[Ptaaty]

Unlocked bootloader right? Having dev support and leaked firmware, release of source code, etc is a huge reason I have been very happy with my Galaxy S Captivate, and why I definitely prefer to stay samsung.

When I bought it Samsung didn't have the best rep in these areas, but seems to be awesome now. Any comments or rumors?

It doesn't matter too much right off the bat, but when ATT/Verizon/etc haven't pushed out a firmware when a new android version is out for months it is huge. My captivate has been up to the latest (including 4.0.4 ICS) without excessive delay. I was using an ICS based custom ROM when ATT finally pushed out Gingerbread!

Anyway phone looks great - Wolfsen DAC is great news.

[TimeKillr]

Bell has an lte network. Pretty sure it was around before robbers too. Out west anyway.

Yeah I've been told Bell doesn't have LTE here in Quebec, but I might be wrong.

In any case it seems like I'd want a non-LTE version of the phone (I don't need the higher speeds when the data plans are so stupid expensive) but I doubt I'll be able to get one.

[DMeisterJ]

Someone clarify this for me. So there will be 2 versions of the Galaxy S3 (more or less): a 3G version and an LTE version. The 3G version is the one with the Samsung Exynos quad-core CPU and the ARM Mali400MP GPU, while the LTE version uses the Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon MSM8960 and the Adreno 225 GPU. A friend of mine who is a big Android follower told me that the Qualcomm CPUs and GPUs are complete shit, but that since they are the only manufacturer of LTE radios they also force manufacturers to use their CPU and GPU solutions in phones that use their LTE radios. I'm in Canada. Let's say I go to Rogers, which will probably have the LTE version of the phone (I don't know why any carrier would have the 3G version, except maybe Bell since they don't have an LTE network), I'm screwed into the shitty dual-core processor and slow GPU? In the event of that happening, my guess is it would still be beneficial to have a Galaxy Nexus...

Your good friend is partially right. Chips before the S4 were ass. The S4 chip for the LTE phones is not gonna be any worse in day-to-day usage than the Exynos Quad-core. Yes, the Exynos will benchmark better, but the S4 is no SoC to be scoffed at. For the last two weeks it's been the hottest thing on the market until the Exynos was announced.

[TimeKillr]

Your good friend is partially right. Chips before the S4 were ass. The S4 chip for the LTE phones is not gonna be any worse in day-to-day usage than the Exynos Quad-core. Yes, the Exynos will benchmark better, but the S4 is no SoC to be scoffed at. For the last two weeks it's been the hottest thing on the market until the Exynos was announced.

Hmmm... Okay. I'll look into that then.

I'm going to switch plans with my gf so that we're on a shared plan and so it'll cost us less, so we'll see where we'll go, but regardless I can fund my phone since when I'm doing that I'll sell my straight-from-Apple 4S for at *least* 500$, so it's not even an issue :)

[The Faceless Master]

Someone clarify this for me. So there will be 2 versions of the Galaxy S3 (more or less): a 3G version and an LTE version. The 3G version is the one with the Samsung Exynos quad-core CPU and the ARM Mali400MP GPU, while the LTE version uses the Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon MSM8960 and the Adreno 225 GPU. A friend of mine who is a big Android follower told me that the Qualcomm CPUs and GPUs are complete shit, but that since they are the only manufacturer of LTE radios they also force manufacturers to use their CPU and GPU solutions in phones that use their LTE radios. I'm in Canada. Let's say I go to Rogers, which will probably have the LTE version of the phone (I don't know why any carrier would have the 3G version, except maybe Bell since they don't have an LTE network), I'm screwed into the shitty dual-core processor and slow GPU? In the event of that happening, my guess is it would still be beneficial to have a Galaxy Nexus...

Qualcomm's SoC's were shit. Until now. The Krait (Snapdragon S4) is kryptonite to Nvidia's Kal-El and stands up pretty well against Samsung's Exynos Quad. It's also quite power efficient.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/5810/s...rmance-preview

the HTC One X (AT&T) is using S4/Krait

[iamvin22]

is it confirmed that all US versions will be dual core cpu/ gpu or just speculation???

[The Faceless Master]

is it confirmed that all US versions will be dual core cpu/ gpu or just speculation???

speculation.

[The Faceless Master]

Qualcomm

[masud]

Sprint's variant will also be powered by Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. While a very capable chip in its own right, the 8960 is probably not quite as powerful as Samsung's own quad-core Exynos 4

It's 'very capable in its own right' and 'probably not quite as powerful' as the quad core. Seems like a non issue.

[Cipherr]

It's 'very capable in its own right' and 'probably not quite as powerful' as the quad core. Seems like a non issue.

According to the benches I saw Anand put up, the Exynos is flat out faster period. In some tests by a pretty freaking good margin. At least now we know Verizon and Sprints S3 will both have Snapdragon S4's. That sort of ends the speculation on that, I expect the Tmobile and ATT versions to have the same.

[DrFunk]

GSM Arena hands on: http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-gal...or-a-hands-on/

[Avixph]

Since T-mobile doesn't have an LTE network, does that mean their SIII will be released with the 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor?

[tino]

Since T-mobile doesn't have an LTE network, does that mean their SIII will be released with the 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor?

No, see TMo version of GS2. Qualcomm only.

[Socreges]

Well there you go: We've won Canada, we've won!!!

Any word on when we should expect it? June, since that's when it launches in the US?

[Avixph]

No, see TMo version of GS2. Qualcomm only.

:(

[Davidion]

No, see TMo version of GS2. Qualcomm only.

ugh

[Gr1mLock]

No, see TMo version of GS2. Qualcomm only.

Fuck. Will we at least get a nice flat black, I'm not sure i can handle both a shitty processor and paint job.

[Good Job Bob]

Eh, the Snapdragon S4 isn't a shitty processor.

[Toki767]

Eh, the Snapdragon S4 isn't a shitty processor.

It really isn't. It just isn't as good as the Exynos. The tradeoff is LTE though.

[iamvin22]

the only positive i see with the sprint version is it sounds like it comes with the 64GB, am i right? but damn i want the quad-core. i wonder how much the international will cost.

[Gr1mLock]

Eh, the Snapdragon S4 isn't a shitty processor.

Second best/first loser and all that jazz.

[DrFunk]

the only positive i see with the sprint version is it sounds like it comes with the 64GB, am i right? but damn i want the quad-core. i wonder how much the international will cost.

Sprint version has 16 GB. International versions run from $640-750.

[Cipherr]

the only positive i see with the sprint version is it sounds like it comes with the 64GB, am i right? but damn i want the quad-core. i wonder how much the international will cost.

Nah, I mean the Sprint version supports 64GB MicroSD cards, but the Verizon and ATT versions probably will too. The Sprint version has 16GB built in. Theres not likely to be big differences between the carrier versions. Maybe some slight cosmetic differences, maybe someone will ship 32GB internal or something.... But for the most part the US carriers will likely all get the same thing.

[The Faceless Master]

Since T-mobile doesn't have an LTE network, does that mean their SIII will be released with the 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor?

depends, does the Exynos GS3 support AWS HSPA+ 42?

Second best/first loser and all that jazz.

at least we didn't get NVIDIA'd!

[iamvin22]

Nah, I mean the Sprint version supports 64GB MicroSD cards, but the Verizon and ATT versions probably will too. The Sprint version has 16GB built in. Theres not likely to be big differences between the carrier versions. Maybe some slight cosmetic differences, maybe someone will ship 32GB internal or something.... But for the most part the US carriers will likely all get the same thing.

so i am guessing that the US carrier version will be 3G only or was there any mention of the phone connecting to 4G?

[The Faceless Master]

so i am guessing that the US carrier version will be 3G only or was there any mention of the phone connecting to 4G?

they will be 4G. they're using Krait instead of Exynos because they want 4G.

[Toki767]

so i am guessing that the US carrier version will be 3G only or was there any mention of the phone connecting to 4G?

The US version will be LTE (4G) which is why we're getting the S4 instead of the Exynos.

[iamvin22]

thanks for the answers android-GAF.

[Socreges]

Are there no quad-core LTEs?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but LTE the speed at which the phone communicates with the network, while quad-core is the speed at which the phone can process. So in the US (and presumably in Canada), some carriers will have the former while others have the latter?

[Cipherr]

Are there no quad-core LTEs?

As far as I know, no. And thats the problem at the moment. There will be, there just aren't any yet. Since LTE is apparently not a widespread huge thing overseas, they get the lovely quad-cores, because theres little to no LTE there to begin with. But here, all the carriers want the new shiny phones to use their LTE networks, and since there are no quadcores that support it, we get the one fastest dualcore that does.

Of course that dualcore is no slouch, so we arent exactly being screwed here, but still... In any case I am hoping this changes with the next gen. Next year hopefully Sammy has their new chipsets ready and they support LTE, and we get the best of both worlds. Nvidia will have their 4core chips supporting LTE by then too, but barring some massive turnaround, I don't really care for Nvidia in the mobile space right now.

[Toki767]

Are there no quad-core LTEs? Correct me if I'm wrong, but LTE the speed at which the phone communicates with the network, while quad-core is the speed at which the phone can process. So in the US (and presumably in Canada), some carriers will have the former while others have the latter?

The allure of using the S4 is that the LTE modem is built into the chip. They could add LTE to a quad core phone, but it'd end up being more of a power drain than anything. There were rumors that the Exynos quad core would have LTE built in, but it didn't pan out that way.

[Gr1mLock]

depends, does the Exynos GS3 support AWS HSPA+ 42? at least we didn't get NVIDIA'd!

This is true.

[Cipherr]

The allure of using the S4 is that the LTE modem is built into the chip. They could add LTE to a quad core phone, but it'd end up being more of a power drain than anything. There were rumors that the Exynos quad core would have LTE built in, but it didn't pan out that way.

Ahhhh, thank you so much for that. I had heard about that but wasn't sure.

[tino]

Are there no quad-core LTEs? Correct me if I'm wrong, but LTE the speed at which the phone communicates with the network, while quad-core is the speed at which the phone can process. So in the US (and presumably in Canada), some carriers will have the former while others have the latter?

Only Qualcomm and Motorola has enough know-how and patent to build their own LTE modems. So you do the math.

[Niks]

GSM Arena Review/Preview

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...review-757.php

[Vic]

GSM Arena Review/Preview http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...review-757.php

They've received a demo unit from Samsung. They'll post a full preview soon.

[zedge]

GSM Arena Review/Preview http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...review-757.php

Love their hands on with the soothing music..heh.

[skybaby]

hey look, we're back on froyo. thanks samsung!

[Cipherr]

hey look, we're back on froyo. thanks samsung!

I don't understand this reaction. The normal task manager is there, in fact its completely unchanged from stock ICS pretty much. I think most techies know that task killers are old news and not needed, but I dont get the negative reaction to them including one anyway.

I would have raged if they had this without the ICS task manager though, but both? /shrug. Disable it or ignore it and keep moving.

The camera on the S3 looks amazing. GSM put up a 1080p video from it.

http://st.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg...arena_v001.mp4

Looks great, can pause and read the decal on the cab. Great detail and smooth 30fps.

[Stefan™]

GSM Arena Review/Preview http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...review-757.php

The muffling issue from recorded videos are still present in Samsung phones I see. I wished they would improve on the bitrate. That's the one downfall for all of Samsung's phone, since the I8500, where they got hammered the most with the low bitrate and sound format. They still haven't learned.

[Blearth]

Do you actually get real world performance gains with a Quad Core CPU or is it just for benchmarks?

[Emily Chu]

Do you actually get real world performance gains with a Quad Core CPU or is it just for benchmarks?

do you expect to load GAF like a millisecond faster ?

thats what I do first when test new phones tbh

but srsly probably unnoticeable for day2day stuff

[Pctx]

i laugh at the hspa+ speeds i get on my Att Skyrocket vs. Verizon's LTE as my phone gets higher speeds.
Quad-core vs Qualcomm S4 seems like a non-issue as the standard GS2 doesn't seem any faster than my Skyrocket which rocks a Qualcomm. Besides, the bigger issue here is 720p with ICS out of the box with a more than capable hardware on whatever SoC you go with.

S3 is a hell of a value doe what you get.

[Mudkips]

Huh? Are you saying the touch keys should not be counted? Even though they can at times be removed from view completely? Why not remove the pixels for the notification bar as well then? How about the dock?

If the keys can be hidden that's fine. The Android phones I've used have all had the buttons outside of the display.

Why on earth would you need to display with a resolution so high that you'd need to hold it closer to your face then you can properly focus on it??

Because I'm not blind so I would appreciate the difference, I hate scaling, and I'd like to properly remote desktop and read the web? I've got no problem holding the phone close, either.

Holy shit, yeah maybe if you zoom in to that degree you can see it, but jesus you are out of your mind if you think you can see it in normal use. EDIT: Uhhhh so what was their "one last thing" surprise?

I have the Nexus One which has that bullshit pen tile display where you have half resolution in one direction for red and blue. You absolutely can tell. Vertical lines look sawtoothed with color fringing and horizontal lines look rainbow colored.

[rozay]

I have the Nexus One which has that bullshit pen tile display where you have half resolution in one direction for red and blue. You absolutely can tell. Vertical lines look sawtoothed with color fringing and horizontal lines look rainbow colored.

The pixel density really helps mask the sawtoothed look compared to the nexus one's screen.

[Divvy]

I have the Nexus One which has that bullshit pen tile display where you have half resolution in one direction for red and blue. You absolutely can tell. Vertical lines look sawtoothed with color fringing and horizontal lines look rainbow colored.

I have had a Nexus One and a Galaxy Nexus. You could tell on the N1 due to it's low resolution. You cannot tell on the GN at all unless you are pushing the phone to your face.

[skybaby]

I don't understand this reaction. The normal task manager is there, in fact its completely unchanged from stock ICS pretty much. I think most techies know that task killers are old news and not needed, but I dont get the negative reaction to them including one anyway. I would have raged if they had this without the ICS task manager though, but both? /shrug. Disable it or ignore it and keep moving.

I don't mind the task manager, it's good to know what app has crashed and is using all your cpu. My problem with it is the completely outdated look

[Husker86]

I don't mind the task manager, it's good to know what app has crashed and is using all your cpu. My problem with it is the completely outdated look

That's the dialogue for when you close an app from Samsung's task manager. Maybe the force close oneis different.

[skybaby]

That's the dialogue for when you close an app from Samsung's task manager. Maybe the force close oneis different.

Not only the dialog, but the app itself is not using holo

[DrFunk]

Rogers version might have Exynos and LTE:



http://www.phonearena.com/news/Googl...cessor_id29989

This is probably a mistake of marketing, but to play devil's advocate, what if it's right? Does it mean that the At&t version would have both, since Rogers and At&t literally have the same devices?

questions