...with your "spyware-riddled virus-spreaders."

Hell, I'd still much rather own an SII than an iPhone 5. I hate having to either use cloud services or do a crazy lengthy synch any time I want to make changes to the media on my phone.

that disagrees with someone else's opinion

There is actually more to life than a stupid cell phone on an over-priced wireless service provider

I just have a cheap AT&T GoPhone on a pre-paid plan myself. I only spend maybe $100 per YEAR total, much cheaper than my $25/month ($300/year) Verizon plan I was on before.

My GoPhone is a Pantech Link, and while its not a full smart phone, it does have a full keyboard for texting and a basic Internet browser, which is good enough for checking movie theater times and stuff. GPS too if in a pinch.

Really, the only thing its missing is all those whiz-bang apps and games, but for just basic communication it works fine.

Attackers have long had an affinity for having their way with Android phones, but the hammer seems to have really come down over the last few months when it comes to devices manufactured by Samsung.

Independent Italian researcher Roberto Paleari discussed several bugs he recently found in Samsung Android phones in a post on his blog yesterday. Paleari claims that after taking some time to sit down with some of his devices, he found six exploitable bugs on older devices such as the Galaxy Tab and the newer Galaxy S3.

All of the vulnerabilities can be exploited without privilege and according to Paleari, stem from “Samsung-specific software and customizations.” Paleari said two of the vulnerabilities can be used to silently install highly privileged applications without user interaction while another allows attackers to send SMS messages without permission. Paleari claims another vulnerability can allow an attacker to silently perform “almost any action” on a victim’s phone, whether it's placing phone calls, sending emails or SMS messages. The last vulnerability can allow attackers to change settings on another user’s phone, including networking or Internet settings without the owner’s permission.

Paleari said he informed Samsung in mid-January shortly after he found the bugs and still hasn’t heard from the South Korean company about a fix. Instead, Paleari writes that Samsung did contact him on Feb. 20 and requested he delay public disclosure, insisting that “any patches develops must first be approved by the network carriers.”

http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/vulnerabilities-continue-weigh-down-samsung-android-phones-032013

...fulfilled.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2549200

Oh wait...

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/03/21/ios-6-1-3-passcode-lock-bypass/

The Snapdragon 600 beats everything.

Apple is toast.

I love mine - I have the dual core version in my S3. This new one with quad cores sounds unbeatable.

Excuse me while I drool.

But it still kicks ass.

Like two or three years ago my neighbor (a serious tech guy) was teasing me about my "giant clunker phone". That was when phones were still really small.

The other day he shows me his new galaxy whatever and the thing is almost the size of a Kindle. I guess big is "in" now.

for talking to someone.

My work stuck me with an iPhone and the first chance I got to get off that locked down restrictive prison camp of an operating system, I was gone. I never looked back.

Especially these kind of benchmarks.
They compare two different operating systems, which is like comparing apples to oranges.
Android, Blackberry, and iOS are different animals, and therefore perform differently, so you cannot put a realistic benchmark on them.
Sure the Galaxy has a more powerful processor, and more memory, but is it used efficiently?
That is the question that must be asked.

Besides these benchmarks are often commissioned by the phone manufacturers. This one is done by the Android Authority. Be that as it may, do you REALLY think that they would have stated that a Blackberry or an iPhone would out perform the product of their interests?
Please take these statistics with a huge grain of salt, as all statistics should be taken.

...are simply that, benchmarks. They are not the by-all and end-all, but they provide a good, scientific, across the board reference point between products.

The Geekbench tests are specifically designed for comparing un-alike systems, like Android and iOS, with different architecture. The link below is the set of processes they run through tested systems to gauge their "score", things that every system does and can be compared quantitatively between them.

http://www.primatelabs.com/geekbench/doc/benchmarks.html

On the topic of partisanship - the tests aren't done by Android Authority, merely published by them. Below is a story they did, along the same lines, when the iPhone 5 was being released. The tests show that it surpassed the Android phones on the market at the time. Granted, some of the text itself tries to spin it back towards Androids favour, but the tests still show the fact of the matter.

http://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-5-bests-galaxy-s3-nexus-7-ipad-3-geekbench-benchmark-certain-conditions-apply-115393/

That benchmarks are overrated, and can be spun to believe what side commissions the studies.
Thanks for the clarity.
It was late, and my thoughts were hard to get together.

...no. The numbers are just numbers. The interpretation might get editorialized, but the numbers never change.

is more processing power what people really want in their new phones? or do they want a phone that works fast enough, actually fits in their pocket and doesn't need to be recharged more than once in a day?

don't assume that higher processing benchmarks have anything to do with how useful a device is. design to the user, not just the technology.

I use an Android device with only 2 cores and a gig of ram, I wonder how much of a difference an extra gig and a couple more cores would make for what I use my phone for. It seems like everything I want to do runs without any issues. Wouldn't you think it has more to do with the software than anything else? I've had iPhones for work, but I still prefer my my android devices. My preference has little to do with the hardware.

A little for email, Facebook, Twitter. Nothing more.

How do I know this? Because Android users, according to web/app stats Barely use any data. The average iPhone user uses 5x the data.

People buy Android to save a few bucks, and to get a flashy blinky screen.

Next time Apple will have the faster processor, then it will go back to Android...and on and on....

and you'd still woof it up.

Why are you so personally invested in the iOS/Android issue?

is that he's paid to be.

The jury's still out, though.

So Apple is actually 2 generations behind now.

And while there is a disparity between Android and iOS data usage, it's nowhere near 5X when comparing mobile rates. There are a number of possible reasons for that, one of which is Apple's notorious data leaks, especially after iOS 5 and leaky apps like Siri which can easily use numerous Gb of data by itself.

...'probably' going over her limit. I showed her how to check her data on her Android that she's had for months.

She was 29 days into her month, and had used about 5mb of her 2GB of data.

We checked her history and over the six months she had the phone, she had used 24mb out of the 12GB available to her.

People like cheap flashy blinky things.

One thing I find hilarious is that Samsung's plastic phones are more expensive to make than metal iPhones.

So sad.

Does nothing to counter the fact that the iPhone is slow, requires proprietary and achingly slow software to synch even minor changes, leaks data like mad and costs more for a good deal less. I laugh at the ridiculous amount of time my coworkers use to synch their music and videos to their iPhones when I do simple and quick drag and drops that take a tiny fraction of the time. Apple users will pretty much buy anything if you stick a slick Mac logo on it.

Now Apple is two generations behind and their users will still eat up anything the company has to offer them. Never mind speed or functionality, what I want to know is does it have a picture of some fruit on it.

Meanwhile, iPhone users still top satisfaction and reliability stats.

And I'm done with you because of this, 'Apple users will pretty much buy anything if you stick a slick Mac logo on it.'

You live in 1995.

Enjoy your spyware. Bye.

And being stuck using that awful POS iTunes is NOT an anecdote, it's a fact for iPhone users. Your choices are either that or putting all your shit on the cloud. It's also a fact that I can update my playlist in seconds rather than the hours it could take an iPhone user. I work with technology for my living, it's my job to be up on this. There's a reason that the great bulk of government both state and fed stay far away from Apple.

Things that seem intuitive (to me) on other systems, always seemed far more involved and tedious on the the iPhone/iPod/iEtc. I'm a techie myself and I can usually pick things up, but the iPhones i had never felt as natural to use (or something). Of course I'm sure some of this stems from a bias I already had.

It's beyond frustrating having to use iTunes every time you make a minor change in your playlist or having to use data intensive cloud services. Everyone knows how to add/remove data from flash drives, it just makes sense to have a smart phone operate as well.

My girlfriend had an older iPhone 3G. When she was looking for a replacement, she was dead set on the 4S. I asked her to consider the SII. She said "But yeah, can I use iTunes with it?" I told her that she couldn't, but I asked why she'd want to. After explaining how totally unnecessary it was, she seemed sold on the SII. She's had it for a couple years now and just loves it. She's told me on many occasions that she'll never own another Apple smart phone again.

connectivity to my laptop. I rarely stream anything for viewing/listening on my phone. I check my email and browse sites a lot though, but if it wasn't for the tethering, I'd be under a gig of data month.

What exactly do iPhone users use their data on?

It's part of the 'me' generation that Apple helped to create.

They pay for 'unlimited data' -they're going to use it. However they see fit.

They WILL and DO stream Netflix, Pandora and other data-intensive applications from home when a wi-fi signal is available.

Apple users are extremely self-centered and "me" oriented in my experience...

I had no idea there was such disdain for each other in this "war"

I have an unlimited data plan, but it seems silly to use that if you have a WiFi signal to connect to. Unless it's a crappy hotel WiFi connection. I've switched to my phone's 4G connection in a couple hotels with poor signals.

"People buy Android to save a few bucks, and to get a flashy blinky screen."

I own an iPhone 5. The only apple product I own. I can honestly tell you that no one is distracted by a shiny object quicker than an Apple fan. It truly amazes me.

Pepsi drinkers often tell me why others drink Coke, too. They're simply making things up of course, but it certainly makes the Pepsi drinkers feel much better about their beverage preferences.

On on and on and on....

Apple users? Not so much.

Cellular or WiFi. It records data usage the same.

simply because my Verizon LG Spectrum is loaded with bloatware that cannot be removed. It's annoying as hell.

Just perfect usability for practical usage.

"Sweatshop HD parodies the tower defense genre.

The player's goal is to put together a production line to mass produce goods.

Naturally, the optimal strategy for the game is to pay low wages and ignore basic human rights."

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Apple-Sweatshop-HD-App-Store,news-16871.html

I have a nearly new (just over a month old) s2 on virgin mobile that is like new in every way. Will gladly trade for an iPhone 4 running on virgin. Message me if interested.

I want to experience life beyond a little screen. I told a driver to put down his phone while he was driving last summer and he turned around the block and drove up to me and said "WHAT?!"

I have a functioning phone, camera and music, but not enough app candy to keep a Smartphone user happy. Oh well.

Samsung can go pound sand

Also using another search engine not google.

Because I have the EVO and I don't see what makes the Galaxy S4 that much better.

Is Apple perfect- no but I give them a couple of Kudos. First it is an American company. Most everyone on this site is always complaining about republicans outsourcing. Apple has but at least they are trying to move production back. Apple also employs AMERICANS in their help centers. They have gone solar for their data centers.

They are the innovators. Do you pay a little more sure but t least they are located in America.

Is their operating systems superior for their computers. They sure are. Did they change the phone market- yep.

All Samsung does is copy. We always talk about supporting American companies so what gives.

Nice post. I agree.