Home
›
News
›
Samsung Galaxy S III coverage complete roundup

Samsung Galaxy S III coverage complete roundup

Posted: 04 May 2012, 08:20, by Daniel P.

Categories: Accessories Accessories Samsung Samsung Articles Articles Android Android Picks Picks Release dates Release dates Official Official Processors Processors Bookmark

Discuss 39

Samsung Galaxy S III coverage complete roundup

We put together a complete summary of our Samsung Galaxy S III coverage so far to ease your transition into the universe of Samsung's newest flagship Android handset.

The hype before, during and after the event has been unprecedented, with the phone itself probably being the most secretive device in Samsung's history. We can only imagine such a brouhaha to happen this year around the next iPhone launch, so there is a lot to follow.

In the end, what was revealed is an Android ICS handset with a 4.8" HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos 4412 or a Snapdragon S4 processor for the US, an 8MP camera with all the bells and whistles, and removable battery plus a microSD card slot, so the handset will be future-proof at least until the Cortex-A15 processors go into phones next year en masse.

Props to Samsung for not focusing on the hardware that much, but on a more holistic approach that tries to ease the way you actually communicate with your phone. It introduced the Natural Interaction concept with the Galaxy S III - the S Voice, Smart Stay and eye-tracking technologies that are supposed to marry speakers, sensors and microphones into one big happy family that bows to your wishes.

The AllShare and S Beam functions stress on the social and communicative nature of the phone, while innovative features like the Pop up Play picture-in-picture video mode got seamlessly integrated into the new TouchWiz Nature UX interface, which, however, still won't wow the stock Android UI purists.

Take a walk down memory lane for everything that happened around the grand unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S III via the links, and check a collection of our own extensive video coverage in the slideshow below:

Samsung Galaxy S III Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S III is finally officially announced

Samsung Galaxy S III release date is set for May 29th, June for USA

Samsung "next GALAXY" Unpacked event: Liveblog

Watch the whole Samsung Galaxy S III launch event here

Samsung Galaxy S III official Samsung preview

Samsung Galaxy S III may not have quad-core in the US models

Samsung Galaxy S III - see its rivals side by side

Samsung Galaxy S III vs HTC One X vs Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S: spec comparison

Samsung Galaxy S III comes with a PenTile matrix: screen comparison

Samsung lifts cover off official Galaxy S III accessories: impresses with Wireless Charging Kit

U.S. sign-up page for the Samsung Galaxy S III up and running

Carphone Warehouse pegs the Samsung Galaxy S III price at $809 with a free Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung Galaxy S III first ad is out: "designed for humans," not aliens

Samsung Galaxy S III beats everything in graphics and browsing benchmarks

Which feature do you like most in the Samsung Galaxy S III?

How close did the rumor mongers get to the actual Samsung Galaxy S III specs?

Flipboard for Android to be a Galaxy S III exclusive...for now

Dropbox partnership will give Samsung Galaxy S III customers 50GB of cloud storage for free

Samsung Galaxy S III coverage complete roundup

1. Samsung Galaxy S III Hands-on

2. Samsung Galaxy S III vs HTC One X vs Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S: spec comparison

Save for the screen’s use of PenTile technology, the Galaxy S III seems to live up to the high expectations. But how does it fare against the competition? We’ve put its specs against the current Android high-fliers - the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung itself and the HTC One X. We’ve also included the evergreen iPhone 4S to paint a clearer picture and, finally, we’ve also included the SGS II, so you can see the differences between the two fast and easy.

3. Samsung Galaxy S III rocks Quadrant, AnTuTu and NenaMark 2 benchmark tests

While we were checking out the Galaxy S III for the first time, we made the extra effort to install a few benchmark applications in order to see just how good that fancy new processor is.

We run our standard set - Quadrant Standard, AnTuTu and NenaMark 2. In the video below you'll find all the details, as well as the results from our tests. Anyone wanting to try and guess how the Galaxy S III scored? (Hint: It ROCKZ!)

4. TouchWiz Nature UX Overview on the Galaxy S III (video)

With the Samsung Galaxy S III the Android phone maker introduced the newest version of its interface overlay over Ice Cream Sandwich called TouchWiz Nature UX. Nature, of course, hints at the Natural Interaction capabilities of the handset, which are a centerpiece of Samsung's new strategy for a holistic approach towards hardware and software.

TouchWiz is more streamlined here in the Galaxy S III, and at the same time has gained plenty of new features like the S Voice communication user-phone, the ability to watch a video picture-in-picture while doing something else, and many other innovative features.

5. Samsung Galaxy S III: Pop up Play feature demo

Have you ever wanted to watch a video while you are doing something else on your phone, picture-in-picture style? Well, now you can, thanks to the Pop up Play feature in the new Samsung Galaxy S III.

With it you can text, chat or email, and have the video window on top of things, so you can comment on it at the same time, how cool is that? Of course, with a 4.8" screen you have plenty of real estate to do that, then go back to full screen mode to enjoy the video on the HD Super AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

6. Samsung Galaxy S III: S Voice feature demo

The Samsung Galaxy S III comes with not just one, but many new little software additions that combined together make a difference. One that stands out among them is S Voice, a Siri-like service, that allows you to use your phone as a personal assistant you can speak to. It uses natural language processing, so you don’t have to shout out automated commands - it will understand your natural sentence.

7. Samsung Galaxy S III: Burst Shot/Best Photo camera features demo

Samsung is bringing the 8MP camera module on the Galaxy S III in line with the sub-second times of phones like the Xperia S, iPhone 4S, and the HTC One series, but it has introduced a number of new camera features as well.

The back-illuminated sensor on the phone is capable of a Burst shot mode, that can shoot 6 frames per second, compared to 4 on the HTC One series, up to 20 frames in total.

In Best Photo mode the phone takes 8 shots at that speed, and afterwards you can let the software decide which one of those is the best looking, and keep it for you, or you can do it yourself - this is present with those HTC ImageChip new One phones as well, so Sammy is just playing catch up here. Nevertheless, with the 1080p video recording and those new modes, the handset will be future-proof in the camera department for a while.

8. Samsung Galaxy S III: S Beam feature demo

So basically, S Beam works just like Android Beam - you tap the two phones, hold for a second until the tap is registered, and then tap on the file you want to share. The other party has to accept the transfer and that’s it. No pairing, no lengthy setup, you’re off with the transfer and you can watch/play/open the file right away.

Samsung says that S Beam will allow Galaxy S III phones to exchange a 1GB movie for three minutes and a 10MB music file for two seconds, and it all works even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. Now, those speeds are achieved using Wi-Fi Direct, but if you look at NFC transfers, it’s much slower and in reality is closer to Bluetooth speeds. If the person you send a file to doesn’t have Wi-Fi on, S Beam will be smart enough to turn it on for the transfer and off when it’s done.

The bad news? S Beam pairs only Galaxy S III phones, and no others, so compatibility is pretty limited. We’ve tried the feature in London, but couldn’t quite get it to work - still here’s a video of our attempt and the S Beam interface.

9. Samsung Galaxy S III: AllShare feature demo

The AllShare app that manages the DLNA functionality has been present on Samsung's handsets for a while now, but in the Galaxy S III it gets taken to a whole new level.

Samsung is using Wi-Fi Direct connectivity in AllShare now for a complete set of categories like AllShare Cast for video streaming, AllShare Play for file sharing, and Group Cast for sharing screens with multiple other devices on the same Wi-Fi network, pretty cool.

The camera department is not forgotten either - the Buddy Photo Share sends photos directly to the people whose faces it's recognized after you take the shot, for example, and you can set it to be automatic. There will be an SDK for application developers to take advantage of the new AllShare possibilities.

Don't have a DLNA TV? Fret not, as Samsung is providing an All Share dongle that steps directly on the HTC Media Link HD accessory's toes. Watch our demo of the AllShare services that come with the Samsung Galaxy S III in the video below.

Discuss39

Prev news
RIM shares hit 8 year low, drop 15% after release of Alpha Developer's 04 May

Next news
Samsung Galaxy S III to launch in India on June 10th 04 May

Related phones

Samsung Galaxy S III

Specifications
News (124)
Review
User Reviews

Discussions (7)
Photos
Size it
360°
Manual

39 Comments
Follow Following

Post Comment
View options
Close
Show comments: Display mode:

1. mercorp posted on 04 May 2012, 08:27 5 0

GALAXNITY.

2. A.aoudi posted on 04 May 2012, 08:37 10 7

The phone of the year is finally here. Take a good look at it Steve Wozniak it owns your Lumia 900 in every way.

25. WirelessCon posted on 04 May 2012, 13:32 1 6

Phone of the year? Not the S3. And I thought Samsung could do no wrong. This handset is 4 months too late to be important.

3. Tmachaveli posted on 04 May 2012, 08:50 10 3

I like the phone but I been reading a lot of people's comments that it wasn't what they thought it would be or it didn't live up to the "hype". Well I got news for you Samsung never hype this phone up the people who make comments on this website did. This is a upgrade to the S2 and the phone beats it in every way don't get mad at it because it didn't have every single thing know to man in it. Some people say it's ugly well dont buy it then real simple huh. A bunch of people on here are just big babies because it didn't have a plus with the screen or its to plastic again blah blah blah. I'm not a Samsung fanboy I just hate to see people get all worked up over nothing. At the end of the day it's still a phone people seem to forget that

6. wendygarett posted on 04 May 2012, 09:08 6 1

Still, I hope its not a final design
XP

18. jcpwn2004 posted on 04 May 2012, 10:46 1 3

Interesting....Beats the s2 in everyway? I'll take the design of the s2. I'm pretty sure they're both going to have dual core in the US. Same camera....So tell me besides the junky pentile display what's so great about this phone? I'd rather save a couple hundred bucks and wait for ICS on my s2.

Oh and samsung did hype this event, you must have not seen the adds making from of sheep.

This is a similar launch as the iphone 4s which was a crappy upgrade also. Only blind sheep from both platforms would think otherwise.

The difference with andriod is we used to demand the best...

22. Lboogey6 posted on 04 May 2012, 12:10 5 1

i need you to tell me how the phone isnt an upgrade? dude when your eyes become superhuman tell me when you're going to need a res that high. the potential for a quad core model in the us is still here and have you not seen what the phone was capable of ? theres nothing new about the one x at all. soo you need a list
s voice
direct call
pop up video
bigger battery also removable
additional memory
touch wiz is very fluid
benchmark scores beating everything hands down
eye detection
speak to wake up
led notification
camera lens is wider zero shutter lag.
social tag
id go on but your probably still looking for a phone that can cook clean and drive you to work

27. jcpwn2004 posted on 04 May 2012, 13:55 1 3

Actually no, I think that me and most people just wanted a nice new design, a better camera, and an all around smoother and better performing phone.

So no I don't care about most of the features you mentioned and I definitely don't want a phone that can cook and clean, seems like you do on the other hand.

This comment is posted in response to #22 Show

This comment is posted in response to #22 Hide

31. gkostadinov posted on 05 May 2012, 11:18 2 0

Why do you think the camera isn't better? You think that a 14MP camera shoots better pictures than the 8MP one? And that Nokia's nMP phones make the best pictures? You must be joking...
As for the design, everyone's got a taste. I personally don't like S2's square design.

This comment is posted in response to #27 Show

This comment is posted in response to #27 Hide

32. SonyFTW2020 posted on 05 May 2012, 17:36 0 0

NO NO NO man, Coming from the "MIGHTY S2" or so they say, This phone SHOULD HAVE been what people were expecting and I think we all know that!! The people that aren't admiting it was a let down, are the ones that DONT want to be let down, so they pic what they like about it and say its good...While this phone IS better than the S2, it still should have been "UnMatchable" AND worth upgrading too! People are most likely going to stay with there S2....AND heres the kicker, later on this year, about two months from now phones like the iphone 5, The Sony Xperia Hayabusa, and the Motorola Atrix 3 will DEFINTELY show you where The S3 fell short lol!! Not hating man its just the truth.....Samsung is up right now because it is the first of the Flagships this year but man o man like i said in about JUST two more months Samsung will almost be out the picture....

4. intos posted on 04 May 2012, 09:01 7 9

there are many people waiting for galaxy s3 to deside between htc one x and galaxy s3 ...without a doupt the clear winner is the htc one x...

8. bobfreking55 posted on 04 May 2012, 09:14 6 3

nah not really. can't you all guys admit that we gave this phone too much hype? there are advantages and disadvantages, like a removable battery, sd card slot, exynos and all the software though.
the design, UI and screen is subjective. cameras, we've yet to discover. and there is actually a lot of new stuff not found on other phones like wireless charging and the voice commands and all the nature something (which I don't quite like lol)

we overhyped for the galaxy s3 like the poor iPeople with their 4S...
at least we made it a little more accurate though.

and... stop comparing the One X and S III. Stop making androids fight each other. :)

12. wendygarett posted on 04 May 2012, 09:24 3 1

Android fight each other make me more envious as an iphone4s user :(
I cant even fight with those beast just to be honest

23. Lboogey6 posted on 04 May 2012, 12:13 1 0

why? no one has replied so im still waiting how the one x is a "Clear" winner this phone has everything it does and more.

30. intos posted on 04 May 2012, 17:05 1 2

between the samsung and htc ... htc has make the big step for this year... the UI is very friently with the new sense ... also the car mode ... the design is really sexy ... special the white model.... and the screen is really FANTASTIC !!!

5. wendygarett posted on 04 May 2012, 09:04 6 1

It looks like 'Apple vs Samsung' is over. Im quitting this pointless sheeps war. :)
Right now 'HTC vs Sony' is the real deal here.
Im looking forward the verizon's sense 5.0 phablet and hayabusa...
Not just in term of spec...
I want to see more about design, beats audio vs walkman reborn, good ui, etc.
I wonder... will international oneX upgradable to sense 5.0? another question for HTC

Without looking for the pointless concept, pointless rumor, and pointless leaked, I say Samsung has built a wonderful good-looking phone (screw you cnet!!! Is that what you called an incremental updates?) If you really like exynos, I'll fully support and recommend you to purchase it (eventhough I wont buy it lol), but dont regret after you bought it when you see another f**king beauty exynos phone. After all, no phone is perfect phone :)

9. bobfreking55 posted on 04 May 2012, 09:17 5 0

they just released Sense 4.0, you're going to at least wait 6 months or more before Sense 5...

and yeah, I agree with you. Sony's rising. I'm expecting cybershot cameras, walkman, bravia and all their technology in their next flagship...

would be cool if they considered the next nexus... oh wait it just came to me...

RUMORS FOR THE NEXT NEXUS START NOW! Lol.

7. yt6nin posted on 04 May 2012, 09:11 4 0

I love Android, but I also like the iPhone 4S in many ways as well. Just physically, does it seem to be inferior once laying my hands and eyes on the various Android devices out there. I must give it to Apple for producing the iPhones with beauty though. Now, for the SGSIII, I was extremely hyped about this upcoming "flagship" phone from Samsung, but I was only hyped from the rumors that were yet to be scratched by Samsung and the truth. I was hoping for the RGB Matrix screen with Super AMOLED HD Plus display, a 12MP, and possibly a quad-core processor with a little help of 2GB of RAM. If anything, the screen display (both the RGB and AMOLED HD Plus) would have been real nice with the 2GB of RAM, or even a little more than 1GB for that matter. The MP isn't a must have upgrade, but would've been a nice area for improvement over the last two Galaxy Models (SGSII and Skyrocket). Actually, I feel like this is more of like the Skyrocket HD since it's going to have a HD screen, LTE, but not in reality. Whatever happened to the Skyrocket HD??? It was mentioned, but I guess won't be hitting the produciton line and shelves, unless Samsung really plans on producing them... Anyways, for me this smartphone will be a true upgrade from my HTC Inspire 4G, and all I can do is wait from my upgrade to come any sooner... I can't wait, all these new high-end smartphones are really making me impatient. Samsung has failed to satisfy and meet all of my desires for a true upgrade and improvement from the SGSII, but still has done a great job where the room for upgrade was needed, imho, with all due respect. I just wish there was a little more, but I guess that's just me being a little too greedy. Well we all know what to expect from the next "flagship" or the true "flagship" smartphone from Samsung within the next couple of months to a year!

28. Non_Sequitur posted on 04 May 2012, 15:13 1 0

Yeah. I am a die-hard Android fanboy because of all of the incredible things that Android can do. However, I have to admit the design of the iPhone 4S is beautiful. It really is a beautiful phone.