Apple iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy S III Discussion

[Jen Edwards]

If you're tired of carrying around the same old "dumb" phone that has a tiny little screen and doesn't run any of the thousands of cool apps and games available these days, it's time to upgrade to a powerful modern smartphone. The problem is knowing which one to get, a problem made especially difficult if you're not already committed to either Apple's iOS or Android.

Brighthand is here to help with a comparison of the Apple iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S III, the two flagship devices for thes rival operating systems. While they run very different OSs, they also share many similarities and can be judged accordingly.

Read the full content of this Article: Apple iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy S III

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[Varjak]

I think this comparo is comparatively late as the 4S is about to be obsolete; but the biggest problem I see with the iPhone (which isn't likely to change) is the absolutely usurious cost for more capacity. It's just incomprehensible. I know it's a great ecosystem, and I've been an Apple fan for a long time (though not to the point of losing reason); but Apple does some mind-boggling things.

[Mitlov]

I think the difference in screen size (which IS likely to change with the soon-to-arrive iPhone 5) is another critical distinction that makes comparison difficult. I mean, we're comparing a 3.5" screen device to a 4.8" screen device.

Actually, on second thought, I think it's a fair comparison considering that the Samsung isn't much larger physically and actually weighs less. It's just that the iPhone is REALLY inefficient on the screen-size-to-weight and screen-size-to-case-size ratios. And Apple deserves to be dinged for that inefficiency in packaging.

[r0k]

Excellent article, Jen. There is a bit more detail you could include, though. On iOS, you must enter your password every time you purchase an app, get a free app or even update an app you already have. And many notifications on iOS are horrible dialogs that get in the way of whatever you are doing. Another area you could cover is comparing what it is like to do a similar task on both devices. I find that while I like the larger screen on my GP5, things look a heck of a lot better and more readable on my iPhone 4's retina display. Hopefully you will update or write a new article when iPhone 5 comes out in a few weeks.

[Ed Hardy]

Consider that the Galaxy S III has only been on the market a month or so. We could hardly do a hands-on comparison involving this smartphone before it was released.

Also, once the next-generation iPhone hits the market sometime this fall, we'll do a comparison of it and the Galaxy S III.

[Varjak]

Sure, but a month (or 6 weeks, whatever)) from now, you could do the iP5 v. the SIII and it would be much more apropos. I'm not bothered much by it, as it's still somewhat useful; but I still think my original comment is on point and not unduly harsh (at least it wasn't meant to be).

[Drillbit]

Should compare the Galaxy S3 against the Galaxy Nexus with Jelly Bean. Its incredible how polished this Android version is.

[mrlbh]

Nice article, although I agree with the previous posters that you should have done the comparison with a phone that doesn't exist yet.

There were, however, two areas important to me that you failed to cover.

First, I'll be writing my own apps so a comparison, however brief, of the two development systems would have been nice. Do you really have to buy a Mac to write iOS apps?

Second, you failed to mention how to get new data, e.g. music, video, podcasts, onto the phone. Can you write to the device as an external drive or do you have to use the horror that is iTunes?

[Drillbit]

1. Yes. Use a Mac.

2. Yes, you need to use iTunes.