Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Galaxy S2 – how do they compare? [video]
Watch our video to find out how the Samsung Galaxy S3 compares with its older sibling the Galaxy S2.
17 Comments
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lisa
thomasI just recently upgraded to the HTC wildfire and I love it. It has all the features of most of the more expensive handsets on the market, such as a 5mp camera with flash, 3g and wifi, Android market etc, for a fraction of the price. And it fits in your pocket – unlike some of the bigger smartphones on the market. A good all round phone.
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Martin
ThainMy eldest grandson started work about 2 months ago and with his first wages treated himself to a Samsung Galaxy from Carphone Warehouse with unlimited internet access at a monthly cost of, I believe, £12.50. He placed a monthly cut off limit of £50 on the contract. However his phone was disconnected when charges reached £80 within about 3 weeks. It appears that the phone was connected permanently to the internet and email, the following being switched on – Auto synch, running background data applications, Send or received data at anytime. The phone is now back on and the pain reduced by contributions from his parents and my wife and self but it would have been unnecessary if the Carphone Warehouse assistant had pointed this out in the first place.
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Tim@Which?Hi Martin,
That’s very sad to hear, and unfortunately not an uncommon problem.
If you think your grandson was mis-sold the contract check out our advice page on your mobile rights here: http://www.which.co.uk/mobile/advice-and-support/dealing-with-mobile-phone-problems/your-mobile-phone-rights/
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BTF
I upgraded my T-mobile contract nearly 2 weeks ago – I was told it was the best deal available for £10 – 300 minutes to any network and 300 texts per month with flexible booster – free internet or free local calls or free T-mobile to T-mobile calls. I actually wanted more minutes to all networks and local calls and possibly more texts. Any advice of who to switch to?
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Christophe
r@Which?Hi BTF,
You can use Which? Mobile to tailor your deals results to the specifications you’re after by using the sliders on the right side of the page. Just click on the contract/sim only/payg/ tabs at the top of this page and take a look.
From what I can see in our sim-only section (http://www.which.co.uk/mobile/deals/simonly/) – 3 do a deal that gives you 300 mins, 3000 texts, and 1GB internet for £10. So that’s more texts than you currently have.
However, I would say that for £10 per month 300 mins/300 texts and ‘unlimited internet’ is actually pretty good :).
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mrssavvy
hi, BTF,,i could not get that deal,,when were u offered that? that’s fab!!
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Katie B
I upgraded my Nokia phone to the Samsung Galaxy last November. Last week I put it down on the table cloth of a restaurant which was a little damp. From there on my phone refused to acknowledge my SIM card. I returned it to Vodaphone who sent it back to me with a note that some damp has partly destroyed the SIM card slot and they were unable to repair it. I was never warned when I purchased the phone that it was so fragile and sensitive it could easily be damaged beyond repair. It does say on ‘page 121′ of the manual in extremely small print, keep away from water. The phone is hardly three months old, there is no warranty and Vodaphone never suggested Insurance cover. So well done Samsung, I now have a useless phone that I will have to continuing paying for over the next 16 months until the termination of my agreement.
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Christophe
r@Which?Hi Katie,
You should try again to get your phone replaced by Vodafone. You can argue that the phone was not fit for purpose/of satisfactory quality, and so you have a right to get it repaired or replaced under the Sales of Goods Act.
However, this depends on the details – i.e. how damp was the cloth, how long was it left for. It’s reasonable to expect a phone to be able to cope with a few drops of rain, less reasonable that it should be survive in a glass of water.
Your situation seems to be somewhere in-between. But based on what you’ve told us, it is worth arguing with Vodafone to get a replacement (if you can someone from a local mobile phone repair shop, or someone from Samsung, to tell you that the phone should be able to cope with the level of water exposure that took place, then it could make all the difference).
You weren’t shown the manual before you bought the phone, so the warning about water contact wasn’t an express term of the contract with the retailer – so that shouldn’t affect your complaint.
Hope that helps.
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Bazinga!
its in small print because they assume that you should know about electric gadgets + water = gubbed…
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Helen
SantrySorry to hear about Kattie B problem with the damp tablecloth. Mr husband has a Nokia KF300 which went through a full wash cycle in our washing machine in the pocket of he trousers.The phone was on and in the process received 2 text messages ! It suffered no ill effects at all and is still working 18mth later. So full marks to LG.
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Neil2727
Samsung Jet – Cracking little phone. Camera is absolutel superb used outdoors but not good indoors. I dont like their PC Studio software and just drag n drop which works okay.
The screen is very good and I have several movies on it all the time and playback is excellent. Battery life is not good & needs charging every day. It supports Java apps so some available but not many.
Best feature is its size. Small enough to keep in trouser pocket with being obtrusive. I’m getting a tab soon but will keep the phone anyway.
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Ben
I have a Samsung Jet for some time, the touchscreen is awful, but while I wouldn’t recommend the phone there is a good MP3 player and radio and phone reception volume is good, but for texting it’s rubbbish due to poor touchscreen. Hopeing the Galaxy S is better.
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Anne13
I bought the Samsung S Gallaxy and it started haemoraging money then one day it just wouldn’t work and I brought it to the shop and they said moisture problems!!!! My Samsung Toco has fallen down a loo, a swimming pool, I blowed it dry with a hair dryer and it worked perfectly. It cost me nearly €500 and Vodafones attitude is tough but I am very glad to see other people had the same problem and they will do a re call. Fingers croxxed!!
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Charm
HenryI think Samsung phones are really durable. My old one was a Samsung and I had it for 6 years. I found a site that recycles phones and I am happy I traded it to them. I even got extra . Thanks for sharing!
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Pete
What about the orange monte carlo / zte skate?
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Ray
HogwoodIs it possible to use a Smart Phone as a router to my laptop ( Tethering ) and what are the implications ?
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Jaak
DymovaThe besy way to find the right smartphone to suit your needs is to do side by side reviews. Every mobile phone has its pros and cons. You will find everything you are looking for to buy the right smartphone’s here.
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The best budget smartphones
Which? rounds-up the top five cheap budget smartphones you can get free on a £16-or-under monthly contract.
If you’re in the market for mobile phone deals then – according to the latest stats at least – there’s a good chance you’re also in the market for a smartphone. But despite what you may think, buying a smartphone on contract doesn’t have to break the bank.
You can currently pick-up a decent entry-level smartphone for around £15 per month contract, perfect if you’re looking for a device that can connect to the internet, run apps and perform the basic feature phone tasks such as playing media and taking photos.
So to make things easier for you, we’ve rounded-up our favourite smartphones on Which? that you can get free with a £15-per-month contract. Just click on the links below to go to our mobile phone deals result page for each handset, where you can filter the results by price, bundled minutes, texts and data – and also view any related reviews and videos.
Looking for recommendations on the latest smartphones? Take a look at our best smartphones round-up.
The best cheap smartphones
The LG Optimus One was specifically designed for the budget market, but that doesn’t mean it skimps on features. Wi-fi, 3G, GPS and Android 2.2 are all present and correct, as is a responsive capacitative touchscreen. Plus it’s all bundled into a small frame that easily slips into the pocket. Unfortunately the Optimus One’s 3.2Mp shooter misses the mark when it comes to camera quality and – slightly more significantly – our lab tests found that voice call quality was badly impacted when a high level of background noise was introduced. Nevertheless, at around £150 on PAYG, it’s a good value handset.
Take me to all LG Optimus One deals
Despite being available free on contracts of around £15 a month the Samsung Wave 2 excelled in our lab tests and received a Best Buy award. Running Samsung’s own operating system bada, the Wave 2 doesn’t have access to as many apps as an Android device or an iPhone but it’s still as easy to use as other smartphone operating systems. It feels good in the hand and looks more like a premium device than a budget model thanks to its aluminium unibody case.
Take me to all the Samsung Wave 2 deals
BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105
Popular for their email and instant messaging capabilities, Blackberrys have long been renowned as great messaging smartphones. The Pearl 3G doesn’t feature a full Qwerty keypad like some BlackBerrys but it is more pocket friendly and still fits in all the email capabilities and the famed BBM (BlackBerry Messenger). Our testers were impressed by the quality of the Pearl’s music player, although some other features were a little disappointing.
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A budget smartphone in Samsung’s Android smartphone range, the Ace borrows a lot from the design of the iPhone 4 but is closer to a scaled down version of the Samsung Galaxy S. It has access to the hundreds of thousands of apps on the Android Market and includes a (very reasonable for its price) 800MHz processor to run them. It may not have the highest resolution screen, but the touchscreen is responsive and is protected by gorilla glass so will be resistant to scratches. Costing around £200 on PAYG the Galaxy Ace is probably more for those after a cheap contract deal.
Take me to all the Samsung Galaxy Ace deals
Scoring a respectable 59% in our lab tests the Wildfire S might not be a Best Buy but we were still very impressed with the device for its price. It packs in a number of features including a 5Mp camera, 3.2 inch touchscreen and 3G support as well as HTC’s lauded ‘HTC Sense’ user interface. You also have the latest version of the Android operating system – Gingerbread or 2.3 – on-board. This helps performance and gives access to the Android Market, which features a huge selection of games and apps.
Take me to all HTC Wildfire S deals
Note: at the time of writing all the above handsets were available on a £15 or less monthly contract on Which?, but retailers may change their deals at any time.