<p>I am looking to upgrade my very old envy 2 cell phone. I have narrowed down my choices to the galaxy note 3 and iphone 5s. </p>
<p>The galaxy note 3 caught my eye because it has a very large screen. If I set the font large enough I won’t have to fumble for my reading glasses to read text messages. My kids think I should get an iphone because the software is very user friendly. </p>
<p>I would like to hear pros and cons of each of these devices. Thanks.</p>
<p>I just got an iPhone…and I love it.</p>
<p>On an iPhone you can set the font to be larger</p>
<p>I was just talking to someone in pdx who had a note & she wanted to trade it for an iphone.
I have a 5 & I like it, I think the note is a little big.</p>
<p>I believe the 5s has Siri, the voice recognition feature. I love this feature because it allows me to dictate text messages and email. I hate trying to type on phones!</p>
<p>I have a Samsung Galaxy III, I like it, the screen is bigger than an iPhone and I do work stuff on it, including Adobe docs when traveling, so I appreciate the bigger screen for that.</p>
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<p>As a note, I believe this is pretty standard on all smartphones nowadays. I know with my Nexus 5 I can do all the same stuff.</p>
<p>H has the iPhone 5s and I have the Galaxy Note 3…so we have the two phones that you’re comparing.</p>
<p>The big screen is fab. I also LOVE the stylus! I love being able to write in info rather than type. Adding contacts is really easy with the Note 3. Some could argue that the Note 3 is the best phone on the market today.</p>
<p>I use mine a lot for business purposes, so having the big screen and being able to split the screen and show two apps running side by side is great. </p>
<p>For me, it’s really about having a “small computer” with me at all times w/o having to carry around an iPad or laptop. I know that all smart phones are “computers,” but with the big screen (and old eyes), I find the Note 3 a better match.</p>
<p>As for dictating text messages, I think ALL smart phones can do that.</p>
<p>And, Galaxy has their own version of Siri, so that feature is also on the Note 3. </p>
<p>The iPhone 5S is great, too. I do grab H’s phone on weekends just to get familiar with it & download apps cuz H won’t bother doing that…lol…then I show him what I’ve added or learned. </p>
<p>There really are things to love about both phones. It really depends on how YOU’D use it.</p>
<p>Question for iPhone users: I’ve noticed the 4S is available for 99 cents at my provider (with a new contract). Is t worth an extra $200 (or so) to get a 5/5s? Hadn’t considered the Galaxy for myself because DS loves his iPhone so much.</p>
<p>If you are not super tech saavy, it is often a good idea to get a phone similar to what other people in the house have so they can “teach” you. :)</p>
<p>I am not someone who has to have the latest and greatest. I personally would get the 4s if money is a concern (how much memory???). If $$ is not a concern, then get the 5 series.</p>
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<p>Android phones also have voice recognition.</p>
<p>In my very humble opinion, there really is not much (if any) difference among smart phones.</p>
<p>When it’s time for me to upgrade, I just go to the Verizon store and ask “which phones are the free upgrades” and I choose among those.</p>
<p>I have never gotten home later and said to myself, “Oh, I’m missing blank feature. Darn, I should have gotten phone X.”</p>
<p>I just got a 5c, and so far I haven’t identified any reason to have paid more to get a 5s. I don’t care about the fingerprint scan function.</p>
<p>One thing I really like about my Note 3 is the touchfree capability…so when my hands are dirty or wet, I can “swipe” the air above my phone to answer the phone and do other things.</p>
<p>Do you text a lot? What kind of phones do people in your circles have? If they predominantly have iPhones, then iMessage is the way to go to avoid paying too much for texting. If they have Androids, I believe there is a similar feature that allows the user to use tiny pieces of data package of wifi to text. I text with my kid who works overseas via iMessages and face chats when on wifi; without this, international texting rates would have killed our budget.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of iPhone 5. 4s was sooo much better! The 5 drops wifi like a hot potato if the signal weakens a tiny bit. Hope that the “s” is better at handling this problem.</p>
<p>Just got my very first smartphone - 5s - and am very happy with it.</p>
<p>You may want to consider how long you would like to be able to use your phone.
[When</a> it comes to supporting older devices, iOS outshines Android by a mile - TUAW](<a href=“http://m.tuaw.com/2013/12/03/when-it-comes-to-supporting-older-devices-ios-outshines-android/]When”>http://m.tuaw.com/2013/12/03/when-it-comes-to-supporting-older-devices-ios-outshines-android/)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone. I have decided to get the iphone.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy your new phone. We got iPhone5 because S and C chose them over the others on the market a year ago. My sibs are split between Androids and iPhones. One nice thing about iPhones is being able to get help by going to an Apple store. </p>
<p>H is thinking in a year, we may want to switch to non-iPhones, but who knows?</p>
<p>There is often a $35!renewal fee that you may be able to get waived if you meet criteria (credit union or AAA member, etc.)</p>