After 2 very happy years with my HTC Desire S, and seriously considering the One S and One X, I've given in to peer pressure and am getting a SG3. It should arrive today.

Has anyone else made this shift?
Is TouchWiz really as bad as some people say?
What benefits should I notice (apart from the bigger screen, which I think I'll find hard not to notice!)
Any apps that will make the move easier?
Any comments at all really!

I feel sorry for HTC, they make fine phones, and I hope to return to them some day.

I very much missed sense. But I use touchpal as my dial app which works well enough for me. I like being able to just dial the name of the contact I'm calling into the numeric dial pad.

Better battery life.
Better camera.
Memory card slot.
Mutli-screen, Smart Stay, all the other Samsung software tweaks.


And no, TouchWiz isn't bad at all.
The S3 is the first handset I've used and have stayed completely stock with - haven't even installed an alternative launcher.

Galaxy s4 and HTC M7 just around the corner. Don't fancy waiting a bit? You will be stuck on old hardware for another 2 years. But of course it's your choice.

The version of TW on the S3 is considerably better than previously installed on the S2 and original Note. TW is ,imho, way better than Sense now.

Install Chrome on your S3 and PC and enjoy the benifits of having all your browsing syncing between the two - something not available on the Desire S.

Thanks all.

No, I couldn't wait for the SG4. New job, new phone. I only had the choice between an SG3 and a BB, so it wasn't a choice at all really.

The phone's arrived and is on charge. It feels very plasticy compared the the heavy alu body of the Desire S (and Step666, it had a memory card).

Flicking through the quick start guide, and I'm impressed by the number of gestures (pan, shake, tap, palm swipe, etc). I just hope I can remember them when I need them!

When you asked about benefits, I thought you were referring to benefits the S3 has over the One S/One X.

If you're after a list of benefits over the Desire S we'd be here all week.

Not really. The Desire S is an excellent phone and there are a few things on it I miss, like the standard HTC clock/weather widget, HTC Calendar/email integration and HTC friend feed widget (and the tough metal body).

The SG3 is fast, and has a nice screen, but I need to see if I can find some new widgets to make it more user friendly.

I have no problem with TouchWiz at all when comparing it to my Nexus tablet.

Yeah, really.

And the Desire S was a lazy/mediocre phone when looked at objectively.
It actually pin-points the moment when HTC lost their grip of the Android market.

One of the annoying things about the s3 for me at least is the home button. If you press it to reactivate the screen, it should take you back to the app you were on, not the home screen. Some apps like my banking one & smart glass have to log in again as they seem to assume the session was terminated.

Samsung put quite a lot of junk on there too like their music/video hub stuff. I don't want it, it should be optional. You can't remove the music hub/hits music thing either, at least I can't seem to find a way.

They could have made it a lot more customisable as well out of the box. I don't need icon names for example, I know what a camera looks like ffs. But you can't rename them without 3rd party software. The Led should be contact customisable too so it would flash a different colour depending on the contact. This is stuff I miss from my blackberry.

3G is shit where I live, wifi hotspots seem to be equally poor & this can be a problem if you want to do stuff when out. On wifi however, it flies.

It is as near perfect a phone that I have ever owned however I am still finding out new stuff about it.

The home button's purpose is not to wake the screen, it's to take you back to the home screen.
If you want to wake the phone and not leave the app you were in, then you should press the power button.



Menu > Settings > Applications manager > 'All' tab > [App name] > Uninstall updates/Disable
You'll need to uninstall updates first if applicable and then go back in and disable the app.

That will remove the app from the app drawer and minimise the amount of space it takes up on the device.

thanks step666 you cured my major gripe

I upgraded to an S3 in October, great phone that was let down by terrible battery and awful bloatware. The battery issue eventually went away and now lasts 2-3 days however I do use my phone considerably less too. And the bloatware (especially the Samsung and Google crapware) was gradually removed by "disabling" many apps, however some I can't disable unless I "root" the phone but it's tolerable.

A good phone, if not a little on the large side.