After months of rumor and speculation, Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy S device has finally been showcased to the world via London, and yes, it is called the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Having been painstakingly obscured from the public eye, it’s finally been unveiled, and for what it’s worth, looks suspiciously similar to Apple’s iPhone 4S. Of course, Apple will likely accuse it of being a complete rip-off of its flagship device – that, it most certainly isn’t – but the striking resemblance is an ironic twist, given that Samsung overtook its bitter rival to become the number one smartphone manufacturer for Q1 2012.
Speculation demanded a powerhouse, and with the Korean company having already announced the device to be packing a quad core 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor, the accompanying features were always going to be just as extravagant. The display is Samsung’s own 4.8-inch 720p Super AMOLED HD, and judging by what we can see, it’s beautifully crisp. The perfect partner to a high grade display is, of course, a sharp snapper, and Samsung has delivered the goods with an 8-megapixel camera. As we know, a there’s more to a camera than simply the pixel count, but again, the previews suggest the many millions of photo-loving Android users are in for a treat with the Samsung Galaxy S III.
With 1GB of RAM added to the fray, it’s safe to say those using the Galaxy S III are seldom going to be encountering any lag, and you have to feel somewhat for the device’s battery, which will have the unenviable task of keeping all this beefy hardware ticking over.
As expected, the device comes with 4G LTE technology, enabling lighting-quick cellular connections, and at just 8.6 millimeters thick, it’s one of the slimmest Android devices on the market.
Billed by Samsung as the "best in class smartphone in the world," it is once again encased in plastic, and although it is not said to feel as cheap as other Samsung models, it isn’t a match in quality for, say, the HTC One X – a device to which it will undoubtedly draw huge comparisons with. Samsung claims it "it feels like ceramic," but unfortunately, those who’ve encountered it beg to differ. Still, the glossy finish is a lot stronger than we’re used to from the Korean outfit, so those dreaded scratches should be down to a minimum.
The Samsung-manufactured, Google-branded Galaxy Nexus was the last device to really dredge some anticipation from the Android community, although unfortunately, the device didn’t quite live up to its billing. Despite being the first to officially offer Android’s latest Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) OS, its flimsy, cheap design was its Achilles heel.
I’ve seen little from the Samsung Galaxy S III to be really moved by, however it’s larger, thinner, and better than its predecessor, so by virtue, should continue the huge success brought on by the Samsung Galaxy S II.
It will launch in Europe first before trickling out across 145 countries, and Samsung has confirmed that it has partnered with a total of 296 mobile operators for it’s torch-bearing device – rendering it the largest launch Samsung’s history. The first batch of devices will include either 16GB or 32GB of space, although it has been confirmed a 64GB model will be added soon after.
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