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.

References

1. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S III". Samsung Electronics. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S III, the Smartphone Designed for Humans and Inspired by Nature" (Press release). Samsung Electronics. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Jager, Chris (4 May 2012). "Samsung Galaxy S3: full specifications list". PC & Tech Authority. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Kim, Miyoung; Sandle, Paul (May 29, 2012). "Samsung Galaxy S3 gets head start on rival iPhone". Reuters. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Q&A With Samsung's Mobile Chief". The Wall Street Journal. 14 March 2013.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "SHW-E210S GALAXY S III". Samsung Electronics. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
8. ^ Burns, Chris (26 April 2012). "Samsung picks Pentile for Galaxy S III". SlashGear. R3 Media. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Samsung Galaxy S III". PhoneArena. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
10. ^ Trew, James (3 May 2012). "Samsung Galaxy S III is official: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos processor and gesture functions". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 5 May 2012.

Critical reception

The reception of the Galaxy S III has been particularly positive. Critics noted the phone's blend of features, such as its S Voice application, display, processing speed, and dimensions as having an edge over its competition, the Apple iPhone 4S and HTC One X.[62][72] Vlad Savov of The Verge declared it a "technological triumph",[138] while Natasha Lomas of CNET UK lauded the phone's "impossibly slim and light casing and a quad-core engine", calling it the "Ferrari of Android phones",[72] a sentiment affirmed ("a prince among Android phones") by Dave Oliver of Wired UK and ("king of Android") Esat Dedezade of Stuff magazine.[139][140] Gareth Beavis of TechRadar noted that the S III is "all about faster, smarter and being more minimal than ever before while keeping the spec list at the bleeding edge of technology."[141] Matt Warman of The Daily Telegraph said, "On spending just a short time with the S3, I'm confident in saying that it's a worthy successor to the globally popular S2".[142]

Upon release, a number of critics and publications have made references to the S III, Samsung's 2012 flagship phone,[143] as an "iPhone killer",[15] responding perhaps to Apple's favourable customer perception.[144] The label owes itself to the S III's use of the Android OS—the chief rival of Apple's iOS—as well as its design and features that rival the iPhone 4S such as Smart Stay, a large display, a quad-core processor, Android customizability, and a multitude of connectivity options.[145]

The S III was the first Android phone to have a higher launch price than the iPhone 4S when the Apple product was released in 2011.[146] With the S III, Tim Weber, business editor of the BBC, observed, "With the new Galaxy S3 they [Samsung] have clearly managed to move to the front of the smartphone field, ahead of mighty Apple itself."[121]

Software and services

The Galaxy S III uses Google's Android mobile operating system, which was introduced commercially in 2008.[37] Its TouchWiz "Nature UX" graphical user interface (GUI)—which is influenced by the "organic" customer trend—is more interactive than Samsung's previous GUIs, with the notable addition of the "Water Lux" effect, which produces ripples upon contact.[23] To complement the TouchWiz interface, and as a response to Apple's Siri, the phone introduces S Voice, Samsung's intelligent personal assistant. S Voice can recognize eight languages including English, Korean and French.[38] Based on Vlingo, S Voice enables the user to verbally control 20 functions such as playing a song, setting the alarm, or activating driving mode; it relies on Wolfram Alpha for online searches.[39]

The S III comes with Android version 4.0.4, named "Ice Cream Sandwich", which became commercially available in March 2012 with the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus.[40] Ice Cream Sandwich has a refined user interface, expanded camera capabilities, security features and connectivity.[41] In mid-June 2012, Google unveiled Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean", which employs Google Now, a voice-assistant similar to S Voice, and incorporates other software changes. Samsung accommodated Jelly Bean in the S III by making last-minute hardware changes to the phone in some markets.[42] Jelly Bean updates began rolling out to S IIIs in selected European countries, and to the T-Mobile in the United States in November.[43][44] On October 17, Samsung announced, that US S IIIs will be updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean "in the coming months".[45] Samsung started pushing Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean to the international version of the S III in December 2012.[46] The S III is also compatible with CyanogenMod 10, a custom firmware that implements the characteristics of Jelly Bean.[47]

Design phase

Design work on the S III started in late 2010 under the supervision of Chang Dong-hoon, Samsung's Vice President and Head of the Design Group of Samsung Electronics. From the start, the design group concentrated on a trend which Samsung dubs "organic", which suggests that a prospective design should reflect natural elements such as the flow of water and wind.[23] Some of the results of this design were the curved outline of the phone and its home screen's "Water Lux" effect, where taps and slides produce water ripples.[23]

Throughout the eighteen-month design process, Samsung implemented stringent security measures and procedures to maintain secrecy of the eventual design until its launch. Designers worked on three prototypes concurrently while regarding each of them as the final product. Doing so required a constant duplication of effort as they had to repeat the same process for all three prototypes.[24][25] The prototypes, taking photos of which was forbidden, were locked in a separate lab accessible only by core designers; the company's employees transported them instead of third-party couriers.[25][26] "Because we were only permitted to see the products and others weren't," explained Principal Engineer Lee Byung-Joon, "we couldn't send pictures or drawings. We had to explain the Galaxy S III with all sorts of words."[27] Despite such security measures, specifications of one of the three units were leaked by Vietnamese website Tinhte, although it was not the selected design.[28][29]

Samsung Galaxy S III

The Samsung Galaxy S III is a multi-touch, slate-format smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics that runs the Android operating system. It has additional software features, expanded hardware, and a redesigned physique from its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S II.

The S III employs an intelligent personal assistant (S Voice), eye-tracking ability, increased storage, and a wireless charging option. Depending on country, the 4.8-inch (120 mm) smartphone comes with different processors and RAM capacity, and 4G LTE support.[10] The device was launched with Android 4.0.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich", and can be updated to Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean". The phone's successor, the Samsung Galaxy S4, was announced on March 14, 2013 and was released the following month.

Samsung Galaxy S3: an unforgettable experience

Its been a week I bought this phone, and trust me guys, this is a beast!!!
The first thing you will notice about this phone is, well,its size. Its huge to say the least, and phones shouldn't really get any bigger than this. Personally I feel the size is big for a phone, and is simply risky for one handed use. On the other hand, the larger screen estate does help when browsing the internet, or watching a video, etc.
Many people have been complaining about the build quality of this phone, saying its cheap plastic n all. While it doesn’t look as premium as other flagships, but its not that bad either. You will be fooled if you judge the phone's appearance by the pictures; in hand, it really looks and feels much better and sturdy. Also, its polycarbonate, the same material used on the HTC One X, so you can comfortably forget about the bad comments on quality of materials.
The display is one of the the best displays right now in the market, period. Super AMOLEDs are known for their rich colors and deep blacks, and trust me, you have to see it to believe it if you haven’t already. The blacks are impenetrable, and colors pop out to the eyes. You can tweak display settings if you like more natural looking colors. Finally, those who are worried about the pentile nature of the display, don't be. At pixel density of 306 ppi, you won't even notice the graininess in day to day use that was prevalent on galaxy S, unless you see from very close range.
The ICS 4.0.4 UI is skinned by Samsung Touchwiz Nature UX. This is nothing like what touchwiz used to be couple of years back, and really brings a fresh feel to user experience, not very visually appealing as HTC Sense, but not bad either. The software runs on Exynos quad core processor, that coupled with a MALI 400 GPU and 1 GB of RAM, this phone literally eats most other phones for breakfast. I haven't seen any android device this smooth, the UI literally flies with your touch, and apps launch in a flash; it just refuses to give up, its insanely fast! All of this is powered by a 2100 mAh battery, which is a removable one too. It easily lasts a day and a half with moderate to heavy usage, and the longevity is certain to increase after a couple of charge/discharge cycles.