[Peter J]

I've clung to my dinosaur flip phone up till now, but am thinking of getting on the Smartphone train. We'll stick with Verizon and their new "everything" plan. Wife has an Iphone, it's nicely made and I could be happy with it I think, but I've no allegiance to Apple so am considering what appears to be it's closest Android competitor...the Samsung Galaxy S3. Both have more capability than I'll probably ever exploit completely.

Because of the physical size of either phone, I'll use it extensively with a Bluetooth earpiece. I'd appreciate any honest real-world experiences to help me decide. What say ye with more knowledge than me?

[Gopher]

I own both the Galaxy Nexus and the S3 and as of right now I prefer the Nexus.  I really hate Samsung's skin on the Android OS and am impatiently waiting for a more stable version of CM10 to come out so I can put a custom ROM on the phone.  The locked bootloader is a pretty lame move, imo.

The bloatware that comes with the S3 makes it feel more sluggish then my Galaxy Nexus running pure Google for what its worth. 

[rklein]

I recently upgraded from a Blackberry(good for email and NOTHING ELSE!!) to an Apple 4S and couldn't be happier with it.  Verizon will try and put the hard sell on you to go Droid as the iphone can only utilize their 3G network and the Droids can utilize their 4G network.

I am no geek and for me, the functionallity of the 4S more than meets my needs.  When I do go on the internet the 3G network seems fast enough. 

Regards,

Randy

[MaxCast]

I have never owned an android phone but have used an android tablet.  There are some things I like on android but I prefer the apple ecosystem.  I have an iphone and we have other apple devises in the house.  My vote would be for the iphone.  The ease of use, syncing and sharing of apps with your wife would probably be the best reasons for going with the iphone.

[F-100]

Both phones are excellent. If speed is important then go with Galaxy S3.
The 4G network is very fast in my area. I was able to get 3500kbps download.

[JohnR]

I'll second the recommendation to take a good look at the Nexus.

[Tyson]

Do you have (or plan on having) any other apple devices?  If so, then I'd say get an iPhone, as the integration across devices is very nice right now, and about to get a whole lot better with iOS 6.  I love the fact that I can message on 3 apple devices and have it show up on all of them simultaneously.  Plus the resale of apple stuff is really good, if/when you decide to upgrade in the future.

[skunark]

If your wife has an iPhone you will be able to share the power adapter if you buy a 4 or 4s.  The iPhone 5 rumored to be out in Sept/Oct time-frame is expected have a different connectort.   Some might feel that's a small deal, but it's rather huge to be able to share power adapters across multiple devices.   It's also rather easy to pick up a charger and cable if in a bind and even share with a friend or stranger.   

You and your wife can also share any apps you purchase (just share the same app store account).

Some other thoughts too: 
* iPhones tend to have higher resale value - great for the perpetual upgrader or if you end up not liking it.
* iPhones will be supported longer than the other phones.   Typically OS upgrades are good for the last 3 generations - not all of the new features will be supported on older phones.   Even the non-current versions of the OS will get security updates
* iPhones will break if you drop them, the warranty is probably worth it if you don't have a death grip.  You can also buy into the warranty after you break it ($50 replacement fee plus cost of warranty).     Without a warranty, if you have an Apple Store close buy they will charge $150 to trade a broken iPhone for a refurbished one.
* iPhones also have a ton of 3rd party stuff.... cd-changer adapter for your car - iPhone 5 might break that trend though
* iPhones have offsite backups since iOS5 - If enabled, this eases the pain for upgrading or if you lost/broke your phone.
* iPhone doesn't support flash - There are still sites that require flash... Since Adobe is dropping mobile support of flash, Andriod will probably have this issue too.
* Iphone doesn't natively support flac - there are probably apps for flac..  I don't know about hi-rez audio, but i don't see the point to have such large files on a mobile device ...

[TheChairGuy]

Might depend how old you are or your eyesight.

iPhone screen getting smaller to me over the past 2 years (age 49 now)

I'm very happy with it, otherwise and have met no one that hasn't been.  Would trade up to an iPhone 5 if it has Siri and a larger screen, however.  Here's to hoping for that 

[Peter J]

Thanks for all the insights....just what I'm needing. I'm evenly split between the two. We're not Apple afficionados, nor power users. Wife got iphone so she could process credit cards remotely and the service provider only had app for iphone.

I was torn on whether to get a smartphone at all, but if I sign up for 2 year contract and take advantage of the device discount offered, I think I might regret not getting on board now. Funny how years ago they were making cell phones smaller and smaller and now they appear to be getting bigger and bigger.

My 56 year old eyes like the idea of a bigger screen, but it'll take some adjusting to the size and short battery life of smartphone. The S3 looks huge! I'm in no hurry, but find the shopping process kind of mind-numbing 'cuz it's my first one and I really don't have any basis for comparison.

[JohnR]

Might depend how old you are or your eyesight.

iPhone screen getting smaller to me over the past 2 years (age 49 now)

This is the size I want my next phone to be:

[Bizarroterl]

I just went from a tiny flip to the S3.  The change in size is a major consideration.  I decided the larger screen size would be worth it though and so far it has.  The shortened battery time is an issue though.  I'm anxiously waiting on the wireless charger (September).  I'll buy two, one for home and the other for work.

After doing some web browsing on the S3 I can say that for me that web browsing on any phone is a "only if you really need to" thing.    GPS/mapping has been extremely useful, as well as having a portable video/music player, and the ability to receive/send email from my phone has been useful too.

[TheChairGuy]

This is the size I want my next phone to be:

Ha - BIG, bold & bodacious....fully expected as the Aussie you are, John-o.

Not sure that baby could be carried on my hip in a swivel holdster that I prefer...but, something larger than the 3.5" screen currently would surely be appreciated by me and a legion of 35-and-ups that otherwise dig our iPhones.

[JohnR]

It's on my wish list. That's not actually a phone but sooner or later someone will make one. Hey, I'd like to say I have deep pockets but sadly it ain't so. Still, I just measured 140 x 230 mm, which will fit a pretty big phone...

Thing I don't understand is why Apple only makes one phone? I mean, Mac comes in several (physically different) versions - Pro, mini, 2 x iMac, 2 x Air, 3 x Macbook Pro. So what's the big deal with making phones (or iPads) in different sizes?

[Peter J]

I just went from a tiny flip to the S3.  The change in size is a major consideration.  I decided the larger screen size would be worth it though and so far it has.  The shortened battery time is an issue though.  I'm anxiously waiting on the wireless charger (September).  I'll buy two, one for home and the other for work.

After doing some web browsing on the S3 I can say that for me that web browsing on any phone is a "only if you really need to" thing.    GPS/mapping has been extremely useful, as well as having a portable video/music player, and the ability to receive/send email from my phone has been useful too.

I'm leaning towards the S3, there are a number of appealing features and the wireless charger just added one more! I wonder if you could give me a real-world feel for battery life? I'm often on job sites all day and while I could carry a charger, it would be a PIA. My thought would be to charge at end of every day...is that realistic? If I forgot to charge at night will I regret it next day?

I guess all Smartphones are going to be similar, that's gonna take some getting used to, and a more comprehensive charging scheme. I charge my current phone perhaps twice a week.

[JohnR]

It's most straightforward to just put the phone on the charger each afternoon/evening when you get home. A car charger is a good idea. No real difference between my old iPhone / current Nokia / SO's Galaxy Nexus. If you don't use the "smart" features the batter y will last longer.

[tvyankee]

Hey,

One thing for every one to consider is that if you are a Sprint person just understand that the S3 is a 4g LTE phone not a wimax phone so if you live in a area that does not have Sprint 4g lte you will running on 3g all the time. Sprint 4g network is currently Wimax not 4g. They only have 4g LTE in like 2 places.  I was told by Sprint that they are doing away with there Wimax network and bringing in there 4g LTE as soon as MId 2013 to some other places.

Just thought i would give the heads up in case some people didn't know.

Peace

[django11]

I went from a flip phone to an Android phone last year.  By choosing an unpopular model I got a pretty decent smartphone for the same monthly cost as my flip phone with no money down.

I really like that the address book and agenda automatically update  to my online Google  account ( and vice versa) and so can not be lost.  Love the GPS and the look up feature that allows me to find suppliers near my job site.  Access to internet on a job site allows me to find products or answer questions on the spot.

I would have liked a better camera.

[Gopher]

http://phandroid.com/2012/08/15/verizons-galaxy-s3-bootloader-finally-unlocked-let-the-fun-begin/

Easy choice now...

[leepalao]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 so I would say, go for the S3... My wife does have an iPhone and I'm not too fond of it.. I like to mess with my phone so my answer may be different. Must have flash it over 50 times with different roms... I can understand why someone would want an iPhone though. But overall, the S3 is definitely better (bigger screen, faster etc..).