# Have some questions for GS3 owners that upgraded from Gnex



## velocity92c (Jan 23, 2012)

I've got an upgrade on my account and am strongly considering the GS3, for obvious reasons (being a gnex owner).

I had a list of questions in my mind but really I'd appreciate it if some owners of both devices could just give me their impressions of the GS3 vs. the Gnex, the pros and cons of each and whatnot. It seems like a pretty simple choice, whether or not I upgrade now or wait for the next big thing and hold onto my Gnex for now. I'd really appreciate any and all input I could get from owners of both devices to help me make my choice though. Thanks!


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## dpaine88 (Jul 21, 2011)

I've had both. S3 is much better specs wise, it feels faster, it's thinner, better radio and camera

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## landshark (Aug 6, 2011)

These two threads should do a good job of giving you most, if not all the answers you are looking for:

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/33548-did-anyone-switch-from-the-galaxy-nexus-to-the-s-iii/

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/29728-previous-gnex-owners-with-sgs3/


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## wil318466 (Nov 6, 2011)

I just bought the Galaxy S3 yesterday. Came home and started tinkering right away. Can't stand stock bloat Verizon crapware (didn't realize how much I hated it until I had to mess with the phone until I got home, for an hour).

Rooted, Jellybean ROM'ed. Played with the phone all night. Woke up this morning and decided I'm returning it.

Pros : phone is really nice. Form factor is awesome. Very light, very thin, screen is bigger, signal seems better, downloads even seem faster. Camera is better. Speaker is better.

Cons : Missing software features, Dolphin HD crashes (probably software related, but whatever), having trouble getting lightflow/notifications to light the LED correctly.

And the 2 biggest cons : when plugging in both AUX and power in my car, there is a lot of line noise when no audio is playing on the phone. It's fine when I have a song playing, but about 5 seconds after it stops, there is a lot of line noise/whining. I thought I was going nuts, but it wasn't only me. This only happens when a) the phone is on and silent, and







both aux and power is connected. Unplug power, noise goes away. I'm not ok with this.

The biggest issue? The button. Yes, the home physical button at the bottom of the phone is a huge pain in the butt. I hate it. It's too close to the bottom of the phone, and its awkward to hit. I prefer the virtual buttons and so used to it I kept "tapping" the physical button trying to get to my homescreen. I thought to myself I'd get used to it, but I really truly despise it. I must be the only one, because no one has mentoned this.

All in all? The S3 is hands down better than the Nexus, but NOT BY MUCH. The Galaxy Nexus with JB is fully, 100% funtional and fast. The S3 with JB roms (as of today, 9/20/2012) still has issues. Adding up the pros and cons, the S3, for me, isn't worth it. I still have both phones on my desk and I keep looking at both of them to compare. The S3 *IS* a better phone, but the difference isn't enough for me to have the audio issues in my car and to deal with that physical button.

On top of that, my new Verizon bill is 4 gig limit, 20 dollars more a month? Nah. I'm ok with my Galaxy Nexus and unlimited data and 100% working everything JellyBean roms. I'll wait for a new Quad Core or next Nexus branded phone that really blows the Nexus out of the water. I was very happy with my Nexus, I'm actually wondering why I even bothered. Should you pay 200+ dollars to switch from a Nexus to S3? No.

S3 back to stock and being return this morning.

Hope my review helped.


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## joemagistro (Dec 19, 2011)

Yeah not me.. Im not gonna return my phone over the home button lol... Im well used to it by now... Not to mention ide rather have more screen space then a nav bar on the bottom... I think Samsung did it right....

I don't know how anyone can say it's not MUCH better..... The camera on the nexus is horrible next to the sgs3... The s4 processor does laps around the nexus... Battery life is much better, radios are much better..... To me it's worth the jump

Sent from my galaxy nexus using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2


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## dpaine88 (Jul 21, 2011)

Gotta agree here, I am much happier with my S3 than with the Nexus.

Not to mention there is a way better screen that looks fine out of the box, unlike the nexus.

Only thing I miss from the Nexus is the headphones jack on the bottom of the phone instead of the top.


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## Nick.Tbolt (Aug 14, 2011)

wil318466 said:


> And the 2 biggest cons : when plugging in both AUX and power in my car, there is a lot of line noise when no audio is playing on the phone. It's fine when I have a song playing, but about 5 seconds after it stops, there is a lot of line noise/whining. I thought I was going nuts, but it wasn't only me. This only happens when a) the phone is on and silent, and
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I also have the noise when I plug in my phone to my car , and I am charging the phone. But this also happened on my Thunderbolt, maybe its a problem with car chargers.

* Verizon AOKP GS3 *


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## MFD00M (Aug 31, 2011)

I love it, haven't looked back. Only thing i miss is the stability of aosp roms, naturally it's better on the GNex for obvious reasons. But for the S3, they're quickly getting better and better.
The home button was annoying for about a week then i got used to it. I actually started to like the physical home button for waking my phone like the power button. Best part is that i can disable the hardware keys and enable the soft keys on screen if i want.

Screen is better, battery life is way better (On average, i only have to charge my phone once a day), didn't notice much of a difference in signal strength (my house is a dead spot, barely have a signal with 4 different phones over 2 carriers.)

With that said, I'm glad i still have a GNex, the gf is using it now though. It was one of the best phones i've owned.


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## bobloblaw1 (Jul 2, 2011)

Nick.Tbolt said:


> I also have the noise when I plug in my phone to my car , and I am charging the phone. But this also happened on my Thunderbolt, maybe its a problem with car chargers.
> 
> * Verizon AOKP GS3 *


http://ccs.exl.info/noise.html

http://www.worldwidedx.com/home-brew/31492-building-simple-alternator-whine-ignition-filter.html


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## Spaniard85 (Jun 25, 2011)

Basically every spec is better. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED my VZW GNex. I was kidding myself when it came to battery life though. The S3 does a pretty amazing job with its battery, especially when compared to the GNex. The screen is bigger and better. The radios are stronger. The performance is stellar, and noticeably faster.

The only thing is miss is the form factor. I really liked the shape of the GNex, with its curved screen. The S3 has a screen that tapers off on the sides, and I will say that it's quite nice you slide your finger across the screen. Getting used to the home button wasn't that hard, and being able to remap the menu key to recent apps (with an AOSP ROM) has been great. I'm still not fond of the "pebble" shape, but like I mentioned, I just REALLY like the shape of the GNex.

Overall, the S3 is definitely a better device. It's also much more future proof than the GNex was, but in today's world this is become less and less relevant with how fast new technologies make it to our phones.


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## cvbcbcmv (Sep 14, 2011)

I lost my gnex and ended up getting the SIII as my insurance replacement.

First off, the speed and radio. This phone is FAST! Considerably faster than the gnex, on any rom. (don't want to go into detail as other people did) and signal is way better. I can get 1 or 2 bars of LTE where I got one or two of 3G on the gnex. I also get LTE in areas I never did.

Battery life: WAY better, can easily get through a day on stock.

Development: Pretty good! The gnex development is insane, but it's pretty good over here!

The only thing I really miss from the gnex is the developers I got to know, and was kind of friends with. That's it.


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

wil318466 said:


> I just bought the Galaxy S3 yesterday. Came home and started tinkering right away. Can't stand stock bloat Verizon crapware (didn't realize how much I hated it until I had to mess with the phone until I got home, for an hour).
> 
> Rooted, Jellybean ROM'ed. Played with the phone all night. Woke up this morning and decided I'm returning it.
> 
> ...


I don't even know what to say to this.
Nexus was released what, a year ago? If it didn't have better software support that would be insane.
SGS3 doesn't even have an official build of jellybean, and you are expecting everything to work 2 months after release? Get real dude.
Enjoy your Nexus.


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## sprovo (Dec 29, 2011)

invisiblek said:


> I don't even know what to say to this.
> Nexus was released what, a year ago? If it didn't have better software support that would be insane.
> SGS3 doesn't even have an official build of jellybean, and you are expecting everything to work 2 months after release? Get real dude.
> Enjoy your Nexus.


I concur all the way. From a nexus to a maxx to a S3. The maxx has the best battery hands down. But the S3 gets me far enough and then some that I'll have a charger on me by the time and it's no problem. The nexus was a lot worse than the S3. Unless I used my extended battery, but I didn't want to carry double the phone.

Signal wise maxx wins. But S3 is much better than the nexus l. I would get data drops like crazy in my house with the nexus. The S3 let's me hold a conversation.

The screen. S3 wins. Bigger and looks better. Never had a problem with spots that I got with both the maxx and nexus.

Speed. S3. Don't think I have to go further.

Development. I'll start with the maxx it just isn't good. I give credit to everything everyone has done with it but it isn't a comparable phone just yet but could get there soon. The nexus, tons of great development. but I think most people are still on it because they'll lose unlimited data if they switch. And the S3 is just getting started. I couldn't really ask for more knowing that there hasn't been a release of real JB. It sure feels like it tho.

All of this is just my opinion (and some facts) . Every one is entitled to their own and this is mine.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## MistaWolfe (Oct 10, 2011)

wil318466 said:


> I just bought the Galaxy S3 yesterday. Came home and started tinkering right away. Can't stand stock bloat Verizon crapware (didn't realize how much I hated it until I had to mess with the phone until I got home, for an hour).
> 
> Rooted, Jellybean ROM'ed. Played with the phone all night. Woke up this morning and decided I'm returning it.
> 
> ...


Ok, let me help you with a few things here.

1) You can have unlimited data on your s3. See those two phones on your desk? Yeah. Switch their SIM cards.....

2) You miss software buttons because that was your norm on the Nex. Duh. How is that the s3's problem? That's a human nature problem.

3) Home button. I get it, however saying the capacitives are too close is an opinion. My opinion is they're perfect. You get used to the home button, just like you got used to your onscreen Nex keys.

4) LightFlow works just fine if you follow the instructions. Been using it for a while...

5) Once you use an s3 for more than two weeks, you realize how dated and inferior your Nexus is. Just can't match the specs, battery life, screen, etc...

Enjoy your Nexus. To the OP --- do it.

Peace.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## MistaWolfe (Oct 10, 2011)

Holy balls, ninja'd

I didn't even make it past that post I quoted and I see quite a few agree.

I don't even think about my Nex anymore. Moved on!!! 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## wil318466 (Nov 6, 2011)

Well, everyone has different things that are deal-breakers for them. I personally like the form factor of the s3 over the Nexus, but other people have said the opposite. I also disliked hte headphone jack on top, but I didn't even mention that in my review as I think that is so person-specific that it wasn't even worth mentioning.

That being said, I'll never buy a non-Nexus device again. That bloat is awful, even though I had a custom Rom installed.


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## masri1987 (Jun 29, 2011)

I don't even recognize my Nexus as a device that functions lol , Signal + battery + camera , is what ended up causing me to switch, haven't looked back since. 
Only thing i wish for S3 is more aosp kernels, you know variety is always good .


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## PaulG1488 (Dec 16, 2011)

Just recently got a GS3 sent to me after going through 5 Nexus devices due to horrible signal. Here's my breakdown...

Signal - The signal for me on the GS3 is improved getting stronger 4g were I was only 1-2 bar 4-g on my Gnex that would eventually drop to 3g. Wifi was the bigger improvement for me on My Gnex if I left the screen off and turned it on I had to wait for it to load up my wifi not the case on the GS3 I could put the phone down for however long I need and the wifi stays connected with a stronger signal than my Gnex.

Battery - The GS3 wins by a WHOLE LOT.. I consider myself a heavy user. On a ALMOST fully charged (Synergy Rom r73 & Leankernel 0.9) GS3 I' get about 7 1/2 hours with a screen use of a little over 5 hrs(Mostly on Wifi, about 25% screen brightness, using a lot of tweetcaster pro, Gtalk, Google +, Browsing on chrome, and watching some videos on youtube). On my Gnex with verizon extended battery i don't remember the exact length I would get out of the battery but I do remember if I evenI got close or passed 4 hrs of screen time I was lucky. No matter if I was stock or trying every rom/ kernel combo I was never able to get 5 hour screen on time from my gnex.doing the same thing I'm currtly doing on my GS3.

Screen - I use to think my GNex screen was great using the trinity kernel colors but after using the GS3 that has changed as well. Me personally whether I'm watching HD Youtube videos or blu ray rips I have loaded on my phone it looks much better on my GS3 compared to the Gnex.

Camera- GS3 wins easily in this category too. I was never a huge fan of the camera on the GNex although I did like the video recording on there. On the GS3 the camera features and pictures are much better and the video recording in 1080p looks amazing. You can look up GS3 1080p recording samples on youtube to see what I mean.

Build - Although the GS3 feels lighter to me the Gnex felt much better in my hand for scrolling and typing. I do find myself missing the curved screen of the Gnex as well but it's not a huge deal for me. As far as the Home button goes it does take getting use to but it's not a huge deal for me if anything I confuse myself more with the "menu" and "back" touch keys lol.

Dev support - I take dev support very serious. If the GS3 bootloader would've never got unlocked I wouldn't have made the switch that's how serious I take it. For obvious reasons the Gnex wins in this department. I consider myself a crackflasher and although the GS3 dev support is improving I don't ever see it coming close to the awesome dev support on the Gnex.

User Interface & Speed - I've always loved AOSP (Who doesn't) and I was always a fan of HTC SENSE but I use to strongly despise Touchwiz until now. I feel like Samsung finally got it right. I found the GS3 stock much faster and smoother than a rom optimized Gnex. I currently have 97 apps installed not counting the system apps and I don't feel any kind of lag or slow down what so ever. Now what most consider "Bloatware" I don't and that's probably because I find myself using the features samsung added to the phone and for that reason I'm on a touchwiz rom as opposed to an aosp rom.

In conclusion, I really only find myself missing the dev support from the Gnex more than anything other than that I love the GS3 and I'm really glad Verizon sent me this device. Would I use an actual 2 yr agreement upgrade? Probably not because I'm grandfathered into my unlimited data plan and the fact that so many high spec phones keep coming out I have a hard time staying on the same phone for long but if there's any phone I could enjoy for a long time it would definitely be this one.

Sorry for the long post but i wanted to be as helpful and descriptive with my personal opinion and experience for anyone who is considering leaving the GNex for a GS3.


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## cvbcbcmv (Sep 14, 2011)

Am I the only one who just likes get's all giddy when you read these kinds of posts when you just got a new phone?


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## PaulG1488 (Dec 16, 2011)

cvbcbcmv said:


> Am I the only one who just likes get's all giddy when you read these kinds of posts when you just got a new phone?


Nope its great reading stuff like this makes me feel like I made the right choice.


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## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

wil318466 said:


> That bloat is awful, even though I had a custom Rom installed.


LOOOOOOOOL

rolleyes.gif


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## androidfanatic (Dec 28, 2011)

PaulG1488 said:


> Just recently got a GS3 sent to me after going through 5 Nexus devices due to horrible signal. Here's my breakdown...


I've suffered the bad radio on the GN since day 1. Where I work in my house, Sprint WiMax works fine, but the GN doesn't even get 3G, can't hold a phone call without dropping and half the SMS attempts fail.

When I am out, the radio too often sucks too.

I never complained to Verizon about this because I use my phone too much to go through the hassle of getting replacement GN phones just to find out they suffer the same problems.

Is there way to complain to Verizon so that I get a replacement S3 without have to through the cycle of five replacements as you have?


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## Spaniard85 (Jun 25, 2011)

androidfanatic said:


> I've suffered the bad radio on the GN since day 1. Where I work in my house, Sprint WiMax works fine, but the GN doesn't even get 3G, can't hold a phone call without dropping and half the SMS attempts fail.
> 
> When I am out, the radio too often sucks too.
> 
> ...


Probably not, since this would be the first they've heard of you having any issues.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using RootzWiki


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

androidfanatic said:


> I've suffered the bad radio on the GN since day 1. Where I work in my house, Sprint WiMax works fine, but the GN doesn't even get 3G, can't hold a phone call without dropping and half the SMS attempts fail.


Did you try updating to the radio software that came out a couple weeks ago with the leak? It surprisingly fixed many issues for quite a few people.


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## androidfanatic (Dec 28, 2011)

yarly said:


> Did you try updating to the radio software that came out a couple weeks ago with the leak? It surprisingly fixed many issues for quite a few people.


I've upgraded to every radio, leaks and official, as soon as it has been available. While the new radios may have helped outside the house, the problems in the dead spots around the house remain the same.


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## androidfanatic (Dec 28, 2011)

Spaniard85 said:


> Probably not, since this would be the first they've heard of you having any issues.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using RootzWiki


What if I complain once a week for three months?


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## PaulG1488 (Dec 16, 2011)

androidfanatic said:


> What if I complain once a week for three months?


Nope I had 3 of my 5 replacements in a 2 week span.. and even then when they offered my another device they were only offering me a charge,rezound, incredible 4g, stratosphere, and a razr. They didn't want to budge at all for a galaxy SIII some reps told me it was too new and others said they had no replacement devices of it yet. I spoke to 5 reps and 2 supervisors I and the most I was offered at the end was a razr maxx and I still declined. Long story short I was lied to about getting a gs3 from 2 reps and supervisor and the 2 supervisor I spoke to didn't care and was very rude and at best offered that razr maxx.

At the brink of giving up I just decided to try one more time so I called and told the rep about the bad experiences I had with the people I've spoken to in the 2 week span. She was very friendly and I was very nice to her and got some small talk going. I went through all tthe troubleshooting with her even tho I did it with all the other people I spoke too before. When she decided that it wasn't working she asked what she could do to make it better I told her I liked the nexus but I can't seem to get one that works. I mentioned to her all the devices that have been offered to me and told her since I was offered the razr maxx but the gs3 16gb is the same price can I just get that instead and she said sure.

In the GNex section here you'll find a thread talking about replacement devices and how some people are on their 9th device others got lucky like me and got a gs3. For me it was a huge hassle compared to yours but be forewarned you will most likely get shot down quick the moment you mention gs3.


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## androidfanatic (Dec 28, 2011)

PaulG1488 said:


> Nope I had 3 of my 5 replacements in a 2 week span.. and even then when they offered my another device they were only offering me a charge,rezound, incredible 4g, stratosphere, and a razr. They didn't want to budge at all for a galaxy SIII some reps told me it was too new and others said they had no replacement devices of it yet. I spoke to 5 reps and 2 supervisors I and the most I was offered at the end was a razr maxx and I still declined. Long story short I was lied to about getting a gs3 from 2 reps and supervisor and the 2 supervisor I spoke to didn't care and was very rude and at best offered that razr maxx.
> ...


Thanks for sharing your experience. You basically went through a gauntlet tussling with customer service. I haven't even begun to gripe with VZW. I will check out those threads.


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## Turdbogls (Jun 7, 2011)

This is good info guys. i have been toying with the idea of trading my nexus up for an S3. honestly, i haven't had any real issues with my nexus. singal is good, never dropped a call, screen is great, volume seems fine, it is really fast and smooth on CM10, battery life could be better but i have extra batteries and chargers on me at all times so no big deal, and i have been somewhat impressed by the camera.

but deep down, i know the S3 is the better device and i would probably be happier with that over the Gnex. the only thing i would miss is the AOSP stability and the software buttons...but I know the software buttons can be added and the AOSP stability is coming.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

OP, I had the GNex,just got rid of it a couple of days ago (changed from Vzw to TMob) and got the S3. I really miss my GNex, mainly because it was so easily hackable. The S3 is an awesome device for me so far.

I say if you do not plan to hack the crap outta the phone, and you want better guts in the phone, then upgrade. If you hack a lot, stay with the GNex. There should be a new Nexus device pretty soon, and you and can get THAT wen it comes out.


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> OP, I had the GNex,just got rid of it a couple of days ago (changed from Vzw to TMob) and got the S3. I really miss my GNex, mainly because it was so easily hackable. The S3 is an awesome device for me so far.
> 
> I say if you do not plan to hack the crap outta the phone, and you want better guts in the phone, then upgrade. If you hack a lot, stay with the GNex. There should be a new Nexus device pretty soon, and you and can get THAT wen it comes out.


explain 'hack the crap outta the phone'
i'm not sure there is anything that the gnex can do as far as 'hackin the crap' that the s3 cannot...


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

invisiblek said:


> explain 'hack the crap outta the phone'
> i'm not sure there is anything that the gnex can do as far as 'hackin the crap' that the s3 cannot...


I did not say the S3 isn't hackable but from what I have read it is certainly not as hack-friendly as the GNex. When hacking the GNex, one does not have to worry about a flash/unlock counter, and there seems to be a lot more concern over bricking the S3 than the GNex. Also, the process for recovering the S3 from disaster seems to be less than confidence-inspiring. This problem of people losing their IMEI is troubling, to say the least.


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> This problem of people losing their IMEI is troubling, to say the least.


This is now 100% fixable and a Samsung problem. I guess if you are scared of losing your IMEI it may be worth sticking to a gnex.

I'm not trying to start a war here, just want to get the facts out.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

*sigh* I didn't mean to turn on your fan-boy mode.

Needing to work around a flash counter on one device which does not exist on another device, automatically means one is more hack-friendly than the other. It exists, so it is a concern to anyone flashing. If it were not a concern, we could ignore it completely.

Hard bricking a GNex is pretty rare, in fact, the general consensus on the GNex boards is that you would have to work at getting a hard brick. It is a developer device, designed to have its software hacked, yet another reason it is more hack-friendly.

Triangle Away looks like it works, but from what I am reading it's hit-or-miss (mostly hit from what I see, which I admit is a good thing, for sure).

Disaster (to me) is any problem not fixable by a simple battery pull/reboot/re-flash/restore nandroid. Disaster might not mean the same to a developer as it means to Joe Blow who is flashing his first ROM, because to that Joe Blow everything but booting up just fine IS a disaster. Just look at all the threads titled OMG I BRICKED MY DEVICE AT 4AM AND I HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR WORK IN A COUPLE HOURS, PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME AT 4AM!!! lol

I never said is was so scared of losing my IMEI that I am never going to root my S3.. don't know what prompted you to make that part up.


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

invisiblek said:


> *sigh* I didn't mean to turn on your fan-boy mode.


Settle down. I'm the only fanboy allowed in this thread.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

I do not take the scenic route to say anything. I said what I said and there are no hidden inferences in my statements.

invisiblek, if you took my statements to mean that the S3 is an inferior device in some regard, I in no way meant that. All I did was point to one inherent difference in the two devices.


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> I do not take the scenic route to say anything. I said what I said and there are no hidden inferences in my statements.


My mistake. Then I'm also lost as to what hackable (sic) is supposed to mean to anyone on a real world technical level.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

poontab said:


> My mistake. Then I'm also lost as to what hackable (sic) is supposed to mean to anyone on a real world technical level.


Just what, exactly, in my "explanation post" of hackable, do you not understand?


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> Just what, exactly, in my "explanation post" of hackable, do you not understand?


Must have missed the whole explanation post.

What is this ability to be hacked you're referring to or what static quantity is measuring how hackable a device is? It sounds like we're discussing different types of bread & how easily they can be sliced.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

You might want to go read it, then. Other than that, the best way I can help you is to link you here and here and encourage you to use them in conjunction with my above posts.

Your bread analogy is spot-on. One type of bread (phone) is easier to slice (hack) than the other.


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> Your bread analogy is spot-on. One type of bread (phone) is easier to slice (hack) than the other.


Its a different phone. Of course the unlock method would be different. I wouldn't say there is anything 'easier' about hacking one than the other though. They're pretty damn easy compared to many phones I've seen.

Also - I think I've said this before, grow up. Pretty sure the mod knows at least a bit about the gnex and to link him to dictionary and google is just plain rude.


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## PoLoMoTo (Feb 28, 2012)

invisiblek said:


> They're pretty damn easy compared to many phones I've seen.


Droid X... Just saying no one ever unlocked the bootloader.........


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

PoLoMoTo said:


> Droid X... Just saying no one ever unlocked the bootloader.........


Try flashing a kernel on it









There was also a lot that most users are not aware of to get a somewhat normal phone experience done by developers on that particular device. It might all be easy for end users, but there were a lot of developmental headaches that were worked through by developers.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

invisiblek said:


> Try flashing a kernel on it
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This can likely be said about the S3 as well, from what I can tell.


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

I've got nothing left to say to the previous poster here.

To everyone else - do not be scared of buying this device because you think it is less "hackable" as some other posters have mentioned. It is very "hackable" and a great device with great dev support. Hell, cyanogen himself has one and actively works on it.


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## PoLoMoTo (Feb 28, 2012)

yarly said:


> This can likely be said about the S3 as well, from what I can tell.


It may be much harder than it looks but it isn't even close to the difficulty of the DX


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> This can likely be said about the S3 as well, from what I can tell.


Definitely not anywhere close to being the DX.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

lol. I guess some people on here like to make things up out of whole cloth rather than make a reasoned evaluation.

I never said the S3 was anything less than an amazing device... heck, I even said in my original post in this thread that it IS an amazing device.

I do not recall anyone in this thread saying the device isn't hackable or that it does not have great dev support. Judging from the post/like ratio for invisiblek, I would have to assume he is a good dev (presumably for the S3).

Some people are just excitable, I guess.









Edit: Man, the first time I went to root my DX.. it was a nightmare!


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> lol. I guess some people on here like to make things up out of whole cloth rather than make a reasoned evaluation.
> 
> I never said the S3 was anything less than an amazing device... heck, I even said in my original post in this thread that it IS an amazing device.
> 
> ...


And I don't mean to sound like a flute toting apple fanboy but to talk about how less 'hackable' a device is in my opinion gives users a more "droid x" feel about a device and may cause them to shy away.


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## immortal.ben (Jul 4, 2012)

Refusing to acknowledge the difference between the two devices, (the OP wanted to know what owners of the two devices thought... I qualify to make the comparison) might cause users to give less weight to the warnings posted about rooting, flashing, and running Triangle Away.

Dude, in the end, I do not and did not want to have this back and forth... I guess we have both said what we have to say.

OP, let us know what you decide.


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## manutcbs (Oct 23, 2011)

Got an upgrade next month and am considering the switch also. Wife has a GS3 and I didn't really feel envious at all until today when I rooted and JB rommed it. Set it up as close to my gnex (same rom, settings & launcher) as possible and you can really tell the difference. Love the gnex still but am a bit envious now.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## PoLoMoTo (Feb 28, 2012)

immortal.ben said:


> Edit: Man, the first time I went to root my DX.. it was a nightmare!


I accepted the GB ota update







had to wait like three months to root it, at least I didn't wait long enough to get the 621 unsbfable update


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> Droid X... Just saying no one ever unlocked the bootloader.........


It was just shy of a year after it's release that cvpcs was able to make any significant progress with AOSP on the DX. With 4.x+ & the 3.x kernel there are a whole other series of headaches.

For the record I own a Galaxy Nexus.


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## MistaWolfe (Oct 10, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> OP, I had the GNex,just got rid of it a couple of days ago (changed from Vzw to TMob) and got the S3. I really miss my GNex, mainly because it was so easily hackable. The S3 is an awesome device for me so far.
> 
> I say if you do not plan to hack the crap outta the phone, and you want better guts in the phone, then upgrade. If you hack a lot, stay with the GNex. There should be a new Nexus device pretty soon, and you and can get THAT wen it comes out.


Disagree a bit. I hack my S3 just as much as my Nex. Running AOKP with faux kernel. Reminds me of my Nex...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> A mod who is insulting to a poster deserves what they get. Please step down from your fan-boy box for a moment to realize that hacking an S3 is more involved and has a higher potential for something to go wrong, than a GNex.


Poontab owns a Nexus, just fyi. It's somewhat hard to be a fanboy for a device one does not own, like the S3.


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## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

Just looking at this...discussion that's taken shape over the last page, I *think* I have come to my own interpretation of what "hackable" means in this context. I don't own a GNex however I originally did want one so I spent a good bit of time reading the forums on the other dev site. The only way I can perceive "hackability" in the above conversation, as an owner of the VZW GSIII, is in relation to the number of mods/kernels/roms available for the GNex. In that respect only does "hackability" make sense. I feel that if you are the type who wants to root/unlock then you will do so regardless of the level of difficulty of the process. Hackability in this sense is moot as an end user unless you are the one coding or developing, or working on the process to root/unlock. That's just my observation.


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## Goose306 (Sep 12, 2011)

SlimSnoopOS said:


> Just looking at this...discussion that's taken shape over the last page, I *think* I have come to my own interpretation of what "hackable" means in this context. I don't own a GNex however I originally did want one so I spent a good bit of time reading the forums on the other dev site. The only way I can perceive "hackability" in the above conversation, as an owner of the VZW GSIII, is in relation to the number of mods/kernels/roms available for the GNex. In that respect only does "hackability" make sense. I feel that if you are the type who wants to root/unlock then you will do so regardless of the level of difficulty of the process. Hackability in this sense is moot as an end user unless you are the one coding or developing, or working on the process to root/unlock. That's just my observation.


That's about spot on although I would say in normal circumstance that isn't what hackability means. Usually hackibility means whether it is hackable, in the case of the S3 being as we have an insecure aboot, the "hackability" is pretty much the same. The difficulty is similar, IMO its actually easier (as it can be done directly from the phone using terminal and dd commands once root is obtained to unlock the bootloader, whereas Nexus devices require a working adb/fastboot environment). (That's excluding the usage of one-clicks as both devices have such).

The only real difference for "hackability" as referenced here (in reality development) is that the S3 has a bit less development. They have the same abilities (i.e. we can flash everything the same as any other unlocked Android device) the S3 has upgraded internal specs. So it depends on if you want to swap development for specs. That's basically where it lies. IMO; the S3 has enough development, JB runs great; the only real issue being the RIL but that's gotten to the point nowadays where its a small inconvenience, not a deal-breaker. You have AOKP, CM10, PA, CNA, MIUI (most of the big names in ROMs) plus you have the option for Touchwiz ROMs if you prefer to look that route (in both ICS and JB flavors) and many of the major kernel developers too (Imoysen, faux, Morfic, thought I heard at one point we were to be getting a Glados kernel... etc) that's enough for me. As long as I can run AOSP and it runs well or well enough I'll take the greatly upgraded internals.

This is IMHO, of course.

Oh, and to those comments regarding kernels and on a DX... I flashed kernels on the DX on a regular basis. Part of the .621 hack that was done initially involved flashing Milestone X firmware and then flashing the .621 Droid X kernel back on.







I also flashed bootloaders (had to flash the separately as I never took an OTA on that device) and just about everything else. You just had to know that certain partitions were defined to have signature checks. In regards to the DX as a hack-friendly device - it was not as yarly said because of the locked-nature of it. On the plus side, because of the eFuse existence however, it was also damn near impossible to soft-brick it (I would say it was impossible) because if signature check was failed it refused to write. I tried lots of things, including tripping the eFuse probably 40+ times trying to break reversion on .621; the old DX is still running strong with my sister now.


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## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

immortal.ben said:


> I did not say the S3 isn't hackable but from what I have read it is certainly not as hack-friendly as the GNex. When hacking the GNex, one does not have to worry about a flash/unlock counter, and there seems to be a lot more concern over bricking the S3 than the GNex. Also, the process for recovering the S3 from disaster seems to be less than confidence-inspiring. This problem of people losing their IMEI is troubling, to say the least.


What's interesting about your first comment is that as easy as it is to unlock the GNex, people here and everywhere still use a toolkit to unlock it because they think typing in some commands is difficult and scary. That said, unlocking the S3 is just as easy as the GNex since most users will use a toolkit anyways. If a toolkit were never introduced for the GNex, new users would probably say it's scarier to use adb/fastboot than it is to use the toolkits on the S3. How many threads do we see on a daily basis asking for help with the GNex from a toolkit user?

There is no reason to worry about the flash/unlock counter since there is a way to reset it.

I see an equal amount of threads about potential softbricks and bootloops in both subforums. People struggle just as much to recover from "disaster" on the GNex as they do with the S3. On top of that, people like to make things far more complicated than they need to be. This isn't a reflection of the "difficulty" of the devices in question, it's a reflection of the user-base. I can't count the number of times I've seen people using ODIN and toolkits to flash back to stock on the GNex because it's too "difficult" and "scary" to use adb and fastboot, or because they can't copy letter for letter what's already been posted.


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## Ritchell (Aug 7, 2011)

I might be switching to the GSIII because it's all-around such a better phone. The one persistent downside I've heard is that the development is a bit behind as compared to the GNex. This makes sense to me as one is a Nexus device, but, more importantly, the GNex is older and has gotten more time to mature.

In spite of all this, I see on the VZW development forum that there's an unlocked bootloader as well as several JB ROMs, including my daily driver (AOKP build 3). Here's my question: At this point in development, does GNex development have any real leg up over the GSIII anymore? When Android 4.2 or 5.0 comes out, how far behind will the GSIII be in ROM development as compared to the GNex (and NOT the newest Nexus at the time, of course)?


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## Nick.Tbolt (Aug 14, 2011)

Ritchell said:


> I might be switching to the GSIII because it's all-around such a better phone. The one persistent downside I've heard is that the development is a bit behind as compared to the GNex. This makes sense to me as one is a Nexus device, but, more importantly, the GNex is older and has gotten more time to mature.
> 
> In spite of all this, I see on the VZW development forum that there's an unlocked bootloader as well as several JB ROMs, including my daily driver (AOKP build 3). Here's my question: At this point in development, does GNex development have any real leg up over the GSIII anymore? When Android 4.2 or 5.0 comes out, how far behind will the GSIII be in ROM development as compared to the GNex (and NOT the newest Nexus at the time, of course)?


The Gnex will always have more development because it is a nexus device. I firmly believe my GS3 will never the level of support the nexus has, but at the same time it is older... I think when the new android comes out, the nexus will get it and at the same time, we will probably get nightly builds until its a daily driver... I just hope it isn't a Tbolt ICS fiasco lol

* Verizon AOKP GS3 *


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## blaineevans (Jul 11, 2011)

Being someone who's had both an LTE and GSM Nexus, and now the VZW S3, I can tell you the development community is a lot (A LOT) smaller on the S3.

Now, after owning the Nexus since its initial release, I found that I always ended up on CM or AOKP. And towards the end, I had kind of gotten burnt out on trying anything else out.

Between that, the fact that I wanted back on LTE with the newest device I could get, and the fact that I'm paying roughly $10 more than I was using Straight Talk (family plan), it was an easy decision.

I will say, TouchWiz is fucking disgusting.. I tried, I really tried to just unbox and go. I even tried to root and leave TW on there, but it's so unpolished it's outrageous, so I had to move to AOSP.

There's seems to be some 3G connectivity issues that I believe others may have mentioned (I haven't really looked into it) on AOSP, but luckily I've got LTE coverage 90% of the time.

Overall, I'm happy with it. I have the two ROMs I would end up flashing anyways, and overall an awesome device.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## invisiblek (Aug 19, 2011)

You guys miss one very important fact about our "small" dev community. cyanogen has this device and actively works on it
All I can say is that makes for a good future with this device


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

Merged threads.


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## peanut_butter (Aug 6, 2011)

I just made the jump a couple days ago. Rooted and unlocked about an hour after I got it. Flashed AOKP Build 2, upgraded to 3 today and haven't looked back. The soft keys are in ROM Control and you can turn the backlit keys (menu/back) off. Perfect if you're having G-Nex withdrawals lol. Here is my set up.









Sent from my Cocaine White S3.


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## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

Ritchell said:


> At this point in development, does GNex development have any real leg up over the GSIII anymore? When Android 4.2 or 5.0 comes out, how far behind will the GSIII be in ROM development as compared to the GNex (and NOT the newest Nexus at the time, of course)?


There's a lot more roms available for the GNex, but it's all more of the same. A feature here or a feature there is all that differentiates the roms on the GNex. There's only so much you can do with AOSP to make it different. At least you get the choice of TouchWiz or AOSP on the S3.

I was under the impression that the VZW GNex would get timely official updates but we all know that isn't the case thanks to VZW. The GNex will always be updated before the S3, although I think the S3 will receive its first major OTA quicker than the GNex did. Of course, OTAs only help us in allowing devs to update binaries or patch up any bugs.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

nhat said:


> Of course, OTAs only help us in allowing devs to update binaries or patch up any bugs.


OTAs are pretty meaningless for the Gnexus though outside of anyone that wants a radio update (the ones flashed in fastboot). Binaries are all on Google's site now, released at the same time as the Maguro ones.


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## bL33d (Jun 23, 2011)

Got gs3 today and wow i love it. I loved my gnex also but the gs3 is so fast and the stock battery last forever. Im not even rooted just hid vzw apps and im good.


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## Mustang302LX (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm just still trying to figure out if I should just buy this phone or keep my GNex for a little longer till other phones are announced. I really want this device but I'm still nervous about buying it and then regretting it.


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## XiriX12 (Jul 5, 2011)

My only complaint is signal quality. Where I live there is no 4G. So on 3G I got OK signal on my GNEX. Now on the S3 I get terrible signal quality. I take the sim from the S3 after getting errors saying no signal and put it on my GNEX and have great signal. Yes, I am on AOSP on both so I guess before I send it back to VZN I will try finding a good ICS rom for the S3. Any suggestions?


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## poontab (Jun 7, 2011)

XiriX12 said:


> My only complaint is signal quality. Where I live there is no 4G. So on 3G I got OK signal on my GNEX. Now on the S3 I get terrible signal quality. I take the sim from the S3 after getting errors saying no signal and put it on my GNEX and have great signal. Yes, I am on AOSP on both so I guess before I send it back to VZN I will try finding a good ICS rom for the S3. Any suggestions?


stock


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