Guest PaulOBrien Posted May 3, 2012 Report Posted May 3, 2012 First came the disappointment of the Mobile World Congress no-show, then the inevitable build-up of hype to deafening levels and now - the actual details of Samsung's new flagship. But do they live up to expectations and will you be standing in line for one?<br /> <br /> First of all, let's talk about the specs. The rumours haven't been far off, so there aren't any real surprises... the S3 packs:<br /> 4.8" Super AMOLED display at 720p resolution (Pentile Matrix)<br />1.4GHz Quad Core Exynos / Qualcomm S4 (dependent on market)<br />3G and LTE versions<br />Android 4.0 ICS with TouchWiz 'Natural UX'<br />8 megapixel camera<br />2 megapixel front-facing camera<br />16 / 32GB storage (64GB to follow) with microSD slot<br />Bluetooth 4.0 support<br />High-throughput 40MHz 802.11n Wi-Fi with 'WiFi channel bonding'<br />NFC<br />MHL-HDMI<br />6 different sensors<br />2,100 MAh removable battery with an optional wireless charging kit<br />136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm and 133g <br />Capacitive buttons for back, home and menu(?)<br />Polycarbonate shell with 'Hyperglaze', shown in white and dark blue. Hardware aside, Samsung are making a big push on software enhancements including...<br /> Touchwiz with 'Natural UX' and nature based sounds<br />A HTC One rivalling image experience... with burst and best shot like modes. 3.3 shots per second in burst, less than 1 second to open the camera application.<br />Face tracking to avoid turning off the screen when you are looking at it<br />S-Voice 'responds to your every word'... nothing like Siri, no no no... it gets information, organises your schedule and tells you the weather, but it's NOT Siri. OK? :)<br />You can put the phone to your face and say a name to call, it senses that movement.<br />Social Tag recognises faces of your friends, and links people from the gallery directly to their social media accounts.<br />Enhanced 'AllShare' for sharing content amongst groups.<br />Information lockscreen<br />Pop out play lets you resize video into a small 'pop out' always-on-top windows. Quite cool that.<br />Games, video and music hubs (17 million songs!).<br />Drive-link connection to a car head unit using 'mirror-link' technology - interesting!<br />S-Help - personal wellness. Healthcare data from appropriate products. I wonder if it's ANT?<br />Full range of audio and video codecs<br />50GB Dropbox storage for 2 years<br /> Samsung also have an enterprise play - strengthened security, enhanced mobile device management and virtualisation of mobile devices to support BYOD.<br /> <br /> Accessories wise, an 'AllShare Cast Dongle' looks VERY much like the HTC MediaLink HD accessory... whether it goes over and above DLNA remains to be seen! A 'C Pen' stylus is also offered. Flip covers, desk and car docks, battery charging stand as well as that wireless charging kit, HDMI adaptor, 'S Pebble' MP3 player... (wut?) are also on the list of acessories.<br /> <br /> The device is going to be sold by all of the UK networks (predictably), with pricing TBC, shipping in Europe on 29th May!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Click here to view the item
Guest Zahid Posted May 4, 2012 Report Posted May 4, 2012 Is it just me, or does anyone else think that after all the hype, the design is a let-down? I was expecting more eye-candy.
Guest FatherD Posted May 4, 2012 Report Posted May 4, 2012 Hmm .. My Nexus just sighed in relief .. no ebay just yet :D
Guest Webreaper Posted May 5, 2012 Report Posted May 5, 2012 Have to say, the storage is the winner for me. Getting a 32GB device and being able to stick in another 32/48GB relatively cheaply makes it awsome for music and films on the move. Paul, when you do your big review, can you comment on how much TouchWiz is embedded deeply? I won't be using the stock ICS launcher, email, SMS, etc (I tend to use Go Ex) so would be interested to know if TouchWiz will even be visible in that sort of setup. :)
Guest rferrett Posted May 5, 2012 Report Posted May 5, 2012 I was initially slightly disappointed. Then excited. Now I have pre-ordered one!
Guest thla Posted May 5, 2012 Report Posted May 5, 2012 I was initially slightly disappointed. Then excited. Now I have pre-ordered one! Yeah, for me the perfect SGS3 would've been same hardware but basically Galaxy Nexus design, or the SGS3 design but with no physical buttons (capacative or display buttons)
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