help: free galaxy 3 or not free iphone

I need to get my first smart phone and see that t-mobile offers a free (!) Samsung galaxy 3 for next days with new contract. Any reason I would regret this? i.e., could there be an issue with getting my Samsung pix into I-photo?

One reason not to get the free Samsung Galaxy from T-Mobile: It's not an iPhone. ;D

After the horrible service my mother had, I would NOT recommend T-Mobile.

See what Verizon or AT&T has to offer. Maybe even Sprint.

Nothing wrong with T-Mobile service. I've been using them for well over 5 years without any problems. The real drawback is that they don't offer the iPhone. But that may change now that they purchased Metro PCS and have instituted some newer frequencies for 4G.

Where I would have service with my Sprint phone, she would have no service with her T-Mobile (both similar HTC phones). You have your experience/opinion and I have mine.

That's OK. Around here Sprint is terrible and T-Mobile is good. But you're talking about signal quality, not customer service. T-Mobile signal is generally good around large cities but once out in the boon docks, the signal is spotty. Sprint signal is generally weak everywhere around here along with their poor customer service. (My experience.) However, that might just be here and not in your area. One reason why I purchased a Verizon iPad because their LTE signal is strong just about everywhere.

The Galaxy 3 is a really nice phone to be sure. I would check with T-Mobile and see if they give you any kind of a "test drive" period, where you can cancel the service and return the phones if it doesn't work in the places you need to use it in.

The iPhone is much less maintenance, but Android is fun if you don't mind tweaking around with your phone to get it to consistently work the way you need it to. I'd say if the service is good, the deal is right, and you find Android to suit your tastes, go for it!

The only reasons I can think of against Android phones is not all of them can be updated to the latest OS and the fact roll out from some of the carriers is painfully slow.
Further evidence of this can be found by visiting the forums.
The other plus side to the iPhone is it integrates beautifully with the rest of the Apple line.

You really do have to be careful choosing a carrier. A lot of it has to do with whether or not you travel a lot or if you're staying in your general area. And of course which carrier is best in your area.

Chris, where in NY are you? T-Mobile has very good service in the metro NYC area. Speed tests consistently show a ping of 31ms and no less than 14mbps down and 7mbps up. It is also dependent on the phone as well. Some phones aren't capable of the full spectrum that Tmo has to offer. The Galaxy S3 is capable of LTE as well as HSPA+ 42 Their new Nexus 4 *which I'm very interested in* is also capable of HSPA 42, but they haven't rolled that spectrum out for NYC yet, so it only gets 21, which is that 14mbps.

You also have to be aware of the fact that unless it's a pure vanilla Google phone, the handset manufacturers have full control over OS updates, and that's a BAD thing. It's the reason that Google told Verizon to take a hike with this new Nexus 4 release. Pure Google phones get updates immediately, directly from Google as soon as they're ready. Verizon screwed their customers over in this regard, so I'd be wary about going that route with an Android phone.

Doug

Everyone pretty much covered the main issue with Android vs iOS. Had a friend that wanted to try tethering devices since he has unlimited data with T-mobile. We downloaded every free app for tethering and none of them ended up working.

Did a quick google search and found out that the apps don't work with Jellybean which happens to be the version that his phone was running.

Flash apparently has issues running in certain web browsers as well with Jellybean. Never knew about it until one of my relatives bought a Transformer Prime Tablet which was running Jellybean and was unable to run anything off youtube or anything flash based. They had to download so many different browsers with the same problem.

When any of those issues are going to address? Who knows.

Doug b said:

Chris, where in NY are you?

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I'm upstate from NYC about half an hour.

There is no more flash with Android as of 4.1.

Not going to be either - Adobe couldn't get it right and gave up just 9 months after bringing flash to Android.

The phones I see that are capable or allowed running Flash eat through a battery very quick carrying a charger would be mandatory.

Here are the reasons I *generally* recommend people steer clear of Android. Bear in mind that I'm mostly not talking about hardware here -- as plastic phones go, there are quite a few nice ones out there, the Galaxy S III being the current best of breed IMO. Here we go:

1. Updates. You won't get more than one, because the carrier is in charge of what OS version you get to run. And they have a STRONG incentive not to give you any updates, because they want you to jump ship halfway through your contract and pay to get a newer phone. So in a very short period of time (compared to the iPhone), your shiny Android phone will start not being able to use the latest apps and features.

2. Viruses, malware, spyware. Security firm BT says that they think up to a THIRD of all Android apps have malware on board. Mostly in the form of spyware, but there are plenty of spamware, scamware, botware and other nasties waiting for you. Big problem in Android-land, just TODAY in fact some doofuses paid (!!) and downloaded fake "Apple" apps from the Google Play store. How stupid would you have to be to fall for that, but they posted reviews which means they bought.

3. Ever-changing, ever-obsolete. People complain about how fast Apple updates stuff, but compared to Android models it's positively glacial. The reason you're getting a good deal on the S III is because the S IV is due out in a couple of months. My iPhone 4 still runs the latest everything, but let's check with the Galaxy S I owners -- oh wait, nobody's using that phone anymore because it's a) over two years old (!), b) can't run anything newer than v2.3 and c) can't run any of the new apps.

4. Carrier crapware. Bottom line: Google makes Android for the carriers, not for you. That's why they let the carriers slather on their own UI and crapware all over the phones. Result? Very inconsistent experiences. If I was going to buy an Android device, I'd get the ones from Google itself (like the Nexus phone) so I might have a chance at more than one update, and a "pure" Android experience.

5. Google. Everything Google does -- everything -- has a single purpose: to gather information on its users in order to better target its advertising. There's nothing inherently wrong with this if users are aware, but IME they aren't. This is very, VERY different from what Apple is going for, which is software that delights the end users (not the carriers, witness iMessage as proof of that) and has no interest in collecting personal data about users except as needed by applications (such as Maps). To me, that's a huge factor.

6. Build quality. There are some excellent Android phones, but they're not typical (and not cheap). The build quality on an iPhone is just phenomenal. I like quality-built stuff. To that point:

7. The apps and eco-cycle. I would (rightly) feel like a second-class citizen if I had an Android phone, both in terms of apps and in terms of accessories. Every single well-known app on Android (with perhaps one or two exceptions made by Google) was an iOS app first. I've yet to hear of a single Android app that so clearly surpasses anything available on iOS that I'd consider it a must-have, and I doubt I ever will -- even though the combined share of Android phones outsells iPhones by a considerable margin. I want my phone apps to run on my tablet, which is (of course) an iPad because its the best tablet by a LONG way. I like the iTunes eco-system since it also crosses over in many ways to my Mac. I like the care and attention to detail and style the best app developers put into their apps, and where do they get that sense of aesthetics? From Apple.

If I personally had to choose between an iPhone 4 ("old" but free on contract) and a Galaxy S III (free on contract), I'd take the iPhone in a heartbeat because of the factors mentioned. But even with a price difference, I consider the gap too small to give Android any sort of serious advantage over iOS, especially given that the investment I make is going to be with me for at least two (and in Canada, three) years.

That's my view on the issue. As I say, I've seen some nice stuff in the Android world (the Galaxy S III I like, and the Nexus 7 -- but not much else, I have to say). But if was going to turn away from iOS, why would I want an obvious iOS wanna-be (in the same way that Windows is an OS X wanna-be)? Wouldn't I want something that wasn't just a poor-man's iOS, like say ... ironically ... Windows Phone 8?

I love competition and I think it keeps Apple on their toes, but let's not kid ourselves about who is leading the market. If the obvious best in class can be had for something around the same price as the wanna-bes, why not the best?

Chas, that was outstanding. I'd love to see that featured that as an editorial on the blog. Are you on our blogging team?

If I could give chas_m reputation points I would, very well said and will point all I know on the fence towards this post.

chas_m said:

So in a very short period of time (compared to the iPhone), your shiny Android phone will start not being able to use the latest apps and features. [...] c) can't run any of the new apps.

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That's a popular myth that can be easily falsified by a cursory scan of the Play Store. Most apps have a minimum requirement of Android 2.x including some of the major ones such as Netflix. A quick search of the top ten paid apps also makes this clear: 3 require 1.x, 6 require 2.x and one requires 4.x (one said "varies with device"). Given that the S3 runs Jelly Bean, it should be able to run most apps for years given that 2.x was released in Oct 2009.

chas_m said:

I love competition and I think it keeps Apple on their toes, but let's not kid ourselves about who is leading the market. If the obvious best in class can be had for something around the same price as the wanna-bes, why not the best?

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Define "leading." Statistically, it's not really all that close (as you noted). In terms of quality, that's a subjective statement. Some prefer Android, some prefer iOS and others make the wrong choice and buy a BlackBerry. However, to say that one is clearly better than another belies the reality of everyone's differing needs.

Because I like dealing in facts, I have to contest a lot of this:

chas_m said:

Here are the reasons I *generally* recommend people steer clear of Android. Bear in mind that I'm mostly not talking about hardware here -- as plastic phones go, there are quite a few nice ones out there, the Galaxy S III being the current best of breed IMO. Here we go:

1. Updates. You won't get more than one, because the carrier is in charge of what OS version you get to run. And they have a STRONG incentive not to give you any updates, because they want you to jump ship halfway through your contract and pay to get a newer phone. So in a very short period of time (compared to the iPhone), your shiny Android phone will start not being able to use the latest apps and features.

Click to expand...

What you say is true.. it's in the hardware manufacturer's best interest to sell you a new phone, and if they can hold back the software updates, they will, if it makes you purchase a newer phone capable of running a newer OS. But you're exaggerating here. I've never seen a manufacturer neglect incremental updates. Major updates, absolutely, but for the most part, we're talking about Verizon. They are notorious for doing this.

However, this is really NO DIFFERENT from Apple holding back software/app updates in order to sell new phones too. Siri, Maps with voice nav, a slightly better camera etc etc etc...Android handsets are not exclusively sitting on that pedestal.

2. Viruses, malware, spyware. Security firm BT says that they think up to a THIRD of all Android apps have malware on board. Mostly in the form of spyware, but there are plenty of spamware, scamware, botware and other nasties waiting for you.

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Yeah, not really. It's also in said "security firm's" best interests to pad the virus/malware/spyware market. I've never met one person, who ever had a problem as such. And I know quite a few people with Android phones. And they know others and so on and so forth.

Big problem in Android-land, just TODAY in fact some doofuses paid (!!) and downloaded fake "Apple" apps from the Google Play store. How stupid would you have to be to fall for that, but they posted reviews which means they bought.

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And therein lays the problem, to both this issue and the "issue" I quoted directly above. People are don't think, period. No matter the platform, OS etc.. people click on things not caring what they are. They blindly click. I'll agree that Apple is MUCH better at keeping their platform cleaner, ala walled garden style, but it's not like someone can gain root access to an Android phone without the user having put in their password and agreeing to it. Sound familiar?

3. Ever-changing, ever-obsolete. People complain about how fast Apple updates stuff, but compared to Android models it's positively glacial. The reason you're getting a good deal on the S III is because the S IV is due out in a couple of months. My iPhone 4 still runs the latest everything, but let's check with the Galaxy S I owners -- oh wait, nobody's using that phone anymore because it's a) over two years old (!), b) can't run anything newer than v2.3 and c) can't run any of the new apps.

Click to expand...

Oye. No one cares about the Galaxy S1 because it's just not nearly as cool as the 3. But it runs quite well and has plenty of features. It also runs whatever you'd want it to app wise. Does it need anything past 2.3? Moot point, the hardware is very old compared to the newer stuff, and doesn't need to in order to run the same apps that later versions do. Also.. your iPhone 4 does NOT run the latest everything. Don't lie. Because unless your phone is different than my 4... it doesn't run Siri and it doesn't do turn by turn navigation *voice*, and it doesn't even do dictation. And don't blame that on the hardware, the 4's specs are perfectly capable of doing all of it.

4. Carrier crapware. Bottom line: Google makes Android for the carriers, not for you. That's why they let the carriers slather on their own UI and crapware all over the phones. Result? Very inconsistent experiences. If I was going to buy an Android device, I'd get the ones from Google itself (like the Nexus phone) so I might have a chance at more than one update, and a "pure" Android experience.

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Mostly agreed. But Verizon puts a very minimal amount of stuff on their phones. Plus, if one wants, it takes 5 minutes to root a phone with a one click process and voila.. no more bloatware. Is that a hassle? Yeah, if you're not into any of that fancy stuff... but it's nice to have that option.

5. Google. Everything Google does -- everything -- has a single purpose: to gather information on its users in order to better target its advertising. There's nothing inherently wrong with this if users are aware, but IME they aren't. This is very, VERY different from what Apple is going for, which is software that delights the end users (not the carriers, witness iMessage as proof of that) and has no interest in collecting personal data about users except as needed by applications (such as Maps). To me, that's a huge factor.

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No comment other than I love the smell of coffee.

6. Build quality. There are some excellent Android phones, but they're not typical (and not cheap). The build quality on an iPhone is just phenomenal. I like quality-built stuff. To that point:

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I see just as many if not more broken/cracked iPhones as Droid phones. Are iPhones classier looking? IMO, sure. But that's also ITEOTB. And what do you mean "not cheap"? They're the same price as an iPhone when paying subsidy prices.

7. The apps and eco-cycle. I would (rightly) feel like a second-class citizen if I had an Android phone, both in terms of apps and in terms of accessories. Every single well-known app on Android (with perhaps one or two exceptions made by Google) was an iOS app first. I've yet to hear of a single Android app that so clearly surpasses anything available on iOS that I'd consider it a must-have, and I doubt I ever will -- even though the combined share of Android phones outsells iPhones by a considerable margin. I want my phone apps to run on my tablet, which is (of course) an iPad because its the best tablet by a LONG way. I like the iTunes eco-system since it also crosses over in many ways to my Mac. I like the care and attention to detail and style the best app developers put into their apps, and where do they get that sense of aesthetics? From Apple.

Click to expand...

Eco system wise, both are quite strong and will enable the user to perform their duties equally. I'll say that iOS has many more "polished/mature" apps such as GarageBand, iMovie and the iWork suite. But Google has Google Drive, Play, Calenders, Documents, Music, Photos, Maps, Wallet, Blogger and so on.. I've had a Google music account for years now. It's free, and lets you store 25k songs on their server, from which you can stream it anywhere. And with Google Drive, you can access ANY file you want, not just proprietary stuff.

But if was going to turn away from iOS, why would I want an obvious iOS wanna-be (in the same way that Windows is an OS X wanna-be)? Wouldn't I want something that wasn't just a poor-man's iOS, like say ... ironically ... Windows Phone 8?

Click to expand...

Sorry to say this but, similarities between the OS' are bound to be there where functionality is concerned. What exactly would you like an OS to do that one of these doesn't do already? They're competing products, and are vying for the same demographic. The Android OS looks NOTHING like iOS, NOTHING. Yeah, they both utilize icons. Here's where Microsoft is really taking advantage and leading with *sort of* new ground in their tile GUI. IMO, MS struck gold with the new GUI for a mobile system. It's visually appealing, intuitive and most importantly... FRESH. Personally speaking, I'm rather bored with icons and boxes full of icons. It's a very dated UI system, and at least the Android OS allows more options with widgets and custom launchers.

I'd go on, but I slept a max of 4 hours last night and was out all day. I'm exhausted.

I love competition and I think it keeps Apple on their toes, but let's not kid ourselves about who is leading the market. If the obvious best in class can be had for something around the same price as the wanna-bes, why not the best?

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As much as I agree with you from a certain POV with this, the only person kidding them self here might be you. Numbers certainly do prove who leads in sales, and I will never say that Apple doesn't deserve it, but to make a statement so as to speak for the experience of all people as if it is a singular, collective experience is ignorant at best.

Doug

A few things I missed the first time around because I was tired.

chas_m said:

4. Carrier crapware. Bottom line: Google makes Android for the carriers, not for you. That's why they let the carriers slather on their own UI and crapware all over the phones. Result? Very inconsistent experiences. If I was going to buy an Android device, I'd get the ones from Google itself (like the Nexus phone) so I might have a chance at more than one update, and a "pure" Android experience.

Click to expand...

Buy a Nexus phone if consistency is a concern. Then again, they aren't all that inconsistent. As someone who owns three different Android devices from three different manufacturers, it's not really all that inconsistent across each of them.

chas_m said:

6. Build quality. There are some excellent Android phones, but they're not typical (and not cheap). The build quality on an iPhone is just phenomenal. I like quality-built stuff.

Click to expand...

Can you point to anything that suggests that the iPhone is years ahead in terms of build quality? Otherwise, this is conjecture. And, if build quality is truly an integral piece of the decision making process, I'd argue that the new set of WP8 flagship phones (Lumia 920 and the HTC 8X) are considerably better built than anything out there (from the reviews I've read).

chas_m said:

7. The apps and eco-cycle. I would (rightly) feel like a second-class citizen if I had an Android phone, both in terms of apps and in terms of accessories. Every single well-known app on Android (with perhaps one or two exceptions made by Google) was an iOS app first. I've yet to hear of a single Android app that so clearly surpasses anything available on iOS that I'd consider it a must-have, and I doubt I ever will -- even though the combined share of Android phones outsells iPhones by a considerable margin. I want my phone apps to run on my tablet, which is (of course) an iPad because its the best tablet by a LONG way. I like the iTunes eco-system since it also crosses over in many ways to my Mac. I like the care and attention to detail and style the best app developers put into their apps, and where do they get that sense of aesthetics? From Apple.

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Something starts on iOS and ends up on Android second. In the end, what does that matter? If being first was a concern, we'd all be using Windows since most products start there and "trickle down" to OS X.

chas_m said:

If I personally had to choose between an iPhone 4 ("old" but free on contract) and a Galaxy S III (free on contract), I'd take the iPhone in a heartbeat because of the factors mentioned. But even with a price difference, I consider the gap too small to give Android any sort of serious advantage over iOS, especially given that the investment I make is going to be with me for at least two (and in Canada, three) years.

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That's a carrier thing, not a phone thing. I'm on a two year contract and managed this without paying (near to) full price for the phone. I'm with Fido in case you were interested.

chas_m said:

That's my view on the issue. As I say, I've seen some nice stuff in the Android world (the Galaxy S III I like, and the Nexus 7 -- but not much else, I have to say). But if was going to turn away from iOS, why would I want an obvious iOS wanna-be (in the same way that Windows is an OS X wanna-be)? Wouldn't I want something that wasn't just a poor-man's iOS, like say ... ironically ... Windows Phone 8?

Click to expand...

Obvious iOS wannabe? I'm not sure how this is obvious given how much each platform has borrowed from the other. In fact, I have a hard time seeing how Android is trying to be a wannabe iOS (much like I can't see how iOS is trying to be an Android wannabe).

Doug b said:

And therein lays the problem, to both this issue and the "issue" I quoted directly above. People are don't think, period. No matter the platform, OS etc.. people click on things not caring what they are. They blindly click. I'll agree that Apple is MUCH better at keeping their platform cleaner, ala walled garden style, but it's not like someone can gain root access to an Android phone without the user having put in their password and agreeing to it. Sound familiar?

Click to expand...

We are all also assuming that people care about things like this. As a group with certain technological proclivities, things like this matter to us. Most people however don't care about things like this and never will. I know many people on older Android 2.x devices and people with iPhone 3GS/4s who could care less what platform they're running, the version, where the apps came from and anything else related to those issues. We have to remember that people don't care about things like this.

Doug b said:

Oye. No one cares about the Galaxy S1 because it's just not nearly as cool as the 3. But it runs quite well and has plenty of features. It also runs whatever you'd want it to app wise. Does it need anything past 2.3? Moot point, the hardware is very old compared to the newer stuff, and doesn't need to in order to run the same apps that later versions do. Also.. your iPhone 4 does NOT run the latest everything. Don't lie. Because unless your phone is different than my 4... it doesn't run Siri and it doesn't do turn by turn navigation *voice*, and it doesn't even do dictation. And don't blame that on the hardware, the 4's specs are perfectly capable of doing all of it.

Click to expand...

Phones are fashion statements for a lot of people. Look at how many clutch their phone as if it were an appendage. It's a marker of style and indicative of a certain awareness of what's "trendy." If people cared enough, they'd upgrade. Otherwise, they fall into that aforementioned category where device/platform is irrelevant as long as it serves its purpose as a tool. Thus, many people don't need the features noted by Doug unless they want the phone as a fashion statement in which case the phone is more a statement and less of a tool.

Doug b said:

Eco system wise, both are quite strong and will enable the user to perform their duties equally. I'll say that iOS has many more "polished/mature" apps such as GarageBand, iMovie and the iWork suite. But Google has Google Drive, Play, Calenders, Documents, Music, Photos, Maps, Wallet, Blogger and so on.. I've had a Google music account for years now. It's free, and lets you store 25k songs on their server, from which you can stream it anywhere. And with Google Drive, you can access ANY file you want, not just proprietary stuff.

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This. Differing needs for different people. One set of apps is not inherently more valuable or better than another. Do I care that iOS can run Garageband on a phone? No, not in the slightest. Different tools for different people.

Doug b said:

Sorry to say this but, similarities between the OS' are bound to be there where functionality is concerned. What exactly would you like an OS to do that one of these doesn't do already? They're competing products, and are vying for the same demographic. The Android OS looks NOTHING like iOS, NOTHING. Yeah, they both utilize icons. Here's where Microsoft is really taking advantage and leading with *sort of* new ground in their tile GUI. IMO, MS struck gold with the new GUI for a mobile system. It's visually appealing, intuitive and most importantly... FRESH. Personally speaking, I'm rather bored with icons and boxes full of icons. It's a very dated UI system, and at least the Android OS allows more options with widgets and custom launchers.

Click to expand...

Agreed on WP8. If it had a reasonable app ecosystem, I'd be all over it.

I have no vested interest in this "battle" between the platforms. I own more Android devices than iOS devices because they were cheaper and because they integrate so well with the services that I already use. Does iOS offer a more compelling platform in some ways? Absolutely. The same could be said for the others. In this sense, each platform is different, not inferior/superior in all senses of the word. Does iOS do things better than Android in some respects? Absolutely. It's lean, easily upgraded and has a rich and sizeable developer community behind it. Does Android do things better than iOS? Absolutely. It's customizable, its notification system makes the iOS one look like it was designed by a four year old and it also has a large developer community behind it (by some accounts, it's now churning out just as many apps as the iOS community which, to be fair, says nothing of the quality but an interesting fact nonetheless). Are the iPhones generally of a better quality than Android? Sure. The nature of Android means that any and all manufacturer can build terrible phones but it also means that more companies get a shot at building better phones since they all have to compete on hardware. Whether or not that has been successful is a subjective call.

Just a note if you are on AT&T you may want to visit their wireless forums as they seem to be the last carrier dragging their heels rolling out Jelly-Bean.
I only know of one owner of an Android phone that got hit with malware but the phone was rooted so that might not be a fair example.
The current crop of phones are all tools just like computers get what fills your needs or wants and be thankful for competition because in the end the consumers win if the carriers don't abuse their powers and the FCC keeps them in check.