Well first of all I would say that I already have a galaxy s2 and I have written a review on it as well which you can read here: https://mouthshut.com/review/Samsung-Galaxy-S2-review-pnsrprtnon Now I did not have any intention of buying S3 as I was perfectly happy with the brilliant galaxy s2 but to my surprise I got the s3 as a gift and I must say that it truly carries forward the Legacy of the amazing galaxy series by samsung. The phone is retailing at Rs 41000Now for those who are thinking about buying between an s2 and s3 I can guide you perfectly as I have the experience of both phones.The s3 is a premium device and it beats any other phone on the market right now, even the HTC one X. It has been tested by various benchmark tests( tests which measure performance of a phone) that the galaxy s3 has the fastest speeds and almost zero lag. To make it simpler let me divide the review into parts:
SCREEN: It has a High Definition Super Amoled Plus screen. Note that S2 is not HD. S3 has more pixels per inch than ONE X which means it is more clear. The screen is absolutely great to look at due to the size of 4.8 inches . S2 has a screen of 4.3 inches. Galaxy note has 5.3 inches. But I feel Note is very huge to be a phone and s3 size is much more comfortable than Note. Screen size wise S2 has the best size as you need to use only one hand. In s3 the screen is so big you will need to use both hands sometimes.
The s3 screen is Sharper and more crisp than s2. It is the only phone to have GORILLA GLASS 2 which is a scratch proof and solid screen. Wallpapers and videos look fantastic on this phone.The Touch is MASKA( Butter). It is extremly smooth. I would say its smoother than s2 .
SIZE AND SHAPE: The shape is quite unique and the phone feels great in your hand. The body is polycarbonate and not plastic as everyone thinks. To some people it may feel cheap and plasticky but in the end its up to you. The back feels glossy to the palm of the hand. S3 is thinner than S2. S2 has a rectangular shape which is great and looks amazing. S3 has a curved shape which looks very sleek and beautiful. Some people might find the look to be outdated but personally I feel both S2 and S3 are unique and have great shapes. The size will not bother you at all in your pants or anywhere you keep it. S3 is an extremely light phone and not at all heavy.In the end the looks and feel of phone depends on person to person.
Some people prefer light phones and some like heavy ones . Some like oval and some like rectangular. Hence this is upto you. PROCESSOR: The S3 is quad(4) core(chips). S2 is dual(2) core(chips). S3 also beats HTC one X which is quad core too . But Samsung’s Exynos SoC( System on Chip) is more superior to HTC’s ARM cortex. This has been proved by using tests which strain the phone and check for performance( Antutu Test and Linpack Test among many) .
As I have used both s2 and s3 I can say that both are extremely fast and hardly lag. The fact is that 4 chips quad core is actually a luxury and a phone can do extremely well with only dual core . But what improves in S3 is definitely the better Website Loading time.The Website is opened much faster than in s2. And to add, if you feel a rare small lag on s2, on s3 you wont even feel that. Battery: The battery on S2 is average and its a bad move by samsung for giving such a great phone such a crap battery capacity and it also heats up. S2 battery lasts for 16-18 hours to 24 hours max.In S3, battery samsung did not make a mistake and the battery is much better and less heating. S3 goes on till almost 36 to 48 hours till next recharge.This is because S2 has 1650 mah(milliampere) and S3 has 2100 mah. Hence s3 battery has more capacity.
FEATURES: S2 has really great and awesome features which are future proof, which means even in future those features will not be outdated. In S3 the features are taken to a whole new level. The features in S3 are really mind blowing and some features that need mention are:~S- Voice( talk to the phone and command it, say " send message to Sonia", "Call Manmohan etc")~Lots of great new motion controls(shake to refresh, double tap, smart alert and more)~Video portability( can watch video while typing message or email or doing any other work)~Direct call( Just pick up phone near the ear to automatchandru021y dial, no need to click dial)~S - Beam( Bring two phones close to each other and just tap to transfer files
automatchandru021y)~NFC( Near field communication)( Instantaneous transfer of files)~ Wifi - Direct( Wifi file transfer)~ Tethering and hotspot( turn your phone into a router)~OTG - Please search youtube for samsung galaxy OTG you will be amazed.~All share PLAY( DLNA control)~ 50 GB of DROPBOX!~ Much more Security options like Face unlock and Voice unlock.~ Many many more functions and features.Hence the S3 adds a lot of premium features to those already on S2. USER INTERFACE: It has Ice cream sandwich android 4.0.4 which is the latest Ice cream sandwich version. It has TOUCH WIZ which is very similar to S2 but somewhat nature based. Everything has a more natural feel to it . It is made to relax our senses and not bombard it with comlex stuff. The User Interface is definitely better than S2 . It is much more user friendly and good looking. The Icons are crisper too. The lock screen is great with the new swipe ripple water effect. It has an LED light which was not present in S2.
LED is very useful and it blinks to show missed calls etc.
Apps / Games / Browsing / Music: The applications are similar to those on S2 but added a few like S- Suggest and S- MEMO etc. But nothing extraordinary in apps. There are more widgets in S3 . Very LESS wallpapers and games provided by samsung and I had to download some from market. At least they should give more HD wallpapers and Videos . Music Player is similar to S2 and it has some more equalization features which is good. Internet browsing is extremly FAST. You click a link and it will load with super duper speed.
Camera: AMAZING.I don’t know how they do it but there is no shutter lag . The moment you click the button the picture is ready in gallery and absolutely no waiting . If you click the button 100 times in 1 minute you will get 100 pictures and if you try more then even more! New modes added from S2 like Burst shot and HDR mode. A GREAT new feature is you can click photo while taking a video. It has 8 MP at back( with flash) and 2 MP in front and 1080 P(highest quality) recording is possible.
OVERALL : The phone is no doubt very expensive and I consider myself lucky to own such a phone. But if you have the money and are looking for a new mobile don’t buy anything else. In my family there are Two Galaxy S2 and Three Galaxy S3. Previously we had 2 Samsung Corby. We really love samsung and they deserve it for making such great phones. The samsung+ android combination is the best in the market hence go for it eyes closed. the phones are durable, reliable and user friendly as even the 12 year old sibling in my family is able to use it perfectly.If your budget is a little low then wait for some time and buy the S2 . It will come down to around 22 thousand in a few months time. The S2 is a great phone and even though S3 has broken all records I would greatly recommend S2 as I have used it for almost a year now and I absolutly love it still!