The Samsung Galaxy S3 was officially announced earlier this month and with it expected to carry on the legacy of its predecessor, the Galaxy S2. However its launch was met with mixed reactions.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs HTC One X & Samsung Galaxy S3: what are its advantages?
The Samsung Galaxy S3 was called out for its Pentile display, disappointing design and choice of exterior materials, high chances that the quad-core chip would be swapped for a dual-core here in the US, and its TouchWiz software tweaks which may be considered gimmicky (real world testing will answer that question when it finally hits the market).
Personally, I couldn’t wait for the Samsung Galaxy S3 to arrive and hung on to my S2 even after temptations when the Galaxy Nexus hit Verizon Wireless. However with speculations of a 12-megapixel camera, ceramic case akin to that of Rado watches, and 2GB RAM all shot down, I can’t help but look at the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus again.
Sure there is one other Android on the market that has hardware that’s arguably as powerful as the Samsung Galaxy S3, the HTC One X. However the recent import ban of it to US shores revealed that HTC had to remove some features from the device in order avoid infringing on Apple patents. According to the folks over at TheVerge, HTC has gone ahead and omitted the ‘Complete Action Using’ popup screen from the US HTC One X (standard on most phones since Gingerbread) in order to avoid patent infringements brought up by Apple. Furthermore, the HTC One X Sense UI on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich appears to be wreaking havoc with power users who complain that HTC tweaked the Android update so that it would more aggressively close your windows (an obvious attempt to improve battery life but an annoyance for those who multitask and want to take advantage of those quad-core processors). HTC for one has acknowledged the latter problem but considers it a feature, not a bug.
With the Samsung Galaxy Nexus running pure Android Ice Cream Sandwich plus the fact that it is the only smartphone currently on the market that is guaranteed to get the upcoming Android 5.0 Jellybean update, has breathe new life into the device despite its more powerful rivals.
With Google I/O right around the corner, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a possible Android 5.0 Jellybean announcement. And with Verizon officially stating that customers with unlimited data plans who chose to upgrade their devices after summer will lose their unlimited data plans, chances of getting an on-contract Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus before that seems impossible. On the other side, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is available direct from the Google Play Store at an unlocked price tag of $399. That’s a bargain indeed given that Verizon LTE flagship phones usually start at $299 on contract.
Anyone else seeing the benefits of jumping on a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus this year? Or are you smitten by the powerful next-gen hardware that the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X have to offer over the Nexus phone? Sound off in the comments below.
[source]
