Samsung Announces Galaxy S III at London Event
Samsung took the wraps off of its latest smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III, at an event in London. The device sports a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 0.01ms response time, Android 4.0 ICS, 8MP rear camera with LED flash, front-facing 1.9MP camera, and a quad-core processor. There will be three storage options: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, with a microSD slot for up to 64GB of additional space.
For connectivity, the Galaxy S III has 3G and 4G LTE capabilities, as well as WiFi (with WiFi channel bonding for better speeds), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and GPS/GLONASS. In all, there are six sensors: Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, and Barometer.
The hardware is definitely solid, but for Samsung, it appears to take a backseat to the many software features on board.
For starters, the phone learns to recognize the user’s face, motions, and voice. The Smart Stay feature keeps the phone’s display bright and awake by using the front camera to detect your face. S Voice enables the user to control aspects of the device with voice commands, such as searching, basic controls, and fun and useful functions such as “snooze”. S Voice works with motion sensors to make using the phone easy; the example Samsung gives is bringing the phone to your ear and saying “direct call” to dial someone you were in the middle of texting.
The zero-lag camera shutter combines with the burst feature to take up to 3.3 shots per second. The phone then automatically selects the “best” photo of the bunch; it also zooms in on faces with a double-tap, can sort photos based on who’s in them (i.e., your family).
Sharing is streamlined; for example, with S Beam, users can bond with another Galaxy S III user and share data easily. With AllShare Cast and a dongle, users can share with any HDMI-enabled device.
To stream your own data from any Internet-connected and DLNA-enabled device, you can use the AllShare Play feature. Samsung is clearly eyeing AllShare Play as a killer feature down the road, as the company will be releasing SDKs and APIs for third-party development.
One interesting feature is Pop-up Play, which allows users to, for example, interrupt a video to search for something online--without killing the video. Instead, the media will minimize to a small window on the screen but continue running.
Samsung hasn’t ignored the enterprise with the Galaxy S III; the phone boasts increased support for enterprise mobility and security, mobile device management, and mobile virtualization, in addition to on-device encryption options.
Accessories will include a flip cover to protect the screen, docking stations for the desktop and car, battery charging stand, wireless charging kit, the aforementioned dongle, and an HDTV adapter (sold separately).
The Samsung Galaxy S III will come in Pebble Blue or Marble White and will be available starting May 29th.
For connectivity, the Galaxy S III has 3G and 4G LTE capabilities, as well as WiFi (with WiFi channel bonding for better speeds), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and GPS/GLONASS. In all, there are six sensors: Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, and Barometer.
For starters, the phone learns to recognize the user’s face, motions, and voice. The Smart Stay feature keeps the phone’s display bright and awake by using the front camera to detect your face. S Voice enables the user to control aspects of the device with voice commands, such as searching, basic controls, and fun and useful functions such as “snooze”. S Voice works with motion sensors to make using the phone easy; the example Samsung gives is bringing the phone to your ear and saying “direct call” to dial someone you were in the middle of texting.
The zero-lag camera shutter combines with the burst feature to take up to 3.3 shots per second. The phone then automatically selects the “best” photo of the bunch; it also zooms in on faces with a double-tap, can sort photos based on who’s in them (i.e., your family).Sharing is streamlined; for example, with S Beam, users can bond with another Galaxy S III user and share data easily. With AllShare Cast and a dongle, users can share with any HDMI-enabled device.
To stream your own data from any Internet-connected and DLNA-enabled device, you can use the AllShare Play feature. Samsung is clearly eyeing AllShare Play as a killer feature down the road, as the company will be releasing SDKs and APIs for third-party development.
One interesting feature is Pop-up Play, which allows users to, for example, interrupt a video to search for something online--without killing the video. Instead, the media will minimize to a small window on the screen but continue running.
Samsung hasn’t ignored the enterprise with the Galaxy S III; the phone boasts increased support for enterprise mobility and security, mobile device management, and mobile virtualization, in addition to on-device encryption options.
Accessories will include a flip cover to protect the screen, docking stations for the desktop and car, battery charging stand, wireless charging kit, the aforementioned dongle, and an HDTV adapter (sold separately).
The Samsung Galaxy S III will come in Pebble Blue or Marble White and will be available starting May 29th.
