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Samsung Galaxy S III Launched, Hands-On Testing
MojoKid writes "One of the most highly anticipated Android phones of the year is the Samsung Galaxy S III, and its official launch is today. This smartphone comes with a number of new features we haven't seen on many Android phones, including improved voice control functionality, new sharing features, and Near Field Communication features. Those include Samsung's new TecTiles, which are programmable NFC tags you can use to control the phone's many features and functions. For example, you can program a TecTile to automatically change phone settings for a particular location, send a text message, open apps, etc. Samsung's S Voice functionality works much the same way as Apple's Siri: you can use plain English to tell the phone what you want it to do. You can set alarms, update your social networks, get navigation instructions and ask basic questions. During tests with the Galaxy S III, the performance and accuracy with S Voice was comparable to Siri on an iPhone 4S. Performance-wise, the Galaxy S III handled well in the benchmarks, with Qualcomm's dual-core SnapDragon S4 offering a very fluid experience across Samsung's 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display."
Where are the alleged 32GB and 64GB versions? They were announced along with the 16GB versions, but may be no more than attractive vapor to draw in customers (it nearly worked on me, but all the vendors say they only have 16GB models).
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Funny, I've had four of them in my office for about a week now, with the brief of setting them up with our Google Apps for Educators accounts.
We didn't do anything special, just rang up our normal mobile supplier and they gave us four business contracts and posted the phones out same day.
Official launch in the US, maybe?
... the Galaxy S3 has been available for a while already. The USA is not the center of the world is this is not an "Official launch" but merely a "local one".
I know, it must be hard for once, not to be the first on the line.
Try to bear with it..
How can something that "works much the same way as Apple's Siri" be an improvement, when Siri is supposedly just a lame copy of Android voice control?
I have a Sony Xperia S, released in January, that does these things already and came with several NFC tags.
Not exactly new really...
Disclaimer: I'm an ex iphone user who switch to Android 18 months ago.
I love it, I goddamn love this thing, I upgraded from a Galaxy S2 - knowing it was kind of a very unecessary upgrade but I can't help it, I guess I got "must have latest" from being an ex Apple person.
So at first I thought, ok it's prettier and bigger but it seems quite similar to my Galaxy S2 - but the subtleties have grown on me.
I specifically like the motion based silence mode, if I see a call I don't like, just upturn the phone face down, put it on the desk - silenced, love that.
Battery life is really bloody good, better than I expected.
Pentile screen, I was shitting myself, worried I'd hate it - don't notice a thing, it's great.
People claim there's some high end audio chip and music is better in the thing, it SEEMS better but that could be a placebo.
I have tiny tiny little hands and found the S2 I could only just hold - however the S3 despite being larger, is about the same due to the curved corners, it's still one hand-able - not easy but possible. I also figured before hand, we're going to 2 hand if we like it or not as the 'all in one' tricorder, tablet, phone, portable tv player, electronic wallet merges - so I have to deal with bigger eventually.
It's fast (duh) - and even on 3G on a good network (Telstra Australia) - surprisingly damned fast.
Only "con" I know of is that there's some issues installing swype to it but that can be gotten around. (it FASCINATES me that Apple users don't know what this is, as far as I'm concerned there is no other alternative on a touchscreen, PERIOD - swype is without question leaps and bounds ahead of other keyboards - hunt and peck keyboards to me are like watching newbies type, it's ghastly!)
I seriously can't think of a thing wrong with it. I was enamoured with my iphone 3G when I got my first smartphone, my 3GS was incremental as an upgrade, my Iphone 4 was bloody pretty in style and the screen - but then my switch to a HTC HD2 was also quite impressive and my Galaxy S2 - but none of them have impressed and continue to impress me like this. I love the weight and size, it feels completely right. Complaints about "plastic phones" being awful are ludicrous, the S2 pulled it off as does the S3 - it weighs less, less inertia, lighter in the pocket - less chance of damage when dropped. Nope it's just great.
... that they feel so goddamn flimsy. I like the weight and robust feel to my iPhone, it's one of the most satisfying aspects to it. Every time i hold a Galaxy S i feel like i have to be careful with it. I've dropped my iphone from a decent height on numerous occasions and it's practically spotless and faultless.
Are the Samsungs equally good at resisting falls?
Apple havent applied for an injunction to stop it being sold!
Lend me yours and I will let you know.
The fact that the plastic casing may take some damage may be a plus. Only old cars have metal bumpers, as plastics are impact absorbent, and its not the end of the world if you have to replace one.
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A proper, unlocked Linux. Probably still as slow as Dalvik but with enough horsepower to be a worthy upgrade to my N900. And hey, maybe someone will port Qt.
Also, plastic weights almost nothing compared to, say, glass.
This is important because most impacts will be due to dropping it, and the energy thus imparted is determined by (mass * height * gravity)
Yeah, and iPhone feels so goddamn flimsy compared to my decade old, 1 pound Motorola. I like the weight and robust feel to my moto, it's one of the most satisfying aspects to it. Every time i hold an iPhone i feel like i have to be careful with it. I've dropped my Moto from a decent height on numerous occasions and it's practically spotless and faultless.
I'll just drop this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw (Galaxy S2 vs iPhone 4 drop test)
Only old cars have metal bumpers, as plastics are impact absorbent, and its not the end of the world if you have to replace one.
Is that why they went to plastic? Silly me. I thought is was the cost and weight benefits. Now I learn that they were looking out for my safety.
I've got a warm fuzzy feeling now.
Up to 15/17 hours 3G/LTE, where other carriers are up to 8-9 hours (3G/LTE unspecified)? I am skeptical of their numbers. Same proc, same battery. What's going on here?
I've dropped my S2 on to hard laminate flooring more than once. No damage.
It's just over 6 months old, lives in my pocket (no coins or keys), no protective cover, not a single scratch.
I'm sure they are breakable, but I know they can take some abuse.
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my beef is they don't work. The original galaxy S' gps doesn't work. At all. Rooted though, it tethers nicely. Can we still tether on the new one?
I've dropped my Epic 4G (GS1) on numerous occasions and haven't had a single problem. That was 22 months ago, and my contract is up on July 1st. GS3 for me!
"Are the Samsungs equally good at resisting falls?" - Because of their light weight and the superior strength-to-weight ratio of plastics, Samsungs have traditionally smoked Apple in drop tests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
My Galaxy Tab 10.1 is still sitting with Android 3, with nothing but rumors of a 4.0 update for more than 6 months. I'd only buy an S III if I was 100% happy with the way it is today, not how it might be with Androi 5, etc. (which may never come to this device).
In terms of CPU this phone is not that much faster than the previous ones. I wonder if it would be any way to install some of it's apps like the S Voice on the older phones - like S2 or Galaxy Nexus.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-hands-on-fast-thin-and-a-little-bit-cheap-feeling/
Plastic casing may be a little fragile but impact absorbent. The screen is Gorilla Glass 2.0 so it is very tough and should handle impacts and such very well. It is all detailed in the FA :P
Hell yeah. They're a lot tougher than they look. My sister-in-law gave me her Galaxy S when she switched providers (it's a Fascinate - Verizon); she had apparently dropped it hard, many times, as the edges - especially the top left where the USB port is- are not just scratched, they're chipped up.
The thing runs like a champ though, the display is almost perfect (it's fine from the falls it took, but she burnt the screen in having the brightness all the way up too long )-: ), and all ports are good.
I'll probably stick with this for a while, it does what I need, and hey, it was free ('cept for the data plan of course) and runs most apps fine. That said, I'd love to have a Galaxy Note.. that size is appealing. I wonder when they'll release a Note II?
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Did May call and ask for their SIII launch back?
I've had one so long I'm a bit bored with it. Anyway, the HTC One X has a much better overall feel (not the silly North American version though).
I've read articles that bash this shiny new gizmo for a multitude of reasons, but the one that stands out is that (yet again) Samsung
has done something to hose the Android OS from it's full potential. Of course this is the case with all the other manufacturers of phones, and in this case, this instance was the "golden child" which shouldn't have mattered which carrier you got the phone on- which really is a
first for the non-iOS users.
For the Android fans, SWYPE is known and sucks for the most part still - similar to the now antiquated Palm language with a stylus of old.
As for the falls and spills - might wanna look that up and the damage compared to a 4s - it's not pretty despite it's thinness, lightness and
in-hand feel
They went to plastic cos the slightest touch and it breaks, and they can sell you a new one.
Long long ago, bumpers were required to survive a 4mph impact without damage. The auto manufacturers lobbied to have the law removed so that disposable bumpers could be used "on safety grounds".
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This is OLD news. Already Launched in Europe and Australia.
Just because the USA is so behind everyone else - doesnt make it news.
Yeah, and iPhone feels so goddamn flimsy compared to my decade old, 1 pound Motorola. I like the weight and robust feel to my moto, it's one of the most satisfying aspects to it. Every time i hold an iPhone i feel like i have to be careful with it. I've dropped my Moto from a decent height on numerous occasions and it's practically spotless and faultless.
How's the concrete where it landed? I bet it left a nick!
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Dropped my S1 about 5 times down concrete stairs bouncing off walls not to mention all the cobblestone and asphalt it has had to deal with. Sure the rim has some minor dents and scratches, the plastic isn't as shiny as it used to be and the screen has a few microscopic scratches (from some nasty type of fine construction sand not any metal objects). Tried banging the screen on an oak table corner a few times when drunk (to show off) and on one occasion dulled a less solid table corner with the same party trick.
I won't try any of that with the S3 but will find out for sure what will it take to break the S1 (aside dropping it to an urinal which fried the usb data, made the microphone act a bit funny at times and rendered the GPS aerial quite useless on a city street).
Would love to see a bit more scientific drop test video of the S3 than the one everyone's referring to. Just to feel safe (or not).