Red Letter Daze

I just replaced my mobile phone and am so pleased with it I thoguht I would tell you all about it! The phone I went for was the Galaxy S3, I had been thinking of getting the S2 but then the S3 came out and I was impressed by the additional features over and above the S2, which was already more than a match for the iPhone (in my opinion), so, if you are looking for a high end phone I strongly suggest you check this out!

For the Galaxy S3, Samsung decided on an oval shape, making the phone smooth and comfortable to hold, as well as impeccably stylish. Designed with chrome details and a choice of either a dark blue or white casing, with a physical home button under the screen and touch-sensitive menu and back keys, the overall appearance of the phone is a triumph. As with many of Samsung’s models, the 4.8-inch screen provides the main source of appeal for the phone and is the major selling point of the S3. It is one of the biggest screens available at the moment and is truly stunning, which is to be expected when it comes with a resolution of 1,280×720. This, and the HD Super AMOLED technology make the display bright, vibrant and give it great clarity. An issue that can also be found with other Samsung models, the screen can appear over saturated at times, although some may not notice this or find it to be a problem, and it doesn’t particularly detract from the beautiful display.

With an 8-megapixel camera, the photo and video capabilities of the S3 are pretty much the same as that of the S2, but with the addition of an incredibly fast response to pressing the shutter, the ability to take still images while you’re recording video and a feature that will suggest your best shot based on factors such as smile detection and face recognition. This update in the technology helps Samsung to rival the models being brought out that focus on the cameras ability, and its major competitor at the moment, the iPhone 4S. They also make taking photos easier and mean that the great results you will achieve given the quality of the camera can be further enhanced. There’s a 1.9-megapixel camera on the front of the S3, which is useful for video calling, but also features new face detection technology, which will stop the phone’s screen from dimming as long as you’re looking at it, called the smart stay feature. If this works as it should it will be a useful feature and is sure to give Samsung a great advantage.

The following video has a test of the camera on the S3, pretty good, though youtube cannot render HD (as far as I know)

The 1.4 GHz quad-core processor is really quite amazing. You can demand pretty much whatever you want of the phone and still get speedy results. It performs slickly and seamlessly even with multiple and demanding programmes running. The powerful processor can tear slickly through graphically demanding apps and games, without any distracting lags or delays. The screen is very responsive, owing to both the great touchscreen technology and the fast processor. Samsung have also included a large memory as you can opt for a Galaxy S3 with huge 64GB storage, and the phone also has a microSD slot. Together, all of these factors mean that the Galaxy S3 performs brilliantly.

Despite housing a sizeable, removable Li-Ion 2100 mAh battery, the S3 still manages to be maintain a slim silhouette. The battery power is quite a substantial improvement on the S2’s 1650 mAh battery, and offers more talk time than the former model. At the same time, the S3 is also powering a higher resolution screen and a powerful processor, so the improvement may not be as significant as people may hope. In practise, it seems to last well, offering more than enough time to last you through a day of moderate use.

Running the latest Android Platform, Ice Cream Sandwich, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is up to date and released with the best software available to it. Perhaps unfortunately, Samsung has layered its TouchWiz interface over the platform, which some users may find disappointing, and possibly even irritating. One of the main problems with the interface is the pre-installed, unwanted apps and widgets that can crowd the homepages and take up the memory. It can also hold back updates so you have to manually update your apps on the market. Still, there are some good points about the interface and it will be well suited to some customers. At the same time, the Android Platform is one of the best out there, opening up users to a whole world of advanced apps and features. There is lots of room for users to customise settings to their own liking, so hopefully the TouchWiz interface shouldn’t hold the phone back.

The S3 comes with an array of extra special features that you will only find on this device, such as S Beam, which allows you to link all of your devices so that you can transfer documents, pictures, contacts, music and videos between them. There’s also AllShare Play that lets you work through DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct, so you have access to documents and files when working on a different screen somewhere else. The phone also uses what is described as a “natural language user interface” dubbed S Voice; this is a voice command system and, although not perfect, works quite well. This is one of the ways that the S3 is directly rivalling the iPhone 4S, trying to match it’s intelligent assistant.

As with most of its models, the work and time Samsung has put into the Galaxy S3 comes across very clearly. It is in prime position to be one of the best models on the market, and is accumulating large waiting lists around the world. If you want to bag yourself a Samsung Galaxy S3, you will probably have to act fast.

If that lot isnt enough to convice you check out a few video reviews!

This unboxing comes courtessy of VodaPhone, they also have a great youtube channel here.

This video is of someone “Drop Testing” their S3, personally I never felt the need to do this, but hey, if you want to give it a go its your money!

Anyway, if your looking for the BEST phone out there (which is NOT the iPhone) then go check it out!