Sound Quality Dilemma: Nexus S vs. Galaxy S vs. Desire S vs. iPhone 3GS

OK. I want to buy new phone soon, and I've narrowed my choices down to the 4 best phones available in my budget. Before you rant about how outdated the iphone 3gs is, please let me explain- I live in India, and while Samsung releases phones on time here, Apple sort of uses this country as a dumping ground for old phones. So, even if the iPhone 5 releases this September, it will come probably to my country by June next year. Apps are not that much of a priority, and I will probably replace this phone next year, so the fact that Apple will end iOS support for the 3GS doesn't bug me much. What does is that is had mid-to-low range specs and is priced like a rather high end phone.

Now, back to my dilemma- I just sold my iPod Touch 2G to make some cash for this purchase, so I need this phone to replace my music player. I have some pretty neat Sennheiser buds, so the headphones part is covered. Now, from lurking in this forum, I came to know that the iPhone 3GS is the worst sounding device in Apple's lineup. How much worse is it compared to my iPod 2nd Gen? 

Also, I came to know that the Wolfson chip in the Galaxy S and the Nexus S provide should superior sound quality compared to the iPhone or an iPod, but because Samsung's driver implementation is bad, they won't seem good at all, unless rooted by custom roms which support the Voodoo sound thingy. This will be my first Android phone, so I am absolutely clueless about rooting and stuff. And HTC sorta seems to have a bad reputation regarding sound quality. 

Considering the major use of my phone as a music player, which one should I go for? If rooting and flashing a custom rom is pretty risk free, and can be performed by looking at youtube videos (like jailbreaking) then is the Nexus or Galaxy the best option? If not, is it worth burning that much cash on a rather outdated iPhone. If audio quality is superior on an iPhone 3GS (as compared to a stock nexus s or galaxy s) and is just a few notches below them rooted with the Voodoo sound, then I think it would be worth it.

Please, I need your advice.

Thanks for the advice, but I don't think you got my point. The iPhone 5 will not be in my budget, even when it is released in India next year (assuming it will be released this year everywhere else). Even then, I doubt the iPhone 4's pricing will drop a lot, so even that will not be in my budget. Telling me about the iPhone 5 is a redundant task, because it is out of my reach, while also being unavailable. If I take the Nexus S, or the Galaxy S, will I be able to root it and install a custom rom? Is it an easy task for a beginner? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dippyboy_87 

Mind you the Nexus S doesn't support memory expansion slot. Whereas the galaxy S does. Though both support voodoo sound but again mind you the galaxy S that is available in India right now is the LCD version (i9003 SL) of the original galaxy S (i9000) with super amoled display. And this current available version doesn't seem to support voodoo sound. Apple iphone 3gs is arguably the best sounding iphone considered here. But again it will let you down on the memory expansion capability if need be ever, have sub-standard spec, not as customizable as android, even a waste if you don't bother with apps. But the sound quality should satisfy you.

I'm afraid you are mistaken. In India, both the i9003 and the i9000 are available. The i9000 has a Super AMOLED display and the Hummingbird chipset, with the PowerVR SGX 540 graphics. The i9003 comes with the SCLCD, and has a TI OMAP 3630 processor, with the PowerVR SGX 530 GPU. The iPhone 3GS has a more powerful graphics chip (the 535), although the processor is 800 MHz (underclocked to 600 MHz). I'm talking about the Galaxy s i9000, not the i9003, so no worries there. Also, I barely listen to around 4-5 GB of music (quality over quantity ) so I really don't care about the expansion slot. The iPhone 3GS has substandard specs for its price, but if the music player on the other ones are bad, then I'm not left with any choice now, am i? Please could someone tell me about the sound quality on all these phones with stock players, and on the Samsungs with the Voodoo kernel?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dippyboy_87 

Then you will be better of with the iphone 3gs 8gb.

But if rooting and flashing a custom rom is easy enough (please, some motivation would be good) and the voodoo sound really does blow the iphone out of the water, then it is certainly worth it. That is why i need some first hand inputs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dippyboy_87 

Btw may i ask you where do you get the i9000 in India? And how much they are charging?

Though i don't have any experience with rooting an android but still there you will have the possibilities of a bigger sound as soon as you master the art of rooting..

Now or then you will install voodoo in your phone if you get that i know.

Try Mobile Store, or Flipkart (online retailers). They all keep the Galaxy s i9000 at around 21000 INR. Also, I HAVE NEVER ROOTED A PHONE BEFORE. I'm asking some pros, if a novice can easily root and flash roms on his phone. Without some feedback, I am confident I will screw this up.

Thank you so much. I have decided to get the iPhone 3GS, as any Galaxy or Nexus phone can only reach the required sound quality through custom roms. Also, I was conned by the guys at The Mobile Store (they think the i9003 and the i9000 are the same) I am not sure that i will be able to do that. Also, being an iPhone, the 3GS will have a lot more value (in india) over the samsung. I am not an Apple fanboy, but I believe that their phones are better built than Samsung, right? Also, since they spend a lot of time on their few devices, they can develop it better than normal phone manufacturers who work on thousands of models simultaneously. Also, my experience with Samsung's service has been less than pleasant. Does anybody know if the 3GS will be able to run iOS 6?

Thanks. I checked out how to root. It seems pretty easy, but the problem is that it would void the warranty. This is the first time i'm buying an expensive cell phone, and I really don't want to destroy my warranty, especially not with samsung (I had a samsung phone before, the original Star, and it luckily went bad while still in warranty period. Most of my other samsung owning friends weren't so lucky). Also, eBay sellers have a problem with state laws in my state, and the online retailer which doesn't have a problem doesn't have it in stock. He had it around a month ago, but now it seems to have vanished. Local stores are charging over 5000 INR (USD 100) extra for it, which is not worth it IMO. The Galaxy S has gone out of production, and has the same warranty problem. Apple provides me with decent specs and a dedicated audio player, although at a high premium, but considering the fact that I an getting a phone and an iPod Touch at that price, it seems pretty worth it. (An iPod Touch costs around 14500 INR, and an ordinary touch phone from samsung will cost around 6000 INR). Also, I don't mean to offend any Indians, but cellphone wise, this country is a little outdated and orthodox- everyone swears by their Nokia (uptil now, I was one of them), and an iPhone is a status symbol- like a Rolex. People stare at it like they would if Angelina Jolie would walk the streets here.

I know I sound (and feel) like a Apple fanboy, but if there was any other viable option in my price range, or maybe just a little beyond it (LG Optimus 2x falls here, and has the same wolfson chip as the Nexus and Galaxy, but doesn't seem to have Voodoo support, and also LG software is crap- it lags on a tegra 2 and is still stuck on froyo) I would go for it without a second thought. But since there isn't one, I guess I'm sorta stuck. Maybe in a year from now, the iPhone 4 will come down to the same price, and then it will still be outdated seeing as the iPhone 5 will have already released, and the iPhone 6 will be right around the corner.