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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode to gigahurtz

News Guy

to gigahurtz

Re: Ugly ass TouchWiz...

I still don't think they've made the right phone for me yet. Currently have the S3 running CM10, but I want something like the Nexus 4, but with a less plasticky design, a better removable battery, and very CM10 friendly. A bigger S4 is not what I'm looking for, personally.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

said by Karl Bode:

I still don't think they've made the right phone for me yet. Currently have the S3 running CM10, but I want something like the Nexus 4, but with a less plasticky design, a better removable battery, and very CM10 friendly. A bigger S4 is not what I'm looking for, personally.

How good wil the voice part be? You have the S3. Is the voice part any good?

Motorola phones haven't been the best smartphones around, but their voice capabilities and ability to maintain a voice call under low signal levels have always been outstanding.

Does the Samsung S3 keep a voice call going under weak signal conditions?
kram1984j
join:2009-12-06

kram1984j to Karl Bode

Member

to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

A bigger S4 is not what I'm looking for, personally.

Isn't it actually a smaller S4? The screen is slightly larger but the bezel is smaller and the overall device is supposed to be thinner, shorter, narrower, and lighter.

»www.phonearena.com/phone ··· 597,7114

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to Karl Bode

Premium Member

to Karl Bode
Out of curiosity, what does CM10 add to the S3 for you? The hardware in it is overkill for my needs and seems to help the stock software brute force it through any possible hang up. Just looking through the CM forums on the S3, seems to be a slew of glitch complaints, but no explanations as to why a root vs. stock.
kram1984j
join:2009-12-06

kram1984j

Member

said by Thaler:

but no explanations as to why a root vs. stock.

remove bloatware applications, customize UI, Titanium Backup and similar apps, wifi tether, multiview for all apps.... but these apply to root (and root with touchwiz if including the multiview mods), not specific to installing AOSP/CM.
wkm001
join:2009-12-14

1 recommendation

wkm001 to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
I agree that Motorola has been putting very good radios and antennas in their phones for quite some time. They should, they were a radio company first.

I have a Verizon S3 and the ability to hold onto a voice call is nothing short of amazing. Even in very weak signal areas. A friend at work has a US Cellular S3 and she is experiencing the same great signals.
wkm001

wkm001 to Thaler

Member

to Thaler
I have been running CleanROM on my Verizon S3. The battery life on my S3 is fantastic now. I have no issues making it through the day on a charge. If Samsung had shipped a similar ROM from the get go the S3 would be an even bigger hit.

Running Apex as my launcher I get a more traditional Android experience while holding onto features like Smart Stay and Direct Dial.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode to FFH5

News Guy

to FFH5
I've been happy with the voice quality. Most of the voice issues I run into are due to Verizon's iffy coverage here north of NYC.
Karl Bode

Karl Bode to kram1984j

News Guy

to kram1984j
I meant larger screen. I personally don't need or want to get into 5" territory.
Karl Bode

Karl Bode to Thaler

News Guy

to Thaler
said by Thaler:

Out of curiosity, what does CM10 add to the S3 for you? The hardware in it is overkill for my needs and seems to help the stock software brute force it through any possible hang up. Just looking through the CM forums on the S3, seems to be a slew of glitch complaints, but no explanations as to why a root vs. stock.

I like the fact I can essentially gut the interface from the top down, purge all Verizon bloatware, and customize the hell out of it. Some of the stock Google functionality (typing) feels better to me as well.

My main problem is there's still a few bugs with Cyanogen Mod 10 on the S3 they haven't fixed yet, like the home button becoming borked (single press brings you to open apps instead of home, fixed by a reboot) and the occasional inability to properly click on a link without getting the alt menu options (also fixed with a reboot).

My wife's tethering also doesn't work with CM10 on the S3, so I'm thinking of sending her back to stock, and may in time nudge her back to the iPhone.

bobjohnson
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
Spartanburg, SC

bobjohnson to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

said by Karl Bode:

I still don't think they've made the right phone for me yet. Currently have the S3 running CM10, but I want something like the Nexus 4, but with a less plasticky design, a better removable battery, and very CM10 friendly. A bigger S4 is not what I'm looking for, personally.

How good wil the voice part be? You have the S3. Is the voice part any good?

Motorola phones haven't been the best smartphones around, but their voice capabilities and ability to maintain a voice call under low signal levels have always been outstanding.

Does the Samsung S3 keep a voice call going under weak signal conditions?

Middle of the road. Speakerphone is horrible if there's any background noise.
Compared to Motorola, no. Compared to other Samsung phones, yes.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 recommendation

Karl Bode

News Guy

Yeah I think there's lots of room for improvement. I am told by others that I'm worlds clearer on the S3 than I was on the iPhone 4, fwiw.

I really look forward to the day of VoLTE, as I've not really ever been impressed with voice on any of the smartphones I've used...

bobjohnson
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
Spartanburg, SC

bobjohnson

Premium Member

said by Karl Bode:

Yeah I think there's lots of room for improvement. I am told by others that I'm worlds clearer on the S3 than I was on the iPhone 4, fwiw.

I really look forward to the day of VoLTE, as I've not really ever been impressed with voice on any of the smartphones I've used...

I have a Nokia Lumia 810 with T-Mobile and the S3 on Sprint and the Lumia is hands down the winner on voice quality but the S3 is better at everything else so I'm not sure which one is better
I am eagerly awaiting VoLTE as well.

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to kram1984j

Premium Member

to kram1984j
said by kram1984j:

said by Thaler:

but no explanations as to why a root vs. stock.

remove bloatware applications, customize UI, Titanium Backup and similar apps, wifi tether, multiview for all apps.... but these apply to root (and root with touchwiz if including the multiview mods), not specific to installing AOSP/CM.

I understand the removal of bloatware, but the hardware itself is beyond overkill for any hangups that might occur. Other than occupying some of the 16 GB of internal memory, is there a problem with the stock software, even if it is bloat?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Thanks all for the replies. I am switching carriers in May away from Sprint. And I am looking at AT&T & Verizon which both have good LTE coverage in my area. And I am looking at phone options on those 2 carriers. Having a phone with decent voice and very good battery life are 2 of my criteria.
kram1984j
join:2009-12-06

kram1984j to Thaler

Member

to Thaler
I didn't order those things from most to least important. stock is ok and yes the bloatware you can just hide from the app drawer (except Sprint Connection Manager with disabling doesn't completely disable.....), and it won't cause you any problems.

Personally I like further UI customization (customize color/opacity of shade, battery icon, boot animation, etc), forcing multiview on other apps (although I don't often use it), titanium backup (requires root) and other apps that require root, and wifi tether (but I havent actually been able to get wifi tether to work on the note 2, but USB does). Now, you can do most of those on stock-but-rooted ROMs.

Maybe most of all I just like tinkering with small things. (test out photosphere before the nexus 4 came out? etc)

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru to Thaler

MVM

to Thaler
said by Thaler:

Other than occupying some of the 16 GB of internal memory, is there a problem with the stock software, even if it is bloat?

Have you ever used a stock Android device like a Nexus 4, 7, or 10? To me, the interface is just smoother, simpler, easier to use. Sometimes bling can be good, but other times you don't want the bling and just want something that works well. With Eclaire, Froyo, Gingerbread, some parts of Sense on my HTC phones was nice because Android still wasn't quite there yet. But with ICS and JB, Sense (and what I've seen with TouchWiz) isn't necessary.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

67845017 (banned) to Karl Bode

Member

to Karl Bode
You should change the article title. It's misleading.

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese to Karl Bode

Premium Member

to Karl Bode
The overall package isn't really that much bigger than the S3.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

67845017 (banned)

Member

Actually, the S4 is smaller and lighter in every way than the S3. The only thing physically bigger is the screen.

S4: 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm), 4.59 oz (130 g)
S3: 5.39 x 2.80 x 0.34 inches (137 x 71 x 8.6 mm ), 4.70 oz (133 g)

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

said by 67845017:

Actually, the S4 is smaller and lighter in every way than the S3. The only thing physically bigger is the screen.

S4: 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm), 4.59 oz (130 g)
S3: 5.39 x 2.80 x 0.34 inches (137 x 71 x 8.6 mm ), 4.70 oz (133 g)

Didn't realize it was that small To bad I have the S3, I would get it
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn to kram1984j

Member

to kram1984j
said by kram1984j:

I didn't order those things from most to least important. stock is ok and yes the bloatware you can just hide from the app drawer (except Sprint Connection Manager with disabling doesn't completely disable.....), and it won't cause you any problems.

Personally I like further UI customization (customize color/opacity of shade, battery icon, boot animation, etc), forcing multiview on other apps (although I don't often use it), titanium backup (requires root) and other apps that require root, and wifi tether (but I havent actually been able to get wifi tether to work on the note 2, but USB does). Now, you can do most of those on stock-but-rooted ROMs.

Maybe most of all I just like tinkering with small things. (test out photosphere before the nexus 4 came out? etc)

msg me ill send you the settings for the note2 tether via wifi.

I use it daily. 40 gigs and counting

DrModem
Trust Your Doctor
Premium Member
join:2006-10-19
USA

DrModem to Thaler

Premium Member

to Thaler
said by Thaler:

Out of curiosity, what does CM10 add to the S3 for you? The hardware in it is overkill for my needs and seems to help the stock software brute force it through any possible hang up. Just looking through the CM forums on the S3, seems to be a slew of glitch complaints, but no explanations as to why a root vs. stock.

The Biggest reasons for me? Rapid OS updates and stock UI.

I was running 4.2.2 on my S3 with CM when the stock rom was still stuck on 4.0.4. And I hateeeeeeeeeeeee the vendor UIs (touchwiz, sense etc) and cruft with a burning passion. It's basically the same thing I do when I get a new PC... wipe and intall a clean version of windows without all the crap.

Sure, there are glitches. Right now CM10.1 is still in nightly status and there are a few annoying bugs (such as when you take the phone off the charger sometimes it thinks every tap is a long press, a simple reboot fixes it) but it's really nothing major, and what I get in return is more than worth it.

I really wish there was a nexus I could get, but the nexus 4 seems to get mediocre reviews. Maybe the next one will be good, we'll see. But until there is a good nexus I will be sticking to flagship phones + CM.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
From my experience (with my Sprint S3), it does just fine. It's no Motorola e815, but there's only one dead spot that I know of.

aztr0
join:2007-10-28
Brooklyn, NY

aztr0 to Thaler

Member

to Thaler
With the stock, you get to use all the S- stuff. With a custom ROM, you will not get them. So it comes down to, if you like to use the Samsung apps or if you want more customization through a custom ROM, but not have the S- stuff.
kram1984j
join:2009-12-06

kram1984j

Member

Incorrect. You can use a custom ROM that is TouchWiz based (Assorted parts of the samsung stuff), or a custom ROM that is AOSP ("pure" Android / Google-released code). You can use custom roms With the S-stuff if that's what you want.

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to aztr0

Premium Member

to aztr0
said by aztr0:

With the stock, you get to use all the S- stuff.

Not really. All the S-apps I leave alone and install my own.