T-Mobile Galaxy S3 First Impressions
- Thread starter 1SiK1500
- Start date
Sorry for the late first impression, I was late for work and JUST got home (finally!).
Samsung Galaxy SIII
Pebble Blue
16GB
OK, so at first power up, it was a little slow connecting to their network...which scared me...but after first connection, it was great.
The phone is f-ing fast. Blazing. Coming from the Galaxy Nexus (it was stolen) and the fact that I felt like this might not be a true "upgrade" from that, I was really worried and frustrated with paying so much for the phone....but I don't regret it. The screen to screen response is better, the fluidity is better, the overall response is just better. I couldn't really force it to lag, though I didn't try REALLY hard.
The screen is epic. It looks so vivid and crisp its unreal. Haven't watched any movies or anything yet, but pictures and everything look great. Colors, brightness, I really dig it.
Touchwiz was one of the things that scared me. I bought the Nexus One when it came out and then bought the Galaxy Nexus next. I've pretty much ALWAYS used stock Android (N1 was my first Android phone) even when rooted...I always stick to ROMs that are lean stock, I don't like crazy heavy modding. So, like I said, I was iffy about using Touchwiz. Let me tell you, in my opinion, I'm really enjoying it. The layout and how it works in general is really really nice. Its a really neat change of pace from stock Android. The fact that I'm still learning and adjusting to it, and the fact that I'm really enjoying it already and not getting frustrated with it leads me to believe it'll only get better.
I haven't really taken any pictures yet, but I did play with the camera app and it appears to be pretty stellar and solid.
The sound......wow, the sound is awesome. I was extremely disappointed in the sound quality of the Galaxy Nexus. I basically had to "cup" my hand behind the back speaker while watching Netflix in order to kind of hear what was going on. Also, I had a really hard time hearing while on the phone (and I have really good hearing) but the SIII is amazing. The sound is so loud but crisp, in my opinion. I watched a Youtube video and it sounded so awesome. I haven't listened to any music yet on it, but I'm pretty confident it will also be quality.
Connection has been solid so far. Wifi connects right away. Haven't had any drops as of yet. Can't complain here.
Battery life seems pretty solid. This is another area I obviously cannot fully comment on because I only charged it for like 5 minutes before work after coming directly from T-Mobile. I played with it a lot (XDA, Facebook and just touching the beautiful screen lol) and the phone was at like 60% still. Not sure what it started at though...but it seems really solid to me.
The build, to me, is solid. I heard complaints about it feeling "cheap" or whatever, but I think it feels really light weight but solid. I have no complaint about the build, personally.
The dedicated home button, to me, is useless. I NEVER use the home feature on any of my phones, I always use "back" to back out of the apps completely so they don't run in the background. Its nothing bad to me, though, and for the people that are worried about the "purple" color....it literally looks like it blends in with the screen. It doesn't really look purple.
My ONLY gripe, and its not a fair one in my opinion, is the screen size for handling (width). Its a bit big for me, but to be fair I have small hands *shrugs*. The Galaxy Nexus felt absolutely perfect in my hand. I could reach anything and everything without adjusting the phone in my one hand. The SIII take some moving to reach the top portion, especially the top left, while handling with one hand. That's more my problem then it is the phones though, lol.
So, in a nutshell, this is my first impression. No buyers remorse and I'm going to spend a few good hours now getting to know my new love interest (the wife will understand). Hope it helps some of you guys out. If you want to know anything in particular, feel free to ask
Nice review. You have me sold. What do you mean by" Also, I had a really hard time hearing while on the phone (and I have really good hearing). Is it hard to hear the other person when they are speaking to you on your end? Other than that phone sounds impressive.
Right out of the store, I got a lock in about 10 seconds. Might have been less.
Later today, at my house, got a lock instantly.
GPS is perfect.
Glad to see you here. I loved your gingersnap. Hope to see your magic if you get a chance to do so
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Yeah, I had a hard time hearing the other person....like the audio was just low. I even used the "Trinity Tool Kit" using Trinity kernel on the Galaxy Nexus and did the audio boost and it was still terrible.
The GSIII is impressive with the audio quality while over the air (in a phone call).
Hmmm I wonder if Samsung knows about this? I hope there will be a software update that will help that out. Still a month away before we can get our upgrade, by then the hype and the supply might settle down and might be easier to get.
hmm, I think you understood wrong. The Galaxy SIII is great on over the air audio quality. I was complaining about the Galaxy Nexus in-call audio quality
hmm, I think you understood wrong. The Galaxy SIII is great on over the air audio quality. I was complaining about the Galaxy Nexus in-call audio quality
Sorry I missed read it. After a second read through I understand now. :good:
No problems here... This phone is a beast! I couldnt be happier.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Ok useless things about the phone,
- Wake up for S voice when the screen is on and on the lock screen... Like really? couldn't they have done it when the screen is off? I feel the battery drain of that would be worth it.
- Turning on the screen simply by picking it up, this only works with missed calls and messages (sms) I have this phone for so much more than that (What's App, Line 2, 6 e-mail accounts) So I'd like it to wake up if there are any notifications at least. (If it lights up, it should wake up!)
- Motion controls, need a little more refinement in my opinion, the tap on the top for example, I think it uses the top mic to detect the tap?
- Stay on that is suppose to detect your eyes, so far that hasn't worked, I was in daylight and indoor. I see the little icon once in a blue moon. I tried uncomfortably staring wide-eyed, didn't work.
- The new swype keyboard is worse, there is no comma on the keyboard but a period. So you have to either press on the word on the predictive text, then hit comma up there, or hit space to enter the word, erase then hit the damn thing. Also, if you screw up and you select the word, in the previous editions it would show you the words for the selected word when typing. This one doesn't and it bugs the heck out of me.
Anyway, I hope this helps, I'd love to hear more.
- Wake up for S voice when the screen is on and on the lock screen... Like really? couldn't they have done it when the screen is off? I feel the battery drain of that would be worth it.
- Turning on the screen simply by picking it up, this only works with missed calls and messages (sms) I have this phone for so much more than that (What's App, Line 2, 6 e-mail accounts) So I'd like it to wake up if there are any notifications at least. (If it lights up, it should wake up!)
- Motion controls, need a little more refinement in my opinion, the tap on the top for example, I think it uses the top mic to detect the tap?
- Stay on that is suppose to detect your eyes, so far that hasn't worked, I was in daylight and indoor. I see the little icon once in a blue moon. I tried uncomfortably staring wide-eyed, didn't work.
- The new swype keyboard is worse, there is no comma on the keyboard but a period. So you have to either press on the word on the predictive text, then hit comma up there, or hit space to enter the word, erase then hit the damn thing. Also, if you screw up and you select the word, in the previous editions it would show you the words for the selected word when typing. This one doesn't and it bugs the heck out of me.
Anyway, I hope this helps, I'd love to hear more.
Anybody notice the phone charges really slow. I wonder if it's because of the higher capacity battery, but my rooted g2x was fully charged in about 45 minutes.
Otherwise great phone. Super fast, super smooth. Touchwiz seems a lot smoother and more intuitive than the version I remember from my old Vibrant. The screen is so bright and crisp just like I expected from Samsung. Looks like pictures aren't oversaturated or overprocessed like in the past, but they still look very bright and sharp. So far, so good!
Otherwise great phone. Super fast, super smooth. Touchwiz seems a lot smoother and more intuitive than the version I remember from my old Vibrant. The screen is so bright and crisp just like I expected from Samsung. Looks like pictures aren't oversaturated or overprocessed like in the past, but they still look very bright and sharp. So far, so good!
R
ritthyhang
Guest
I have a defective model my Bluetooth stereo headsets cuts in out every few minutes or so, my WiFi strength is horrible I Damn put the phone on top of the router and only got 1 bar strength.I'm really angry going back to t-mobile tomorrow try get a warranty exchange
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Did you try checking which channel you were on? Maybe try a less crowded one? Im not sure how many wireless devices you have in your house..
I'm really on the fence with this one. I've got the t-mo sgs2 and I just can't convince myself to fork out the money for this. Things like s-voice are already ported to the sgs2. Decisions, decisions.
I think monitoring for a wake-up call while the screen is off would take a prohibitive amount of power, although I suppose they could have made it an option and let the user decide.
Yeah the S3 is using a T9 predictive keyboard not Swype, not sure why they dropped Swype since I think you're right, it was better. The other weird thing is sometimes when you type (not "Swyping") it suggests a different word than what you typed, for example until doing it several times (I think now it's learned), when I typed "NE" (i.e., North East) it would suggest NEWS instead and I would have to physically tap the actual word I typed, very strange.
I also thought it was taking awhile, it does last a long time though. I charged to full out of the box and then wanted to run it down once so I was playing movies at full brightness non-stop for several hours and I only got it down to about 30%.
I love the new phone. The new TW is fine for now but I prefer CM9. I am struggling with how to get data from a few apps (like PowerAmp) without being able to use Titanium Backup. I do, however, hate the physical home button. You get so used to being able to just barely touch a button that having to press the key is not a natural movement any longer.
The stock ringtones also lack a simple ringing tone. That is annoying.
The stock ringtones also lack a simple ringing tone. That is annoying.
I feel like Samsung's in general charge slower. Same issue with my GSII but every HTC I've owned charged much faster
---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 AM ----------
+1 x 100!! I guess "T-Jingle" will do for now...
Similar threads
Top Liked Posts
-
There are no posts matching your filters.
-
5Sorry for the late first impression, I was late for work and JUST got home (finally!).
Samsung Galaxy SIII
Pebble Blue
16GB
OK, so at first power up, it was a little slow connecting to their network...which scared me...but after first connection, it was great.
The phone is f-ing fast. Blazing. Coming from the Galaxy Nexus (it was stolen) and the fact that I felt like this might not be a true "upgrade" from that, I was really worried and frustrated with paying so much for the phone....but I don't regret it. The screen to screen response is better, the fluidity is better, the overall response is just better. I couldn't really force it to lag, though I didn't try REALLY hard.
The screen is epic. It looks so vivid and crisp its unreal. Haven't watched any movies or anything yet, but pictures and everything look great. Colors, brightness, I really dig it.
Touchwiz was one of the things that scared me. I bought the Nexus One when it came out and then bought the Galaxy Nexus next. I've pretty much ALWAYS used stock Android (N1 was my first Android phone) even when rooted...I always stick to ROMs that are lean stock, I don't like crazy heavy modding. So, like I said, I was iffy about using Touchwiz. Let me tell you, in my opinion, I'm really enjoying it. The layout and how it works in general is really really nice. Its a really neat change of pace from stock Android. The fact that I'm still learning and adjusting to it, and the fact that I'm really enjoying it already and not getting frustrated with it leads me to believe it'll only get better.
I haven't really taken any pictures yet, but I did play with the camera app and it appears to be pretty stellar and solid.
The sound......wow, the sound is awesome. I was extremely disappointed in the sound quality of the Galaxy Nexus. I basically had to "cup" my hand behind the back speaker while watching Netflix in order to kind of hear what was going on. Also, I had a really hard time hearing while on the phone (and I have really good hearing) but the SIII is amazing. The sound is so loud but crisp, in my opinion. I watched a Youtube video and it sounded so awesome. I haven't listened to any music yet on it, but I'm pretty confident it will also be quality.
Connection has been solid so far. Wifi connects right away. Haven't had any drops as of yet. Can't complain here.
Battery life seems pretty solid. This is another area I obviously cannot fully comment on because I only charged it for like 5 minutes before work after coming directly from T-Mobile. I played with it a lot (XDA, Facebook and just touching the beautiful screen lol) and the phone was at like 60% still. Not sure what it started at though...but it seems really solid to me.
The build, to me, is solid. I heard complaints about it feeling "cheap" or whatever, but I think it feels really light weight but solid. I have no complaint about the build, personally.
The dedicated home button, to me, is useless. I NEVER use the home feature on any of my phones, I always use "back" to back out of the apps completely so they don't run in the background. Its nothing bad to me, though, and for the people that are worried about the "purple" color....it literally looks like it blends in with the screen. It doesn't really look purple.
My ONLY gripe, and its not a fair one in my opinion, is the screen size for handling (width). Its a bit big for me, but to be fair I have small hands *shrugs*. The Galaxy Nexus felt absolutely perfect in my hand. I could reach anything and everything without adjusting the phone in my one hand. The SIII take some moving to reach the top portion, especially the top left, while handling with one hand. That's more my problem then it is the phones though, lol.
So, in a nutshell, this is my first impression. No buyers remorse and I'm going to spend a few good hours now getting to know my new love interest (the wife will understand). Hope it helps some of you guys out. If you want to know anything in particular, feel free to ask322
I had this problem too, just leave yourself a voicemail, then from your SGS3 call your voicemail and listen to it, erase it and it should go away...worked for me atleast:good:
