Samsung Galaxy S III (Verizon)
Phone Scoop Review
Jul 10, 2012 by Eric M. Zeman
Phone Scoop takes Verizon's version of the Samsung Galaxy S III for a spin. Does anything set it apart from the AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile versions? We find out. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great phone... however, it's going back tomorrow though!
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Received the phone late this morning and had 'er up and running soon there after. The call quality, layout, size and functions all work well. Well... maybe almost all work well.
The reason its going back and this was after I spoke with both Verizon and Samsung tech departments is that the browser, and to a lesser extent, the email contrast is approximately 60% of what it should be.
Here you have a Samsung screen, which many know, their screens are some of the best in the business, looking like it was flat and without any clarity.
in the browser setting. While the screen's brightness and contrast are sparkling in most of the other areas of the phone, when you go to the browser, the contrast is dull, muted and under-powered.
Samsung techs initially thought it might have to do with the settings, powering down the browser screen to conserve power. However, we double checked all the screen and power savers and their combinations but this had zero effect on the under powering of the browser screen.
The Samsung techs asked me to take the phone back to the store and compare it to the other phones there. Same deal. All the phones had an under powering screen with low contrast, dull and muted viewing ability.
The techs at the Verizon store said the same thing and they thought there would have to be a software update to 'fix' the dull and muted screen.
Maybe for some, they can live with this type of not-so-clear screen. Me, having the same cell phone number for nineteen years and having been around quality screens, I could not deal with such a weird design flaw.
Anyway, hope you folks have better success than I did. Like I said, the phone has awesome qualities and this was the phone that I was going to upgrade to from my X2. It's a shame, because when I upgrade in the future, I'll lose my unlimited data plan... and this was one of the most important reasons for upgrading, without any reviews on the forums to help me in the decision making.
Great phone... however, it's going back tomorrow though! THIS GUY IS TOTALLY WRONG IGNORE HIS POST
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The Browser has a separate setting for screen brightness.
When in the browser the info button can access this setting. So if the phone is set to maximum brightness and the browser set to automatic brightness the default then the browser will be dimmer when started. The solution is simple and certainly no reason to return the phone.
great phone when it works.
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I have had this phone for several months now and i live on the south shore of Massachusetts (a relatively populated area). This phone has an amazing screen, is great for games, movies, and especially taking pictures the only thing it isn't good at is being a phone. It continuously drops calls or simply cannot connect to Verizon's service and it takes forever to send texts. As far as voice-mail is concerned i am lucky if i get them at all. yesterday a voice-mail was left for me around 4pm and i received it today at 345pm. This is my second Samsung galaxy as Verizon wont let me trade it in for another phone and continuously insist that i get a refurbished phone to make sure it isn't mine that is having the issue. This is phone two, next week i should get phone 3. After phone three i am going to the better business bureau and the attorney general as here in Massachusetts after 3 of the same product they are required by law to allow you to trade in for something different. I also used this phone in Washington D.C. and had zero issues. Its obviously just an issue when you attempt to use this phone outside the city. City dwellers buy this phone, everyone else skip it.
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Oh Samsung how I longed to love you, but not so much
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I really wanted to like this phone ... At this time of writing it has Android v4.0.4 ... aka "Ice Cream Sandwhich".
Pros
- Specs were incredible against its competitors (has SD card slot, removable battery, screen display, etc.......)
- Beautiful BIG screen, easy to use, setup, & navigate
Cons
(in order of most importance)
1 - Battery life was terrible! I sent ~25 text messages, 15 minutes of talk time, and 15 minutes of apps (facebook, twitter) which included general Internet usage and on a full charge that afternoon I had only 20% battery life remaining. Just imagine if I would have used more!
2 - Voice coverage quality was WORSE than my Verizon BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330. WOW! Does that not speak volumes to you? I was averaging 1 dropped phone call a year. In the 1 week I had this phone I had at least 1 a day.
3 - Swype and auto-correct are not that great on S3
4 - Quit asking me if I want to join a WIFI network while on 4G LTE. Really??
5 - Adding MS Exchange to the phone felt like it was an after-thought. Hardly any customizations, emails wouldn't fully download or would only download partial of the text. Very disappointed for Corporate email users
6 - Owning an Otterbox with the phone felt like the device was like a mini-Phablet. It was nice, but do I really have to lug this thing around?
7 - I like you Verizon, but remove the bloat (pre-loaded software). I can't even uninstall this.
8 - Halfway typing a text message all of a sudden the brightness on the screen would dim out. Weird? And then seconds later it would come on full blast again while I'm typing. (bug on ICS I believe).
Half day battery:(
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Pros Verizon service
Cons
pentile screen
too large
bad color options
Battery life is the worst
Samsung software
Poorest Reception
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I am giving this phone .5 stars because it's a phone and to use it as a phone, I need reception. And this phone is awful in that department. That's what I get for buying cheap plastic Android phones. No one to blame buy myself.
