Samsung 3 or 4 OR the Iphone 5s
November 16, 2013 3:59 PM
I need a mobile phone for work and am debating, help me choose please
Ok, so I need a new phone and this is mostly for work emails. It will be used for texting and heavy duty work (Outlook) emailing.
I am trying to chose between Samsung 3 or 4 OR the Iphone 5s, which one should I chose?
Some features I can think of are-
good keyboard, easy to type in
clean screen to view emails well
ability to add users, emails, contacts to quickly send emails
all buttons accessible, easy to work with
anything else you all can think of related to work emails.....
Ok, so I need a new phone and this is mostly for work emails. It will be used for texting and heavy duty work (Outlook) emailing.
I am trying to chose between Samsung 3 or 4 OR the Iphone 5s, which one should I chose?
Some features I can think of are-
good keyboard, easy to type in
clean screen to view emails well
ability to add users, emails, contacts to quickly send emails
all buttons accessible, easy to work with
anything else you all can think of related to work emails.....
The feature that makes the 5s compelling for a work phone is the TouchID. You really should have a password on a phone with work e-mail, and even though TouchID works poorly for me (much worse than average, it appears I have oily fingers), it's still easier than entering a password, and secure enough to protect work ephemera, and still use casually in off hours.
I assume the Samsung also can turn off alerts during the hours that you don't want them, but that is definitely a handy thing on the iPhone, as my correspondents roughly span the globe.
Opinions will differ, but the narrower iPhone may be a bit easier to do things on one handed.
posted by wotsac at 4:35 PM on November 16, 2013
I assume the Samsung also can turn off alerts during the hours that you don't want them, but that is definitely a handy thing on the iPhone, as my correspondents roughly span the globe.
Opinions will differ, but the narrower iPhone may be a bit easier to do things on one handed.
posted by wotsac at 4:35 PM on November 16, 2013
Unless it's been made available for iPhones, the swiping keyboards for Android (the Samsungs you speak of) makes typing (for text messages or email) so much faster/easier. I could never go back to a phone without such a keyboard. Inputting text the old fashioned way is just so tedious.
Otherwise, as jozxyqk said, your requirements are pretty basic and the usual advice holds: if you're fully immersed and comfortable using Apple products, lean to the iPhone. If you're using Windows/Linux and Google stuff, then Android (Samsung).
The Samsungs can turn off alerts where and when you want them off.
Of course if you're thoroughly wedded to using Outlook, have you looked at a Windows phone?
posted by K.P. at 5:53 PM on November 16, 2013
Otherwise, as jozxyqk said, your requirements are pretty basic and the usual advice holds: if you're fully immersed and comfortable using Apple products, lean to the iPhone. If you're using Windows/Linux and Google stuff, then Android (Samsung).
The Samsungs can turn off alerts where and when you want them off.
Of course if you're thoroughly wedded to using Outlook, have you looked at a Windows phone?
posted by K.P. at 5:53 PM on November 16, 2013
I have a Samsung Galaxy 3 and really enjoy it. I use Swift Key for typing and it works great. The large screen size really comes in handy.
posted by Calzephyr at 7:27 PM on November 16, 2013
posted by Calzephyr at 7:27 PM on November 16, 2013
My wife and I just got new phones. Oddly, we both switched - I went from an I-phone to a Samsung S4 and she went from an HTC to an I-Phone 5s.
I REALLY like the bigger screen. I find the Samsung has a lot more options and features, but because it can do so much it has a bigger learning curve as well. We actually both miss our old phones and half joked about trading phones!
She really likes the ease of use of the i-phone. Frankly, they are both great phones, I can not imagine being disappointed with either. I believe the i-phone is likely a more secure device because of the relatively closed system. That being said, I dont use too many apps, and the ones I use are pretty mainstream.
I think if I did NOT want a larger screen I would have stuck with an iphone and been quite happy.
I realize this is not a recommendation on one side or the other, I guess my point is people who bash the other operating systems are silly. Cake is good, so are cookies.
posted by jcworth at 7:55 PM on November 16, 2013
I REALLY like the bigger screen. I find the Samsung has a lot more options and features, but because it can do so much it has a bigger learning curve as well. We actually both miss our old phones and half joked about trading phones!
She really likes the ease of use of the i-phone. Frankly, they are both great phones, I can not imagine being disappointed with either. I believe the i-phone is likely a more secure device because of the relatively closed system. That being said, I dont use too many apps, and the ones I use are pretty mainstream.
I think if I did NOT want a larger screen I would have stuck with an iphone and been quite happy.
I realize this is not a recommendation on one side or the other, I guess my point is people who bash the other operating systems are silly. Cake is good, so are cookies.
posted by jcworth at 7:55 PM on November 16, 2013
I have an Android phone and recently acquired an iPad. The two things I hate most about the iPad: the lack of Flash and Swype. Consider those limitations on the iPhone's capabilities.
posted by limeonaire at 8:55 PM on November 16, 2013
posted by limeonaire at 8:55 PM on November 16, 2013
At the end of the day, the real choice between any smart phone is deciding whether the App Store is a plus or not.
iPhones have access to the most robust selection of applications out there, and if that matters, that's your choice. All other things/features are pretty much same but different for most folks.
That being said, I'm also a huge fan of the Apple ecosystem and how everything works well together, but on the merits of just a phone, it's all pretty much the same.
posted by qwip at 12:19 AM on November 17, 2013
iPhones have access to the most robust selection of applications out there, and if that matters, that's your choice. All other things/features are pretty much same but different for most folks.
That being said, I'm also a huge fan of the Apple ecosystem and how everything works well together, but on the merits of just a phone, it's all pretty much the same.
posted by qwip at 12:19 AM on November 17, 2013
Now that the note 3 is out, the price for the galaxy note 2 is really dropping on swappa.com (as well as with the carriers)...and god i love it...the extra real estate reeeally helps with typing (and reading)...you should definitely consider it as well...it also has the s-pen for jotting notes and drawing and etc...it has definitely spoiled me...the small screen on the iPhone looks like it was made for children to me now :/ also it has multi-window capability that can really speed up cutting and pasting between apps if you tend to do that a lot.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:06 AM on November 17, 2013
posted by sexyrobot at 2:06 AM on November 17, 2013
Just to clarify, the Samsung phones mentioned here (S3 S4 and Note) all come with a swiping-keyboard built in. You should only need to turn it on in the settings. The built in one is fine for me. There are others you can download for free or a small charge to try.
What I've just recently read is that Swype is talking to Apple but no deal is done yet. If you want swiping Swype style typing on an iPhone you would need to jailbreak it. Or wait until they make their deal.
Reading the question again... If heavy email use is the number one thing, and there is no other reason to chose an iPhone, one of the Samsung phones mentioned here would be ideal. I like the Note suggestion, if it doesn't fell to big in your hand.
posted by K.P. at 6:12 AM on November 17, 2013
What I've just recently read is that Swype is talking to Apple but no deal is done yet. If you want swiping Swype style typing on an iPhone you would need to jailbreak it. Or wait until they make their deal.
Reading the question again... If heavy email use is the number one thing, and there is no other reason to chose an iPhone, one of the Samsung phones mentioned here would be ideal. I like the Note suggestion, if it doesn't fell to big in your hand.
posted by K.P. at 6:12 AM on November 17, 2013
I have a Galaxy S4, I've had an iPad 3 for a while now, and I decided to get the Galaxy because I was bored of Apple. The Galaxy is great, powerful, fast, easy to use, with tons of features. I honestly got tired of Apple because everything is the same. I wanted something that has a lot of options and possibilities and I really enjoy Andriod because of that.
Yes, and being able to swipe to type is really really great, and I will never go back.
posted by Locochona at 7:05 AM on November 17, 2013
Yes, and being able to swipe to type is really really great, and I will never go back.
posted by Locochona at 7:05 AM on November 17, 2013
If you're interested in a larger phone like the Samsung 3 and 4, you might also consider the Nexus 5. It's the same form factor as those other ones, but has the distinct advantage of not having any Samsung "customizations" added on. The Nexus series is pure Google, closer to an Apple-style experience.
Having used the Android swiping keyboards (both Swype and the stock 4.3 keyboard), they are superior to the Apple keyboard for speed and accuracy. Especially if you're using a thumb. Also, the Google voice dictation is getting scarily good.
The other main reason for getting the Nexus is that it's cheap (though that may not matter if work is paying). It's $350 for something that has essentially the same specs as the S4, which is almost twice the price. The iPhone is obviously the most expensive.
The only real advantage of the S3/S4 is a user-swappable battery. If you're the kind of user who is away from a charger all day, that might be a dealbreaker.
posted by wnissen at 8:01 AM on November 17, 2013
Having used the Android swiping keyboards (both Swype and the stock 4.3 keyboard), they are superior to the Apple keyboard for speed and accuracy. Especially if you're using a thumb. Also, the Google voice dictation is getting scarily good.
The other main reason for getting the Nexus is that it's cheap (though that may not matter if work is paying). It's $350 for something that has essentially the same specs as the S4, which is almost twice the price. The iPhone is obviously the most expensive.
The only real advantage of the S3/S4 is a user-swappable battery. If you're the kind of user who is away from a charger all day, that might be a dealbreaker.
posted by wnissen at 8:01 AM on November 17, 2013
I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 a few months ago, after being an iPhone user for years. Earlier this month I bought an iPhone 5s and now I'm getting ready to sell the Samsung on Craigslist or somesuch.
Part of it was that I couldn't get used to the Samsung interface after being an iPhone user for so long. This was no fault of Samsung's - it just took a few extra seconds to remember how to do things that were different from the iPhone. I got the Samsung because I read a lot on my phone and I wanted a big lovely screen for it, and I have to say, the screen is indeed big and lovely.
That said, I'm a woman with relatively smallish hands, and typing - even Swyping - on the Samsung was difficult one-handed. There was too much real estate. I would love it if Swyping came to the iPhone (good news that they're in talks!) because it's the perfect swype size for me.
The downsides of the Galaxy S4, for me, were mostly in the notifications area. Out of the box, the Galaxy puts all notifications for new mail, missed calls, new voicemail, etc in the bar at the top of the screen, and does not badge the app icons. There's a fix you can do by installing two or three apps and customizing them so that they badge the app icons for you when you have new mail, etc - but in my experience it was very complicated, and didn't work very well. For instance, it would badge my Gmail icon with what seemed to be random large numbers of new emails, but when I checked my mail there would only be one or two new emails. I didn't know about this difference when I bought the S4, and it turned out to be a deal-breaker for me.
The other hard thing for me to get used to was the placement of the on/off button (which also turns turns the screen off). It's on the side instead of the top of the phone (where the iPhone on/off is). So 1) I kept trying to turn the screen off the wrong way, and 2) the on/off button is opposite the volume buttons on the S4, and whenever I gripped the phone to turn it or the screen off, I ended up turning the volume way up or way down at the same time without realizing it.
The iPhone App Store seems more integrated and polished than the Play store, and for me, the ability to use iCloud to sync across all my computers and devices was huge. Samsung can do that too, but not in such an easy to use way, and as far as I can tell mostly through Chrome.
iMessage was also huge for me. I didn't realize what a hassle it would be to lose it. iMessage is the text message app for the iPhone, and it's also available on iPads and all Mac desktop/laptops. It syncs seamlessly across devices, so you can continue a conversation on your desktop with a keyboard after you get home, and there's absolutely no break between devices. It also makes text messaging free between iPhone/iPad/Mac users, and since most of my friends are in that category, our texting was free until I abandoned ship. At that point the people I text most with had to switch to WhatsApp JUST to talk to me, in order for it to still be free. And Whatsapp doesn't have a desktop version, so you can only use it on your phone.
Another thing that's easy on iPhone and slightly less easy on the S4 is typing in your access code. Both are 4 digits, but on the iPhone when you've typed the correct four digits you have access, presto. On the S4 you have to type the 4 digits and then hit "ok" to get access. It's a tiny thing, but a tiny thing I noticed every time. Now, on the 5s, I don't have to do anything but touch the home button and it reads my fingerprint (I can add all my fingers, so it works with either hand).
TLDR; iPhones seem easier to use out of the box, Samsungs seem more complicated though possibly more customizable if you put in the thought-time to do it right. Samsungs have nicer screens, iPhones (to me) seem to have nicer everything else.
posted by kythuen at 8:14 AM on November 17, 2013
Part of it was that I couldn't get used to the Samsung interface after being an iPhone user for so long. This was no fault of Samsung's - it just took a few extra seconds to remember how to do things that were different from the iPhone. I got the Samsung because I read a lot on my phone and I wanted a big lovely screen for it, and I have to say, the screen is indeed big and lovely.
That said, I'm a woman with relatively smallish hands, and typing - even Swyping - on the Samsung was difficult one-handed. There was too much real estate. I would love it if Swyping came to the iPhone (good news that they're in talks!) because it's the perfect swype size for me.
The downsides of the Galaxy S4, for me, were mostly in the notifications area. Out of the box, the Galaxy puts all notifications for new mail, missed calls, new voicemail, etc in the bar at the top of the screen, and does not badge the app icons. There's a fix you can do by installing two or three apps and customizing them so that they badge the app icons for you when you have new mail, etc - but in my experience it was very complicated, and didn't work very well. For instance, it would badge my Gmail icon with what seemed to be random large numbers of new emails, but when I checked my mail there would only be one or two new emails. I didn't know about this difference when I bought the S4, and it turned out to be a deal-breaker for me.
The other hard thing for me to get used to was the placement of the on/off button (which also turns turns the screen off). It's on the side instead of the top of the phone (where the iPhone on/off is). So 1) I kept trying to turn the screen off the wrong way, and 2) the on/off button is opposite the volume buttons on the S4, and whenever I gripped the phone to turn it or the screen off, I ended up turning the volume way up or way down at the same time without realizing it.
The iPhone App Store seems more integrated and polished than the Play store, and for me, the ability to use iCloud to sync across all my computers and devices was huge. Samsung can do that too, but not in such an easy to use way, and as far as I can tell mostly through Chrome.
iMessage was also huge for me. I didn't realize what a hassle it would be to lose it. iMessage is the text message app for the iPhone, and it's also available on iPads and all Mac desktop/laptops. It syncs seamlessly across devices, so you can continue a conversation on your desktop with a keyboard after you get home, and there's absolutely no break between devices. It also makes text messaging free between iPhone/iPad/Mac users, and since most of my friends are in that category, our texting was free until I abandoned ship. At that point the people I text most with had to switch to WhatsApp JUST to talk to me, in order for it to still be free. And Whatsapp doesn't have a desktop version, so you can only use it on your phone.
Another thing that's easy on iPhone and slightly less easy on the S4 is typing in your access code. Both are 4 digits, but on the iPhone when you've typed the correct four digits you have access, presto. On the S4 you have to type the 4 digits and then hit "ok" to get access. It's a tiny thing, but a tiny thing I noticed every time. Now, on the 5s, I don't have to do anything but touch the home button and it reads my fingerprint (I can add all my fingers, so it works with either hand).
TLDR; iPhones seem easier to use out of the box, Samsungs seem more complicated though possibly more customizable if you put in the thought-time to do it right. Samsungs have nicer screens, iPhones (to me) seem to have nicer everything else.
posted by kythuen at 8:14 AM on November 17, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
That being said, if those are your basic requirements and you don't care much about anything else, I'd go with iphone for you.
posted by jozxyqk at 4:26 PM on November 16, 2013