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Anyone considering swapping s3 for a Nexus 4???

aldo82 said:
interesting some people feel this way. The manufacturers must add their own skin because they feel they are adding something and making it better for the user. If not why bother? Just put vanilla android on and compete with everyone else on hardware design. I think the carriers are improving and toning down their skins to the point of actually adding something to android (how it should be!). But having never used pure android the only way I'd know which I prefer is to get a Nexus to try it out. Might go for an N7 first and see how I like it. If I find myself longing for pure androuid all the time then an N4 after that.
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Samsung definitely added some niceness to stock Android. Also, it's far less intrusive than my experiences with HTC Sense. Nice little things like endlessly scrolling app drawer, battery percentage in status bar, toggles is status bar(which i changed, but they were still nice), blacked out notification pulldowns, and their motion dialing mods are great(I don't use any of their other motion mods). I thought I read somewhere that one of the CM guys was now working with or for Samsung. I think that's why TW on the S3 added a bunch of features that used to only be on custom roms.
 
aldo82 said:
I already use Nova. I assume there must be more to pure android than just the launcher as touchwiz is always running even when you replace the launcher so perhaps it hogs resources etc that you just don't get if you run pure android?
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Stock Android is going to look much simpler than TW Android. That aside, TW isn't intrusive and it simply isn't just the launcher. It's packed with many features that Google's home made Android doesn't have. Which one is better? It's a matter of preference, to me, the S3 is the clear winner in that matter. On a Nexus phone all the menus etc. are going to be monochrome (Cyan) and it might be slightly "faster". Mind me, by faster I'm not saying it's going to be anything that blows your mind, and probably you won't even notice it in your daily usage.

Again, if you want a pure Android experience, you might try CyanogenMod 10 on your S3 (if you want to flash custom firmwares) and give it a try. CyanogenMod adds many feature to the stock Android, but it also has all the feature stock android would have, including the GUI, etc.
 
NO way. I like LTE, my removable battery and my SD card slot. And I like Samsung products.

I'm not feelin the reason to "upgrade" to a N4 with those stats, sort of feels like a sidegrade or a downgrade.

What I AM excited about is the N10 and my ability to get into the tablet world without holding a freakin Apple product. Yes maybe I am an Android/Samsung fanboi......but if I can save $100 and get an equivalent tablet I'm all in. I was really hemming and hawing on the N7....love the price, but still am not sure whether I'll always be wanting the bigger screen.
 
I'm good with the S3. It's been relatively trouble free. I've even dropped it a few times and it's still intact with some minor scratches. I'm also now squarely in the AMOLED camp. After getting an LCD tablet after using my AMOLED phone, I look at the LCD in disgust whenever a dark scene is played or where there's a lot of black on screen. It looks like the N4 will have an IPS LCD screen. No thanks.
 
sherlock5545 said:
Stock Android is going to look much simpler than TW Android. That aside, TW isn't intrusive and it simply isn't just the launcher. It's packed with many features that Google's home made Android doesn't have. Which one is better? It's a matter of preference, to me, the S3 is the clear winner in that matter. On a Nexus phone all the menus etc. are going to be monochrome (Cyan) and it might be slightly "faster". Mind me, by faster I'm not saying it's going to be anything that blows your mind, and probably you won't even notice it in your daily usage.

Again, if you want a pure Android experience, you might try CyanogenMod 10 on your S3 (if you want to flash custom firmwares) and give it a try. CyanogenMod adds many feature to the stock Android, but it also has all the feature stock android would have, including the GUI, etc.
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Yep that's it. There's the launcher (touchwiz home) then there's the framework and kernel.

To be fair I put the same Go launcher on the s3 as I do the roms I code from source. The framework and kernel is what brings all the features like smart stay that samsung add. In my opinion, even cyanogen can't come close to features in a touchwiz rom.

I hate the menus though. I theme my s3 with a vanilla android theme. It looks just like a nexus from the status bar, notification area, menu but has all those lovely samsung features. Best of both worlds for me
 
pseudoware said:
+1

While at home, I turn wifi OFF when I want to dl stuff fast, lol. Once you go lte, you can never go back.
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Maybe your home broadband connection just sucks? that's not the case for everyone.

I'm not bothered about LTE, how fast do I really need to download while on the move? truth is not that fast, I'll welcome it when I get it but I'm in no rush.
 
Shocky said:
Maybe your home broadband connection just sucks? that's not the case for everyone.

I'm not bothered about LTE, how fast do I really need to download while on the move? truth is not that fast, I'll welcome it when I get it but I'm in no rush.
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This. I have 100mb broadband, LTE just doesn't compare. Who wants to d/l huge files on the go and cane their allowance?
 
czechplastik said:
This. I have 100mb broadband, LTE just doesn't compare. Who wants to d/l huge files on the go and cane their allowance?
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Exactly, I have unlimited internet and I download large files occationally using torrents and even then I rarely go over 5GB, That's not because I have a download limit, I just don't need to download anything more onto my phone.
 
I hate the menus though. I theme my s3 with a vanilla android theme. It looks just like a nexus from the status bar, notification area, menu but has all those lovely samsung features. Best of both worlds for me
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How do you theme it that way? I'd like to do the same :)
 
sherlock5545 said:
I have the I9300, International. I'm rooted, Omega ROM, which theme do I apply?
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1730397

Its called jellybean domination. You have to traverse a fair few pages to actually download the theme annoyingly but its well worth it.

One note though, if you don't have stock toggles (I.e you have the 15 toggles as default in omega) you will get systemUI crash unless you flash a 15 toggles mod from post 3
 
Shocky said:
Maybe your home broadband connection just sucks? that's not the case for everyone.

I'm not bothered about LTE, how fast do I really need to download while on the move? truth is not that fast, I'll welcome it when I get it but I'm in no rush.
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While I like big numbers, download speeds today are just so fast that there aren't that many applications that really need it. I'm sure there are and those folks definitely wouldn't want the N4 for it's lack of LTE but for what I will do with the phone (light web surfing, texting, and e-mail) HSPA+ will be fine.
 
I'm stickin' with this baby until she kicks it or until end of contract, whichever comes first! Coming from a Motorola Triumph, the S3 is like moving from a Pinto to a Cadillac & I haven't even worn the shine off the tires yet. :D
 
I am trying to decide between which one of these I am going to upgrade to. The Nexus 4 seems to win on everything except the lack of LTE, removable battery, and SD slot.

The lack of removable storage is the only thing that bothers be, but I'm not sure if that alone is enough to warrant getting the S3 over the Nexus 4.

For context, the phone I'm currently on is the HTC Desire...so to be honest, either of them will likely be mind blowing for me.
 
Shocky said:
Maybe your home broadband connection just sucks? that's not the case for everyone.

I'm not bothered about LTE, how fast do I really need to download while on the move? truth is not that fast, I'll welcome it when I get it but I'm in no rush.
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czechplastik said:
This. I have 100mb broadband, LTE just doesn't compare. Who wants to d/l huge files on the go and cane their allowance?
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@shocky.....I assume you're not in an LTE area. Of course you're in no rush but that doesn't mean it isn't valuable, and it's a bit odd that the cutting edge "Nexus" would go backwards on this point.

I agree that wifi is still best in most situations. My personal wifi situation is that I have Comcast that pulls about 23 mbps.....over my wifi the phone generally loads around 10-12 mbps......so it is a bit "slower" than LTE but not noticeable and certainly not to the point its worth eating into my data cap while at home.

That said, under normal "3G" vs LTE, I still notice a difference while surfing or using the phone. It is nice to click on something and have it load up in a second or three, rather than 8, 10 or even 20. I'm not talking about downloading big files or streaming......but just "using" the phone.

So people can rationalize all they want about LTE not being "necessary" etc, and of course it's not "necessary" but then again why do people get all excited over quad core phones and slight increases in CPU speed etc...when most of that stuff is much less noticeable in actual usage than LTE download speed. It feels to me like Nexus 4 is taking a shortcut that isn't that smart.....as many people who are likely to buy an unsubsidized phone are more likely to be phone nerds like us, and not being able to check the box of having LTE seems silly (to me).
 
Hogan773 said:
So people can rationalize all they want about LTE not being "necessary" etc, and of course it's not "necessary" but then again why do people get all excited over quad core phones and slight increases in CPU speed etc...when most of that stuff is much less noticeable in actual usage than LTE download speed. It feels to me like Nexus 4 is taking a shortcut that isn't that smart.....as many people who are likely to buy an unsubsidized phone are more likely to be phone nerds like us, and not being able to check the box of having LTE seems silly (to me).
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Agree. I have a US T-Mo S3, so I have to make do with HSPA+ which is plenty fast for me, but LTE is the wave of the future & I think it is a little short-sighted for Google not to include it in the Nexus 4. I imagine it will be a serious disincentive certainly in the US market.
 
Hogan773 said:
@shocky.....I assume you're not in an LTE area. Of course you're in no rush but that doesn't mean it isn't valuable, and it's a bit odd that the cutting edge "Nexus" would go backwards on this point.
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I am as of a few days ago, would need to change network and phone so really not worth it.

Understand that everything I do with my mobile which uses internet runs fine as it is, I can stream in HQ, download apps, music, movies and web browsing is fairly quick depending on location, (5-6Mb/s normally)

So i'm in no rush, if I need to download anything large which would take a long time i'll use my home wifi which is 100Mb/s.
 
Its not just the speed of lte its the price of it i get between 5-6 meg on my s3 which is plenty pages open instantly videos are fine no need to buffer and dont really want or need to be paying the costs ee want in the uk.
So think the nexus 4 will be fine without lte and think its price reflects that imo its a bargin.
 
Ye, going to get the Nexus 4. Mainly as a change really. We're just getting LTE in the UK and wont even be in city for a year or so, so not bothered about that. The internal storage is a slight gripe, but looking at my S3 I only use about 12GB max.

I have registered my interest and depending on what I will get on Ebay for the S3 will determine my decision. Got loads of extras so who knows.
 
Hogan773 said:
not to the point its worth eating into my data cap while at home.
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I wasn't speaking about home BB allowances Hogan.

LTE is new in the UK and very expensive with pretty low data caps. I guess you guys are quite a bit further ahead in terms of your coverage and allowance? The cost of even 500mb is horrific.

When the cost comes down for us I'm all for LTE, it's not a must but a like. Not a deal breaker for me on a phone right now.
 
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