New Phone: Samsung Galaxy S 2 or Iphone 4?

[mtb1611]

Greetings and salutations. The time has come to upgrade ze phone (end of contract) and the decision begs: Galaxy S 2 or Iphone 4? I need to decide between these 2 as I'm staying with Optus (for a variety of reasons). I've had a Galaxy S for the past 2 years and while I've been generally happy with the camera is rather ordinary, it has no flash (recitified on the S 2) and has a tendancy to occasionally freeze and be rather laggy at times. I've had no experience with Iphones however a friend did recently take to one with a claw hammer due to his frustrations with said device. I don't play games, watch movies, tv etc on my phone and have no desire too (lest I would be the hammer-wielder).

So, farkers, what say ye?

 

[bpow]

Got a S2 a few weeks ago and its good, big screen and not restricted to just iphone apps etc. But I have never had an iphone so ??
From what i read and heard s2 is more customisable if thats what you like, while iphones are more restricted but user friendly (easier)
When it came down to it I got the S2 due to price, means I can spend more on my bike! :encouragement:

 

[B Man]

i have an iphone 4s and my brother has a samsung galaxy. the iphone 4s is simple to use. the samsung isnt. i find that the samsung is very complicated and based around social networking, where the iphone can be used simply as a business phone. thats just my opinion. not much to go on but it was the main deciding point for me. if your going to get the iphone, get the 4s.

 

[Beej1]

iPhone 4 or 4s: tiny 3.5in 'retina' screen.

Galaxy S2: much better 4.3 or 4.5in AMOLED screen.

After using an S2 for a week, I look at friends iPhones and can't believe how uselessly tiny the screen is.

If you want to download millions of apps and be part of the apple culture, get the iPhone. If you want a nice big screen as well, but dont care that its not an apple, get the S2 or wait for S3.

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

The Galaxy S3 is just around the corner (gets released internationally at the end of the month)

As for which is better out of the S2 and IPhone 4?

I've had an S2 and an old iPhone 3g , the better half has an iPhone 4. I found the S2 to be brilliant when I first bought it. The screen was massive, the android OS is so much easier to use than iOS (no iTunes, YAY!) and I could watch mp4s on it without having to further convert them using iTunes which is a great help if you do long plane or bus journeys and like to watch movies. File transfer is also a breeze - just drag and drop and it would read most files. Oh, you can also view websites that require Flash (i.e smut ) which is something Apple are STILL incapable of allowing us to do.

Sadly it's also a flimsy piece of shit (the back panel falls off all the time), the battery life isn't great and in my case proceeded to get a lot worse - I'd get maybe a couple of hours if I was lucky on normal use and it even completely drained once during a shift at work where it had been put both Flight and Sleep modes and left in my locker. Due to this and an issue with the mic I sent it off to be repaired under warranty however the service centre claimed water-damage and wouldn't repair it. This is utter bullshit as it had never been immersed in its life - they do claim that it can be humidity that can trigger the water-damage indicator in which case, if the phone is so badly designed that humidity automatically voids the warranty then I'd have serious doubts about buying another one. Having read all the reviews of it though I suspect I may have been sold one with a dud battery as there is no way it could get such good reviews with the battery life I experienced

ON the other hand, my missus' iPhone seems to be working fine and my old 3G is practically indestructible and has indeed been immersed in water and still functioned after drying out a few hours later. The battery life isn't great on the 4g however and the screen is a bit small for my liking. You've also got to put up with iTunes when you want to add/remove files. The iPhone is also a couple hundred bucks more expensive (maybe not an issue if you're on a plan) and other than the handset design -which is actually a bit blocky for my liking - you're not really getting anything extra.

In conclusion, it really depends on what you use your phone for. If you like watching movies when you're travelling (and don't have a tab), not being constrained by iTunes, being able to use your phone as an external hard-drive then get the S2 and possibly a multi-use battery pack to top it up when it exhausts itself an hour later. Don't bother getting an extended warranty though. The cheating bastards probably won't honour your original one.

If however you want something that is extremely well made physically but comes with an operating system that's a bit of a pain in the arse, then get an iPhone.

 

[Drizz]

If you use gmail & google docs than a good android phone is rad: all your contacts and calendar are sync online pretty much immediately. Apple is catching up with iCloud but iCloud website seen less intuitive and function rich as google. I also prefer google maps on android compared with default maps on IOS.(I have a htc desire and and an iPad 3)

I think I will keep saddling two boats with android phones for widgets and iPad for games and movies for quite sometime!

 

[No Skid Marks]

Why not just use your current phone. Can't recall the company on telly, but $40 a month unlimited calls and text, no locked in contract, and a decent amount of download.
That's what I'm doing, as my contracts up too.
Mobile phone batteries are nasty for the environment, if it aint broke....
Is there a benefit to being in a contract, and paying more?

 

[bpow]

Which ever phone you get, get a good case! My S2 does need charging often but the bonus over the iphone is you can pack an extra battery on long trips away from power, (ie bike camping missions etc!) and can add an extra card for more memory space. S3 should be good and dont forget the icecream sandwich (operating system) should be released soon which is suppose to make the S2 even better. Im guessing the S3 will use this?
Anyone know a date for the icecream sandwich?

 

[scuba05]

My contract is about to/already has finished (last month, this month or next, i really don't know...) so im looking around at the moment.

I have had a few mates go from an iphone 4 to an S2, and have absolutely raved about how awesome the S2 is.
Adding to this is my dislike of apple products, how un-modifiable they are, and their general shitness, I will be waiting until the S3 comes out (hopefully soon! no official date for aust release). This being said, i have an ipod touch, only because there are no other real decent mp3 players out there....

UK is set for release at the end of the month, but telstra and other companies still haven't got their hands on a phone to start integrating it into their network. This could delay it quite a bit, which is a bit shit.

Telstra have the S2 4G, which is supposed to be quite a decent phone, with quick dl speeds and quite good hardware. Tis a touch on the expensive side (as telstra usually is), i think plans are about $65 a month (give or take a bit).

 

[Xavo.au]

Anyone know a date for the icecream sandwich?

My mate has an S2, and I'm pretty sure he got an update option whilst we were at the bus stop the other day...?

 

[B Man]

also adding to my previous post. ive got an iphone 4s it has a case that is water proof and shock proof. best case you will ever buy. bit pricey but worth every cent. http://www.lifeproof.com/

 

[nskz]

Another one to consider is the HTC oneX. It's basically an S3 spec phone (quad core etc etc) minus the AMOLED screen (but still 720p). I've been waiting for the S3 (currently use an S) but having looked at the specs and the design i'm a bit underwhelmed. A lot of the older HTC phones have been heavy and clunky but my brother just bought a oneX and from all accounts it's awesome (also runs ICS).

 

[downhillar]

I have a galaxy s2, I love it. It's 100% customisable, easy to unlock and there are a ton of developers out there constantly working on it.
The only downside is the battery life which will last you maybe a day an a half with light usage, but I am constantly using my phone so it lasts from 6am till about 11pm on semi-heavy usage. Personally I would never own an iPhone because of itunes and all their other BS.

Look at it this way - all of my friends have iPhones, but once I get to uni (I'm studying engineering) I'm surrounded by other galaxy owners. So I think the Galaxy is probably a phone for nerds such as myself, and iPhones are for everyone else.

 

[NH_]

I have a 4s now and had a 3g before. I wouldnt even consider purchasing anything but an iphone on the current list, nothing comes close to its reliability/lag free use. Anyone who bitches about itunes or the iOS must be completely computer illiterate because its incredibly simple to use. How many of the samsung crowd get one just because they refuse to buy apple. Im no apple fanboy, I prefer windows and if there was a better phone out there for what i wanted i would get it but there isnt so i dont. In the end its a phone, i use it to contact people, check emails, browse the web a little and listen to music a bit and take the odd photo/video. If you want to have a "completely customisable" phone go the other brands but in the end your choosing a product based on irrelevant functions to how good the phone actually is.

 

[Steve-0]

They both make calls and sms. If your into tech the answer is a no brainer.

If you like apple's simplicity, go iPhone.

The galaxy s2 is a better phone and the OS is incredibley powerful but obviously not for everyone.

I've been running ICS on my galaxy s since Christmas. Just upgraded to a HTC One X and this thing is more powerful then half the laptops in my house. But It hasn't been fault free.

Imo, if you are an apple fan, go iPhone. If you don't care, go the S2. ICS is great and the phone is cheap as.

 

[tupper]

Full apple user here, (iMac/Macbook/iPad) but I got the S2. And I couldn't be happier.

Come on, I can play Gameboy games all the time again without a Jailbreak. Pokemon Yellow anyone? :very_drunk:

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Anyone who bitches about itunes or the iOS must be completely computer illiterate because its incredibly simple to use.

Unless you want to say maybe transfer documents (word, pdf etc) onto your phone and use it as a portable hard drive, or transfer movies across to watch
or even just transfer files from any computer that is not your own.

Now, I'm no Apple hater. I own an iMac, an old macbook, a macbook pro, an iPhone 3g and I still maintain that my 160Gb iPod classic is the best mp3 player bar none but I still maintain that iTunes is a piece of shit!

Apples biggest problem is their arrogance towards their customers. The inability to transfer music and movies to an iPod from any source other than your own, their complete lack of flash compatibility and my most recent and probably biggest bugbear: Their refusal to fit HDMI ports on their laptops, all drive me up the f***ing wall and as soon as somebody builds any rival machine with the same quality control but no lack of freedom, I'll be jumping ship as soon as I can!

 

[NH_]

Unless you want to say maybe transfer documents (word, pdf etc) onto your phone and use it as a portable hard drive, or transfer movies across to watch
or even just transfer files from any computer that is not your own.

Now, I'm no Apple hater. I own an iMac, an old macbook, a macbook pro, an iPhone 3g and I still maintain that my 160Gb iPod classic is the best mp3 player bar none but I still maintain that iTunes is a piece of shit!

Apples biggest problem is their arrogance towards their customers. The inability to transfer music and movies to an iPod from any source other than your own, their complete lack of flash compatibility and my most recent and probably biggest bugbear: Their refusal to fit HDMI ports on their laptops, all drive me up the f***ing wall and as soon as somebody builds any rival machine with the same quality control but no lack of freedom, I'll be jumping ship as soon as I can!

You can use your iphone as an external hdd........ now it does take an ap to do but geeeez that must be so damn hard for you to hate on it for that!

Your just basing your purchases off hate for the company, who cares if you cant transfer music from itunes to itunes there is ways around that, if your too filled with hate for apples "arrogance" to research how to do that thats your loss.

I dont particulary like apple either but i still got the iphone because it was the best product on the market, i love my ipod classic too for the same reason, i didint buy a mac because it doesnt have things i wanted on it.

Any arguement against the iphone inevitably comes back to apple as a company, not the phone itself. If you want to be playing gameboy games, making your phone "custom" by changing colours and layouts or you just cant stomach buying an apple product because your too proud you know which phone you should buy, samsung and htc knows they arnt matching apple, why do you think they bring a new phone out every other month?

 

[Steve-0]

Any arguement against the iphone inevitably comes back to apple as a company, not the phone itself...... samsung and htc knows they arnt matching apple, why do you think they bring a new phone out every other month?

Actually, iPhones haven't been the leaders in phone hardware for a long time. Sorry, But as popular as iPhones are, the actual phone itself is not why people buy them. It's got everything to do with apple as a company and their software.

I knew this would turn into Apple v Android...

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

You can use your iphone as an external hdd........ now it does take an ap to do but geeeez that must be so damn hard for you to hate on it for that!

Your just basing your purchases off hate for the company, who cares if you cant transfer music from itunes to itunes there is ways around that, if your too filled with hate for apples "arrogance" to research how to do that thats your loss.

I dont particulary like apple either but i still got the iphone because it was the best product on the market, i love my ipod classic too for the same reason, i didint buy a mac because it doesnt have things i wanted on it.

Any arguement against the iphone inevitably comes back to apple as a company, not the phone itself. If you want to be playing gameboy games, making your phone "custom" by changing colours and layouts or you just cant stomach buying an apple product because your too proud you know which phone you should buy, samsung and htc knows they arnt matching apple, why do you think they bring a new phone out every other month?

Did you even read what I wrote? I have put down both the positives for the iPhone AND the negatives - just like I did for the S2 and in my experience when it came to build quality the iPhone is far superior. It's just a pity that it fails in comparison with Android phones when it comes to transferring files and viewing videos.

As I said before I own an iMac (the big one at that), a macbook, a macbook pro, an iPhone, an iPod shuffle, an iPod classic (my 2nd) which I have already claimed to be the best MP3 player out there, 2 wireless mighty mice, 1 standard mighty mouse and both a black polo-neck sweater AND stone-washed jeans.

Now if I'm basing all my purchases on hatred for the company then that's been one buggered up shopping list on my part...