Samsung Galaxy S III Launched, Hands-On Testing 107
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."
Has anyone seen... (Score:3)
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I have the 32 GB version in my pocket. But i didn't see the 64GB one here (switzerland)
Re:Has anyone seen... (Score:4, Informative)
Different phone. You have the international, quad-core Exynos, HSPA GT-I9300. This article is about the US-only, dual-core Krait, LTE SGH-I747 (AT&T), SGH-I535 (Verizon) and SGH-T999 (T-Mobile, only HSPA on this version).
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Can't you just upgrade the memory with a microSD? You certainly could with the original Galaxy.
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Yes you can, but as always I guess onboard memory is always faster than external SD cards.
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While this is likely true, I had thought that SDXC cards were supposed to be pretty quick.
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There's no real need to save videos and images straight to the card, so I use it as a media store. Through a USB cable, I'm able to stream 1080p XVID to the TV, so it's plenty fast enough.
The S3 will come and go before my contract runs out. I think I'll wait for the S4....
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In many cases, onboard memory is one of the targets of cost savings. Spend money on a class 10 memory card and you'll likely find it performing better then built in memory.
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Why the Apple comparison? If there's one company known to be the antithesis of vapourware it's got to be Apple - they simply do not announce products unless they are almost ready to ship, and software is only publicly announced if it has a definite internal release date.
Other than the white iPhone (which did eventually ship), I can't think of any vapourware products from Apple, so I'm not really seeing the relevance of mentioning them, unless you were going for a cheap dig, but you're above that, right?
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They have fans because they make great products and they support those products. A iPhone that runs next year's iOS 6 [theverge.com] is only 99 cents. [gottabemobile.com]
Cheap and runs next year's OS? Yes please. Oh wait, no 4.8" OMGLOL screen. Nevermind, because, you know, I buy phones for the hardware, not because it runs the all the apps I want now and next year.
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My 32GB version is scheduled to ship by 7/9. Preordered through Verizon.
I don't believe there has been anyone touting a 64GB version. 32+SD is what I want though. Don't know if I'd pony up another $50-100 for an extra 32GB on board.
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"Official launch"? (Score:5, Informative)
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?
Re:"Official launch"? (Score:4, Interesting)
... plus 4 years for African Countries. I just got my upgrade, the S1 promoted as "the phone" to have.
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Depends on the country, I suppose. In South Africa the S3 has been available for weeks already. Where you you from?
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I believe we get the 4 core version. :) If it there is nothing better, it will be my next phone when my contract expires in September, though there will no doubt be something better by then...
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Yep. Had mine for a few weeks, already had one update and rooted it. Must say I am quite impressed, it is a nice upgrade from the original Galaxy S in terms of speed. The screen is lovely too.
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it's the US launch.
of the shittier specced version.
so "yeehaa".
Re:"Official launch"? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Yeah, Slashdot being a little too US-Centric this time.
This is announcing the launch of the carrier-crippled mutant derpbeasts, not the real I9300.
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Slashdot is being to US centric for a US website that is US centric?
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Slashdot doesn't say anywhere that it's US-centric. In fact most of the articles for the past few months have been about the Raspberry Pi, PirateBay and UK legislation.
I have always assumed it is US, but there's no reason to pretend this is the ONLY launch date in the world, especially not when it's one of the LAST countries to get it.
And when UK-centric sites announce launch dates, even for UK products, they always clarify it if there are other launch dates out there. It's common courtesy. The "Inter" i
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Slashdot doesn't say anywhere that it's US-centric
It used to. Since it was bought by a company though they have removed that bit of knowledge so as not to offend any potential new readers I guess.
Your UID is low enough to have read many postings pointing this out in the past though.
In other parts of the world... (Score:5, Funny)
... 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..
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Same name, different phone. The US model is very different. So, yes, this is an official launch.
Re:In other parts of the world... (Score:5, Funny)
So that's how they're getting around Android fragmentation! Just call everything the same name and model number. No more fragmentation!
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They learned from Microsoft and Apple. If you just name it the same thing, you can make people think it's the same.
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I know right?
I was at a phone store the other day. This sales guy was showing some lady these Android phones, pointing out how one had a 4.5 in screen and keyboard, one had a 3.9 in screen and 3D, one had a 5 in screen and stylus, and so on. I went up, grabbed her away, and yelled 'FFFFFFFRAGMENTATION!' at the top of my lungs, and shoved her to the iPhone section. She ended up buying 500 iPhones for her small business.
Another victory for Apple. Thank god for iPhone.
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Cool story bro.
Also, you fell for it. ;)
Ah, you can tell the real problems with a platform by how touchy the extremely brave anonymous fans are who take the bait when you post a joke about it.
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You're a well known iFanboy. You don't get to make jokes about Android, because we know you're just trolling.
And try making jokes about Apple products and see how quickly the devout fanbase goes nuts over them.
What? That the name "Finder" is an oxymoron, because even Apple realised it didn't work and gave us Spotlight! That sort of thing?
Or how about "feels snappier" as a reply to any update to an Apple product? No? What about posting the Fry "shut up and take my money" meme in discussion threads about upcoming products?
And as far as being a "well known" fanboy - yes, that's what tends to happen when you log in to post and spend a lot of time in a community. How is this a bad thing?
Why don't I get to make jokes a
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One size fits all. Also true for shoes. Don't want to fragment them toes, do we?
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> The US model is very different.
I've read lots of posts that said they "had" to use dualcore "because of LTE", but why, exactly, did the LTE-equipped US models non-negotiably *HAVE* to be dualcore? Is there some insurmountable engineering reason why they couldn't have just slapped a separate LTE radio module onto them, like Sprint has done with all of their high-end phones for the past 3 years to add wimax to them? I mean, did they make prototype SGS3 phone with Exynos, MDM6600, and Beceem LTE chip, the
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Power, size, an cost. Like all engineering, it was a compromise. They chose to optimize those 3 rather than use a separate LTE chipset.
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As all the interweb kids are saying 'misleading title is misleading'.
If the FA is about the US version, then maybe this post should be titled 'US Specific Samsung Galaxy S III Launched'? You know, as the rest of the world has had a Galaxy S III for some time...
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that's how other sites did it..
they specced if it's the at&t or sprint version etc.
improved voice control functionality? (Score:1)
NFC has been on others for a while now (Score:3)
I have a Sony Xperia S, released in January, that does these things already and came with several NFC tags.
Not exactly new really...
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It says 'haven't seen on many', not 'any'. As, in only a few phones have already had it which is true.
I've had mine for about 3 weeks. (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
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Yes, you can adjust the snooze time, and the number of times it lets you snooze.
Having recently moved from the N900 to the Galaxy Note there are a few things I miss, for example Android does not seem to handle multitasking as seamlessly as Maemo did.
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I'm not sure whether IOS, Maemo, or Windows Phone handle it any better, but Android seems to have a real problem dealing specifically with scenarios where the phone has "a network connection", but no actual connectivity that works to "the internet". It's like things check to make sure the phone is "connected", then make blind assumptions based upon it without bothering to consider the possibility that the phone might be connected to:
* a wi-fi access point that's disclaimer-walled. You know, those annoying w
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if I see a call I don't like, just upturn the phone face down, put it on the desk
/me tries that with wife's S2... yep, works just like that!
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Interesting, I was under the impression that was one of the new motion controls! Well ok the notification light is awesome and the little tiny vibrate when you pick it up with a message you haven't checked is just adorable. It just feels /smart/
Re:I've had mine for about 3 weeks. (Score:5, Funny)
Who says Apple users don't know what Swype is? I have been pretty vocal about how much I wish it could be included on the iPhone. I thought it was great.
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An Android phone that you don't want to root? There must be something wrong there. Seriously, I'm green with envy. Just one question. How's the face "lock" feature?
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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.
My Nokia N9 has that. It works for calls and alarms of any kind (clock, calendar).
Only "con" I know of is that there's some issues installing swype to it but that can be gotten around.
Nokia N9 has Swype by default and it works extremely well. Although I thought I would never use it, now I use it for everything.
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One over rated moderation, I love it. Someone is crying in their turtle neck. Post more pictures on instragram fucktard!
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Extensive use the battery is like most smartphones - with such a mammoth screen, they got a mammoth battery. However the HTC One X battery is an utter guzzler for some reaosn.
If you leave the S3 idle without use, it's bloody good - 2days, 7 hours on idle and 37% remaining last weekend (wifi was on) - I find it more than acceptable.
It chews it in use but nothing more excessive than anything else.
I'm going to sex this phone.
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How do you find it compares to your S2
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Enormous? You should try the Note!
And I mean that, you should try it. Got mine a couple of weeks back and I absolutely love the thing. Even at it's enormous size it fits in my pocket fine, and the screen is gorgeous. Also enjoying the handwriting recognition.
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I have a Note (the real international one, the N7000, not AT&T's mutated version) and love it. I would have major issues if I were to ever return to a smaller phone. My Galaxy S II (which has a monster 4.3" screen compared to the iPhone) feels like a tiny little toy now.
Like you, due to how thin the device is, it fits in my pockets without any issue at all. I don't use the stylus that much, but the big screen is wonderful.
Re:I've had mine for about 3 weeks. (Score:5, Interesting)
WalledGalaxy S3
You mean one-click rooted [xda-developers.com] and Cyanogenmod 9 supported [xda-developers.com] and therefore totally open Galaxy S3?
I almost upgraded to the S3 a couple of days ago. Instead I put ICS on my Desire HD. Saved myself £480 in phone tariff charges over the contract term (£10 pcm no minimum term compared to £30pcm 2 year term), and got all of the functionality except for NFC, which I wouldn't use.
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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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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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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!
-AI
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I'll just drop this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw (Galaxy S2 vs iPhone 4 drop test)
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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?
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"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 [youtube.com]
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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.
IT cant be new (Score:1)
Apple havent applied for an injunction to stop it being sold!
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Apple havent applied for an injunction to stop it being sold!
Maybe they haven't released it in East Texas
Hope they put Tizen on this (Score:2)
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.
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you high or not been keeping up? tizen isn't meant to be proper unlocked linux for the user. it's meant to be html5 shitapps. even android is more real and open linux than their plans for tizen(even bada is).
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I must be high. I'm hallucinating you can download the whole codebase here:
https://source.tizen.org/ [tizen.org]
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*tizen isn't meant to be proper unlocked linux for the user.*
For the user, as someone who downloads and tinkers with the source you're in the manufacturer/developer role, not end user! you can get the entire codebase and install it on your device, yes. but the end result is meant to be something hw vendors can bake into their phones and have the user totally unable to install anything, like, a program that would share the 3g connection via wifi.
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I hope your brain explodes messily.
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The predecessor, the S2 is used by developers of boot to gecko.
If you want Qt, wait for the new BlackBerry.
Make sure you like it out-of-the-box (Score:1)
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).
S Voice (Score:1)
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So no, there appears to be no technical reason why it can't work on other phones just business ones.
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Ars Technica's take on it (Score:1)
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