The Samsung Galaxy S III v/S The ‘ IPHONE FAMILY ‘ .
The quadcore processor-powered Samsung Galaxy S3 is big on screen and innovative features, but is it enough to beat Apple's iPhone 4S into submission?
Samsung Galaxy S3 review
Love
- Great screen
- Decent battery life
- Chock-full of features
Hate
- It’s just so big
- Gloss plastic looks low-end
- Some extras seem gimmicky
Update: Our Samsung Galaxy S3 review has grown to accomodate several new videos, which you can watch below.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 follows on from the runaway success that was the Samsung Galaxy S2which won great praise and sold in huge numbers, helping Samsung snag the crown of the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world.
So the new Galaxy had a lot to live up to. It had to be fast, powerful and feature-packed. Oh, and it had to look classy. So, how does it fare?
The S3 has gone big on innovation, with lots of new features the speculation hadn’t dreamed of. But the first thing you notice is the size. Samsung has shown it can make ayo of big screens with the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.
But that’s not a phone, it’s a new breed of device somewhere between a phone and a tablet. Rivals like HTC had been stretching our mitts with 4.7in display blowers such as the HTC One X.
Can the S3 take on HTC's flagship model and is it better than than the Sony Xperia S? And will it have iPhone Family fans defecting to Android? Here's what we thought .
So the new Galaxy had a lot to live up to. It had to be fast, powerful and feature-packed. Oh, and it had to look classy. So, how does it fare?
The S3 has gone big on innovation, with lots of new features the speculation hadn’t dreamed of. But the first thing you notice is the size. Samsung has shown it can make ayo of big screens with the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.
But that’s not a phone, it’s a new breed of device somewhere between a phone and a tablet. Rivals like HTC had been stretching our mitts with 4.7in display blowers such as the HTC One X.
Can the S3 take on HTC's flagship model and is it better than than the Sony Xperia S? And will it have iPhone Family fans defecting to Android? Here's what we thought .
Samsung Galaxy S3: Build
The S3 has a 4.8in display and it's certainly big. It’s a slim phone from front to back so it’s more manageable than you might think, but even so.
Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. It’s like a smooth, flat worry stone that you can roll seamlessly through your fingers. A matte finish wouldn’t have felt as good.
Though some will feel that the glossy coat looks a bit, well, plasticky. But it feels appealingly shiny and reassuringly solid despite a removable battery.
Where rivals like the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC One X have maximised battery life by sealing it inside, and thus created a flex-free handset, the S3 is pleasingly non-creaky, no matter how you hold it.
Sometimes a new phone is only a gentle upgrade over the last model, but the S3 is streets ahead of the S2. It’s not quite as slim, though at 8.6mm it’s just a tenth of a millimetre fatter and it lacks the earlier phone’s bulge.
And it’s still thinner than the HTC One X, Motorola RAZR Maxx, iPhone 4S and many others. In terms of other important stats - it's 70.6mm across, 136.6mm long and weighs 133g
Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. It’s like a smooth, flat worry stone that you can roll seamlessly through your fingers. A matte finish wouldn’t have felt as good.
Though some will feel that the glossy coat looks a bit, well, plasticky. But it feels appealingly shiny and reassuringly solid despite a removable battery.
Where rivals like the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC One X have maximised battery life by sealing it inside, and thus created a flex-free handset, the S3 is pleasingly non-creaky, no matter how you hold it.
Sometimes a new phone is only a gentle upgrade over the last model, but the S3 is streets ahead of the S2. It’s not quite as slim, though at 8.6mm it’s just a tenth of a millimetre fatter and it lacks the earlier phone’s bulge.
And it’s still thinner than the HTC One X, Motorola RAZR Maxx, iPhone 4S and many others. In terms of other important stats - it's 70.6mm across, 136.6mm long and weighs 133g
Samsung Galaxy S3: Screen
The One Major Disadvantage For The S III Is It Vertical Length ! |
Video playback on a mobile is always a questionable priority – if you can’t watch on a TV, a tablet makes much more sense – but with 4.8ins of high-resolution Super AMOLED screen with its vivid colours and contrasty blacks, this makes it more of a possibility than before.
The screen resolution is identical to the HTC One X, so the pixels per inch aren’t quite as high on this slightly bigger screen, but both displays look lush and inviting, with this one winning in terms of bright, rich colours.
The IPhone Family
The iPhone 4S caught many by surprise, with Apple expected to release the iPhone 5 - but instead we got an iPhone 4 with overhauled innards.While the masses were initially disappointed, the iPhone 4S features a glut of top-end tech that is designed to put it on a par with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 - but does it manage to do that?
The changes to the iPhone 4S are easy to document - the camera has been upgraded to 8MP (with an improved aperture ratio), the CPU is now the same dual-core A5 processor as seen in the iPad 2, and a seven time increase in graphical processing power.
Also we've got Siri, Apple's voice recognition service - will this be a game changer for mobile phones or will it be nothing more than a gimmick?
As we've mentioned, the iPhone 4S is almost identical in outward design to the iPhone 4, which might irk those that like to show that they've got the most up to date device from Apple when out and about with friends.
However, the flip side of this is that things like the plethora of iPhone 4 covers on the market at the moment will still fit.
Apple has slightly changed the design of the iPhone 4S somewhat though, by changing to a dual-band aerial design, making sure it doesn't encounter an embarrassing repeat of antenna-gate we had to endure with the iPhone 4.
For all those that haven't seen the older version of the phone, we'll take you on a tour of the new handset: the top of the iPhone 4S houses the power/lock button, as well as the headphone jack, plus a microphone for noise cancellation.
The right-hand side of the phone is devoid of any buttons, but holds the slot for the micro SIM card, which pops out using the included tool (or a paperclip).
We Have Not Seen Something 'Boom - Pow !' By Apple Since Jobs Has Left .This Has Had A Major Impact On The 'Iphone' Factor . |
The bottom of the phone is pretty standard, with the Apple connector and dual speakers which pump out the (actually quite decent) sound.
The left-hand side of the phone sees the rounded volume keys, with the top one of these also acting as the camera shutter button to make it easy to snap with the new iPhone. We've also got the silencer switch too, which has been slightly moved upwards from the previous iteration.It Feels Awesome When It is In My Hand !
The Siri Feature In Iphone Feature Is The Limelight Of This Phone ! |
As you can see, Apple has altered its antenna band technology to move the gaps that plagued the iPhone 4's reception to a less-touchable location.
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