SG3 vs HTC ONE, Google Nexus -- final decision many times...

[Steve Punter]

With LTE, the most important change is not the raw transfer speed, but the latency. That's why Web browsing on complex pages is much better there. Other interactive activities such as VOIP or Google Maps are probably similarly affected. I haven't yet tried it, but all reports that I have seen here on HoFo are that it makes a dramatic difference. I'm not happy with the HSPA performance on the Rogers network here in Ottawa.

You can talk latency until you're blue in the face, the average Joe Smuck isn't going to listen. I've been trying to get people to realize that latency is a bigger deal than raw speed, but it goes in one ear and out the other. It's rather like trying to convince someone that a flatter torque curve on an engine is more important than raw horsepower, but you end up with the same dumb looks from the average Joe because they don't understand the technology and they'd rather just go with raw numbers (because hey, MORE is ALWAYS better, right?).

I've been using LTE in the GTA for the last 6 months and the lower latency really does make a huge difference. However, when it comes to uploading pictures and large files, the faster uplink speed of LTE makes a big difference too. I had to upload a 335 MB file to a friend ASAP the other day, and so I tethered my laptop to get 10 Mbps transfer rate instead of the lackluster 1 Mbps I get from my cable internet connection.

[Steve Punter]

and the fact that the american version of the SGS3 will have 2gb of ram which is a HUGE deal.

This is especially true with Ice Cream Sandwich. While 1 GB was way more than enough for Gingerbread, ICS consumes much more RAM and 1 GB just isn't enough for this O/S. In addition some popular apps are RAM hogs (especially Draw Something and Flipboard), so the more RAM you have, the less likely it is that running such apps will end up forcing the O/S to sacrifice other apps you've got sitting in the background waiting to come back to life quickly. Samsung made the right decision to go with twice the RAM in the S III.

[Steveanderson13]

the average Joe Smuck

Schmuck or Smucker's?

[Steveanderson13]

While 1 GB was way more than enough for Gingerbread, ICS consumes much more RAM and 1 GB just isn't enough for this O/S.

So I've been wondering whether to accept ICS when it comes to my one gb bionic. I gather you wouldn't.

Samsung made the right decision to go with twice the RAM in the S III.

So explain the int'l version.

[Steveanderson13]

The only problem I have is it's hard to choose between international and NA versions.

This might help:

http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/6/27...ade-jelly-bean

[Baldilocks]

I haven't had any RAM problems on my GSIII. 1GB is working just fine.

[Steve Punter]

So explain the int'l version.

I guess they made the WRONG decision there.

[Steve Punter]

I haven't had any RAM problems on my GSIII. 1GB is working just fine.

Well 512 MB worked "just fine" on the Captivate and many other previous generation phones. However, once you compare Gingerbread with 512 MB with Gingerbread with 1 GB, the differences becomes plainly obvious. A similar situation exists with ICS. I grant you that it "works fine" with 1 GB, but it "works great" with 2 GB.

[Baldilocks]

Why? If you learn how Android works, wasted memory is a bad thing. It's not like Windows.

[Steve Punter]

Why? If you learn how Android works, wasted memory is a bad thing. It's not like Windows.

You may want to be careful with those borderline insults. I know exactly how Android works and I know full well that unused RAM is essentially wasted RAM, but the point you're missing is that the less memory you have, the more cached processes that Android has to kill to keep the memory from running critically low.

The big difference you'll notice when you move from a Gingerbread phone with 512 MB of RAM to a Gingerbread phone with 1 GB of RAM is how much faster it seems to open your apps. This is because when there is plenty of RAM free up front, the O/S can keep more apps pre-loaded and ready to run at a moment's notice.

A good example is a 3rd-party launcher. While some do offer features that TRY to keep the launcher loaded in RAM at all times, the O/S considers the launcher expendable when it isn't the foreground app. Nothing is more annoying than having your launcher screens reloaded when you exit an app (especially RAM-hungry ones like Flipboard or Draw Something, both of which can easily use up 100 MB RAM or more while they are running).

Interestingly, RAM-hungry apps continue to consume whatever amount of RAM they eventually managed to accumulate, even after they are closed, because the O/S keeps them in RAM so they'd launch more quickly next time. In the process however, it might be forced to kill other processes it had in a similar situation, and the less free RAM you have, the more likely this is to happen.

And you're right, Android is not like Windows when it comes to memory management. Windows uses virtual RAM (on the computer's hard drive) and when real RAM runs low it swaps it out to the HD. As anyone with too little RAM on a PC knows, virtual memory is no substitute for real RAM, because once data is swapped off to the hard drive it seems to take FOREVER to bring it back into RAM when you actually need it.

We used to run Windows with as little as 256 MB of RAM, but trying to do that today would result in a computer so slow that no one would want to use it. Over the years both Windows and the apps we run on it have increased in size. I've seen single tabs on Chrome consume 250 MB of RAM and when I have 10 or more tabs open at the same time the total consumption of the Chrome browser on my laptop can readily exceed 1 GB.

Don't kid yourself if you think that Android is magically immune to this ballooning of app bloat. I've personally seen Flipboard consume over 160 MB of RAM and I'm sure it would be more if I kept reading more and more things. Given just a handful of bloated apps, they could single-handedly use all of your available RAM and force the O/S to kill every non-critical process on your phone. When that happens, you'll wish your phone had 2 GB of RAM too.

[Steveanderson13]

You may want to be careful with those borderline insults. I know exactly how Android works ...

Tough day??? I've only recently come across your posts but have read baldilocks for a long time. You may know exactly how Android works but less about how some people work that you don't know. Benefit of the doubt, anyone?

I don't know baldilocks personally but can tell he is a Samsung android fan. I can see a lot of good in his posts and never any insults. Just look at his avatar, lol. That's my impression.

Anyway, after I finish this, I have to read the rest of your post because I'll be expecting ics sometime--and may decline it based on what you are saying.

Btw, is that cold weather up there good or bad for one's skin?

[Steveanderson13]

If you learn how Android works, wasted memory is a bad thing. It's not like Windows.

Need some tshirts saying that, rofl.

[Steve Punter]

Anyway, after I finish this, I have to read the rest of your post because I'll be expecting ics sometime--and may decline it based on what you are saying.

It never hurts to give it a try first. If you have rooted your phone you can install ClockworkMod and do a Nandroid Backup. Use it later to restore your phone to its previous state (O/S and all) should you decide that ICS isn't to your liking. This is what I did just recently when I tried out the official Rogers ICS release for my S II LTE. Nandroid Backup is a lifesaver and well worth using if you ever try out a new O/S.

[Steveanderson13]

It never hurts to give it a try first. If you have rooted your phone you can install ClockworkMod and do a Nandroid Backup. Use it later to restore your phone to its previous state (O/S and all) should you decide that ICS isn't to your liking. This is what I did just recently when I tried out the official Rogers ICS release for my S II LTE. Nandroid Backup is a lifesaver and well worth using if you ever try out a new O/S.

Thanks, Steve. I don't have a computer now so it's moot. Never rooted and have no particular need but nandroid sounds like a phone saver as many updates have ruined phones. The updates should be optional but without root you would have the nag.

[Baldilocks]

You may want to be careful with those borderline insults. I know exactly how Android works and I know full well that unused RAM is essentially wasted RAM, but the point you're missing is that the less memory you have, the more cached processes that Android has to kill to keep the memory from running critically low.

The big difference you'll notice when you move from a Gingerbread phone with 512 MB of RAM to a Gingerbread phone with 1 GB of RAM is how much faster it seems to open your apps. This is because when there is plenty of RAM free up front, the O/S can keep more apps pre-loaded and ready to run at a moment's notice.

A good example is a 3rd-party launcher. While some do offer features that TRY to keep the launcher loaded in RAM at all times, the O/S considers the launcher expendable when it isn't the foreground app. Nothing is more annoying than having your launcher screens reloaded when you exit an app (especially RAM-hungry ones like Flipboard or Draw Something, both of which can easily use up 100 MB RAM or more while they are running).

Interestingly, RAM-hungry apps continue to consume whatever amount of RAM they eventually managed to accumulate, even after they are closed, because the O/S keeps them in RAM so they'd launch more quickly next time. In the process however, it might be forced to kill other processes it had in a similar situation, and the less free RAM you have, the more likely this is to happen.

And you're right, Android is not like Windows when it comes to memory management. Windows uses virtual RAM (on the computer's hard drive) and when real RAM runs low it swaps it out to the HD. As anyone with too little RAM on a PC knows, virtual memory is no substitute for real RAM, because once data is swapped off to the hard drive it seems to take FOREVER to bring it back into RAM when you actually need it.

We used to run Windows with as little as 256 MB of RAM, but trying to do that today would result in a computer so slow that no one would want to use it. Over the years both Windows and the apps we run on it have increased in size. I've seen single tabs on Chrome consume 250 MB of RAM and when I have 10 or more tabs open at the same time the total consumption of the Chrome browser on my laptop can readily exceed 1 GB.

Don't kid yourself if you think that Android is magically immune to this ballooning of app bloat. I've personally seen Flipboard consume over 160 MB of RAM and I'm sure it would be more if I kept reading more and more things. Given just a handful of bloated apps, they could single-handedly use all of your available RAM and force the O/S to kill every non-critical process on your phone. When that happens, you'll wish your phone had 2 GB of RAM too.

Let's see, the Galaxy Nexus has 1GB of RAM and is now running Jelly Bean just fine. It will also be officially installed on the Nexus S with only 512MB of RAM and it will run just fine. I am not worried about it, and neither should anyone else be at this point.

And as for your "borderline insults" comment? That was pretty uncalled for -- consider that a warning.