I played with the Samsung Galaxy S II last year, I absolutely fell in love with that device. Same with the Galaxy Note, and when I got my hands on the S III I really had high hopes for this device to deliver on what was already a solid platform and build upon its past and show me where it was going in the future. Question is did I like what I saw and in the end does the Samsung Galaxy S III really show us anything we haven’t already seen? Let’s find out. If you want a nice accompaniment to this review check out my video review of the phone as well located here.
HARDWARE
Under the hood you have a Qualcomm 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor. The sad part is that a lot of other phones outside the U.S. are coming packed with quad-core processor but when you really look at it, you aren’t missing those 2 extra cores too much. It can launch apps, watch hi-definition videos, load up websites and handle multitasking without even hiccupping.
The S III also features 2GB of RAM, unlike the 1GB RAM setup found in the One X. But, while the S III clearly had plenty of horsepower, I saw no discernible power advantage over the One X. Both are fantastic performers and equally top-of-class in this regard.
The size of the device is starting to move into the fabled phablet (phone/tablet hybrid) as it doesn’t shy away from its massive screen size and still keep its lightweight design. The S III sports a 4.8-inch, 1280 x 720 pixel, Super HD AMOLED display, which seems massive. The thin bezel around the device keeps the phone from feeling oversize, but it does push the limits on just how big a smartphone should be before we venture into that phablet zone I spoke of earlier. Those of you with smaller hands will venture to say this device is “too big” to use one handed and even I had some trouble but I still was able to manage it.
The display is sharp and bright and some colors feel over bright. Greens, blues and red pop off the screen brighter on the S III than I have seen on other handsets. You also get deep blacks and that makes this device great for watching videos.
I’m also not a fan of the S III’s physical styling. The Pebble Blue and Ceramic White colors the S III is offered in look sharp — the blue especially, which is closer to purple. And the phone’s plastic chassis feels solid, as though it would withstand enough abuse to survive a 2-year contract. But the tooling is all slopes and rounded edges, leaving the handset looking more like a forgettable blob than the flashy flagship phone for the most popular Android maker.
SOFTWARE
The Galaxy S III ships with Google’s Android 4.0 (Ice
Cream Sandwich) operating system with Samsung’s ever present TouchWiz
user interface. On top of that, Samsung has added a special lock screen
that simulates water ripples when you swipe it, and water-themed sound
effects are dribbled throughout the phone. Which is fun to play with I
must admit. It is like running your finger in water of a puddle when I
was a kid.Apple has Siri and Samsung has something called S Voice. S Voice has been advertised to do certain things Siri couldn’t, like launch a camera app or a voice recording app, however I don’t think I was able to get much out of S Voice. Not sure what the problem was with it but if Samsung wants to compete it had better shape up the S Voice and at least make it comparable to Siri. With the latest release of iOS 6 Siri really got a huge upgrade and S Voice needs to match that.
The other great little feature was Pop Up Play. This allows you to play stored videos on the S III to play in a pop-up window (think picture in picture on a TV) so you can watch a video and perform other tasks at the same time. Worked very well however, I didn’t really see much of a use for it on the handheld screen of a smartphone. If ported to a tablet then I can see a much better use for it.
When it comes to facial recognition on the S III it performs spectacularly. When you take a photo the S III prompts you to identify faces based on contacts from your address book. Once tagged it is easy to shave the photo with the using a feature Samsung calls Buddy Photo Share. Just tape on the person’s face, and the S III presents you with the option of calling the person, share the photo via text, email, or with a social network like Google+ or Facebook.
Now in the commercials you see them using a few features called AllShare and Share Shot. Where you can take a photo and share them with other S III users. Yet, there are some issues with this feature. First with AllShare you can send an invitation to up to 6 other S III devices that are nearby. Those 6 invites must accept them one by one. Also, with AllShare users can see the files you are sharing but they can’t save them.
Now there is another feature called Group Cast which allows your group invites to accept and invitation independent of others and you can share photos, PDFs, and PowerPoint presentations between phones, but alas you can’t save the documents in this feature.
Samsung also felt the need to fiddle with Google’s built-in Android features. For example the Android-to-Android sharing system called Android Beam that allows two NFC-equipped Android phones to share files when you tap the two devices together. Great idea, right? No need to be fiddled with, right? Well Samsung didn’t feel that way and the S III brings the Android Beam feature and adds the S Beam, which does the same thing as Android Beam, which can only be used between Galaxy S III phones.
Samsung didn’t waste everything with the S III, they did do some really unique things. When you are composing a text message on the S III and then you bring it to your ear, the phone automatically dials the person you were messaging. Smart Stay uses the 1.9-megapixel front camera to detect when you’re looking at the phone or not, so that when you are looking at the phone the screen will remain active and if you look away the screen will dim out as usual.
TecTiles is another fun little addition to the Samsung NFC strategy. TecTiles are tiny stickers with a chip inside of them. Then using an Android app, you program them to perform a specific action, like send a text message or even set up a reminder. You can place these stickers in any physical location, then tap the phone against one to initiate the pre-programmed action. Unlike S Beam, TecTiles will work with any NFC-capable Android Phone, even though TecTiles’ launch was timed to coincide with the debut of the S III.
CAMERA
Every smartphone now a days gets rated on how great the camera is and what all the camera can do and the S III isn’t lacking in this department at all. The rear camera has an 8-megapixel unit with LED flash. Photos aren’t as sharp or as detailed in some other high end smartphones, but they do come close. The camera app also has built-in face detection mode, a burst shot mode and modes for HDR photos, macro shots and panoramas. One feature that was helpful when trying to snap a photo of my 4 year old son is the Smile Shot, which takes a photo anytime someone in the frame smiles
The front facing camera is 1.9-megapixel camera that is capable of handling Skype calling and profile pics but not really much of anything else.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy S III is still one of the top phones on the Android Market right now. Some software issues aside the phone still out performs so many other devices. The hardware side alone is mesmerizing enough and some of the other features just need a bit fine tuning and you have yourself a very worthy phone for a while.
We now turn our attention to the Kyle Scientific Scale-o-Rama and judge this device on a very strict scale of BUY IT, FLIP IT or SKIP IT. The Samsung Galaxy S III gets a very solid BUY IT. The Samsung Galaxy S III is available on Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and US Cellular. Each carrier has different pricing options so make sure to check them out for yourself.
Source: http://technorati.com/technology/android/article/samsung-galaxy-s3-review/
The quadcore processor-powered Samsung Galaxy S3 is big on screen and innovative features, but is it enough to beat Apple's iPhone 4S into submission?
Samsung Galaxy S3 review
Love
- Great screen
- Decent battery life
- Chock-full of features
Hate
- It’s just so big
- Gloss plastic looks low-end
- Some extras seem gimmicky
The Samsung Galaxy S3 follows on from the runaway success that was the Samsung Galaxy S2, which won great praise and sold in huge numbers, helping Samsung snag the crown of the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, and has since been joined by the pared down Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini.
So the new Galaxy had a lot to live up to. It had to be fast, powerful and feature-packed. Oh, and it had to look classy. So, how does it fare?
The S3 has gone big on innovation, with lots of new features the speculation hadn’t dreamed of. But the first thing you notice is the size. Samsung has shown it can make a success of big screens with the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.
But that’s not a phone, it’s a new breed of device somewhere between a phone and a tablet. Rivals like HTC had been stretching our mitts with 4.7in display blowers such as the HTC One X.
Can the S3 take on HTC's flagship model and is it better than than the Sony Xperia S? And will it have iPhone 4S fans defecting to Android? Here's what we thought...
Samsung Galaxy S3: Build
The S3 has a 4.8in display and it's certainly big. It’s a slim phone from front to back so it’s more manageable than you might think, but even so.Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. It’s like a smooth, flat worry stone that you can roll seamlessly through your fingers. A matte finish wouldn’t have felt as good.
Though some will feel that the glossy coat looks a bit, well, plasticky. But it feels appealingly shiny and reassuringly solid despite a removable battery.
Where rivals like the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC One X have maximised battery life by sealing it inside, and thus created a flex-free handset, the S3 is pleasingly non-creaky, no matter how you hold it.
Sometimes a new phone is only a gentle upgrade over the last model, but the S3 is streets ahead of the S2. It’s not quite as slim, though at 8.6mm it’s just a tenth of a millimetre fatter and it lacks the earlier phone’s bulge.
And it’s still thinner than the HTC One X, Motorola RAZR Maxx, iPhone 4S and many others. In terms of other important stats - it's 70.6mm across, 136.6mm long and weighs 133g
Samsung Galaxy S3: Screen
Back to the size. If your hands can, er, handle it, the positive consequence is a superbly viewable screen.Video: Samsung Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 5
Video playback on a mobile is always a questionable priority – if you can’t watch on a TV, a tablet makes much more sense – but with 4.8ins of high-resolution Super AMOLED screen with its vivid colours and contrasty blacks, this makes it more of a possibility than before.
The screen resolution is identical to the HTC One X, so the pixels per inch aren’t quite as high on this slightly bigger screen, but both displays look lush and inviting, with this one winning in terms of bright, rich colours.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Ice Cream Sandwich
The Galaxy S III uses the very latest version of Android, 4.0.3, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. This is far and away the best version of Google’s operating system
, with a cleaner look than before.Ice Cream Sandwich lets you put these buttons as virtual icons onscreen, like on the Galaxy Nexus. Here there’s a physical home button, an elongated strip in the centre of the phone’s face at the bottom.
Either side are two virtual capacitive buttons. Samsung has rejected the Recent Apps button in favour of Back and Menu options.
Much better. And if you need it, a long press on the home button brings up the Recent Apps screen.
The latest OS doesn’t just offer yet another tempting-sounding treat to get our mouths watering.
It’s a whole new interface which is redesigned throughout in contrast to previous iterations which have felt like layer after layer glued on top of the previous code.
It includes nifty features like face unlock which matches you to a previously taken photo to launch the phone from idle.
ICS brought Recent Apps front and centre – though the S3 has de-emphasised it again. Samsung adds its own refinements, like the capability to take a screen shot by wiping your hand across the screen.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Features
It's the new features on the Galaxy S3 which really stand out. There’s S Voice, which is a voice recognition service after Siri’s heart, designed by Vlingo (a company which is now being bought by Nuance, who contributed to Apple products and, presumably, Siri).Although it’s competent, it lacks Siri’s wit and whimsy, so you’re best sticking to straightforward commands.
Like Siri, it’s not invariably accurate and it is server-driven so won’t work at all without a decent data connection. Even so, it’s good fun and there’s something slightly magical about it.
And Smart Stay, which uses the front-facing camera to periodically check if it can recognise a pair of eyes looking at it and if not, it turns the screen off to save power.
There’s also Smart Call, which dials a contact’s number for you by raising the phone to your ear from the contact details screen. True, these seem like nothing more than gimmicks, but they are quite cool ones.
Perhaps the most gimmicky of all, Social Tag uses facial recognition to match faces in photographs with the profile photos in your contacts.
Now, assuming the profile photo isn’t of a dog or a witty poster, the phone shows that contact’s latest status update and makes it easy to call or message them. We can’t see it catching on.
Samsung has tried to create the phone that has everything and it's not far short of the mark.
So there’s NFC, the contactless technology that has yet to find widespread use, though it’s good for Android Beam to transfer contacts between compatible Android handsets.
Samsung takes this one big step further with the inclusion of S Beam which adds WiFi Direct to the wireless transfer connection so you can beam video files quickly between S3s.
You can throw content from the phone to a suitably equipped TV if you find the 4.8in display doesn’t do your movies justice while a feature called Smart Alert makes sure you know about missed calls or messages by gently vibrating or whistling a merry tune.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Hubs
With so many apps to choose from, how do you know what’s good and what’s not? Samsung's Game Hub has a (small) selection of recommended titles. Some are free, and then there are premium apps to pay for. Helpfully some games can be tried before you cough up money.The Music Hub is now up to version 3.0 (HD) and promises to be “the complete music solution for your Samsung device”. It costs £9.99 a month and promises unlimited streaming.
You can also upload tracks from your personal music collection so you can listen to them everywhere. It has a neat interface and a huge catalogue – 17 million tracks.
The Video Hub is is where to go for movies – though there’s also Google Play, of course, which is arguably more attractively laid out. Like the Game Hub, there are helpful recommendations from best-selling to staff picks.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Camera
Last year, the Galaxy S2’s 8MP camera was above average. Now the competition has caught up and the S3 was rumoured to be getting a 12 megapixel camera, but instead it's got the same snapper as the S2.Still, it’s a decent sensor which delivers strong results and you can also capture full HD 1080p video.
The front camera sports a 1.9MP sensor and can capture 720p video at the same time as taking a still picture.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Battery
So you won’t be short of features to play with. Which drains the battery, of course. The other advantage of a phone this big is it can cram in a large battery.The one in the S3 goes on and on – unlike some Android phones in the past which conk out after lunch. And since it’s a removable battery, you can carry a spare as well (although, we've yet to find anybody that actually does this).
Samsung Galaxy S3: Performance
Speed is important, especially when you want to do more with your phone, like play high-definition video smoothly. So the on-board quad-core processor really helps.It’s not quite as fast as the one in the HTC One X, but it’s a real powerhouse that never slows down however much demand you’re placing on it.
A second microphone means call quality is good and signal strength was solid and strong. This is the most feature-packed Android phone yet, and one of the most powerful.
If you’re an iPhone user who’s feeling their handset’s a bit puny in comparison, this is the best time to make the switch from iOS to Google – though it’s still nowhere near as intuitive to use.
Although you can opt for a Galaxy S3 with a huge 64GB storage (coming soon), the phone also has a microSD slot – unlike the HTC One X, iPhone S and many other rivals
Samsung Galaxy S3: 4G
The next generation of wireless data - 4G - has arrived courtesy of EE (Formerly Everything Everywhere) and having seen the OM4G posters and Hollywood A-Lister Kevin Bacon EE advert, we checked out what superfast mobile internet is currently made of with the 4G EE Samsung Galaxy S3.Rolling out to 16 cities before Christmas, we spent our time testing the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE in Central London and West London and found 4G coverage dropped in and out depending on location and whether we were indoors or outdoors.
The benefits of EE 4G should be increased data speed (up to five times faster than 3G networks to be precise) for downloading and uploading while streaming and gaming should be less interrupted by buffering and lag.
Using the Speed Test Android app on our 4G and 3G handsets there was a significant difference in terms of download speeds and upload speeds.The S3 averaged 25000kbps (25Mbps) compared to around 500kbps (0.5Mbps) download speed for the 3G device. In terms of upload speeds, it was comprehensive once again with the S3 averaging 25000kbps (25Mbps) to just 25kbps (0.25Mbps) for upload speed.
Samsung Galaxy S3: EE
Part of the EE 4G package is that you can download and stream one free film a week to watch from its dedicated Movie app. Attempting to download the 700MB plus file was a breeze over 4G until the connection dropped out as was the case in many situations we tested it.Streaming the movie was equally impressive with no signs of buffering until we were returned back to 3G+. The same can be similarly said about gaming and watching videos on YouTube, it’s great until that 4G connection is lost.
In just a few days of usage we managed to rack up over 1GB of data which for some people with data packages would be the end of the line. With the free EE movies not counted towards your allowance, we still found it possible to chew up a significant amount of data but that was probably more down to intensive testing purposes.
We found tha the 4G performance was miles ahead of 3G in many ways, as we’d expected, but with coverage still patchy, you really have to be desperate to download big files and be a serial video/picture uploader to Facebook to want to pay some pretty big tariffs to get in on the action now.
If you're happy to do more data consuming tasks when you are on the Wi-Fi at home or work, it might be worth holding on for 4G to spread a bit further and prices to drop a little more to justify making the leap.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Verdict
For Android lovers, it’s hard to fault the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the only other handset to come close is the HTC One X – and it comes very close. The S III wins out for features and innovations. But, be warned, it’s going to be too big for some hands.The S3 is a mighty big phone that’s powerful, feature-packed and exceptionally desirable.
Watch: Samsung Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 4S
Source: http://www.t3.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-s3-review
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