Samsung Galaxy S III Review: Style and Grace
Design and Exterior
All of the Galaxy S III smartphones use the same design and look nearly identical, except for the carrier logo located on the back of the phone. Our two test devices from AT&T and Sprint came with a Marble White finish, but a Pebble Blue finish is also available.
The exterior casing of the Galaxy S III has smooth lines and curved edges. Thanks to a small bezel, the phone doesn't feel large in one's hand, even though it has a sizeable 4.8-inch display. The phone measures 5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 inches.
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In addition to making the phone comfortable to hold, Samsung also took great care to ensure the phone was lightweight. Despite its size, the Galaxy S III weighs just 4.7 ounces, which makes it lighter than quite a few popular phones on the market today.
Samsung Galaxy S 4G | 4.2 ounces |
Motorola Droid Razr | 4.48 ounces |
Nexus S | 4.55 ounces |
HTC One X | 4.58 ounces |
HTC Droid Incredible | 4.6 ounces |
Samsung Galaxy S III | 4.7 ounces |
Apple iPhone 4 | 4.8 ounces |
Apple iPhone 4S | 4.9 ounces |
LG Spectrum | 4.99 ounces |
Samsung Droid Charge | 5.04 ounces |
Motorola Droid Razr Maxx | 5.1 ounces |
Motorola Droid Bionic | 5.57 ounces |
Motorola Photon 4G | 5.6 ounces |
HTC EVO 3D | 6 ounces |
HTC Thunderbolt | 6.23 ounces |
Just above the Galaxy S III's large display, you'll find the front-facing 1.9 megapixel camera to the right of the Samsung logo. A status LED indicator is located to the left of the Samsung logo. You'll find a menu, Home, and back buttons below the display.
On the left edge of the Galaxy S III, you'll find the volume rocker. The right edge of the phone houses the power button. At the base of the phone, you'll see a microphone as well as the microUSB port. The 3.5mm headset jack is located on the top edge of the Galaxy S III.
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The 8 megapixel rear-facing camera is located near the top of the phone in the center. An LED flash is to the left of the camera and a speaker is to the right of the camera. By removing the back battery cover, you'll reveal the Galaxy S III's 2100mAh lithium ion, user-replaceable battery as well as the phone's microSD card slot. With the AT&T variant and other GSM models, you'll also see the micro-SIM slot next to the microSD card slot.