. MTP is available, sure, but isn't nearly as convenient for dragging & dropping files to your phone or sd card. I know rooting will solve this, but wished MSC was stock.
Minor things: putting shortcuts on the lock screen is great. Having to unlock the phone to run said shortcuts defeats the purpose. I'd like to, say, always access the calculator (zero security issues, right?) w/o unlocking the phone.
Phone is a bit slippery. The blue model is good looking enough that I don't want to put a case on it, but I think I'll have to so I don't drop it. As an aside, plastic or no, I don't think the phone feels cheap at all.
Some other minor ICS or generic software issues, but honestly, most of that can be fixed by d/l'ing better apps that what's stock. I've actually put off installing a bunch of apps from the DX, like LauncherPro, because the stock apps seem adequate, at least for now.
My Win 7 machine didn't detect the phone in MTP mode the first time I connected either. I had to switch the USB mode in the phone to PTP mode which I think prompted some driver installation, then I was able to copy some files , but PTP mode is pretty damn limited so I unplugged in frustration.
Some time later, I plugged it back in to recharge and switched it back to MTP mode, and it was recognized by Windows Explorer. As I mentioned in my first post, MSC would be far better, but I was able to transfer music, pictures and some 1080p mkv & mp4 video files to my SD card, mostly to test it (played beautifully in MoboPlayer, btw).
You can access the S3 via USB without installing Kies. It took a bit of searching but I found the driver here:
Support - Verizon Wireless Cell Phones SCH-I535 | Samsung Cell Phones
Support - Verizon Wireless Cell Phones SCH-I535 | Samsung Cell Phones
2horses
Android Enthusiast
Go to Messaging (dock icons), hit the menu button on the bottom left of the phone, from there choose settings>bubble style. There are some rectangles in there you can choose instead.
2horses
Android Enthusiast
If you choose task manager when holding the home button, it will list the currently running apps as Active Apps. You can choose which ones to end, or just End All.
I miss the option to see how many internet windows I have open from the settings menu and the ability to close them there instead of from the browser window itself.
And don't get me started on the stock email app. I also miss unread email numbers on the shortcuts.
About the speaker, I was referring to the music volume/speaker, but that was until i found out about the equalizer.
On another note, I'm also using dolphin HD and SMS go app and hate that it doesn't have text rendering! Its a big PITA! Is there a setting somewhere that I've missed?
Has anyone else experienced these issues??
The lag on the keyboard when going from messaging to the home screen is immense on my phone. Also sometimes the phone just stops responding and I am unable to swipe through my home screens.
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The lag on the keyboard when going from messaging to the home screen is immense on my phone. Also sometimes the phone just stops responding and I am unable to swipe through my home screens.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Do you have a lot of SMS messages stored, maybe even brought over from your old phone?
That's a common Android problem that could cause that, fwiw.
I third this. My S2 is definitely brighter than my S3. Sucks!