Hi guys and girls
I'm considering buying a Sapphire Black Galaxy S3 16gb from kogan, it's time to upgrade since my old phone stopped working ($29 huawei u8300, served me well). However I noticed that the Nexus 4 16gb is also available for the same price as the S3, $519 delivered. In your own opinion, which phone should I purchase? I won't be able to hold out for an Xperia Z or an HTC Butterfly given the urgency and the price tag.
Cheers!
For me, the 16Gb (actually more like 14Gb that is user accessible) is the big downfall of the Nexus.
If you can get over that issue, at $100 less, I think the Nexus is unbeatable.
Just to throw a spanner in the works, if you can't get the nexus for $400, consider the LG 4X HD. Not quite as good as the two phones you are after, but not too far off for the price gap.
That's a horrible alternative. Much worse cpu and gpu than the Nexus 4, and that phone is unlikely to ever see an update.
Nexus 4 > S3
Only reason to get the S3 is if you have to have microsd slot. Nexus 4 looks better and has a more premium feel too.
I didn't say it was as good. How often to you think you will be limited by the CPU in the HD 4X really?
If you can get the Nexus 4 for a similar price there is no competition, but we are talking about a serious price gap here.
Software is the 4x's downfall
It's currently not all that great and LG are unlikely to ever make an upgrade to make it any better.
Micro SD is nice but not such a big deal for me, I assume 16 gb is plenty for a couple of premium games and some music on the go. The main points for my usage are: battery (stand by, web browing, and talk time), camera, screen, and cpu/gpu (no lag while operating menus and within applications).
Bruce, I've considered it given the price but when I saw it in store I didn't like it (camera was not what I wanted).
btw is the Nexus 4 available at major telco outlets so I can check it out first hand?
Battery on the S3 and Nexus 4 are pretty much the same.
S3 has a tiny bit better camera.
Both have a 720p display, just depends if you like Samoled over lcd.
Cpu/gpu better on the Nexus 4, and it feels just a bit smoother than the S3 to me.
Not sure if they have one on display, but looks like Harvey Norman have it exclusively, http://www.current.com.au/2013/01/24/article/Harvey-Norman-s…
Hardlys are your best bet to handle one.
They have an exclusive for Bricks and Mortar stores.
I would recommend the Galaxy S3.
Even though the battery, like Nexus 4, is 2100mAH, the official 3000mAH extended battery is already out and you should be able to buy it from a Telstra shop like S2's or online. That's the capacity of Note 2 and reported to not increase much of the phone's thickness here: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-oem-extended…
The camera quality and camera software are much better in S3. You get burst shots, modes, scenes, etc. The built-in panorama takes much faster photos and the gallery handles better.
Being on the latest software is not always a good thing. Search on Google and you'll find articles reporting about 4.2 bugs for all Nexus devices. I'm running 4.2 on my Galaxy Nexus and there are still issues like the screen not waking up but you can still use the phone which makes it a pain to try and figure out the shut down button without having to remove the battery.
The Photosphere app is a main feature of 4.2 but it takes quite some time to render and the stock panorama still take some time to generate instead of instantly like in the S2 I used previously. Imagine yourself having to wait in front of a scenery to see whether your panorama shots turn out well, if you're into taking panorama shots.
Also, when using the camera app you scroll to the left to go to gallery but many times the gestures are wonky, you scrolled back to the camera but it still suddenly flings you back to the photos you have taken and this happens very often.
My point is, you're often beta testing for Google by using the latest update on a Nexus device, there's no doubt about that. I rather have the software properly tested before being sent out to my device because many of the bugs can break your daily usage of the phone.
That's my main point. Having 1GB RAM wouldn't be a problem and the quad core Exynos with its GPU is very powerful, at least better than Tegra 3 and just a bit less than the Snapdragon in Nexus 4, at least on benchmarks. With an AMOLED screen it's more battery-saving and deeper contrast than the LCD screen on Nexus 4.
I hope I've covered enough on what you're looking for in your next new phone. It's a very long comment but I wrote it with the sincerity to help you decide since you asked for opinions here.
Plus, one current bug of 4.2 on a Nexus device happening to Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 is once your phone's internal storage is less than 3GB, it starts to slow down and that sucks with the already limited storage. And this happen to many people, though quite randomly without cause. You can Google on this issue.
And if you're gonna be rooting your phone or installing a custom ROM you will have to unlock the bootloader on the Nexus 4 which will wipe everything, unless you unlock it before you start using the phone which would void the warranty, compared to the bootloader already unlocked on any Galaxy devices and you just need to root the phone and backup everything including games data without losing anything.
Ok enough of me now.
1.Can always buy a portable battery.
2.It's better, not that much better.
3.Only heard about the bluetooth bug, but I don't use it so I dont know if I have that problem. Look anywhere on any phone and there are always reported bugs.
4. Do you even have nexus 4 or just a Galaxy Nexus? Photosphere is bit hard to do perfectly but it last time I tried it takes around 7-8 seconds rendering.
5. I have no problem with the camera app.
6. AMOLED is good on dark screens, on white screens like surfing the web, it's a battery killer.
Thanks for the helpful comments everyone, I will stop by a hardly's today and check out the nexus. There are some strong points that nanoronline made, very detailed and insightful! I'll post back later to update how the search is going and whether I've made a purchase. Either way I'll finally have a phone that can run Angry Birds :P
Ok update time! I decided to go with the Galaxy S3, HN apparently weren't sent any display models (Highpoint store) so I went with the product I've seen and am comfortable with. Mine arrived from Kogan and after unboxing, charging, etc, works like a charm! The GS3 feels, looks and performs really nicely.
Thank you guys and girls, your input has been very helpful!
Feel free to ask any questions about the GS3 or kogan's shipping/product description.
How long did it take to get shipped from Kogan?
About 5 business days, or 7 calendar days (including a weekend). It's surprisingly prompt, the phone was sent by Toll Express from HK, signature upon arrival.
Silly Question, if i goto Office works and show them Kogan selling the S3 for $499, will the price match and give me a 5% discount? cos im in desperate need of a phone after my 3gs died and im using kogan mobile plan and kogan dont have any stock of the nano sim till mid march.
Most of the salespeople are aware that Kogan sells grey imports and will not price match, but no harm in trying! Note that the S3 is a micro sim phone.
Can you wait and get the Nexus 16Gb direct from Google for only $399 which may also include GST, (apparently was in stock for a short time today)
So only based on the above price, Nexus4 wins.
I do prefer the look of nexus.
I am also considering both of these 2 phones. Both have their goods and bads.. and most important depends on your preferences.
Google Nexus 4 over Galaxy S III
Samsung Galaxy S III over Nexus 4
From;
http://www.gsmarena.com/google_nexus_4_vs_samsung_galaxy_s_i…