| Jawshco |
03-08-2012 09:29 PM |
I've had an iPhone 3GS for a couple years. Recently my contract expired and allowed me to upgrade my phone. So I decided to switch to the Samsung Galaxy S2, and I upgraded my wife's Blackberry to the iPhone 4S. Here are my observations of the two:
Samsung Galaxy S2: The first thing I noticed was that the S2 had a bigger, brighter screen, and a much louder speaker than my iPhone. However, both the sound and video quality was grittier. The four keys on the bottom were fairly convenient in comparison to the iPhone home key, but the multiple home and app screens seemed a little tedious and messy to me. The iPhone seems much smoother and stream lined in comparison.
After using it for a few days - the 4G, doesn't seem much faster than the iPhone's 3G. Plus, the Galaxy S2 eats up it's battery like crazy! It's far worse battery-wise than my previous iPhone, and oddly heats up like crazy when I'm surfing the web.
Another negative is that the apps on Galaxy S2 crash far more often than those on my previous iPhone. Even the web browser crashed, which I've never had happen with my iPhone.
On the positive side, the Droid market rocks and the free on-board GPS with Google voice is a lot closer to bonefide GPS system than the lousy iPhone equivalent (which is what really sold me). I can mount my Galaxy S2 in my car and use it almost exactly like a normal GPS system without paying for another device and a monthly service. This is a huge selling point for me. Not to mention that the GPS is far more accurate on the S2 than on the iPhone.
It does allow for some flash but the fact that many website are now adding secondary mobile pages makes this less relevant than before.
I hate the way the keyboard functions on both the Galaxy and the iPhone (especially when posting to sites like these), but I would have to give the edge to the iPhone (which causes me to swear far less).
Lastly, the voice recognition system that is advertised for the Galaxy S2 is highly inaccurate. It does not work as advertised! You can use the voice function to write a message within the body of a text, but it does not interact with your contact list to make calls and texts like the adverstisement on this video shows. Forget about this being as good as Siri, it doesn't even function as well as the voice recognition system on the 3GS.
On the iPhone 4S, I noticed that the newest OS is a lot more like the Droid's- including a pull down menu. While it's true that Siri is a bit overrated, she does work unlike the equivelant voice action system on the Galaxy S2. Still the lack of a bigger, better screen and better sound, and lack of a decent on-board GPS system and the boring design of the 4S- is keeping me away. However, if the iPhone 5 has a Galaxy-type of screen then I'll be switching to that without a second thought.
All in all, I'm not satisfied or overly impressed with either phone. I'm keeping the Galaxy S2 but I would totally understand why someone would choose the 4S instead.
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