Ever since the inception of the first iPhone, other manufacturers have been actively going into the business with the intent of creating a supposedly “iPhone Killer”. While attempts at creating the ultimate super phone have been numerous, none has come close in toppling the smartphone king that is the iPhone. I’ve always been of the mindset that Taiwan based HTC would be the one to crack the code and come out with a smartphone that’s awesome enough to dethrone the iPhone. But it wasn’t until this year that a smartphone that would pose as a serious threat to the iPhone’s dominance, and surprisingly enough, it came from none other than South Korean based Samsung.

When the Samsung Galaxy SIII was released a few months back, it was amidst a sea of hype and fanfare. Samsung’s PR machine was in full force and gadget aficionado like myself was swept away with it. Our very own reviews editor Vic Icasas got himself a Samsung Galaxy SIII on the day it was released and was gushing about it non stop for weeks. To say that my interest was piqued is an understatement, my iPhone 4S seemed about obsolete in comparison.

A month after Vic got his SIII, I followed suit and managed to get an SIII of my own and for a time, I was extremely happy with it. There really is a lot to like about the Galaxy SIII and honestly, when compared side by side, I’m of the opinion that the SIII is superior to the iPhone 4S in so many ways.

• Huge Display – The Galaxy SIII may not be of Retina Display quality, but the huge screen more than makes up for it. Reading and viewing pictures on the SIII is a blast.
• Camera – Pictures produced by the SIII has slightly brighter tones compared to those produced by the iPhone 4S. I find myself liking the picture quality of the SIII more, not only that, the camera of the SIII is faster in both boot up time and performance
• Ice Cream Sandwich – Android remains as the most versatile mobile OS in the market. iOS is much more mature, but one can potentially do more on Android. Oh, and widgets! Who doesn’t love widgets?
• Micro SD and Micro USB – Infinitely expandable and using a standard connection. No need for proprietary crap like the iPhone’s dock connector
• USB hosting capability – With the right cable, the Galaxy SIII can act as a USB host and copy files from a USB flash drive.
• WiFi Hotspot – The iPhone 4S has WiFi Hotspot capability, but the Galaxy SIII does the hotspot thing way, way better. Data speed is faster on the SIII and it can hold a hotspot signal longer and more reliable than the iPhone 4S
• Battery life – No matter how good a smartphone is, it’s worth squat if it has a short battery life. During days where I’m completely out of the office and running around, I usually require at two small external battery chargers to make through the day. The Galaxy SIII on the other hand has a huge 2,150 mAh removable battery which lasts longer than the iPhone 4S in a single charge. Plus, the fact that the battery is removable gives me an option to simply put in a new one on the fly without having to struggle with bulky external batteries.

So yeah, the Galaxy SIII is awesome and I was already preparing to transfer all my stuff to the SIII and ditch my iPhone 4S. But there was a small detail that I forgot: all of my personal and business data is happily synced on iCloud and my home entertainment runs on Apple TV.

My computing life is very Mac centric as I use a MacBook Pro that’s complimented by an iPad. Even my household is pretty much an Apple-powered environment with even my son constantly staying in touch with me on iMessage. Giving up the iPhone 4S meant that I had to change the way my information is synced and how I go around doing my business. While Google does offer their own cloud services and is in some ways, more superior than Apple’s iCloud, I was faced with a question; do I change the way how I handle my computing needs so I can accommodate the SIII or do I just stick with the iPhone 4S? Convenience won and I decided to just stick with the iPhone 4S.

Now, the Galaxy SIII sits in a corner with me staring at it longingly while England Dan and John Ford Coley’s “It’s Sad to Belong” plays in the background.

Howard

Gadgets and video games are what Howard loves and he was fortunate enough to have dabbled in both worlds professionally. A former Editor-in-Chief of a local gaming magazine, Howard is currently busy jumping from one industry to another, analyzing and writing about all of the electronic toys he loves. His favorite noodles: Pork Leg Bihon.

email: howard@technoodling.netwebsite: http://www.technoodling.net