The
Samsung Galaxy S3
is one of the most feature-packed gadgets of the year. It can do so
much that it’s impossible to get your head around everything it's
capable of in a few days. We’ve spent an age with the phone, and are
here to share what we've found.
If you want to get to know your
Samsung Galaxy S3 a bit better, check out our round-up of the 50
juiciest tips and tricks for the Android giant. Think we've missed
something? Drop us a line in the comments.
Read our
comparison of the iPhone 5 and Samung Galaxy S3 or watch our favourite five picks in the video below.
http://bcove.me/mm23klsp
1. Smart stayHere’s
a neat little gimmicky Samsung Galaxy S3 feature that could come in
very handy if you like to read books or web articles on your phone.
Smart stay uses the user-facing camera to scan for your eyes looking at
the screen. If it finds them, it’ll keep the screen backlight active,
rather than let it sleep. You can activate the feature from within the
Display submenu of the full Settings menu.
2. Font changer
If
you don’t like the standard, fairly serious look of the Samsung Galaxy
S3, you can change the font used in the menu systems for a more
light-hearted style. There are three other fonts available from the off,
and you can download more from Google Play. The font changer option is
in the Display submenu.
3. Check out OAP mode
Android
can be confusing for people who aren’t massive tech fans. We’re not
quite sure why such people would have bought as fancy a phone as the
Samsung Galaxy S3, but we’re not here to judge. For this eventuality,
Samsung has provided an “easy” UI mode, which simplifies the look of
home screens, using large, blocky preset widgets. You can try out this
mode in the Home Screen Mode submenu within Settings.
4. Motion controller
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 takes the “kitchen sink” approach to features,
shoving in everything it can manage. Motion controller options are
evidence of quite how far this extends. You can flick between home
screens by flicking the phone left and right, and that's just the
beginning. There are bundles of options here, from zooming in and out of
web pages by tilting the phone up and down to being able to take a
screengrab by wiping the side of your hand across the screen. Check out
the full list in the Motion submenu in Settings.
5. Don’t forget folders
To
make effective use of your home screens, you need to think about using
folders, which store app shortcuts. To make one, just hold a finger down
on an app shortcut and drag it onto another app shortcut.
6. Quick search bar access
The
quickest way to perform a quick web search on the Samsung Galaxy S3
when on a home screen is by using a dedicated gestural shortcut. Hold
down the Menu soft key for around two seconds and you’ll be taken
directly to a Google search bar.
7. Customise your lock screens
The
custom lock screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3 features a row of icons
that can be used to take you directly to any app. By default, the lock
screen houses the phone caller, SMS hub, S Voice app and the camera.
There’s a dedicated Lock Screen submenu in Settings that lets you define
your own shortcuts.
8. Face unlock – it ain’t magic
Here’s
a pro tip – if you want to keep your phone secure, Face Unlock isn’t
the way to do it. Face Unlock recognises the geometry of your face to
unlock the Samsung Galaxy S3 without any fingers needed. It’s more of a
fun feature rather than a hardcore security measure, and someone that
looks a bit like you may well be able to unlock your phone. Heck, even a
picture of you will do it.
9. You can gesture type, like Swype
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 features its own Samsung virtual keyboard. One of the
neat extras it offers is gesture typing, which lets you drag a path
over the letters in words rather than tapping them one-by-one. Many
people find it much faster than standard typing, and with a good
corrections algorithm it’s arguably more accurate too. Swipe-y typing is
enabled in the keyboard menu, under the heading continuous input.
10. You can have up to seven home screens
Samsung
gives you control over how many home screens there are in your Galaxy
S3. To add or delete home screens, head to a home screen and use the
pinch gesture to zoom out and see the whole roster of screens. From
there you’ll be able to add additional ones, or drag existing ones into
the virtual dustbin.
Calling
11. Contacts book touchscreen gesturesFrom
within the Contacts book, you can call and text people directly using
touchscreen gestures. A right-to-left swipe across a contact entry will
message them, and a left-to-right swipe will call them. It’s a lot
quicker than tapping on their entry and then tapping again on their
phone number.
12. Install Facebook and Twitter for quickie contact-gathering
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 is a fantastic social networking tool, but you can
make your social apps work for you too. Install the Facebook and Twitter
apps and you can use your friends and followers lists to pull contacts
into your phone’s Contacts book.
13. Avoid people with block mode
If
you’re just a little too good at making friends and influencing people,
you may want to check out the block mode. This lets you control the
sorts of notifications, calls and alerts you get at certain times of the
day. The most obvious use is to stop people from ringing you while
you’re asleep. The Samsung Galaxy S3 also lets you keep up a list of
“approved” contacts that can get through at all times. You’ll find the
blocking option in the Settings menu.
Battery life
14. Make use of notification bar settings options
The
quickest way to increase battery life is to manage the connections that
the Samsung Galaxy S3 uses. 3G is one of the biggest drains on a
smartphone’s battery, cutting stamina from several days to a day and a
half. The pull-down notifications bar lets you turn off connections
within a screen tap or two. Connections we recommend managing include
Bluetooth, 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS.
15. Investigate power saving mode
When
your battery level gets a bit low, the Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with its
own emergency power saving mode that cuts down the power-draining
features used by the phone. These include haptic feedback, screen
brightness, CPU speed and the background screen colour in the internet
browser.
16. Boost battery with a dark background
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 has an AMOLED-type screen. As it does not use a
universal backlight, this display uses more power when more of the
screen is bright white. Use a dark or black background and you should
find that the battery lasts that little bit longer.
17. You can change brightness from the drop-down notification bar
Along
with connectivity settings, the notifications bar also has a brightness
slider. It’s the quickest way to change brightness. There’s also an
“Auto” tickbox, which lets the Samsung Galaxy S3 use the ambient light
sensor on the front of the phone to judge how bright the screen needs to
be, altering the backlight automatically depending on the surroundings.
Music
18. You can record radio using the FM tunerFM
radio isn’t really cool anymore, we’ll admit, but it uses a whole lot
less battery than streaming internet radio over 3G – and it doesn’t
demand you’re connected to the internet either. The FM radio uses your
earphone cable as an antenna, and the Samsung Galaxy S3 even lets you
record radio to the internal memory. You can then easily pull recorded
files off the phone to archive on a computer, if you like.
19. Check out the custom EQ setting in the music player
Don’t
like the sound that your earphones produce? The Samsung Galaxy S3 lets
you tweak audio output with a custom equaliser. There are loads of
presets included, or you can choose your own settings, with a 7-band EQ,
3D effect, Bass boost, reverb, and Clarity treble optimiser. You’ll
find the shortcut to the EQ on the playback button bar of the music
player.
20. Use Music Square for auto playlists
Gimmick
or genius? Music Square tip-toes along the divide. It analyses your
music and decides whether it’s relaxed or exciting, joyful or
passionate. You can then pick exactly what mood you’re after using the
Music Square interface – which looks a bit like a Korg Kaosspad. It
works remarkably well, and is a boon if you like playlists but can’t be
bothered to make them.
21. You can edit videos in the video player
The
integrated video player of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is excellent for
several reasons, primarily because it can play loads of different video
types. It does more besides, too. You can trim videos from within the
app, which is handy for those who love making their own little videos
using the phone’s camera.
22. Check out AllShare
AllShare
is Samsung’s take on DLNA. Sound like tech jargon? DLNA is a wireless
standard that lets you stream video and music over a Wi-Fi network.
AllShare uses DLNA and packages the tech into an easy-to-use package,
especially if you’re piping content between Samsung brand devices.
Plenty of Samsung gadgets support AllShare include tablets, Blu-ray
players and TVs.
Accessories
23. HDMI adapter
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 does not have a dedicated video output, but there is a
way to output video from the phone without using Wi-FI – the Samsung
MHL adapter. This uses the microUSB port on the rear of the phone to
send up to HD video and surround sound to TVs and other devices. The
£20-odd adapter plugs in to the socket and ends in an HDMI socket,
letting you jam in a standard HDMI cable.
24. Consider a battery booster
There
are plenty of batteries available Samsung Galaxy S3 - standard-size
ones, extra large ones and dodgy knock-off ones that might set your
house aflame. Some will double your battery life, such as the
top-quality Mophie juice pack that’s made specifically for the Galaxy
S3. The phone slots into the battery pack, increasing the body size
without ruining ergonomics.
The Mophie Galaxy S3 battery pack
25. Forget the 64GB edition
Our
buyer’s tip is to forget the 64GB edition of the Samsung Galaxy S3.
It’s not widely available in the UK – the 16GB and 32GB editions are far
more common – and it’s not really worth the extra cash. The Galaxy S3
has a microSD memory card slot, and expanding the memory using one of
these cards is much cheaper than spending the extra on a phone with
greater internal memory.
26. Get a capacitive stylus – nearly a Note
The main thing that has got
so many people buying the recent
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is its neat stylus. It uses
clever Wacom tech that enables full pressure sensitivity. There’s no
easy way to get this sensitivity on the Galaxy S3, but you can get a
similar pen input feel with a capacitive stylus. These pens have tips
that the touchscreen of phones like the Galaxy S3 can sense.
Browsing
27. Search the web with your voiceThe
Samsung Galaxy S3
has a dedicated Voice Search app that lets you search the web by
speaking into your phone’s microphone. It uses Google’s voice
recognition tech. Alternatively, you can use S Voice, which is Samsung’s
own take on the voice recognition feature.
28. Save sites for offline reading
The
integrated web browser of the Samsung Galaxy S3 lets you save websites
on the internal memory of the phone for reading while you’re out of
range of Wi-Fi and 3G. To save a page, tap the menu soft key while on a
site and tap the Save for offline reading option. Right by this, you’ll
see the Request desktop site checkbox, which is another useful nugget.
Connectivity
29. How to use NFCThe
Samsung Galaxy S3 features NFC, or Near Field Communication. There are
several uses for this short-range connectivity type, and the most
interesting is mobile payments. These let you use your phone as a
contactless payments tool. Support is limited at the moment, but if
you’re on Orange, you can use the QuickTap system, which will let you
buy small items from food outlets like Subway, EAT and others. For more
on NFC, check out our full guide.
30. How to use S Beam
S
Beam is Samsung’s own utilisation of NFC. It lets you transmit files
between compatible phones. At the moment, that’s limited to the Samsung
Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2 – hardly a vast array. However, it is
one way to open up NFC to those who aren’t keen on using their mobile as
a debit card of sorts. You can turn S Beam on from within the More
Settings submenu in the main settings area. Don’t miss it if you have
Galaxy S3-owning friends.
31. Kies is optional
Kies
is Samsung’s desktop software, which can be used to sync content to
Samsung phones, and can be used to update firmware. In the past it has
been mandatory to use it for some uses in some phones, but it’s largely
options with the Samsung Galaxy S3. You can easily drag ‘n’ drop files
onto the phone, and firmware updates can be made directly from the
phone. Why use it when you don’t need to? That said, Kies does support
Wi-Fi synchronisation, which is neat.
32. Use data usage monitor if you’re on a data limit
Most
Samsung Galaxy S3 owners will probably have to live with a data limit,
whether it’s 1GB, 500MB or 10GB. Unless your mobile data usage is
completely unlimited, it’s best to keep an eye on your consumptions to
avoid unnecessary bill stings at the end of the month. Right near the
top of the Settings menu is a Data usage section that will do just that.
It lets you see how much data you’ve used, and within which apps. If
you need to cut down, switch off mobile data and stick to Wi-Fi.
33. Don’t forget Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi
Direct is great. Once we were restricted to Bluetooth for wireless file
transfers. It was slow, unreliable and, well, a bit rubbish. Wi-Fi
Direct is here to change all that. It lets you fling files from one
Wi-Fi Direct compatible device to another, without needing a Wi-Fi
internet spot to act as the middle man. It’s one of the best ways to get
a file from A to B, and can be used throughout the phone – look for it
in the Share options of any given app.
Downloads
34. Essential Android appsAndroid
apps you need to download or check out right now include Evernote,
Facebook, Twitter, Spotify (if you have an account), Netflix (again, if
you have an account), BBC iPlayer, Instagram, Flipboard, Movies, IMDb,
SoundHound, WhatsApp Messenger, TuneIn Radio. Also, do take a look at
the Google apps pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S3. They’re all fab.
35. Essential Android games
Android games you need to download in 3… 2… 1… now include World of Goo, Fieldrunners,
Angry Birds Space,
Bad Piggies,
Infinity Blade, Dead Trigger, Shadowgun, Temple Run and the original
Angry Birds. That should keep you busy for a little while.
Bad Piggies is a TrustedReviews favourite
36. Solving app problems
Android
is a lot more stable than it used to be, but you’re going to have to
expect the odd crash/computer implosion. If you find that a particular
app is giving you a lot of trouble, it’s a good idea to try wiping its
cached data. To do this, go to the Applications manager in the Settings
menu. Then pick the errant app from the list that appears and tap the
Clear data and Clear cache buttons. If that fails, you can try
reinstalling the app. You’ll see an Uninstall button on this screen
that’ll wipe its current install.
37. App side-loading
Google
Play is the place to be if you’re out for Android apps and games for
your Samsung Galaxy S3, but Android does not limit you to the official
app store. You can side-load apps from just about anywhere, you just
need to remove the security barrier blocking apps from unknown sources.
This is in the Security submenu of Settings. Once done, you can download
APK Android installation files directly from within the browser, or
transfer them to the internal memory manually from a computer. Then
locate them using the My Files app, tap the app you want and follow the
on-screen prompts. Be careful though and only download from trusted
sources as apps downloaded from unofficial sites have a much higher
chance of containing all sorts of viral nasties.
38. Adding app shortcuts to the homescreen
One
of the key uses for a Samsung Galaxy S3 home screen is to give you
quick access to your favourite apps. To add one to a home screen, go to
the main apps menu, hold a finger down on an app icon and a home screen
preview will pop up, letting you place the shortcut
39. Backup to SD = a good idea
If
you value your data, it’s a good idea to backup your data every now and
then. There are two main ways to do this. The first is to use Kies,
Samsung’s desktop software, which lets you keep an image of your phone’s
goodies on your computer. There are also plenty of apps that will
backup your precious data to an SD card. Just search for backup on
Google Play for a selection.
Video
40. Video overlaysA
great gimmick of the Samsung Galaxy S3’s video player is that it lets
you properly multi-task. On the bottom right of the transport bar is a
little button with an arrow on it. Tap this and any playing video will
appear as an overlay on your home screen. It’ll hang around until you
tap the cross icon (which appears when the video is tapped), letting you
watch videos while browsing the web, reading emails and so on. You can
also resize the video with the pinch gesture.
41. Galaxy S3 codec support is great
Samsung
has been a bit of a mobile video star for years. Its top-end phones
always tend to offer better video support than just about any other
maker’s models. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is no different. It can handle
most file formats, including – in our testing – the popular MKV type.
Most people shouldn’t need to transcode many of their videos to get them
playing on the phone.
Camera
42. Check out HDR modeHDR
mode is a useful mode for getting good photographic results in
conditions of problematic lighting. It involved merging the information
of multiple exposures, letting the Samsung Galaxy S3’s camera reap the
most detail information from dark and light areas in a scene. The phone
saves both an HDR version and a non-HDR version, so there’s no downside
other than that the processing time needed between each shot will slow
down your photo snapping.
43. Combat closed eyes photos with Best Face
If
you’re trying to take a snap of a difficult subject, Best Face is a
great way to avoid papping them with their eyes closed, or while pulling
a face. It takes five shots of the same scene in rapid succession, then
lets you pick the one with the best result. As the Samsung Galaxy S3
camera is so fast, the whole five exposures only take a bit over a
second.
A photo taken with the Samsung Galaxy S3
44. Panorama
The
classic add-on feature of any phone camera that wants to impress is
Panorama. It lets you take a wide shot of your surroundings, capturing
the shot as you slowly turn the phone around. It’s not quite as good as
the iPhone 5’s panorama, but it’s not bad.
45. Fill in the Photosphere gap with an app
One
of the features that the Samsung Galaxy S3 currently misses out on is
Photosphere. It’s because the phone uses Android 4.1 Jelly Bean rather
than version 4.2, which brought the world the new photo feature. It lets
you take a full 360-degree panorama shot of the world around you. Don’t
fret, though, because there are apps that do just that form Google
Play. Apps to try include 360 Panorama and Photo360. The Galaxy S3 may
get the official Photo Sphere feature once the update to Android 4.2
arrives.
46. Share photos directly with Share Shot
Share
Shot uses Wi-Fi Direct to let you fling shots over directly to other
people nearby. It requires that the recipient device has Wi-Fi Direct
engaged too, though.
Advanced
47. Root it – if you dareThere’s
a massive Android modding community, and if you want to get involved
you’ll need to root your Samsung Galaxy S3. This strips off a layer of
protection, giving you direct access to the phone’s virtual organs and
bones. It will also let you install custom ROMs – customised installs of
the Android operating system. Doing this, you could strip away TouchWiz
if you like. You can brick your phone in this process, though, so
proceed with caution.
48. Remote wipe your phone with Remote Control
A
great security feature of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is remote wiping of
data. You’ll need to sign up for a Samsung account, after which you can
remotely manage your phone from samsungdive.com. You can wipe data, lock
the phone so it can’t be used and even locate the device using the Find
my Phone feature. If there’s even a small chance you’re phone’s going
to be nicked (let’s face it, there is), we recommend signing up for
this. It doesn’t cost you anything either.
49. For frequent fliers – dual clock lock screen
Here’s
a clever bit of software jiggery-pokery. The lock screen clock can
change automatically when you’re roaming to show two times, one for the
country you’re in and another for the time back home. You’ll find this
in the Lock screen menu of the Settings menu, called Dual clock.
And finally…
50. Jelly Bean easter eggYou’ve
never seen an Android easter egg? You haven’t lived. To experience the
wonder of the Jelly Bean easter egg on your Samsung Galaxy S3, go to the
About device section in Settings, repeatedly clock on the Android
version entry and you’ll see the beaming face of a cartoon Jelly Bean.
Hold a finger down on the little guy and the screen will fill with
whizzing beans. Who needs an
iPhone 5, eh?
Source:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/50-samsung-galaxy-s3-tips-and-tricks
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