Samsung Galaxy S III Officially Released
The Galaxy S III, Samsung's latest Abdroid-based
smartphone has been officially released today at a
Samsung event held in London.
"Designed for humans and inspired by nature," the GALAXY S III is a smartphone that recognizes your voice, understands your intention, and lets you share a moment instantly.
As it was expected, the new smartphone is powered by Samsung's new 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor (3G version - 4G version is expected to feature a dual-core processor), it comes with a 4.8-inch, HD Super AMOLED screen (720p, 306 ppi density, 0.01 ms response). The device weighs a mere 133g (4.7 ounces) and measures 8.6mm thick (0.34 inches).
Both the front face and flat battery cover are made out of plastic and not metal. Compared to the Galaxy SII, the Galaxy S III's screen is 22% larger by taking advantage a narrower bezel.
The phone is equipped with an 8MP rear camera already met in Samsung's Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note devices, along with a 1.9MP front camera. Samsung claims that the 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed. At the software part, Samsung offers a new camera app that supports, dual still and video capture, adds face tagging for existing contacts and boasts improved face recognition, tracking and tagging. The 'Burst shot' function captures twenty continuous shots, and the 'Best photo' feature that selects the best of eight photographs for you. Improved backside illumination further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low lights.
The new 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor is supposedly 65 percent faster than the companion Mali 400 graphics chip on the Galaxy S II. The new phone will be available versions with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB internal storage and features a micro-SIM slot for further expanding its storage capacity.
The phone also uses a removable 2,100mAh battery, it has Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi Direct, DLNA, an MHL-compatible micro-USB port and headphone socket, with NFC connected to the battery unit.
The phone is based on Android 4.0.4 OS and of course, it uses Samsung's TouchWiz UI.
Regarding apps, Samsung has made significant work to offer new feature such as human sensing.
The 'Smart Stay' feature will make the device detect whether a face is looking at it in order to switch the display on or off and change its brightness. Similarly, 'Smart Alert' will display missed calls or notifications when the users picks up the phone, using the built-in accelerometer.
With ImageOnce, user can tap and hold the screen, rotate the phone horizontally and be sent to the camera app. A new calling function will also dial whoever's contact details a user has displayed on the phone's screen and as soon as he or she raise the phone to his or her ear.
'S Voice' is Samsung's approach to the voice interactions (Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Korean languages) features with the phone. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III "snooze." You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo. Like Apple's Siri voice feature, it requires a data connection because voice patterns are processed in the cloud.
'S Beam' allow users to share files between compatible phones using either NFC (small files) or through WiFi connections, all with a single touch. Beaming through NFC peaks at around 400Kbps, while WiFi at up to 300Mbps, according to Samsung.
The 'Buddy photo share' function also allows photos to be simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.
The company has also developed a special dongle that can be attached to the phone's HDMI port and allow Beaming using any phone or itehr device.
Other features include 'AllShare Play' for sharing media content with the big screen along with the 'AllShare Cast' function for duplicating the phone's display for big-screen gaming. Under 'AllShare Play ' is also the 'Group Cast' feature that allows you to share your screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; you can make comments and draw changes at the same time with your co-workers, witnessing real-time sharing on your individual device.
Samsung will also provide SDK's to third parties in order to develop their own apps that will take advantage of the 'AllShare' functions. Another new feature is 'Pop Up Play,' which takes advantage of the Exynos quad-core power to allow heavy multitasking. 'Pop up play,' a feature that allows you to play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web. The Galaxy S III plays a video file on top of any other app in its own window, using the phone's native media player.
Mobile payment is also accessible with the device through Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The gaming experience is enhanced through 'Game Hub,' providing access to social games, while Video Hub brings users TV and movies. Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service. Game Hub, Video Hub and Music Hub will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.
The 3G version of the Galaxy S III will be released in Europe first by the end of May. The 4G vesion will be released in the U.S., Japan and South Korea in the summer. Samsung didn't say which carriers would sell it, but the previous Galaxy model was sold by all four national U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
Specifications
Specifications above may differ on the LTE version.
As it was expected, the new smartphone is powered by Samsung's new 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor (3G version - 4G version is expected to feature a dual-core processor), it comes with a 4.8-inch, HD Super AMOLED screen (720p, 306 ppi density, 0.01 ms response). The device weighs a mere 133g (4.7 ounces) and measures 8.6mm thick (0.34 inches).
Both the front face and flat battery cover are made out of plastic and not metal. Compared to the Galaxy SII, the Galaxy S III's screen is 22% larger by taking advantage a narrower bezel.
The phone is equipped with an 8MP rear camera already met in Samsung's Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note devices, along with a 1.9MP front camera. Samsung claims that the 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed. At the software part, Samsung offers a new camera app that supports, dual still and video capture, adds face tagging for existing contacts and boasts improved face recognition, tracking and tagging. The 'Burst shot' function captures twenty continuous shots, and the 'Best photo' feature that selects the best of eight photographs for you. Improved backside illumination further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low lights.
The new 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor is supposedly 65 percent faster than the companion Mali 400 graphics chip on the Galaxy S II. The new phone will be available versions with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB internal storage and features a micro-SIM slot for further expanding its storage capacity.
The phone also uses a removable 2,100mAh battery, it has Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi Direct, DLNA, an MHL-compatible micro-USB port and headphone socket, with NFC connected to the battery unit.
The phone is based on Android 4.0.4 OS and of course, it uses Samsung's TouchWiz UI.
Regarding apps, Samsung has made significant work to offer new feature such as human sensing.
The 'Smart Stay' feature will make the device detect whether a face is looking at it in order to switch the display on or off and change its brightness. Similarly, 'Smart Alert' will display missed calls or notifications when the users picks up the phone, using the built-in accelerometer.
With ImageOnce, user can tap and hold the screen, rotate the phone horizontally and be sent to the camera app. A new calling function will also dial whoever's contact details a user has displayed on the phone's screen and as soon as he or she raise the phone to his or her ear.
'S Voice' is Samsung's approach to the voice interactions (Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Korean languages) features with the phone. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III "snooze." You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo. Like Apple's Siri voice feature, it requires a data connection because voice patterns are processed in the cloud.
'S Beam' allow users to share files between compatible phones using either NFC (small files) or through WiFi connections, all with a single touch. Beaming through NFC peaks at around 400Kbps, while WiFi at up to 300Mbps, according to Samsung.
The 'Buddy photo share' function also allows photos to be simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.
The company has also developed a special dongle that can be attached to the phone's HDMI port and allow Beaming using any phone or itehr device.
Other features include 'AllShare Play' for sharing media content with the big screen along with the 'AllShare Cast' function for duplicating the phone's display for big-screen gaming. Under 'AllShare Play ' is also the 'Group Cast' feature that allows you to share your screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; you can make comments and draw changes at the same time with your co-workers, witnessing real-time sharing on your individual device.
Samsung will also provide SDK's to third parties in order to develop their own apps that will take advantage of the 'AllShare' functions. Another new feature is 'Pop Up Play,' which takes advantage of the Exynos quad-core power to allow heavy multitasking. 'Pop up play,' a feature that allows you to play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web. The Galaxy S III plays a video file on top of any other app in its own window, using the phone's native media player.
Mobile payment is also accessible with the device through Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The gaming experience is enhanced through 'Game Hub,' providing access to social games, while Video Hub brings users TV and movies. Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service. Game Hub, Video Hub and Music Hub will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.
The 3G version of the Galaxy S III will be released in Europe first by the end of May. The 4G vesion will be released in the U.S., Japan and South Korea in the summer. Samsung didn't say which carriers would sell it, but the previous Galaxy model was sold by all four national U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
Specifications
| Network | 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz 3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz 4G (Dependent on market) |
| Display | 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280x720) display |
| OS | Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) |
| Camera | Main(Rear): 8 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter
Lag, BIS Sub (Front): 1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BIS |
| Video | Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson
Spark Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p) |
| Audio | Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X |
| Additional Features |
S Beam, Buddy photo share, Share shot |
| AllShare Play, AllShare Cast | |
| Smart stay, Social tag, Group tag, Face zoom, Face slide show | |
| Direct call, Smart alert, Tap to top, Camera quick access | |
| Pop up play | |
| S Voice | |
| Burst shot & Best photo, Recording snapshot, HDR | |
| Google Mobile Services | Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude Google Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads |
| Connectivity | WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40 GPS/GLONASS NFC Bluetooth® 4.0(LE) |
| Sensor | Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer |
| Memory | 16/ 32GB User memory (64GB available soon) + microSD slot (up to 64GB) |
| Dimension | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133g |
| Battery | 2,100 mAh |
Specifications above may differ on the LTE version.
