It's just, more or less, a week after the release of the Galaxy S3, and soon enough Apple will release their long-awaited phone (that people thought was supposed to be released last year), the iPhone 5, and sure enough, people would march the markets and get themselves (and their family and friends and their friends of friends) these new phones.
Well... HOORAAY for Samsung and Apple! But is it a HOORAAY for the consumers? HOORAAY for us?
Well I have a question for us consumers, the everyday users of these.
Do we really need these very new, very beautiful and very powerful technology?
How do we answer this question? First and foremost, let us compare the specs of one of these new phones (I would be using the S3) and to the previous one (S2) in the Samsung Galaxy series.
Here are the summary of the specifications that should be taken note of from the Galaxy S3 (taken from GSMARENA - GALAXY s2 and GSMARENA - GALAXY s3-- check the links for the full and more specific specs):
| Factors | Galaxy S2 | Galaxy S3 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density) | 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (~306 ppi pixel density) |
| Memory | 16GB/32GB storage, 1 GB RAM extendable to 32GB(microSD) | 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM extendable to 64 GB(microSD) |
| Data | GPRS, Bluetooth, WLAN capabilities and USB to PC connection | GPRS, Bluetooth, WLAN capabilities and USB to PC connection |
| Camera | Primary(8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash) and Secondary(2 MP) Camera, Video(1080p@30fps) | Primary(8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash) and Secondary(1.9 MP) Camera, Video(1080p@30fps) |
| Features | OS:Android OS, v2.3.4 (Gingerbread) upgradable to v4.x CPU:Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 GPU:Mali-400MP |
OS:Android OS, v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) CPU:Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 GPU:Mali-400MP |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1650 mAh | Standard battery, Li-Ion 2100 mAh |
So here's basically the comparison between the S2 and the S3, S3 has a faster processor, wider screen, and upgraded operating systems, but the big question here still is if
DO WE NEED THESE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES?
To answer this question, let us think of the everyday tasks we use our cellphones/gadgets for.
In my case, I use my phone(btw, I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S2), aside from the calling and texting, emailing, Internet usage, gaming, socializing (twitter, facebook, etc), ebook (comics & books) reading, note-taking, listening to music(online and offline), picture/video taking and picture/video editing, drawing and voice recording.
So, with ONLY these daily tasks I do with my phone, why would I need a new phone (new technology/new device) with a faster processor and a wider screen? I find the current phone already sufficient for the current tasks that I do. My applications run smoothly on this phone, I am able to do all the things I want and need to do.
So who are those who need to purchase these new phones? On the top of my mind:
1. one would be programmers who do different types of testing and programming on phones,
2. two would be gamers who are planning to play graphics-intense and memory-intensive games that run slow in their present phones,
3. three would be working people who do their work on their phone, faster processing MIGHT help them finish their work faster as well (HOPEFULLY -- depending on how and what they use), and
4. lastly, people who are addicted to watching high definition videos(mainly movies) in their phones.
