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Did I make the right decision from iphone? to s3?

J

Jimmy W

Member
I've had the s3 for about two weeks and like most of it, but I find myself thinking maybe I should've gotten the iphone 5 (had an iphone 4 and 3 previously).

I just find things are taking me alot longer to get around, the battery life kinda is a downer, and I never can hear my phone when it rings because the ring tone is so low (and bad ring tone choices).

Should I return it for an iphone 5?

any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
No. Imho...the s3 is better. I've used the iphone 5 a bit am not impressed. Actually I have a new iPad as well and just find the s3 works better for most things and use it way more. Just my 2 cents.
 
How do you fix the ringer? good recommendations? I never can hear it if its in the other room.

I can deal with the battery life, I guess.

It takes me a while to get one thing accomplished on this thing. The notes section on this arent that good.

Going to give it one more weekend and go from there.
 
add your own ringtones to the phone if you do not like the options. as far as the iphone 5 there have been plenty of reviews out there that suggest the 5 is more of a downgrade then an upgrade to the Iphone 4. the camera app is especially atrocious when it comes to pictures in sunlight.
 
oh really?????? didnt know that.

where do i get my own ringtones?

sorry im just new to droid, i've had the iphone 3 and 4. im very tech savvy but just the s3 is taking me a while to get used to.
 
Download a free app called Zedge. Gives you access to 1,000s of ringtones, notification sounds and the like. Try THAT with an iPhone. :)
 
scottdog129 said:
Download a free app called Zedge. Gives you access to 1,000s of ringtones, notification sounds and the like. Try THAT with an iPhone. :)
Click to expand...
zedge is pretty much a goto for most, there are also other mp3finder apps out there that will work for making ringtones as well. my Torchwood and Dr. Who ringtones all came from zedge.
 
Jimmy W said:
Thanks guys, I'm going to check it out now.

Is the low ring tone common? Fixes around it?
Click to expand...
You don't need an app to get ringtones (although, I do use Zedge). Just find whatever mp3 you want and drop it into your ringtones folder. It should be available then.
 
I have at&t. I'm just trying to figure out if I should keep this thing or get the new iphone 5. The zedge program is pretty good though.

Any other go to apps to get this thing dialed in?

Thanks again for the advice!
 
Jimmy W said:
How do you fix the ringer? good recommendations? The notes section on this arent that good.
Click to expand...

Try Colornote for an excellent, but very simple note app. You can even put post-it note style widgets on your home screen. For a more sophisticated and full-featured note app, lots of people like Evernote.
 
Jimmy W said:
I've had the s3 for about two weeks and like most of it, but I find myself thinking maybe I should've gotten the iphone 5 (had an iphone 4 and 3 previously).

I just find things are taking me alot longer to get around, the battery life kinda is a downer, and I never can hear my phone when it rings because the ring tone is so low (and bad ring tone choices).

Should I return it for an iphone 5?

any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
The S3 is not an iPhone. It's fully customizable, if you are having trouble getting around that means you aren't using the home screens properly. Try to organize a little bit, I have the apps I use most often on my home screen, then I have a screen dedicated to music, one dedicated to games, etc.

I barely use any of the stock Samsung or Android apps. You can generally find better ones in the app stores.

My battery life is fantastic. It took a little research and tinkering but I've customized my battery usage to fit my needs and preferences. For instance, I don't need to get emails the minute they are sent to me so I have an app that turns off mobile data while my screen is off and it saves tons of battery.

I can't help you out with the ring volume.

But yeah if you don't want to be able to customize your phone and you want a really loud ringer for whatever reason then maybe an iPhone is best for you. My guess is that since you're still new to android you're just not sure how to make the most of it.
 
Jimmy W said:
I have at&t. I'm just trying to figure out if I should keep this thing or get the new iphone 5. !
Click to expand...

So you're asking a bunch of S3 owners if you should get an iPhone. Huh!

Here's and answer from a Verizon rep I play cards with.

"When people ask us what they should get we tell them, If you haven't a techy clue about how things can work buy the iPhone. Otherwise buy the S3"
 
Roadie1015 said:
The S3 is not an iPhone. It's fully customizable, if you are having trouble getting around that means you aren't using the home screens properly. Try to organize a little bit, I have the apps I use most often on my home screen, then I have a screen dedicated to music, one dedicated to games, etc.

I barely use any of the stock Samsung or Android apps. You can generally find better ones in the app stores.

My battery life is fantastic. It took a little research and tinkering but I've customized my battery usage to fit my needs and preferences. For instance, I don't need to get emails the minute they are sent to me so I have an app that turns off mobile data while my screen is off and it saves tons of battery.

I can't help you out with the ring volume.

But yeah if you don't want to be able to customize your phone and you want a really loud ringer for whatever reason then maybe an iPhone is best for you. My guess is that since you're still new to android you're just not sure how to make the most of it.
Click to expand...

Good advice,

I'm new to android is the thing.

And FYI, I have a computer science degree so watch the tongue on the tech savvyness. I can program well.

I just wanna make sure I made the right decision. That's all!
 
Cellmate said:
So you're asking a bunch of S3 owners if you should get an iPhone. Huh!

Here's and answer from a Verizon rep I play cards with.

"When people ask us what they should get we tell them, If you haven't a techy clue about how things can work buy the iPhone. Otherwise buy the S3"
Click to expand...

I guess you missed the multiple times he mentioned he's "NEW TO ANDROID" or did you read it and choose to ignore it just so you could get your sarcastic comment out there?
 
Jimmy W said:
Good advice,

I'm new to android is the thing.

And FYI, I have a computer science degree so watch the tongue on the tech savvyness. I can program well.

I just wanna make sure I made the right decision. That's all!
Click to expand...


I came from Nokia to android last year, it's a blast learning and searching through the market to see what things can do. It may take a bit to learn everything, but trust me once you have you might never go back . There are several threads discussing which apps are best, what features are best and other helpful stuff.

On the volume side, this may sound weird and it may be something you have already tried, go to settings, sound, volume, then you can set each volume on your phone (notifications, ringer, phone sounds...) The only reason I suggest this, is because mine is so loud I can hear it from across a very crowded gym when I'm coaching. If you have already done that maybe just like the other said try a different sound, song, or really whatever you like.

And welcome to Android ;)

Btw, if none of that fixes your low ringer tone, take it into the store and test it against another, it could be faulty, how's the sound with music, movies, videos?
 
Jimmy W said:
How do you fix the ringer? good recommendations? I never can hear it if its in the other room.

I can deal with the battery life, I guess.

It takes me a while to get one thing accomplished on this thing. The notes section on this arent that good.

Going to give it one more weekend and go from there.
Click to expand...

With the S3, you get to customize the phone the way you want it. I'm using a ring tone that I can hear when the phone is in the basement, and I'm on the second floor. It's frigging loud! Also if you go to the phone app, then call setting, you can select "Increase volume in pocket", which increases the ringtone when it's in a bag or your pocket.
 
If you are a computer programmer, all you need is the app tasker (as stated previously)

plenty of youtube videos to get you started but basically, tasker does if-then statements.
if i'm at home, turn on wifi. stuff like that. once you get to know how to work tasker, you can make tasker do anything for you.

I've found that everyday I use my SGS3, I seem to learn something new about my phone. And that is something I personally enjoy. today I learned in widgets or apps screen, if you pinch in (zoom out motion), it brings you to a screen like adding home pages.

Rooting and tweaking your phone is up to you but overclocking and undervolting could help you with then needs in terms of your battery life. If you don't mind your phone not booting up a game super fast for some battery life, then you can do it via root or installing a different kernel.
 
hbryder said:
On the volume side, this may sound weird and it may be something you have already tried, go to settings, sound, volume, then you can set each volume on your phone (notifications, ringer, phone sounds...) The only reason I suggest this, is because mine is so loud I can hear it from across a very crowded gym when I'm coaching. If you have already done that maybe just like the other said try a different sound, song, or really whatever you like.
Click to expand...

That's my guess too. My S3's volume is freakishly loud. It can be heard throughout the entire house.

Only time it sounds dim is if I lay it snug against the surface of something blocking the speaker. It takes the volume down a few decibels. In that case I just pop something little under it (like a pencil) to lift the speaker off the surface and give it that natural echoing effect.

My guess is you either have the default volume for the ringer set down far too low or are using a very soft ringtone (I use the Seaside ringtone and can hear it everywhere).

Hang in there. Android can take a little time to learn because it has so many more features than iOS. But if you give it a month of learning and tinkering (lots watch of How To Youtube videos), you'll be a pro in no time.

I went from the iOS world to Android as well. (Back in the Froyo days so my knowledge is a bit older.) I took the experience as a challenge to experiment. After a time I loved Android so much iOS made me cringe.

FWIW, iPhone 5 only trumps other devices in battery life when it comes to Standby time. It cycles into a much deeper sleep than other smartphones. If you're actually using the phones, the S3 comes out ahead. At least according to all the head-to-head trials I've seen in the tech world. If you want to squeeze extra juice out of your S3 learn how to use the Power Saving features. There are options for screen brightness, background color, haptic feedback and downgrading your CPU speed in Settings. Only thing that will suck away battery life is if your LTE radio is always on and active. In that case, you may want to limit syncing and mobile data.
 
Jimmy W said:
How do you fix the ringer? good recommendations? I never can hear it if its in the other room.

I can deal with the battery life, I guess.

It takes me a while to get one thing accomplished on this thing. The notes section on this arent that good.

Going to give it one more weekend and go from there.
Click to expand...

The speaker is on the back next to the camera. It's MUCH louder if you set it down screen side down (obviously protect the screen somehow).
 
ScandaLeX said:
I guess you missed the multiple times he mentioned he's "NEW TO ANDROID" or did you read it and choose to ignore it just so you could get your sarcastic comment out there?
Click to expand...

I gave him an answer in my post (something you may have missed) which is more then you did in your post.

"Should I return it for an iphone 5?"

I pointed out he was asking a bunch of S3 owners if he should get an iPhone.

Try and keep to the subject matter at hand.
 
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