The Samsung Galaxy SIII Review

Samsung's new Star

The Samsung Galaxy SIII is poised to go supernova

by Alvin Chong

Updated 07:40 PM May 08, 2012

LONDON - Samsung today unveiled the next iteration of their flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Set to be released more than a year after its predecessor, the Galaxy SII, Samsung unveiled the new phone at the Samsung Unpacked event held in London.

The Galaxy SIII is packed with power on the hardware side. Powered with a quad-core processor, the Galaxy SIII comes with a 4.8" Super-AMOLED screen with 1280x720 resolution. The phone comes in the usual 16, 32 and 64GB options, and comes with a micro-SD slot to expand your capacity to up to 128GB.

Commuters who watch movies on the go will love that the Galaxy SIII is able to play full-HD (1080P) video, and can decode various multimedia codecs so that you spend less time transcoding your video files for phone viewing. The quad-core processor gives the phone the ability to view a video in windowed mode while you work on something else. It's perfect for multi-tasking junkies.

All that power fits inside a 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.55 mm body that weights just 133 grammes. It's definitely bigger and heavier than the Galaxy SII, but there's quite a lot of upgrades stuffed into the slim and ergonomic body that comes in marble white and pebble blue colours.

Hardware aside, the Galaxy SIII makes key improvements in its software. Branded as "Inspired by Nature, Designed for Humans". the Samsung Galaxy SIII was designed with the user in mind. It comes with a nature-inspired UI, such as a less-static lock screen where the screen ripples like water when you drag your finger across it.

Some of the key features include "Smart Stay", which allows the smartphone's screen to stay lit, as long as it detects that someone is looking at it, definitely benefitting those who walk and read. The SIII is also able to dial the number of the contact you have on-screen when you lift the phone to your face, whether you're at the contact details screen or in the messages app. It is also able to detect when you're picking up the phone for the first time after a long while, instantly updating you on alerts that you missed.

While the SII was powered with Vlingo's voice talk app, the SIII comes with "S Voice", Samsung's own version of a voice-controlled solution that is packed with both Samsung's and various third-party technology which allows voice-activated access in various apps.

The SIII's 8MP camera also comes with upgraded software, zero shutter lag, and other upgrades. These include "Burst Shot", which allows up to 20 quick shots at a go at an amazing speed of 6fps, and "Best Photo" where the phone selects the best photo from those you just took. Once the shot is taken you can instantly tag photos by tapping on faces which the SIII will immediately try to match with your friends in your contact list and even Google+ and Facebook friends, and you have the option to instantly share the photo with those tagged. The photo-viewing process is also simplified with the photos sorted in various ways such as according to which groups were tagged in the photo, or by location.

On top of that , you now can shoot still photos while filming video, allowing you to save your favourite moments in more ways.

The SIII also comes with near-field communications, allowing for quick file sharing by tapping your phone with a similarly equipped phone (currently only other Galaxy SIIIs).

The recommended retail price and release date for the Samsung Galaxy SIII for all markets is currently unknown, but it is expected to be on sale by the end of this month or early next month. The release will begin in Europe first before being rolled out to other markets.

Source: www.todayonline.com